Mame Cabinets - Anyone Else Made One?

[Cret]

Ages ago I wanted an arcade machine for playing old console & arcade games from when I was a kid, plus to serve as a touchscreen jukebox, but it seemed like WAY too much hassle/cost to get one sent over, so a few months ago I decided the only solution was to build one myself. From scratch. You can buy flat pack kits but they just give a basic shell and aren't cheap. You can buy a fully built machine too, if you have bucket loads of cash lying around.

 

Mostly it would be to run the MAME emulator (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) which lets you play loads of cool old skoo games. Do do this at a basic level you need the following:

 

A PC. Nothing too fancy, although if you try to do any consoles beyond prehistoric you need a bit more oomph.

I'm using an Athlon XP2600 with 512 ram, and a radeon X1650 512ddr2 graphics card.

Some arcade type controls. You can use keyboard/mouse, or console control pads but where would be the fun eh!

A control circuit for the controls (which sort of mimics a keyboard being plugged in)

Software and Roms (game files - of games you legitimately own obviously!)

A cabinet to lash it all into.

 

I began by making a crude phase1 cabinet, more than anything to test the idea out at a basic level and see if it made me want to carry on.

So this was created in an hour or two:

 

The pc and a few controls installed, and mame installed with a few choice roms like Space Harrier and Double Dragon - what classics!

 

So I played around with this and really enjoyed what I was doing. The buttons and sticks were dirt cheap ones I got as a package on ebay. They're ok but don't give an authentic feel really. Anyway, I enjoyed making this and playing arcade games in a (really crude) cabinet, so it made me realise for sure I wanted a full size one.

 

After a deal with the mrs that if I decorated the spare room I could get away with having one of these in the 'Den' I started work.

Work began chopping up an old B&B wardrobe that I had aquired, after find a design I liked on google image. Didn't get proper plans, just looked at the picture and decided to make one "like that".

First cut out of the side panels:

 

Now a very basic frame beginning:

 

Bit more shape and with the monitor (19" Sony LCD - looks tiny don't it!) sitting in place:

 

Next I started a control panel and made it hinge so I can access the back of the controls:

[Cret]

Started to box in other bits of the frame/front etc. Front has a big door for storage inside. Also fitted panels either side of the screen:

 

Note that I left the bottom open space at the front so that pedals can be fitted and not stick right out the front.

Starting to take shape now!

 

Then I remembered I had a 7" touchscreen going spare so I thought, why not have TWO screens in it! I made a speaker panel to go above it, and test fitted screen2 above the main monitor. Not sure what I will display on it yet, maybe artwork for whatever game is playing or something like that.

 

Next, I got a set of these for 99p on Ebay!

 

No prizes for the plan here then, but how to make it look ok but be out of the way most of the time? This is something that has plagued mame cab builders something rotten and I think I have built a reasonable solution after mulling over various ideas on how this could be implemented. Who wants to steer their Outrun Ferrari with a joystick after all!

 

So, here we have no steering wheel - note the cutout on the front panel though:

 

Now, as if by magic, there it is. Nothing extra been bolted on, it's all hidden away and simply folds out after you open the front door and then locks in place. Cunning eh!

 

Now with the pedals fitted and a bit of surround work to box them in:

 

The shelf above is where the old Denon hifi amp I had spare will fit in for the sounds.

[Cret]

I'm nuts for the film Commando, so it was decreed that would be the 'theme' for the cabinet. I've started teh artwork for the Marquee. This is the strip across the top of the cab where it is illuminated from behind with 2 foot long cold cathode lights:

 

Good old cheesy wholesomeness!

 

Next I had to fill about a bazillion screw wholes in the side of the panels. I hummed and harred about how to make it look nice and ultimately decided paint would be too tricky. I HATE finishing work and am not good at it so this was difficult to decide. In the end I decided on 'black ash' effect vinyl roll to cover it since that was the 80s thing, and loads of arcade cabinets had this effect. Lots of horrible prepping before I could apply it though:

 

Also invested in some fancier buttons. These ones are chrome and with proper clicky microswitches, and can be LED illuminated for bling factor. Decent "Happ Competition" joystick for P1 as well. Might get one for P2 if I'm feeling generous...

 

Here it is after it migrated (with slight difficulty) from the garage to my Den room, after I've applied the vinyl to one side and the red "T-molding" to the front edges. Nightmare fitting that stuff and it's far from perfect but hey, first attempt at making one of these bad boys!

 

Note no front door panel at the moment so you can see where the wheel lives inside there.

 

So now I've got the LEDs wired in for the buttons, and new tweeters on the front. Also made some trim panels for either side of the screen to smarten it all a bit.

 

This is how it looks right now. Not loads left but quite a few little finishing touches here and there:

 

I've got Gamex front end installed, which is superb. Loads of emulators but the ones working correctly at the moment are Mame, Snes, N64, and Playstation1. Gamex also works as a jukebox and the PC has wifi built in so it can play all the music on my network or internet radio etc.

 

Need some better 6.5" main speaker drivers and crossovers. These ones are awful!!!

It's getting there though.

