Yet another MAME cabinet (Last updated April 11, 2004)

Introduction
Cabinet Specs
Approximate cost breakdown
Emulators currently running
Pictures and stuff

Introduction

I've been a fan of emulation for many years, and have spent many hours playing classic arcade games on my computers, primarily via MAME (an excellent arcade emulator). I played a lot of games in arcades when I was younger, and I always wanted to own my own arcade machine. Over the last two years or so, I've started to see a lot of websites devoted to individuals that had created their own arcade systems to run MAME, and I thought that I'd like to try making one too. Now that I have a large house and some space to fill (plus a garage/workshop to do some woodworking), I thought I'd finally give it a try. The results of my work are described below.

The cabinet I built is based on LuSiD's design, with some slight modifications. I ended up using plywood instead of MDF particle board due to availability, though if I were to construct another cabinet, I'd definitely use the MDF instead. LuSiD chose to use chalkboard-style Con-Tact paper to cover his finished cabinet, but since I was unable to find any, I ended up using chalkboard paint (produced by Rustoleum). All of the outside edges on the front and back of the cabinet were edged with black T-molding -- a real pain, since routing the edges of the plywood for the T-molding was the hardest part of the construction.

I decided early on that I wanted to have controls for two players, including at least six buttons and a joystick for each player. I purchased my parts from Happ Controls, a company that specalizes in replacement parts for the arcade and entertainment industry. To attach the buttons and joysticks to the computer housed in the cabinet, I chose to use a product called the KeyWiz Max. This device is a keyboard encoder, which translates button and joystick presses on the control panel to keyboard key presses. As can be seen in the pictures at the bottom of the page, I've left room on the panel for additional controls -- I'd like to add a trackball and spinner at some point in the future. The top of the control panel is covered with a layer of Plexiglass, to protect the control panel surface from wear (and to provide a nice shiny appearance).

The marquee art is based on a high resolution MAME logo that I found. To this logo I added some screenshots from various games that are supported by MAME. I took the image to Kinko's and had it printed on standard paper. This was sandwiched between two sheets of Plexiglass and placed in the marquee area. There is a fluorescent light that hangs behind the marquee, lighting it up when the cabinet is on.

The construction took approximately 60 hours over the course of 3 months. Much of this was spent routing edges of plywood, but painting took a long time too. I was actually suprised how fast the structure of the cabinet assembled -- I actually only spent about 2 hours screwing the frame of the cabinet together.

Cabinet Specs

Dimensions: 74"H x 27"W x 38"D
Control Panel Dimensions: 4"H x 35"W x 14"D
TV: 27" Sharp (using standard front AV-out)
Computer Specs:
- CPU: AMD Duron @ 1200MHz
- RAM: 512MB
- Hard Drive: 1 x 80GB Western Digital (7200 RPM, 8MB cache)
- Video: ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon (32 MB)
- Speakers: Creative Labs PCWorks (the satellites fit perfectly in the marquee area with the light)
- OS: Windows 2000 Professional
Controls:
- 16 buttons (six for each player, P1 and P2 start, add credit, and 'shift' key
- 2 Happ Universal Joysticks (4/8-way switchable)
- Keyboard and mouse (hidden under control panel
- KeyWiz Max keyboard encoder

Approximate cost breakdown (not including tool purchases)

      Plywood (5/8"):    $48
      Plexiglass sheet:  $17
      Paint:             $17
      Controls:          $95
      Marquee art:       $6
      KeyWiz encoder:    $43
      Computer:          $30
      TV:                $0  
      Foam core:         $5
      T-molding:         $23
      Speakers:          $13
      Lighting:          $0
      Miscellaneous:     $9
      2 stools:          $20
	                 -------
      Total:             $326