Knights of the Arcade Table

2008-03-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

The Restoration

I'm probably crazy but I've been thinking about this on and off for the better part of a year and I think I'm going to do it. This thing has never made it out of the basement (and I've finished another arcade cabinet in the mean time) because I can't bring myself to finish it and I think I know why - it's not as perfect and as user-friendly as I want it to be. There have been a lot of improvements in the home arcade scene since the time I designed/planned this thing out and the improvements I could make are things that will bother me until the end of time unless I do something about it. I'm not on any time table but here's the list of stuff I want to do:

Completely remake the control panels - ALL THREE OF THEM! I can reuse the buttons, the trackball and the spinner but that's about it. I am going to install Ultimarc 360 joysticks instead of the T-Stiks I am currently using. The new sticks will allow for switching controls on the fly via software. No more twisting a restrictor plate into 4-way or 8-way mode!
Redesign the button layout. I want to do this on all three panels to be a little more ergonomic as well as have better integration of the admin buttons (and label them!).
Replace the iPac2 with an iPac4. This will allow me to have individually wired controls instead of running two sets of wires to each node on the encoder. With an iPac4 installed I'll be able to program the front end to react to whatever controls are being pressed and automatically face the list of games and front end graphics to whichever controls are active.

That's it as far as the "restoration" goes but I still have many things left to do that were never originally completed:

Buy a 1/4" piece of tempered glass for the top.
Install the glass clips to hold the glass table top in place.
Wire the coin door and coin return lights
Install the opaque plexiglass above the short control panels and wire some LEDs behind them to light everything up.
Glue the grommet for the SmartStrip cord in place.
Install artwork on the tabletop (assuming it ever arrives).
Configure the software

It's a lot of stuff and it's probably going to take me a while but I enjoy working on these things so I'm looking forward to it.

2007-10-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

Monitor Issues: Resolved (for now)

After some extensive tweaking in the mame.ini file I finally found the settings that display (most) games properly. The picture to the left shows the problem I was having. I kept having to disconnect the monitor from the computer and connect a spare LCD because Windows XP wasn't even showing up because it was set to output at a resolution my monitor could not handle.

Upon the advice of some people over at BYOAC I changed d3d to ddraw and then changed the following settings:

switchres 1
hwstretch 1
resolution 640x480

The picture is now completely rectangular and fills the screen (XP still looks off and so does MaLa but hopefully I can fix that later... well the MaLa gamelist display at least). With these settings enabled I'm forcing every game I run to display in 640x480 mode which isn't the end of the world. There might be a few games that look messed up running in this resolution but not many and certainly not to the untrained eye.

I also was able to launch Popeye for the first time ever on the cabinet - every previous attempt I was greeted with an "out of range" error message... it is one of the games that looks a little different than I remember it (not as sharp) but I can change "hwstretch" to "0" in a specific popeye.ini file. I'll have to continually tweak the individual .ini settings for the games that don't look quite right but there shouldn't be many of them.

2007-10-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

Another Update

As previously mentioned, I started updating the computer with the newest version of MaLa and a fully compiled version of MAME .119u3. There's a problem with Galaga so it looks like I have to roll it back a version to MAME .119u2. Not a huge deal but it's going to be a pain because compiling takes about 45 minutes and there's no way around it.

What I'm more concerned with is the fact that after reinstalling everything, my monitor refused to output anything in the proper resolution. Every game I tried loading was completely pixelated and unplayable. I'm not sure how to fix this yet but I'm 99% sure it is a software issue either with MAME or MaLa and not a problem with the monitor itself because Windows XP and my game list (with the "snaps") displays perfectly.

I guess it's time to troubleshoot.

2007-10-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Quick Update:

I tried to order the 1/4" tempered glass for the tabletop but the glass shop I went to told me it would cost about $250 - yeah, right - I'm not paying that. I am going to replace it but I need to find a cheaper solution. The 1/8" piece I am currently using will have to go in the trash I guess.
I also contacted the artist that is doing my table top underlay and he said he will be getting me something soon (I've heard that one before though so I'm not holding my breath). HERE is a link to his site so you can see the style that I'm going for - he's very talented but very slow.
I started updating the computer with the newest version of MaLa and a fully compiled version of MAME .119u3 - this doesn't match my romset (.118u2) but it shouldn't be a problem. I tried using MAME .118u2 but there is a bug for Mappy and Super Pac-man which are two essential games for the cabinet so I had to try a different version.

It's not much but compared to the last 12 months of inactivity it's a ton!!

2007-09-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm back!

After a LONG delay, the building of Bella's Arcade and the addition of another kid to the family I've decided to rededicate myself to finishing this arcade table. It has been playable for the last year or so but there are several things I have to do before calling this thing finished. Also, since it has been a year, there are a few things I'm going to try and improve since I last worked on it like updating the games (Street Fighter III is now playable!) and front end (MaLa is by far my favorite now so GameLauncher has got to go).

Here's the unofficial "to do" list:

Buy a new glass top. The current glass top is 1/8" thick but that was a mistake on my part. Original cocktail cabinets used 1/4" thick glass table tops so that's what I want to use. I've got to get it tempered too.
Install the glass clips to hold the glass table top in place. Just two screws on each of the 8 clips should do the trick.
Wire the coin door - a working coin door will be nice even though I currently use buttons for inserting credits.
Install the opaque plexiglass above the short control panels and wire some LEDs behind them to light everything up. The old cocktail cabinets had this feature for when people played in smokey, dank bars back in the 80s and wanted to see the controls. I'll grab power to illuminate the LEDs from the 5v line on the power supply of the computer.
Glue the grommet for the SmartStrip cord in place - this should take all of 30 seconds to do but it might be a problem clamping/holding it in place.
Install and configure MaLa and update the romlist - this is going to be a huge pain but I've got to do it.
Install artwork on the tabletop. It's been two years since I commissioned the artwork from a "professional" artist and after emailing back and forth a million times I've sort of given up on ever getting anything from him. I've learned my lesson - don't ever pay for anything until you have a finished piece in hand. Hopefully he will come through and do what I paid him to do or karma will bite him in the ass. If I have to do this myself I might rethink the design (and name) of the arcade table...

Whew! that's about all that's left. It's actually not that much and I don't know why I've been waiting so long to wrap this thing up. Long term on this thing I might end up remaking the control panels and swapping out some of the joysticks. There have been a lot of cool innovations in the hobby over the past few years and the 4-way/8-way joystick "problem" has been virtually eliminated through software (MaLa's controller maps) and the corresponding Ultimarc 360 joysticks. Sometime in the future I'd like to upgrade everything but for now I just want to finish what I've got in front of me...

We refinished the third floor (attic) in our house and it's now a spare bedroom but there's no furniture up there. I think this thing would fit nicely...

2006-11-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

Sidetracked...

Wow, it's been a while. I've been working on a new project: Bella's Arcade and I seem to have lost a little momentum on this one. I do plan on finishing it soon (definitely before Christmas) but there are a few parts I need to buy first as noted in the punchlist below. I can work on it at night for about an hour at a time once I buy the remaining parts.

