Help with cabinet choice

[Timeout]

I have been trawling groups and websites looking at cabinet plans and found nothing I like.... I like the modern look but I have a 24" LCD computer monitor to use but I want to build a cabinet that the screen can rotate for vertical games and also I want the screen to tilt back a bit (not straight up and down) so I can enjoy pinball..... All the cabs I have seen is either straight up and down screens..... Anyone seen any cabs that would fit these needs.....?

The machine will probably live outside under pergola so plywood is what I will use....

 

Thanks

Dave

[Cynicaster]

You'll find all the info you'll ever need over at arcadecontrols.com (aka BYOAC, or Build Your Own Arcade Controls).

 

I designed and built a cabinet from scratch, nothing too special but it gets the job done and has provided hundreds hours of entertainment since being moved down into my basement in the spring of 2011.

 

Here it is, by the way: http://cynicaster.blogspot.ca/2012/04/in-my-last-article-i-talked-about-some.html

 

Having gone through the process myself, and having read countless accounts of others who have attempted projects of varying complexity, I'd strongly recommend you really assess whether something like a "rotating monitor" brings any true value over and above being a "neat feature". Even if you go through all the hassle of doing that and succeed, you're still going to have nothing but an emulator box with an LCD display. IMO, a better route would be to go for a real arcade monitor or pick up a 4:3 LCD monitor for $10 in the local classifieds. The latter will last longer, look more authentic, cost you next to nothing, and the 4:3 ratio makes rotating screens unnecessary. The drawback, of course, is they are big and heavy boat anchors, but if you have the wherewithal to do a rotating screen, you should be able to integrate a big heavy display in a fixed orientation.

 

Just my $.02--I'm of the mind that whiz-bang features on MAME cabs do nothing but prolong the wait to gaming bliss.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Cynicaster