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Technohat's Dr. Who Widebody Cabinet Build


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After getting various audio glitching while trying to run the new Direct B2S tables, I decided to pick up a sound card to offload sound processing away from the CPU. I picked up a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic SB0460 PCI Card off of eBay for $27.40 shipped. [LINK]

If you're planning on using a sound card instead of your onboard sound, pay close attention to what card you buy. Not all the sound cards have a decent sound chip on them and some of the cheaper cards off-load some of the sound processing onto the PC's CPU which kind of defeats the purpose of having a separate sound card in my opinion. Also, watch out for OEM cards (ie cards included on prebuilt pcs from Dell, HP, etc.) as many times they use sound cards that are stripped down but use the same model number so you might not get what you think you are getting. Though if it DOES use the exact same hardware, you can get quite a deal buying a used OEM card. You just have to pay close attention to what you're buying.

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Instead of using a plunger on my build, I decided to use an Indiana Jones/Dirty Harry gun handle instead.

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Aurich is using one on his build [LINK] and in place of the metal trigger he had a piece of acrylic cut with a laser cutter. Since he had to pay for a whole sheet he decided to have a bunch of triggers cut up with different designs on them to see which one he liked. He also put an led into the gun handle to light up the acrylic trigger while playing. It's a really cool effect that I plan to replicate on my own cabinet. Aurich is such a nice guy he gave me one of his extra triggers for FREE! Thanks again Aurich!

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In this photo you can see the paper backing is still attached to the backside of the trigger. I've since peeled it off and it's nice and clear. It looks and feels really nice. I think this will work out pretty good.

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Look what Aurich wrote on the back of the envelope he sent the trigger in. I laughed out loud when I flipped the envelope over and saw it.

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Instead of using a plunger on my build, I decided to use an Indiana Jones/Dirty Harry gun handle instead.Aurich is such a nice guy he gave me one of his extra triggers for FREE! Thanks again Aurich!

My pleasure, happy to have it going to a good home instead of sitting in my paper sack of random parts I dumped everything into when I cleaned up after my initial build. :)

I wasn't happy with the LED lighting I had in the gun (some green LEDs wired in series) and I had a roll of RGB LED strip lying around, so I just cut on a chunk of that and wired into 12V from one of my power supplies and stuffed it in there. So all three colors fire off, giving it a kind of hard to nail down purple effect, but nice and bright unlike my first attempt.

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One thing I meant to try and didn't get around to with one of the clear ones like I sent you was to sand one side of it lightly to frost it, I think it will probably light up a lot more with something to catch and refract the light like that.

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I wasn't happy with the LED lighting I had in the gun (some green LEDs wired in series) and I had a roll of RGB LED strip lying around, so I just cut on a chunk of that and wired into 12V from one of my power supplies and stuffed it in there. So all three colors fire off, giving it a kind of hard to nail down purple effect, but nice and bright unlike my first attempt.

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Nice! I like the effect. How do you get it to strobe like that?

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The sound card arrrived and I installed it. If you're running windows 7 you will want to use Daniel_K's modded drivers:

http://hotfile.com/dl/133378907/066b81c/XFI_AuzenWDM_1_8.exe

The card seems to work pretty good but I'm still having audio issues with Direct B2S tables. I was hopeing that switching from the onboard sound to a dedicated sound card would clear things up, but no such luck. :( I get glitchy audio such as static, pops, hissing, etc. When I switch back to the UVP versions the audio is fine. This happens on all three direct B2S tables I've tried loading. I've tried Attack from Mars, Whirlwind and Black Knight 2000. Anybody have any ideas what the issue might be and how to fix it? Is this an issue with the B2S server? Are the Direct B2S backglasses authored incorrectly? Or is it something else entirely? Any help in tracking down the problem would be greatly appreciated.

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All of the various parts for the Indiana Jones ball launcher gun have arrived, except for the LED(s) I plan to use to illuminate the trigger. I haven't decided what avenue I'm going to go down for that yet. Unfortunately, there isn't a single place you can go to buy all the pieces you need. I had to source the parts from five different places. I'm going to list the various parts and where to get them here to help someone else who wants to use one of these with their virtual pinball machine.

For starters, here's the Indiana Jones Operators manual which shows how to assemble the gun and the various parts numbers. [LINK]

The relevant page is 2-20 (aka page 84 of the PDF).

