Custom Build Atari themed cabinet

karmathing

Front panel finished. Now a slight pause while I find the time to do the perspex and resite the monitor. Still not sure how to do a bezel between the monitor and perspex. how do others approach it? I'm aiming for black I guess.

karmathing

What a lovely day to finish the vinyl. I've already routed out a 2mm slot, so t-molding may be next. Still pondering the inside of the perspex; maybe two colours of mounting board - I wanted black but I'm thinking a touch of red would really look good...

I bet my wife wonders why the decorating is taking so long.

karmathing

This post is deleted!

karmathing

Well, after a burst of activity this week, I got 99% of the way there. The T-molding really looks good. Externally just the marquee to do, But I can't seem to come up with a design I'm happy with.

I've made the bezel with some red mounting board, but I now feel that the monitor is too high. I had planned on putting a strip of hotkey button combos instructions under it, but I'm now not so sure. Your ideas, please!

Inside, tons of wiring tidy up, and I'm now going to try and sort out player 2... I understand that's a bit of a challenge with a Xin Mo encoder, so wish me luck! On top of that I need to figure some kind of switch in each coin slot as I don't have any coin validator mech's behind the door. Maybe just pushing the coin reject to avoid actual coins? Mind you I'll never make money off the kids that way 😁

backstander

@karmathing

I've made the bezel with some red mounting board, but I now feel that the monitor is too high. I had planned on putting a strip of hotkey button combos instructions under it, but I'm now not so sure. Your ideas, please!

In that picture it does look a little high but try putting some mock up hotkey button combos instructions under it and see if it still looks too high.

It's looking really cool btw!

Clyde

I second @backstander: Looks too high, but the space below it may be used for instructions etc. But if you want to keep the plain colour below, you should consider lowering the screen.

All in all, it looks great! 👍

What do you plan to put in the marquee space?

By the way, I like the little balloon in the background. 🎈

Knowcontrol

Awesome work on that cabinet! Great job!

VitroLight

https://www.ebay.com/str/vitrolightlcdmodulestore

makes an LCD that would fit your marquee space. It would be controlled by Hyper Marquee and Event Dispatch System.

chubsta

looks very nice except I'm afraid, the monitor... what size is it, you may find that a 4:3 would look much better in there if you can get a large one, after all the games are generally designed to be played in that aspect ratio.

Clyde

I second @chubsta about 4:3. You may get refurbished 21-22" TFTs from specialized shops for relatively little money. For example, the monitor of my own DIY upright cabinet from 2006 is in perfect condition and only cost me 60€.

karmathing

@backstander Thanks! You're right - I'll try it out before altering.

karmathing

@Clyde Marquee... don't know. probably follow the overall design and give it a name. Ataricade? Atarcade? But it may mean more custom printing which is beyond my wallet at the moment. Balloon was after my youngest's party! I do love a balloon, and so does he.

karmathing

@chubsta For the sake of authenticity you're right - and I tried REALLY hard to make it look like it rolled out of a factory. Unfortunately the 16:9 monitor was a freebie so It'll stay for a while. Would be simple to change internally, but it'll have to wait.

allahandro

@karmathing If it's the right height for you, the screen should be fine. but aesthetically it does look too high. I would try to bring it down a few inches, maybe 3 or 4 at the most. But if it's too hard, it's your arcade! It looks really good right now!

wstanek

@karmathing Really looks great! Very well done, love the graphics. How does it play? A tip for single player setup: when using the left side stick, map the buttons on the right side as well so you can stand centered up on the cab in a proper horse stance.

Ideas since you asked:
I think your screen is ok. With a black bezel, you wont notice the vertical position as much. Consider black (maybe with your graphics in a subtle way and instructions.) I would not drop it down if it interferes with your comfort. If you do drop it down an inch or two, you might also want to angle it back a bit.

Looks really good! Now build another one with a vertical monitor and a 4 way stick.

ws

Clyde

@karmathing On the second thought, you could mount the monitor in a vertical position. It won't look as „too anything“ (e.g. too high) like that and you could play vertical games with a bigger picture. Just an idea …

wstanek

Here:

wstanek

@Clyde You're right on, vertical fits the space very well. You'd have to have a 4 way stick. He's just gonna have to build another one!!

ws

Clyde

@wstanek … or that. 😉

Clyde

@wstanek … or two. 😄

Clyde

@wstanek Not every vertical game is 4-way, though. Many arcade SHMUPs are vertical and 8-way. But with either the xboxdrv (item 2D) or switchable Joysticks like the Ultimarc Mag-Stik Plus (I have two of them built into my upright cabinet, see my review here), that wouldn't be an issue.