jeepnut24 Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 After much time, more than a year, I finally have some in progress picts of my 2600 cabinet. The electrics where up and running and tested. Im now in the process of finishing the details. Plenty of neat features planned but not done yet. The cab is not here so working on it is hard, having to drive 30 minutes to get to it. The Control panel is birch and will be stained and the draw may or may not be birch and stained also??? It should hold about 100+ 2600 games. Should have some more pictures before long. You know how it is with "projects"... Should get a bezel, graphics, etc... etc.. etc... Some neat suprises too. The coin door resets the atari when a quarter is used. Extra buttons for playing pinball. Headphone out. Speakers. Built in paddles and extra button for the booster grip game. Controller extension ports for 4 player games. I need to track down some actual 2600 aluminum switches though for the various switches. We play tested it a while back and it works wonderfully. Ill be sure to get on the ball and get some more progress. I plan to give it some more paint or vinyl. No t molding though because its 1/2" MDF not 3/4".... Dont ask, they didn't have 3/4" at the time Here are time picts, ignore the crappy camera effects... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 So what are you using for the actual electronics then? I was expecting to see a cartridge port on it somewhere. Looks pretty good, should look great once you get some nice side/bezel/control/marquee art in there somehow. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 So what are you using for the actual electronics then? I was expecting to see a cartridge port on it somewhere. Looks pretty good, should look great once you get some nice side/bezel/control/marquee art in there somehow. --Zero All the intrest and one post... Anyways, Im using a normal 2600 jr that Ive simply re wired the switches and cart port to different location. At some point Ill do a video audio mod for a better picture. The cart slot will be part of the control panel along with the 6 switches. Haven't got them cut out just yet. I realize there is a lot of work to be done, but Ive been discussing it with a few here and wanted to show the progress. Look like no one seems to care... Oh well, Ive already enjoyed it a few times will testing, and my family will enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Please post up some more comments.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dones Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Nice cab jeepnut! Are you only going to use it for atari 2600 games? What are the specs of the computer for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Nice cab jeepnut! Are you only going to use it for atari 2600 games? What are the specs of the computer for it? Yeah, Im building it for playing 2600 games only. Its a canablalized 2600 Jr that I got from CPU about a year ago. The coin door is wired to the reset switch so when you pop in a quater it resets the 2600. Ive relocated the cart slot and soon the switches. It has built in paddles, sticks for two players. A pinball setup for atari pinball. Expansion ports for 4 player games. Two extra buttons to emulate the booster grip. Someday Ill do a video mod for better graphics. The picts are current status, post teardown after a test run. Played a bunch of Defender and Combat with my younger brother. Not much of a looker right now, but Ill fix that. I figure if they can make a portable 2600, I could make a 2600 arcade. The sliding draw will hold over 100 2600 carts. Some day Ill make a NES version to go with it. Please post some more feedback and constructive critiscm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Some day Ill make a NES version to go with it. I got two of those, they are called Nintendo VS. cabinets Cheap, and work great. Nintendo also made one for the SNES Which I would love to have. Back on topic, it is a cool cabinet, but hopefully you will cover up the drawer or make it a flush/hidden style. It will also be hard to make an arcade style bezel for the tv inside there. I think it is an odd looking cabinet overall and will be hard to make look perfect. BTW, what was the cabinet before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcostin Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Nice job so far! I'd love to build something like that, though for space reasons it'd probably have to be set up to double as a MAME cabinet, cuz someday I want one of those too. If you need any suggestions for side art, you may want to look up a couple of those Atari cardboard cutout posters from ebay. They made them for Missile Command, Breakout, Yar's Revenge, Warlords and Haunted House (any others?) all done with the same nifty art used on the 2600 game boxes. A monitor bezel might be tricky, but depending on the measurements of the cabinet an old plexiglass Atari arcade bezel might work ok, if you center it over your monitor. A bit of molding placed around the bezel could hold it in place and give it a nice finished look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Thompson Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 I'm interested in seeing it progress furhter! HURRY UP! heheh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Some day Ill make a NES version to go with it. I got two of those, they are called Nintendo VS. cabinets Cheap, and work great. Nintendo also made one for the SNES Which I would love to have. Back on topic, it is a cool cabinet, but hopefully you will cover up the drawer or make it a flush/hidden style. It will also be hard to make an arcade style bezel for the tv inside there. I think it is an odd looking cabinet overall and will be hard to make look perfect. BTW, what was the cabinet before? It was a piece of MDF before. I created it from a plan found on the internet. I wated to build something. As for the