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Arcade Cabinet DIY - Suggestions and Input


KeeperofLindblum

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So I've been tinkering with the idea of having a full sized arcade cabinet in my house (now that I have a house of my own and room), but I'm hitting a bit of a wall as to what method I should use... 

 

Feel free to jump down to the bottom for the highlighted "Questions I want definitely answered" if you want the short version of this thread.

 

I have the following options to choose from I figure:

 

  1. Buy the real deal arcade cabinet. 
    1. Pros - Would be really awesome and authentic
    2. Cons - Expensive and a lot of work to fix it (depending on condition)
  2. Buy a pre-made Multicade 
    1. Pros - Large selection and ready to go
    2. Cons - Almost as expensive if not more so than the "real deal". Also may be closed off and stuck with random nonsense
  3. Buy a nice DIY kit
    1. Pros - Can customize it and make what I want, cheaper then previous methods
    2. Cons - Art is extra and most of these use a Raspberry Pi*
  4. Make it all myself (to a point)
    1. Pros - By far the cheapest method. Can tailor exactly what I want. Use what I already have
    2. Cons - Clearly the most work. Will require tools and knowledge I may not have or will have to borrow

 

Now it's probably already obvious which ones I'd prefer... Option #3 and #4. I have several pieces that could be use for either project.
 

  • Two LCD monitors (Square SCEPTRE and Rectangle ACER)
  • Old Workstation PCs (Intel i5s) - *The reason I put a Raspberry Pi as a con... I don't want to buy one.
  • USB Arcade Stick (PS3 Injustice one.)


I have the following guidelines for what I'd like to end up with. Feel free to give input/opinion on any of this!

 

  1. Prefer a stand up arcade to a barcade. However cost may prevent this!
  2. Prefer to keep cost under $200. Absolute max is $400.
  3. Prefer to use what I have versus buying more. (I'm fine getting a Raspberry Pi if it's overwhelmingly the better choice.)
  4. Maximum game system capability needed is PS1. (Any higher up is just bonus.)
  5. Ideally nothing overly complex.** 

 

**This is a vague statement because I'd prefer avoiding major skills or tools I don't have. (I suck at soldering. My art capability is non-existent.) I can borrow a few odd power tools if I do the "Make it all myself" method. 

 

Now the final bit of this post are the "Questions I want definitely answered"

 

  • Linux Build VS RaspPi - Who wins?
  • Depending on answer above, suggested software?
  • What's a good place to get art printed?
  • USB Arcade Stick VS Buying Buttons & Sticks - The better choice?
  • If I buy the Buttons & Sticks - Is wiring these difficult? Do they require programming or soldering?
  • Should I get over the work and just do it all myself?

 

Again! Any inputs and opinions are greatly appreciated! Even if you just have a set of good links or stores to hit up. 

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I think I've decided to take a bit of a step back and maybe build up towards a full setup...

I think I'll do something akin to "building my own", but it'll mostly just be putting various pieces together slowly. lol

Going to start with an investment in an X-Arcade stick, and then use that to buildup and eventually get a barcade or a full cabinet that fits it. 

https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-dual-joystick-usb-included

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I made one myself about 3-4 years ago (took about 9 years to start!) - has a PC with Windows and mame in it with a custom front end I built.

 

I loved doing it but as I didn't have all the right tools I compromised on width (made it wider) and with hindsight would do things a little different as the control panel and the retainers are incorrectly sized but do overall love the outcome.

 

Make sure you have the correct tools and appropriate plans for the cabinet you wish to make and cost everything from materials, sideart, marquees, buttons, joysticks etc. You may actually be surprised as to the cost. As I'm in Australia $ conversion and delivery fees were a killer and it certainly cost close to $1k (if not more). Can't remember if that included the PC I bought through auction. 

 

Since making it I eventually added additional buttons for multiple-button games (now covering the Nintendo logo) and are thinking about color matching the red on the control panel background to 'fill' in the edges to the sides of the cabinet.  Would love to make another one just so I could fix my mistakes from the first.

 

IMG_20191205_194721.jpg

 

IMG_20191205_200806.jpg

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12 hours ago, mksmith said:

I made one myself about 3-4 years ago (took about 9 years to start!) - has a PC with Windows and mame in it with a custom front end I built.

 

I loved doing it but as I didn't have all the right tools I compromised on width (made it wider) and with hindsight would do things a little different as the control panel and the retainers are incorrectly sized but do overall love the outcome.

 

Make sure you have the correct tools and appropriate plans for the cabinet you wish to make and cost everything from materials, sideart, marquees, buttons, joysticks etc. You may actually be surprised as to the cost. As I'm in Australia $ conversion and delivery fees were a killer and it certainly cost close to $1k (if not more). Can't remember if that included the PC I bought through auction. 

