devilFist Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I am almost done with the plans for my cabinet, but want to pose a few questions before going too far to modify without foreseeable hassles. Before I continue, I will unfortunately state this, but only once: I know some people kind of enjoy being negative and mocking others. That is fine, you may do as you please as long as no true harm is done, but just realize that I will most likely skip over such nonsense and never reply to it. I admit, while younger, I even participated in similar discourse, but most people grow up and leave it behind. Anyway, I'm not preaching, and will leave it at that. What I want out of my cabinet: The unit will sit next to my home bar. Although some want only pure arcades in their cabinet, I will also use mine to play music, watch videos, play console games, and even some modern PC games (that don't suffer from TV's response speed). I plan on making a four joystick with eight button control panel, with a trackball and system/start/select buttons. I figure I will also incorporate a coin mech. It won't be my main entertainment center, just what I have in my bar. Main Components: i7-4790k CPU, 32GB RAM, GTX 980 GPU, Soundblaster through an old Denon receiver for 5.1 sound, using a 40" LCD TV display. So, what are my questions? 1. I had originally planned on using Happ-style joysticks and buttons, since that is the style I used in arcades as a kid. It seems, however, that there is pretty much a consensus declaring the Japanese components are better for both playing and longevity. When it first came out, I convinced my brothers to chip in and we bought a Neo Geo Gold system, which I believe has the Japanese style controls. It definitely has more sensitive convex buttons and a less springy ball-topped joystick. My question is, has anyone installed either of the major Japanese manufacturer's components and been unhappy with them? I like the bat vs. ball joystick, but that is easily changed, so I'm more concerned with both functionality and longevity of these components. 2. I will be playing console games with Xbox-style USB pads, and will want to be able to take advantage of 4-player games, thus figured on installing a USB hub below my screen and next to my center channel speaker. This would be used for the gamepads, perhaps a steering wheel or light gun, as well as a keyboard mouse combo. Any suggestions? 3. Both the front left/right and the surround left/right speakers will be mounted on framework attached to the top of the cabinet. I thought I'd place the front speakers at the height of the display's top (my height, around 5'11"). I want to mount the surround speakers a few feet behind the players, slightly above their heads, and aiming toward the top of the display. I want it to be a single unit, so will also put the subwoofer inside the bottom right of the cabinet, in the rear. I plan on aiming the subwoofer's speaker out the right side of the cabinet, as opposed to the front or back. Any sound techs who have advice on positioning these speakers? 4. My bar is stained walnut wood and brushed steel. I like this "classy" theme, and want to keep it with the cabinet (though will probably not spend the $ on walnut). Brightly-colored cartoon characters, though I may love them, would not fit here. I've looked into laser-engraving of various plywoods, and the results can be impressive. Unfortunately, I have not found anyone with large enough equipment to work on a side-panel of my arcade cabinet (approximately 82" x 40"). I don't really want to cut the side panels into pieces, so has anyone seen anything like I am looking for? 5. Son of a diddly, stretched LCD's (or 1/3, 1/4 cut) are sooooo expensive! I want to use one for the arcade marquee, and will later be building a HyperPin table, for which I would use one in place of the DMD. I might even use one for or8ital's awesome-looking Helper software! Anyone found an affordable source for these gadgets? I am seeking any comments, questions, or advice. I just recently joined, and have already received some much appreciated assistance. Can't wait to get this project completed, so any help would be fantastic! devilFist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayC Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Impressive project! Can't wait to see this thing come alive. As far as specs go it looks like a solid gaming rig as long as you keep control of the cooling and air circulation. One thing I want to mention though is about the subwoofer, if I understood correctly you are planning to add just a woofer driver to the side of the cab, not in a subwoofer box? I can say that you would get a ewhole of a lot better sound/punch if you had a subwoofer in a box (like a normal home theater sub for instance) as the cabinet wont be tuned nor have the correct resistance/airflow to get the driver optimized to it's performance range. You could of course make a calculated subwoofer compartment for the sub inside the cabinet instead. Another thing, be sure to put a wwoofer cover/grille i front of it so no one can put their foot in it by mistake (it's beside a bar after all lol). And could you explain how you planned to attach the surround speakers, I'm just trying to get a picture in my head of it. I've heard that Japanese controls should be the best but I'm sorry that I can't comment on that as I haven't had any real life comparison. There is of course walnut lamin ate that could work for your outside of the cab, there are many different kinds, everything from mdf with ready from the shop laminate to tsape or paper that you put or iron on. Just a thought if you want walnut. Other than that, good luck with the build, sounds like an awesome machine already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progets Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Greetings devilFist. This sounds like a cool build. My cabinet is not as complex as your plans but is located near my bar. I had a TV and stereo there before I built my cabinet so I didn't need to duplicate some of the features that you want to add to yours. I will make some comments just based on my experience. First, if you have more than a couple of people over often it's nice to also have a separate TV because not everyone likes video games (mostly women and older folks) and if you have enough people over that do like video games, you can have two separate gaming sessions going on. If you take this approach I would