Irish arcade machine builders

Optimus Prime

sorry just read the rest of your post, i think a lot of BIOS have a setting that will turn on a pc when it recieves power so you dont even have to press the button. Plug Monitor, PC etc into a power Block, one cable out the back and when you plug in it should come on, mind you ive yet to look at my pcs bios to see if it has this setting

keithgeo

keithgeo wrote: »

ah yeh its no bothers, i work in IT for a big company in Ireland the last 12 years, I know my way around a computer so shouldnt be too much hassle. Ill prob change the winxp boot logo and bar to something else then strip down windows to autologin etc. cheers!

You sound like you might work for the same company i do, heheheh, that'd be ironic. No worries then, if you have the know how you can change the xp boot logo handy enough. All you need is the right low resolution image files from photoshop or wherever. Go for something along the lines of a mame logo or whatever matches your paintjob, etc.

On a related note, if i was building another cab, i would be thinking about the look of the emulator software i'm intending to use around the stage you're at now, so that i could tie the boot modifications, artwork and paintjob, and GUI all together and make them all look like they're part of the same plan. Are you planning to use Mame32 or the command line version? With the command line version there are loads of different open source front ends out there that you can customise to match the look of your cab. You can do cool stuff like changing colours, layouts, and playing video clip previews of your games in a little window as you scroll through them. If you put a bit of thinking into your overall plan at this stage, before you start woodworking and painting it can help things look very polished down the line.

I used MALA (http://www.malafe.net/index.php?page=usercabs) but there are lots of other good ones out there. It adds a bit of drain to your system resources, it's a fair bit heavier than running mame on it's own so you'll need a slightly better spec PC, but it can really make a difference to the finished look and feel of your cab.

keithgeo wrote: »

i think a lot of BIOS have a setting that will turn on a pc when it recieves power so you dont even have to press the button.

yep, like you said, this depends on your MOBO, some machines can do it. The one i used didn't unfortunately, but you also have the option of cracking open your PC case and wiring up an ordinary button like the ones you're using on the control panel to the power button to switch it on and off. This looks cool and you can do a lot of stuff in windows power management to decide what happens when you press it. My cab's got a button mounted on the side that sleeps and wakes the cab when i hit it.

Optimus Prime

I have been looking at the front ends all right and funnily enough have been leaning towards mala myself. It looks the best out of them. Can you recomend a pc spec i should be using?

I have a 2.6ghz P4 with 1gig of memory and a 160gb hard disk at the minute.

I was planning on just making my own bootimage i dont really like the mame ones ive seen on the internet, i want to give it a kind of retro feel so i was thinking of just some sort of arcade style font text saying something like

Graphics.... Check
Sound....... Check

and some other stuff under there.

I like the idea of pressing the button to turn on the pc! Do you use a tv in your cab or what do you have in there, im curious as to how you get the tv to turn on, is it a remote control job?

keithgeo

keithgeo wrote: »

...have been leaning towards mala myself. It looks the best out of them. Can you recomend a pc spec i should be using?

I have a 2.6ghz P4 with 1gig of memory and a 160gb hard disk at the minute.

You'll be grand with that spec. The machine i used was an old 1.3 pentium with 512 RAM, and it ran mala but fairly sluggishly until i upped the ram. Your spec is twice mine, so can't see any issues.

keithgeo wrote: »

I like the idea of pressing the button to turn on the pc! Do you use a tv in your cab or what do you have in there, im curious as to how you get the tv to turn on, is it a remote control job?

Just a normal 17 inch CRT monitor on the PC, that gets it's mains power from the back of the tower unit, so just one mains plug for the lot. It's set to come on automatically when the PC comes on. My cab is a 3/4 size so i didn't have to bother with a large screen or a TV, the 17 inch fit it perfectly, which made things a lot simpler to set up.

Optimus Prime

great thanks, i was a bit worried about the spec, i need to get a graphics card i think that the tv can hook into.

edit: and a tv .. hahha..

Optimus Prime

can i connect a tv with a scart connection to the pc or do i need a tv with svideo or seomthing on the back? I just need some advice on the tv and graphics card i need if anyone has any experience with it. Im definatly going with a tv not an arcade monitor or lcd.

nacimroc

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nvidia-GeForce-FX-5600-256MB-AGP-Graphics-Card-w-TV-Out-/390241914205?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item5adc3b0d5d#ht_2480wt_1139

Something like this should work fine! Any old graphics card with tv out! (That one is AGP not PCI just to be aware)

You should download software which uses lower resolutions than normal graphics cards natively offer e.g. 480x600 or lower etc!

