Fully Functional Arcade

While the project is not 100% complete, I was able to get it up and running by finishing the wiring and putting the computer together in the cabinet. Unfortunately my free 20" monitor has some problems (some loose connection makes the colors come in and out), so I am forced to get rid of it and use my 17" CRT for now. This will not be permanent, but it will suffice for now. The good news is that with the cabinet put together, the end is in sight. A solution for the speaker grill panel is the final step. Once this is done I'll post pictures of Mario's final home.

I'm Still Alive!

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Progress has been so slow that updates were almost not warranted. But I have done some work since last updating. The control panel is attached to the cabinet with buttons and joysticks installed. The CP is hinged and can be raised about 30 degrees for better access to wires. It doesn't go up as much as I'd like, but there would have to be a noticable gap between the CP and the cabinet had I wanted to make the wiring more accessible. I've wired most of the buttons up, and that's where I ran into a problem. I placed the buttons/joysticks too far 'down' on the CP so that with the switches and wires connected, the front speaker panel hits the wires. This is unfortunate because fixing the problem means either extensive Dremel-ing or redoing the CP. I don't want to redo the CP because of the cost of printing a new overlay, so I'm going to try to Dremel the speaker panel so that the wires no longer hit. Anyway here are some pictures of drilling the pilot holes in the CP. I lined up the artwork where I wanted it and drilled small holes where the crosshairs for each button and joystick hole were marked on the artwork. I was careful not to drill too quickly because that can tear the artwork. Later I drilled the real holes with a 1 1/8" bore drill bit. Then I attached the sticky CP overlay to the wood (again careful to line it up). Finally I cut the excess from the overlay that was over the newly drilled holes.