DIY Arcade machine

[03suprchikn]

I've had a MAME Cabinet for about a year now. I found a empty cabinet that didn't need much work. I just wanted to keep it simple because I would rather enjoy playing it then spending time and money on art and wood work. I did most of the Photoshop work myself and got a local place to print it for me.

Easiest thing to do is get a cabinet in good shape and go from there instead of building one from scratch.


I have all Happs gear in it. MAME is pretty much the way to go with the older games, the boards are kind of hard to get and getting old.

 

[obiwanblee]

What kind of screen are you running in there? Plans/layout for your control panel? Is it as awesome as it looks? Boxers or briefs?

 

[R3DS!X]

dude i said from the begining i was gonna get it, you're an ass for trying to grab it before me. i claimed dibbs damnit.

ahh so you were the one, The guy emailed me back saying someone was coming to pick it up and if he flaked it was mine, I plotted all day on a way to make you flake

Sweet. I'm betting that was a SF:CE cabinet at one point... You can keep that monitor if you buy an ArcadeVGA card.

i have no monitor but plan on finding a 4:3 lcd monitor and using that. maybe a tv in the time being untill i can find the right one at the right price.
im gonna use the jpac from ultimarc.com so i can use the stock controls. i wanna add 2 more buttons to each side and get the other coin door working and a bunch of tokens. i know i could rig it to give me a credit when i push in on the coin door but i wanna use tokens.

 

[tocino]

dude i said from the begining i was gonna get it, you're an ass for trying to grab it before me. i claimed dibbs damnit.



i have no monitor but plan on finding a 4:3 lcd monitor and using that. maybe a tv in the time being untill i can find the right one at the right price.
im gonna use the jpac from ultimarc.com so i can use the stock controls. i wanna add 2 more buttons to each side and get the other coin door working and a bunch of tokens. i know i could rig it to give me a credit when i push in on the coin door but i wanna use tokens.

hehe that's why i keep a jar of quarters around. setting the machines I had to free play just didn't feel right. plus I liked when my friends and I would keep our quarters lined up at the bottom of the monitor bezzel

as far as x-arcade buttons and joysticks go, I've used their joysticks and buttons in my custom built control panel and i've used actual arcade ones from HAPP. There really is no comparing the two. the x-arcade ones feel cheap and the "clicking" is super noisy plus I hate the action on their 8-way joysticks.

 

[jordan]

i have no monitor but plan on finding a 4:3 lcd monitor and using that. maybe a tv in the time being untill i can find the right one at the right price.

I would advise against LCD. If you're going that route, might as well just pick up a $99 HotRodSE controller and play from your PC.

Arcade games were meant to be played on CRT displays and they really shine on those displays. Nothing makes me cringe more when I see a ton of effort gone into a mame cab only to top it off with some LCD monitor that makes the game look like crap. The LCD will take away that authentic (isn't that why we are doing this?) arcade feel for sure.

 

[R3DS!X]

i feel ya and was debating it, i was concidering getting a arcade monitor and using that but then when i had to use the pc for things other than mame i would be fuct.
i want the flat face of the screen and finding a crt monitor of decent size and flat face is hard, its hard enough finding that in a lcd. im gonna go by good will and see what they got there. i might end up usinf a tv instead of a crt monitor and have a little lcd on the side.
im not set in stone on the display though. ive played games on my lcd computer monitor and they look okay, not great but very playable.

the hot rod controler and playing fomr my pc would take awya the feel of standing in front of a giant box and putting tokens in it. thats the main thing im looking to get.
i hear tvs are better to use for games than monitors, lcd or crt.

 

[tocino]

i feel ya and was debating it, i was concidering getting a arcade monitor and using that but then when i had to use the pc for things other than mame i would be fuct.
i want the flat face of the screen and finding a crt monitor of decent size and flat face is hard, its hard enough finding that in a lcd. im gonna go by good will and see what they got there. i might end up usinf a tv instead of a crt monitor and have a little lcd on the side.
im not set in stone on the display though. ive played games on my lcd computer monitor and they look okay, not great but very playable.

the hot rod controler and playing fomr my pc would take awya the feel of standing in front of a giant box and putting tokens in it. thats the main thing im looking to get.
i hear tvs are better to use for games than monitors, lcd or crt.

get an arcadevga from ultimarc.com and you won't have any issues. you won't get the "authentic" experience unless you play on a real arcade monitor (wells gardner ftw! )

to be honest though, i keep a pc specifically for mame/emulation use only. it used to be my gaming machine 7 years ago so you don't really need a high-end pc for any emulation. heck if you're like me (pack rat) you probably have a few pc's sitting around in a garage or closet. you can also try and snag a cheap one off of craigslist (like $100 or less)

 

[Marlowe]

Why use MAME?

