The dimensions for this project were entirely dependent on an LCD monitor I had collecting dust in the attic. It’s a Sumsung Syncmaster 150MP. It’s a good little monitor for only 15 inches.

It has decent contrast, built-in speakers, and a variety of functions including TV inputs, VGA and others. Once removed from the plastic shell, I mounted it in a wood frame and the rest of the arcade system was built around this size.

The basic concept I was going for was a 3-sided control panel. Players 1 and 2 would be arranged side-by-side along the front horizontal edge, and players 3 and 4 would be on the sides--or vertical ends. Once the monitor was framed, I could size the control panels that would surround it and doing THAT would get me to my ouside dimensions.

With the outside dimensions, I could finally cut a piece of rigid plywood that would form the base for the whole cabinet.

Here, you can see the the basic shape coming together. The long front panel will hinge open at the the front lower edge as will each side panel, but when closed, all three form a continuous surface all the way around 3 sides of the screen. It’s like a two-step pyramid. What you can’t easily see is that underneath, it has an internal structure somewhat like a “#” sign. The middle section under the screen forms a box that holds the computer parts. The test fit here shows that there is plenty of room for my Intel Mini-ITX motherboard, a standard 3.5” hard drive, an optical drive, a 300-watt power supply and even the LCD monitor’s power adapter.

As you can see here, I have 4 buttons and a joystick for the two vertical sides of the screen and the long main panel has two joysticks, two spinners and 12 buttons. Each position also has a “coin deposit” button and a player start button around the edge. I am using Happ Controls Super joysticks on this project and Groovy Game Gear’s Electric Ice pushbuttons. The Spinners are the TurboTwist 2 model. I picked up all of these controls at Groovy Game Gear. It was a pleasure doing business with them!

Here’s a view from the left vertical side as the laminate is starting to go on. This would be player 3 in a 4-player game (like Gauntlet), or player 1 for games that are vertically-oriented (like Pac Man, or Donkey Kong). You can see under the main panel which is hanging open by its hinges on the right. Notice that the buttons and joysticks are missing at this point until the laminate surface is complete. Once the cabinet is laminated, I can install all of the controls and start wiring them to the keyboard controller. I am using the Ultimarc iPAC4 to control my arcade inputs.

There is also a wireless keyboard that I can use to setup software and troubleshoot should the need arise.

With the lamination complete and the controls installed, all that is left on the outside is to affix glass to protect the screen. Then, I can begin the work of setting up the computer hardware and wiring the controls. I am using the very inexpensive Intel Core2 Duo Atom processor running at 1.6 GHz. This is plenty of power to run every emulator and game I want to play. The processor comes pre-installed on Intel’s Mini-ITX motherboard which also packs an integrated sound card, video, IDE, SATA, serial, parallel, and LOTS of USB ports!

Finally, it’s ready to test. In this image, it still needs a bezel around the screen, but for the most part, it’s done. And, SURPRISE, I have lighted pushbuttons. The beauty of the Electric Ice buttons is that they can be illuminated successfully with 5mm LEDs. I chose to use blue illumination on the game controls and red for the coin buttons. Power for the LEDs comes right off the PC power supply.

On the next page, you can take a look at some video demos of the arcade and a detailed look inside and out!

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