PARTS:

1. 21-6692-1 Gun Handle, Right (1 needed) [LINK]

2. 21-6692-2 Gun Handle, Left (1 needed) [LINK]

3. 01-11066 Trigger (1 needed) [LINK]

4. 10-320 Extension Spring (red) (1 needed) [LINK]

5. 5647-12133-12 Miniature Switch (1 Needed) [LINK]

6. 02-4547 Fastner (3 needed) [LINK]

7. 4702-00014-00B Lockwasher #1/4, Int. Tooth (Black) (3 needed) [LINK]

8. 4700-00129-00B Flatwasher, 13/64 x 15/32 x22ga (3 needed) [LINK]

9. 4702-00013-00B Lockwasher #10, Int. Tooth (Black) (3 needed) [LINK]

10. 4010-01097-06B Mach. Screw, #10-32 x 3/8 TR-BH (3 needed) [LINK]

11. (No part numbers listed) Carriage Screws, Washers and Locknuts for mounting the gun (4 of each needed) [LINK]

You do NOT need the Cable Assembly (H16871), Tubing #10 (RM-21-03) or the Diode 1N4004 (5070-09054-00).

The carrriage screws, washers and lugnuts for mounting the gun are shown on the assembly diagram but aren't listed in the parts list. The only place I could find them for purchase had zinc-plated ones instead of black, but I don't care. If it doesn't look good I can always paint the bolt heads. I also couldn't find a place that had the Lockwasher #1/4, Int. Tooth (Black) in stock (other than a place in Australia), so I ended up getting some silver colored ones from my local Menards. They end up being hidden under the fasteners anyway so you can't tell they aren't black. Also, I only needed three but they only sell them in packs of ten. The price was dirt cheap so I can't really complain. The trigger I got for free from Aurich as he had a bunch of acrylic replicas made up (if you ask nice he might give you one too) but I added a link to a place where you can order one of the metal triggers if you so desire.

Prices and availability may fluctuate so use the part numbers to find other sources as needed. I was originally going to order the gun itself from Marco Specialties [LINK] but they were out of stock so I had to spend a couple of extra dollars and ordered it from Bay Area Amusements instead. Bay Area Amusements also carry a Gun Handle Fastener Kit [LINK] but they were out of stock so I had to order the parts separately from various places.

The total price with shipping and tax came to $137.79.

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Aurich had several copies of Maxxsinners Coin Door Interface Board [LINK]made up and he sent me one of the extras for FREE! Thanks Aurich! I still need to buy the components to populate the board though. I don't have a coin door yet so there's no rush.

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I'm the Pinball Santa Claus!

As to your question about how I got the trigger to strobe, that's the LED-Wiz feeding it the Launch Ball pulse. So only going to work on tables with launch buttons where the ROM supported flashing them.

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My I-Pac2 and internal gold-plated leaf switch buttons have arrived! Since I was ordering from Ultimarc (based in the UK) I ordered extra buttons. Whatever I don't use on the pinball machine will be used on my next project.

I-PAC2 [LINK] plus 16 High-Performance Arcade Pushbuttons with integral minature gold-plated leaf switches [LINK] - $88.20 shipped from the UK.

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When I ordered the I-PAC2 I decided to not pay the extra $4 for the USB cable. I have so many USB cable lying around of various types, I figured I didn't need one. It turns out their USB cable plugs into a PS2 connector on the I-PAC2 instead of having a separate USB connector. It's not a big deal since I can just use the included PS2 cable and hook it up via the PS2 connection on the PC, but if you want to use it via USB make sure to order the cable.

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I also forgot to order quick connectors for the buttons when I ordered so I made a quick trip to Menards and bought three multi-packs of connectors. Each pack came with five 0.250" connectors, five 0.187" connectors and five 0.110" connectors. The pushbuttons use the 0.110" connectors and the microswitch in my gun (which I needed connectors for as well) uses the 0.187" connectors. While I was there I also picked up a box of 50 2-wire lever nut connectors. These are great!

Female Disconnect Kit x3 [LINK] - $7.85 including tax.

2-Wire lever-Nut Box of Fifty [LINK] - $14.83 including tax.

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Finally, what's a build thread without a cardboard box with buttons attached to it? ;-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

After a lot of messing around, I've finally got Direct B2S to work on my cabinet without sound glitching. I updated Hyperpin, virtual Pinball, VPinMAME, B2S server and FPLaunch to the latest and greatest versions, made sure they were all patched with the 4GB patch, set them to run as administrator and made sure compatibilty mode with windows XP was UNCHECKED! I'm not sure why UVP had no problems with the exes being in compatibilty mode but Direct B2S did. I unchecked them all and now the sound is finally working as it should. Now that I've got that straightened out, I can start loading more tables and backglasses.

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To either Chris, or technohat ... on yourLCD3000, when it's on, do you hear a relatively loud fan noise coming from the upper left side of the display? I have bought two from a supplier on eBay (used obviously), and there is kind of a loud fan running up there for both of them. I'm curious if it's common for this model, or if I should tear the thing apart and replace the fan.