Late 70s digital electronics are easy. Pick yourself up a Z80 or 6800MP, some support chips, and get to wire wrapping.

Can build an outright replica of an arcade game's internals in a couple of days

 

[tocino]

Why use MAME?

Late 70s digital electronics are easy. Pick yourself up a Z80 or 6800MP, some support chips, and get to wire wrapping.

Can build an outright replica of an arcade game's internals in a couple of days

cuz I suck at soldering/unsoldering

most arcade pcb's are cheap enough where you can keep them and switch them out like ol'skool nintendo carts. I use MAME so I don't have to keep switching out boards every time (of course I ONLY have the roms for the actual arcade pcb's I own ). I do eventually want to build some type of JAMMA board switch

 

[R3DS!X]

I use MAME so I don't have to keep switching out boards every time

this

and i would like to use the arcade mahcine wiht some genisis and snes emulators.

i alwyas thought gunstar heros would be awesome on a arcade machine along with phlanax

 

[R3DS!X]

shit i think ive found my answer
the WGZ2798-U0FS08S
http://www.wellsgardner.com/products/details.asp?iCat=2&iSubCat=47

ive read its one of the onyl digital monitors that will accuratly display 15Khz
gotta save a bit for that one, and i think i need some dimensions form them, i dunno if my cabinet is big enough. hell if it aint i can always "fix it"

 

[jordan]

shit i think ive found my answer
the WGZ2798-U0FS08S
http://www.wellsgardner.com/products/details.asp?iCat=2&iSubCat=47

ive read its one of the onyl digital monitors that will accuratly display 15Khz
gotta save a bit for that one, and i think i need some dimensions form them, i dunno if my cabinet is big enough. hell if it aint i can always "fix it"

Here is a review of the WG-D9200 and Betson Imperial / Kortek KT-2914 from the RetroBlast! site

They have a ton of good info on that site. Basically he reviews all sorts of hardware/software for mame use.

 

[R3DS!X]

thanks for the info jordan, im busy reading it all!
the 9800 dose seem to be an improvement over the 9200 though.

 

[tocino]

shit i think ive found my answer
the WGZ2798-U0FS08S
http://www.wellsgardner.com/products/details.asp?iCat=2&iSubCat=47

ive read its one of the onyl digital monitors that will accuratly display 15Khz
gotta save a bit for that one, and i think i need some dimensions form them, i dunno if my cabinet is big enough. hell if it aint i can always "fix it"

if you got that red dynamo "Z" cab from craigslist, you could probably fit a 27" in there (if there isn't one already). If it is a smaller monitor and you plan on getting a new one make sure you also get a monitor bezzel for that clean look. also be carefull installing/uninstalling those monitors. there's enough stored electricity in those things to kill you. even ones that have been sitting for awhile

 

[R3DS!X]

yeah i did. no thanks to spdrcr
there was a 25" monitor in there i think i will be just able to fit a 27"
i will post updates of the progress if anyone is interested.

 

[jordan]

yeah i did. no thanks to spdrcr
there was a 25" monitor in there i think i will be just able to fit a 27"
i will post updates of the progress if anyone is interested.

Yeah please keep us updated.

My cab has a 25" WG but the monitor housing is bigger, wondering if I could fit a 27" in there too. That flat WG is looking really good!

 

[jordan]

Any progress R3DS!X?

 

[R3DS!X]

sorta, i took off all the hardware that prvents kids from mucking around with the machine. so it looks a little cleaner, but with some holes, gonna fill with some wood dough and sand. been cleaning a little bit.
ordered

today.
still looking for the right monitor.
thanks for asking, ill post a pic later.

im stuck, i want the flat screen wells gardner but keep gettign scared witht he reports i heard about them being near doa. so im think about a betson, i hear they are better built but not flat. i would really like the flat screen.

 

[R3DS!X]

Im also having trouble getting neo geo roms to work.

 

[jordan]

im stuck, i want the flat screen wells gardner but keep gettign scared witht he reports i heard about them being near doa. so im think about a betson, i hear they are better built but not flat. i would really like the flat screen.

DOA? Really? Though WG was suppose to be good quality, where did you read this from?