[wbassett]

I am starting a new project... Building a full size standup arcade system!

First the question is probably Why? Sure there are game consoles all over the place, this was more of a nostalgia reason. I grew up with Defender, Asteroids and all those cheesy but classic games.

I have been working on my HT setup and am very happy with my screen and that setup, so I started looking for some other things like a popcorn machine, and I stumbled on this...

The price was unbelievable at $399, which was the first telltale sign. The reviews I read were less than stellar.

People were talking about add on game packs, which lead to a search and before I knew it I found MAME- Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.

I downloaded MAME and in a couple of minutes I had an actual arcade game running on my 3GHz PC and running in all of it's original 6800 CPU glory! Everything was there, the sound, graphics... you even had to 'add' quarters to be able to play. So I know first hand this isn't as hard as it may seem. It may not be cheap and the games are probably too cheesy for anyone that didn't grow up playing them and wants to remember some of those teenage memories... but it can be done!

I dug out my old tank of a joystick, a Wingman Extreme, cleaned it off and within a few more minutes had every button programed through MAME. Next was to look up kits or plans to build your own arcade cabinet... and there are plenty of them out there!

I came across this site and knew I wanted my own system!

It didn't take long to determine the Wingman joystick wasn't going to cut it for a true arcade system look and feel. I found these controllers:

x-arcade was the first one I found. The Tankstick looks interesting and comes with 18 games on CD. At $199 it is more than a regular old joystick, but it was much cheaper than buying an old standup arcade game that only has one game, or the much better (than the Midway Classic console Walmart and Target is selling) Arcade Legends, but that is also $2800 and I know this can be done for half that price or even better than that.

Also there is the HotRod arcade console for $99, but no trackball...

Last (for now) is the SlikStick. This one is much more expensive than the other two, but also is more like a real arcade setup.

SlikStick CO2 controller- $599

SlikStick Quad Unit at a whopping $699

 

[wbassett]

The Game Engine

First thing to say is I haven't even started building this yet. So far I have only spent a week looking things up and testing MAME out.

If you want a more true to life arcade and not just a fancy game console, MAME is the way to go. It emulates all the classic arcade consoles and there are free ROMs and you can buy ROM packs too. The PC specs are not that demanding either, so it would be easy and inexpensive to do on an old PC sitting around the house. I plan on going a little beefier though. That will allow me to play other games than just arcade games.

Plus using a PC allows games like one of my wife's favorite's Timon and Pumba's Jungle Pinball!

Supposedly with a modded XBox you can also run MAME and arcade ROMs.

A couple of things to note from my findings so far... the x-arcade will work with any PC, MAC, or game console including PS, PS2, XBox, Game Cube and the Sega DreamCast. It looks like the adapter for each of these consoles connects to the x-arcade controller via a serial cable, so it would be possible to use a serial selector box to switch between different consoles. More on that though with the individual controllers.

 

[wbassett]

x-arcade

x-arcade has several controllers ranging from a single player console to the two player TankStick.

Here is the Solo Stick, it is $99 and doesn't come with any game CDs.

Next is the Dual Player for $125

... and then the TankStick for $199

The track ball in the TankStick is perfect for games like Major Havok, Marble Madness, and any arcade game that used a trackball. The downside is the trackball only works with a PC and not a game console. So if someone is interested in doing a project like this too but only wants to use a PlayStation, XBox, Game Cube, Dream Cast or a combination of just those dedicated consoles and not a PC, you can save $75 by going with the Dual Player over the TankStick.

Each of the above controllers comes with one free adapter, only the TankStick comes with the 18 arcade games on a CD. The titles that come with the TankStick are--
12 Atari® Classics for PC Use:

• Asteroids®
• Asteroids™ Deluxe
• Battlezone®
• Centipede®
• Crystal Castles™
• Gravitar™
• Millipede™
• Missile Command®
• Pong™
• Super Breakout®
• Tempest®
• and Warlords®

6 Full Version Midway Titles:

• Gauntlet®
• Defender®
• Smash TV®
• Robotron®
• Rampage®
• and Joust®

I am not affiliated with x-arcade or pushing their product, I am just listing pricing and what's included. I will include as much information for the other controllers as I have too.

