Gallery of ****

[MrSandman]

Looking to get a motorbike
or car with the funds raised

Good luck...

[Korszca]

...yup, he needs a motorbike to transport his new baby
(seriously, I can't believe he wrote that)

[crunchywasp]

yeah, I thought that too

Perfect mode of transport for a new baby

[MrSandman]

He'd transport it in a of course.
MAME, Cab, MAME'd Cab

[supergoose]

Good luck...

We used to have one until my dad sold it in '91. Miss it. Back then going on vacation felt more like an adventure. not a race.

Edit: they're getting harder to find now and aren't as affordable anymore.

[Zamza]

This thread does wonders for a wannabe-MAME-cab-maker's confidence.

Yup...

The buttons. The horror.

Could I make something that bad, even if I tried to? I honestly don't think I could...

[Korszca]

Could I make something that bad, even if I tried to? I honestly don't think I could...

Don't set the bar so low for yourself there

[Zamza]

Could I make something that bad, even if I tried to? I honestly don't think I could...

Don't set the bar so low for yourself there

I know, No doubt someone's reading this and thinking "of all the threads on all the forums, you just had to browse THIS one for ideas... "

That said, I'm thinking I'd stick to something simple.

• Controls for 1 player
• Button layout traced from another arcade machine - no additional buttons, trackballs etc
• No coin mechanism
• No LEDs
• Plywood frame on locking castors, sanded MDF everything else
• matt black from top to bottom - leave artwork for another time, base it on what I end up playing the most on MAME
• no speakers, just 1x 3.5 mm stereo jack (cheaper, less to break, can add them in later)

Not thrilling, but no chance of it becoming an ungodly clusterfyck, and I'd be busy enough learning about basic woodworking, MAME, wiring and everything else.

That is, assuming they're not sold out of matt black, right?

[Korszca]

That said, I'm thinking I'd stick to something simple.

• Controls for 1 player

Good!

• Button layout traced from another arcade machine - no additional buttons, trackballs etc

Excellent! You can find diagrams online.

• No coin mechanism

Some people like the sound of coins dropping. Doesn't matter to me because I keep all my PCBs on Free Play.
Though as I write this, it dawns on me that you're talking about a MAME cab.

• No LEDs

You, sir, are my hero. You should have been here when TEFightStands came to town. Good times.

• Plywood frame on locking castors, sanded MDF everything else

I don't know enough about this, since I don't have any wood cabs.

• matt black from top to bottom - leave artwork for another time, base it on what I end up playing the most on MAME

Matte finish is good; again, not having any wood cabs, I can't really comment.

• no speakers, just 1x 3.5 mm stereo jack (cheaper, less to break, can add them in later)

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Speakers are a must!

[mufunyo]

How to make a decent wooden MAME cab:

1) Get a classic cab
2) Restore it
3) JAMMA-fy it (if it's pre-JAMMA era)
4) Get a PC and J-PAC, install them
5) Done, don't change anything else.

(After a few months/years, you will grow out of MAME and buy your first PCB.)

[Korszca]

(After a few months/years hours/days, you will grow out of MAME and buy your first PCB.)

So you might as well just start buying PCBs

[Zamza]

• No coin mechanism

Some people like the sound of coins dropping. Doesn't matter to me because I keep all my PCBs on Free Play.
Though as I write this, it dawns on me that you're talking about a MAME cab.

• Plywood frame on locking castors, sanded MDF everything else

I don't know enough about this, since I don't have any wood cabs.

• no speakers, just 1x 3.5 mm stereo jack (cheaper, less to break, can add them in later)

Speakers are a must!

I enjoy the sounds of coins dropping myself, but I can't justify the extra complication and expense. Also, when we switched over from the Irish punt to the € I a lot of the nostalgia wore off for me. Maybe if I do commit to something more ambitious I'd set it to use Sega Arcade tokens instead.

Regard the MDF, its cheap, so there'd be less expense in building the cab (or correcting cockups), leaving more funds for better parts elsewhere. Plus it doesn't have grain, so its a bit simpler and faster for a beginner to work with that plywood too.

Also, as for the speakers, I can see your point. But by not having them makes things simpler. Besides, if its a 1 player cab, the noise would probably annoy everyone who isn't playing. Building it this way prevents that becoming a problem, and gives me more flexibility as to where's a reasonable spot to set it up too.

Consider it a strategic choice: its the first cab that earns a bit of good karma and starts making the ownership of a second or third seem an entirely reasonable proposition, right? After all, this one can only hand one player, which is such a pity...

[Korszca]

Also, as for the speakers, I can see your point. But by not having them makes things simpler. Besides, if its a 1 player cab, the noise would probably annoy everyone who isn't playing. Building it this way prevents that becoming a problem, and gives me more flexibility as to where's a reasonable spot to set it up too.

You don't know this yet because you don't have a cab, but this is actually one of the best things about owning a cab.

[supergoose]

i too have a headphone jack on my cab, but trust me, you don't want to play with headphones on all the time.

you should be able to get a set of speakers (or just one for mono) for (much) less than 20€ shipped and hooking them up isn't hard at all. if mono then GND and speaker + is all it need's. add a switch (~ 1,50€) and you'll be able to turn off the speaker.

i got those:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Stuck-Dynavox- ... 683wt_1162"

two speakers for 6,99€ plus 3,90€ for shipping. i didn't end up putting them in my cab because they didn't fit, but i tested them with a neo geo 4 slot board and they did sound great. much better than the speakers that i got from starcab.

also, a used coinmech can be had for very little money. i even got one for free from someone on ng.com.

[SuperPang]

[LorisBiaggi]

Pianocade...
Why?

[FrancoB]

1:38 massive LOL

[Korszca]

Imma pass on the pre-order

[Zamza]

Dunno if that really belongs in here. Maybe a its a little gimmicky and I've no idea if they're being sold for crazy money but I'm sure there are chip tune musicians who'd love one.

[crunchywasp]

Pianocade...
Why?

That's exactly what I thought...

Why???