Mcclain mame informational thread.

[whoreable]

hey mcclain, I plan on going ahead with a mame machine, I was gonna build my own cab and i did dimensions for a 4 player tmnt/simpsons/gijoe machine, but i can buy a old 2 player cab for about 50 bucks with coin door and all the parts.

Of course i dont ahve the cab yet so i dont know the exact size but i plan on getting a 25-27" tv for it. I saw you used monitors, have you tried to use a tv? if so was the quality ok?

next question controls. I have heard that the happs compitition sticks are the ones to go with for a 4 way -8 way combo. as for buttons i assume happs are probaly the way to go. Did u use a keyboard encoder for yours? I am looking at getting this one: http://www.groovygamegear.com/Page5.html They also sell buttons there i dont know how good they are but they are also less than happs.

I plan on doing 7 buttons per player. 4 in the neogeo format and 3 in a row above them, you think this is a good plan or you have any other ideas?

I havent decided if i wanna get a trackball yet, i am thinking i will ahve to hack an old mouse to interface one, or do you ahve any better ideas?

any other advice is appreciated.

[whoreable]

dude i got a cab today. it was an egg venture cab, formerley a neo-geo cab :eek it cost me 75 bucks. seems no too bad. the project is moving along nice, pics will some come for those that care.

[Mockery]

Awesome. I love seeing custom machines. Definitely post the pics.

[McClain]

Did the cab come with a working monitor? Anyway. Yes, televisions work fine. Not as clear as a computer monitor, but definetely more arcade-like.
My favorite encoder is the Keywiz. If you don't use that go for the IPAC from Ultimarc. As far as your buttons and joysticks, you really can't go wrong. The Happs are always nice and easy to switch from 8-4 way modes. GroovyGameGear offers a js that you can switch back and forth without having to go inside the panel. Kinda' pricey, though.
Buttons are buttons. If you want the true arcade feel go with a convex style. Cherry microswitches are the best. I'm a big fan of the 7-button layout. It will give you a small headache when you're assigning your buttons as most 6-button fighters will conflict with a NG setup, but you can make it work. You'll just have to customize game by game in your MAME settings.
It's always nice to have a trackball - it can act as the PC mouse. I rarely use it with games (I'm not a big fan of centipede) but it's worth having.
Lemme' know if you have any more q's.

[whoreable]

yea so monitor did work. so i bought a tv, 2 tvs in fact. neither fit until i took them apart. so my dumbass took apart a brand new 24" flat screen and a 25" tube. Of course i decided the 25" tube was much better as it is exactly the same size and mount as the old screen, the only downside is no svideo. hopefully it wont be too bad though.

I decided to buy all the buttons and joysticks localy, i ended up with some happs super joysticks and some generic buttons. havent got any use yet but they seem decent.

No room for track ball :( I am just gonna use my ati remote wonder for times when i might need a bit of mouse control.

I ordered the keywiz max one. hopefully it will be in this week and then after i am done with the sanding and painting i can hook it up and give it all a test run.

Everything is going great with it now by biggest worry at this point is marquee, cp, monitor side, and side graphics.

[McClain]

Everything is going great with it now by biggest worry at this point is marquee, cp, monitor side, and side graphics.

That's a good portion of the construction. What are you concerned about?

[whoreable]

I am just concerned about what graphics i want and how i want them printed and applied.

I just ordered some red t-molding so that should look pretty sharp.

[whoreable]

I just got my keywiz max, it has an input for 5volt and ground, doi need to connect the 5volt to my pc psu? and do i need to ground the gorund conenctors, or is that just where the button ground goes to?

[McClain]

You do not need to use the 5v for anything if you don't want to. It is not necessary for the operation of the keywiz.
As far as the ground connectors, you need to have a loop of ground wire going from one microswitch to the other. Use the daisy-chain method. You have to make sure that every single ground wire is connected to the terminals and then returned to the keywiz. You HAVE to have a functional ground connection.

I know this is an IPAC, but you should get the idea.
http://www.ultimarc.com/wiring.gif

[Anonymous]

We had like, two whole days of lectures on grouding at Sheffield a few weeks ago :<

[McClain]

You can testify how important it is to maintain a circuit. TELL HIM CHOJIN! Damnit, tell him!

[The Green Meanie]

www.arcadecontrols.com - Has everything you need to know about making your own MAME cabinet, plus hundreds of examples.

[McClain]

If you have any questions that aren't on BYOAC site, register on their forums. Most q's have already been answered but everyone is willing to help. That's where I learned the majority of what I know.

[whoreable]

I am pretty much done, just need my t-molding to come in and to find some good graphics to print out. other wise after 3 tv changes and 1 mb change everthing seems pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Most of our grounding lessons were dealing with removing ground loops (hums) and not killing people or equipment.

But the instructor's (Steve Guest's) site on that stuff is http://pws.prserv.net/SGhome/

[whoreable]

i suprised i didnt die taking apart 3 tvs with power in them

[McClain]

That's one thing I'm quite weary of... removing the shell and mounting the tube. Even when a TV is unplugged is has around 30 thousand volts still stirring inside. Did you discharge the one you used?

[whoreable]

i am starting believe its all a myth. out of the 3 tv we used we didnt discharge any of them, other than pressing the power button a few times after it was turned off.

yea it was probaly very stupid. but i was very careful and didnt seem to encounter problems. Other than the tv we broke by setting it down on the controller board when mounting....but best buy will be none the wiser