MAME DIY cocktail cabinet plans needed

[AussieAtari]

On the weekend my wife says how she would like a sit down MAME table, just like the Frogger and Galaxian tables of old, she even said where she would like it to go, in the lounge room no less - you could have knocked me over with a feather!

 

Well, this is a golden opportunity for yours truly and one I cannot miss, so I am after any directions to plans for a good sit-down MAME table. There is almost too much information on MAME cabinets on the web and I only have limited surfing time as I can only surf when at work, so am after my learned forum colleagues to help me sort the good from the bad.

 

Can anyone assist?

[+Stephen]

On the weekend my wife says how she would like a sit down MAME table, just like the Frogger and Galaxian tables of old, she even said where she would like it to go, in the lounge room no less - you could have knocked me over with a feather!

 

Well, this is a golden opportunity for yours truly and one I cannot miss, so I am after any directions to plans for a good sit-down MAME table. There is almost too much information on MAME cabinets on the web and I only have limited surfing time as I can only surf when at work, so am after my learned forum colleagues to help me sort the good from the bad.

 

Can anyone assist?

 

I'm thinking about putting together one of these. A cocktail version should be easy enough to do.

 

Stephen Anderson

 

P.S.

Sorry about the lack of help - I just had to share this as it's the funniest MAME related project I have ever seen. Chro MAME has excellent details about general construction and control panels, but no plans for cocktail cabinets. I'd still recommend reading it for the control info and construction tips.

[AussieAtari]

Very cool, well funny and tragic really, I just don't think the trouble and strife would permit such a politically correct, environmentally aware cabinet in the lounge

[yuppicide]

ZOMG! Both of your posts were hilarious. I was thinking the same thing.. you could have knocked me over with a feather too.

 

Thanks for that Trashcade link it's funny.

[AussieAtari]

Thanks for the Chro Mame link Stephen, I have found exactly what I was after from Kyle Linsdtrom.

 

That guy is amazing, he has a full set of technical drawings and assembly instructions for a great Pac-Man cocktail cabinet. If anyone wants to build one like that you really need to check his out.

[Lost Monkey]

There is a ton of info at this site:

 

http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade.htm

[AussieAtari]

The site looks good, I will have to explore the controls section as it looks to be quite comprehensive.

 

Cheers.

[danny_galaga]

hey there. i found this thread while googling my own site. this was much higher on the rankings! so i signed up to reply. ive built an 'aussie' style cocktail cab and this is the site for it:

 

http://www.dannygalaga.com

 

 

i've put lots of links on my site to similar cabs people have built or converted including the site that got me started which has dimensions.

 

good luck with the project (",)

 

danny.

[EricBall]

The Kyle Lindstrom plans are an excellent place to start. My only advice is to plan everything out first. Also find out where to get all parts before you buy anything.

 

Pay special attention to what kind of monitor you are planning on using, both the dimensions and how you plan on mounting it. Arcade monitors are the easiest to mount, but then you need a video card which will handle them (see BYOC for info).

 

Notes about TVs and PC monitors - all CRTs are mounted via four "ears" at the corners of the tube. If you don't decase the TV or monitor then all the weight is being transferred via the plastic shell. But decasing can be difficult and leave the circuit board needing external supports.

 

Another alternative is to find/buy an existing cocktail cabinet (hopefully with a working monitor and controls, possibly even JAMMA) and fit a PC inside with the appropriate interfaces.