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Build Your Own Arcade Kit

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the its-good-old-fashioned-fun dept.

Shawn Walters writes "Xgaming, Inc., has announced availability of the new X-Arcade BYO Arcade KIT, a $60 solution designed to allow users to create an authentic arcade machine in their home powered by any PC, Mac or game console, no advanced technical skills required." Heck of a lot easier than building your own.

115 comments

  1. Umm, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    so building your own is a heck of a lot easier than building your own?

    1. Re:Umm, by frankvl · · Score: 1

      Sure, if you pay 60 bucks.

  2. You'll also need ArcadeVGA by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you're trying to convert a standard JAMMA cabinet or a Dance Dance Revolution cabinet for use with a PC, notice that Most VGA cards can't easily output video at horizontal scan rates below 31 kHz, the scan rate of a 480p monitor. However, arcade monitors that follow the JAMMA standard expect RGB video at 15.7 kHz, the same as 240p or 480i TV. You'll need a special video card to handle this, namely Ultimarc's ArcadeVGA.

    1. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by stratjakt · · Score: 5, Informative

      Most ATI cards can, especially older ones based on Rage3D or early Radeons.

      Luckily, these are the ATI cards that work well with linux. I'd suggest running linux with advanceMAME, or even X Windows with some custom modelines, because that way you can be sure that Windows won't accidentally try to set it to some bad resolution and as-plode your monitor.

      Of course, every modern card comes with TV out, and for a homebuild cabinet, an $20 27" TV from the Sally Ann is as good a choice as a $900 27" monitor. If you have SVideo input, the picture will be just as good.

      Frankly, I'd rather rebuild arcade cabinets as they are than shove a MAME box into one. It's just not the same. I'd rather have my dedicated Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja cabinet than something jammed with 2000000 mahjong variants. But then, I'd rather collect SNES carts than download roms. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to retro-gaming.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by archen · · Score: 1

      Is there any reason you can't use a card with TV out? I've thought about perhaps setting something like this up, but using a VGA monitor doesn't really appeal to me - yet no one seems to bring up the TV out aspect so apparently I'm missing something?

    3. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by enrico_suave · · Score: 3, Informative

      you can use a TV out card with a Tv in your cabinet.

      You'll probably want to go with svideo (as opposed to composite or coax *shudder*) connection to the TV.

      If you want to use the original arcade monitor (which is similiar to a tunerless TV, with dangerous exposed innards --- except it uses RGB and sync connections) you can use an ArcadeVGA, an older card that'll clock down to 15khz and a VGA hack, or use ultimarcs J-pac jamma ready/capable encoder which slides into an arcade cabinets (well Jamma cabinets) jamma socket and again presuming a video card that'll clock down get you going with an existing cabinet/arcade monitor.

      "Building" a Mame cabinet is no where as hard as it used to be because there's been great advancements in the mame cabinet building community, and a ton of support "niche" market providers to create products that make it really easy to convert an existing cabinet (or build your own)... hell there's even a book on the topic to step you throuh the process.

      Project Arcade Amazon link with author's referral id

      what was the question again? =)

      e.

      --
      Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
    4. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by prockcore · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Building" a Mame cabinet is no where as hard as it used to be because there's been great advancements in the mame cabinet building community, and a ton of support "niche" market providers to create products that make it really easy to convert an existing cabinet (or build your own)... hell there's even a book on the topic to step you throuh the process.

      Yeah, it's not hard. I picked up Project Arcade from Barnes and Noble on a whim and then decided to build my own cocktail arcade. It wasn't that difficult. I spent $370 total.

      Here's a couple of tips, first, using a keyboard controller for your input is neat, but very difficult to work with. Most newer PS2 keyboard "fix" the ghosting problem by failing to report the 3rd key in alignment. That means instead of ghost keys, you'll have keys that just don't show up.

      Second, I had the idea, like many others I'm sure, to use a compactflash card instead of a harddrive. This was a bad idea, compactflash is just too slow. Advmame is 70 megs, it takes forever just to load that 70 megs into ram.

      Third, for the love of god, use CAT5 for your wiring. At first glance you don't realize that each joystick is going to use 8 wires, and each button uses 2, and when all is said and done, you're going to have a clump of 80 wires that are difficult to manage.

      Here's a nice little pricelist I compiled of my mame cabinet.

      Finally, work out exactly how much of everything you'll need. It's pretty annoying to have to go to the store and pick up something you missed. You'll notice from my pricelist, there's the littlest things listed. I had to go to the store 3 times to pick up different sized wood screws, or a set of corner braces, etc.

    5. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by mbourgon · · Score: 1

      Frankly, I'd rather rebuild arcade cabinets as they are than shove a MAME box into one.

      I'm with you part-way - I'd rather have an actual arcade cab than a MAME cab. Something about having the original side art, dents, etc.

      That being said, I wrote a script to remove all the mahjong and solitaire variants - pretty easy, actually. The key, naturally, is to figure out what you want to do - personally, I'd rather have a simple cab than one with 200 buttons, so that everything would work. (though I do dig the one guy who built a 3-way console, where you could rotate the console to get a steering wheel)

      --
      "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    6. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by karnal · · Score: 1

      "Third, for the love of god, use CAT5 for your wiring. At first glance you don't realize that each joystick is going to use 8 wires, and each button uses 2, and when all is said and done, you're going to have a clump of 80 wires that are difficult to manage."