drawer, it will be black or stained wood and will fit flush other than the handles. Ive got something worked out for a plexiglass bezel that will fit over the wood cover that is there now. Ill see how it works and go from there. As for making it perfect, well I try and get close, but I built it to enjoy and wont be that upset if it looks hand made. Thanks for the suggestions on the side art. Im not 100% on what Im going to do just yet. Maybe mimic a silver label??? Im most like going to do some type of character montage for the mointer bezel. Thanks for all the comments and Ill try and get back to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Oh, stained wood definately. The drawer front being the same woodgrain of the 2600 would be a nice touch! Little silver atari logo in the right corner too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcprs1 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Nice work thus far. Please post more pictures as you progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Neat project, I look forward to new pictures as you make progress. Thanks for sharing! ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Franzman Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 The coin door is wired to the reset switch so when you pop in a quater it resets the 2600. Hmm, if you want to realistically emulate an arcade machine, that won't be enough - some games restart with a press of the fire button after the game ends. Free play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 The coin door is wired to the reset switch so when you pop in a quater it resets the 2600. Hmm, if you want to realistically emulate an arcade machine, that won't be enough - some games restart with a press of the fire button after the game ends. Free play! Yeah, I know, but its close enough for me. I think I can handle the loses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 So far so good. Can't wait to see your progress on it. No t molding though because its 1/2" MDF not 3/4".... Dont ask, they didn't have 3/4" at the time http://www.t-mold.com has 1/2 inch t-molding. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 So far so good. Can't wait to see your progress on it. No t molding though because its 1/2" MDF not 3/4".... Dont ask, they didn't have 3/4" at the time http://www.t-mold.com has 1/2 inch t-molding. -S Ive been waiting for you to chime in. What do you think of the coin door reseting the 2600? I thought it was a nice touch. Im also planning to hardwire in some speakers seperate from the TV. Headphone jack at some point too. Thanks for the link to the 1/2" t-molding. Ill keep that in mind. Id like to get it all up and running again before I finish up the minor details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Sorry, I've been on vacation and away from the computer for about a week. I thought the coin operating the reset switch was a good idea. the coin function just has to be there, and the reset switch seems like a good function to assign to it. Where is the cart slot going to go? -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 Sorry, I've been on vacation and away from the computer for about a week. I thought the coin operating the reset switch was a good idea. the coin function just has to be there, and the reset switch seems like a good function to assign to it. Where is the cart slot going to go? -S Yeah, it seemed natural to me. The cart is going on top between the two select buttons. Haven't cut the hole yet though. I got it all wired up and working though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 When you're feeling really salty, you need to hack a driving controller to a real arcade steering wheel. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flack Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 You know what would be really cool? If you made your marquee hinged with a shallow light behind it, so the whole thing would flip up and you could store your favorite carts right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Awesome! I've been wanting to do something similar for a long time. I can recall as a kid, seeing those ads in the back of video-game magazines for an arcade machine like stand you could put your 2600 set up on. They were always out of my price range, so I was always drawing up "plans" for ones to make. I even designed one out of cardboard boxes!! LOL Please keep us updated with the latest pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepnut24 Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 When you're feeling really salty, you need to hack a driving controller to a real arcade steering wheel. -S That thought has crossed my mind already, and I think at some point Id like to build a "racing" controller out of an old pole position wheel and some MDF. As for storing the carts behind the marquee thats and Idea I hadn't thought about. Right now Ill probably stick with the sliding drawer and I might add another drawer for hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassidy Nolen Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 If you decided to take the steering wheel suggestion, I have a Pole Position control panel I would be willing to donate to your cause. You hit a nerve with me : 2600 AND arcades!!! Maybe that would be a neat addition Cab looks good so far! A good sized photo printer should be able to do some side art for you or maybe a local print shop. I would suggest like a 600 dpi image to do your marquee, bezel and side art. Spray glue makes anything a sticker Definately make sure you keep up to date pics. I know people will be amazed you built it, and they are bragging rights for you. Way to go! Cassidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcrowe Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Make a Quicktime movie when its done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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