Thursday, November 13, 2008

December

DECEMBER ! That is the goal that I have set for myself. My MAME project will be done & playable for the month of December. Its been in the basement collection dust for about 45 days now. I cant say I'm happy about it,but that is the reality. I think part of the problem is that Ive let little things slow me down. Thanks to B1 I got the required cherry switches that I needed. But with that came the issue that I was lacking quick connects, it was suggested that from a repair stand point they would be ideal. The Source (Radio Shack) sells them,but they are slightly costly. Plus they come in mixed packaging, %50 of the contents I have no use for. Now I just figure I will attach the wire as I planned and for safety reasons use some
electrical tape to cover the connections. What good is this project if I'm not using it ? I guess sometimes despite our best efforts we are creatures of habit. And be it time with the wife,the dog,family,friends,etc etc there isn't always time for projects. I'm sure most of the guys over @ CGCC find that to be the case ! For me the "better haplh" doesn't always feel its the best use of my time. Then there are the nights where I'm tired,etc. The point being.....sometimes despite our best efforts things don't always pan out the way we plan them.

With that being said I decided to give myself a deadline. I thought to myself if I set a firm date it would give me something to strive towards. That onto itself could be the motivation I need. I have most of the elements ready to go, I know (mostly) how I want to finish off the cabinet. Really to date the sticking point has been adding on the remaining cherry switches and wiring the joysticks/buttons to the IPAC.

I think once the buttons/joysticks are wired up the testing wont take more then a day or so. Just a few bugs I need to work out and perhaps a couple of adjustments to MAME itself. The monitor itself could be a bit of a challenge. I have some wood to mount supports and will need to cut a bezel out of cardboard. I think to get the monitor at a good height could be an issue. I'm thinking simply to make a shelf, then from there I can tilt the monitor,etc.

I wont get into detail now as I will details the steps on my blog as I have been doing. I guess I really just wanted to point out the December is D-Day ! Ive got to be done for Dec.