Arcade Machine

[Shieldwolf]

My mission to build an arcade cabinet has begun. I have done a lot of research and know what I want and how to build it. If any of you on the forum have built or are in the process of building an arcade machine. I would like hear your horror stories and triumphs. If you don't want to talk on the forum about it you can alway pm me.

[DennyA]

I'm curious too... I have an X-Arcade here and a second PC that does double-duty as a video record and MAM..., er, "Microsoft Return of Arcade," unit. I've been thinking of taking an old stereo stand and doing a little work to turn it into a stand-up unit.

Creating something that actually looks like a real arcade machine would have a much higher geek factor, though, and I gotta love that.

[Greg Kasavin]

That's a noble goal indeed. I've thought about doing the same from time to time, but have absolutely no carpentry skills. So then I wonder, why build one when I could pay out the nose for a custom-made one from here (http://www.massystems.com/ArcadeSys.html)? The arcade and Neo Geo joysticks I've bought from MAS Systems are some of my most prized possessions.

[Shieldwolf]

once the project start I will be keeping a diary. I too have no carpentry skills, but that's what home depots for

[Bub, Andrew]

Couldn't you just buy a broken arcade coin-op cabinet and retro-fit your machine, X-Arcade, whatever, into it? I swear, I have a relative who could turn one into an aquarium.

(Dude, you can make a bong out of that....)

[wumpus]

It's the old "time vs. money" argument. Which do you have more of? As I get older, I have less and less time to randomly dick around with stuff.

Also: Mo' money, mo' problems. But that goes without saying. RIP B.I.G. peace out.

[Sparky]

Here's a pic of ours (http://www.phobe.com/arcade.jpg) -- I still have to do the artwork for the marquee, monitor bezel (it's been removed in the pic), sides and control panel (that's just the white button template there), once we decide on a name for the thing. Lars built it, and here's his post-by-proxy (yeshereallyshouldregisterhisdamnselfthisisthelast timeI'mdoingthis):

The cabinet was a crappy old husk we picked up for free from someone who deals in arcade machines. It came with no monitor or electronics, basically just particle board, some hinges and a coin door. I cleaned it up and repainted it (black/silver oh-so-1980s splatter finish), and mounted a shelf inside to hold the PC, and for a 19" monitor at the proper angle. The red T-molding is from Happ Controls (http://www.happcontrols.com).

The control panel is built from scratch... I laid it out in 3D using rough models of the controls so I knew it would fit together on top and bottom, and then printed out layouts 1:1 to see how button placement and overall layout would fit my hands. Because I wanted to play a wide variety of games, the control panel has two 8-way joysticks with buttons on top, five buttons next to each joystick, a trackball, and an analog spinner. All the controls are "real" arcade controls purchased from Happ Controls, except the spinner, which is from a Logitech Wingman Warrior joystick. The buttons and joysticks are wired through a keyboard interface board from Hagstrom Electronics (http://www.hagstromelectronics.com), the trackball is USB and acts as the mouse, and the spinner is a serial port. The control panel can play most 1 & 2 player games, but does not have analog joysticks, driving controls, yoke controls, but I can add those temporarily as needed via a USB port.

Originally I tried to save money by using a hacked PC trackball, but it didn't stand up to regular play. I also tried using a hacked keyboard control from a PC keyboard, but it suffered from key ghosting. The Hagstrom unit doesn't ghost and is reprogrammable, so any button can be mapped to any keystroke, including macros. You can also still use a regular keyboard with the Hagstrom interface, so you can type to control the PC when setting it up.

There are also buttons for coin drop, 1 and 2 player start, and a couple discreet black buttons for game setup, exit game, etc. Sound is through a pair of speakers in the top behind the marquee. The PC is a 450Mhz P2 which is enough to run games from 1990 and before quite well (with a few 3D exceptions like I Robot, Hard Drivin' and STUN Runner). I use Arcade@Homeas the front end interface to select games. The PC is networked so I can add new games and update the software without having to pull out the keyboard.

http://www.arcadeathome.com/pics.phtml has a bunch of pix of cabinets people have done, and is generally a good resource.

PS: Shieldwolf, feel free to email/PM if you have any questions.

[Shieldwolf]

One of my many later concerns will be taking my force feeback time cops controler for my ps1 and cutting the cable apart so i can use it with my arcade games

[DavidCPA]

I'm not doing anything complex as you guys or really anything at all excepft for buying this cool new toy at Wal-Mart that looks like an old Atari 2600 joystick. It has 10 Atari brand games built into it including Centipede, Pong, Circus Atari, Missle Command. You just put 4 AA batteries into the joystick and plug it into the video and audio inputs on your TV and away you go. Very cool for $20. They also had a similar setup with 8 or 10 Activision games including Pitfall. I think it's pretty neat for such a small package.

-DavidCPA

[wumpus]

Yeah, Derek Smart PhD was talking about that a while ago, and I also found one which has tons of pirated unlicensed NES games. (http://www.9thtee.com/funstuff.htm)

[Bob Cherub]

I've been seriously considering getting a X-Arcade gaming cabinet. If anyone has one of these, please PM me as I have questions.

Love,

Bob

[bmulligan]

don't have an x-arcade but For those who want to build their own controls and dont feel like hacking a keyboard, or paying too much $$ on an interface, go here http://www.ultimarc.com/ and consider the I-Pac. It's cheap and flawless. I've built 3 panels and 1 cabinet already with these and hardware from happ.