Slim Arcade Cabinet
Creator: |
Contents
Overview
After Makers Local received a "Choose Your Own Fitness Plan" kiosk/terminal, I thought it would be the perfect foundation for a slim light-weight arcade machine 'cabinet'. The frame is relatively sturdy and does not weigh nearly as much as a full wooden cabinet.
v0.1 Requirements
- Mounted LCD monitor
- Printed/laser-engraved faceplate under monitor
- Cheap desktop, laptop, SoC PC (e.g. Raspberry Pi), etc. to run MAME and other games
- Two-player arcade control set
- Speakers
- Built-in power strip
- Basic cabinet art
Feature Ideas
Below is a list of possible features that may eventually be added to the cabinet, depending on the feasibility and desire for the feature:
- Four-player control set
- Full printed cabinet art
- More powerful PC to run HyperSpin MAME frontend
- Coin/bill acceptor
- Touchscreen
- LED marquee
- LED lighting (Single color or Ambilight)
- Wheels
Parts
Frame
The frame consists of the donated kiosk with a few modifications to allow for the mounting of an LCD monitor and set of arcade controls.
Cost
- Donated kiosk: $0.00
Screen
Because the kiosk has such a thin form-factor, the only viable option for a screen is an LCD monitor. I have an old LCD monitor that fits the screen cut-out perfectly, with a little space left over below the monitor. The monitor is connect to a mount using the VESA mounting points on the monitor, and the mount is attached to the frame using four large bolts with wooden spacers. In the left-over space under the monitor, some sort of faceplate will be added to cover up the hole and provide some decoration.
Cost
- Re-purposed LCD monitor: $0.00
- Bolts, nuts, washers found at ML256: $0.00
- Wooden spacers cut from scrap wood: $0.00
Controls
Version v0.1 will have a two-player, eighteen-button, dual-stick control panel that was built to fit the old arcade cabinet at ML256. A new mounting surface will be cut so that the panel will fit the new cabinet and so that some of the less-than-attractive parts of the panel can be eliminated. The computer interface is a simple Xin Mo Arcade to USB Controller (2 Player).
Cost
- Xin Mo Arcade to USB Controller w/ wiring harnesses x 2: $66.00
- 18 Happ pushbuttons and 2 competition joysticks: $38.25
- More buttons and sticks from Dusty (Thanks!): $0.00
Progress Log
21:26, 22 September 2013 (CDT): Started page for collecting ideas, thoughts, and progress. So far, the LCD monitor has been mounted and tested using a laptop with MAME.