 

[wbassett]

HotRod

The HotRod controller essentually looks like the x-arcade Dual Player and is $99 vice $125, so if a trackball isn't a desired requirement here is another $25 you can knock off the price.

Here is an excerpt from their website
"The HotRod Joystick is a PC based model on the original arcade control panel designed for home use. It plugs right into the back of your PC, through the PS/2 keyboard port in between the keyboard and the PC. The HotRod Joystick is a low-level bios input device, and it simulates a keyboard to your computer. It is designed to replicate that classic arcade feel using Retrogaming emulation programs such as M.A.M.E., Retrocade, and commercial release titles such as Microsoft's Return of the Arcade, and Atari Classic Arcade hits.

HotRod simulates that real classic arcade experience, by using real commercial grade arcade components, that are actually an overkill for the home market. However, it produces a nice effect for that avid classic gamer who demands that authentic play.

It is a very unique joystick, unlike any regular joystick you will find on the market. It is capable of playing 1 to 2 player games side by side with your friends, or complex arcade games that require dual joystick usage such as Robotron, BattleZone, or even CrazyClimber. That old analog PC joystick could never do this!

Thanks to some very good programmers, several PC based programs called emulators let you play actual arcade machine ROMS (Read Only Memory chips) on your PC at home. These emulator programs are completely free and can all be found from a variety of sources on the Internet. M.A.M.E. (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator), is by far the biggest emulator project with many programmers writing drivers for well over 4000 supported games to date. The original video game hardware cabinets to these games, may be long gone after near 20 years now, but the spirit of these great classic arcade games live on through emulation. Emulator programs such as M.A.M.E. have allowed us to relive our fondest memories of good times at the local video arcade pumping thousands of quarters into our favorite video game.

Thanks to your feedback, suggestions and support, we have succeeded in producing a world class PC hardware product that has that true arcade feel built into it. We have come up with what we believe is the absolute best joystick control panel at the best possible value and we are proud to put our name on it!"

All in all this is a nice looking unit for the price. I'm not so sure I like the purple and the big HotRod logo, but it's not that bad.

Also, I would be willing to play with this system and modify/customize the look with contact paper or someother way of changing the look. I don't think I would be too keen on messing with a $200 item though incase I screw it up somehow.

 

[wbassett]

SlikStick

This really does look 'Slick' and they picked the right name.

It has the look of a real arcade system and can go all the way up to a four person layout.

At $699 though it is around seven times the price of the HotRod controller.

SlikStick offers custom configurations as well, but I am sure the cost quickly goes up with custom layouts.

This unit is made for use with a PC running an emulator like MAME and they do have an XBox controller, but that is all right now. I do not know (yet) if the trackball or spinner will work with a game console though.

Speaking of spinner, this is the only premade console I have seen that includes a spinner. I really don't know how many arcade games used a spinner, but there were a few so this may be a much desired option for some people.

 

[wbassett]

Controller Thoughts and Opinions

So far I plan on using a PC running MAME and maybe a PS2 or XBox.

Here are some of the pros and cons for the different controllers as I see them.

x-arcade has decent prices and goes from a single player up to a two person setup and has a trackball. They have the most adapters available and have gotten rave reviews. It is a little more expensive than the HotRod, but with the TankStick it includes a boat load of games that should get anyone more than started. Not many cons to list.

HotRod has only one setup that I can see, a dual player layout. Price is fantastic and doesn't cost much more than some of the fancy force feedback joysticks I have seen. The only con I can see is it just has the one layout and possibly the color.

SlikStick. Right off the bat the price is daunting. It's not because it is using better components or anything like that, both the x-arcade and HotRod use actual arcade joysticks and push buttons. It is probably because they are more true to an actual arcade look and from what I infer from their web site, it sounds like they hand make each unit.

