Side Project : NEO GEO

While my MAME remains in the basement stalled screaming for attention I decided I would jazz up my NEO GEO cabinet. Possibly adding some Japanese Sanwa joysticks with red ball tops and painting the motherboard cover. While I havent changed out the joysticks yet I did paint the motherboard cover. I think it came out quite well.

As far as my MAME goes I decided to simply intall the shelf level, adding no angle. As I saw over on the Build Your Own Arcade Controls site I will simply shim the monitor into the correct viewing angle using wood. So simple yet I never thought of it.

Rant................and Shelf Is Built

I find myself saying the same things over and over and over again.
And all be it I set goals for myself I guess I just don't care enough to really follow through. As one can easily tell from this blog I began my MAME project long long ago.
And even though each element of the build was in reality easy finding the time to do these specific tasks was not so easy. Not really having a desire to go downstairs and play on the machine I think was a major thorn in the side. None the less I push though and really do want this project finished. I think one of the other big...scratch that.....MASSIVE problems was me second guessing myself. I'm not by any means a handy individual. I'm not a skilled craftsman, in fact I didn't get a single tool until last year when I got my house. Yet for all my shortcomings I have this really overactive imagination. Now the imagination is a great thing, but when you combined that with hesitation and constant second guessing with a pinch of over thinking you have a deadly cocktail. I constantly doubt that I have the means and skills to complete this project.
As my MAME project neared completion all that remain with the installation of the monitor. Now that onto itself wasn't or didn't seem overly difficult. But the monitor was 115lbs, and quite simply I was unable to life it and maneuver it on my own. Finding the time to get downstairs and complete this task became an issue, and when I had time did I have someone around to help ? Still I thought I will do what I can, but I started to obsess over the angle of the monitor and for some reason (even to this day) was unable to figure it out. It was the suggestion of my brother-in-law to simply lift it into place, eyeball it and go from there. I spoke to my father-in-law and had him cut my shelf for me. I installed 2"x4" supports and drilled out 3 holes on each 2"x4" to allow for the bolts I purchased to be fed through. This past weekend a friend came over to give me his two cents on the build. (Again an issue formed by my over thinking of things) I showed him the shelf, I held the shelf in place and we took the back casing from the Sony PVM monitor and did another ruff fitting. I know it might not be exact, and really I don't need it to be exact. I'm pretty sure the orientation will be fine and I will have little, if not no blockage of the screen. So with the ruff install done my friend suggested I cut some of my extra 2"x4" to 28". It was 28" from the bottom of the cabinet to the bottom support of the shelf. He suggested with the wood cut it would in fact act like a second set of hands. I could shimmy the wood up to the shelf, and reach in from underneath a mark my three holes. Then move the wood to the other side of the cabinet and repeat. This would provide my with a level surface and allow the shelf to remain in place as I drill out the holes.
As I have prior I "AGAIN" feel confident this is truly the last step. I plan on cutting the support tonight and perhaps asking my father-in-law (A jack of all trades) for his two cents this weekend. I believe I've cracked the code again, but my father-in-law will be able to tell me fore sure. With this help the shelf should be installed this weekend. I should be able to move the cabinet into place myself and I'll need to enlist the help of my friend to lift the monitor.

Another thing I did notice was that the Sony PVM monitor will no doubt have to have its casing removed to fit correctly into the cabinet. As is I have removed the casing from one of the three monitors. I had some issues with the monitor not displaying in color. However I have been unable to resolve the problem. The issue was that the adjustments on the front panel don't work. However I did locate the wires and see where the plug into the back of the Sony. I'll need to remove the case from one of the two working Sony monitors. Once I do so I'm going to try to plug in the connection from a working Sony into the broken Sony. I'm hoping that by doing so I can simply access the buttons and use the factory reset. That should restore the monitor to its factory default and in theory display in color again. Salvaging a monitor that as is was set to go into the trash.

Wood is Cut!

Saturday September 12th is the next local coin-op auction. I've been looking forward to this auction for awhile now. I'm picking up some parts and set (yet again!) a goal of having the cabinet completed by the time this auction rolled around. (Worst case scenario the day of!) No big secret my time and skills are extremely limited, yet I push through. Over the last few weekends I tried to piece together a monitor shelf that didn't exactly work out. But I did get my bezel painted in a nice flat black....and managed to do so without any drips.
My father-in-law was kind enough to cut a PROPER wood shelf for me. And this week I plan on going to the local home depot to get the screws and wood I need to make the supports. To re-cap earlier posts on this blog I had a ton of issues trying to figure out how to mount this monitor. For starters it's about 115lbs, so I require help to mount it into place. It fits tightly into the cabinet, and does not allow much room to make any corrections. When you combined the fact that the monitor is as heavy as it is, with the inability to move it once installed it was very difficult to figure out the angle it needed to be mounted at. My brother-in-law suggested that we just eye ball it and give it a shot! Which to be honest did make sense at the time. But again not having the materials and tools available the monitor just sat around for months after that. With frequent trips to the basement and perhaps an hour or two of staring and thinking I figured out what I thought would be the ideal method of installing the monitor. I removed all the wood from inside the cabinet. I had my father-in-law cut to size a shelf that would rest tightly inside the cabinet. Once installed I was able to move the wood up and down, and angle it as needed.I then placed the back casing of the Sony PVM monitor onto the shelf itself. From that point I reinstalled the wood that normally the monitor would bolt onto. This served as a guide to insure the monitor fell perfectly in the middle. It also served as a guide so I would know how much more forward the monitor would need to go. The back casing of the PVM monitor perfectly represents the width and height of the monitor, however the monitor still has about six or so inches that it protrudes forward. I think now I have "cracked the code" and should be able to finally complete this long overdue project. I'll need to stabilize the shelf using some 2"x4" supports. I'd like to mount the shelf to the cabinet from the outside. I purchased six 3" bolts that I plan on using. Each of the supports would have 3 holes drilled into them, then marked from the inside once I have the shelf leveled. I'll simply put the wood into place, drill through the cabinet and mount the shelf from the outside. I can honestly say that yes, perhaps I took on more then I should have with this project. And yes, if I had made this a priority perhaps it could have been finished in a month. But all in all I enjoyed this project. I've built something that all be it took a hell of along time I can say I am proud of. I look forward to having the guys over to catch a UFC PPV and fire up the MAME cabinet. It's also given me the confidence to take on other projects such as the three bartop machines I purchased. As always I will post the pics once I take them.

