christianscott27
10-28-2003, 11:23 AM
once again i've had the good fortune to get some vital parts donated to my MAME project, toddst gave me an older dell PC from his cellar collection. this spurred me to go from dreamcast based MAME to PC MAME.
the backstory of the project is that around 2 years ago i made the DC MAME cab. to my knowledge i was the first geek to do so but at any rate i was pretty proud of it. using MAMEdc, a VGA box, a giant castoff monitor, radio shack speakers, a junk cab i restored to jungle king and a DC controller board wired into the arcade controls i was set! i'm not a carpenter or engineer type, i get an idea and run with it proper parts be dammed, so it was a good looking spit and tape project.
the DC mame is actually pretty decent and not too buggy, runs decently on all of the older games, the menu is not horrible either. the problem was the control, despite diligent soldering and hacking there was no nice way to make a modern console respond right to a 4 way arcade control. everytime i had guests over to play it everybody wanted to play ms.pac man, and on the fast mazes the limits of the controls were painfully obvious.
so this week i began in earnest working on the PC project, slipping a nice little DC inside a cab was no mean feat, fitting a big ol' tower in was! in order to avoid the control issues i used an ultimark IPAC, a device that connects the arcade wires to the keyboard input while translating between the two, thats the most expensive item used ($40). once the MAME was installed on the PC it was time to test out the controls and ...the hair pulling began.
i was lost so i called up the always helpful todd and we went about debugging it over a 6 pack. after a frusterating hour or so we figured out that the control issue was leaf switch vs microswitch (two different joystick detection styles) a few wires were exchanged and all was well. todd toook off and i decided to take advantage of some wife and child free time and finish the project that night...up until 330 AM yikes.
i did a few idiot moves like plugging the speaker in the wrong jack and then sealing the cab up :frustrated: . a few open heart surgery adjustments on the hardware and a hell of a lot of grunting under the monitor and it was done! i still have some issues with the monitor positioning but i'm ready to let it be and just enjoy my cab. one of the things thats harder about using an authentic arcade cab is that you're jamming things into a box that was not designed for them, thus the monitor is about a half inch off from prefect....ah well your eyes slide over that when gaming :roll:
now i'm ready to enjoy my new toy, a faster, tighter version of the DC mame. i love MAME cabs and suggest everyone who has the space look into making one. once you're standing up, slapping the buttons and cranking the joystick its beyond emulation and right into the arcade. with a little luck and labor it can be done for under $100.
the backstory of the project is that around 2 years ago i made the DC MAME cab. to my knowledge i was the first geek to do so but at any rate i was pretty proud of it. using MAMEdc, a VGA box, a giant castoff monitor, radio shack speakers, a junk cab i restored to jungle king and a DC controller board wired into the arcade controls i was set! i'm not a carpenter or engineer type, i get an idea and run with it proper parts be dammed, so it was a good looking spit and tape project.
the DC mame is actually pretty decent and not too buggy, runs decently on all of the older games, the menu is not horrible either. the problem was the control, despite diligent soldering and hacking there was no nice way to make a modern console respond right to a 4 way arcade control. everytime i had guests over to play it everybody wanted to play ms.pac man, and on the fast mazes the limits of the controls were painfully obvious.
so this week i began in earnest working on the PC project, slipping a nice little DC inside a cab was no mean feat, fitting a big ol' tower in was! in order to avoid the control issues i used an ultimark IPAC, a device that connects the arcade wires to the keyboard input while translating between the two, thats the most expensive item used ($40). once the MAME was installed on the PC it was time to test out the controls and ...the hair pulling began.
i was lost so i called up the always helpful todd and we went about debugging it over a 6 pack. after a frusterating hour or so we figured out that the control issue was leaf switch vs microswitch (two different joystick detection styles) a few wires were exchanged and all was well. todd toook off and i decided to take advantage of some wife and child free time and finish the project that night...up until 330 AM yikes.
i did a few idiot moves like plugging the speaker in the wrong jack and then sealing the cab up :frustrated: . a few open heart surgery adjustments on the hardware and a hell of a lot of grunting under the monitor and it was done! i still have some issues with the monitor positioning but i'm ready to let it be and just enjoy my cab. one of the things thats harder about using an authentic arcade cab is that you're jamming things into a box that was not designed for them, thus the monitor is about a half inch off from prefect....ah well your eyes slide over that when gaming :roll:
now i'm ready to enjoy my new toy, a faster, tighter version of the DC mame. i love MAME cabs and suggest everyone who has the space look into making one. once you're standing up, slapping the buttons and cranking the joystick its beyond emulation and right into the arcade. with a little luck and labor it can be done for under $100.