I'm also considering rebuying the top layer of glass. I ordered it 1/8" thick and it should have been 1/4" thick - kind of a bummer but I want to get this right. Plus, the glass clips are way too big due to the difference in thickness.

Anyway, since I got this thing functional I had a party at the house and the cabinet was a huge hit. Watching everyone get to play and have fun was by far my favorite part of the entire project. One thing I did realize is that I need some type of instruction card and labels on the admin buttons. My guests were constantly asking questions on how to switch between games and insert coins, etc. The trash-talking was great! It was also surprising to me that certain members of my family were really good at some of the games - it's going to take me a while to get their initials off of the high score lists!

I will post comprehensive pics of the 90% complete cabinet later this week and hopefully get back on track.

Thanks for looking!

2006-08-17T12:48:00.000-04:00

IT WORKS!!!

I'm so excited!! Earlier this week I finished mounting the monitor and I was able to attach the hinge and fire up the cabinet for the first time!! I don't have any good pictures but here's one of the thing all closed up with a game running. The flash on my camera combined with the dust on the glass tabletop really ruined the picture. When I get a few better pictures I will definitely post them.

I played a few games of Ms. Pac-man, Mr. Do! and Galaga and it felt great. I even squeaked out a 75,000 Ms. Pac-man score on my first game without really concentrating so the controls are working well. I still have a TON of software tweaking and game management to work on but if I wanted to I could have the thing playable for a party or something in a few hours of work. There are still a bunch of things I have to do until I call this project "complete" (and start the next one!). Here's the punchlist of outstanding items...

Cabinet construction:
1. Drill holes in base and install leg levelers
2. Drill hole for speaker volume controls
3. Splice speaker controls and thread through hole
4. Mount volume control underneath long CP with velcro
5. Wire coin door switches to ipac
6. Set coin door to accept tokens
7. Wire coin door LEDs to power supply
8. Wire plexiglass LEDs to powersupply
9. [Figure out how to remove CPs]
10. Seal any gaps in CPs
11. Seal any gaps between bezel and monitor
12. Install glass clips to hold glass in place
13. Install t-molding around CP3
14. Glue grommit for power supply plug in place

Other:
1. Print artwork to scale on vinyl at www.mamemarquees.com
2. Apply artwork to tabletop

To Buy:
1. Plexiglass for CP1 and CP2 lighting
2. LEDs for CP1 and CP2 lighting and coin door lights
3. Admin button labels

Computer Set-Up
1. Install and configure Front End [MaLa]
2. Manage game list
3. Hide Windows operation as much as possible upon boot up and power down

2006-08-14T15:34:00.000-04:00

The PLUG

OK, not much to report as far as progress goes, unfortunately. I'm having a bit of trouble with the monitor mount. Attaching the monitor to the tabletop is proving to be far more difficult than I thought it would be...

As I've said plenty of times throughout this process, I want to make this thing look as "clean" as possible and not homemade in any way other than its uniqueness. One of the problems I encountered was getting everything to power on and off at the touch of a button. This was accomplished rather nicely by using a Smart Strip power supply.

Once I figured out where to place it within the cabinet, I had to figure out where to drill the hole on the outside for the power cord. I decided on the lower left side of the cabinet underneath the hinge for the access door. This simple decision turned out to be a bigger problem than I had ever envisioned.

I carefully measured the plug every which way I could and determined that it was 1" in diameter. So, in order to make this thing look "finished" I needed to drill a 1" hole in the proper location, feed the cord through the hole and then put a grommet of some kind around the hole to thread the cord through so it will look nice. Simple, right? Wrong.

The first problem I encountered was finding a 1" grommet. I looked all around at Office Max, Staples and Home Depot for something but the best they could do was a 2" grommet and it was going to be huge. I decided online would be my best bet and I eventually found one at Modern Office Interiors for approximately $10 ($3.75 + shipping). Kind of a rip off but at this point I just want to finish.

As I was waiting for the part to arrive I drilled the 1" hole using a hole saw attachment for my drill. When I tried to thread the power cord through the opening, it didn't fit. The hole was about 1/16" too small and there was no way to redrill it (and the grommet was already on the way). I ended up taking a razor and shaving off the rubber around the plug prongs until I could squeeze it through. I was able to get it through after about 10 minutes of tweaking. Whew!

A few days later the grommet arrived and I was anxious to get it installed, however I quickly realized that a 1" grommet only has a 1-7/8" interior diameter - there was no way to get the power cord through the grommet opening! I wanted to scream! Fortunately, a solution quickly presented itself. I thought about it and decided to take a razor and cut the grommet down the side. There was just enough play in the plastic to open up the grommet wide enough to slip the power cord in there. With the grommet cover in place you can't even see where the cut was made. Hopefully the pictures provide enough detail.

I think it came out nice in the end and just how I initially pictured it in my head. I just have to touch up a little tearout from drilling the hole with some leftover blue stain (that's what I get for using an old hole saw!). It was worth the trouble!

The lesson learned for all of this is no matter how much planning you do, there are always going to be things that pop up you didn't think about. It was frustrating but it was very satisfying to be able to come up with a solution.

Thanks for looking!

2006-08-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

Bezel / Monitor Mount

Here are a couple of shots of the table top with the bezel in place. I want as snug of a fit as possible around the edges and I think once the weight of the glass is on there everything will fit together nicely. Mounting the monitor and getting the bezel just right has definitely been the hardest part of this project for me so far.

The bezel is not glued into place or anything and right now it is just held in place by painter's tape as you can see. The edges around the monitor do look nice though and I think the screen is centered. The monitor does allow me to move the picture around so if it's not perfectly centered when I turn it on I can tweak it.

I'll be posting some pics of the inside of the monitor mount later. Thanks for looking!

2006-08-01T11:40:00.000-04:00

The Power Button

These shots are from the underside of the long CP. The red button is the power on and power off switch. One press turns everything on and one more press turns everything off (thank god for the smart strip!).

It was pretty easy to install - I used a 1-1/4" forstner bit to drill a hole about 1/2 way into the bottom panel (from the inside/top) and then using the center mark left by the bit, I just drilled a hole all the way through for the shaft of the button (note the tear out - I'll touch it up later). The reason for the "two-step" drilling of the hole is so I could get my fingers around the shaft of the button to turn the nut that secures the button in place. It also made wiring it up a little easier.

You can't see it at all where it is located and no one will even know it is there unless I tell them. Also, the button is quite tough to press so I'm not worried about an accidental press by someone's knee during play...

Thanks for looking!

2006-07-31T13:27:00.000-04:00

MORE Interior Pictures!!

Since I know you can never really have too many of these...

You can see that there are a ton of wires inside - I don't know how some people maintain such neatly wired cabinets. The speakers and subwoofer were the main culprits - there is a power cord, two cords to the individual speakers and a cord for the volume control unit (which you can see just sitting in the coin box - I haven't decided where to mount it yet). I just ended up bunching the wires with ties - I guess I could have cut the wires to the proper length and reattach them with some electrical tape but that seemed like a lot of unnecessary work.

