Bren's MAME Arcade Project

Introduction:

    As a kid, I remember heading to Putt Putt Golf and Games on the eastside of Indianapolis and playing a few games of miniature golf and then heading to the HUGE (it was big to me back then) arcade and spend all my money there.  I must have spent a small fortune playing all those arcade games.  The reason that this project ever got started was two games that I remember from my past: Cyberball 2020 and Rampart.  I simply loved those two games, but soon, the games were replaced with newer games and I forgot of them.

    A few months ago, a co-worker and friend named Brian, told me about the MAME software and the idea of making an arcade cabinet.  It sounded like a great idea, but I didn't have any idea how to start one even after seeing all the examples on the web.  With Brian starting Medical School, the idea of a arcade cabinet was put onto the back burner.  Plus, I really didn't have the money or knowledge to start on it myself.

    In November 2001, Brian got a hold of me and told me that he was going to start working on a MAME game cabinet over Christmas break and asked if I was in. I said that I would be even though  I am an absolute novice at everything that one would need to make an arcade cabinet (computer hardware, electronics and woodworking/construction).  I hope that this website will help anyone that is thinking about making a cabinet, but doesn't think they have the technical know-how.

Planning Stage:

    The biggest and most important stage in making a cabinet is deciding exactly what you want to do.  I will go over everything that I decided in the following sections, but I must say that I really thought these through.  There are two websites that are very important and I would suggest taking a look at them. They are:

MAME

Build Your Own Arcade Controls FAQ

Components:

Controls and Buttons

    Okay, after looking over all the examples and a few questions to the message board, I came up with the following things for my cabinet.  I decided to forgo the trackball and spinner until a later project.  For most games they are not needed and I didn't want to worry about the extra cost for the controls.  I decided to go with two joysticks with 6 buttons apiece.  This will work on most of the games out there and I didn't want to get too difficult on my first cabinet.  I bought my supplies from Happ Controls and they did a wonderful job of getting the stuff to me really quickly.  I ordered it on 12/11/01 and received it the same week.

What I bought:

2 Super Joysticks
4 red horizontal buttons
4 Blue horizontal buttons
4 White horizontal buttons
"1st player" horizontal button
"2nd player" horizontal button
TOTAL	56.63

Keyboard Encoder

    The same day I bought the controls from Happ, I also bought a keyboard encoder.  I didn't want to attempt a keyboard hack since I didn't feel that I had the needed experience with the necessary tools.  I went with the I-PAC encoder from Ultimarc.  It was only 51 dollars which I feel is a pretty nice deal.  It has 28 inputs which is more than enough for this project.  It also is setup to run with the MAME settings and in the end, this was the main reason I went with it.  It will be (in theory) plug in and forget (once I connect all the buttons and joysticks to it).

The Monitor

    As of right now, I am going to be using my old TV for the monitor.  At last measurement, it appears that it is going to fit inside the cabinet without having to change anything.  

The Computer

    After looking at all the examples sending a few messages to the Arcade Control message board, I decided that I would put a pretty fast computer in so that I would not have any problems with any game that I wanted to play.  I went to a computer show at the Indiana State Fair grounds on 12/16/01 and after talking to a few people at the show, I found a decent system in which to run the software.  It's was a bare bone computer without any IDE drives (Hard drive and CD-ROM) or video card (a blessing since I was going to go with a different video card). To be honest, at the show, I really wished that the computer was complete, but for the price that I got, I have decided that it would be easier just to get what I needed and just learn how to build the rest of the computer (Always wanted to do it).  I picked up a video card, Hard drive and CD-ROM at CompUSA on 12/19/01.  All told after rebates, it wasn't all that bad. I must say that this is a powerhouse of a computer than what you will need for most MAME games.  Most computers that I have seen are around 233-300, but with the newer games out, one will need a fast machine.

The Cabinet

    I wrote a message looking for game cabinets on a message board and I got a message stating that a guy had an old Asteroids game cabinet that he was trying to get rid of.  I quickly jumped on that chance and picked it up.  It was in pretty good shape.  There is a little water damage on the base board and the sides.  The T-molding is pretty scraped up and the Asteroid decals on the side panels are scratched up. Due to it being winter and having to move because of a new job.  The cabinet was placed in the garage at my parent's house and sat until the days got better.