      Actually, talk to your local telcom worker or someone who works in the "voice" arena. They'll probably have some spare 26 pair lying around, and once you get the color coding down, it's much easier to manipulate and make look nice in the cabinet....

      --
      Karnal
    7. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by karnal · · Score: 1

      Goddammit. I meant 25 pair. Typing on a laptop in the dark....

      --
      Karnal
    8. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 1

      who be JAMMA, mon?

    9. Re:You'll also need ArcadeVGA by JamCurl · · Score: 1
      "Building" a Mame cabinet is no where as hard as it used to be because there's been great advancements in the mame cabinet building community, and a ton of support "niche" market providers to create products that make it really easy to convert an existing cabinet (or build your own)...

      Since I am more comfortable with a soldering iron and a screwdriver then I am with a measuring tape and table saw I tried to find an old arcade cabinet to convert in to my own modded XBOX cabinet.

      After lots of looking around, I realized the cool looking cabinets were not so easy to come by and were overly expensive, and I really did not want some lame games graphics decorating my rec room.

      I ended up picking up a pre made shell off of eBay. It worked out really nice. I have not seen them up there recently, but here is the link to their site: http://www.kozango.com/

      They also maintain a great list of links to other sites selling stuff to MAMEify your cabinet and even links to people selling plans to build your own.

  3. Still Need a Cabinet by Cylix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have no problem putting together a controller or ordering piece online, but I have some difficulty in obtaining an actual arcade cabinet.

    Anywhere to get one of these online...

    And I hate eBay... an old saying comes to mind... "A wretched hive of scum and villainy"

    --
    "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    1. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Cymage · · Score: 3, Informative
      If you are looking for just a cabinet then you should go to your local arcade auction...I got mine at an auction here in Atlanta run by super auctions.

      Speaking of eBay, I will be putting my completed mame box up for auction later this week. If you are interested, let me know and I will send the eBay link to you. (If you don't want to go through eBay, I can send pics of the box and sell it direct).

    2. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Firehawke · · Score: 0

      I'm in Atlanta, and I wish I'd known about these guys before. Thanks for the link. I'll have to keep a watch and see if they're coming back out here in the next year or so.

    3. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Cylix · · Score: 0

      I have nothing like that where I live.

      Thus I'm limited to purchases on the net.

      Yeah, I'll check it out.

      scpoaxmeh@yahoo.com

      My address does not contain spam ;)

      --
      "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
    4. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      http://www.arcadeshopper.com/emulation/ for cabinet kits

    5. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Jack+Kolesar · · Score: 1

      Try USAmmusement. That's where I got mine. I ended up picking up a cabinet for around $300.00. It was a working NBA Jam unit. I pretty much gutted it though as the monitor was really burnt. The traveling auction comes around to many larger cities. I purchased mine in Columbus, Ohio. You can get on their mailing list and they will email you when they are coming to your area.

    6. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you are making a MAME box, you may as well build a custom cabinet. It will cost about the same as an authentic arcade cabinet, but you won't need to struggle to make the computer and other stuff fit.

      For controls, you might consider hooking up the sticks and buttons to the innards of a PS/2 keyboard and use a USB keyboard as a regular keyboard interface. This works fine when using Linux. My cabinet has a pull out drawer under the control panel for the keyboard.

    7. Re:Still Need a Cabinet by llefler · · Score: 1

      Ouch, $300 for just the cabinet? I hope you eBayed the extra parts. I used to hit the auctions all the time. I wish I hadn't passed on that $300 Afterburner sitdown a while back....

      I built my own cocktail cabinet. $100 for a glass, a full sheet of MDF (this thing is heavy), and some miscellaneous hardware. I used the I-Paq controllers though.

      But I also have a wide body pinball cab that I bought a couple years ago ($25 or $50). I might have to look into an X-Arcade controller for it. Now if I could just come up with a theme for the playfield.

      --
      It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. -- Harry Truman
  4. Easier than building? by Murphy+Murph · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kit?
    This appears to be nothing more than an arcade controller interface. This is nothing more than 1 part that you need to build your own.

    The "arcade parts bundle" at the bottom of the article really scares me and is probably quite telling. $19.95 for 20 arcade-style buttone AND 2 arcade-style joysticks? Quality.

    --
    I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
    1. Re:Easier than building? by RichardX · · Score: 1

      Actually, if it's the same bits used in the X-Arcade joystick proper then the quality is great - there must be something missing though, because the full joystick sells for a lot more than $20

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    2. Re:Easier than building? by shoolz · · Score: 5, Informative

      What they are selling is essentially a 2 player X-Arcade joystick, minus the wood box to hold all the components together.

      Board 59.95 + Joysticks/Buttons 19.95 + PC Adapter 19.95 = $99.85 VS. Buying it pre-assembled and paying $149.95

      And as for quality... I have an X-Arcade and I have beaten the stuffings out of playing SF-style games and Metal Slug 1-5, and all the components still work perfectly after a year of abuse.
      When I originally bought it, I had concerns about quality and switch life, so I ordered 20 extra buttons and 2 extra joysticks... and they all sit in their unopened packages because I haven't had to replace one yet.

