Arcade Project
A few months I decided to take on another project. This time
I wanted to build an arcade machine/MP3 jukebox.
The first thing I had to hunt down was an old arcade upright. I inquired
at a few local vending companies about the possibility of finding an old cabinet
that was beyond repair, that I might purchase cheap. Eventually persistance
payed off and I located the machine you see below.
The picture is a bit deceiving. The machine had been painted multiple times
during its lifespan. The controls were worn and floppy. Internally, things were no better.
The monitor was toast. Signs of circuit trace cuts and modification were everywhere.
The power supply was fried, and the game board was questionable at best. The coin door
was present, but the mechs (guts) had been removed. All of this may sound daunting,
but I planned to strip this cabinet of all it's hardware anyway, and use my own ingredients.
The first job would be to remove all the removables and refinish the cabinet to the best
of my ability. Just a note to anyone planning to take on an arcade project, beggars can't
be choosers, but if at all possible, try to acquire a cabinet that has seen minimal moisture.
The large majority of these things are made of particle board material. Therefore, any moisture
will cause the wood to expand and make life miserable for you at this stage. Most of the time, the damage
will be confined to the base of the unit, unless the cabinet has seen some outdoor time. If
that is the case, you should probably leave it where it is. Anyway, priorities are solid wood,
and a coin door. Most everything else you can come up with fairly reasonable. Below you will see
a pic of the unit after some refinishing.
When not working on the cabinet, I was tinkering around with ideas for the control panel. The
original panel surface was metal, which was hinged for quick maintenance access. Unfortunately the options on the original
surface were limited as you can see in the first pic. Karate Champ was a two joystick per player machine, therefore
in order to make this project work with multiple games, a change was in order. I decided to cut a "U" shape out of the
original surface, and place a custom panel on top of that. By doing this, I would still have the front of the hinged panel
in place, while retaining enough metal up top to attach my own control surface.
The panel above it 3/8" birch. This kept the thickness to a minimum, yet remained very strong
and resilient. The dimensions I had to work with limited me to 5 buttons per player. In retrospect, 6 buttons
would have been better, since quite a few of the fighting style games need that many. I could have done this
simply by increasing the depth of the panel, but I opted for the streamlined, more original looking
surface. Oh yeah, there is also the fact that I have never been into the modern fighter games, so I was
oblivious to the need of more buttons. I shall consider this when I dive into machine #2.
Below is a rear shot of the cabinet after cleaning up a bit. A small bracket has been attached
from left to right as a monitor rest, along with some widening of the forward
plywood for monitor fitting. New automotive style speakers have been installed.
Case after monitor and marquee installation
The marquee above was cut from the large plexiglass of an old Coke machine door. I don't know, I just thought
it looked good. The plexi in front of the monitor is new. I masked it to match the shape of the monitor, and sprayed it flat
black on the backside. This worked really well, and looks factory. Since it is applied on the back side, the plexi itself makes
it look glossy from the front. You will also note the new T-Molding on the mahcine's panel ends. To me, this made an
incredible difference in the final product.
There are a few options commercially to interface your control panel to your interface. I decided
to stick with my non-existant budget, and use a keyboard hack. You can find info on this type of hack on several
of the arcade sites, but when all is said and done, it seem that everyones finished product differs slightly.
As in everything, go with what works best for you in your particular situation. Though some people speak of varied
results, I am totally satisfied with mine. There is some trial and error wire swapping required, but upon completion,
I feel sure I will use the same method on future projects.
Keyboard hack on board with terminal blocks
The original game board was mounted to a metal panel on one side of the machine. I removed the original boardset,
drilled it to match my motherboard, attached standoffs, then remounted it to the cabinet. Since this board would be dedicated to
the arcade machine for life, I saw no reason to have a complete computer tower inside. This decision also made heat
issues non-existant. I stripped the drive framework from a previously trashed case, and mounted it directly to the bottom
of the cabinet. This frame would house a cd-rom drive and a Hard-drive.
Note on the above picture, the power supply mounted forward of the mobo. Also, you can see the floppy directly above the mobo.
Wires were still dangling, but there was more work to be done at this point.
All wires lead to keyhack (earlier pic)
I placed a small stereo amplifier inside to pump the sound. When finished, it not only
powered the two internal speakers, but also a couple of nice American Acoustic's. The coin doors
were stripped, painted, then re-installed. Since the unit lacked the mechs behind the door, I installed
a small microswitch behind the coin return door. Each time you press the door inward, you add a credit
top the machine. The lamp on the coin door are 12v automotive style, and can be powered via the
pc power-supply. The metal panel below the control surface was wire brushed and sprayed black.
Done (except for picking up tools)
Well, this is the finished product. So far so good. It performs like a champ, as both a game
unit, or MP3 Jukebox. There are a few odds and ends I have neglected to mention, such as the wireless mouse
for maintenance, or the batch of hidden buttons that activate the "tab" and "Esc" keys.
If there are any questions, I will do my best to answer them...just drop me a line.
Special thanks to my beta testers: Lauren, Lori, Seth, and Trav!
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