In this video I give you a more detailed look inside the arcade system by opening the panels and revealing the components inside that make it all work. All of the hardware is covered with close-ups and detailed explanations.

Conclusions

In any project, there are things you might change or build differently the next time. What’s missing? A trackball! I made a decision early-on that I would incorporate two spinners and leave a trackball out of the design. This makes it difficult to play games like Centipede, Crystal Castle, Golden Tee and so on. By dropping the trackball I saved a lot of space (and a nice chunk of change), but it’s the one thing I wish I had on this system. There is always the possibility that I could re-build the front panel and make it curve outward with enough room for a trackball, but at this point I am pretty happy with the design.

I opted to use basic premium wood stock from Menards. This saved a lot of cutting and forced a simpler design. The cabinet is really just a screen on a hinge and control panels on hinges. There’s really not much else to the “box” but the back panel. With better carpentry skills, I might have built the panels at an angle descending from the screen’s edge instead of a step below it. However, the extra effort to pull that off and successfully laminate the result would have doubled or tripled the work (and time).

I am running Maximus Arcade as my front end. For me, it offered the most complete set of features with the least effort required to put them to use. I tried Mala, Atomic and a few others. I am happy with the results. With the operating system completely hidden, the arcade boots right into the front end and anyone can use the joystick to select a game.