    3. Re:Easier than building? by enrico_suave · · Score: 3, Informative

      the quality isn't quite as good as happs stuff.

      They use cheaper generic microswitches wich are clickier/louder and perhaps feel "different" in both their joysticks and buttons (as opposed to the cherry "nike" of microswitches).

      The plastic on the buttons is thinner/cheaper.

      They function the same, and are "arcade quality" but when I play something demanding like "track and field" on my cabinet, I kinda wish I upgraded to happs buttons. (or swap in some better microswitches)

      Of course, for true nostalgic action (Dependingo n your age) you'll want only leaf switch joysticks/buttons that require periodic adjustment and contact cleaning =)

      *Shrug* ymmv

      rampy

      --
      Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
    4. Re:Easier than building? by Murphy+Murph · · Score: 1

      You're not the only one to mention that they are quality parts. That's good to know, a little late in my case (sorry for the bad pun) but still good to know.

      --
      I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
  5. Still gotta build it... by Asmor · · Score: 3, Informative

    All this is is a PCI card, from what I understand. I'm guessing it lets you wire the buttons and such to your PC and treat them as a game controller. Still gotta own or build a cabinet, which is either really expensive or really time consuming.

    1. Re:Still gotta build it... by Gopal.V · · Score: 1

      Or write a cool application that lets you cheat by doing stuff that a normal human won't be able to :).....

      HIGH SCORE !!

      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
    2. Re:Still gotta build it... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 3, Informative

      It doesn't look like a PCI card. It looks like a signal interface or controller interface board.

    3. Re:Still gotta build it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Please mod parent as wrong, wrong, wrong. Its a small board that has a ps2 port and serial connection on one end, and a bunch of screw terminals on the other to connect to a swath of buttons. At least read the pdf on the site. How this got 5, Informative destroys what little faith I had left in Slashdot.

      The interface I used for my panel was a pair of 5 dollar 10 button USB joysticks. Rip out the usb interface, solder away. That's 10 bucks for 20 non-ghosting, plug and play buttons. Want another? Bust another 5 bucks. No dumbass keyboard hacking/matrix mapping needed. Won't necessarily work on DOS-based cabs, but most other OSs that would be MAME/emulator candidates love it. Those 10 buttons do not include the d-pad, which maps to the stick. That's enough buttons for: 6 button capcom layout, coin button, and start button. With two spares. There are no games in MAME that use more than six buttons for a player, no four player games that use more than four per player.
      Before everyone goes, "HEY DUMBASS, WHAT ABOUT PS2!? THAT'S GOT LIKE A BILLION BUTTONS YOU RETARD!!", I refer you to the nice premade 10-20 buck PS2 to USB adapters that are made for nearly every console. Right tool for the job.

      The only thing I think that is remotely interesting about X-Arcade sticks is their modular interface to other consoles. Else, I would stick to Happs. Figuring you saved all that money on the interface, splurge a little bit on the part you'll be touching you cheap bastard!

    4. Re:Still gotta build it... by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      "The only thing I think that is remotely interesting about X-Arcade sticks is their modular interface to other consoles."

      I've got a modular interface to all of my platforms. It's called molex. You can crimp wires from the joysticks and buttons onto a molex connector and then on the other side of the connector crimp wires running to your gamepad/encoder of choice. So far, I've got a Dreamcast, NES, SNES, PSX/PS2, Saturn, and a TG16 all wired up for play from a single controller through the wonders of molex. I'm getting one of the old, bulky X-Box controllers from a friend so I might have that up and running soon, but I've never looked inside that controlled so I'm not sure yet.

  6. Marvell Vs. Capcom by mdrjr · · Score: 2, Funny

    nice.. they have a kit that include Marvell Vs. Capcom ? I can play it all day long. btw, PC-based wont work fine can you imagine when you are finishing the game and you get a nice BSD from windows ? hehe

    1. Re:Marvell Vs. Capcom by rainman_bc · · Score: 1

      PC-based wont work fine can you imagine when you are finishing the game and you get a nice BSD from windows

      Why not use Knoppix/MAME?

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  7. Build Your Own Arcade Kit by duncanbiscuits · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Kit not cabinet, i got all excited a "kit" for $60 i knew i was dreaming.

    1. Re:Build Your Own Arcade Kit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      i got all excited a "kit" for $60 i knew i was dreaming

      Punctuation for only $60 available at a grammar store near you no really I kid you not

  8. Slashdot: Advertising by sokk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm getting tired of these advertisements disguised as "news". The story was even submitted by an employee of the business in focus...

    Slow news day or what?

    1. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought it was a joke but you read it right:
      shawn at Xgaming dot com write: Xgaming...

    2. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by EvilCabbage · · Score: 1

      Agreed.

      News for nerds? I'd just settle for something that matters at this stage...

    3. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Speare · · Score: 1, Troll

      The OSDN folks have loudly and widely announced that some of their stories are "slashvertisements." I think it was originally stated that they'd put about one such story up per day. I don't know if that's still accurate but it's part of the business model that keeps them alive. Get over it.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
    4. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by IO+ERROR · · Score: 1

      At least they made the advertising blatantly obvious this time.