If someone has the skills (meaning knows how to solder and work with premade circut boards) you can also make your own controller for more than half the price of the SlikStick Quad, but probably not much less than the TankStick. I priced a trackball at $89 so that is almost half the price right there. I'm sure they can be gotten cheaper than what I saw, but probably not in the $20 range... at least not for an actual arcade trackball. Genuine arcade joysticks and push buttons are pretty inexpensive though. A joystick will cost around $12, and buttons are less than $2 each. Joysticks can go all the way up to $100 though for a trigger stick. A spinner is around $30.

eBay has a lot of arcade parts. I saw several Star Wars flight yokes for around $30, and I am sure a trigger joystick can also be found cheaper than the $100 mark.

My 'dream' system would be the 1uparcade setup, but I know I can't build that and the person that made it doesn't give out plans and doesn't sell a setup like that.


As much as I love that layout, I will probably end up going with a modular design where I can swap out the main controller and pop in a custom one for certain games.

I am sure there are other companies making controllers and places to buy parts cheaper. When I run across more sites and information I will post that here as well.

 

[wbassett]

Building a MAME Arcade Console- Initial Planning

I did some more web searching last night.

Where this is going to be challanging is for multiple game setups. It will be impossible to duplicate a control console for every game I plan on having in the 'arcade', so there does have to be some sort of universal setup that both looks good (by that I mean looks like an arcade console and not a NASA panel with an overwhelming amount of sticks, buttons, and spinners) and is functional.

There are no 'winners' in any of the controller's I previously listed. They all are really top quality units. I started looking at whether a premade unit like the HotRod or x-arcade would be better than trying to build one myself. My conclusion may be interesting

SlikStick has the most actual arcade style control options, but is also the most expensive. x-arcade has a BYO- Build Your Own (interesting variant on the DIY accronym). It looks to be so easy a kid could do it. I started building a parts list-- This is just for the controllers, the cabinet and entire list will be coming!

• Controller Board and USB Cable- $70
• Joystick/Button package (2 sticks and 20 buttons)- $30
• Trackball X2 (2 for Marble Madness)- $59.95 ea $120 total
• Spinner- Still need to locate one and the price

Additional items

• Steering Wheel
• Flight Stick
• Star Wars Flight Yoke (found several on eBay for $30)
• Light Guns

I really don't think construction is going to take all that long. The hardest part and what is going to take the longest is designing the control panel. I really like the rotating unit shown earlier, but I know I can't design that on my own and the guy that made it won't give out or even sell the plans... bummer on that.

So that leaves either one huge cluttered console, or a modular system where the different panels can be swapped out. I figure the nice thing about a full size cabinet is the other control panels can be stored inside (maybe- depends on how much room is left).

What I found from the initial parts list is that it just may be cheaper to go ahead and buy the TankStick. It already has the controller board, the PS2/USB cable, one trackball, two joysticks and twenty buttons... plus is comes with 18 arcade games. The parts alone come to $160, I figure the games are worth $30

Right now, my guess is I will need(want) an additional $200 plus in other controllers- second trackball, spinner, flight yokes, Steering Wheels...

So the bulk of the cost is going to be the controller. The hardware for the game engine is a no frills PC. The games themself are tiny in size, usually less than a MB in size. Some of the newer arcade games are a whopping 10-20 MB max. CPU that these games ran on was typically a Motorola 6800 CPU running at a blazing 4Mhz. I plan on using a computer that is 2Ghz or less and loading up on the ram and hard drive specs.

The monitor- Believe it or not, a computer monitor has too high of a resolution and from what other's have found they can make the images too blocky and 'jaggie'. There are actual arcade monitors available, but a regular TV works just as good. I plan on a 24" or 25" TV for the console screen. I may be getting a 27" Apex for nothing, so that could be a candidate.

Sound- It's basic beeps and blips for most games. Some have better sound, but nothing that would require a $200 sound card. Initially I will use the speakers in the TV, but down the road I will probably add built in speakers. I am sure there will be much more information coming on the final construction steps!

