After seeing everyone’s amazing Vewlix project MAME cabinets, I’ve decided to make one, to run older two button games.
The idea behind this is to replace the TV stand under my wall mount with something more versatile, that I can still store everything in, without it being a nightmare. I can also use it as a coffee table, which is a bonus for me, because I don’t have much room in my house.
I have all of the plans for this cabinet and everything priced out. I will be posting links for anyone interested in doing something similar, as well as pictures, once I have everything.
The dimensions are from a Ms.PacMan machine, utilizing an official Namco 19" screen bezel, tempered glass w/ clamps and possibly Wico sticks and leaf switch buttons. I haven’t decided if I want to go with JLF’s and Sanwa buttons just yet, but I’m leaning towards NOS stuff.
Some people may or may not like this, but I’m going to be using a 19" LCD. This was a decision made out of practicality over asthetics, because I need the room underneath. All of the consoles that I have will be underneath, inside the cabinet on a silent chill pad, all running to a surge protector with a single grounded cord coming from the cabinet wire grommet on the back.
I’m going to run the entire thing on a GP2X F100 Mk2 handheld with a BOB. This will allow me to use PC PCB’s for the controller boxes. The BOB has 4 USB inputs and the open source firmware runs keyboards and a mouse or a track ball. If I can swing it, I am considering putting small track balls between the sticks and buttons for games that support it and for a mouse. If I set up the drivers right on the GP2X, I can use this thing with WiFi as an internet browser. The GP2X has a web browser on it’s OS. Sound and video are handled by L&R RCA audio outputs and an S-Video output on the BOB. I will be running the audio output to a car preamped equalizer into two 6x9 speakers, using original bezels and a small radial potentiometer for volume control, under the table.
I was going to run it on a GP2X F200 or Wiz, but I went with the F100 because this doesn’t need to be a touch screen and nobody has mass produced a BOB for the Wiz yet.
A 19" touch screen can be added to this project for about $120 to use with the front game browser and internet browser in place of another human interface device like a nub, mouse or track ball. I can get a touch screen that is weatherproof from HAPP and I can seal the screen to the cabinet under the bezel with butol tape (used to attach and seal automotive glass, except windsheilds).
I’m certain that I could spill a drink on it and have it clean up just fine, but my issue with this idea is that I can’t use the official tempered glass that the real cabinets use if I do this. This is because I would have to cut out the area where the screen is and you can’t cut tempered glass. I would have to go with acrylic, which is fine, except that it isn’t nearly as scuff resistant. Any other type of real glass would be very fragile due to the gigantic 19" rectangular hole, unless it was multiple pieces.
Most of the games will be long screen, but the monitor has capabilities to run standard screen at 90 degrees and the OS can run both ways on screen.
I don’t plan on playing all of my games on this machine, just the classic ones, so I’m not going to put a side controller box on it. All of the fighting games I’ll be playing on my TV.
Anyway, I hope to be posting pictures as I build this. If I do this how I have it plotted in my mind, it should weigh about as much as a coffee table and I’ll be able to use it for a lot of things. The handheld can run mp3 and mp4 files and there are firmware updates that allow mp3 files to be played at the same time that games are being played. I’ve wanted a cocktail ms pacman for almost 15 years, but it just seemed too impractical to own for me up until now.