The power supply wires to the fans were also hard to keep neat and I also have an extra wire running from the underside of the third CP to the motherboard (the twisted black and green wire) for the power button to the computer. One press turns everything on and another press powers everything off. I really like this feature - it makes it easy for just about anyone to operate (assuming you know where the button is hidden!).

I will be posting more miscellaneous pictures a bit later. Thanks for looking!

2006-07-25T12:23:00.000-04:00

Technical Crap

OK, since so many of you are dying to know exactly how I hooked everything up I created the diagram below to explain exactly how I did it. I have to warn you that it's pretty technical and probably can only be understood by less than 1% of the arcade-building population though. It should give you a good idea how everything fits together and how truly great the Smart Strip is. All you have to do is press the "on" button and the entire cabinet fires up - the motherboard, speakers, monitor and lights (when I get around to installing the LEDs).

More progress pictures are coming soon - I'm almost finished!!

2006-07-22T13:08:00.000-04:00

Quick Update - INTERIOR PICS!!

More details later - I'm busy this weekend but wanted to post some progress.

2006-07-10T23:43:00.000-04:00

Computer Installed - It Works!!

Well, I don't have any new pictures because I can't find the camera (again) but I managed to install the computer inside of the cabinet this weekend. I haven't mounted the monitor yet - that will probably be the last thing I do but I have connected a computer monitor so I can tinker/tweak the software and front end.

Holy crap what a mess - I even used ties to bunch wires together but somehow it still looks messy. I haven't even really started wiring the controls yet but I think I can keep that pretty organized since I am the one determining wire length (I can run wires along the sides of the cab instead of stretching across the middle to power a fan or connect the HDD to the motherboard, etc.). Damn, pics would really help...

It's my first computer build and I'm pretty proud that I got it to work (with help, of course). Tomorrow I am going to drill the final holes in the cab (after painfully taking everything out):

1. 4.5" hole in the bottom for third fan
2. 1/8" hole for power switch
3. 1/4" hole for volume control (I have to cut and then splice the controls after threading the wire through the hole)

Once I get this done and everything back in there I can wire the controls. I imagine the trackball and spinner will give me the most problems...

2006-07-06T18:37:00.000-04:00

Computer Parts and Miscellaneous Items HERE!

The finish line is actually in sight. I've ordered what I believe to be the last pieces to my arcade cabinet besides the artwork for the tabletop.

Computer Parts (from www.newegg.com):

Power Supply:
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply -Retail
Item #: N82E16817103937

The power supply also came with a ton of wires to power all of the fans, the harddrive (with a SATA connection) as well as the motherboard. I will probably also use one of the wires for some lighting effects behind the plexiglass above the player 1 and player 2 control panels and to light the coin slots on the coin door. Here's a shot of all the wires that came with it:

RAM (I ordered 2 of these for 1GB total RAM):
CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS512MB400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145026

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822135106

This finishes off the computer!

Internal Wiring / Connectors (from www.mouser.com):

For some of the internal wiring I decided to order some Molex connectors. These will allow me to easily disconnect the control panels instead of having to unscrew every wire from the iPac.

I ordered 10 plugs (female) and 10 receptacles (male) with room for 4 wires (in-line) and 10 plugs (female) and 10 receptacles (male) with room for 6 wires (matrix). The size is .062" which is good for 18-24 gauge wire. I also ordered 100 pins and 100 sockets to use in the plugs and receptacles. I hope everything works OK. If anyone is interested, this is where I got everything from: http://www.mouser.com/catalog/626/1079.pdf

This weekend I am going to install everything and configure the computer, including the monitor. I am going to try my hardest to get everything completed so the arcade is fully playable. I will install the Molex connectors next week (they probably won't arrive until Monday) but that should be easy enough to do after the fact.

2006-06-28T16:36:00.000-04:00

(Some) Computer Parts Are Here!!!

Ok, I know this isn't a big deal but for me this has been the part of the project I've been agonizing over. I have never built a computer from scratch but I'm determined to learn. Anyway, the motherboard and processor arrived the other day and I took a few pictures to share. Here are the specs (I don't know what any of it means):

ECS 761GX-M754 (3.0C) w/XPM 3100+ AMD Athlon XP Mobile 3100+ Socket 754 SiS 761 GX Micro ATX Motherboard/CPU Set

The outside and inside of the box:

The contents of the box:

Super close-up of the motherboard and processor:

I still need to buy RAM (1GB), a hard drive and a power supply. Recommendations would be greatly appreciated. The goal of the machine is to be able to play most games in MAME as well as some NES and SNES games. I will not be playing any modern computer games or using this as a jukebox or anything - just the games.

Stay tuned for more progress!

2006-06-15T13:10:00.000-04:00

Finished (almost) Control Panels!!

I finally got around to putting the finishing touches on the control panels. All I really had to do was add the admin buttons (start, pause, insert coin and exit) to each of the control panels. The hardest part was finding the right buttons. I wanted them to be much smaller than the "action" buttons that you use to play and they also had to be black to match the overall look of my cabinet. I finally settled on mini-buttons from Radioshack. They can be found here for $2.50 each. They look great and are the perfect solution!

I guess I'm not 100% finished with these things yet but I am really close. I want to label the buttons somehow so players know what they do and I am thinking about switching out the white trackball for a black one so it matches. Anyway, here are the pictures:

This first overhead shot of the player 1 control panel shows the basic layout I used for all of the admin buttons. Each player's control panel has 4 admin buttons - 3 grouped together on the left (for insert coin, player start and pause) and 1 to the far right (exit game to menu).

This is the player 2 control panel (no spinner here).

The last picture shows the completed player 3 and player 4 control panel with the admin buttons installed. The white trackball is so distracting to me... I'm probably going to change it to a black one. I've seen people use pool balls as a trackball (they are the same size - 2.25") but I think if I can find a plain black one I'm just going to sue that. Also, for some reason this picture really emphasizes the outline of the trackball plate that you can see through the vinyl but in person it is hardly noticeable. Weird. I haven't added the t-molding to the side panels yet because I'm afraid it will be more difficult to open this control panel for wiring purposes. That will probably be one of the last things I do.

I've started ordering computer parts and they should be arriving by early next week so hopefully I will be making more progress soon - I'm getting there...

Thanks for looking!!

2006-06-14T12:11:00.000-04:00

Holy crap!!! An update!!!