      --
      How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
    5. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Moofie · · Score: 1, Insightful

      So don't read it. It's not that hard.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    6. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by bairy · · Score: 1

      Who cares if it's an advert?
      If it interests you then you'd read it whether it was or not, and if it doesn't interest you then you just have to do the mammoth task of scrolling past it.

      --


      Get paid to search..It's geniune and
    7. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by flakac · · Score: 1

      I'm also curious how much a full-page ad^G^G "story" on Slashdot costs...

    8. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by OldMiner · · Score: 4, Informative

      This gentleman is a troll. He's referencing an April Fools' story from a couple years back, intended to be ridiculous and poke fun at such buffoonery. Any time a product is mentioned in a /. story, there are boobs accusing the editors of accepting paid advertisement. Let's face it: almost any news story is going to be potentially beneficial to some businesses. Sometimes, more than others.

      --
      You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
    9. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      there are boobs accusing the editors of accepting paid advertisement.

      Then why don't the editors have the sack to come out and post an official Slashdot guideline on such posts? This story's submitter represents the freakin' site! If there is any sort of agreement with this site's staff and a linked site via a story submission then it should be mentioned in the write-up. It's basic "journalistic" ethics.

    10. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares if it's an advert? If it interests you then you'd read it whether it was or not, and if it doesn't interest you then you just have to do the mammoth task of scrolling past it.

      It takes just as much (little) effort for the editing staff to make a simple note that this is some sort of Slashvertisement. If they pretend to cover their bases whenever they link to NewsForge, they should try to do the same for these types of "stories". Why is this such a difficult thing to grasp for some of you?

    11. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by bairy · · Score: 1

      Yeah but you haven't answered.. who gives a shit if it's an advert? It's still geek news in a form.
      If a story said for example "pentium 5 born, buy it here, Intel paid us for this advert" it would be exactly the same as if it said "pentium 5 born, buy it here". If you care you click, if you don't you move past it.

      --


      Get paid to search..It's geniune and
    12. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I give a shit. I want to know if a story submission is simply posted for either news or "geek" value, as opposed to someone paying slashdot to pimp their site. I'm heavily skeptical about the Roland Piquepaille character who gets frequent posts to the front page to his blog, and yet Roland's writeups are CONSISTENTLY borderline plagarism (he ALWAYS provies only a few of his own sentences and steals the remaining content from other sources). It's all bullshit and the slashdot staff is either getting something under the table or are as ignorant as I suspect they are.

    13. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by batkiwi · · Score: 1

      WHAT is news about this? Happ and others have sold pre-assembled controller interfaces (USB based mostly, some encode to PS2) for YEARS now. They are much higher quality than these known dubious x-arcade sticks and buttons.

      It's an advertisement, plain and simple, what can YOU not understand about that?

      The best part is that even though that article was april fools, slashdot can use it as having informed the public ;)

    14. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by OldMiner · · Score: 1

      Anonymous Coward wrote:
      (WTF do you want to be AC for this sort of stuff? The purpose of AC is (1) to make comments that might be sensitive if traced back to you and (2) trolling. It sure doesn't look like you're after (1), so...why?)

      Then why don't the editors have the sack to come out and post an official Slashdot guideline on such posts? This story's submitter represents the freakin' site! If there is any sort of agreement with this site's staff and a linked site via a story submission then it should be mentioned in the write-up. It's basic "journalistic" ethics.

      First of all, since that disclosure is given, (Granted, it's given by carefully noticing the submitter's email address.) isn't that journalistic responsibility being displayed?

      But moreover, Slashdot continues to be run in many ways like the hobbyist site it was originally. The editors post stories they find interesting and expect to be interesting to others. It's the first half of that criteria that I'm sure hit home with CmdrTaco. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a similarly done story on Happs wouldn't have done just as well. Perhaps if someone wrote a cleverly crafted advertisement to sell something based on that sabatoging the website of a not-for-protif group, it might get michael's attention.

      Now, call me too trusting, but I think all of these conspiracy theories about planted ads are a bit ridiculous. Slashdot editors just aren't that devious, or have you noticed the number of fake stories that get posted? I think it's just as likely, if not more so, that Happs employees are astroturfing the fuck out of the comments on this story. Perhaps doing so as ACs to make those whoe agree with them seem more numerous... Oh, but that is paranoid.

      Whether or not such a proper editorial/advertisement policy was posting as you suggest wouldn't mean much. Honorable journalistic behavior, as you note, is somewhat expected. So, with or without a stated policy, the key is whether you actually trust the Slashdot editors to provide you with that unbiased viewpoint. I'm not sure a stated policy would make any difference.

      --
      You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
    15. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by dhuff · · Score: 1
      there are boobs accusing the editors of accepting paid advertisement.

      Talking boobs ?! Wow, I'd pay money to see that! ;)

    16. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by MaverickUW · · Score: 1

      Yes, and AC's aren't allowed to post anymore according to the same story you reference.

    17. Re:Slashdot: Advertising by OldMiner · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      Slashdot is known to "bitchslap" (via a perl script of the same name) people who are openly yet honestly critical of the site or the editors. If I use any of my accounts I'm just asking to AT THE VERY LEAST be modded down for going against the flow on this site. I've already had other posts of mine in this thread modded down (as well as up, but only once).

