MAME Arcade Control Panel : Part 4

Having an impromptu day off work today whilst I wait for my new iPhone to be delivered,  I’d thought I’d continue work on my MAME control panel.

I’ve been apply the black spray top coat for most of this week and has been quite a lengthy process due to the veeeery long drying times for each coat. I’ve also brushed on two top coats of clear varnish which has provided a wonderful smooth and shiny surface (thanks Alan!). My heart sank when I applied the second coat of varnish and everything started to go a bit ‘milky’. Thankfully all was well when it dried!

With the painting finally done, I set about reinstalling the buttons & joysticks. Excitement levels increasing

It’s all starting to come together now.

Hunting out for my bag of bits from my arcade parts box, I set about arranging all the various components  like the Ipac, wiring harness and microswitches.

After attaching the microswitches, I installed the Ipac. This is the device that will relay the signal from the button/joysticks to the PC.

The Ipac board is supplied with four mounting feet which screws into the wooden control panel. The two ports shown are PS/2 style connections. One is used to connect to the PC (via the supplied PS/2 to USB cable) and the other acts as a pass thru for a  PS/2 PC keyboard if required.

With that done, I could crack on with wiring the controls. This comprises of two parts – Firstly, all of the negative contacts on the microswitches (COM) are wired in series using a daisy chained wiring harness and terminated to the negative pin on the Ipac. The pre-crimped ends help to speed up the process as they simply slot on to the microswitch terminals – unlike the first CP I’d built that had to be hand soldered (although, I missed having the excuse to weld a soldering iron!).

The second part is the ribbon of positive wires that are terminated at one end onto a standard IDC block which fits over the double row of pins on the Ipac. You have two options here, either follow the wiring guide so that each wire corresponds to the Ipac/Mame factory defaults i.e wire no.15 is button 3 or wire out of order and remap the keys in Mame. For ease, and to help locate any shorts or unconnected wires, I decided to follow the wiring diagram.

It’s here I hit a slight snag. I don’t have the wiring diagram anymore (I’d ordered the Ipac many moons ago) and a quick scan online shows that my model I’m using has been superceded – including a new wiring order

I called the company I’d ordered my kit from and the really nice chap I spoke too was more than happy to email a copy of the older diagrams for me. I’m really chuffed with them, they’ve been a great help. For reference, all my arcade bits are ordered from http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/

So, with a new (old) diagram, I set about making all of the positive connections by attaching each wire to the positive terminal on the each microswitch (NO).

I’ll point out here that, although my CP is a 1-up joystick/four button (plus x2 extra) control panel, the Ipac and wiring harness support 2-up joysticks/six buttons each and also has connections for mouse, trackballs, spinners, multiple coin and start buttons as well as many extras.

It’s all starting to look a bit messy but once I’ve tested that all is working correctly, I’ll tie wrap everything so it’s neat and safely tucked out of the way.

With all the wiring done, I connected the CP to my netbook and launched the Ipac testing software (supplied with the kit but can be downloaded here – http://www.ultimarc.com/ )

Sadly, I’d hit another snag and couldn’t get a single control to work Thinking it might be a Windows 7/WinIpac issue, I swapped to the another PC running XP but still no connections detected. Thanks to the keen eye of a friend (cheers Bobby!) we’d spotted that my wiring was out by one pin therefore the negative contact was not connected. I had to practically start again and once reconnected, all worked perfectly.

Testing each control with WinIpac.

 

Now for the fun bit, testing it with Mame!

Everything appears to be working just fine and the controls are nice and responsive.

So that’s the control panel done. There’s just the wiring to finish off and it’ll be ready to install in the Arcade cabinet. Next job – Coin Door.

 

 

Quick CP update.

Just an quick update to say there’s no update The black gloss spray paint is going on well but so far has required three coats to obtain a nice smooth finish. However, it’s taking 24-48 hours per coat to dry therefore not much work can be done just yet.

In the meantime I’m rebuilding the PC I’ll be fitting inside the arcade cabinet and am currently ‘test driving’ another multiple emulator frontend (Maximus Arcade) as an alternative to MameWah.

 

 

 

 

MAME Arcade Control Panel : Part 3

I’ve been mostly working out in the garage and making small adjustments to the Control Panel and preparing it for painting.