OK, I'm not finished or anything but I have made a lot of progress since the last time I posted. You probably can't tell from the pictures but I will do my best to explain what I have done. I'm up to the part where you have to pick out a computer and install it in the cabinet. I have never built a computer before so it is going to be the most difficult part for me to do and I seem to be stalling. I want to be able to play some of the more modern fighters like Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3, etc. so I need to put something together that is a little bit faster than most MAME computers. From what I understand though a really old computer will play about 90% of the games in MAME - that's what I'll put in my next cabinet I guess... Anyway, on to the updates:

This first picture is an overview of what's going on inside so far. As you can see, I've installed the Player 1 and Player 2 control panels and wired them up to the ipac which is the thing on the right where all of the wires go to (and it is what allows the buttons and joysticks to "talk" to the computer - interface for pc to arcade controls). The control panels screw into place underneath the cab (not pictured) and on the inside using the metal plates as you can see. Most people also use mounting blocks underneath each side of the control panels to hold them in place but I didn't have room in there and the metal plates are more than sufficient. They don't move at all. In addition, you can see that I installed the silver clips (above each side of the coin door) which are used to secure the tabletop to the body of the cabinet. There are corresponding brackets attached to the tabletop that the clips secure to when it is closed.

This next picture shows the ipac with the Player 1 and Player 2 control panels all wired up. I am using red wire for the Player 1 controls and blue wire for the Player 2 controls so I don't confuse everything. I also used black for the ground wires for each. The little blue pieces of tape were used on each with to label what button it belonged to. I also bought some electrical ties so it wouldn't look like a rats nest of wires in there when I was finished. The ipac plugs directly into the computer's usb port - it is super easy to use. I got it from www.ultimarc.com. The controls actually work! I was able to test it out using my laptop. Also note, I used a 4.5" hole saw and my drill to cut out the hole for the 80mm fan. It is going to get pretty hot in there with a computer and monitor running and I want to make sure there is adequate ventilation. There is a hole on each side for intake and outtake fans. I am also planning to cut a hole in the bottom for a third fan and mount a fourth fan directly on the chassis of the monitor.

As you can see below, I also installed the speaker/fan grills on the outside of the cabinet. They were simple to install and the layout is mirrored on the other side. I am mounting a fan and speaker on each side of the cabinet. I am still undecided on whether to include the bass tube that comes with the 2.1 speaker setup. You don't really need it for MAME and it's just one more thing to heat up the inside.... maybe if there is room. If you look closely, you can see the grill on the right has exposed screw heads and the grill on the left does not. I want the finished cabinet to look as "professional" as possible so it's the little details that matter. I found screw head covers for $0.03 each at my local hardware store and they really look nice when they are installed as you can see from the grill on the left. I thought about spray painting the screws (black screws are very tough to find) but I am much happier that I found the covers - they really "finish" the look.

I also have pictures of the totally finished control panels with all of the admin buttons installed and I will post those later today. Thanks for looking!

2006-05-16T16:28:00.000-04:00

No Updates? WTF???

Work should resume on my arcade cabinet sometime this month. I have been extremely busy with work and family and haven't had the time to do much of anything else. I think 2 or 3 solid days of work is all it will take to finish it. I will update with posts and pictures when I get going again.

2006-02-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

... and now...

The Player 1 Control Panel!!!

The final control panel for my arcade cabinet is complete! It is virtually identical to the Player 2 control panel with one big addition - a spinner! Here are the finished pictures from the top and underside:

This control panel is assembled in exactly the same way the Player 2 control panel was assembled except for the spinner. The first thing I did was cover the entire control panel with the vinyl that I purchased from Happs.

As you can see from these first two pictures, the vinyl comes on a roll with a backing that can be peeled away to reveal an adhesive. It really is as easy as cutting the vinyl a little oversized with a pair of scissors, peeling off the backing, applying the vinyl to the surface you want covered and then using a utility knife to trim the excess to the proper size. When you are finished, the control panel will look like this:

If you look hard enough you can see the depressions in the vinyl where the holes for the buttons and joystick are underneath. These holes will also get cut out using a utility knife although you don't have to be precise at all because the trim on the buttons will hide any imperfections in your cuts.

The installation of the buttons and joystick is self-explanatory but I want to go into a little detail about the spinner installation because it was a bit tricky and required some thought. I bought a SlikStik Tornado Spinner to use in my cabinet because it has an insanely long spin time and has been well received by the arcade building community. It is quite expensive and there are other much cheaper alternatives that work just as nicely but I figured a few extra dollars weren't going to kill me (since I've spent so much already). The spinner is pictured to the left (minus the knob). There are several knobs to choose from but all of them perform the same function. They are pictured below. I went with the skirted knob because I felt this would hide any imperfections between the control panel and the spinner itself.

The reason that this was a tricky installation was because I did not want anything showing above the control panel other than the knob (such as a carriage bolt which was used to mount the joystick - see the final picture below for an example). This meant that everything had to be mounted from underneath. The problem is that the spinner is meant to be mounted from above in a metal control panel. As you can see in the picture, there are 4 holes in the mounting bracket that are used to secure the spinner in place. Without something to screw into the spinner is typically assembled with a 4 carraige bolts and nuts.

Here's where I got a bit creative... I decided to attach a small piece of plywood to the underside of the metal control panel to give me something to attach the spinner to. I cut a small 2" x 2" piece of plywood and drilled a hole in the middle (for the spinner shaft to pass through) and attached it to the control panel using Gorilla Glue. I wanted a strong bond and this stuff will work on just about any surface. As you can see in the blurry picture below (or maybe not), my homemade wood block is glued in place and ready for the spinner.

The only thing left to do now is install the spinner, joystick and buttons and this thing is finished! As you can see (again) from the picture of the underside of the completed Player 1 control panel, the spinner is attached to the wood block using 4 screws. This allows for a cleaner look on the top. That's all there is to it!

2006-01-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

Player 2 Control Panel!!

OK, a little more progress has been made. I've successfully completed the last two control panels so I am almost ready to wire everything up and test out my cabinet for real! Below are pictures of the completed player 2 control panel. The player 1 control panel details are coming soon!

The first picture shows the control panel in all its glory. The layout and design is about as simple as possible and should be able to play most vertical games without any problems. The joystick is from Ultimarc (www.ultimarc.com) and it is both a 4-way joystick (can only move up, down, left and right) and an 8-way joystick (can move up, down, left and right as well as on all of the diagonals). It is called a T-Stik Plus on their website (but may have been replaced by the new Mag-Stik Plus). Different games require different controls and this joystick accomodates most of them. The reason an 8-way won't work for game requiring a 4-way input (like Donkey Kong, for example) is because if the joystick is pressed diagonally the character game will not know which direction to move and will actually not move at all. This is extremely frustrating and it makes these games virtually unplayable. The T-Stik Plus is switchable between 4-way and 8-way mode by pulling up on the joystick and twisting it until it locks into place. What actually happens underneath the control panel is that a restrictor plate is rotated preventing (or allowing) the joystick from moving on the diagonals. It's a great design and it means I won't have to install two different joysticks on each control panel to accomodate different games.

The next picture shows the underneath of the contol panel. It is not wired up yet but the connectors are all in place on the microswitches. I bought a pack of 100 from Home Depot for about $6. They make connecting the wires really easy. All you have to do is snap them in place, insert the stripped end of the wire and crimp down on the end of the connector and it will make a very tight connection.

