Show us your WIP (Work In Progress) For those who don't know

Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Posts
29
Here is a small table top /bar top cab i have been working on.

The speakers were from so old PC setup that i tore apart and added to the top of the cab and found some cool covers for it, the covers were the press in place type for the original use so i just drilled out holes to match and pressed into place and it worked like a charm.

The monitor is an old dell 15 inch i believe, so i took the mounting bracket apart and kept the metal plate that attaches to the monitor and bolted it on the cross member.

To help with power needs I got a simple PSU from one of my favorite sellers on Ebay TwistedQuarter (has good prices on a lot of parts) as for the wiring it was a bit tricky but not bad, I didn't want to have use two plug outlets for one machine so I installed a box and receptacle right inside the machine, this powers the monitor and still leaves a plug open (maybe some lights haven't got that far yet, but the point is with the free plug options are there.

To convert the signal to VGA I put a simple converter that you can get almost anywhere but beware some are better than others!. Running the video from the Jamma harness to the converter is a snap as it is designed to take the standard Jamma plug then back out the the VGA cable it goes, (Note: some tweaking my have to take place to get a good clean signal and there are pots on the board for this)

To save time I bought a premade Jamma harness.

The two buttons on the front panel are test mode and reset switches that any harness should be wired for.

The controllers are all Happ buttons and sticks with brand new micro switches. The quarters on the controllers are fixed and will not come off unless you pry them off, I used crazy glue and yes if you can see them in the picture they are from 1984 I went out of my way to get quarters from that year for my own reason :-) .....ahh the memories. Ok back to reality here, All the wiring inside the controllers was done by me (in fact it all was lol) just go to your local Radio Shack or favorite electronics stone and get yourself the proper gauge wire. Inside the cab and on the controllers i used a 15 pin connector and matching cable to attach the controller to the cab. I am looking into going wireless but that might be a pain, I was also going to make a setup were you can attach the controller back to the cab and use it like a real arcade cab but that went out the window as of right now.

The back of the cab opens on hinges as you can see. I am currently working on a fast swap mounting system for my PCB's, the idea is to be able to pull the door down and have the board right there, add the harness to a slider of some sort and use a mount system for the boards either with mounting feet or without :i preferred with feet but due to so many different board sizes and setups it will be a challenge.

Please remember this is a Work In Progress not a finished product so keep the negative comments to a dull roar. On the other hand any suggestions or helpful comments are welcome:-)

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vinnyguy

n00b
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Posts
46
Nice work! My current project looks like a rats nest. I got it to the point where the games play on it and then the project fell drastically on the priority list.
What game are you gonna throw in there?
My advice is you make it as pretty as you want it to be before you start playing games on it because if you're like me once you realize it's good enough then the work might not seem worth it.
Oh and...
Don't get scurvy
 
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Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Posts
29
Thanks, Shes a little dusty on the underside. She gets used a bit, when I first got it first thing i did was replace all the buttons and both sticks. Went with my favorite Happ sticks and buttons (Not to bad a price for a good stick and buttons) The EL acts funny, some lights some don't work some do :think that's my next project: but don't know how hard it would be to get parts. As far as games go it loves the MS series but she only gets treated to MS 1 2 and X, sometimes when shes naughty she gets SS3 or Fatal Fury2. When she wanted to relax I would put in Neo Turf Masters, Blues journey or a puzzle bobble, But the dirty whore was never without her MOTW, she always had it stuck in her #4 slot. Sorry bout that hahaha I get carried away when I talk about my first love :-)
 
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Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Posts
29
Well I have had a few games in already, sorry bout the other post got lost on where I was :-), She's had The Main Event PCB, TMNT, Double Dragon, but DD the video is flipped for some reason. I know I can't put any shooting games (Light Gun) due to the monitor not being a tube, I heard somewhere that someone got it working by either new design of the guns or some hack/mod but im not sure and I don't want to go tinkering with something that works where it was meant to. Yes I know about getting cabs into running shape and letting the rest fall by the wayside, I get happy to just play, Stay your course and you'll get it done. Throw some pics up I would love to see it :-)
 

yatzr

New Challenger
Joined
May 24, 2013
Posts
62
Here's the bartop that I built a year ago. It just runs mame. Shortly after that, I got my first blast city cabinet and a few jamma boards. I haven't done much with this thing since. I still love it though. Lately, I've been getting an itch to build another one, but with a vertical screen.

http://imgur.com/a/nX3Hi#0
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Posts
29
Thats really nice man, I do like that you didn't doctor it all up with graphics and side art, I like the plain look to it.
 
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