Yesterday I added a few wooden batons to both sides and front of the control panel so that it sits nicely on to the cabinet and doesn’t slide about.

Getting it to fit perfectly was a little trial and error really. Maybe the old cabinet woodwork has warped a little in the +20 years since it was original built?

In the end, after fitting, adjusting and fitting again, it all started to come together and pretty much replicated the fitting of the original control panel.

With the fixtures in place, time to give the whole panel a good sanding prior to painting.

Oops, have taken a picture of the wrong side ..and I was so proud of my smooth finish!

With regards to painting and detailing, I’ve seen lots of amazing examples on the internet complete with custom artwork, graphics, lights and plexi glass. However, as my cab is very colourful as it stands, with its full side artwork and colorful marquee & glass panel I thought I’d keep the CP very plain so as not to insult the eyes too much!

So with that in mind, I’ve decided to go with an all gloss black finish which should make the buttons and joystick stand out quite nicely. If it’s not smooth enough, I may go down the route of installing a plexi glass finish.

For the actual paint, I’ll be using two spray based products designed for wood/metal and then a high gloss seal if required. I’ve not used either before but my tests show they give a nice finish. For reference, they are Rust-OLeum Surface Primer & Rust-OLeum black gloss enamel.

It’s really cold outside in the garage and ideal temperature (according to the manufacturer instructions) is between 10c – 25c. Well it’s bearly 4c at the mo so I’ve decided to deck out the study with protection and spray in there instead. I’ve rested the CP on a couple of plastic plant pots and have used a large piece of polystyrene I found in the garage to act as a guard. I’ll be able to move this around as I spray.

Don’t want to get into any trouble with Mrs Stiggy

The first coat seems to have gone on o.k and will apply the second this afternoon and then i’ll leave it overnight before I begin the gloss base and top coat. In the meantime I’ll start working on rebuilding the coin door/mechanism.

Mame Arcade Control Panel :pt2

My homemade arcade control panel is starting to take shape now thanks to Alan and his multitude of tools!

I won’t mention here, my complete brain melt during yesterday and the many trips back and forth between home, Alan’s & the hardware shop

Having transferred the measurements from the old CP to the new board we began cutting and drilling. It’s quite nice to see that Alan was able to replicate the angled cut at the top of the board which should ensure a nice fit and hold the bezel glass in place.

I’ve marked out the placement of the buttons and joystick however, I had to change the layout slightly to that of my original plans. I found that by placing the controls higher up the board, this would provide me with more space at the bottom and thus more room to rest my wrists during gameplay. However, as a result, the coin and 1-up buttons have had to be moved to the left hand side.

Here’s what the CP looks like after we’ve drilled out the 28mm holes for the buttons and joystick mounts.

Although I’ve still got a lot more woodwork to do, couldn’t help myself and attached the joystick and buttons to get a rough idea what the finished CP will look like. So far, really really happy with it.

You know, I still can’t decide weither I like the red or yellow joystick ball top?  I had early concerns about the clearance for the Sanwa joystick shaft and originally thought to replace it with a longer shaft. To be honest, this test fit show’s that it’s good to go  and feels very comfortable as it is.

Here’s a shot of the underside showing the joystick and buttons – minus  micro-switches etc.

So…that’s how things are looking at the mo. I’ll continue with the woodwork this afternoon, give it all a good sanding and them I’ll start on the the paintwork/wiring.

Mame Arcade Control Panel Pt1

Today I’ve removed the original CP and taken various measurements which I’ll be using to construct a new replacement.

It looks like the insides could do with another scrub, it’s  been a while since I’ve had the CP and back panel removed!

When fitted, the original CP tilts downwards very slightly towards the player with the furthest away part being used to help secure the glass monitor bezel. The CP is a heavy block of wood that’s been routered on the underside reducing th thickness in places for the rear mounted joystick & buttons. The two metal brackets in the picture below attach to adjustable  ‘hook/bracket things’ inside the cab and when tightened ensure that the CP is securely attached.  I’ll be reusing these on my new CP.

Most of the CP actually sits inside the cab, with only a few millimeters raised about the cab frame. Here’s the front of the CP showing the routed lip which provides a nice rounded front edge.

and here’s the back end showing the angled cut to compensate for the slight angle the CP is tilted towards the player.

