Building a MAME Bartop

[SE1Z]

Hey fellas,

After many, many years of wanting to, I've finally decided to build myself a MAME machine. Albeit, a small Bartop.

Has anyone done something like this before or got any advice?

The machine I'm using will be my old media server/torrent box.
It has a C2D E6550 @ 2.3
4gb ram
and an old 180gb Hard Drive
Running Win7



Running an older version of MAME from 2005 as that seems, to me at least, the easiest to work with.
Front end will be Maximus Arcade.

First test to make sure it all works:




I grabbed a 19inch Samsung LCD off ebay the other day for $15

Just got an email that my joysticks and buttons are arriving today.
Now all I need to do is build the thing!

Will be a slow build as I can only do it on the weekends.

[Quincy]

Awesome, I looked into this many moons ago, never got around to passing "go",... Good luck with the build! It is still on the radar for me, so keep us informed.

[Duke]

Awesome mate, It's been on my to do list for about 12-18months also, I even put a thread up here a while ago seeking info like you.
I want to do a full blown stand-up cabinet on caster wheels & eventually have authentic coin operation.
I have all the bits an old PIII PC, 17inch LCD & a x-arcade dual joystick which I got cheap off OCAU, I plan to slot it into the cabinet rather than do all the fiddly wiring.
I just need to get my ARSE into gear & build the cabinet then set it all up.



I'm very interested in any hints, tips & traps you have during your build. Are you going 1 or 2 players?
One thing I never got my head around was weather the monitor should be in landscape or portrait orientation but I think it has to do with which type of game you play more often, as in scrolling sideways or vertical.

[wobblysauce]

You are on the right track with the build.. are you going to keep it just as a small pc, or build a box for it?


Depends on the Controls.

Materials, depends on what materials as well... MDF vs Plywood vs melamine board - most go MDF as it is the "easy route" - fairly cheap, smooth surface, which means little prep work for paint, but its heavy, not "rescrewable" - i.e. do not unscrew things that would be around $100.
controls can vary alot. A 4 way or 8 way joystick can be had for 10$, buttons for just under 2$. A switch-able 4/8 way joystick will cost more, different style buttons, or buttons with lights, add up real fast.
A U360 (programmable joystick that can do - 2 way horiz, 2 way vert, 4 way, 4 way diagonal, 8 way, 49 way) will cost you around $60 each.

[SE1Z]

I'm very interested in any hints, tips & traps you have during your build. Are you going 1 or 2 players?
One thing I never got my head around was weather the monitor should be in landscape or portrait orientation but I think it has to do with which type of game you play more often, as in scrolling sideways or vertical.

I'll be doing a 2-player machine, it will be a little cramped as it's smaller than a full stand up cabinet.

With the monitor, most arcade classics are 4:3 aspect ratio (fighters, racing, platformers) - It's really only games like 1942/pacman/galaga that need the monitor vertical. Even then, you can still play the vertical games with a sideways monitor.

As you say, it really depends on what games you intend on playing.

I'll keep this thread updated as I go.

[SE1Z]

Wobbly: I bought a flat pack kit for the bartop. Made from MDF.

Sanwa 'bat top' joysticks, IPAC keyboard controller and buttons all arrived today.

The only thing stopping this build now is time!

[Duke]

Wobbly: I bought a flat pack kit for the bartop. Made from MDF.

Wasn't one of these was it? http://www.arcadeworx.com.au/

[SE1Z]

Wobbly: I bought a flat pack kit for the bartop. Made from MDF.

Wasn't one of these was it? http://www.arcadeworx.com.au/

Nah mate, I was going to buy from them, until I found a bloke making his own for $100...
Only difference is, no custom builds - I need to drill out the control panel and secure the monitor to the frame myself.

[norbs]

Ha, just fired a Raspberry Pi one up for a bloke here the other day, using 2 USB controllers off eBay. Runs it on his 65 inch TV in his bar. Will get some photos if I can stand listening to his BS for a while.

[SE1Z]

Buttons and joysticks arrived

[wobblysauce]

Nice to see the bits, now to skip ahead a few weeks to get the build log :P

[SE1Z]

Quick mock up of the control panel.



I'll be painting the cabinet gloss black.

I ended up buying the Arcade Worx cabinet as well and will use that for my first build.
The pic above is of the Arcade Worx control panel.

The other one I originally bought requires far too much work and tools that I don't own.... I'll get to it some day

[wabbit]

This'll all be finished by January yeah? :P

[KNAPPO]

This'll all be finished by January yeah? :P

Don't worry, he will still beat Flinty to his PC build.

[SE1Z]

Haha
These things take time

[Duke]

Especially when you want to do them right...

[SE1Z]

Just a small update for those playing along at home.

All panels have now been painted.
I've ordered the amp and arcade speakers, next on the list is the T-Moulding.

I put the Control Panel together this afternoon.
Pretty happy with how it turned out

4 Coats of Gloss black and 2 coats of clear gloss.




Next on the list is to wire the panel to the keyboard controller and build the cabinet.
All weekend work, so it will still (unfortunately) be a few weeks until it's all built and playable.

[Duke]

Like

[Quincy]

double like.

[Vilante]

Great little project, looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

[norbs]

Ha, just fired a Raspberry Pi one up for a bloke here the other day, using 2 USB controllers off eBay. Runs it on his 65 inch TV in his bar. Will get some photos if I can stand listening to his BS for a while.

No photos. The fucker sold it to his brother for a profit!

[norbs]

Buttons and joysticks arrived

Fuck it, got my juices flowing. It was a piece of piss with the 2 USB controllers, just plugged them in. What sort of controller do you use for all the buttons? I imagine you wire all the buttons back to some sort of central controller?

[Duke]

Yes norbs, it all needs to be wired back to a USB controller PCB, I think they are the bubble wrapped items in the photo.
That's why I went with the all in one controller I posted above, simple USB connection.

[norbs]

Yeah, the one controller wont work for me. I am thinking of throwing a couple of controllers together that I can use on the lounge with the TV. Might just stick with USB controllers.

[SE1Z]

Yeh Norbs, I got one of these: https://www.ultimarc.com/ipac.html
(ipac2)

All wires go into it, then usb to the host PC.
It's a keyboard controller.

Depends what you want really... I REALLY wanted arcade controls and not cheap knockoffs, so this was the only option - wire it all up myself.

Just an update:
Got everything I need now.
Just not the time.

I also grabbed some vinyl wrap for the control panel as the several coats of paint + clear coat still didn't feel right.
So now I have to sand it smooth this weekend and apply the vinyl.

Will post updated pics, assuming I get time to do the wrap