Plans for an arcade system

[firebird]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum. Brief history: I'm an old gamer that grew up with arcades, C64, Amiga500, Amiga1200, and then PC gaming. Now I'm a bit tired of playing new and polished modern games, and want to go back to the roots and play some old games. I've always liked shmups, but MAME isn't doing it quite for me, and building something else would be fun Thus I've decided to build an arcade system to give me the good old feeling, meaning using original arcade PCBs, classic stick, CRT monitor etc.

My first thought was to build an entire arcade cabinet, but my wife has come up with some protests. Who is boss you might ask... Anyhow, I'm on thin ice forcing that cabinet into the house... So, I found building a supergun based system might be the way to start. I guess I can always put the hardware into a cabinet later if needed.

My plan is to get the following:

1. Some PCBs (Maybe Battle Garegga, Ketsui, Muchi Muchi Pork, possibly more). I might put a post or two in the trading station for that.

2. A CRT monitor. I want a CRT since they give me that retro feeling and no input lag. Could this be a good choice, leaving me with an acceptance of running a good deal games:

I would need to build a case for the monitor obviously. Maybe there are some prefabricated available?

3. A Supergun. After searching and reading, including this forum, I think the following could be a good option:

I believe the powersupply coming with the Supergun covers all the powersupply needs?

Do I need any additional items to get a game or two up and running? Any particular pitfalls I should look out for?

If anyone of you happen to live in Norway, and know any good sources in Norway for such hardware please let me know.

Your advice and comments is appreciated, thanks
-Firebird

[burgerkingdiamond]

The supergun PSU will cover everything you need, and a supergun will usually offer several video output options for use on a regular CRT TV. So you don't really need to get an actual arcade monitor. However, I totally think you should get the real arcade monitor if you can afford it and have the space.

[mrsmiley381]

You might just want to use a regular TV or an RGB monitor from an Amiga or Commodore. Supergun building is easy, really. No need to shell out for a pre-made one like that, nice though it may be.

If you can score an RGB monitor you won't need a video converter for the supergun. If you can nab an old VGA CRT you can convert the video for a solid thirty-five bucks. Certainly not a bad deal. It's what I've been doing.

If you're interested in a custom stick and supergun setup I'd be willing to design and implement something for you at close to cost. The additional cost would be for a sandwich and a beer, really. I really like designing and doing stuff like this.

Here's an ASCII diagram of one way to handle the setup.

Code: Select all

          _____________________
          |                    |
          |        TV          |
          |                    |
          |                    |
          ---------------------
                     |
                     |
                     |
           |  Video Converter |
                     |
                     |
           | PSU/JAMMA Harness | -------- | Baller As Hell Battle Garegga PCB |
                     |
                     |
              ---------------
              |              |
             |P1|           |P2|

I'm the sort of person that's hesitant to have an arcade board anywhere near my hands or anything that could possibly move. You can axe the video converter if you get an RGB monitor. You can also mount a speaker in your supergun or attenuate the audio and send it to the TV or other speaker system. One downside to this setup is the lack of autofire, but I would totally be on board for coming up with a hack for that.

[firebird]

mrsmiley381, that sounds interesting. I have no real need for an expensive or flashy looking setup, but I'm not saying your work doesn't look flashy, with that
Could you make it two sticks eventually? Great if you could describe the components intended to be used, stick type, button type etc. Or are you suggesting I choose components?
PM me if you like.

So you basically can connect the supergun directly to a monitor with a connection that look like this right:


Thanks,

[mrsmiley381]

I was under the impression that a DB-9 connection was more common for RGB monitors in the US, but if that's the connection being used and it accepts true RGB, it's not hard to wire it. I'm the sort to take a modular approach, so you could take forever to pick out a video solution and other stuff could be done in the interim. As with all projects, measure twice, cut once. As my temporary ghetto-gun has shown, flashiness is not my thing. Adding the second player slot is a matter of minutes. As it stands I won't be playing 19XX or Gals Panic with anyone any time soon.

Arcade sticks give you a ton of choices. You can go for housing that is expensive from FoeHammer, medium-priced like an acrylic from Art's Hobbies, or take any number of gutted MadCatz sticks and replace the panels with stuff from Lightning Label Customs. The more consoles supported and the more buttons you have, the more expensive it will be. On the other hand, you could have a supergun that works with Saturn or Playstation controllers.

Here at the bottom of the page is a PacTec enclosure being used for a stick. Definitely a cheap solution with plenty of options. Slagcoin has a number of templates for arcade sticks, any of which will work on the enclosure, assuming you put the extra buttons, like start and select, on the back.

Works been slowing down so I've been getting a little nuts with this stuff. At the end of the day, make sure you get the setup you want. I wouldn't get an arcade monitor and build an enclosure, but I would be incredibly impressed if you did. If you just want the all-in-one supergun, go for it. Just know there are alternatives. Ideally, I'd suggest picking out which games you want to play and making sure you can get a setup that accommodates them. I'll send you a PM for specifics, but don't forget that the forum is here for people to discuss things. I'm sure someone here can point out a cheaper or better solution than what I've proposed.