Hi there,

It’s been awhile since I posted on this blog.  As you may know I’ve always been a tech guy, but I am undertaking something so nerdy, so techy that I think I’m even going to outnerd myself.

I am building my own arcade machine!  The goal is for me to have a fully functioning cabinet with all the emulators running (MAME, MESS, Daphne, etc) with a cool frontend that can link them all.  I built an arcade machine a long time ago with my buddy Jason Crawford, but we made one superhero mistake — trying to retrofit a JAMMA cabinet to work with a PC (or hacked Xbox 1).  It was a fun project, but that one made my brain melt a little 🙂

I’ve already started the project and have taken lots of pictures.  But I think the first step is for me to talk about what components I will be using to make the cabinet.  This is going to require a bit of explanation as I go along:

The book that got me started - http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/0764556169

Project Arcade is the name of this book.  The writer is clearly well-versed in arcade machines.  I got a lot of useful tips and inspiration from this book.

 

Cabinet - http://goo.gl/SySxa

I decided to go with the Ultimate Bartop 2 cabinet kit.  This has a really small footprint (our apartment is pretty small) but will still give me that arcade feeling.  If the cabinet turns out well and I find the space I can always build a pedestal to set it on later.

I bought the Ultimate Bartop 2 directly from North Coast Custom Arcades (www.mameroom.com).  They have been awesome.  I asked them to not drill any of the holes into the unit so I can drill my own custom control panel layout (I *must* have two joysticks so I can pay Robotron).  So I guess I’m going to need to learn how to drill!

Also, I plan on painting the sides of the cabinet.  I guess I’m going to need to learn how to paint!

 
Monitor - http://goo.gl/z2Eev

This is the monitor I purchased.  The largest monitor this cabinet will fit is 19″ and only in 4:3 mode.  We are going old school with this one baby!!

 

Joystick - http://goo.gl/0G4rJ

I bought two of these joysticks.  They can either be set to 4 way or 8 way.  Reviews on them have been good and they seem reliable.  At the end of the day I can always change these out if I don’t like them.

 

Microswitches - http://goo.gl/vew86

I bought these 50 gram microswitches.  I know there are a million places to buy microswitches, but I saw good recommendations for this store — and they are in Hawaii and I’ve always loved that place.  I couldn’t be happier with the microswitches.  They feel really nice, have a great weight and make a great sound.  Added bonus, they sent me Macadamia Nut Kisses with my order.  Very classy!

 

Keyboard encoder - http://goo.gl/haCgQ

This for me was a no-brainer.  From what I’ve read, this is THE keyboard encoder.  For those that don’t know what a keyboard encoder is, it’s a small unit that translates button presses and joystick directions to keyboard commands.  This unit plugs into the computer and when I wire my controls into it the computer simply thinks I’m playing these games with my keyboard.  I guess I’m going to need to learn how to wire!

 

Buttons - http://www.ultimarc.com/goldleaf.html

I bought my pushbuttons from Ultimarc.  Since I was buying the keyboard encoder from them I thought it made sense to buy the buttons as well (saves on shipping).  I just received the buttons today and they feel pretty good.  Plus, I can always change them out later if they don’t work out.

For the PC side of things I’m going to use an old Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz for this with a 1TB drive.  I put Windows 7 on there and loaded it up with stuff, but that’s another post.

I’ll be updating this regularly.  The machine is coming along really well, let’s just say I am learning alot about patience!

Thanks,
Robert.