Optimus Prime

Cool, so svideo to scart with a connector like this http://cgi.ebay.ie/RGB-Scart-3RCA-Composite-S-Video-Audio-AV-TV-Adapter-/160489404426?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_PowerAdaptors_SM&hash=item255de9f80a

sham69

Picture wasnt great when I used s-video out on my setup.
I ended up getting a vga-scart cable from a german site.
Its spot on, very close to arcade monitor quality.
I think it cost 20 euro, I can send you the link if you need it.
That said , s video might do you.

CathalDublin

dont use TV out on your graphics card, for best results go straight from vga to scart(RGB) and use something like soft 15
If you need a hand making the cable pm me

http://www.idiots.org.uk/vga_rgb_scart/

Optimus Prime

Thanks guys, can you send me that link? id need to buy a graphics card with s-video out so spending 20 on the cable isnt a problem.

Would prefer to buy it than go through making it myself! Thanks though.

CathalDublin

Here's the official soft-15khz developers thread to check which cards are best to use
You'll get much much better, more accurate arcade graphics using Scart(RGB) and soft-15khz
http://community.arcadeinfo.de/showthread.php?t=8170
I can make you the cable if your interested? (you just tell me the length you'd like and give me a day or 2)

Optimus Prime

Ive read through that, and i have to be honest i understand very little in it! lol

So i need a VGA to Scart cable, and graphics card that is supported by that project? is that right?

Myrddin

Cathal is spot on, stay well away from s-video. Use a vga out in conjunction with soft15khz.

Optimus Prime

Do i have to download soft15hz or something off that site, i cant seem to find it anywhere, doesnt help though that its all in German! I have read through, the english parts, and get whats going on now. how do i get a vga to scart cable, doesnt seem to be any on fleabay!

Im picking up a 21inch tv the weekend off adverts has a scart on the back.

Have my pc, but it has an onboard graphics card, not sure if its intel or ati ill have to check when i get home.

Im going to spend some time over the weekend looking at hyperspin seems to look better than mala.

When i measure up this tv i can start building the cab, a carpanter friend is helping me out with this part.

purplec

For best results use any series 4 ATI graphics card. You'll pick a 512 up in pc world for 50 euro.

That's the best for soft15khz

CathalDublin

heres the link to the download, you'll need it running to display the correct resolution and freq
http://community.arcadeinfo.de/showthread.php?p=59291#post59291
As above i'll make the cable for you if your not confident about diying it.
Hyperspin is a brilliant frontend and i've used it since the first beta but just to warn you don't even try run it without a dual core processor or you'll run into trouble with screen tearing/delayed controls/etc

Optimus Prime

CathalDublin - would be great if you could make it i wouldnt know where to start, ill throw you a few quid just let me know.

thanks for the download like there to soft15hz. need to get a graphics card now. my pc just seems to have standard pci though.

CathalDublin

You should still be able to pick up an ati pci card no problem or even an agp if you have a slot.
I know marxcomputers have a pci one for 49euro
Put an advert in the wanted section on adverts and I'd say you'd get a card no problem for a tenner.
PM me and I'll make that cable up for you

Optimus Prime

I just checked my pc their and it actually only has an agp slot doesnt seem to have any pci S)

oh an i meant to ask whats the general consensus on size of tv? i picked up a 21" today from adverts but looking at it now im thinking maybe its actually too big.

CathalDublin

No PCI, Weird? is it a brand name PC?
I'd a 21" TV in mine, then I replaced it with a 21" Polo arcade monitor, I'd actually like to pick up a 25-26" in the future as I find the screen a little small.
I definitely wouldn't go any smaller than 21" unless its a cocktail your planning.

Optimus Prime

yeh its a dell pc.

thats cool, i was getting a bit worried.

CathalDublin

you'll get a second hand agp card over on adverts that will suit no problem.
sure my ArcadeVGA2 card is AGP and ultimarc still sell them afaik

Optimus Prime

i Stuck an update over on the site on what i have done so far, ive done more than this to be honest but walking a fine line between talking about roms, box art, marque, screenshots etc.. lol

http://www.gamersireland.ie/?p=8221

its basically autobooting xp to a frontend and hiding XP.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Optimus Prime

CathalDublin wrote: »

you'll get a second hand agp card over on adverts that will suit no problem.
sure my ArcadeVGA2 card is AGP and ultimarc still sell them afaik

I keep changing my mind about what way to go with this, ive looked up this ArcadeVga card and im tempted to get this now. My question is though, will this work with a vga to scart cable into a normal crt tv? Or do i need to buy an arcade monitor for it?

sengoku

[SIZE=+1]What about other alternatives?
[/SIZE]
TVs
We said earlier that arcade monitors were originally based on TV designs. So why can't you just use a TV and plug into the TV-Out connector on a VGA card? Well you can BUT you will not get an arcade-real picture.............

