The Arcade Blog

Finally got around to installing the monitor bezel and configuring the joysticks and buttons.

One thing I realized is that I mounted the joysticks upside down. At least they are fully configurable in Mame and up is now down and down is up

The graphics on the TV is not as clear as I would like it to be – need to look into why this is, but its all very playable and have already put a few hours into bubble bobble The camera pics are a bit out of focus so it looks a lot worse than it really is.

Windows startup logo replaced with Mame

I still haven’t quite finished things off yet – still need to configure the buttons and finished off the PC setup. Hopefully I”ll get some time soon and finish it off. It’s 99% complete

Connected up the coin door mechanism and wired it into the joystick.

Inserted push to make reset button to power on the PC. I thought this last minute add on might be useful as then I don’t have to keep opening the door to power on the PC.

Wired up my DIY amplifier. Its  a bit of a hack job but in the end it sounds great and works well and didn’t cost much as all to put together.

All the electronics are almost all wired up

Control panel installed. Its not as flush as I’d like it to be. I might still have to work out what to do on the corner as there is a small gap.

I struggled to find a decent way to mount the marquee. Eventually after checking up on a few sites, the best way to do it is to have some perspex installed in the inside. The marquee is then fitted between the inside perspex and the marquee perspex.

Marquee installed – its also not 100% as there is a small gap at the top. I’ll fix this later on on v2 on the cabinet

CPO and Marquee Artwork

Speaker grill installed

Now would be a good time to check is the TV actually works!

Still need to install the TV bezel.

Printed out the CPO on vinyl, installed the joysticks and buttons and wired up.

Painting all done!! Time to start assembling the electronics

I’ve build a small 2 x 10W stereo  amplifier for the TV speakers from a few electronics components.

http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/tda2005-power-audio.php

After a light sand applied the first coat of orange paint. Its finally starting to look like a arcade machine!

Second coat on the back door – all ready to paint now.

Purchased the rest of the perspex from Maisey’s and started cutting out the holes in the perspex for the control panel. Disaster struck – I pushed down on the drill too hard and it cracked

2nd attempt – a few lessons learned. Take it slower and drill half the depth from each side of the perspex. The holes then came out perfect.

Fitted the joysticks to the control panel.

Also added a mains rocker switch to the cabinet so I can have one switch will will switch on the PC, lights, TV etc.

Added in screw caps

Gave the MDF a light sanding, filled in a few holes, masked off the TV and am now ready to apply the primer. Wood work finally done!

Made all the measurements for the 2 joysticks, 2 x player buttons and 2 sets of 8 buttons.

Routed out the bit for the joysticks.

Also screwed in the speaker panels. I was going to use brackets but its difficult to access them on the inside of the cabinet so I ended up screwing them in on the sides.

Once its all done I’ll use those plastic caps to hide the screws.