Bartop XBOX NeoGeo

[crashwg]

I've got an over abundance of XBOXes and with all the talk lately about how well the work for MAME (not to mention that I'm just plain bored) I decided to draw a little something up in AutoCAD.  

I've decided to go with a NeoGeo theme because I can set the CP up in the standard NeoGeo layout and if I stick to NeoGeo games it will tell the user which buttons do what without any confusion.  Also, I just like a lot of the NeoGeo stuff...  Obviously I'm thinking red, black and white for the color scheme.

The entire project will hinge upon the fact that I do not have a spare LCD to install and I really want to go with an LCD.  I'll be keeping my eyes open on Craigslist for a 15"...

I started by sketching the design out fairly quickly on 4 sheets of paper taped together just to get a feel of the space I would be working with.  The opening for the monitor is based on the measurement of 9" high that I took from an all-in-one computer I've got that I believe has a 15" monitor and adding an inch above and below to allow for some bezel.

I then transferred the design into CAD, making a couple adjustments along the way like rounding measurements just to make it easier.

Here's what I've got so far:

P.S.
I'm not quite sure what it is but something about the design is off-putting...    I think if I stare at it long enough I figure it out though. 

[crashwg]

Something that I'm a little concerned with:

The clearance below the CP and how to install the joystick.  As you can see in the first picture, I've got 1.87" at the front of the CP and 2.45 at the back.

I've looked up a few joystick dimensions on Happ and I've come up with:
Competition - 2.09
Ultimate - 2.25
Super - 2.64
Universal - 2.00

*All dimensions are from the bottom of the CP to the lowest protruding part when you mount the joystick from below with the exception of the Universal which is mounted through the half inch panel.

The second picture has a line in it that represents 2.00 inches below the CP.  It doesn't look like I've got much room.  I'll probably have to make the whole cab an inch or so taller...

I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to attach the joystick to the CP.  In this revision I've made a panel that closes in the bottom below the CP and locks with a couple barrel locks.  Before I drew that I had it with a hinge and barrel lock but was concerned with clearance as the panel passes the front edge of the CP box.  I'm not entirely satisfied with my current solution.  Even now I'm looking at it and noticing that you could push up on the back edge of the panel and nothing would stop it...  Feel free to drop some ideas on me.

[Yvan256]

I'm not quite sure what it is but something about the design is off-putting...    I think if I stare at it long enough I figure it out though.  

I think the problem might be the profile. It doesn't look like a Neo-Geo MVS cabinet because the sides don't follow the usual MVS design.

I like Neo-Geo cabs, I'll keep an eye on your project.  

[crashwg]

While I would love to stick to the MVS design, I just don't see how I could without making it 5 inches taller and 8 inches deeper.*

* Those were random numbers I just threw out.  I'm not really sure how big it would have to be really to incorporate a 15" LCD.  Perhaps I'll find out.

Also, I don't really want the gigantic marquee with places to put the game flyer things.  I was thinking more of a simple -NeoGeo- in a red on black or white on red.

[mwong168]

I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to attach the joystick to the CP.  In this revision I've made a panel that closes in the bottom below the CP and locks with a couple barrel locks.

To mount the joystick I would suggest flush mounting it from the bottom to give it an over all cleaner look.  The thickness of the MDF I used was 5/8" and I set the router depth to 5/16".  I basically made a template using a piece of scrap wood which was basically a tracing of the HAPP mounting plate +5mm all around.  You will want to test out your template on a few scrap pieces before you route your real panel to ensure the right fit and depth.




Once mounted you can either drill four holes and use carriage bolts and nuts or else you could use some strapping or scrap wood strips from underneath if you don't want to see any bolts on the top.  I just finished my bartop a few weeks ago (check my sig) so feel free to check it out for ideas and if you have any questions let me know.  You will also want to make sure you have easy access to the control panel so wiring and maintaining it in the future won't be a headache.  I didn't use any hinges or lock my panel down because the sides of my panel are holding it in pretty tight and I have a few small "L" brackets to support underneath it.

[Yvan256]

While I would love to stick to the MVS design, I just don't see how I could without making it 5 inches taller and 8 inches deeper.*

* Those were random numbers I just threw out.  I'm not really sure how big it would have to be really to incorporate a 15" LCD.  Perhaps I'll find out.

Also, I don't really want the gigantic marquee with places to put the game flyer things.  I was thinking more of a simple -NeoGeo- in a red on black or white on red.