      You're referring to this script which you can read in the CVS. It hasn't been used in years. You would know really well if you were bitchslapped because every single one of your comments would have its score manually set to -1 and your karma would instantly be "Bad". /. editors have a few better things to do than bitchslap users.

      But, anyhow, posting AC does not separate you from your comments or your actual accounts. To prevent trolling and crapflooding, the MD5'd IP of posters as well as the MD5'd subnet is stored with comments. It would be trivial for editors who wished to do so to associate a given AC with posters from the same site, unless you're using multiple proxies that don't happen to get picked up by Slash.

      But, yes, such paranoia is totally unncessary. As I relayed in my previous comment, either this site is run properly with ethics or it's not. If you believe the former case, there's no bloody reason for you to be hanging around, because of all of these evil editors and mean old Tacos are out to get you. If the latter is the case, such covert attempts are at best naive and whimsical. Further, if the latter is the case, you're likely just getting modded down by other more moderately minded users of Slashdot, such as myself.

      Unfortunately, I don't think I'm communicating that last point well, because you totally read past it in your response above. The last two paragraphs of your response indicate a fundamental disconnect. Do you disagree or simply not understand what I'm saying here?

      OldMiner wrote:

      Slashdot continues to be run in many ways like the hobbyist site it was originally.

      AC wrote:

      No, it's much worse than it was. I've been here since 1998. It was a hobbyist site then. It isn't now, given the OSDN-now-OSTG sponsorship.

      Just because the site was bought up by OSDN doesn't mean the place is run differently. I'd appreciate any evidence to the contrary. Heck, if your presumption that the site is "a geek circlejerk" is correct, it would indicate that the site is more the same hobbyist, small time affair it's always been.

      elevating those that agree (moderation) and filtering out those who are GENUINELY dissenting (not trolling).

      Those of us who came here and stayed, stayed because we liked what we found. Those of us who moderate, moderate the way we think is correct. Any community is going to be self-reinforcing, including this one. So, yes, if you scream against the status quo, you will be modded down unless the quality of your posts is above par. If you want to criticise what most others think is working just fine, it would behoove you to not be an ass about it. It would behoove you because you're trying to convince everyone else here that they're wrong, and you're right.

      --
      You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
  9. wheres the pin? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it ain't no arcade without a pinball....

    1. Re:wheres the pin? by dcstimm · · Score: 1

      ummm yeah there is...

      --
      keanmarine.com
  10. *shakes head* by enrico_suave · · Score: 5, Informative

    I suggest Ultimarc's ipac encoder or groovy game gears Key Wiz which is what I used in my mame cabinet, fwiw.

    and you'll want the obligatory (and sadly missing from the main post) link to Build Your own arcade controls site and very helpful forum/community

    Although I used x-arcade parts on my cabinet, I think you'll be happier in the long run if you order from happs directly or buy happs parts from bob roberts.

    e.

    --
    Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
    1. Re:*shakes head* by Propaganda13 · · Score: 1

      The Ultimarc and BYOAC links in the parent were definitely needed.
      If you're lazy, drop a $100 and get the Hotrod http://www.hanaho.com/products/HotRodJoystick/over view.html

  11. Please mod parent up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Either Taco is getting some cash under the table or he's too oblivious to see that the story submitter is pimping his own site. If it's the former than slashdot should at least show some ethics and say this is a paid submission.

  12. mnb Re:Easier than building? by Murphy+Murph · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I noticed that also.
    If it's the same bits that means they are selling you a fancy case with the words "X-Arcade" painted on it for $90.50. The bare joystick cost $5.50 (a two-pack costs $11) and the 8 buttons are worth $4. (a twenty-pack costs $10)

    From Happcontrols.com I can't find a bare arcade joystick for under $14.

    The again Xgaming does say about their X-Arcade Solo:
    "Measuring in at 11 inches from side to side and built with 12 LBS of industrial grade materials...
    They must mean 1 pound of particleboard and 11 pounds of lead weights on the bottom.

    --
    I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
    1. Re:mnb Re:Easier than building? by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I believe they discount deeper than Happ. I got a couple of their sticks and buttons for a machine I'm building (around an IPAC, similar circuit board to this). They are identical in quality to the OEM sticks that came in the cabinet I'm converting. Same stuff that goes into the XArcade unit.

      I have one of the original X-arcades. Great piece of equipment. I imagine the difference in price would account for "assembly, testing, etc" in addition to the nice logo.

      As to the weight of the solo unit, MDF is pretty heavy stuff, even at that size. 11 pounds sounds about right for the single player unit.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
  13. This does not belong here... by Anubis333 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First of this is not a cabinet kit, this doesn't even include buttons or a stick! You would have to buy them from Happ Control. And this is nothing new, Ultimarc has been making these boards for years, they have some really great plug and play PCBs. Ultimarc's 28 input PCB is only $40, for years X-Arcade has been known for ripping off people that just didn't know better, nothing has changed. They didn't really used to hurt companies like Ultimarc, though now they will be edging into the PCB-only market, not to mention getting a sh1tload of hits from posts like this.

