Motherboard mounted, control panel ready to drill

The PCB bracket from Happ came on Friday, so I was able to mount the motherboard, as well as the hard drive cage and the risers. I still need to secure the power supply, probably with heavy-duty velcro, and run the video cable to relieve stress on the video card. The cdrom and floppy drives will only be temporarily installed to load software; during normal operation they will not be needed. I am fairly certain that the cooling will be adequate, but I have an auxillary fan that I can install in the event it is needed.

I have finalized the control panel layout, and it is ready for drilling and routing. I had room to use a 12" deep panel instead of 10", so I was able to move the spinner above the trackball - this was my original plan, as it centers both controls, but my initial design used a 10" panel which couldn't accomodate that placement. This new arrangement allows a more symmetrical button arrangement, which will be great for 2 player games such as Raiden and Twin Cobra; it will also allow ambidextrous configuration for games such as Centipede, Tempest, Galaga and others, which is nice since I am right-handed and Paula is left-handed :) However, I will not drill any holes until the final order from Ultimarc is here; I want to confirm that the dimensions on the actual parts match the ones given in the docs. I also have the Lucite cut for the panel, and will cut the holes in it at the same time as the wood.

Tomorrow I will start filling gaps and screw holes with wood filler, and prepping the cabinet for painting. I will paint the interior of the cabinet where the monitor sits first, and then mount the monitor. The rest of the painting can take place once it is mounted, and that will let me fit the monitor bezel and monitor glass while the exterior is drying. I am going to use either smoked glass, or smoked Lexan, whichever I can find at a good price. Also, I am going to start work on the side art and instruction cards tomorrow - I will post examples when I have finalized the design.

I am really trying to hit my target completion date of 31 May, so there is a lot going on now - but it is really going to be worth it!

Coin door installed, marquee created

The major woodwork is done - woo hoo! It has only taken a month to get to this point - I am rather amazed; I expected it to take longer. Tonight I re-assembled the rear panel, connected the coin door light to the 12v power supply, and created and installed the new marquee. I used a vector image from Eric Devaud's library, opened it in Adobe Illustrator, and printed it on Office Depot Window Decals for ink jet printers (#212-881, about $10 for 10 sheets). These are like static stickers, so it was easy to position the different pieces on the lucite. I printed the image in reverse, and backed it with 24# inkjet papaer. These are sandwiched between 2 layers of Lucite. The biggest problem is that you end up with bubbles, but they are not too bad - I think for the next version I will use transparencies instead. Next on the agenda is mounting the PC, creating the monitor bezel and ordering the rest of the controllers. Estimated time of completion is the end of May.

Controls have (mostly) arrived; wired for light and sound

I got the spinner, the marquee retainer and most of my buttons over the last 2 days. By the end of the week I should have the PCB holder and the rest of the Happ order. Note to me: next time, tell them to hold and ship everything at once if there is any backorder... I got the speaker enclosure finished, and the wiring for the marquee light and the sound system is finished. The subwoofer has been mounted, as well as the amplifier and the 12v power supply for the marquee light and the coin door lamp. The cabinet really rocks now - I tested it with our portable CD player!

Yesterday I got the cam lock installed in the rear door, and I found the best thing to cover the vent holes - Lowes had a roll of plastic gutter screen (to keep the leaves out) for a bit over $2! It is black, and is just the right width - I just cut with shears and tacked it down. Now I don't have to worry about things getting in thru the vents :)

Wal-Mart had black foam board (for art projects) that looks like it will be perfect for a monitor bezel - I will post pics when I have it finished.

Almost ready to sand & prime the cabinet

The woodwork is mostly finished - the monitor shelf and bracket are done, the kick-panel and rear doors have been hung, and the top vent holes have been cut. The only major woodwork left is the control panel, which will wait until all the parts are here. The next phase is to fill all the screw holes and gaps with wood filler, sand it smooth, and prime the cabinet; that will begin this week. Once it is primed, I can begin installing the PC and wiring the cabinet for sound. Also, I will begin producing the artwork for the control panel, side art and marquee. You can see the new pics in the Project Pics section.

cabinet assembly begins

Well, it is starting to look like a cabinet! Last night after work I attached the battens to the sides and then attached the sides to the base. Once that was done, I attached the top and angle panels for stability - tomorrow I will trim up the other panels to make them fit and install them. I will then begin the task of mounting the monitor. There are lots of new pics in the Project Pics section now, with pics of the new W-G D9200 monitor as well.

For those wondering, I based my cabinet on LuSID's version 7 cabinet (see link above); it was the best plan that would handle the 27" D9200. I originally wanted a Defender-type cabinet, but the original cab dimensions were too small so I modified LuSID's plans. I goofed on the marquee though - it is only 7", not the standard 8", so I will have to tinker a bit, but it's okay - it will still be a sharp cab :) I also made the coin door / panel different, as well as the mods to the control panel. I really wanted to have some unique touches to the cabinet, and it's been fun re-learning woodworking skills I haven't used since high school woodshop.

w00t! the monitor is here!!!

The monitor came yesterday afternoon - boy, was it hard not to take a half-day from work :) After unpacking it, I set it up on the test bench and fired it up - wow! It is worth every penny. Now comes the task of configuring all the modes, but there is plenty of info on that on the Easy MAMECab site. Also, it looks like the monitor will fit with plenty of room, so I will be able to begin assembly of the cabinet tomorrow. I'll put some pics of the monitor in the Project Pics section this weekend - just bear with my crappy digital camera :)

Controls ordered, monitor still in transit

I used templates I found on BYOAC to validate my keyboard layout, and everything looks good, so I have placed the order for the Vortex spinner and Tempest knob from Oscar Controls, and the order for buttons, marquee retainer, and a PCB holder from Happ Controls. The order from Ultimarc will have to wait for a bit - it's the most expensive because not only does it have 2 joysticks and a trackball, but it also includes the IPAC and OptiPAC interfaces. Things are really starting to come together!

In other news, the monitor has made it to Austin according to the tracking page, so it should be here sometime today... or tomorrow. At least it will be here by the weekend. I think :)