This last shot just shows the control panel in place (but not yet installed). Everything is coming together nicely. I hope to post about the Player 1 control panel soon - it is virtually identical except I installed a spinner in between the buttons and joystick and it was a bit tricky to do.

2006-01-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

Progress Pictures:
(For the installation procedure of the third control panel see below)

Player 3/4 control panel installed (Player 2 control panel is loosely in place but not lined up or screwed in):

Front shot of player 3/4 control panel installed (still need to add the t-molding to the side panels):

The player 1 and player 2 control panels are coming soon!!

2006-01-11T11:42:00.000-05:00

Another Update - FINALLY!!!

I made some progress over the past few weeks but I was too lazy to take pictures and post them - until now! The main thing that I worked on was finishing the control panels. I got two out of three of them done (minus the admin buttons) and the only reason the third one wasn't finished was because I had to think of a way to mount the spinner from the bottom without anything showing on top (except the knob, of course). I will post that process at a later date when it is actually finished.

First I will detail the construction of the player 3 and player 4 control panel (the long one). I am picking up after installing the trackball plate in the center as detailed in a previous post.

This first picture shows the inside of the control panel after I glued the front piece to the control panel top (where the buttons and joysticks go). I was a little hesitant to just use glue for this joint but after I clamped it up and let the glue dry overnight all of my worries were put to rest - this thing is strong as hell and I doubt it will ever come apart. Actually, modern wood glues are supposed to be stronger than the wood itself but I always find that hard to believe until I see it for myself.

The only thing to worry about during the glue-up is creating a very tight joint and a smooth transition from the top piece to the front piece. The top side is going to be covered in vinyl to make it look nice but an uneven transition will show through to the finished product.

As you can see here, this is what it looks like from the top. Notice that the front piece is rounded over to meet the top piece. The vinyl that will cover everything is thin so this is the part that must be as clean as possible. I used a sanding block to smooth out the imperfections and to remove excess glue that squeezed out during the glue-up. Hopefully you can see this starting to come together.

The next step is to apply the vinyl. This is not as easy as it sounds but isn't that tough either. I ordered the vinyl online from Happ Controls (http://www.happcontrols.com/). It's actually called Black Pica Vinyl and the part number is 49-0474-00. It's pretty cheap but watch out because they screw you on shipping. It comes in a roll and has a peel away back like a giant sticker so you don't need any glue or anything.

The first thing to do is cut an oversized piece of your vinyl roll for the control panel. Just lay the control panel out on the vinyl and eyeball it. You can use a pair of scissors to cut the piece out. Next, carefully remove the backing from the vinyl and lay the control panel on a flat surface with the side receiving the vinyl facing you. Very carefully (with the sticky side facing out) bend the ends of the vinyl towards you and place it on the control panel in the center. Then gently roll the vinyl to either side of the control panel making sure there are no air bubbles trapped between the vinyl and control panel. This method ensures that it goes on smooth.

Once you have smoothed out the vinyl on all of the visible surfaces of the control panel it is time to trim it to proper length and install the buttons and joysticks. For the trimming, use a utility knife with a sharp razor blade for a clean cut. Just use the edges of the control panel as your guide when cutting and it will come out straight. As you can see from the photo, this is what the control panel looks like completely covered in vinyl (with the trackball hole cut out).

The next steps are easy - just cut out the holes for the buttons and joysticks and install them. Also install the trackball to the trackball plate using the screws that come with it. Note that I used black carriage bolts for the joystick installation to give a clean look to the top. I also went with an all black button/joystick color scheme to go with the t-molding and table top. After the buttons and everything are installed the last thing left is attaching it to the cabinet (except the wiring which I will explain at a later date). This is what the piano hinge is for that I installed a few posts down.

Here's what the finished control panel looks like:

The front view of the cabinet with third control panel installed:

Top down view of third control panel installed:

Third control panel on hinge for access:

Underside of third control panel (not wired) with totally sweet foot:

2005-12-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

Trackball Plate Installation!!!

At this rate I will be finishing my arcade sometime in the year 2047 when my reflexes are all but gone and my "good eye" is at about 20/200. Oh well, I'll have a working arcade one of these days...

Anyway, this past weekend I was able to install the trackball plate on my third control panel!!! In order to recreate the authentic arcade experience for games like Golden Tee and Centipede a trackball is a must. It's really the only way you can play these classics. The added benefit is that the trackball can also double as a computer mouse for navigating windows and performing general software maintenance. After all, the guts of the arcade is going to be a computer running Windows XP and if I ever want to add more games or emulators I'm going to need an easy way to do so. There's no way I would ever open everything up just to tweak the computer settings or add new games - it would be too much of a pain. This way, I hope that all maintenance can be performed outside the cabinet.

In order to install a trackball a "trackball plate" is needed (well, it's not required but it makes installation a heck of a lot easier). It's basically a square metal plate that the trackball attaches to from the bottom of the control panel. The 4 corners of the trackball plate have headless screws that allow the plate to be attached from underneath with a smooth top for aesthetic purposes. You can see what it looks like in the pictures below.

This is all well and good for normal people but since I am super anal I knew that after a few weeks the trackball plate will start to bother me. Eventually, I would have regretted not doing something even cleaner than the normal trackball installation. I decided to completely hide the plate altogether so the only thing showing through the control panel would be the trackball. Other people over at BYOAC have done this so this is nothing revolutionary but I think it is pretty cool nonetheless.

In order to accomplish my goal I had to use my router and a dado cutting bit to cut the area on the control panel where the trackball plate rests down by the thickness of the trackball plate itself. This will enable the plate to sit flush with the top of the control panel. After this is done, the entire thing will be covered with a layer of vinyl which will cover any imperfections in the routing job and completely hide the fact that there is a trackball plate under there at all. This is how it was done:

First, in the picture below you can see the unmodified control panel. The trackball plate will cover up the middle leaving a circular cutout for the trackball to stick out of.

STEP 1: Place the trackball plate in position by lining up the the screws on the plate with the holes in each corner of the cutout.

STEP 2: Using a razor blade and being as careful as you can, trace the plate to make an outline on the control panel. Try scoring the wood multiple times so you get a cut as deep as the thickness of the plate. If you enlarge the picture you can see that the razor marks are there. This is to ensure that when you are freehanding with the router you will get a clean edge when the rest of the wood is removed.

STEP 3: Place blue (or any color) painter's tape around the edges where you want to cut. This isn't required but if you tried to make the cut with the router without the tape it becomes very difficult to see what is going on. There is a lot of sawdust flying around when cutting and I think the blue tape just makes it easier to make the cut as square as possible. As you can see here, the area being cut away is framed by the blue tape.

This next picture shows how the trackball plate would look on the control panel if I didn't go through the effort of hiding it. It sits above the panel by about 1/16" and just doesn't look that great (try picturing it without the blue tape). Now you should be getting a better idea of what we are trying to accomplish. By trimming the control panel down by 1/16" the plate can sit flush to the control panel top. Then a vinyl covering can be applied to the entire surface which will hide any imperfections in my less-than-stellar craftsmanship.

