Building my MAME Cabinet

[Matt Antonellis]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this or if people have done this sort of the thread hundreds of times over before.

I know there are some great resources out on the intarwebs for people that want to build MAME cabinets, but my project will be slightly different than the others for a few reasons which I explain in the list below.

I thought it would be a good idea if I kept a log of my progress here for anyone else interested, and also to help me keep track of things.

So... I've finally decided to put theory to practice and start building my MAME cabinet. It's been one of my long-term goals to build a MAME cabinet, but just recently while talking to a friend (and after seeing Nate's at JCR) I decided it's time I build it.

My plan is as follows:
1. Build a lightweight, relatively easy to transport MAME cab.
2. Use existing parts to cut down on cost.
3. Keep design easy enough due to complex power tool limitations.
4. Be able to access the PC with keyboard/mouse/usb/etc. for updates and such.
5. Have MAME boot directly when the PC powers on.

The parts that I already have:
1. Monitor (LCD monitor)
2. PC capable of running most emulators and MAME (very new PC, dual 2.0Ghz CPU, 2GB RAM, etc. should be good enough for most anything I want to emulate)
3. Power cords, power strip, most cables
4. keyboard and mouse
5. Soldiering kit (solder pen, solder, wiring)

The parts I bought:
1. joysticks and buttons from HAPP controls.
2. I-Pac interface from Ultimarc.

Now I know what you're thinking: LCD/TFT displays are not nearly as good as authentic arcade monitors or even a normal CRT TV, but I may purchase the arcade-native resolution video card for it later if I don't end up finding a decent free CRT monitor. Alternatively, I want to see how light the cabinet can be, therefore this is more of a test if anything to see how light I can make a full-size cabinet, but still structurally sound and able to withstand a good thrashing.

This week I'm buying the wood, nails, paint, vent, fan, etc. from the hardware store and hopefully start to cut the sheets into form.

All together, I've spent roughly $100 on the project so far which really only accounts for the arcade controls interface and joystick & buttons bought shown above. The parts that I already have I did spend a lot of money on originally, but they could easily be substituted with low-cost alternatives such as an old Pentium 4 PC and a CRT monitor which people are just throwing away these days.

I was originally looking for any arcade machines in the area which I could gut either for the case or controls, but I couldn't find anything viable, at which point I decided I would rather just build the thing completely from scratch with new wood, new buttons, and other parts I owned.

I'm expecting all cutting to take about a day and painting to take roughly one day too. Sanding and assembly should be fairly short if things go as planned.

Pictures will be taken as soon as a good portion of the project starts (Wednesday most likely).

[john_soper]

I hear ya on the monitor choices. My (mostly finished) Mame cab uses a 20 inch LCD. Chose that for less weight and so I could rotate it with a motor (still a couple bugs in that part).
I don't think computer monitors are as bad as some people think anyway. And they actually look better for vector games: Asteroids, Tempest, SW Arcade.

Planning out my second cab now which will run off four dreamcasts. Need a black CRT monitor for that cause of the lightgun games. Big and heavy, yuck.

[gonzo90017]

If you're looking for something light-weight why not a bartop?

You're calling a pentium 4 old? I'm currently doing some testing using a p2 233mhz 160mb ram laptop and i've managed to get most of the major systems running 55-60 fps!

[Matt Antonellis]

If you're looking for something light-weight why not a bartop?

I mentioned in my post that I want a full-size cabinet. I prefer something with the look and feel of a full-size cabinet rather than a cocktail style machine or other design. It's purely just my desire.
Plus, I've already measured and blue-printed the thing and I'm getting ready to do the actual cutting of wood tomorrow.
Third: my control scheme is too large for what I think of when I think of a bartop. I'm going to have 2 joysticks and 18 buttons total, which I want to space out a bit. When I imagine a more portable bartop style design, I imagine it being a single player experience. Either way, my mind is already made up.

You're calling a pentium 4 old? I'm currently doing some testing using a p2 233mhz 160mb ram laptop and i've managed to get most of the major systems running 55-60 fps!

By "old" I mean anything more than 5 years old. I suppose a pentium 2 would do, but there are some other things I may want to emulate such as Dreamcast.

[Matt Antonellis]

Yesterday (Wed. May 20th) I bought the wood and other supplies at Lowe's hardware supply store.

The full list is as follows:
(2) 4'x8' (5/8" width) MDF
(1) 10'x2" (3/4" width) scrap wood strip (for supports)
(50) 1 1/4" flat head screws
(1) 1 qt. blue paint (Rustoleum)
(1) 1 qt. glossy black paint (Rustoleum)
(1) plastic bucket (for mixing the paints)
(1) 1 qt. odorless mineral spirits

The total came to roughly $78 and change, $10 off with the gift card I used = $68 total. Plexiglass will be bought later after the monitor is seated and measured. The price quote on this is less than $20.

Tomorrow (Fri. May 22nd) will be the day for measuring, scoring, and cutting the pieces, and possibly some assembly of the base frame.

Pictures will be added later today and on Saturday after construction (at least when I'm not at Comic-Con).

[Lerxstnj]

Yesterday (Wed. May 20th) I bought the wood and other supplies at Lowe's hardware supply store.

Tomorrow (Fri. May 22nd) will be the day for measuring, scoring, and cutting the pieces, and possibly some assembly of the base frame.

Pictures will be added later today and on Saturday after construction (at least when I'm not at Comic-Con).

I thought today was Tues. May 20th ?
Anyway, I hope to see some pics soon.

[Matt Antonellis]

Well, it's been a while. (Random excuses here).
Anyway, here's some pics. They're a bit old now, and I have some new ones that I'll upload later today if I get around to it.

http://www.shipwreckgamestudio.com/matt's%20stuff/mame%20cab/

More to come later as I try and finish it up this coming week.

All there is really left to do is paint and put in a few more screws, as I have everything else in place. I still have to seat the monitor correctly with bezel, but the mobo, HDD, and PSU are all in place and ready to run.