Goblincat

Since the last update I build a control panel box, masked off and painted the monitor cover, and added the moulding to the control panel. Here is is:



As you can see, even a 21" monitor looks a little small in this monster. I'll probably swap it out for a 25"-27" TV at some point, but this will work for now.

Here is the control panel:



I'm ordering new bearings for the trackball so that it will spin nice and fast. I'm also going to add a spinner at some point.

I still have to paint the white edges of the monitor black, and wire the controls up to the encoder. I'm hoping to have the computer in it by Saturday, and I am getting the complete MAME collection on CD's soon, as my current collection is a mess of outdated and missing ROMs.

DAC

Very nice. How are you wiring the buttons to the computer?

Goblincat

I have the I-PAC keyboard encoder from http://www.ultimarc.com/
It hooks to the keyboard port and translates button pushes and joystick directions as keystrokes.

I'm also getting the opti-pac, which translates the trackball and spinner into the mouse port.

DAC

That is very nice work you have there. I just recently discovered MAME and am thinking that someday I will do the same. How long have you been working on this?

DAC

And how much money do you have tied up in it?

I appologize if you may have mentioined this in other posts already.

Goblincat

I've been working on it since May. It took a long time because I had other big projects to work on over the Summer, such as finishing the basement and building a new home theater.

Blake is also building one. He has a pretty in depth site about his here:
http://www.movielocity.com/mame/

Goblincat

You know, I really haven't kept close track of the spending on this, so I don't have a clue. One advantage I had was having the monitor and computer lying around before I started. Also, I was able to borrow many of the tools I needed.

All in all though, I really have no idea how much I have spent.
Blake is keeping track of his spending. Maybe his site can give you some insight.

DAC

I have a computer and monitor collecting dust and thought I might give this a try. Would like to turn the basement into an entertainment room with the home theater setup. bar and video games.

Abranut

Goblincat-

Looks Great! Man, I really started to drool when I saw that trackball.

I'm jealous. Good work.

edstein

Excellent work Goblincat. If I remember right, you had this unit in a very low ceiling area in your basement. Is your home theater done? And, where in the room will you place the arcade unit?

Goblincat

That is pretty much what I did with my basement. It is great.

Here is a kinda dark and grainy pic:
http://people.mw.mediaone.net/mdough...s/new/room.jpg

The main room is 15'x44'. I painted, carpeted, and put in new trim. There are no windows so that light is easy to control. I put in a Toshiba 50H81 just over a month ago to finish it off. Great TV.
I've got a pool table in there, but I don't really like it (it's old and kinda cheap), so it will be taken out at some point soon. I would like to add a ping-pong table in its place.

Overall, the arcade game is a great addition. I'm thinking of building a second one next year. Possibly a sit-down with a steering wheel.

Goblincat

Thanks!

I have to thank kvrdave for donating the trackball. He pulled it from an old arcade game he had in storage. Thanks again Dave!

Goblincat

Thanks!

The ceiling is only about 6 1/2 feet, so it fits with a few inches to spare.

The home theater is done (I linked a pic above). The location of the arcade in that pic is where it will stay.

Here is the theater equipment list:

Toshiba 50H81
Yamaha HT5460 receiver
Toshiba SD1700 DVD player
Infinity CC3 center
Infinity RS3 fronts
JBL N24 surrounds
AudioSource SW-15 sub

BigDave

I hope you're not too tall. That low of a ceiling would be freaking me out, but then I am 6'4".

Cool HT though! One day, I will have one too.

Goblincat

I'm 6'1".

It might be a few inches more that 6'6", because it doesn't seem that bad. I'll have to measure it when I get home.

LarLar

Off topic (sorry) - but you might want to rethink the ping-pong table with a ceiling that low. I think you'd really be limited in how you play - not to mention the possiblity of some skinned knuckles and broken ceiling tiles. Of course, I'm a bit of a reckless player - I live for the huge smash.

On topic - I'd love to build one of these cabinets, but I just don't have the room. Some day I will, so I'm following your progress with great interest. Thanks for keeping us informed.

kvrdave

Lookin' sweet. Did the trackball bearings just not work, or are you replacing them to work as a mouse would. I remember the thing pulled one way, but never bothered to even try to clean it.

Goblincat

A couple of the bearings are rusty and don't spin real well. Because of this I think it pulled one way due to the bearings being more stiff on one side. I have all new rollers for it and new bearings on the way soon.

In a somewhat related story, last week I was cleaning the ball and the plastic housing in the kitchen sink. I placed the ball on the counter and started working on the other parts when the ball rolled off the edge and fell on my big toe. Was bad enough to drop me to the floor in pain. Didn't break anything, but hurt like crazy.

What game did you say it came out of again? I forget. Wasn't it Golden Tee or something like that?

Goblincat

I'll didn't really think about that. I have to check it out and see if it will be a problem. Thanks for the advice.

kvrdave

Big toe

It came out of U.S. Classic Golf, which I think was the first gold game to use the ball. Looooooong before the glory days of Golden Tee

Goblincat

This?

kvrdave

That is it, but that looks pretty darn rough. Yeah, the cabinet is just siting in storage with a 4 player x-men cabinet. In about two years I will probably buy more. I go through too many "phases"

Goblincat

Are you still planning on converting the X-men to MAME (when you eventually get the time after the kids have moved out )?

kvrdave

That is still the plan. Right now I am just rearranging my game room and trying to hook up all my consoles in a way that doesn't llok like crap. I jsut sold my last pin because I decided I would if there was ever a 6 month period where it didn't get used once. Nice thing about those is you can typically sell them for what you bought them for and just consider it a swap. Some day I will get some more of those too.

edstein

I don't think your room is per code. Not that anyone would check but, the minimum height is 7 feet. Code

You may be required to change this before you can sell your house. Just a friendly reminder.