redbeard Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Finally completed my MAME cab! Just waiting on a few "upgrades" to come in the mail(a few buttons, and new t-molding). Its running MAME .144, SNES, Dreamcast, NES, Sega Master sys, Sega Genesis, Gameboy ADV. w/ Hyperspin FE of course! This was a project from the start to do as cheaply as possible, but still have some what "quality" build. Also tried to reuse/recycle anything i couls to save $$$ and time. TV was free from craigslist, cab was 90$ craigslist, PC was recycled parts, as were some buttons. The art was found in the bargin bin at Game on Graphixs, I dont think i paid over $40 shipped for it. The speakers have a semi transparent woofer that glow from the marquee light, which is a cool effect! This being my first MAME cab, and total cost was under $500, I think it turned out great. Only negatives - the cab weighs a freaking ton, a few emus (dreamcast) run a little choppy on a few games due to the slower cpu/gpu(i think). Took about 4 and a half months to finish. Next project is to gut my mini digital pinball cab and turn it into a full size cab! Full specs: 27" toshiba TV via component video 2.2ghz AMD Athlon 2 X2 dual core cpu ATI Radeon x18000xl all in wonder 256mb gpu 4gb ram 550watt cooler master PSU 25 watt stereo amp 2 - 4.5" car speakers Controls: 2 8 way Zippyy joys 1 8 way Zippyy joy Ipac2 encoder 7 led buttons per player Happ led lit usb 3" trackball Marquee and CP art was bargin bin from Game on graphix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LASooner Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 seems like a good cabinet type for Mame conversion. Nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 seems like a good cabinet type for Mame conversion. Nice job. Thanks. It was a pretty simple cab to work with, all i had to do for the control panel is plug the pre exsisting button holes using dowel rod and 20 minute epoxy, then redrill new layout. also had to trim a little wood from the inside to fit the tv. a de-cased tv wouldve fit, but i have plans of using a 28 inch 16:10 lcd when the tv goes out, so it would have to be trimmed anyway. Like i stated, only issue is these GT cabs are freaking huge and heavy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil eye Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks great, nice work especially for that price! Question for you, do you know what model Toshiba TV you have? I have a 32" Toshiba CRT in my cab but I can't seem to utilize the component input on it. I've tried about 4-5 different VGA to component converter boxes, but all I get is a scrambled video signal. At this point, I have to believe that my TV has faulty inputs. Just wondering how you have yours setup? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LASooner Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 You may want to make sure the signal is 480i those Toshiba component inputs were for DVD players that output component but it was still only 480i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Looks great, nice work especially for that price! Question for you, do you know what model Toshiba TV you have? I have a 32" Toshiba CRT in my cab but I can't seem to utilize the component input on it. I've tried about 4-5 different VGA to component converter boxes, but all I get is a scrambled video signal. At this point, I have to believe that my TV has faulty inputs. Just wondering how you have yours setup? Thanks! TV model is 27a33. I had a tough time getting component working also. I had to use a second monitor and adjust the TV resolution and refresh rate, otherwise it was wavy. It still is wavy and rolling on boot until the drivers load, then its fine. I think it was defaulting. To an HDTV resolution that isn't supported by the TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Thats a crackin cab you got there mate good job always thought about a golden tee converison because they are perfect for it especially the newer types but i wouldnt chop up a good working one only a non runner but a crackin cab all the same i cant wait to unvail my project thats in the make at the minute but this time taking pictures of the build as ive done it t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdhanded2 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I have never thought of using dowels and epoxy. What epoxy did you use? Any issues with then popping at all when drilling through the epoxy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil eye Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 You may want to make sure the signal is 480i those Toshiba component inputs were for DVD players that output component but it was still only 480i. I believe a couple of the converters supported 480i, but I'm not sure if it was sending the right signal out. I assumed it would auto detect that. I'll have to check that out further, thanks. TV model is 27a33. I had a tough time getting component working also. I had to use a second monitor and adjust the TV resolution and refresh rate, otherwise it was wavy. It still is wavy and rolling on boot until the drivers load, then its fine. I think it was defaulting. To an HDTV resolution that isn't supported by the TV. We have similar models, mine is a 27a34. Not sure why I said 32" before... wishful thinking I suppose. Are you using a converter box too, or do you have a rare video card that supports component out? I tried configuring using my computer and TV hooked up at the same time, which sounds like what you did, but didn't have luck with that. Would love to know what you're using to bridge your TV to the PC, because I'm all over that since its working for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 I'm using a 7 year old ATI x1800xl all in wonder video card. It supports s-video,component, and composite hook ups. S-video was plug and play, but I thought component would look better, so I spent hours getting it working and truthfully its not much difference. I know you can find x1800xl,x1900xt, and x800 all in wonders on ebay for around 50$ on ebay, and some are even new old stock. When my tube or video card bites the dust, I'm going with a 28" 16:10 LCD. IMHO, tube TVs and video cards that support component/svideo are gonna be near impossible to find in a few short years. And with all the filter effects available in MAME, there's no reason to struggle finding PC hardware/tube TVs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil eye Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Ahh ok now that makes more sense! I was going to go with an all in wonder card when I first started out, but after doing research I soon realized that it wouldn't be strong enough to power the other systems I wanted to add to my cab, such as Model 3. Can't believe it isn't plug and play, wow, thats such a rip off. I'm using S-video now and it does the job well enough, I guess I'll stick with it then. I've thought about LCD, but the issue is that my cab was designed with a tube TV or 4:3 screen in mind. I could put an LCD in (I'm sure 10 years from now I'll have no other choice) but I will lose a lot of screen real estate in the process. Oh well, I'll worry about that once this thing burns out, hopefully not anytime soon. Thanks again, you've been a big help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 I have never thought of using dowels and epoxy. What epoxy did you use? Any issues with then popping at all when drilling through the epoxy? I used just your standard 20 minute set 2 part epoxy. worked great, for holes that were a little bigger (1/16") than the dowel rod, I just mixed saw dust in with the epoxy to make a "gap filling" glue. some of my new holes are actually drilled thru half the dowel rod, and had absolutely no problems. I have to say that i feel very confident i"ll be replacing the whole control panel before the dowel plugs give out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 There are a few models of x1900xt a.i.w cards w/512mb memory that probably are good enough to power model 3. I'm in the same boat, i love my 27" crt, but one day its gonna die and i will have to go lcd, largest i could fit is a 28" 16:10, which would give me the equal to a 24" in 4:3 mode. it will suck going down in size. I thought about stock piling a few more tvs, but i figured the vid card will go out eventually too, and i really dont have room for 2 or 3 tubes, and a handful of old vid cards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil eye Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 So true man, I've thought about doing the same stockpiling haha. Yeah, eventually we are all going to have to cave and go the LCD route. It's def going to suck to lose all of that precious real estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdhanded2 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Good to hear. I am going to try this out next time. I have a Golden Tee can waiting for conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Its a good cab to convert. Control panel is just big enuff for a 2 player setup. Probably wouldn't be to much work to convert it to a 4 player if needed. Like I stated, only downside is its a big heavy beast of a cab! But a plus side is there's a ton of room inside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chips4UFromMe Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 i agree with redbeard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.