It turns out there is a fan on this monitor. Mine started making noises and seems to have stopped working. I popped open the back of the monitor (the back comes off really easy, just remove a bunch of screws and slide it off) and it looks like the fan is really easy to get at.

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You have to remove three more screws that are holding down the bracket that the fan is attached to and then the fan itself is held to the bracket by two more screws. The power cable to the fan plugs into a small extension cable that plugs into the motherboard. It should be really easy to replace. The fan is an NMB 1604KL-04W-B50 12V fan. I bought a replacement fan from DigiKey. [LINK] The cost with tax and shipping was $14.79. I could have gotten it for about half the price from a chinese ebay seller but I wanted to make sure the fan was genuine and not some cheap knock-off that could fail again. There are times when you order the cheap stuff from chinese ebay sellers and there are times when you order from a reputable seller. Since the life of a much more expensive piece of equipment hangs in the balance (ie the NEC 30" LCD3000 monitor) I'm ordering from Digi-Key. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Someone was asking me about my contactors, so I figured I would add a few photos. I opened them up to see what was inside and found the spring is attached to a metal plate in the top part of the contactor(on the right) that sits on top of another metal plate in the bottom part of the contactor (seen on the left). They seem to make a nice solid clack and seem to cycle fast enough. They should work out fine.

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technohat, I see you are using the zebulon booster boards. If those take in 12v, and you aren't planning on using your 24v power supply, how are you going to get 24vdc to the contactors?

Zebulons new booster boards use their own PC power supply and convert the voltage to the correct amount for the contactors and replay knocker. You can run a replay knocker up to 32VDC and the contactors you can run from 11VDC up to 27VDC. The booster boards come preset to 32VDC for the Replay Knocker and 24VDC for the Contactors.

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Zebulons new booster boards use their own PC power supply and convert the voltage to the correct amount for the contactors and replay knocker. You can run a replay knocker up to 32VDC and the contactors you can run from 11VDC up to 27VDC. The booster boards come preset to 32VDC for the Replay Knocker and 24VDC for the Contactors.

Wow really?!?! So it converts 12vdc computer power supply and ups the voltage? Awesome!

I see the boards are $50 a piece...what is the advantage of using these over a $20 24v arcade switching power supply?

At the beginning stages of my build, and want to get all the right parts.

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Wow really?!?! So it converts 12vdc computer power supply and ups the voltage? Awesome!

I see the boards are $50 a piece...what is the advantage of using these over a $20 24v arcade switching power supply?

At the beginning stages of my build, and want to get all the right parts.

You don't want the $50 board. You want the $300 virtual output kit.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-controllers/virtual-output-kit-detail

If you want a shaker motor and a gear motor then pick up his Shaker/Gear Motor Combo board as well. He offers it both with and without a speed control. The Virtual Output kit comes with a speed control board so if you're ordering them both order the shaker/gear motor without it.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-devices/shaker-gear-motor-combo-detail

He also sells a pre-wired RGB LED light Bar if that's something you want.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-devices/rgb-lightbar-detail

Zebulon is based in Canada, so it's cheaper to order everything at once to save on shipping.

The advantage is it simplies wiring everything in your cab. It's also wired up to prevent blowing out your LEDWIZ and/or PC.

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You don't want the $50 board. You want the $300 virtual output kit.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-controllers/virtual-output-kit-detail

If you want a shaker motor and a gear motor then pick up his Shaker/Gear Motor Combo board as well. He offers it both with and without a speed control. The Virtual Output kit comes with a speed control board so if you're ordering them both order the shaker/gear motor without it.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-devices/shaker-gear-motor-combo-detail

He also sells a pre-wired RGB LED light Bar if that's something you want.

http://pipi6542.staging-cloud.netregistry.net/zebulons/index.php/category/feedback-devices/rgb-lightbar-detail

Zebulon is based in Canada, so it's cheaper to order everything at once to save on shipping.

The advantage is it simplies wiring everything in your cab. It's also wired up to prevent blowing out your LEDWIZ and/or PC.

That is very cool, albeit extremely pricey. =(

What are the advantages to using a $300 board over a $20 24v power supply and $40 worth of fuses,breadboard,wire etc?

I know I want his shaker/gear motor, but that $300 board is more than a Vishay Plasma DMD and pindmd board. =(

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That is very cool, albeit extremely pricey. =(

What are the advantages to using a $300 board over a $20 24v power supply and $40 worth of fuses,breadboard,wire etc?

I know I want his shaker/gear motor, but that $300 board is more than a Vishay Plasma DMD and pindmd board. =(

This link should answer all your questions.

http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=18203

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  • 3 months later...

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