    A while ago I built a pretty cheap JAMMA/Xbox/PS1/PS2/Dreamcast [link]. It was pretty cheap, but not $60.

    1. Re:This does not belong here... by Cyph · · Score: 1

      Scroll down on the page and you'll see an Arcade Parts Bundle for $19.95. The bundle includes... wait for it.

      *gasp* BUTTONS and two STICKS!
      http://www.x-arcade.com/arcade_bundle.sht ml

    2. Re:This does not belong here... by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

      Dude you are a total badass. I have the Xbox the mod chip the HD and the emulators but the balls to build a friggin cabinate? No way.

      If I had my own place I'd think about it, this is really awsome.

  14. Depends on the card by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    Some older VGA cards will clock the RGB output down to TV rate (which is what you want) in TV-out mode because they're running both the TV output and the VGA output off one RAMDAC. However, newer VGA cards with TV-out have dual RAMDACs, which scan the screen at two different rates. The VGA signal is too fast, and the TV signal is composite or S-video, which will only look black-and-white because most arcade monitors don't have a decoder.

    Or you could get an actual TV and connect it to the TV-out, but then either you miss what's in the overscan portion of the display, or more commonly the video card shrinks and blurs the display to fit within the overscan.

  15. Holy self-absorbed Taco by stratjakt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wow, a keyboard encoder. Those have been around for what, decades?

    Admit it, you posted this just for the sake of linking to your goofy homemade MAME cabinet.

    BTW, there are many, many, many better homebuilt cabinets out there than yours. Why not throw a few more links in?

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    1. Re:Holy self-absorbed Taco by jridley · · Score: 1

      Admit it, you posted this just for the sake of linking to your goofy homemade MAME cabinet.

      Not only that, he appears to have slashdotted himself.

  16. The game matters by Uukrul · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't understand why a lot of people loved this Arcade cabinet stuff.
    I began playing old & "free" N.E.S. games. May be some real-like arcade machines may be funny. But I never liked to pay for a noisy and expensive machine.

    --
    My city: Barcelona.
    1. Re:The game matters by Horse+Rotorvator+JAD · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can't understand why a lot of people loved this Arcade cabinet [arcadecontrols.com] stuff.

      One word, nostalgia. The first video game that I ever played was at a corner pizza place in the late 1970's and I spent my entire 1980's youth in arcades playing video games. So for me, although the games are important, it is about more than just the games.

      Asking why someone would build a cabinet when they can just use an emulator is kind of like asking why someone would restore an old classic car when they could just buy a new car.

    2. Re:The game matters by SpacePunk · · Score: 1

      Its not so much nostalgia, as it is the feel of the game. I'd much rather use the arcade buttons than a keyboard or joypad. It's like the Sega arcade stick for the Genesis. Sure, you could use the standard Genesis gamepad, but the arcade stick that sold for it was way better and a lot more responsive.

      --
      Steve's Computer Service, Hobbs, NM
  17. Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unless you have some actual facts to back that up I call bullshit. If Slashdot had any sense of ethics they'd mark Slashvertisements as obvious paid-for submissions. OSDN (now OSTG) would certainly sell out, but they haven't announced any sort of Slashvertisement policy.

  18. Nice to relive the nostalgic moments... by albn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...only to discover your back hurts after standing for hours on end.

    I remember as a kid getting an old "Depthcharge" cabinet with all of the parts sitting on the bottom. They lug the thing to my house I start modding the thing to work with my NES so it will feel a little more like the "arcade version" (and to impress my friends...wait I did not have any friends).

    After three days of working on the thing with no technical knowledge, I wound up with a broken NES and a broken heart. The cabinet wound up outside with all the other junk.

    Moral of the story? Do not make your own. Buy an X-Arcade!

    --
    Some call me Howie Feltersnatch
    1. Re:Nice to relive the nostalgic moments... by Kartik3 · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry for your experience but I disagree completely. When I first took apart my parents' Pentium 60 WAAAY back in the day, I definitely didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. However, after taking the thing apart, trying to find out how to put it back together, and then having to give up and admit defeat. I was motivated by my defeat to find out how the hell you DO put a computer back together properly. As a result, today I can definitely put a computer together with quite a bit of ease. Therefore, I suggest a different moral:

      Try to make your own arcade machine, just be sure you're prepared for both the best and worst case
      scenarios.

    2. Re:Nice to relive the nostalgic moments... by albn · · Score: 1

      Read between the lines. It was meant to be sarcastic.

      In seriousness, this idea of making your PC/Console/whatever is a pretty neat idea until you realize it is much easier to just sit down in front of your television/monitor and play the thing.

      While the Depthcharge story is true and is probably still sitting in my mom's shed, I realized it was a waste of time. Yes, it looks cool at first, but think about it. Why are you really doing it?

      --
      Some call me Howie Feltersnatch
  19. Re:Slashdot: Censorship By Editors, Stuff Thats Du by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're close. Strong Bad would really use the word baninated.

  20. Ok now read it again by portwojc · · Score: 4, Informative

    Look at it again. It's a lot more than just what you see.