Almost there....again!

Not much has been done in the way of completing my MAME project.
As said many times on this blog I have limited time, no tools, and no help.
I'm basically at the same spot I was 30 days ago with my monitor waiting to be installed. All be it I did make some small progress.
I've painted the wooden bezel that surrounds my monitor in a flat black. Typically you would put your cardboard bezel over this, however I might just use it as is. When doing a dry fit it works out perfectly. In the future I might get a bezel cut from some matt board, but that remains to be seen.
I also purchased a 2"x4" that I cut down into 15" lengths. These will be doubled up and screwed together. On top of this I plan on mounting a shelf for the monitor to sit on. I did pick up the wood I need, however I haven't cut it into size.
I went to the local home depot and picked up some 3" bolts,washers,and nuts.
I partially uncased my Sony PVM monitor and began to loosely dry fit the shelf.
I'm having a hard time figuring out the angle to mount the monitor shelf. Its not easy working with a 110 lb monitor. However by using the back of the Sony PVM case I think I have a general idea as to where it should go. And to be honest, should it be slightly off I think i'll be able to live with it.
Again its just finding the time and the help to bang it out. I'm leaning now towards getting all the cuts done, the holes drilled, and everything else ready for the install. That way when I can find the help it should be a piece of cake.
The only thing that has me nervous is drilling through the side of the cabinet.
The idea is to use the 15" lengths of 2"x4" doubled up as support for the shelf. The shelf would be screwed into the supports. The 2"x4" supports would have three holes each drilled in them. The supports would rest on the inside of the cabinet and the 3" bolts used to keep them in place. I think this would be enough to hold the monitor, all be it might not be the best idea to move it around once assembled.

Excuses, excuses, excuses

Excuses, excuses, excuses........

I enjoy many things, I collect very few. I've never really had a hobby that I stick with to be honest. I tend to get "really" into things but the romance often ends with not really caring. I'm very motivated by things that play into my sense of style and general aesthetic appeal. Sometimes I think if my basement were finished and I was a space that I frequently visited that I would have many more projects and perhaps most important completed projects. But as is my basement is simply "that space" in the house that doesn't get used. I'm sure like it is for many people it becomes the burial ground for junk, and a wasteland of crap. Things we won't use, yet can't part with.
Right now my basement is home to a Tekken 3, a Neo Geo 2 slot, the MOSTLY finished MAME project (a.k.a the reason for this blog), and my Japanese style slot machine.
I also have a few more projects set to make the move from the garage into the basement.
I recently picked up a ton of Japanese parts that included 5 Sanwa joysticks, 40 or so Sanwa buttons, and 8 extra Sanwa ball tops. I was also able to get an awesome deal on some new Jamma harnesses and three 48-in-1 boards. The "future" project includes converting the bar tops into 48-in-1's. Two of which I'll sell,the other I'll keep.
In addition to the bar top project is my Jukebox build......known as the "BossBoxx."
The computer side of this project is complete, all be it the album list is ever expanding. A friend of a friend who is a carpenter has offered his services to help me this build. He was rather stoked on the whole idea, which is a huge bonus for myself. Concept wise the jukebox has taken on a few forms, but I'm not really going to sweat it at this time.
I get a lil flack for my blogs and the fact that I start one thing without completing another. And to be honest I understand, in fact it sort of bothers me that my MAME stays in the state it is. As mentioned many a time on this blog I truly feel its like %90 of the way there. In some respects I often question, is this hobby a good hobby with a guy that has no truck,no tools,really no ability to do required work needed for some of these projects. I haven't found an easy answer to that question because honestly stuff gets done.......it just takes long!
I guess if I were to look really hard into things I could say that I don't love the hobby, I enjoy it. I don't make it a priority, its just something I thought could be cool. It's something that when my basement gets completed I think I will use often, but like my other cabinets right now they are just taking up space. But for all my mixed views on these items one thing remains constant, they make me happy.
It gives me something to do when I choose, it keeps me out of trouble, for the items that interest me it really hasn't been expensive. My brother also recently began collecting and has got what I think to be some decent buys. He has his foosball table, his 48-in-1 contained in a nice simple all black showcase cabinet, his Tekken 3 in a showcase cabinet, his Street Fighter Alpha 3 showcase cabinet, and newly acquired Neo Geo 111-in-1 in a Dynamo cabinet. It was at his house that something became very clear to me, it isn't about how often you play that justifies this hobby or this waste of space as my wife would call it. It's about how much you enjoy it when you do. I've found that it brings my family together. It was an awesome experience to play a game of foosball against my father. Or have my wife join me in a heated battle against my brother and his wife. In reality how many things that we do are a waste of money ? How many things hold our interest for years to come ?