4/27/02

    Having a nice weekend, I pushed the cabinet out and really got to looking at it.  I wanted to raise the cabinet up a few inches (since my head is right at the marquee) and since it is so heavy, I decided to put it on wheels.  The bottom board then was going to have to be changed due to the water damage.  I didn't want to remove the asteroids decal, but due to all the scratches, I figured that I should remove the contact paper.  This sparked a trip to Lowe's where I need to buy some materials.  Not shown in this picture, but there is a large gap in the back (door) and the front is missing the entire control panel area.  That meant that I was going to need at least a half sheet of plywood.  Since I am going to be putting bigger speakers than what it had, I would need to replace that as well.  I forgot to take the measurements for the two pieces of Plexiglas that I will be installing (Marquee and monitor) so I didn't buy that (they can cut it there). The lashing straps are to hold the monitor in place. 

    The rest of the day, I was stripping all the contact paper and paint off the cabinet.  Once that was done, I completely cleaned out the cabinet with a shop-Vac and removed all loose staples. The next step was to take measurements on the base of the cabinet.  I felt that changing that and then putting the casting on it was the way to go and my Dad agreed.  After removing the bottom piece, and cutting the new piece, we installed the casting and nailed it into place.  Next we worked on the back door.   The funny thing with working on the 20 year old cabinet is there has been a little settling and we found out that the back door was not going to be a rectangle.  A long door hinge was used for the back along with the magnetic catches and handle.  Next was the control panel area.  Two strips of plywood finished that off.  For the Control Panel to fit, we cut grooves into the bottom of it so that it will line up.  At the time, there was only going to be one control panel so we started to think how to attach it.  The weekend ended and construction had to stop for a while

9/8/02

    I finally got around to working on the computer. The summer months were jam packed and I didn't get anything done.  With winter looming and my parents wanting the cabinet out of there, I needed to get working on this again. The computer however could be done during the week at my apartment.   I needed the use of a monitor and Meghan allowed me to borrow hers.  The TV that I was going to use was quite old and as a result a few problems arose.  The first major problem is it needed a RF modulator since it different have the needed connections.  The second problem was discovered after loading all the software and transferring control to the TV itself that you couldn't see anything in Windows due to it being fuzzy. There might have to be a TV change-up if a newer TV can accomplish it.

9/15/02

    More work occurred on the cabinet.  The biggest problem was getting a weekend that me and my dad had nothing to do.  I am using his power tools and I feel bad using them when he is not there.  Plus, it is a lot easier to work on it when you have an extra set of hands. Again winter is looming and friends want this to get finished.

    There was a few more things to buy for the cabinet.  My plan for the control panel changed a few times since I can't fit two joysticks and 6 buttons a piece along with a trackball.  This being the case, I am going to have multiple control panels that can be removed in order to play all the needed games.  For that, a trip back to Lowe's (for wood and Plexiglas) and a trip to Radio Shack to buy the electronics. I bought some 25 pin connectors in order to have the ability to quick switch the different control panels and a mouse cord extension to hook up the trackball.

    Once we got home, I wanted to make a new speaker panel.  I had bought one of those car speaker boxes and since it wouldn't fit into the cabinet, we removed the components from it (2 woofers, 2 tweeters and quick connectors).  Then, we took the need measurements and cut out the necessary holes for the speakers.  All in all, it wasn't too bad except we might have busted a tweeter when removing it from the box.  We won't know until we can hook up the speakers again.

    The last thing that happened is I gave a double coat of black paint and allowed it to dry.  Since the drying time was about 24 hours, it was the last thing that could be done on the weekend.