    It also brings your control panel compatability
    with

    Playstation One or Playstation Two
    Xbox
    Gamecube
    Dreamcast
    Apple

    and your PC

    A normal key encoder can't do this from what I have read.

  21. Here's mine... been working on it for months... by emars · · Score: 1

    I'm building one from "scratch" - although I did cheat and buy Xarcade controllers.

    Cocktail MAME Cab ...so I'm not sure how this do-dad would help me.

    --
    ...18...19...20 Submit
  22. I-PAC Anyone? by TekMonkey · · Score: 3, Informative

    The I-PAC interface from Ultimarc has been the long-time favorite of builders of MAME cabinets. They offer a 28-input interface for $40 and a 56-input interface for $65. That saves you $20 on what looks like is the exact same thing. Although, I had considered buying one of the X-Arcade two-player setups, because my soldering/electronical skills aren't great. If anyone can find a cheaper or more authentic one that can hook up to the PC easily, direct me to it.

  23. Re:Here's mine... been working on it for months... by cosmol · · Score: 1

    Isn't the monitor supposed to be the other way around for cocktail style games? hehe, I'm sorry to tell you that after you've already got it in there.

  24. Re:Slashdot: Censorship By Editors, Stuff Thats Du by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The slashagents -- police for nerds, stuff that matters -- will be at your house shortly. Never talk ill about slashdot!

  25. Who needs it? by elfurbe · · Score: 0, Troll
    I don't know where we found the plans back in the day, but a friend and I built our own controller deck for our emulator cabinet using Microsoft Sidewinder Pro gamepads with gameport connections. These were the ones you could daisy chain together, up to four on one gameport. So we used two, cracked them open and soldered all the controls we ordered from happcontrols.com to the proper contacts on the board. We just used some particle board and laid out button and controller positions exactly how we wanted them. This worked out quite well because the sidewinder pads had boatloads of buttons and since they were gameport, they just worked. No USB woes. We also got a custom software interface up and running, a little buggy, but it allowed us to leave the machine unattended in our dorm lounge and people played whatever they liked without having access to the Windows explorer. Yes, we used Windows. It was easier that way.

    Plans for the future that never got done included:
    • Adding an external gameport onto the daisy chain that poked out the side of the cabinet to allow for connection of another controller deck for four player action
    • Building external interfaces for connecting our favorite classic controllers to the system. Things like NES slots, SNES slots, Genesis slots, etc.
    • Lighted marquee. Never got to that.
    • Painting the cabinet! Yeah. The construction was the fun part.
  26. blah by mshurpik · · Score: 1

    Looks like just a game card (joystick support) plus MAME software. The joysticks are extra. So is the PC and monitor. And the cabinet.

  27. The only question I have about Xgaming's kit... by trudyscousin · · Score: 1

    ...is: Why don't they move to a USB interface? Or is there really that much money to be made selling adapters?

    --
    Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.
    1. Re:The only question I have about Xgaming's kit... by kiddygrinder · · Score: 1

      I assume the usb adapter for the prebuilt x-arcade stick would still work with this, if you want to shell out extra

      --
      This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
  28. Nothing special by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ultimarc has been selling them for years. They even have a special video card for interfacing with arcade moniters

  29. quality by gnudutch · · Score: 1

    I actually bought the $20 sticks-n-switches bundle a while ago, and while it's not the REAL real thing, they are decent reproductions, with decent microswitches. The springs in the sticks are a little tight in my opinion, and they have very narrow "diagonal" ranges, but they still play like champs and feel very solid.

    I just finished coding my own xmame front-end, check it out here: http://woz.gs/gorf/ There are pics of the $20 bundle in there :)

  30. This is an I-PAC by Clown+Jizz · · Score: 1

    This is basically the exact same thing as an I-PAC, which is made by Ultimarc. It's a bit cheaper too. Besides, building the cabinet is the most fun part. I spent a good bit of my summer doing it: pictures here and here.

  31. Uhh.. Hey Taco? by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 3, Funny

    You uhh... You just slashdotted cmdrtaco.net

    --
    Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
  32. mnb Re:Ok now read it again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, you read it again.

    You can buy an additional adapter to use it on any of those gaming systems.

    This is a normal key encoder, nothing more.

  33. legal? by Taulin · · Score: 1
    "Design Commercial Grade Interactive Exhibits For Museums Or Amusement Parks Powered By PC/Game Console Requiring Industrial Style Input Devices"

    Yea, go ahead and stick a Mame machine or any console in a park without the proper licenses. Even if you don't ask for any money, you still might get in trouble. Don't forget about the cafe that got sued by valve because they were using a retail copy.

    1. Re:legal? by PurpleFloyd · · Score: 1

      Who said anything about MAME? Many museums these days have custom-built interactive exhibits; there needs to be some way to control them. As you can probably imagine, regular PC keyboards and mice won't last a day in a high-traffic environment, particularly one involving excited kids pounding the heck out of them. Arcade controls tend to be built to survive just that, and will last for a good long time against whatever combination of excited and even malicious kids you might wish to throw at them.

      --

      That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
    2. Re:legal? by Taulin · · Score: 1
      "Who said anything about MAME?" - PurpleFloyd

      The article did, actually...