 

Since making it I eventually added additional buttons for multiple-button games (now covering the Nintendo logo) and are thinking about color matching the red on the control panel background to 'fill' in the edges to the sides of the cabinet.  Would love to make another one just so I could fix my mistakes from the first.

 

IMG_20191205_194721.jpg

 

IMG_20191205_200806.jpg

This looks awesome! This is what I'd adore to have, but mine will probably end up a bit more generic. 

 

12 hours ago, mksmith said:

mikesarcade.com has a whole stack of parts and gameongrafix.com has all the required art.

Definitely saving this "gameongrafix" link! That was one of my bigger concerns was finding a proper art supply. 

 

41 minutes ago, Keatah said:

Looks like you decided to roll your own. And that's a good thing considering the age and unreliability of original ratbaggy hardware. Not to mention it's bulky and only only plays one game.

Yeah I definitely prefer to make my own. I don't want to cannibalize a authentic cabinet that at least has a chance of being fixed or saved. 

 

Also realizing that my hopes were way too high that I could do this on a budget.... XD
I'll just have to slowly build up towards what I want. Ideally, I'd like to start with a nice arcade stick setup and then find a cabinet build I can buy that'll fit the X-Arcade stick (normal not the tank). 

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12 minutes ago, KeeperofLindblum said:

This looks awesome! This is what I'd adore to have, but mine will probably end up a bit more generic. 

 

Definitely saving this "gameongrafix" link! That was one of my bigger concerns was finding a proper art supply. 

 

Yeah I definitely prefer to make my own. I don't want to cannibalize a authentic cabinet that at least has a chance of being fixed or saved. 

 

Also realizing that my hopes were way too high that I could do this on a budget.... XD
I'll just have to slowly build up towards what I want. Ideally, I'd like to start with a nice arcade stick setup and then find a cabinet build I can buy that'll fit the X-Arcade stick (normal not the tank). 

No probs! Hopefully it helped! gameongrafix is quality reproductions - was really impressed when I received it.

 

Prices like most retro stuff have increased over the years but as you say doing bits at a time might be a good way to do it!  A few of the generic arcade plans could definitely be used to attach a pre-built arcade sticks as the control panel area is reasonably flat on those plans.  

 

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Okay so my first jump in will be the X-Arcade stick.

 

Should I get the Tankstick with the trackball, or am I good to save money and get just the regular Dualstick?

 

https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-dual-joystick-usb-included

https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included

 

EDIT - To clarify, I don't know what games would use the trackball and make it worth the extra amount. 

Edited by KeeperofLindblum
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I would NOT buy the Tankstick, and I own one, because it may seem like a great solution it really isn't.

 

You're much, much better off buying a DIY kit and better hardware yourself. You're going to spend more than $400 all together and you'll be happy you did. I'd be happy to help point you at buttons and joysticks that will work better.

 

Don't focus on the finished product. You're going to have to do it in stages and if you're like me it will drive you nuts.

 

Edit: as far as the Pandora boxes go, they do work to varying degrees, but I don't think they're what you want. If you have an i5 available that will be absolutely perfect for what you want to do.

Edited by TwoShedsWilson
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15 minutes ago, TwoShedsWilson said:

I would NOT buy the Tankstick, and I own one, because it may seem like a great solution it really isn't.

 

You're much, much better off buying a DIY kit and better hardware yourself. You're going to spend more than $400 all together and you'll be happy you did. I'd be happy to help point you at buttons and joysticks that will work better.

 

Don't focus on the finished product. You're going to have to do it in stages and if you're like me it will drive you nuts.

 

Edit: as far as the Pandora boxes go, they do work to varying degrees, but I don't think they're what you want. If you have an i5 available that will be absolutely perfect for what you want to do.

 

Any particular reason why you recommend against the Tankstick? Does it sound and look better than it actually is? I think the only reason I went towards it is because I've heard of it before, and it's currently on sale for only $100+shipping. 

 

How hard is it to wire your own joystick and buttons? I'm mostly concerned if there's any soldering involved as my soldering skills are... insanely amateur at best. 

 

The end goal would be a really nice arcade cabinet that's closer to a multicade but a better quality item. 

Edited by KeeperofLindblum
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The Tankstick is fine, but it is what it is. The quality is ok and it technically does everything it needs to, but if you want to end up with a nice-looking cabinet that doesn't have a Frankenstein's monster quality to it the Tankstick isn't what you need.

 

Hooking up the controls is really pretty easy, no soldering needed. Most encoders (the good ones anyway) are clearly labeled and plug and play. The only challenge is keeping wires straight and managed. Honestly I really enjoyed hooking up the controls even when I got something wrong.

 

My problem is a now realize I ran afowl of the "buy cheap, buy twice" rule. I want to replace my buttons and joysticks already and it hasn't even been six months.