 

Now I can see why the people who build and sell these charge so much - the time it takes to build one and try to set it up is shedloads, but I've enjoyed it loads and it's almost at the point where I can invite my mate round to give him a hiding on Streetfighter II turbo, or Tekken. :boxing: :hello1:

 

Hope someone digs this anyway.

[integer]

That is properly ace. Well done fella.

[tribz]

Very nice work there cret. I part converted a couple of old jamma cabs a few years ago but I never got them completely finished unfortunately. Seeing these pics makes me want to have another go!

[K.os Theory]

that's brilliant Cret!

[Overdose]

Simply superb mate!

[Shill]

That is truly awesome, hats off to you Cret.

[Cret]

Thanks chaps.

 

Up close it's not as nice a job as I had hoped it would be but I'm still happy enough. The problem was partly that I didn't use proper plans so measurements were random and not the most accurate, and the panels used were 15mm chipboard which is awful stuff to work with accurately, and is thinner than you'd normally use.

 

Not bad though all things considered. I might make a fancier job at some stage in the future when I can take my time and use better materials since I love doing 'woodwork', but probably not for a long time!

 

A jamma cab would have made life a lot easier but ho hum, not so easy to come by over here I suspect.

[Dr_Dave]

Hi Cret,

 

Good work getting your cab together! There must be something in the air, because I've been working on my first one this summer. It's massively satisfying isn't it? Especially when you get to the stage where you can actually play on it.

 

Like you, I hated doing the t-molding. I had it planned so well, cut the slot with the right slotter early in the process, and then forgot about it. By the time I got to fitting the molding, the damned slot had got filled with all kinds of crap - paint and dust mostly - and getting it in was a real pain. Looks okay round the front thankfully, but the back wouldn't bear closer inspection!

 

Did you hang around BYOAC during your build? Very cool forum, with lots of friendly advice and inspirational projects.

 

Dave

[Cret]

Yep - I go on there and they're a very friendly bunch I think.

 

I refused to pay £20-30 to get a suitable slotter on principal that I was getting more or less funk all for my money, so I spent more and made life harder for myself, ending up with a 5mm or so slot that really wanted to be about half that!

 

Cutting cleanly, end on into thin chipboard is a mare of a job. Hot glue gun has been employed to keep the t molding in though, and considering how bad it was it's turned out tolerable.

 

Really pleased with how the vinyl covering is though, and the fancy buttons etc.

[Dr_Dave]

Yep - I go on there and they're a very friendly bunch I think.

 

I refused to pay £20-30 to get a suitable slotter on principal that I was getting more or less funk all for my money, so I spent more and made life harder for myself, ending up with a 5mm or so slot that really wanted to be about half that!

 

Cutting cleanly, end on into thin chipboard is a mare of a job. Hot glue gun has been employed to keep the t molding in though, and considering how bad it was it's turned out tolerable.

 

Really pleased with how the vinyl covering is though, and the fancy buttons etc.

 

MDF is nice to work with, but the dust is a killer. I went through stacks of masks and still finished each session coughing.

 

Here's mine: http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.tansley/Arcade

 

Only got the control panel overlay and marquee to apply now, which is hopefully arriving soon from gameongrafix. And you're right, it is a bloody expensive and time consuming hobby!

 

Dave

[Cret]

Excellent stuff Dave - yours looks like a much nicer and more refined job than mine I must admit!

 

I have begun work on control panel overlay artwork but not 100% what extent I'll do it to yet. I want to add a layer of acrylic over it and I have it ready to cut out but not certain yet. I don't really like the current control panel and am viewing it as a temporary thing at the moment, so I'm sort of loathe to spend ages on it.

[Dr_Dave]

I have begun work on control panel overlay artwork but not 100% what extent I'll do it to yet. I want to add a layer of acrylic over it and I have it ready to cut out but not certain yet. I don't really like the current control panel and am viewing it as a temporary thing at the moment, so I'm sort of loathe to spend ages on it.

 

You could spend an age pondering to intricacies of control panels, I know, I did it myself. I went around every combination of controls and buttons imaginable - I really wanted to fit a trackball on it, or maybe a spinner. But in the end I got sensible and limited it to just buttons and sticks. I did however design the CP piece to be a simple 600x250 piece of MDF, without any fancy routing or edges, that pops out easily. So later on I can swap it out for a trackball based panel if I want to.

 

The plexi on top was surprisingly easy to do, though I was dreading it. I thought it would crack when drilling the holes in line with the MDF. In the end, it seems the best idea is to use a router with a flush trim bit. Dead simple, took about 20 minutes all told!

 

As for art... well, I don't have an artistic bone in my body, so I have no idea how it'll turn out. Tried to keep it simple and uncluttered, while bright and dynamic. Who knows, could be okay, could be shit. Haven't even thought about side art yet!

 

Dave

[Cret]

I'm not sure yet about a trackball as I can't think of many games I'd use one except canon fodder for the amiga, but it'd be handy to save having a mouse for PC use. Not sure how I can come up with a good keyboard solution. I can't do a slide out drawer because of the steering wheel setup.

 

The perspex I've got is only 2mm thick and seems pretty flexible but I'm still not looking forward to trying to cut it all out as I'm well aware of the awkward 'properties' that acrylic tends to have when you work on it.