also put the surround sound there instead of the arcade cabinet. Some comments on your points: 1. Most find this as a personal preference. Any known arcade brand should give you good and long performance. They really aren't that expensive so if one fails replacing it is no big deal if you built your cabinet and know how. 2. Maybe try to get one that has ports on opposite sides. This will allow you to have the ports on the front like you want but also ports for inside the cabinet which can be handy. Depending on how many items you might plug in to the hub you should consider getting a powered hub vs. a passive one. 3. If I understand correctly, you plan to hang the rear speakers from the top of the cabinet framing. If this is the case, it will occupy a lot more space in the room and might be an issue if you have taller people there. A picture might make your idea more clear. If they are hanging from the top, maybe have them on a pivot point to swing out of the way if you wanted. 4. With the cost of your other items the walnut wood should be cheap. LOL. You could consider using a walnut veneer over plywood or use furniture grade oak plywood and stain it so the color matches your bar. There are some chrome t-moldings available but you might check out using Schluter for a higher end look and match your bushed steel. 5. I have seen a few cab that used the full size monitor and split the signal to top and bottom of the screen. It looks like two different things and they put the marquee on one half and the instruction card or other artwork on the other half. I know this sounds weird, in some cabinets it looks very normal and bypasses need for an expensive scaled monitor. Other thoughts... What are you using for your encoder? What consoles do you plan to play on it? Have you considered playing some of the consoles with the arcade controls? If your running HS you might want some admin buttons for genre, favorites, start, exit, etc. In this high end of a rig you might consider the Ultrastik 360 joysticks over some of the others you mentioned, they can do analog and send different configurations on a per game basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilFist Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 Thanks for the replies and tips. Some clarification: The subwoofer: no, I was not going to just install a speaker, it is a powered subwoofer box, but I plan on putting it in the bottom of the cabinet. I was thinking in the right-rear corner, with an opening in the bottom right side of the cab. My stereo receiver will be built into the front of the cabinet, below the display and to the left of the center channel speaker so I can easily operate its controls and make use of its nice on/off switch to turn the whole system on. I want to also take the controls off the powered sub-box, and wire them into the front for even more control over the sound. I am planning on using Ultimarc's i-pac. I had looked at their Ultrastik 360 before, quite costly. Is it analog in the way that it has different intensities of directions, or just in how it functions directionally? I wanted to use the gamepads for this reason, as well as having dual joysticks for first-person-shooters, but it would be awesome to play more games using only the arcade controls. I don't ever anticipate using more than four USB devices at once, so figured I'd put in a powered 5-hub in case I ever wanted one more. In all reality, most will not be used very much. I currently do not even have a light gun or steering wheel, but I'm guessing 2.0 USB is fine? Next to the hub I'll probably install a mic input to my soundcard for games that support it. I loosely based my surround sound speaker setup on a cabinet I saw on a youtube video by Szabo's arcades, My bar is in by garage with taller ceilings. The cabinet will be about 7ft tall, and the surrounds will be elevated even higher. The surround speakers' boxes I will use are slightly larger than 4"x6", so I don't think they will be in the way. Consoles I'm interested in are those I owned or played a lot, especially: Atari 2600/7800; C64; Sega MS, Genesis, and DC; NES, SNES, N64, GC; Neo Geo; and PS1. These systems are a must, others may be nice, but not a priority. I'm crazy busy right now, so this project is going to take some time, but I'll be sure to post pictures. Thanks again, devilFist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayC Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Got it, but you really wont benefit anything by creating an opening for the sub. Those low frequencies are pretty much omni directional so no difference there. And since you will ned fans for the cab there are going to be more than enough of pressure vents. One thing about placement though. As the low frequencies are reflected by hard planes you will have about a 3dB increase in volume for each plane it is near, the cabinets walls aren't solid nor thick enough for this but if you have the cabinet against wall you will get more volume by having it in the back. If the cabs side is against a wall as well as the back against another wall you should place the sub in the corner where the walls meet and dain 9dB = floor, back wall & side wall. The 360 joystick works like a xbox 360 controller. It's great but it doesn't have the "real" arcade joystick click since it doesn't have the small clicking buttons and that ruins the true old school arcade feel for some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilFist Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 Got it, but you really wont benefit anything by creating an opening for the sub. Those low frequencies are pretty much omni directional so no difference there. And since you will ned fans for the cab there are going to be more than enough of pressure vents. Ok, that will leave an unblemished side which will look better in my opinion. For my design, the unit is four feet wide, and the base will go from 38" to 24" deep to where the control panel sits. The base will have three separate compartments: On the left the computer, the right the coin mech and subwoofer, and in the center I want to install glass shelves to hold my classic consoles. The center will be open, probably LED lit, but the other two compartments will be closed and locked. I really planned the airflow through from the exterior rear back bottom, up through the computer, then up over the stereo receiver, into the display area, then out the top of the cabinet. I have a bunch of fans