MAME Raspberry Pi 2 Arcade

This is a Arcade Cabinet running on Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. It will only be a small unit. About 50cm tall and 32cm wide and 25cm deep.​

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Parts List:

1. Raspberry Pi 2 Model B - £29.89
2. Tontec 10.1 Inch 1280 x 800 IPS LCD TFT designed for Raspberry Pi - £72.98
3. USB Wifi Dongle for Raspberry Pi - £4.67
4. Micro USB 5V 2A Power Plug For Rasberry Pi - £5.99
5. Sandisk SDHC Class 10 8GB Micro SD Card - £6.03
6. USB 2.0 4 port powered hub (500ma per socket when powered) - £3.37
7. Rii i8+ Mini Mobile Wireless Keyboard/Touchpad (for servicing the arcade) - £13.99
8. Seagate Expansion 500GB 2.5inch HDD - £36.98
9. Logitech Z150 Speakers (will removed case and mount the speakers directly) - £12.99 Replaced with these HI-FI STEREO SOUND AMPLIFIER KIT £25 (postage included)
10. Flat Nylon washers (500 pieces) - £4.86
11. USB external Audio Adapter (needed because the raspi's headphone socket is not amplified) - £5.99
12. USB LED Light strip (for lighting up the Marquee, hopefully!) - £4.99
13. USB & 3.5mm AUX car dash board extension cable - £10.99
14. USB to DC cables (not sure if i'll need them, but handy) - £2.92 each
15. Male and Female 40 pin header strips (again, handy!) £4.59
16. Adafruit quick connect wire pair (set of 10 - handy for extra buttons) £5.05
17. 2 USB extension cables (6inch, in case i need them) - £1.99 each
18. Electronic Fans kit for Arduino (this has some cool things in that could come in handy, and its cheap!) £2.85
19. LED MAME Arcade Kit (8 LED 30mm RED buttons, 8 LED 30mm BLUE buttons, 4 LED 24mm WHITE buttons, BLUE Stick and RED stick) - £43.99
20. Allocacoc PowerCube Extended USB 3 Metre - £17
21. 2 Port HDMI Audio Video v1.3b 1080p 3D Splitter - £16.99
22. StarTech.com 3 feet Standard HDMI Cable for Panel Mount - £5.99

Tools:

1. Xenta Dremel set - £19.97 Sold to stepdad for £20. Go me. lol.
2. Hot Glue Gun - £8.99
3. Wire Stripper - £5.84

Still need to buy Wood, perspex, wood glue, screws, 3 port multiplug (maybe need more!) and plug extension.
It's quite a lot of stuff. Some things have been quite expensive, such as the 10inch screen and the arcade controls.

I will update this thread as more stuff happens!

 

When it said tabletop, I thought of the old sit down arcade units that doubled as a table.

 

Hmm good point. I'll change the headline to better reflect what it is. Thanks.

 

Ahh a bartop Nice
Raspberry PI is soo darn expensive over here. I want to build one into my Hori arcade stick one day...

 

Thats the one! A Bartop! Thanks! I couldn't for the life of me work out what to call it.

Also, minor update. I've made a prototype out of some spare plaster board.


Couple changes need to be made at the top for the marquee, but other than that, its pretty spot on. Nothing too impressive, I know, but it gives me something to work with. It's also quite a bit different from my original layout too.

 

I would have thought plasterboard would be too soft to resist general knocks and bangs, which is normally why in such constructions people use MDF or similar - also means the unit is heavier too, so less susceptible to moving about when being used.

 

For some reason that I admit I find entirely unclear those things are normally called "Cocktail cabinets"

 

This type of system has a lot of style, and looks quite sweet: http://blog.patshead.com/2011/01/cocktail-arcade-cabinet-build-part-10---the-finished-cabinet.html

 

The plaster board was just a prototype - a mock up - to see if measurements are right and if everything will fit, be at the right angle etc.

Don't worry, I have got some MDF, I just didn't want to waste it by cutting it and deciding it was wrong lol I'm not very good at imagining what the final design will look like from drawing it on paper, so making a physical version is just much easier to look at and work stuff out.

For example, the part at the top where the marquee goes ended up being about 2 cm too short. Need to make the unit a little higher so that I can put a border around the whole marquee to hold it in place. I also think I need to add more space at the bottom to puts stuff.

 

I'm excited for this. Can't wait to see what you're able to make.

 

Thanks! Can't wait to actually get it made! Might not be for a couple of weeks yet though Still waiting on most of the stuff to arrive. Before I do make the actual case though, I'm going to lay out all the components, connect it all up how I intend to have it in the case, and see just how much room I'll need to fit it all. Doing that should save me some headaches.

I'll also be taking plenty of pictures as I make it (if I remember! :S). Right now there's an issue with how I'm going to mount the Marquee in the top and how I'm going to mount the screen. I have some ideas, but whether it works or not is another question. So it'll be interesting to take pics of my solutions to those problems.

What should I do about the back panel? I want to be able to open it (its going to be on some hinges, so it opens like a door and magnets plates to "clip" shut) but I don't want a hole to put my finger in, and I still want the back of the unit to be perfectly flat. Maybe a hoop of string might be enough, I don't know.

One other thing that's been on my mind lately is artwork. I have the Logo/Marquee... but that's it. Does anyone have any ideas? Link images of things you'd like to see on an arcade cabinet. Link cool backgrounds that could be adapted to fit on the cabinet.

So yeh, give me suggestions! Thanks!

 

Update. My Dad did some thinking and came up with an idea to have a 5mm thick marquee, that sits on wood at the top and sticks to the edges. It looks alright, but im not 100% sold on it yet. Here's the image. Take a look at the unit on the right, and zoom in on the marquee to see what it'd look like!

http://i.imgur.com/veoDZ63.jpg

 

That could work, you may run into the problem of light coming out the sides of the acrylic.


Why not use two L pieces of aluminum bracket on the inside of the canopy to hold in the sign..

--
If you use LED strip lights for the backlight and you run into the problem of "hot Spots", what you can do is use a acrylic tube that the LED strip fits inside and scuff it up with sandpaper to diffuse the light

 

2 very good points. The light coming out the sides is what i was thinking might happen. I think what i'll do is use a thin rim of wood inside the box, which the marquee will sit against and use another thin rim of wood, flush with the front, in front of the marquee. Have the 2 top strips of wood attach to the top panel, so when that panel comes down, it'll hold the marquee in place. That way, the marquee would be removable as well.

I'll keep that in mind about the LED diffusing. Thanks.

One more thing. the acrylic on the control board has been drawn to go to the edges of the cabinet. Good idea or bad idea? It would be smoothed edges, so it wont be rough on your hands/arms.

 

You know what might be cool, if you bend the acrylic around the front


kinda like that..
You could then get some vinyl printed to stick to the inside, so it looks like the ones on the right..

It's up too you however

 

Some updates for you! Firstly, the case wood has been cut! Image coming later.
New Marquee Artwork

New Side Panel Artwork (unfinished!)

Let me know what you think!

 

I like the artwork, especially the side panel.

Seen an advert for Bartop Arcade machines and thought the pictures might give you a few ideas. Or just search for Chillis Arcade.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-vid...-games-custom-built-superb-quality/1126433299

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGYv_izrWCU4mmSLsB-xCA

 

Thanks! I'll check it out.
I've given my brother creative control of whatever art he draws, because its the best way to get the most interesting work out of him haha. Kind of feel like the Marquee doesn't match up with the side panel though... wondering if I should lose the gridded background.

 

replacing the grid with a faint tetris look might look good

 

I like that idea. I'll look into it