Jump to content

Homemade Arcade Enthusiasts


jeffjenx

Recommended Posts

A friend of mine over at RETROBLAST! (www.retroblast.com) informed me that they took on another partner in Coin-Op TV. Kevin's website is now a powerhouse of information for anyone who's interested in retrogaming as far as Mame is concerned. It has a lot to do with reviewing hardware and software for building your own arcade machine and for components like the Act-Labs light gun and so on.

So if you get a chance, head over to his website at RetroBLAST.com and check out some of the very informative and well-balanced reviews and video reviews.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeahl, BYOAC is a insane resource for information on building your own cabinet. I just wish I had the cash to pull it off, I would love it. But at the same token, I'm not the type of person to cut corners to save a few bucks, I'd want it done the right way whatever the cost may be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Cost ain't so bad, it's only money after all. What I find difficult with any arcade project is the actual woodwork required. I'm not qualified to be within 100 feet of any power tools, I am the clumsiest guy ever when it comes to woodworking. I can design the electronics and a custom GUI just fine, but where could I possibly go to have the actual cabinet cut, polished and built to my specs ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good point and I am the same way. The little easter egg napkin holder I made back in eighth grade was about the extent of my woodworking abilities and thankfully so I've not been around power tools in a long time.

But aside from that here are a couple of the links that I've looked at as far as getting the cabinet pre-made, so you just have to assemble it.

http://www.dreamarcades.com/upr.shtml

This is a good site with a decently priced empty cabinet as you probably would go about building the computer yourself.

http://www.mameroom.com/arcadecabinets.asp

This one is great. I like the fact that they have a couple different designs and they are really nicely put together and not very costly.

I think you may have to get a control panel as well, if they don't offer it with yours and the place to go, it appears, is SlikStik:

http://www.slikstik.com/default.aspx?Affiliate=58

Lots of customizability and a high-quality product from what I've read.

Keep me posted if you actually go through with it, as I've been interested in this for a while now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Retromags Curator
Good point and I am the same way. The little easter egg napkin holder I made back in eighth grade was about the extent of my woodworking abilities and thankfully so I've not been around power tools in a long time.

But aside from that here are a couple of the links that I've looked at as far as getting the cabinet pre-made, so you just have to assemble it.

http://www.dreamarcades.com/upr.shtml

This is a good site with a decently priced empty cabinet as you probably would go about building the computer yourself.

http://www.mameroom.com/arcadecabinets.asp

This one is great. I like the fact that they have a couple different designs and they are really nicely put together and not very costly.

I think you may have to get a control panel as well, if they don't offer it with yours and the place to go, it appears, is SlikStik:

http://www.slikstik.com/default.aspx?Affiliate=58

Lots of customizability and a high-quality product from what I've read.

Keep me posted if you actually go through with it, as I've been interested in this for a while now.

I plan to build one within the next 18months ......Gonna buy the blueprints from Mameroom.com on there UAII and buy a SlikStik Classic Controller......I have a Pentium 4 (3.0HT) with 465 gigs of harddrive set aside for emulation and gonna get a 25-27 inch Arcade monitor

I just wonder if i should buy the blank Classic or the one where they install all the hardware .....wonder how much of a price difference it would be to buy the blank and buy that hardware to install myself :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now there's nothing like doing it yourself, you'll get a lot of fun and experience in that stuff. I've read, however, that the SlikStik control panels are very, very reasonably priced because they are getting great bulk discounts on every piece of equipment that they provide, so while they won't be passing all the savings to the consumer, they can competively price their product.

I've also read that their control panel is very well-assembled and lots of care go into building it so that the inside is as neat and well thought-out as the outside.

The only advantage I see of building your own control panel would be that you can create a more unique setup tailored to what you'll be playing. If you think the Classic setup is pretty much perfect (which I do), then I would go with that.

BTW, what kind of monitor do you got? One of those Wells-Gardners?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I don't know if I will ever quite get to the point of having a MAME cabinet, only from my lack of building expertise (although I work for architects now, I'm sure it can be figured out). BUT, I do envision having a family room emulation and video PC in the next few months.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Jonga earned a badge
      Member for 7 Days
    • Jonga earned a badge
      Member for 1 Month
    • Jonga earned a badge
      Member for 1 Day
    • imprctcljkr earned a badge
      Member for 1 Day
    • apierret earned a badge
      Member for 1 Month
×
×
  • Create New...
Affiliate Disclaimer: Retromags may earn a commission on purchases made through our affiliate links on Retromags.com and social media channels. As an Amazon & Ebay Associate, Retromags earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your continued support!