My routing skills aren’t up to the job of recreating an exact replica so what I’m aiming to do here is to use a thinner piece of wood overall and use wooden batons on the underside to build up the  thickness in areas needed (mainly the sides and front). The Sanwa joystick I’ll be using will be mounted underneath the CP so the thinner the wood, the more joystick shaft I’ll have to play with….er hmm

In the end, I settled on a board with a thickness of 18mm. Quite thin but rigid enough for intense gaming. I’ve also found wooden batons that are exactly the right size so when added to the 18mm board, the overall thickness is exactly the same as the original.

Here’s a rough idea what the joystick/button layout will look like. Tomorrow, with the help of Alan, will be cutting and drilling. Once that’s done, next will be the bit i’ve been looking forward to…wiring, wiring and probably more wiring…and maybe quite a lot of swearing too

The wooden surface doesn’t look smooth in this picture. However, it’s just the rough plastic sheeting that’s making it look this way.

Mame arcade project: Control Panel sketchs

I’ve decided to continue with my ‘will it every be completed’ Mame arcade machine and first job on the list of to do’s is to create a new control panel (CP). It’s a shame I can’t reuse the existing CP but the inclusion of two very large player buttons in the wrong area means it’s probably best to start from scratch.

Old and battered original CP.

This first CP will contain one joystick, and after much deliberation,  four player buttons plus one for credit & one for the start button. I’ll also be adding two extra control buttons for various functions but I’ll talk more about these specific functions later on.

After a few rough sketches on paper containing various button layout I settled on something along the lines of the Neo-Geo/Sega layout that sees player buttons one-four in a slight arc. (thanks for the tips Jon )

I’ve created a quick mock-up using MSpaint.

MSpaint proved to be a bit of a pain to work with and at one point I did decided to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. However, for ease and speed, I installed the software  shipped with my IPAC interface board which is better suited to CP layouts.

Not only is WinIPAC great for contructing layouts, it can also be used to test/program the IPAC when connected to the PC.

I’ve also transferred the design to Blender & rendered a simple 3D image to get a better idea of what the CP will look like. I’ve not bothered with fancy detail just yet though.

I’ll start taking measurements during my free time next week and then it’s off to the hardware store to pick up materials.

The Sanwa joystick and buttons I’ll be using can been seen on a previous post however I’ll be replacing the player buttons because sadly I’d purchase the wrong ones! – I want the classic concave type rather than the flat topped type.

http://stiggyblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/mame-arcade-controls/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mame Arcade Machine pickup.

One of the RCM forum members, Simon, had offered to donate his Mame arcade cabinet to the museum and as I was reasonably close to his address I offered to pick it up and take it down to the storage unit yesterday and also meet some of the other chaps to help sort out their ever-increasing collection of hardware & software.

After taking a few measurements and removing the back three seats in Curstie’s car (and a silent prayer that they’d be enough room) I made an early start to meet up with him.

On arrival, had a nice chat with Simon and wheeled out the cab from his garage and with a bit of tugging and swearing we managed to slide it into the car without too much trouble. Thankfully, measurements where spot on and had about an about an inch of space left. Driving was fun though!

At the RCM, we unloaded and had a peek inside. Cosmetically, the woodwork is in good condition despite being stored in a cold garage. The bottom of the cab looked like it had got damp but in dry storage it should be o.k or it wouldn’t be a difficult job to replace the bottom with a new wooden skirt.

Andy opening up the front/rear panels so we can have a look-see inside.

Inside, the PC is fitted with an Arcade VGA graphics card which supports the resolution of the original arcade monitor rather than using a standard PC monitor. Ideally I’d like to get one of these cards for my own cabinet as it makes the games look so much better in the native resolutions.

Outside, the cab is fitted with two 4/8 way joysticks with six buttons per player. This is wired to the PC using a J-Pac interface board which make life so much easier when building a Mame cab as you simply connect the JAMMA wiring loom edge connector to the board. My own cab uses a I-Pac interface therefore I’ve had to connect each control wire (plus negative) to the board by hand…fun, but can be a right pain.

With the back panel off, we checked everything was intact and had survived the journey up.

Simon has also wired the  coin mechanism so that coins inserted will register credit in Mame.  For the Mame frontend it’s also nice to see that MameWAH has been used as this is my favorite frontend too.It can be a litte tricky to configure at first but contains a wealth of customisable features.

