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 Posted: Thu, 5th Dec 2019 14:08 Post subject: My Retro Arcade |
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So, with the end of the year coming, I wanted to replace my almost 5 year old tabletop arcade with something better.
The tabletop arcade I bought pre-built and loaded with 40.000 games (using Hyperspin) from Tinyarcademachines from the UK for €1500 this back in early 2015.
While I was happy at first, the flaws started to stick out more and more:
- the control panel was too cramped for two players with visible screws at the top that were painful to rest your wrist on
- the wiring was shoddy inside so modifying anything was hazardous
- the hardware was very very weak and would need to be replaced completely to upgrade which, due to the splicing of wires, would be a grand task
- the T molding was poorly done, coming apart - you can already see it a bit in the picture
- the audio was a very cheap amp with even cheaper speakers, lacking clarity
- the monitor was TERRIBLE - a cheap Dell TN panel. If you look directly at it, the top of the screen has a different colour from the bottom and with two players, the colours look washed out for both players since viewing it from even a slight angle makes it look like shit. Lots of ghosting as well.
- The software was a mess of a Hyperspin that was glued together with outdated emulators running on an unlicensed Windows 7 so going online was a no-go.
- The buttons were VERY loud and clicky - they were Sanwa parts but with very cheap microswitches. Also, there were too few buttons - you needed to hold a button and press another to enter certain commands (select = start + button 1) and with 2 player mode, that often meant weird things happening in the emulator because the other player was pressing buttons at the same time.
So enter my new arcade .....
- the flat pack I bought online from a store that specialized in them + the decals I picked
- Sanwa joysticks with Cherry microswitches - very quiet and very responsive
- authentic European-style concave Gold Leaf buttons - leaf switches are non-clicky so are quiet just like the original arcades you found here during the 80's. You can click much faster than with regular micro switches.
- a clean plexiglass control panel that has ZERO screws on the outside and has plenty of space for 2 players + it can be opened (with a hinge) to get access to the wiring so easy to add buttons or to repair broken switches
- Logitech Z623 2.1 speakers - amazing sound quality
- a i7 4770k with 16GB of RAM, GTX 970, 250GB SSD drive for the software, artwork and emulators, 3TB black WD for the games
- a HP IPS 1920x1200 monitor with low response time, very little ghosting, very vivid colours and great viewing angles
- a much more authentic retro look - no unsightly LEDs, a nice Pac-man vibe with some other retro touches, superior T moulding that won't easily come apart. The wood is also much higher quality and very hard - the cabinet with nothing else weighs 70kg.
- software is now the amazing Launchbox (Bigbox version) which makes adding emulators a breeze. Most emulators also have shaders to emulate CRT or handheld screens which is a lot more authentic. The old tabletop was too weak to handle shaders.
All in all, very VERY happy with this one. It took me a week and a half to build including setting up all the games (15.000 added so far - I'm not adding junk games so I'll end up with less than the old build but with higher quality games).
For those interested in what it cost me:
- the arcade cabinet itself including the plexiglass & decals = €480
- the high quality buttons and sticks + all wires cost me €140 including shipping from the UK
- the monitor was a spare monitor but originally cost €200-something
- the speakers are Logitech Z623 which I got for €55 (bought during Black Friday)
- PC parts are from my previous rig
- the marquee light was €20
In total it cost me €695 + a bunch of spare PC components. Totally worth it ...
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LeoNatan
Banned
Posts: 73193
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Sat, 7th Dec 2019 12:23 Post subject: |
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Nice 
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| Posted: Sat, 7th Dec 2019 21:14 Post subject: |
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| scaramonga wrote: | Pretty neat, was this the site in UK?
https://www.arcadeworlduk.com/categories/arcade-flat-pack-kits.html
Can you take pics of inside?, and I take it that the edge moulding is also an extra?
Does the cabinet come pre-drilled for the speakers, or was that something you done yourself?
Well done though, looks fantastic  |
Arcadeworkuk is where I got the buttons but their cabs weren't quite what I wanted - I went for this one:
https://classicarcademachine.com/product/full-upright-arcade-machine-flat-pack/
Comes with all the plexiglass, decals, T moulding and even two speakers gr ills - you just need to put it together, install the buttons, the speakers, the monitor (hard as fuck to do on your own but I managed to do it). Takes over 150 screws and a lot of patience but it looks great.
And all the important holes are pre-drilled. I asked for two extra holes for "flippers" on the side and they added those - you can really edit their template if you want to add more holes. You can also give them the size of your monitor and they'll cut the bezel and the wood frame to size.
I'll post pics of the inside next time I need to open it up but because I just wired everything to a PC next to it, I don't really need to open it up a lot. I originally planned to install the PC inside of it but it seemed easier to just let the IPAC USB, speaker wire and monitor wire run to an external PC instead.
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Morphineus
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Posts: 24883
Location: Sweden
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LeoNatan
Banned
Posts: 73193
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Sat, 7th Dec 2019 22:00 Post subject: |
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This is my arcade machine...
 
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| Posted: Sat, 7th Dec 2019 22:14 Post subject: |
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| Morphineus wrote: |  Spoiler: | |
I'm surprised they would want to show this. That is some shitty transport yo.
Cab looks nice though, done like it should. |
I bought it from a UK based store but it was delivered from Romania. The cabs in the picture are the ones you can buy pre-built but they are a lot more expensive of course. Since I wanted full control over the buttons, layout, monitor and game system this was not an option anyway.
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| Posted: Sat, 7th Dec 2019 22:17 Post subject: |
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Badrien
Posts: 2118
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Sun, 8th Dec 2019 08:19 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Sun, 8th Dec 2019 20:06 Post subject: |
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Nice! I contemplated getting a Back to the Future or Robocop theme but decided to go with something a bit more classic instead with Pac-Man. My old rig had LED buttons but I wanted a more authentic looking cab and as a kid, I only knew about those old red concave leaf buttons and using them now, they're so much more satisfying - you can hit them REAL fast without the clicky feeling.
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Frant
King's Bounty
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Location: Your Mom
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Ankh
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Location: Trelleborg
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couleur
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Morphineus
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Posts: 24883
Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Sat, 14th Dec 2019 22:35 Post subject: |
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Fits well within the room. 
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