I'll be using. I had not really planned out vents for the subwoofer. I figured an opening through the top of that portion of the base, through the control panel area, then into the display area would provide enough volume. The display area will have exhaust fans, but I hadn't planned any intake to the subwoofer compartment. Should I do this to create a flow, or is just having volume that can expand/contract good enough? The back of the cabinet will be close to, but not touching a wall, so I don't know if I'll get a boost for the subwoofer. I have the sides extending beyond the back panels slightly, to make sure there is adequate air intake. This also allows some room for cables, since I'll have a panel of jacks for power, ethernet, and local tv antenna. I'm not sure if there is any other type of input I'll need back there. I hope to work on the carpentry this summer. I have almost all the hardware, just need to order joysticks/buttons and i-pac. I originally balked at the idea of what I considered "gaudy" looking LED buttons, but now think I will use them. I don't want flashing colors, but think it would be nice to have some games with color-coded buttons. I don't know anything about setting this up, I suppose I would need an LED controller and some software. Anyway, today my homebrew club has its yearly St. Pat's fundraiser, so I'm off to enjoy a feast with great beer! Thanks again for everyone's help. devilFist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progets Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 You mention games with color coded buttons. This would require RGB LED buttons which aren't cheap, need additional wiring and a LED controller. This setup will also require you to configure which colors each button will light per game and can be a large undertaking itself. If you want to take this route look at the I-Pac Ultimate I/O encoder since it also has the LED controller built-in. You are talking about having 8 buttons for each of the four joysticks. There aren't any 4 player arcade games that use 8 buttons so these would only be helpful if you are playing 4 player console or PC games with the arcade controls. An I-Pac 4 encoder has 56 inputs, the machine in the video above is using 43 buttons on the CP and 4 joysticks which means you would need 59 inputs unless some of them are duplicated (the coin insert maybe) or you don't use the encode for your joysticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodboyparker Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 One thing I would watch is staining a large piece of wood like this. In my opinion it is a lot of wood that looks the same (even walnut and cherry). If you have woodworking skills, I would consider making frame and panel sides to break up the look and reduce the weight. Or add some trim to give some visual interest. It sounds like a big machine in a sophisticated area - maybe you could disguise the controls and monitor with a removable book shelf (then you could hide the cartoon characters under the false book shelves/doors.) I don't think your computer will have any trouble emulating an atari or ps1. It sounds pretty beefy. As for the usb outlets, there are some nice through the panel connectors (neutrik is one example) if you want to keep these hidden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilFist Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Yeah, I was already planning on RGB's for the eight player buttons, but I may as well do the system/start buttons as well. I definitely need 8 play buttons per controller, some of the N64 games used the D-pad and almost all of the other 11 buttons (including start and input from analog stick). THQ's wresting games, which I played with my brothers a lot, is an example. Even if I only play these games, and only do so at Thanksgiving/Christmas/etc., it would be worth it for me to be able to step up to a cabinet and bash it out with my brothers. Adding a few buttons and wires is not much of a burden, and my control panel will accommodate all the buttons. I had figured I'd have to use more than one I-Pac to handle all the inputs, I'll check out the Ultimate to do LED's too. Thanks for the suggestion. I agree that a solid slab of wood for the side panels would look quite plain. I guess I didn't explain that I do plan on having cartoon characters on the cab, I just wanted them laser engraved into it and not brightly colored. I would stain it, and the laser leaves a slightly burnt look to the edges that I think is pretty cool. I just haven't found anyone who can do an entire side panel on their machinery yet. I may just put a sticker on it for now, but it will be a pain to take apart panels for work later. I'm pretty sure all the front and control panel surfaces I want artwork on will be small enough for laser engraving, so at least that portion could have that look. I really like single themed cabs, but I still think I'll have more than one on mine. My plans are to have one side Super Mario 3 themed, the other Simpsons. Plenty of characters and artwork to fill up those sides. The front and control panel will not have a whole lot of room for art, but I will fill it with classic characters from games such as Pac-man, Q-bert, Centipede, Joust, Mega man, etc., as well as some of the old company logos like Atari, DataEast, Nintendo, etc. devilFist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffin518 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Ok, that will leave an unblemished side which will look better in my opinion. For my design, the unit is four feet wide, and the base will go from 38" to 24" deep to where the control panel sits. The base will have three separate compartments: On the left the computer, the right the coin mech and subwoofer, and in the center I want to install glass shelves to hold my classic consoles. Why not have the sub fire downwards? Assuming the cab base is off the floor a little bit... JayC is correct about sub sound being mono and good wherever it's placed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnieous Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 nvm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progets Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Maybe consider wood carving or wood burning the images on sides instead of laser engraving. Of course you would want to use a template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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