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38 minutes ago, TwoShedsWilson said:

The Tankstick is fine, but it is what it is. The quality is ok and it technically does everything it needs to, but if you want to end up with a nice-looking cabinet that doesn't have a Frankenstein's monster quality to it the Tankstick isn't what you need.

 

Hooking up the controls is really pretty easy, no soldering needed. Most encoders (the good ones anyway) are clearly labeled and plug and play. The only challenge is keeping wires straight and managed. Honestly I really enjoyed hooking up the controls even when I got something wrong.

 

My problem is a now realize I ran afowl of the "buy cheap, buy twice" rule. I want to replace my buttons and joysticks already and it hasn't even been six months.

Thank you for your response! 

 

I think what I might do is start with the Tankstick as a budget item. I'd definitely want to move up to the better controls once I got a cabinet though. This also allows me to satisfy my "arcade lust" until then at a cheaper price point. I just need to slowly build up and be patient. lol

 

A couple of nice points on the buttons is the fully customization nature of choosing my own buttons, and that most of the cabinet designs you can order have pre-cut holes (that I'll probably have to file down) for putting your own buttons and sticks in. 

 

EDIT - I figure worst case I can just sell the Tankstick later and get back like 60-80% of the cost I put into it. 

Edited by KeeperofLindblum
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I went ahead and ordered the X-Arcade Dualstick today (don't really need the trackball). 

 

I'll have to start searching around after the first of the year to make choices on who to get a cabinet from, but I at least have a good link for art! Thanks again to Mksmith and TwoShedsWilson for your input!

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The 1up arcade cabinets are inexpensive--

 

Yes, they are single-game.  However, you can get inexpensive HDMI driver boards for their LCD displays.  Their controllers are direct wired normal arcade style buttons.  They can be connected to something like a Picade-X hat on a pi 4. 

 

Then you can run MAME on it, and have the polish of an inexpensive commercially made cabinet, with the advantages of a full MAME deployment inside.

 

 

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18 hours ago, wierd_w said:

The 1up arcade cabinets are inexpensive--

 

Yes, they are single-game.  However, you can get inexpensive HDMI driver boards for their LCD displays.  Their controllers are direct wired normal arcade style buttons.  They can be connected to something like a Picade-X hat on a pi 4. 

 

Then you can run MAME on it, and have the polish of an inexpensive commercially made cabinet, with the advantages of a full MAME deployment inside.

 

 

Yeah I really wanted one of the 1Up Cabinets, but I think I'd be happier with a more "me" sized cabinet. (I'm above the average height at 6 ft.) Honestly, if I could find them discounted like some people seem to, I'd probably have done this and walked away, but I have yet to see any of the heavily discounted 1Ups in my area. :(

 

I'll just slowly wait and invest in a more customizable (and more work) one versus the 1Up. Thanks for the information and link though!

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1UP has an official "Riser" base..

 

 

Just thought I would mention it, since the diminutive stature of the arcade boxes had put me off as well.  (that and I can't justify a 300$ purchase in such a frivolous form factor)

 

As for an inexpensive one;  Since the goal is to dismantle the original title, and re-use the cabinet/controls, the street-fighter cabinet is a good choice. (only 200$ instead of 300+$) It has 2 8-position joysticks with 6 buttons each, with some select buttons.  Not as nostalgia inducing as a Pac-Man or Mrs. Pac-Man arcade, but versatile and inexpensive.

 

Edited by wierd_w
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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay a "minor" update is that I got in the X-Arcade dual stick in a couple of days ago.

 

It feels pretty solid for the price of it. I know I can (and probably will) do better in the future, but for the cost to quality it's a lot better than the cheap Injustice fighting stick I had before. 

 

I keep forgetting to take pictures, but here's one I sent to a few people earlier. 

 

1217192309_2.thumb.jpg.45ef085660dc6858bc513bb492b8b048.jpg

 

It's just a plain jane version with an adapter to work on PC. (USB, PS2, or Serial)

 

It felt really nice, but it's definitely plain. I'll have to look into an overlay...

 

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Nickel's worth or free advice, I've built custom cocktail and uprights using furniture grade oak so they looked good in the house. There's always some hidden caveat that you learn once you have the things done and sitting in your house. Usually you find the comfort level is not there for extended play and they just collect dust. The full size upright built, I ended up shortening to a sit down upright, and that's pretty nice now. I can always make a riser for it to go back to standing play.

 

You'll find your controller panel will be the most important thing, and you'll be tempted to tweak or redo that. You can use a raspberry Pi or a refurb Core I7 from eBay for the brains at about $100-150. I recommend the I7 so you can setup a nice front end and any kind of emulation you could possibly want. That can all be updated as you like over time. I'd recommend just doing something like below first for either a seated or standing mode play. You can us a monitor on a wall, in an entertainment center or on shelf. Point is, that gives you the full playability experience without a big ol cabinet you'll wish you had done differently pretty soon. Another nice option to consider is a conversation piece model like the barrel rigs. Home use and typical arcade hardware are not entirely on the same page, but the thought of your own authentic arcade machine is appealing, it fades fast. Also, I'd never get one of the Arcade 1 ups, they seem cheap and underwhelming.