10/12/02

   I had some time to again work on the cabinet this weekend and got some stuff finished.  The first thing we accomplished is the control panel.  Since I had to redo the panel, I made extra sure of all the button placing and the like.  The buttons need a 1 1/8 circle for them to fit right and the joysticks need 2 1/2 inch square. Once that was measured (and measured again), I got to cutting the button holes and joysticks out.  It turned out really well (Except the joysticks are mounted on the wrong side, but it makes it easier to grab, so I am keeping it).  Once the control panel was cut, I went to Home Depot for some contact paper.  I now know why everyone does 'marble'.  It is the only real nice one that you can get everywhere.  The next step was installing the speakers.  We ran into MORE problems on this one as well.  I just guess we have problems with the speaker technology! By that time, it was Sunday and time to leave.

    The right subwoofer needs two more screws in the grill panel (amazing, I have never seen a screw head break off!).   I have only a few things to work on.  The front Marquee needs to be figured out and the TV glass must be installed.  I am still working on the bottom since there are a few holes that need to be patched up.  Once those two things are finished, the wiring can begin!

11/30/02

    With the Thanksgiving holiday (and not wanting to go out in the shopping mess), my dad and I were able to put a few good solid hours into the cabinet.  Since I am still looking for a great way to attach the marquee (think I found an idea) and that it was fairly cold outside in the garage, we decided that we would work on the wiring.  Let me tell you that this was a wiring mess.  As you have read before, I was going to have to split the control panel into multiple ones to get all the buttons and the like to work.  For this to be done, I needed to have a way to exchange the panels in and out of the I-PAC encoder quickly and easily.  We decided that the best bet was to you a standard 25 pin cable connection and wire it into that.  Since I am not good at soldering, that job went to my dad.  Each wire that heads into the connector must be soldered into place. Total pins used for the job is 24 (22 switches and 2 grounds).  We were going to wire the other side, when I had a bright idea and we could just jury rigged an existing cord (Glad that my dad had an extra existing cord).  In the picture you can see the I-PAC all wired up.  I must make a note that you really want to test all the connectors time and time again (I think we did it like 5 times).  I then took the plastic shell about the now destroyed end and put it on 'our' work.  With dad's wiring technique (see how the wires are bound together), it looks all nice and neat.  The next wiring step was the speakers and for that we removed the speaker board from the cabinet.  All we really had to do here was to make the plug that goes to the computer and rewire the woofers.  That was even more soldering which was done by my dad.  Remember to always check the negative and positive prior to soldering anything.  The speakers went to each other and then to a quick connector.  The plug (made from old speaker wire) went from the plug (learned about: "tip, ring  and sleeve") to quick connects since we didn't have a clue which is 'left' and 'right'.  Finally, a quick-connect junction for right and left speakers was added.  While, we had it apart, we tested the speakers (and to see if we got left and right correct).  It worked perfectly (still don't know which is left or right).  Following that test, we tested the buttons on the computer and it worked as well.  All buttons worked (notepad is great here).  The last thing we did was replace the speaker board into the cabinet and cleaned up.  The last two hardware projects is the marquee and the monitor glass.  Then the computer installation will begin!

1/11/03 - 11/18/03

A lot of stuff has happen for the last few days, but the end result is that the cabinet is for all practical purposes finished and is up and running in my apartment at this moment.  The final work was quite tiny.  A new monitor was bought for the cabinet as the TV wasn't working the way it was suppose to.  That was placed in the cabinet with a few boards to hold it in place.  Next, two pieces of molding were cut, then painted  to hold the Plexiglas sheet in front of the monitor in place.  Lastly, I created a marquee with a little help from Photoshop and took it to Kinko's to have it printed.  Finally, all of the hardware was finished and it was time to connect the computer.  When that was done, there was a loud 'pop' and a little smoke.  Taking it to a computer repair shop informed me that the power supply had gone bad sending a jolt of electricity to all the computer components.  This had the effect of frying the motherboard and the guy say that the rest of the stuff took a pretty good hit and he couldn't validate how long they would last.  Then a friend of mine (Mike Reed) say that he had a spare computer in his car and all it needed was a hard drive. So, I drove out, bought hard drive for it and installed all the MAME software (stay up all day doing that - the computer is only a 350 MHz).  So far, it is running beautifully.  There are a few ROMs that were corrupt so I am working on those to complete the collection.  Now as the name implies, I need to had multiple emulators onto it and of course make the second control panel with the trackballs (that will be a project for the springtime!).

Last Modified: January 22, 2003