Jump to content
Due to a large amount of spamers, accounts will now have to be approved by the Admins so please be patient. ×
IGNORED

First time MAME cabinet maker to be. Need some ideas.


Recommended Posts

Hi all, another newbie looking for some advice.

 

I have been reading a few topics here and am now thoroughly confused about what I wish to make.

I had planned on making/modding an upright cabinet to be used primarily for fighting games but as my budget is lower than low I'm not so sure I could do it any justice using the parts I have got already.

 

I don't think I'm up for making a fully authentic build yet. As my first cabinet I'd like to use some stuff I have to save as many dollars as possible.

Primarily I think this means using my spare 21" PC monitor for a display and the spare P4 PC for the MAMEing.

I have a birthday any minute and I have been offered some credits for sticks and buttons too so I should be right for those if I can make up my mind on what to get.

 

I'm thinking the PC monitor will be too small for an upright cabinet. I'm toying with the idea of a cocktail cabinet now.

I'd love to have one as a coffee table in the lounge room and I don't want an upright for fighting If I'm unhappy with it's display.

 

So any opinions on the use of the PC monitor?

It is a flat Trinitron 21" and still displays a pretty good image.

 

I'd planned on using some cheap USB joypads for the joystick guts. How does that sound? I've remade an old SNES H.E.S tank for my PC like that.

 

If I do go the cocktail cab is it easy enough to retrofit an old arcade cabinet or should I be looking at building one?

 

Any ideas are most welcome. I'm getting more confused by the second.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mate, 21" is fine for an upright. most ppl use a 19" from my experience, cept if your talking a very large upright aka shooter style. Cheapest way will be an upright simply because cocktails go for more then uprights second hand. Normally can find an empty upright from 50-100 if your lucky. Depending on how expensive the cab is, buying can be cheaper, but if an empty cab is going to cost you something like 200-250+ u might as well build if you have the know how. More work but can build for cheaper then 250. If your going to hack the usb to use it for mame, there is a thread in the mame section about hacking game pads off a website called deal extreme, there are some really good ones on there. All is explained in the thread
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on how big a cab you wanted the 21" would be more than sufficient. Best bet would be to keep an eye out for cab on ebay, theres been a few in nsw on there lately. Or if you've got good wood working skills you could easily build a cocktail or say a lowboy for about $100 worth of wood depending on what you went for. Do a search for cocktail or lowboy and you should get a few ideas for a cabinet if you decide to go the build route.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well thanks for the assurance guys. I'm back on track for an uprght then!

My mate is heavily into emulation and has told me he can set up custom resolutions for me that will make the monitor look much more arcade like when running.

 

I have minimal woodworking skills but I do have 2 Carpenter friends that owe me favours ;)

 

OK so then I am planning to order a couple of the Sanwa sticks most probably from OzStick as they seem reliable and have prices on par with the other suppliers I found.

I think they would be the best match for a fighting game centered machine, opinions?

 

I am also considering their budget model coin mech. I don't need one that is super reliable or has provision for differing coins, 20c pieces at 1 coin = 1 credit is all I'm after and I'll have a sneaky credit button too.

Does that coin mech fit the bill ok?

 

I'd like some advice on buttons too as I'm not the biggest fan of the sanwa ones I've used in arcades. They feel a little too easy to press and also to short in their travel distance. I may be wrong but that's my memory of them.

I've found the normal Aussie machine buttons to be of a lower quality and sometimes sticky. Maybe that is becuase of the fact I've only had experience with old second hand buttons though?

 

Going to start the cabinet searching at my local couple of suppliers.

Does anyone have experience with the local amusement guys on the Central Coast?

I have shopped for bits at a place over Tuggerah before but they were a bit pricey for second hand parts. I just got a 2nd hand stick and buttons from them and it was a while ago so I'm not even sure they are still around.

