I'm building a bartop - Please help!

[Fzero]

As you might have figured - this is somewhat bitten from FaeMinx' post about his building of a PC.


I know we have some highly knowledgable heads here, and i know we have at least a couple of people on here who have built their own cabinets before.


So, im going to give myself a gentle kick and soon start my bartop mame build.


I dont have a big enough room for a proper cabinet so the bartop ones look ideal, i have seen a few that i really like but would like to build my own for the obvious reason - satisfaction guaranteed.


There's a bloke who runs the Project MAME site and is clearly skilled, really like the work he has done and he has some very good infos up too, including some drawing plans.


on this page:http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/


I like the Econ, the Weecade and the Nanocade.


But - Neither of them are perfect for me - in that the Econ and Nanocade are one player only, the Weecade has just a 4 button layout.


Something like this is more ideal i think:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARCADE-CABINET-MACHINE-KIT-DIY-FLAT-PACK-MAME-2-PLAYER-BARTOP-/180844627704?pt=UK_Video_Games_Coin_Operated_MJ&hash=item2a1b2e06f8#ht_2306wt_1139


Which is just the wooden cab with the holes cut into place. It is a 2 player one just like id like.


Woodwork is a skill i lack.


I wouldnt really want to get the saw and drills out to attempt this and would rather buy the pre-cut sections or better still, take some plans to the local B&Q and have them cut me it from [insert-ideal-type-of-wood-here]


Onto the questions:


-- Anyone know where there are plans for making the shell, dimensions for the wood and hole placements etc ... like on the Koenigs site but for a 2 player one, so i can print them and take to the shop and have them cut it for me - this would be plans that show where to cut slots for the fan to breath and power btn etc?


-- On this page [link below], looking at the 3rd pic from the bottom, it shows the power button. I have seen these quick power on/off buttons a lot on the pre-built ones, but im not sure how exactly this works. Is it a simply a switch already on the motherboard that the button connects to?


[hoping so, and that once you have the mobo its quite obvious]


I would definitely want the quick on/off option and a front end so that it doesn't ever boot into the lame Windows login screen and then have to launch mame etc... I want the machine to turn on and be ready to select games, as i've seen on countless YT vids where people are showing off their own cabs.


http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/stepweecade.htm


-- The power supply, fan, monitor, RAM, hdd & Ipac "all" connect to the mobo, right?


Therefore i can pretty much get any ones so long as they are compatible with the mobo i chose, right?


Is the Mini-ITX - Intel D510MO as recommended on koenigs still a good choice or would there be a better option?


Im only looking to use the machine for the usual emu, mame, snes & megadrive.


thanks/danke/dank u/kiitos/arigato

 

[Prometheus]

-- Anyone know where there are plans for making the shell, dimensions for the wood and hole placements etc ... like on the Koenigs site but for a 2 player one, so i can print them and take to the shop and have them cut it for me - this would be plans that show where to cut slots for the fan to breath and power btn etc?

I can't help much with the other questions, but is this page any good? It appears to have rather a lot of plans for bartop cabinets! (It doesn't appear to have the hole placements for the control panel, as far as I can see, though, unfortunately...)


Gremlin Solutions sells flat-packed kits, but not for bartops. That said, I don't imagine it would do any harm to ask them if they plan to offer them.


I hope this helps a bit!

 

[skeezix]

You can often find an existing bartop machine, and just convert it as needed.


ie: Bartops are commercially made by the thousands, its not like they're particularly rare


I had somethign like this (but in black): http://s3.amazonaws.com/bonanzleimages/afu/images/1294/3770/e7e0_1.jpg


It was easy to just pull off the button panel and slap a joystick and buttons in place, though it was shaped a little better and was wider in the one I had, so it was fantastic.


Likewise, there are the Megatouch games, but these days they tend to just be a flatscreen with not much purchase to build a joystick head onto.. still, older mega touches have space for a joystick mount.


So take a look there.. you might just get oucky and pick one up for $50 and mod it; I got mine for about $150 or somethign, as a working unit; with working power supply and wiring harness etc, made my life a lot easier


But making your own is not too bad, just like making a fullk size cabinet, but smaller; let me know if you find a good set of plans.. it would be tempted to make one from scratch.... I've got all the parts around (spare buttons, harnesses, etc), just no time.. but.. tempting ...


Good summer project for wood cutting in your garage


jeff

 

[Fzero]

Nice one guys, that link the 2nd from bottom is nice looking, and I like the marquee, I'd like that to add dif graphics at will.


I hadn't thought of another bartop and working from that, does sound good idea too and the screen and power is all sorted as you say.


Food for thought, I'm going to check some bartops on ebay now..

 

[Prometheus]

Food for thought, I'm going to check some bartops on ebay now..

The last time I looked, there were some flat-packed ones on there. I wonder if it's the same now?

 

[Fzero]

Searching "bartop" only resulted in mame builds, none of the other sorts on a cheap. They got that flat pack one still that I posted earlier, that's 140 , it is a very nice looking one though, looks like holds a fair size screen too

 

[vcoleiro1]

If you want some expert help building a bartop then the place to is BYOAC(Build your on arcade controls). It's a forum dedicated to people who want help to build all sorts of cabs including bartops. You will see many many detailed threads people have posted detailing how they built there bartop. The forum is here:


http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/

 

[Fzero]

cheers, i took a quick look and it does seem to have plenty of threads covering pretty much all the stages, saved to favs