STEP 4: Set the depth of the dado cutting bit in the router to the thickness of the trackball plate. It is roughly 1/16" but I was able to get an exact thickness just using the plate itself next to the router bit with the router upside down. Make sure to do this with the router completely unplugged - you don't want to get hurt. I also recommend finding some scrap wood and routing out a square that the plate can rest in to make sure the depth is properly set. You don't want to ruin your control panel! I had to try two different settings before I got it perfect.

STEP 5: While wearing safety glasses, very carefully (and I mean very carefully), place the router in the center of the cutout and turn the router on. Using nothing but your awesome woodworking skills (and the router of course) cut away the wood inside of the square framed by the blue tape. Try getting as close to the tape as possible without actually cutting into it. When you get close to the line the wood should break off pretty evenly because of the scoring done earlier.

The pictures below show what the end result should look like. Notice I wasn't perfect with my lines but I don't have to be - it's all getting covered eventually. Close is good enough here. The trackball plate now sits completely flush with the top of the control panel in the area I just routed out. Pretty sweet, eh?

The next step will be installing the vinyl covering that will make everything look pretty, installing the buttons, joysticks and trackball to the control panel and attaching it to the actual arcade cabinet!! It's starting to come together!

2005-12-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

Hinge for 3rd Control Panel - Installed!!!

This is major news. As you can see by the awesome picture, I was able to attach the metal piano hinge to the third control panel. I used screws and a screwdriver for this tricky installation and it took approximately 5 minutes to install. My skills amaze even myself sometimes...

The hinge is there to provide access to underneath the control panel for maintenance or when I wire the buttons and trackball up for the first time. I left it gold colored (instead of spray painting it black to match) because it will be completely hidden once the cabinet is up and running.

I am glad to get this crucial step in the construction process out of the way - I had been dreading it for months due to its unbelievable complexity. Whew!

2005-12-05T11:48:00.000-05:00

Update!

I was able to size the bezel using the small piece of smoked glass as a template and then cutting it to size using a straight edge and razor. I was also able to round the corners of the bezel to fit into the rabbet in the tabletop with a pair of scissors. I think it came out pretty good.

I also cut the t-molding to fit around the edges of the tabletop and placed the bigger tempered piece of glass on top. Eventually, the glass will be held to the top with some glass clips that screw into the underside of the table and extend out over the top to hold the glass in place.

Here are the latest pictures:

2005-10-26T14:56:00.000-04:00

The Glass for the Table Top has Arrived!

I will post pictures later but it came out pretty good. I had the pieces custom made at the local glass shop and they based it exactly off of my table top which I left with them for reference. Once I print the artwork and apply it, trim the bezel to the correct dimensions and install the t-molding around the sides it will be 100% complete and ready to be attached to the cabinet. That should take no more than an hour or two to do once I have everything in front of me.

I decided to go with two pieces of glass - one smaller smoked piece for the inside that will just cover the surface of the monitor screen and then another clear, tempered piece that will be the actual table top and cover the entire table top. The small piece sits in a groove and is flush with the actual top and the large piece then covers everything.

A smoked piece of glass really makes the monitor picture pop. Check out www.oscarcontrols.com/smoked for a great comparison of smoked versus clear glass over a monitor. The reason I wanted the bigger piece to be clear is so that the artwork would be clearly visible underneath the glass. Any tint or smoke applied to the glass would make the artwork tough to see.

I will be posting detailed pictures later this week so you can see exactly what everything looks like.

2005-10-18T16:25:00.000-04:00

Darth Maul = BADASS!!!

I just got back a piece of the artwork for the top of my cabinet. This is the "finished" Darth Maul picture. He is going to be in the same place as he is in the concept sketch posted from last time. It's not much but you can see the kick ass style I'm going for...

I'm positive the other characters and the final piece with the "Knights of the Arcade Table" font will come out amazing.

Any thoughts or comments?

2005-09-30T23:50:00.000-04:00

Progress: Concept Art!!!

Check this out. The artist that I contacted has sent me a rough sketch for the artwork that will end up on the CPO. I can't say enough about what an amazing talent this guy is - just look at it! I have full confidence that the final result will be nothing less than stunning. There are a few little modifications that need to be done to the layout such as the lettering being repositioned to run down the side of the table top along the monitor but this is EXACTLY the idea I am going for... He is going to make a detailed full size drawing and then color it in photoshop so I can give it to the printer.

This has really motivated me to get the thing up and running - who knows maybe this weekend!

2005-09-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

Control Panel Overlay (CPO) Needed!!

Now it is time for me to start thinking about putting the control panels together. My Player 3/Player 4 control panel needs some artwork before I can install all of the buttons and the trackball. It is pictured to the left and the dimensions are exactly 21" x 6-3/4". As you can see, I am going for the traditional "Street Fighter" six-button setup which will allow me to play most horizontal games in MAME (I'm a huge fighting game fan but I suck at them). There is also going to be a trackball in the middle where the large square cutout is located as well as several admin buttons along the top such as Player 1 Start, Player 2 Start, Exit (to the list of games), Pause, Insert Coin (in case you don't have a quarter), etc. I don't want anything fancy for the CPO - maybe just some sort of general picture of outer space as shown below. It's a little nicer than plain black but it won't overwhelm you or force your eyes away from the main artwork located on the top of the table.

The big square cutout in the middle of the control panel is where the trackball will go. To install it I am going to be using a trackball plate which is just a piece of metal with 4 screws in the corner that will cover the rectangular cutout (you can see the screw holes in the picture of the control panel. In the middle of the plate there is a small circular hole where the actual trackball will stick out so you can use it.

I really don't like the look of the plate so I am going to hide it completely. To do this I need to complete several tasks. First, place the plate in the screw holes and trace it with a pen or marker. Next, remove the plate and you are left with the outline. Here's the tricky part - you need to rout out some of the material in the control panel so the plate will sit flush with the top and then when you lay down the artwork it will be covered completely. The router depth must be set to the thickness of the trackball plate and you should use a dado-cutting bit to make the cut (obtained from www.mlcswoodworking.com). The cut must be done freehand with the router but it doesn't have to be perfect as long as you stay as close to the line that was traced around the plate - any imperfections will be covered by the artwork once it is in place. Make sure to clamp the control panel down to the work bench before making any cuts. You don't want it to get away from you. Once there is a lip formed around the plate, it can be fastened to the control panel and it should be flush with the top.

Now the artwork can be installed over the top of the entire control panel. Once it is applied, flip the control panel over and use an exacto knife (razor blade) to cut out the button holes, the joystick holes and the trackball hole. The only one you have to pay very careful attention to is the trackball hole because it is the only one that is not going to be covered with some sort of trim (bezel) when the buttons are installed.

I will be posting detailed pictures of this process when I actually get around to doing it (hopefully this weekend). Stay tuned!

