Bally/Midway Tri-Sports to MAME PC

[theChad]

Hi all,

I was recently given a 1989 Bally/Midway Tri-Sports arcade cabinet, in complete working order. It had just been taking up space in a friend's garage and he said if I could get it out of there I could have it, so I borrowed a truck and hauled it home.

After a lot of vacuuming, polishing, and few rounds of pool I decided that this cabinet would best serve me if I loaded a PC inside it with a nice MAME collection.

There are a few issues that need addressed as far as making this thing work to its greatest potential and I'm hoping I can find some of the help I need here.

The first issue is the monitor. The one in the cabinet right now is a vertical monitor and has GunSmoke's title screen burned into it to a pretty noticeable degree. I want to replace this with either a television tube or PC monitor, oriented horizontally. The original bezel would just need a little trim to fit in sideways, but does not match the proportions of a regular monitor properly. If I were to adjust the size of the picture to display within those bounds, would I face a lot of distortion? Also, is a PC monitor the only way to go if I want to adjust the size to fit that precisely?

The second issue is the control panel. Tri-Sports uses only a trackball and two buttons. For a generic machine I obviously need to install a joystick (or two) and a few more buttons but as the current control panel is pretty thick metal, I don't know how easy that would be. I'm looking to build my own control panel but I'm really not sure where to start or how to make the final thing work with a PC.

The third issue is MAME. I have used plenty of other emulators both on PC and Xbox, but this is my first look at MAME. I downloaded it the other day along with a few roms, but only one rom was complete. Is it really that tough to come by working roms for this software? I don't want a huge library of games on the machine, but just enough of the classics to make it a nice attraction in my home.

Any help finding legitimate roms would be great, and especially help with the control panel. Thanks for reading.

Chad

[theChad]

Bump?

[IronBuddha]

I suggest reading around here and other forums like BYOAC to get a good idea of what you want to do because there's numerous of things you can about the monitor and controls.

You don't necessarily need to keep the original monitor bezel if it's a pain to work with. You can always buy a piece of Lexan or plexi glass (plexi is the cheaper route) get it cut to fit and paint the edges to cover the monitor.

Also if between choosing a computer monitor or TV, go with a CRT monitor. I've messed with flat and tube televisions, LCD monitors and found that CRT monitors work best.

And as for controls depends on what you want to do, if it's just going to be non co-op classic games then all you would need is one joystick 2-3 buttons, but if you want newer games and fighting games then you'll need at least 2 joysticks 6 buttons each.

Like I said read around and figure out what you really want to do, there's even certain games you may like that use a trackball or spinner, so that may need to be considered as well.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Are you planning on keeping the track-ball on the console and/or functional?

[Pantechnicon]

A few brief thoughts (from someone who's built 7 MAME conversions to date):

1. Try and preserve as much of the original cab artwork as you can. This includes at a minimum the marquee, the bezel glass and the control panel, all of which can be removed intact and replaced with new equipment. I don't know how you feel about the side artwork, but if the cab is in as good a shape as you suggest I wouldn't want to mess with it.

2. It's no real problem to replace the existing display with a computer CRT. Make sure you use one at least 19" in size. Ideally 21". Anything less than 19" looks cheap. Measure the overall internal width and depth of the cab before you invest in a display so you'll know if it fits.

3. Building a control panel is the single most detail oriented aspect of a project like this. Again, rather than permanently altering what you have, remove it and build something more versatile and new in its place. Not as hard as it sounds.

4. MAME is the definitive emulator you'll want to use for a project like this. I'm actually surprised you're admitting to as little familiarity with the program as you are, given the ambition you're showing for tackling this sort of thing. What I mean by that is: Most people are already sold on MAME, having played extensively on their PC's with keyboards or whatever for a while, before they think "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I dropped a PC into an old cabinet and found a way to rig up real arcade controls to it?!" You seem to be coming at it from a different angle.

But hey....nobody wants to see a project like this fail so don't be afraid to ask more questions as they arise.

[theChad]

Unfortunately, the cab was already spray-painted black when I got it, but the Marquee is in absolutely perfect conditon; the first thing I did was replace the bulb behind it.

Pantechnicon: On your first point, I have every intention of saving anything I remove or replace on the machine, but how would you suggest I store things like the monitor and boards? I want to make sure they are safely preserved if I ever put the thing back together.

I found that a 19" television I already have matches the dimensions and curve of the bezel plastic tray exactly, so that's really what I'd like to use as a display. The glass unfortunately would not match up with something like that, so I will also be preserving it and putting a heavy sheet of Lexan in its place.

When it comes to disassembling everything, though, the wires seem to all be neatly bundled and mounted in their proper route through the cabinet, so I want to disconnect everything while changing as little of this as possible.

All in all, I still expect the control panel to be the toughest part of this project. I've seen sites where you can order arcade buttons, joysticks, and track-balls but I really need to know how to wire all this down to be able to connect it to a computer. I've already looked at mapping everything to a spare keyboard PCB, but this seems unneccessarily difficult - is there any better way to make a control panel that will easily plug in to a PC?

[Pantechnicon]

Unfortunately, the cab was already spray-painted black when I got it, but the Marquee is in absolutely perfect conditon; the first thing I did was replace the bulb behind it.

Well...that settles that. Since you linked a copy of the flyer as opposed to the actual cab I was working off the assumption that the original artwork on the sides, etc. was all present.

I have every intention of saving anything I remove or replace on the machine, but how would you suggest I store things like the monitor and boards? I want to make sure they are safely preserved if I ever put the thing back together.

Wrap the board in some mylar to avoid ESD. Wrap the marquee in an old sheet to avoid scratching. These things are flat and should be easy to store. As for the display, I don't know how much storage space you're dealing with, but I'd probably do the same...just throw an old sheet over it.

I've already looked at mapping everything to a spare keyboard PCB, but this seems unneccessarily difficult - is there any better way to make a control panel that will easily plug in to a PC?

Absolutely! The Ultimarc Ipac. Runs between a control panel and a standard PS/2 keyboard port. All you do is run the wires into it, and plug an extension cable it into the keyboard port. Supports 2 4-directional joysticks and 8 buttons per side. They make it in a lot of different flavors, including 4 panel, USB, trackball etc. Best of all it comes pre-programmed with the MAME defaults, but you can reconfigure it any way you wish.

[InsaneDavid]

As for the display, I don't know how much storage space you're dealing with, but I'd probably do the same...just throw an old sheet over it.

And make sure you put it in a place where no one (including yourself) with come into contact with it accidentally. The monitor is the most dangerous part of an arcade cabinet when not handled correctly.

[theChad]

Are you planning on keeping the track-ball on the console and/or functional?

The track-ball that came with it is getting worn-out, so if I do put a track-ball in the new control panel, it would probably be a new one. Still not sure if I'm going to include any track-ball games just yet.

[TripppsK]

Good luck with your project. I have done 4 myself and it is definitely an addictive hobby. my original cab is my favorite and after 5 years I am still exploring ways to make it even better. Definitely go with the IPac for wiring up your control panel it is by far the easiest and most efficient route.

If you do not want to keep the items that you gutted from the cabinet there are always people looking for various items. I am sure you would find a taker for the PCB, monitor, and marquee.