Read on here! (You'll need to scroll down the page a bit)

Optimus Prime

I think im just going to buy that Arcadevga card and use the vga to scart cable CathalDublin is kindly making for me, then use soft15hz.

I just added a load of stuff to my basket over on ultimarc.

For 210 euro delivered i can get pretty much everything i need.

ipac2
arcadevga
12 blue ultralux translucent buttons - 12 leds
2 white ultralux translucent buttons - 2 leds
daisy chain harness
2 x j-stiqs
2 x blue ball tops for the j-stiqs
1-2 player logo inserts
and joystiq mounting kit

Might buy all that next week..

Andrew76

keithgeo wrote: »

I think im just going to buy that Arcadevga card and use the vga to scart cable CathalDublin is kindly making for me, then use soft15hz.

Unless I'm mistaken if you're using the VGA card from Ultimarc then it eliminates the need for soft15hz? That's the one I got anyway for that very reason. I thought that soft15hz was only required if you're going to use an everyday graphics card?

Optimus Prime

if thats the case then even better! cheers.

keithgeo

keithgeo wrote: »

i Stuck an update over on the site on what i have done so far...Let me know what you think.

Great write up. A very concise simple walkthrough of what was actually one of the trickiest parts of getting the right look and feel for my cab, sorting out the boot and login screens and editing registry values to tweak the xp system's behaviour.

Added to bookmarks. Well done.

Optimus Prime

Cheers, i plan on putting up everything i do there in step by step format. I have drawn up plans expanding on ones i found on the net too. couldnt really find any decent plans for a cab, bits and pieces here and there. but not one i really liked.

MontgomeryClift

keithgeo wrote: »

Cheers, i plan on putting up everything i do there in step by step format. I have drawn up plans expanding on ones i found on the net too. couldnt really find any decent plans for a cab, bits and pieces here and there. but not one i really liked.

If I was building a cabinet from scratch, I'd use a 28 inch monitor or a 28 inch TV with a suitable arcade chassis, and model the cabinet on a Japanese Candy.

Now that I think of it, maybe the best design would be the Jaleco Pony III with the 25 inch monitor.

nacimroc

Although I would love a 28 inch, I make mine with a 25 inch TV only because that is the maximum width of a door I can get it through. Would be unfortunate to find out after you can't get a finished cab into the house.

Are you going to build a mock up panel to test it all first and get it all set up ?

I dont know if I mentioned before, but the best advice I could give you is NEVER make the cab playable before its finished. When you have it playable it is just far to much fun playing it instead of doing some menial sanding, wiring etc to get it finished!

Myrddin

nacimroc wrote: »

When you have it playable it is just far to much fun playing it instead of doing some menial sanding, wiring etc to get it finished!

Thats a great point, I've a few bits left on mine to tidy up etc, but as it's fully playable I've put it all to the back of the list. Leave out something crucial until your ready to start configuring controls/software etc.

Optimus Prime

Im going with a 21inch tv myself, i want to keep the cab average size this first time, i got a nice tv with not much bulk on the sides past the screen. im going to drop 220 quid on parts next week and i will hopefully be started the cab at some stage this week.

Optimus Prime

Couple of questions re the inside of the cab.

Would you guys take the motherboard, drives etc out of the pc case and mount on the inside of the cab or would you leave everything within the pc case and just stick that inside?

Is there a major need for ventalation, will a few gaps cut in the back with mesh covering them do the job or is there a need for something more complicated?

o1s1n

I've seen a few people get a flat board and attach all the pc componant parts to that. You could even screw four JAMMA pcb legs onto the board to give it some authenticity.

Optimus Prime

Yeh i was thinking about doing that alright but i was just a bit worried about the heat build up inside the thing, but i guess that would be a problem either way. Im also trying to figure out how the hell im going to turn the pc on when its in there lol. can you get extension cables and that to wire up the power button on the pc so its a longer cable, i seen people that can turn on there cabs by pressing the insert coin button on the front, that was pretty cool looking!

o1s1n

I think I read somewhere that it's possible to set it up so that the pc boots up automatically once plugged in - like a real cab would.

Andrew76

keithgeo wrote: »

Im also trying to figure out how the hell im going to turn the pc on when its in there lol. can you get extension cables and that to wire up the power button on the pc so its a longer cable, i seen people that can turn on there cabs by pressing the insert coin button on the front, that was pretty cool looking!