2005-09-20T13:59:00.000-04:00

No real progress but I'll update anyway...

Wow, where does the time go? I started thinking about this project over a year ago and construction began way back in April and here we are and I'm barely 1/2 way finished. There's still a TON of work left to do.

I haven't been able to find the time to physically work on my arcade in the past few weeks but I have managed to order a few more parts that I need including the artwork! I'm hoping to get started on the interior construction on Sunday. The New York Football Giants don't play until 8 p.m. so the entire day should be free. I recently contacted an artist named Tom Hodges (www.tomhodges.com) who has graciously agreed to draw me a custom Star Wars theme for my cab in the same style as the pictures below with "Knights of the Arcade Table" in a large font to go along the sides of the monitor (for a price of course but it's well worth it). It should take a few weeks at least before the artwork is finished but if it comes out 1/2 as good as these pictures he has drawn it will look unbelievable. Go check out his website and order some art from him!

Pretty cool looking, eh? Tom has agreed to send me the drawing as a photoshop file so I can have it printed by the people over at www.mamemarquees.com. I've never used them before but from what I've heard they do an outstanding job and the customer service is top notch. I will post a mini-review when I reveive the final vinyl overlay from them but it will probably not be for quite some time. First, Tom has to draw the picture and send it to me. Once the file has arrived, I will have to position it on a template (against a black background) in the opposite corners of the table top and it will be ready to print. The file size I requested from Tom is 300DPI (dots per inch), which is a very high resolution so the printed result should have a photographic look to it - very smooth lines and no jagged or pixelated edges. This will be the most important part of the cabinet from a visual standpoint because it is what your eye will be drawn to upon seeing it.

Check out the SWEET layout I drew. Anyone should be able to tell exactly what I'm going for, right? Hahaha... yeah, I don't really have any artistic talent as far as drawing is concerned but you get the idea... I actually sent this to Tom!!! I hope he can figure it out - I didn't really specify a design other than wanting a drawing of jedi knights with their lightsabers out and ready to kick some ass...

More to come later!

2005-09-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

I'm a Liar...

OK, I didn't get a chance to wire up my cabinet this weekend like I planned but I hope to do so in the coming weeks. I think I need to make a list of all of the outstanding things that need to be done for this project or I'll never finish - kind of like a punchlist. I need some sense of order because right now it seems like there are a million little things to do and no real order to them.

I did manage to snap a few pictures of the various internal components that will go inside the cabinet (eventually!) for those of you who are curious about that sort of thing. The first two pictures here show the front and back views of the monitor I ordered from Happs Controls (http://happscontrols.com). It's a Vision Pro 19" Horizontal Mount Monitor (Part Number 49-1337-VP2) and it is awesome. I can't believe how nice the games look when this thing is fired up. I forgot to take pictures of it with games running but I will sometime in the future. It really looks exactly like a real arcade game!

Notice all that wiring in the rear of the monitor - it makes me nervous even thinking about installing it! Monitors should be handled very delicately because there are some high voltage areas and even when turned off, it can retain its charge. Also, there is a risk of an implosion if you bump it hard enough although I've heard that it is no less dangerous than handling a 19" TV - in other words, as long as you are careful it should be perfectly safe to work with.

The coolest part about this monitor (other than the great picture) is that it is super easy to hook up to a computer. Since a computer is what will ultimately be running the software inside the cabinet and I don't really know much about computers, this is essential. As you can see by the blurry picture here, there is a standard computer monitor plug thingy that goes right into the back of the computer. All you do it plug it in, hook it up to the computer and turn the computer on and you are good to go. The monitor also powers off when the computer shuts down and turns on again when the computer starts up. This means that when I wire the computer power button to somewhere on the cabinet (probably underneath) the monitor will power on automatically! Think about it - it would totally take you out of the "authentic arcade experience" if you had to individually power everything on every time you wanted to play. Once everything is hooked up, one button will do the trick to get everything going (there's also something called a "Smart Strip" which is a special power strip that everything plugs into inside the cabinet which I will explain later on).

2005-09-08T16:14:00.000-04:00

Totally Boring Update:

OK. I've decided to go with a piece of 3/16" smoked glass for the monitor (it will sit on top of the bezel in the groove already cut to accept the bezel and hopefully be flush with the tabletop) and a piece of 1/8" clear tempered glass for the table top. I really want smoked glass over the monitor but I'm afraid if I use it for the entire top I will not be able to see the artwork. I've been told that old atari cocktail tables used to be set up this way. I really hope it works!

I just got back from the local glass shop and priced everything out - $150 for everything. It's expensive as hell but, get this, the tempering process for the top is $100 of the cost! I went with 1/8" because that is all the glass clips could accept (1/4" was too thick). The guy at the shop recommended tempering it because of the thinness of the piece and I kind of agree because tempering makes it 5 times stronger. Basically I just don't want someone to accidentally drop a bottle of beer or something on it and then end up in the emergency room.

I'm not sure when the glass will be ready to pick up but it doesn't really matter because I still need the artwork to completely finish the table top.

Tomorrow I'm going to be wiring the entire thing up! I'm excited because it should be somewhat playable by the end of the day!!! Then I will never get anything more done ever because I will be playing Ms. Pac-man nonstop. Oh well...

2005-08-30T18:04:00.000-04:00

Progress at Last!!!

I was finally able to finish the exterior of my cab. I used a Minwax water-based stain (blue, obviously) and a Minwax Polyacrylic finish. I applied 2 coats of the stain to get the color I wanted and 4 coats of the finish to seal it up. I applied the stain with a rag and rubbed it in (OK, it was 1/2 of a white t-shirt) and I applied the sealant with a foam brush. In between each coat of sealant I sanded the entire thing down by hand with a sanding block (a rubber thing with sandpaper on the bottom) and then wiped it clean with a damp rag (the other 1/2 of the white t-shirt). The reason for sanding in between each coat of sealant is so the next coat will have a rough surface to adhere to. The final coat does not get sanded.

There is a very smooth glass-like surface over the wood now. When this thing is (finally) in operation and I am in a heated game of Tetris, Puzzle Bobble 4 or some Mortal Kombat 2 and I spill my beer everywhere it should wipe up very easily. One thing I did notice as I was staining the cabinet is that if I could do it over I think I would finish the pieces individually prior to assembly. I think gravity combined with not being able to get into the corners as well as I wanted to with the brush made the thing come out a little uneven. I stress a little though because I do think it looks quite nice. You can't really tell from these pictures but the stain shows off the wood grain very nicely even though it looks like I painted the thing blue. Notice the Atari 5200 box in the background of the picture to the left. I'm soooo old school!

This shot is a close-up of the Player 2 side of the thing. You can see the t-molding on the edges - this will eventually cover all of the exposed edges of the plywood. It wasn't easy to cut the t-molding to the proper length because of the curved surface I had to apply it to. Also, getting a 90 degree cut on the edge of the t-molding is pretty difficult even though it sounds easy. I used a straight razor knife and eyeballed it. I think it came out OK but I'm sure there is a more precise way to make the cuts. I also sliced my thumb in the process and got a little blood on there (not pictured). Thank god for the smooth finish - it wiped right up!