The Cabinet- MDF is inexpensive and I figure 4-5 sheets. The really nice units aren't painted MDF, some people have used laminate sheets on the outside of the cabinets. I happen to know a lot about laminates and where to get 4x8 sheets at good prices so I'm set there! Fit and trim for the monitor bezel, controller, and things like a marque and Coin Slot door are some things I still have to check into, but I found most of them on eBay very inexpensive.

 

[wbassett]

I am not even sure if anyone else is interested in this. If not, I'll just blog it here and I am sure at some point someone else may be interested and find this useful. If it is totally off topic for the site and forum let me know and I'll remove it.

I figure part of the movie experience is the popcorn and atmosphere, and arcades add to the lobby atmosphere, at least to me!

 

[Sonnie]

I game to follow it... :bigsmile:

All those buttons make it appear that some of those games will be a little more of a challenge than the regular console games.

 

[wbassett]

I game to follow it... :bigsmile:

All those buttons make it appear that some of those games will be a little more of a challenge than the regular console games.

Yeah that is why I am opting to build my own controller layout. It still won't be exactly like a single dedicated arcade machine, but that's a compromise I guess. The other options are 1 have a ton of arcade games like that spoiled brat in the TV show Silver Spoon had (which would be cool, but I don't have that kind of space), or two have dedicated control panels that you would swap out for each game. Doable, but sounds like a royal pain.

I'm still playing with this and believe it or not it is a lot of fun and is bringing back tons of memories! I mean if it wasn't for the nostalgia and a coolness rating of 15 on a scale of 1-10 I'd just play games on an Xbox or PS2. Actually, this setup will still allow me to do that!

I have my projector and screen all done, and tonight I am shopping for a 1080p HDTV to replace my 36" Toshiba. After that I want a pool table for the front living room, the arcade system and a popcorn machine and I'm set! Party at my place lol

 

[wbassett]

This is getting easier and may be a faster project than I thought!

I called SlikStik and x-arcade today. Both are excellent sounding companies. As far as building your own layout, the edge goes to x-arcade right now. Their interface board is extremely versatile. No soldering is required whatsoever.

They only have a two player console setup, but they said the controller board can be setup for four players- it would reduce the number of buttons though that are seen on the dual player model seen in previous posts, but that doesn't sound like an issue. Most arcade games didn't have that many buttons, just a joystick and a button or two. If you wanted to though, you could use two controller boards for a four player setup with each player having eight buttons.

SlikStik can build you anything though and at very reasonable prices (well compared to buying a room full of dedicated arcade machines). Their prefab cabinet is also pretty nice. You can buy just the cabinet, or the cabinet and a controller for a lot less than x-arcade's cabinet setup. The main difference are the x-arcade comes with the two player controller (no trackball ) and a 27 " Wells Gardner Industrial-Grade Monitor. You still need to supply your game system or PC.

SlikStik's arcade cabinet is around $1200 for just the cabinet and no controller, or $1600 and that includes a controller like the CO2, but no monitor and you still have to supply the PC or game system. One neat feature is the coin door is fully functional, meaning if you drop a quarter in, it registers on the screen!

Both companies recommend an actual arcade monitor for the 'ultimate' experience, but I have read a lot of sites where people built their own systems and they said a TV works just as good. (One person had a Wells Gardner monitor and when it died they put in a 27" TV and said it looked just as good)

Now, a grand is a lot for a cabinet. The fit and finish though are professional grade. I did find this puppy though...

It's from Arcade-In-A-Box and is $459 plus $125 shipping.

If a person is really good with wood working and making things, they can probably build it for at least half that price or maybe even less. I'll call them for some details, but it sounds like their cabinet is nice, but not as professional as SlikStik's. SS has cam locking connectors just like any furniture you buy and put together. It sounds like the Arcade-In-A-Box is just screws. That's fine, but if you ever want to move it or take it apart and move it I am not so sure how well it would go back together. Maybe one move, but repeatedly moving and flexing MDF and screws or removing them and tightening them tends to bore out the holes and then everything gets sloppy and wobbly.