As the CRT, PC and electronics haven’t been switched on for a few years and still quite cold, we refrained from switching it on for the time being and opted to leave it for a few days. At least it’s got a bit of company now 

Hopefully, Simons Mame cab will make its debut at RCM’s gaming weekend this May.

Zaccuria Coin door & Bezel restoration.

One thing that always bugged me about my Phoenix arcade cab is the shabby state the coin door is in and the pitted chrome plastic bezel. Although it had a good clean when I first brought the cabinet, it just doesn’t ‘shine’.

It also hasn’t helped that when I disassembled it for cleaning, the digital photo’s  I’d taken to be used as a guide for reassemble didn’t actually help that much. I’ve got lots of ‘spare’ parts which I’ve no idea where they go

Note to myself – if you intend to take anything apart, take plenty of photos & notes,  including multiple photo’s from all angles

Good bless the internet as I’ve managed to find two incredibly detailed guides for reassemble of the coin door and restoration tips for the bezel.

This should keep me busy when jobs around the garden start to slow down as we head into Autumn.

Wished mine looked this good….well, hopefully it will soon!

Mame cab weekend?

I think I’ve got a fairly free weekend coming up so hopefully I’ll get chance to try again with repairs to my TX1000 laptop. If successful, I’ll post my results.

I’ve also acquired a few more bits for my MAME cab so hopefully I’ll also get chance to begin working on it again. The first job is to raise the whole cab by a good 6″ or so. Being a lot taller now than as a child visiting the amusement arcades my eye line is almost level with the cab marquee and light i.e. not great for gaming with a bulb light shining in my face.

I’m aiming build a new wooden skirt around the bottom for the cab to sit on. Not only will this raise the overall height but I can also fit caster wheels to make it easier to move around. Screw-fix seem to have a fairly good selection so a little shopping trip might be in order.

I’ve also been thinking about the layout of the new Control Panel. Originally I was going for a six button combination but to be honest I think four should be plenty (plus 1up/2up/coin and MAME control/Shift button). Granted, Street Fighter II-est games are better with six, but I’m not really a fan and most of the classic Shmups I play are 1-2 buttons anyway. If I change my mind later, I got about twenty surplus buttons anyway. My next decision, button colour!

Mame arcade controls

I’m going to be starting on the control panel for my MAME arcade machine soon so I’ve dug out the box of control parts I ordered last year to familiarise myself with the various bits ‘n’ bobs. The following pictures were taken on my study window sill using some photo paper to act at a white background.

The main component is the Ipac keyboard encoder. With this I can wire all of the joystick controls and buttons, connect to the PC via Ps/2 port (or USB) and with the supplied software can map each control within Mame or whatever emulators I’ll be running.

The Ipac is only about 2″ long and is supplied with a wiring loom. All wires terminate into a block similar to a PC harddrive IDE connector and fits on the pins shown below.

The opposite ends of each wire clamp on to microswitches which is turn are fitted onto either a ‘+’ joystick or button terminals. Another wiring loom provides the ‘-’ connections. You can just seen the terminating block on the top right of the picture below.

Here’s a shot of one of two Sanwa balltop joysticks I have and a few of the joystick buttons. These will be mounted from underneath the wooden control panel although I’ll be using a longer joystick shaft as these ones are quite small.

Here’s a shot of the underside of the joystick showing the microswitch connectors. The clear plastic dial is a restrictor plate allowing the joystick to be set to either four or eight way directional control. The idea for this is that that some arcade games designed for four way control aren’t very responsive with diagonal controls.

Here’s the second joystick with yellow ball top attached. I also have green and pink ball tops so i can swap an change if needed. I think yellow one is my favorite. The 1up and 2up buttons will be mounted to the front side of the control panel.

I’m not sure which colour combination of arcade buttons to use yet. I’m thinking six buttons per player so maybe four red ones and two blue ones. The yellow one will be used for the ‘coin’ button to emulate a coin credit. For total originallity i’m aiming to wire the actual coin mechanism microswitch the the second coin imput on the Ipac as i like the idea of having to use an actual coin to activate a credit.

You can see here how the microswitch attached to the buttons.

I quite like this next shot as a PC desktop wallpaper

If you’re interested, I purchased all my parts from Gremlin Solutions. The guy who runs the shop is a really nice chap and is extremely helpful.

http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/