To the right is a shot of the cabinet with the top on (not attached) and the coin door closed. If you look closely you can see the groove routed out around the top piece - this is for the 1" t-molding that will eventually go around the outside. I am waiting to get the piece of glass made and the artwork applied before I install it though. That will be one of the last pieces of construction. You can also see the difference t-molding makes by comparing the unfinished sides of the control panel to the finished ones in the picture above. I sure do talk about t-molding a lot, eh? Well, it does look nice... This is basically how it will look when it is finished minus the artwork and the controls. The hole in the middle is for the wiring of the buttons, joysticks and trackball and will not be visible once everything is installed.

In this picture you can see the inside of the coin door. I've never wired anything up before but I don't think it is too hard to figure out (I'll probably be saying something different when I actually start though). The coin door will be set to accept quarters and tokens. The coins trip a microswitch (I'll explain that later when I start talking about wiring more in-depth) that sends a signal to the computer and the MAME program will know that a coin has been inserted and will allow you to press start and play whatever game you have loaded. It is a true arcade experience - you've got to put a quarter in to be able to play! I am also planning including a "coin" button on the face of each control panel and wiring them all to the same place so that you won't actually have to insert a coin every time you want to play but you can if you want to make it more authentic. There are also 2 lights for the "coin return" buttons that need power from the computer to light up. I'm not sure how these things work yet because I haven't come across a "coin return" button in MAME but I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

This final picture of my arcade cabinet for today is just a shot of what will eventually be the top. As mentioned previously, there will be a piece of tempered smoked glass that will go on top and be held down by some clips. The glass will go over the monitor cut out as well as the cutouts on the left and right so it will basically be rectangular in shape (with rounded corners). The most important part of this project (other than the games actually working) is the artwork which will cover the top entirely. Click on the Ms. Pac-man example I posted below to see exactly what I mean. If the artist I've asked agrees to draw me some custom Star Wars art for the top like I described in my last post, this thing will totally kick ass.

Click for an example of a cocktail overlay graphic.

Stay tuned - I hope to post more pictures soon!!

2005-08-29T20:14:00.000-04:00

I am going to be posting more pictures soon showing off the t-molding and staining of the cabinet. It is coming along nicely. One bit of news is that I've finally decided on a name for my creation:

Knights of the Arcade Table

The idea I have pictured in my head is a Star Wars theme. I would like a drawing of several Jedis (Knights, get it?) for the top of the cabinet around the monitor with their lightsabers drawn. I'm a huge geek but I don't think naming the thing and giving it a Star Wars theme makes me any more of a geek than building my own arcade machine does in the first place. It's like I've maxed out my geekiness or something. I'm reaching out to a very talented artist (who shall remain nameless until he agrees to do it) to draw the artwork. Hopefully he will accept the job!!

More to come....

2005-08-26T23:57:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures of my work in progress. It's nothing new, really - just a couple of different angles.

The first picture here is a straight on view of the third control panel. Eventually there will be two joysticks, a 2-1/4" trackball and 12 action buttons (6 per player) here for controlling the horizontal games. You can also see the coin door cutout below the long control panel.

The second picture is a shot of the player one control panel. There is going to be one joystick, 3 action buttons and a spinner here (for games like Arkanoid). Underneath the player one control panel I am going to have to drill two large holes - one for a computer fan and the other for a speaker. I have black grills that will cover the holes and match the rest of the cabinet. The fans are an absolute necessity due to the electrical components (computer and monitor, especially) being so compact in there.

In the close-up shown in the third picture, if you look closely you can see the groove on the end pieces where the t-molding is going to go. The t-molding gives the piece a nice neat finished look instead of the rough edges left by the saw.

The final shot is a close-up of the interior of the cabinet where the computer, all the wiring and the monitor will be placed once I get around to it. It will probably be a rat's nest of wires since I've never done something like this before and I really don't know what I'm doing. The back panel of the cabinet is missing because this is where you gain access to all of the internal components. There is a piano hinge that connects the missing panel to the bottom front panel in the last picture. The top of the table (not pictured anywhere) connects to the missing panel and holds the monitor. The top, the monitor and the missing panel all swivel on the piano hinge when I need to get inside for maintenance (hopefully never!).

2005-08-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can see I've got a picture to share with more to come in a few days. This is the 80% assembled, unfinished cabinet. Since this picture was taken, I've stained the entire thing a dark shade of blue and added the plastic trim (called t-molding) and installed the coin door. That's right - this sucker is going to be able to accept real quarters or tokens when it is all finished - just like a real arcade machine does. Of course I'll have it set to free play but the option is there.

I've also started the assembly of the control panels which will house all of the the joysticks and buttons. This project has three separate control panels - 2 on the short sides for vertical games (like Pac-man) and one 2-player long one for playing horizontal games (like Street Fighter II). The difference between a horizontal game and a vertical game is the way it is oriented on the screen. Your normal picture tube television displays everything in 4:3 mode or horizontally. If you were to turn the TV on its side it would now be positioned to display games in vertical mode. There are many different games out there that come in both varieties.

Overall it's not looking too bad so far but once I get some new pictures posted here you will really be able to see something neat. I'm aiming to post new pictures by Monday. Stay tuned!

2005-08-24T17:06:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I've never used a blog before and up until a few weeks ago I didn't even know what one was so I apologize in advance if this one sucks. This is going to be a place for me to post pictures and detail the progress of building my own arcade machine. I might use it for something else down the road though - you never know.

Anyway, about a 18 months ago I was wasting time surfing the web and I came across www.arcadecontrols.com which is a great website dedicated to arcade enthusiasts who have actually taken the time to design and build their own arcade machines. As soon as I saw what people had been doing I knew I had to build one myself. I spent countless hours in arcades growing up in the 80s and it would be so cool to be able to play all those old games again in my own house.

Over the next few months, I learned all about how these things worked. You could build you own, buy an old one and restore it or have someone build you one (there are tons of companies I never knew about who cater to arcade machines and the like). There are a million different joysticks, spinners, trackballs, pushbuttons, steering wheels etc. and a million ways to lay it all out. You also have to decide what you want to play the games on - a monitor or TV? It can be overwhelming at first. I think the best approach is to figure out which games you want to be able to play and design it to accommodate that. Inside the cabinet, most people use a computer and a program called MAME, which is used to play the games. That's the (very) basics I guess. What I like most about this hobby (aside from the finished product) is that it is completely up to the builder to decide how it looks - there are a lot of unique cabinets out there!

After doing a TON of research and basically reading everything I could I decided on building a cocktail cabinet. I thought about building an upright but there's just no room in my house for one - maybe when I get a bigger house I'll have a dedicated game room with all sorts of fun stuff in there but for now the cocktail will have to do.

I'll post more details along with some construction photos later on...