I also found out by talking to both companies that items such as a light gun, Steering wheel, flight stick, are all analog devices and as such they wouldn't go through any of these console boards. They would connect directly to the computer's USB ports. That opens up a lot of ways for interesting add ons!

 

[wbassett]

[img]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l190/wbassett/Arcade/ua2_main3.jpg[/img]

It's been a year... how time flies when it's a really bad year! Seriously, 2007 wasn't a fun year in many ways, but nobody wants to hear a sob story, so it's time to resurrect this thread.

I was seriously going to be building an HTPC as an HTS project, total soup to nuts with photo's and full documentation. Thing is it's been done a couple times already and done nicely too. Secondly, I was looking at my setup and I didn't have anything to gain by building one- but I would be out around a grand. I have a bluray player and an HD DVD player, both which play regular DVDs, and the PS3 also plays movies and TV shows archived to a hard drive. My cable box is a HD DVR... so like I said, there really wasn't much to be gained. I may do one later on this year with tritonman, he expressed an interest in that project.

Now a full blown arcade console... doesn't every home theater need one? I mean every theater I've been too has a couple of games and an arcade along with a popcorn machine can be the perfect finishing touch to the atmosphere.

My son is up on vacation and he's very excited about this project too. I have the Ultimate Arcade II kit shown above and in the previous post on the way to my house right now.

I'll be doing a full writeup on the project here, but it really isn't as daunting as you may think. The cabinet is around $500, but is built like any Sauder furniture and should be a breeze. I already see a few things that will be changed... like locking wheels, and putting hinges on the lower cabinet panel for easy access and storage.

The beauty of a MAME arcade console is it doesn't take a lot of CPU horsepower. In fact, a lot of people probably have an old computer sitting around that they don't know what to do with, or... have one of those old PIIs or PIII that they can't give away. Well MAME doesn't take hardly any CPU power and very little ram to run. I'm using an old AMD Thunderbird 1.2GHz with 256MB of ram and a whopping 40GB HD. You can even use Windows 98 for a MAME server, but it's nice to have USB ports to add controllers on. I know 98SE will support USB, but I already have XP installed and the PC doesn't have a floppy drive.

Monitors- I'm going to use a 21" Dell Trinitron CRT computer monitor for now. I toyed with the idea of going LCD, but then you need a special light gun and rig to work with LCD monitors, and besides some people are giving away CRT monitors nowadays. Some people have used TVs and SVid input, but the resolution of text isn't the greatest. Eventually I'll put a Wells-Gardner 27" VGA monitor in the console, but the 21" will work just fine for now.

Controllers... This is where the major expense can come into play. I also noticed a few of the companies are no longer around. That pretty much made my decision for me. Last year I was going to go with a custom controller from SlikStik for around $600, but they are no longer around. I'm starting out with an X-Arcade Tankstick as the base and then going to modify and customize things... taking it to a two player console for most games, and some will be able to go to four players.

As I do the project I'll probably add a few whistles and bells. So far, the total cost is the Arcade in a Box Ultimate Arcade console which came to $530 including shipping. The custom controller will probably run another $300 and that's pretty much it. I already have around 80 arcade games, not ports to PC, but honest legit original arcade games running through the MAME ROM emulator (which works perfect) and then the Tankstick comes with an additional 18 games. So that will be over 100 arcade games when it's done, and it also will play computer games too! I dug out an old PC classic, Rise of the Triad and have that installed, and am looking for my old Dark Forces and X-Wing discs. For the wife, I'll load up some of the arcade games she liked when she was growing up as well as Timon and Pumba's Jungle Arcade (although, maybe I shouldn't.... way back when in the days we only had one PC I installed it and then had to fight her for computer time!)

My son is up for two weeks, and I hope to have the Ultimate Arcade II delivered by Friday. We'll have it up and running by the time he leaves, but it will need some final fit and finish I'm sure.

