CoRnDogg's Arcade Machine Blog!

Wow. It's almost been 2 years since I've even posted here. Sad sad. Anyway, here's something new for you. I've rebuilt the control panel and gave it a spiffy new paint job. You can see me wiring it here. I'm actually building this to sell now, so if you know anyone looking for an arcade cabinet (that is VERY versatile) let me know. I promise I'll keep everyone a bit more posted on this. Later!

Hey guys! It's been quite a while since I posted last, but I got a major update here. I've started construction on the cabinet and have most of it already done. Just as a refresher, this is made with 3/4" MDF board. I am in no way, shape, or form a carpenter and this is my first project... so this thing is not perfect. Learning power tools has been pretty fun, but very frustrating at the same time. Making straight cuts has been kinda challenging. =]



Anyway, as you can see from the pics this thing is almost complete. The next phase will be to map out, cut out, and assemble the control panel. I already have the joysticks and buttons to go in it so I won't have to wait for that. Painting, filling holes and gaps is also very close to the top of the list. As you can see, the bottom is a stand alone piece, as well as the top and both are removable. The control panel will also be removable making the whole easier to transport if need be. Three smaller pieces are much better that one huge clunky piece. Another point of note about the 3/4" MDF is that it is VERY heavy. So, again, 3 smaller pieces rule.



The TV has been dying to get into it's new home as well, so hopefully the pace will pick up now that a lot of the main construction is done. While this is a pretty big step, there are still a lot of work to be done on it. Including painting, artwork, wiring, setting up the computer, and mounting the marquee light. This project is still a ways from complete. Keep checking back here for updates on this thing as I'll be working on it every chance I get. Later!

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything here so I guess it's due time for an update. As stated in my last post the light guns were on the way and they finally came in. As I said, the guy took his sweet as time sending them. Took like 4 or 5 weeks. Not cool. As consolation he sent a $5.00 coupon for when I order from him again... like that'll happen. But I got em, did some tests and I'm not sure if they are gonna work or not. Well see. Also, I was talkin' about some new plans for the cabinet and gave a link to the site where I would be getting said plans. Well I got them and they're more than I could have hoped for. Very detailed and will be a great help. They are still not "final" according to Jason (the guy who sent them) but they are one hell of a head start. In more recent news, I went to Home Depot to get materials yesterday, and was actually a little cheaper then I thought they would be. Not by much, but hey, every buck counts. Anyway, I'll post again with new developments. Now if I can just pull myself away from Ghost Hunters, maybe I can get crackin' on this thing!

Well, the light guns are coming now... bought them from an ebay seller and it took the rat-bastard 2 weeks to even contact me. Kinda pissed me off, but at least they're on the way. One more thing to check off the list. Also, having taken a break on the design and from gathering parts, I've decided to revamp the design of the cabinet. I figured that I'll only be doing this once, so I really don't want it looking like any other machine out there. There are some new plans coming to the web pretty soon, which I'll be basing my machine after. If you visit http://www.jason.cronin.net/ you will fond pics of the new cabinet. As soon as the plans are posted on this site, I'll be getting down to building this thing. The marquee and other artwork will be the only steps to completion, but those will come later. Until next time!

I've got a few mock-ups for my control panel. It'll take about $70 just for this part, but it'll be worth it. High quality printing on vinyl. very cool.

I'll probably just go with the 2nd one since the image is already vectorized. Don't ask. =]

Okay, I've made a list of parts left to buy before the cabinet can be built.

Marquee Retainer - about $14 DONE
Paint - TBA
Large Piano Hinge - $8 DONE
Control Panel and Marquee Art - about $100
2 DB25 extension cables - about $0 DONE
3/4" t-molding - about $15 DONE
Light Guns - about $30

Not too much left... wish me luck.

wtf? Every since I got this Namco gun, I've been all stoked about having some shooters in the cab. I've found drivers for the thing, so again, I was stoked. Does the damned thing work? No. No it does not. I've tested this thing in every way I could think of. I've tried 2 diffrent video cards, 2 diffrent computers with diffrent operating systems, 2 diffrent connection methods, and 2 diffrent televisions... same results. The cursor just jumps around the screen randomly any time the gun is pointed to the screen. Oh well. These guns were the bottom of the barrel anyway, but now I'm stuck on the idea of having a couple guns for the cabinet. I have found another one I'm intersted in though...



Looks pretty sweet and isn't too expensive. I'll keep ya posted.