MAME Raspberry Pi 2 Arcade

Latest update.

 

Looking good, Atom. Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

New Update. Dad came down (for my birthday) and helped me put the bulk of the case together! Looking good! actually feels like its coming along now

 

First primer coat.

 

Thats actually a second coat. The image doesn't really do it any justice, but it does look better in real life. Once it's dry, i'll get another picture, and it'll look better (hopefully!)

 

Final Marquee graphic.

 

looking really good man

 

Thank you! It's getting there slowly but surely!

 

More images coming in! First, the back panel, which has 2 magnet catch's on the bottom half, and 2 push release magnet latches on the top half. Used 2 tiny black rubber pads, which I glued with super glue, on the bottom of the panel, which keeps it level with the magnets, and stops the wood rubbing on the bottom edge.



The second image shows the screen panel, which i mounted to the back, which will hold the screen straight, and provides a surface for the lcd controller to mount to. This also shows a test print of the button layout on the controller board. Not going to drill the holes until I get the perspex made... at least then the perspex has less chance of being wrong lol.

 

Coming along nicely. Spent your time filling in the gaps and smoothing edges down so the end result is as good as it can be, after all you'll be looking at the system a fair bit, so the devil is in the detail.

 

are you going too cover the sides in vynil

 

Vinyl is a good material for covering, it isn't as good as painting however if you're not great at painting (i'm not especially) then it's good stuff - also it's available in different colours, finishes, matt or gloss - you can also print on it too if you get the right stuff.

 

My dad works at a sign makers so he has access to vinyl and printers and cutters. So all my artwork will be printed on vinyl.

 

That will be excellent. One thing though, ensure your surface and especially where the pieces meet are flat and smooth as otherwise the imperfections will be pretty obvious when you put on the vinyl, and you won't be happy with the result. In your photos for example, there are gaps showing and also sanding is needed where pieces connect to others to make the sections continuous without imperfections. Good and cheap filler is something like Polyfilla, which dries quickly, easy to apply and also sands easily too.

 

I'll let my dad handle applying the graphics lol. I'm sure he'll do it fine. Thanks for the advice though

Also, update! stuff is slowly making it's way into the case. Some stuff went in with trouble, other stuff went in like it was designed to be there in the first place lol

This is the power extension cube. I chopped the wire off, and soldered ground, neutral and live to the 3 pins on the male socket (attached to the case and covered in hot glue and electrical tape). Also got the HDMI out socket mounted to the panel. Plugged in the necessary Power Adapters in such a way that they fit without getting too much in the way of other things and plugged in the usb cable for the Pi. Going to try and avoid using the other usb socket on the cube, so that the pi gets as much power from the cube as it can (aka, 5V 2A).


This is a shot from the other side of the cube. More cables installed and took the USB hub out of its case and mounted it directly to the base. Got a usb cable coming out and going to the top of the unit for the LED Strip light. The other usb out is connected to the USB/3.5mm Socket mounted on the back of the unit. This gives me USB out, Audio and HDMI out. There wont be any sound from HDMI because the Pi is set to output through a USB Audio Adapter. Hdmi could have been an option, but I would have needed to buy a more expensive amplifier (not yet installed.) and the HDMI 1in 2out doesn't forward sound to both sockets (AFAIK).


Here you can see the Speaker Grills mounted in the top. The screws went in sooooo easy compared to like EVERY OTHER FRIGGIN SCREW. Not that i'm complaining. The ripple of light there is probably reflection off the screen mounting panel.
Talking of which, there's 2 slots down the sides on the inside of that panel where the audio cable goes down. Keeps it out of the way and nice and tidy.



And here you can see the Speakers mounted to the top and the usb cable ready for the LED strip. You can also see the speaker cables going through that slot i mentioned. Think i might end up mounting the Pi to the back of that screen panel, next to the LCD controller board (which will be mounted soon!)



Lot's of progress this last 2 weeks. Despite the rain every other hour! It's getting there, slowly but surely. Cant do the controller board until the graphics and perspex are made. Also cant mount the LCD until the graphics and perspex are made for the front bezel. Should be getting the Marquee graphic this weekend.

 

Got the marquee installed now.

Lights off:


Lights on:


The player1, player2 and coin buttons have vinyl graphics now

 

Been a while since i've updated, mainly because of waiting on stuff. Well, I'm on the last few steps now. The holes have been cut for the stick and buttons. The acrylic has been cut too. The graphics have been printed.


Joystick hole looks a little weird, but thats because i needed to lower the stick down so the metal plate is flush with the wood (or just below the surface of the wood). the stick fits in nice and snug. The buttons have about 1/2 mm space around them, so the dont wobble too much.



The stick is actually a little off to the side, but the hole for the stick on the acrylic is big enough that it wont be noticeable when installed and the dust plate should cover up the hole too.

 

Ok. Got it up and running! Works great.

Still missing graphics on bottom front, sides, back and top, but the controller and bezel are finished.

 

when its done be sure to make a video of it in action !
Looks awesome great work man!