We also have to get the new projector installed as well as he's going to help me make a new screen too.

 

[wbassett]

The Ultimate Arcade showed up Friday but with a problem... it ships with five boxes and I only got four. It definitely is not the company's fault because the invoice has five boxes listed, but Fed Ex doesn't have a full tracking number for the last box, and of course it's the box with all the hardware!

A quick call to Mameroom and they said if it doesn't show up Monday to call and they will send another hardware kit out.

The X-Arcade Tankstick and DIY controller kit should also be here Monday as well.

I also ordered a Saitek X-36 USB joystick / throttle combo for flight sim games.

The Tankstick will get me up and running but ultimately will be replaced with a custom control panel that is modular. That way I can swap out the panels or change them around to any arcade configuration I want. I found a very nice tutorial on building a setup like that and it's hot swap-able and the whole arcade console can be reconfigured in around a minute. I'll get into that more when I start that part of the build.

The Ultimate Arcade kit... It is a very nice kit but I already see some areas that have to be changed.

First, there are no doors on this unit. There is an opening in the front for a coin door, but it is only the big enough to put a coin door in. Since a Mame console is based around a PC, there really needs to be access to the PC to turn it on and off when not in use. Even if a person was to go with a Jamma board they still would need access to install everything as well as if the unit ever needed servicing. So doors are a must and I'll have to incorporate them in the front and back of the unit.

I also decided to wire outlets inside the console and only have one power outlet feeding the entire rack. If I had the hardware kit I can see this going together in about an hour or so, but the modifications are sure to add a few hours of extra time to the console build alone. Based on that I give it a 8.5 out of 10 rating.

[img]http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-992559reg.jpg[/img]

One last note for now is this isn't light weight! The finished console without any electronics, monitor, control panel, weighs 180lbs. Some people have made the mistake of building this in one room or the basement and then realized they couldn't move it!
I highly recommend not only building the console within close proximity to where it will be placed as well and giving it some wheels. By the time everything is added, this puppy will weigh in at around at least 250lbs and is over 6' tall. It is a full size arcade machine so anyone interested in something like this, keep that in mind. (The TankStick alone weighs 20lbs, and crt monitors definitely aren't light weight, that's a good 40lbs at least right there between the two...)

I went with these because they are low profile and definitely can handle the weight. The regular roller casters usually support around 50-60lbs and would raise the cabinet at least 2"

I'll get into the complete build and details for each stage of the project.

The key though is to plan, plan, and re-plan. Also set aside around $100 at least for miscellaneous parts to really dress things up.

 

[wbassett]

Building the Cabinet

My son and I just finished up the bottom half of the console. Pictures coming soon...

The instructions are very straight forward and the fit and finish is superb. The only complaint I really have is the T molding isn't uncluded, which I thought it was with the full kit. It's only $10 extra, but seeing this cost $450 before shipping, that seems like a part of the kit that is very missing and without the T molding trim the cabinet looks bad.

Granted they give you the option of several colors to spiff up your console, but like I said this just seems like something that should be included with the base price. I'll be heading to the local home repair center later today. I don't feel like waiting a couple of days for it to ship, but I am still happy with the kit.

My wife seriously questioned whether it was worth the money, and to be honest, if someone knows wood working they could build this for a fraction of the cost. I however do not have all the tools I would need and engineering from scratch always adds a boat load of time to any project.

This is solid and well engineered and only takes a couple of hours to put together. Some hinged doors and casters would really have made this a grand slam instead of just a home run.

 

[mechman]

I'd love to build one of these! Whenever you get a chance get some measurements!

mech

 

[wbassett]

I'd love to build one of these! Whenever you get a chance get some measurements!

mech

Arcade II Cabinet Dimensions:
75.4375 x 28 .25 x 41.5-inches (H x W x D)

Monitor Area Dimensions:
24.1875 x 27 x 22.5-inches (H x W x D)

So it is pretty big, but so are actual arcade consoles.

