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All-In-One Arcade Console
ArcadEd wrote in to plug his
Arcade in a Box which is
essentially a PC ready to play MAME, but built into a console with true
arcade parts for the buttons and joystick for a more authentic arcade
video game experience. It's not quite as realistic as, say building your own cabinet, but it
definitely is a lot less time consuming ;)
A couple of guys I know tore out the guts of a Mortal Combat cabinet, bolted in a PC and soldered the microswitches from the Cabinet's controls onto a keyboard's innards. That's authenticity.
Yes, I'm still a junky. Are you still a bitch?
I bult my own arcade about 6 months ago. In my quest I went through a lot of trouble and problems of all kinds. I had certian things that I had to have ( 4 player controller, 27" monitor ) and a few things I wanted to have (linux frontend)
After some shopping around I bought a 27" tv an older desktop pc and visited HappControllers to get the arcade items I wanted. Home Depot for lumber. I wanted to use AdvanceMame on this arcade except the tv out support on linux really sux. not to mention the s-video support on AdvanceMame isn't that great. I ended up settling with windows98se running wine32.
The stability isn't great but it does work alright. I haven't seen windows crash during a game yet but between games durring selection and such it hasn't been all that great (long term as this box stays on all the time)
If anyone is looking to do this here is what I would suggest.
hagstorm electronics has a great keyboard encoder ke72t
buy a used arcade (look on ebay sort by stuff near you) make sure it has the size monitor you are looking for and a decent cabinet.
lots of ram and 1.2+ghz if you want to play newer games
64M and 233mhz if you are just in it for the clasiscs.
have fun with it.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Want authentic? Do what I do, buy arcade cabinets (real ones) and put games in them (real games). OR do Mame the "Right way". Read on...
Mame is great, and mame is an arcade emulator, however, most people who run mame in an arcade cabinet run it on a PC monitor which is the absolute laziest way of doing it, not to mention the ugliest. If you're not afraid of DOS you can make your DOS mame display on an arcade monitor, which is both authentic and prettier. I mean who has a 38" computer monitor?
Home made cabinets are ASS unless they're designed (DESIGNED, not "based") on real cabinets. Control panels are often too big, monitors are too small. A lot of money went in to the design of the real arcade cabinets, finding out exactly which height was most comfortable (and therefore profitable), which you just can't duplicate with a homemade cabinet unless you use antoher cabinet as a guide. and if you have another cabinet, why build your own.
Buying cabinets is also much cheaper than building them, and much less of a pain in the ass. Arcade Infinity has lots of cabinets that are less than $600. (look for Jamma cabinets in the gallery)
If you're going to do it, do it right. get a J-Pac (www.ultimarc.com), use a computer for the sole purpose of sitting in your mame cabinet, and for God's Sake, please don't build your own cabinet unless you want to watch your friends wince at your effort when you have finished it.
If anyone decides to put together your own MAME cabinet, please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT use a rare classic cabinet to do it in!!! There are a ton of cabinets built for conversion kits, and crappy JAMMA games can be had for $50-$200 in these cabs.
If you come across a classic cabinet in your hunt for a machine to "MAME," please consider restoring it. There are many resources available on the net and usenet for parts and assistance in doing so. I've put many a converted classic back together and it's a real thrill to see a long-dead machine come back from the dead.
"You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic."
"Thank you, Master Control"
-Sark and the MCP
OK, first off I am a true fan of arcade and MAME and I would never do anything to violate that. I make these boxes for those that wish to have the arcade expercience at home, and don't have the time or knowledge to build their own cabinets or boxes.
My website does not say the product is patented, it is pending, I am working with lawyers to see if it is legit. If you take the time to read my reasoning for patenting, maybe you will understand. I was torn between this for quite sometime. After posting messages at www.arcadecontrols.com and mameworld.com I came to the conclusion that I should try it. Everyone I chatted with agreed. This is not final, and I may not even go through with it considering how high the cost is.
There is nothing illegal in the box, or any modified hardware. It is no different than buying up computer parts and piecing one together to sell to a user, like most computer stores do.
My sales are not hi, and I don't expect them to be, I take great pride in each unit that I build for someone. Every piece of the unit is custom designed for the users.
Trust me, I don't have the time to be making 1000's of these and I don't plan on that. I enjoy making people happy that want to relive their childhood.
I built my first mame cabinet almost 4 years ago.
If have questions, please feel free to email me at arcaded@arcadeinabox.com
To set the record straight, in my dealings with BYOAC (www.arcadecontrols.com) and other custom built arcade cabinet sites, no one has ever created a box like this.
That is the most incredibly pathetic brand of snobbery I've ever witnessed.
We're talking about toys here. Most people are already going to be a little embarrassed to put so much time and effort into such a childish indulgence, let alone becoming some sort of expert on it. And god forbid someone should want to make something of his own design with his own hands...
No... wait... the most pathetic was that time I was in a gaming store and saw a morbidly obese man with poor personal hygiene loudly deriding some 14-year-old kid for buying the plain dice. This is just a close second.
If you want to give suggestions, I'm sure people will appreciate it, but talking about how "home made cabinets are ASS" is just sad.