      "Convert Or Refurbish An Existing Arcade Machine Into A MAME Machine"

  34. I used cheap USB gamepads... by Belial6 · · Score: 1

    I decided not to use a keyboard, or keyboard equivilent in my current cabinet because after building my first cabinet, I found that "I, Robot", one of the greatest arcade games of all time has a control bug that makes it impossible to play with a keyboard. It seems to be something to do with keyboard polling because when you press a button, it holds longer than the button is pushed.

    Anyway, all games I have tried worked great with the gravis game pads I have rewired to the controls. The key with the Gravis pads is that they have software (unfortuanly only for windows) that will map any button push to a keyboard key, or macro on a program by program basis. This allows me to still use the front ends that only support keyboard presses, while using the native joystick support within Mame.

  35. You're missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If MS or Sony or Panasonic come out with a new product, they frankly could care less about /. They're just too big to care.

    OTOH, if "Joe's Arcade Kits" gets a mention, that's worth potentially $100K's of money.

    You go figure it out.

    1. Re:You're missing the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahh, I see then.

      So Slashdot should only link to major companies and newssites. Then we will never have to worry about the made-up conclusion that Slashdot is somehow accepting money to post a story about something.

      Sounds like a perfect solution!

  36. Inspiration here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Plenty of inspiration here: (click "examples"):
    http://arcadecontrols.com/

    And my own pimpage here:
    http://benchmark.mameworld.net/cab1/

  37. I had an X-Arcade Controller by bigtallmofo · · Score: 2, Informative

    I returned the X-Arcade two-player controller that I purchased. The joysticks are very low quality. They advertise that they're 4/8-way switchable (you NEED a 4-way joystick to play PacMan or ladder-type games like Donkey Kong or Burger Time) and I found the response of the 4-way mode far less than ideal.

    As others have pointed out, Ultimarc is the place to buy the I-Pac to interface to your computer. The joysticks that Ultimarc sells are much higher quality (and the E-stick is high quality and super easy to install to boot!).

    I honestly wouldn't buy anything from X-Arcade again. I thought their quality was very low.

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
  38. taco sooo slow by DuckWing · · Score: 1

    Interesting artcile. but Taco, your own site is slower than molases. I'd expect better from one of the slashdot creators :-)

    There is a new product for sale in the malls around here. It's 100+ old style arcade games built into one small game controller that just plugs into the RCA jacs on your TV (if you have those). It's pretty cool to see Donkey Kong, Super Mario, and Pac Man again. But they left out Star Wars (remember the Vector version?).

    Oh well...

    --
    -- DuckWing
  39. Shameless Plugging by LBt1st · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since this whole article is nothing more then a plug I might as well post my site. I'm not selling anything. It's just a how-to on making your own arcade controls.

    http://nuclearplayground.com/joysticks/

  40. Any know of an alternative interface to xbox? by leobaby · · Score: 0

    This seems awful expensive if you actually consider that you have to buy an addition adapter to make it functional. To interace a control panel to an xbox is 80 dollars, yikes. I'm searching for and alternative. Does anyone know of an alternative to interface arcade controls to the xbox? Thanks in advance, leo

  41. Even cheaper than $60! by autophile · · Score: 2, Funny
    All you need is a cardboard refigerator box and some colorful markers!

    --Rob

    --
    Towards the Singularity.
  42. SLIKSTIK... by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 1

    I don't know why this hasn't been mentioned, but if you long for a home arcade cabinet that is bound to be better than almost any that you are likely to be able to make at home (unless you have extensive manufacturing experience) then you really need to look at SlikStik. They have everything from the simple to the elaborate, and most anything in between. You have to put it together, of course, and there is still some work to do, but most of the hardest work (esspecially for the tech-savvy) will be in the cabinet construction itself.

    That having been said, SlikStik handles all of that by providing a cabinet that is arcade quality, easy to assemble, and though somewhat pricey, probably the best you're going to be able to find. They can even provide functional coin doors.

    Here soon I plan on buying a 33 inch cabinet with the quad controller.

    --

    "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

    Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
  43. Milk it, Taco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    God Taco, how long are you going to milk the fact that you built an Xmame cabinet?

  44. Kozango.com ships only to Canada by tepples · · Score: 1

    I have not seen them up there recently, but here is the link to their site: http://www.kozango.com/

    Who will pick up a cabinet in Canada and re-ship it to the United States of America? Or which other firm should I try?

  45. Been there, done that, but have you tried... by Banishedwun · · Score: 1

    I did the whole cabinet thing, threw in an LCD panel for flatness, and I've loved it. Next though? Why limit yourself to a small screen (or even 27" or 32") when you can play a pacman big enough to eat your head? http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20041113/index. html I figure an old cheap pc, overhead projector, discount 15" LCD, controller (x-arcade or slickstick) and a custom case and you have the ultimate Mame machine.

  46. Building your own cabinet by Linuxathome · · Score: 1

    I took a look at CmdrTaco's Jubei cabinet and got nostalgic and envious at the same time. I also did a quick check for the parts list and apparently all of the parts can be found at your local hardware store except for the rubber T-molding (I do some woodworking on the side and know this after having spent wasted hours at the hardware store). I know of t-molding.com, but anyone out there know where I can get it cheaper than $0.50 a foot?

    --
    Linux at home