 

500.png97bd6f8b191871332166a23198fef2b4.jpg

 

Edited by JBerel
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6 minutes ago, JBerel said:

Nickel's worth or free advice, I've built custom cocktail and uprights using furniture grade oak so they looked good in the house. There's always some hidden caveat that you learn once you have the things done and sitting in your house. Usually you find the comfort level is not there for extended play and they just collect dust. The full size upright built, I ended up shortening to a sit down upright, and that's pretty nice now. I can always make a riser for it to go back to standing play.

 

You'll find your controller panel will be the most important thing, and you'll be tempted to tweak or redo that. You can use a raspberry Pi or a refurb Core I7 from eBay for the brains. That can all be updated as you like over time. I'd recommend just doing something like below first for either a seated or standing mode play. You can us a monitor on a wall, in an entertainment center or on shelf. Point it, that gives you the full playability experience without a big ol cabinet you'll wish you had done differently pretty soon. Another nice option to consider is a conversation piece model like the barrel rigs. Home use and typical arcade hardware are not entirely on the same page, but the thought of your own authentic arcade machine is appealing, it fades fast. Also, I'd never get one of the Arcade 1 ups, they seem cheap and underwhelming.

 

Excellent advice and pictures! 

 

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of... is I'd get it and would just sit there a lot. 

 

I think the most likely scenario I'll go for is more of a dedicated "arcade area" with a stand for the arcade stick, a hidden PC (got a nice i5 box), and then either a wall mounted or stand mounted monitor. 

 

I'm also considering a "barcade" setup where it's just the smaller machine but could easily be thrown on top of something to have a comfy-ish seat like a nice pair of barstools. 

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If you're like me, you'll find you spend 90% of your time primping and tweaking it, and less that 10% playing. It's a hobby, and gives you pretty quick gratification.

 

Be sure to load up Black Widow and Robotron for some single player fun. Those are a hoot to play on a dual stick rig. I love me some Wizard of Wor too as long as you have the sound samples setup for it right.

Edited by JBerel
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I am late to this conversation but here's my few random thoughts:

 

* My wife purchased a Tankstick with trackball back in 2011 for Christmas for me. It was on sale for $50 off (looks like they're on sale for $149 again btw). I can honestly say based on 8 years worth of use that I love this controller. Some people don't like it but I love mine. No failures and it has held up all this time to at least 2-3 sessions a week including grandchildren that abuse controllers. Only thing I have to do is clean the trackball every so often due to cat hair.

* My wife let me buy a cabinet for the controller (or she bought it as another gift - I forget exactly how that went down) back in 2012 and it sits perfectly inside. They don't make my particular cabinet anymore but the link still works. They still make cabinets but they're bigger now.

* At the time of the build I had a 22" LCD monitor and a few spare PCs in the house so my cost was the cabinet and controller. Obviously I have upgraded over the years and added things but the initial cost wasn't bad... It was $150 for the tankstick, $199 for the cabinet and $25-$30 for the GameEx lifetime license.

 

It has evolved from this build I posted waaaaay back when - the links are like 1/2 broken and the pictures went away - but the original specs and device names are still listed. On top of that all the usb adapters are still in use and working perfectly. I still have the keyboard as well. The CA speakers sound amazing. The 7 port hub gave out and is now a 22 port (why not?) powered usb hub. I also recently bought a Cyclone and a Cyclone II spinner from pboland. The first one is going into the Tankstick soon. Just have to figure out where I want it and how to route the wires. The II will be a portable box for my emulation laptop since I can connect two buttons to it.

 

The system is now an AMD true gaming rig (not a Craigslist "gaming" PC) 4.2GHz quad core, 16GB RAM, GTX 950 and 4 TB storage. I went from a GT 240 to the GTX 950 recently and it was a great upgrade for the money and the video card is way over powered for my emulation use anyway. If I ever pull this tower for real gaming use I'll have to upgrade again but since it's emulation dedicated it's awesome. :)

 

A couple of years ago I also added LED back lighting similar to this to the monitor area. I now have LED chasing lights I always wanted going around the monitor but I've come to like the Red/Green/Blue fade in fade out function much better. Lighting helps with the overall feeling of playing the arcade. Sadly it has NOT helped my gaming prowess at all...

 

(Running a part time computer repair business has helped a lot with part scavenging so my costs are low to free. I usually end up with the stuff people upgraded from since they don't want it back.)

Edited by ClassicGMR
LED lighting
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