If you want a cabinet that's less deep, you could try to start with the MVS profile and then "cut the middle", to preserve the back and front curves.

As for the marquee, you could use the 1-slot MVS marquee.

[apfelanni]

a german guy called donking2000 build this nice neogeo themed bartop some time ago .

http://www.project-casemod.de/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=1515&forum=27&post_id=26555#forumpost26555


the question what a real neogeo design looks like is hard 2 say. the full variety of neogeocabinets can be seen here :

http://www.hardmvs.com/html/cabphotos.htm


ps. isnt the monitor area in ur design a little 2 tall for a horimounted 15 inch lcd screen ?





 

[crashwg]

To mount the joystick I would suggest flush mounting it from the bottom to give it an over all cleaner look.  The thickness of the MDF I used was 5/8" and I set the router depth to 5/16".  I basically made a template using a piece of scrap wood which was basically a tracing of the HAPP mounting plate +5mm all around.  You will want to test out your template on a few scrap pieces before you route your real panel to ensure the right fit and depth.

I am planning on mounting the joystick from below and I was thinking that if I didn't recess the base it would cut down on the length of the stick enough to not interfere with the viewing of the screen.  The design is using .5" MDF so it should still be very usable.  I most likely will use carriage bolts just because they will be the most secure method without having to worry about covering things up with a CPO.

Your project looks great BTW, but where are the speakers?

[crashwg]

Here is the top half of a NeoGeo MVS 4-25 ver3 that I got from Jakobud's website:

[crashwg]

And here is the same top with the colored section representing what I would approximately cut it down to and scaled to the same dimensions as my first plan which is 12x20.  You will notice that the monitor area is much smaller...  Too small as a matter of fact for a 15" 4:3 LCD which has a vertical viewing area of 9".

I colored in the angled part in the back because it looks extremely unstable uncut.

I think if I were to move the bottom edge of the marquee up I would solve the monitor problem in addition to shrinking the marquee to a more "normal" size even though though it is "normal" for a NeoGeo MVS.  Everything I tried made it unrecognizable as a NeoGeo MVS...

[IG-88]

Here is the top half of a NeoGeo MVS 4-25 ver3 that I got from Jakobud's website:

Personally I like this layout the best. Cant you just shrink that marquee area down a bit to give you some more monitor area?

[crashwg]

Here is the top half of a NeoGeo MVS 4-25 ver3 that I got from Jakobud's website:

Personally I like this layout the best. Cant you just shrink that marquee area down a bit to give you some more monitor area?

The entire premise of the idea for building this cab is that I want it to be quite small, hence the use of an LCD and the limit of 12" deep that I've set for myself.  I just put that picture up for comparison to the next picture.

[mwong168]

I am planning on mounting the joystick from below and I was thinking that if I didn't recess the base it would cut down on the length of the stick enough to not interfere with the viewing of the screen.  The design is using .5" MDF so it should still be very usable.  I most likely will use carriage bolts just because they will be the most secure method without having to worry about covering things up with a CPO.

Your project looks great BTW, but where are the speakers?

If you see in my build thread I used a USB speaker cube and it is inside the cabinet.  I was thinking of using a Dell monitor sound bar which I ordered 2 weeks ago for $20 shipped but I might use that for a jukebox project instead. 

If you didn't recess it would make the stick sit lower and could make it awkward to use he HAPP joystick.  If you wanted something lower profile ever consider using a japanese stick by Sanwa or Seimitsu?  The pieces of scrap strapping I used to secure my HAPP stick has held up pretty good and I play my cabinet every other day to cool off after my workout and my friends have beat on it too.

[crashwg]

As much as I would like to keep the look as authentic as possible, I can't seem to do it without making it look like crap while keeping to my self imposed limits of 12"x24" for the profile of the cab...

I did a little sideart mockup.  Here it is.  Please feel free to comment.  I'm not so proud of it that I would be offended, it only took 10 minutes.     I've added 2" overall to the cab in revision 0.2...  1" in the CP height and 1" in the marquee height bringing the total to 22".

[IG-88]

That looks pretty good. Maybe a little top heavy for my tastes but not bad.

[crashwg]

Well, unfortunately (or is it fortunately?  ) a 15" LCD that I was trying to get from some guy on craigslist turned out to be non-functional.  It's a good thing I insisted on a demonstration!

No matter.  I'm not in any hurry.

On the subject of sideart again...  I was thinking that I would line the text up with the bottom toward the wall as in the picture below.  What do you all think?