Hey
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Evil Ryu asked me about making a Wooden frame with which to make a Arcade Unit, and put a PC inside (with which to use Multiple Arcade Machine Emulation through Mame). I'm posting it here in case anyone else is considering this cool project. Imagine all those classics in a playble unit in your bedroom or lounge
OK so this is a VERY rough picture but its in scale with itself, I measured against one of my standard multi arcade units.
The reason I have not added measurements to the picture is because the screen on my unit was 20" which is not a very standard PC Monitor size. However if the PC unit you are using has a TV out-put I guess you could use a 20" set, but personally I prefer the clarity of a monitor. Obviously if you are going to use a 18", 17" or even smaller monitor, you would scale the unit smaller. Also dependent on your personal height, you'll want to adjust the height of the control console and screen. On a standard Arcade unit the control console is about 1 metre off the ground, and the top of the unit is about 1.75m high.
I have included two front views, both of which are common in arcade machine design. Personally I prefer the slimmer design - however the stereo sound is more accurate in the wider unit, and there's more space for two player games.
Obviously the screen should be about and inch back from the front of the unit, and a perspecs screen placed in front, to catch dust and just make it look more authentic
You'll notice that the PC is facing backwards – this is so you can either have a hollow back or have a hole in the back to turn it on or off. You'll also see I have left the Controls out, it is up to you whether you find an old scrap unit and rewire the controls to read as keyboard input, or use a PC control arcade style stick or a PS arcade stick with adapter. Obviously they are placed where its marked red.
The green ellipses are speakers, either place either side of the monitor, or above it on the angled panel. Obviously in your design you could drill many small holes in the wood as units often have, and place the speakers behind, or just cut holes to accommodate the speakers.
The purple Panel often is perspecs with a cardboard logo stuck on the back, and two crude light bulbs placed behind to illuminate it
The grey panel shows where the player 1 and 2 start buttons are held (1 and 2 in Mame). You could make these by hacking a keyboard. Here might also be a convenient place to have a hole where you could put your hand in to use the mouse, and load or configure the games.
The blue panel shows the coin insert. Here you could have a hacked keyboard link to the 5 and 6 buttons, credit buttons in Mame.
Of course, if you don't know where to start with hacking a keyboard, or want a simple solution, you could make a big hole in the unit anywhere (it would look neatest at the back, and you could use an angled mirror at the side of the moitor to read it - OR just turn it round
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) with a shelf holding the mouse and keyboard, and simply use the Game or USB port for the actual top controls. This would be the easiest route.
These pictures aren't a large, detailed plan, as I don't have time, and users would probably tailor it to their own needs anyway. Its just here to show the basic shape and layout. Like I said, its in scale with itself, so you can use it as a guide for your own ideas
Hope this has given you a few ideas to get started with
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