The very thing I wondered too. There's some power on type connection on most motherboards that you can wire up to the button on your cab. EnterNow could explain better but I've seen his in action, powers up and down the pc. Very cool indeed. Or some motherboards auto power on after being turned off I think.

As for your PC case vs mounting components, I suppose it depends. If you're building a pc from scratch then it makes more sense to just mount the components to a wooden board, no need for a case. Assuming the inside of your cab has a bit of space then once there's some holes/vents here or there it should be fine.
But if you already have the pc inside it's own case then I was thinking that possibly the only reason to take the parts out is for the power on/off wiring issue that you just raised. Anyway, Logie and EnterNow would know way more on this.

Optimus Prime

I had a look in the bios for the auto power on feature and i dont seem to have it on my pc so im going to have to try do something with the power button i think. Set it turn off the pc on a press and wire it up to a button somewhere, maybe onto the underneath of the control panel if i can, im undecided on whether on not get a coin mech on the front, it might look that part though if it powered on the pc.

sengoku

Sometimes the "Auto Power on" is a jumper pin setting on the Mobo. Just follow the wires from the "PC Power on" button to the Mobo, it usually leads you to a cluster of pins. Look on the circuit board surrounding the pins and see if there is any indication of an auto power on setting. The instruction book for your particular Mobo will give more information on the "auto power on" option (if it has one?) and should be available online.

Optimus Prime

Cheers, i never even considered that i will check it out tonight.

sengoku wrote: »

Sometimes the "Auto Power on" is a jumper pin setting on the Mobo. Just follow the wires from the "PC Power on" button to the Mobo, it usually leads you to a cluster of pins. Look on the circuit board surrounding the pins and see if there is any indication of an auto power on setting. The instruction book for your particular Mobo will give more information on the "auto power on" option (if it has one?) and should be available online.

Myrddin

keithgeo wrote: »

Yeh i was thinking about doing that alright but i was just a bit worried about the heat build up inside the thing, but i guess that would be a problem either way. Im also trying to figure out how the hell im going to turn the pc on when its in there lol. can you get extension cables and that to wire up the power button on the pc so its a longer cable, i seen people that can turn on there cabs by pressing the insert coin button on the front, that was pretty cool looking!

I've my pc internals mounted on a piece of pli-wood, and can lift the whole lot out in one if needs be. It's better for heat/ventilation. I have the power button wired to a hidden arcade button on the underside of my control board, from the motherboard power pins to the switch I just used two long pieces of thin electrical wire.

Myrddin

keithgeo wrote: »

Cheers, i never even considered that i will check it out tonight.

You could check & see if a later BIOS revision ads support for it, usually ACPI 2.0 is a good indication there are advanced power management features. If so, all you need do is flash the bios.

nacimroc

Just wire a switch to the PC's power switch! Its 2 wires and any momentary switch will work fine (as in the coin return button on front). It would be annoying to have to plug the unit in every time you want to turn it on.

I also mounted my PC internals to a piece of MDF which was on a keyboard sliding rails so it slid out the back to work on all the bits if needed. You can use plumbers metal strap to hold the parts down and get some PCB feet to hold your motherboard to the timber. If you have any PCI cards they will not sit up straight when out of a case so that plumbers strap works good too.

You should install some fans at least blowing positive pressure in! The exhaust will clear itself if you dont want more fans but don't forget you are putting hot components inside a giant timber box and fans only cost 3 quid each so...

Kidchameleon

Hi All,

Has anybody ever bought from happcontrols.com, if so I assume they ship to Ireland? Anybody any experience with Makvision monitors? Would they be suitable for a Mame cab? I'm looking at this one: http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49271500.htm

Do you guys know of any better monitors available out there?

Cheers.

Myrddin

Kidchameleon wrote: »

Hi All,

Has anybody ever bought from happcontrols.com, if so I assume they ship to Ireland? Anybody any experience with Makvision monitors? Would they be suitable for a Mame cab? I'm looking at this one: http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49271500.htm

Do you guys know of any better monitors available out there?

Cheers.

Happ controls are 100%, I've used them so they do deliver here alright. That screen is serious overkill for a Mame cab, not to mention the delivery costs on something like that. Contact Mitchomagic here, he should have a few monitors there hanging about.

Optimus Prime

I started building the cab tonight! Cut out the side to measure in a piece of Plywood, going to use that to make the actual sides tommorow night. When you see the wood cutout the excitement starts!

Kidchameleon

keithgeo wrote: »

I started building the cab tonight! Cut out the side to measure in a piece of Plywood, going to use that to make the actual sides tommorow night. When you see the wood cutout the excitement starts!

Could you throw a few pic up? Ill be starting my cab soon aswell!