 

Very helpful forums here guys, thanks again for the help. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are the I-pac there is built in macros including at quick 5 credit so no need to add an extra button ;)

 

Check the manual it will tell you all about them...

 

I've used just the standard cheep buttons if they get sticky you can just open them up and clean them very ease. They are only 2 bits of plastic and a spring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Shtonkalot,

 

The Sanwa sticks are always the "right" way to go as they are excellent quality and have a very smooth action to them. The dimpletop buttons I sell are really good too and definitely an improvement over buttons in a well used arcade cab that has had its control panel soaked repeatedly in Coke over the course of a few years!

 

As far as a coin mech is concerned my CM03 'budget' mech will fit the bill perfectly and it can be adjusted to fit any round coin you want it to.

 

For the interface, obviously I would try to sway you toward the I-PAC, if for no other reason than it is much easier to hook up to than hacking a gamepad. Some people won't justify the extra price, but it's a matter of weighing up the extra time you spend hacking a gamepad against the extra cost of the I-PAC........

 

Cheers,

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Chris.

 

I will go with the arrangement you suggested except for the I-PAC thingo. It looks great and all but I am on a budget build and already have the required bits for the gamepad hacks now.

I don't mind the extra work to save the bucks though anyway. I'm pretty used to spending time rather than money, I value my time but when I work on something for myself I charge a lower rate ;)

 

I'll get some of those buttons, they look like the ones I've had issues with but I'm pretty confident that buying new rather than second hand and also getting new quality switches with them will eliminate my probs.

The buttons will be a separate order though as I have to pay for those myself.

 

I'll email my pal the details and I believe the order will be placed in the next couple of days.

 

**edit**

Oh crap now I have to figure out what colour ball tops to go...

I hadn't thought of the cabinet colouring yet, black is safe but boring... Red is pretty standard... AGGHH!!! confused again!

 

Can I buy different ball tops later on and are they easy to change?

 

**edit again**

Just read the joystick page on OzStick and my questions were all answered about the ball tops. I'll go with Red and no doubt change my mind later and buy more tops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't want to throw a spanner in the works here, but regarding the buttons.

I HATE the microswitch type buttons, they seem to be iffy when you don't push them down in the dead centre, if you push one side more heavily than the other it will activate the switch at a slightly different time.

 

Since your on a budget, go with the ozstick offering, but if you can lay your hands on some leaf switch buttons later on (search my previous posts on this), you will probably like the action and feel a lot better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the tip biggeorge.

I'll have a search now. I assume they are still using microswitches though yeah? Just the 'leafed' ones... searching...

 

The weight required to activate them is a lot less, and you do "feel" the contact point by a little resistance, but no distinct loud CLICK when it goes.
I'm not sure this is what I'm after. I like the buttons needing more push and having a definite on or off feeling. As long as the ones I get aren't overly loud the noise won't bother me.

The uneven push is something I hadn't thought about though.

 

I have a bit of time to change my mind on buttons but I cant seem to find many alternatives available to buy. I think I'll still go with the OzStick ones and change later if necessary.

 

**edit**

Then again...

The feel is EXACTLY what I was after.

The buttons themselves actually sit a little higher off the rim, compared to the microswitch type and this is what I wanted mostly, but the switch action engages around 2/3 of the way down the button travel and activate no matter what angle you hit them at...

 

...They feel slightly more heavily sprung than the standard ones, but that is cool as well.

That Does sound like what I'm after. That quote was about your buttons from MikesArcade I assume you're talking about the same ones.

 

Might have to get to meet up where someone has one to try out or otherwise find one to press.

 

So confused about almost every aspect of this..

Edited by shtonkalot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as a coin mech is concerned my CM03 'budget' mech will fit the bill perfectly and it can be adjusted to fit any round coin you want it to.

 

Any round coin?

 

 

I had the idea to use my old Australian pennies for credits, but alas, they were too big for the unit. You might want to change that to "Most" round coins ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...