You can make smaller versions, and even a table top version if space is an issue.

 

[wbassett]

Snags and Snafus...

I'm still a bit miffed over the T molding. Turns out Home Depot doesn't carry it, so I'll be checking Lowes. If they don't have it then I have to order it and wait.

The TankStick from X-Arcade was delivered... just not to ME! They not only delivered it to the wrong address and street name and person, they delivered it to the wrong town! This wasn't XGaming's fault, DHL are the ones that screwed up. Still it's disappointing having to wait even longer to get it.

Chances are the unit XGaming sent is long gone by now. DHL said they are going to head out tomorrow to recover the package, but I can see some kid spying a big ole box saying XGaming on it and when they see the TankStick (which will plug into any PC).... yepperdoodle I can see that $250 long gone. XGaming said they would send another package, but like I said I really don't like the idea of waiting. My son may not even get to see this finished and he's helped me put it all together.

 

[wbassett]

As soon as I can I'll be updating the previous posts with pictures... everyone loves to see pictures!

The console is finished. Right now we're wiring it up.

This is were I can be a bit **** with things. I wire wrap and staple everything down.

We also made some modifications that are pretty simple but I think cool.

First I bought a combo outlet, one that has a switch and a power outlet. I did a bit of a trick though. Instead of having a power cord permanantly handing out of the back of the Arcade console, I made an extension cord that has two male ends on each side. One end plugs into the wall outlet, the other plugs into the Arcade outlet. The Arcade is wired so when I flip the switch on the back of the unit, everything powers up.

Inside instead of wiring up an outlet box I opted for a surge protector strip that has an equipment damage warranty with it. I wired that to the power switch and then everything inside the console plugs into that.

For the Marquee area I installed a 22" flourenscent light, and the bottom panel of the Marquee has speaker 'grills' already cut out. I bought two cheapo Durabrand 4" car speakers and installed them and ran them to some 50W sound system I had laying around the house.

So the unit will have a 50W sound system that ran me $15! We did a speaker test last night and not only was it loud- loud enough that it brought the wife downstairs to ask what we were doing... based on her tone, more like 'What are you thinking??!' I just grunted at her like Tim Allen does and she went away.

Today my son and I reformatted the Thunderbird PC (another item I had laying around, so the PC for this project was also no cost). All that's left is to finish the fit and trim on the wiring, get some T molding, finish the monitor bezel... then it's time to kick some arcade butt on my son!

The games I personally am looking forward to are Defender and Major Havoc! (I used to be the Defender champion of the small town I grew up in )

 

[wbassett]

Well a call to DHL and they say the driver is just now heading out to find the package. I really expect it to be long gone by now, but hopefully there are still some honest people left that won't see this as a late Christmas gift!

I'm not worried about being out any money because DHL will end up eating this since they admitted they delivered it to the wrong address, but I don't like the idea of having to wait. My son is heading back to PA in a few days and this project is one he was very excited about doing with me when he came up.

I am going to strongly recommend that XGaming find another shipping company though, this is starting to get a bit unreasonable.

Other than waiting for the parts to show up, start to finish the project took us a little over two evenings to finish, and that is with me having a bum knee right now too. I'd say someone could assemble the arcade cabinet in an afternoon. The extra whistles and bells, probably the next day, and then they would be putting the hardware components in and be playing games by the end of the second day, third day tops.

Total time start to finish, so far this has been a week and a half for me- like I said most of that time has been spent waiting for missing packages to show up.

 

[scott]

Very interesting. If your having trouble finding the t-molding, you might try a woodworking source like Rockler(I think that's how it's spelled)or Leigh valley. I order alot of supplies from both places. I Just found this thread and will take time to read through later. Am I reading that you would like to build the console with a rotating joy-stick area? If so maybe post some pics and dimensions and a brief description, and maybe myself or some others can blend brains and come up with something. I'm always up for a challenge. Keep up the good work, and research! thanks. Scott