Arcade machine

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Mods please move if I have posted in the wrong place.

I have been wanting to build an arcade machine for ages now and have finally made a start. I have a design, the wood is coming on Tuesday and the buttons have been ordered. All I need now is a old pc and a 19 crt monitor.

I am hoping to use it to run a few older games unreal, wolfenstein and other classics.

Has anyone had experience of building these and if so could you give me any advice before i start my build.

cheers.
 
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Soldato
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I made one but I just used an old jamma cab and then used the jpac from ultimarc.com and the arcadevga to hook the pc to the cabinet. Arcadecontrols and ultimarc as posted where the main sites I used.

I think theres a video of a guy making an arcade box in the hack 5 videos -

http://hak5.org/
 
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I've built my own and designed a few others, I'm at work now so don't have access to much of my stuff so heres the only pic I have at hand, it's the controller section.

ArcadeController.jpg


At the moment the rest of the cabinet it currently packed away in storage following a house move. This is one project I'd really like to get up and running again and finish off the few bits I never got to complete.

Whilst building it I put together a full build diary and web site so if you want any more infomation/pics just let me know.

Note : These threads will get canned VERY quickly if any mention of emulation gets mentioned, so stick to the hardware and this shouldn't disappear.
 
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This really makes me want to finish my arcade controller. I bought all the buttons and one of those keyboard encoders from ultimarc but I never got round to actually finishing the controller.
 
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oh boy cant wait to get started soon. A mate has given me a mboard and a duron 800 with 256 ram. He doesnt know if it works but if it does theres another item of my list.
 

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I built one last year. I'd advise you to try and find something bigger than a 19", especially if the cab's going to be full size, I found an old 25" Hantarex monitor on ebay, it gives it a more genuine look. Use lots of paint, at least 4 coats but 6 is better.
 
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For those of you interested. Managed to cut the wood to shape this weekend.
I am using the template found here http://users.adelphia.net/~seanhat/arcade/
I didnt quite realise how big it would be.
I have now got the buttons and joystick. I think I now have a full system based round a 800 athlon (havent tested it yet).
It looks like this will be a long process. I used mdf and it looks like it will need primer and about 4 coats of paint before I can assemble it. (Too big to assemble and move into the room I want it in so painting it first.
Hoping to get the painting finished in next 2 weeks then onto the buttons.
 
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I am feeling inspired by this thread .....

I spent last night browsing the web for articles on this it seems you require :

Some woodworking skills, an old PC, an old TV/Monitor/real arcade monitor, some software (easily available) and the buttons and joysticks aer suprisingly cheap.
If going the PC route you need a board to emulate keyboard presses via the arcade machines buttons.

Are we allowed to discuss the emulation software ?

The one area of such a project that has me saying "hmmmmmm" to myself is the monitor. Ideally I would want a BIG monitor. At least 21" probably more which looks like TV territory to me. There are the original WELLS GARDNER monitors but I can't find any for sale either new or second hand.

What did you use Gordy ?

Secondly if the arcade game is going to do more than just play emulated games then would a PC monitor infact be better ? There is no reason that this device couldn't browse the web and even be used to play the original Xbox on.

Does anyone have any experience with different monitors and the pros and cons?
 
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VIRII said:
Are we allowed to discuss the emulation software ?
Not here. :(

As for monitors try having a look round for old 24" CRTs being removed from offices etc, should be able to pick them up for a good price.

Depending on which front end you choose to use you can setup the machine to run all sorts of games, emulation (of course legal ones :) ), PC games, and with the right adaptors you can even wire in a console or two.

The PC I had in my cabinet was also being used as my backup server for the rest of the machines in the house
 
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GSXRMovistar said:
Not here. :(

As for monitors try having a look round for old 24" CRTs being removed from offices etc, should be able to pick them up for a good price.

Depending on which front end you choose to use you can setup the machine to run all sorts of games, emulation (of course legal ones :) ), PC games, and with the right adaptors you can even wire in a console or two.

The PC I had in my cabinet was also being used as my backup server for the rest of the machines in the house

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "front end" ?
Initially I expect to be running a win2k machine and an emulator.
It would be good to be able to run my old xbox in there as well.
 

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Instead of booting into Windows you can install a front end that allows you to launch games and from a GUI, it's essentially an Arcade OS. I didn't bother with one because it was a bit fiddly getting the settings right and I used Windows a lot as well.
 
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VIRII said:
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "front end" ?
Initially I expect to be running a win2k machine and an emulator.
It would be good to be able to run my old xbox in there as well.
Frontend is like the menu system can be used to lauch various games/emulators. Have to be careful here as I don't want to discuss anything that crosses the OcUK line.

But when my cabinet fires up it presents you with a menu system showing the current games system selected and a list of games for that system. Using the joystick (up/down) I can scroll though the games seeing a screenshot of each game.

Moving the joystick (left/right) changes the current games system and thus giving you a new list of games. MP3, movies etc can also be launch off the same menu using just the controls on the cabinet (ie no additional mouse/keyboard needed).

If you want anymore info this would probably be better discussed outside of OcUK. Email and MSN are in my profile/trust and I'll be about this evening answer any questions. :)
 
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kurt_wylde said:
GSXRMovistar.. MASSIVELY impressed with your work.
Just had a browse through your website then and I'm totally jealous..lol

I agree that is a fantastic example, mine will be no where near as good as that I just dont have the necessary skills.

Would be interested in more info wbout the front end menu system. Email in trust if necessary.

I will take a few pics at the weekend when all the wood has been cut and I have my first coat of paint on.

As for the buttons I managed to get mine of ebaybut they are expensive. I was thinking about just going for the whole already made joystick consoles it was only about £20 more expensive but I fancied the challenge of making it myself.

I have managed to get myself a 19 monitor and it will have to do until I can get something bigger. Was thinking of getting a cheap graphics card with tv out and running the games that way.
 
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