Arcade Cabinet Collecting

[dstone]

That's about what I figured for my Mario Bros. narrow body. But, like you said, it's the project. That's what I discovered with my MAME cocktail; it was more fun to build it than to play it. I eventually traded it off for two real machines.

[scott]

That's what I discovered with my MAME cocktail; it was more fun to build it than to play it. I

As much as I love my mame cab, I look at it and think of how I could improve it. But I could never bring myself to tear it down and redo it. Its 100% custom and glued together so there is no tearing it apart without ruining something.

[dstone]

As much as I love my mame cab, I look at it and think of how I could improve it. But I could never bring myself to tear it down and redo it. Its 100% custom and glued together so there is no tearing it apart without ruining something.

That's part of the reason I traded mine off. The other guy had no problem tearing into it; he did a pretty nice job with the updates (arcade quality LCD, better speakers, new controls, all that mess).

I'm looking forward to starting another machine, but I think this one will be dedicated to a single game. Just wish I could arrange my schedule to allow me to put more time into it.

[scott]

My problem is I treated it like a big art project and its my baby so any drastic structure changes I'd never bring myself to do. I've rewired it a few times and done internal work, no problem.

The other thing I was thinking was to eventually build a second with a horizontal screen and split my list of games in two. One for vert and one for horz. But that means having my own place.

[dstone]

The other thing I was thinking was to eventually build a second with a horizontal screen and split my list of games in two. One for vert and one for horz. But that means having my own place.

'Cause then they'll start breeding.

[scott]

You know, I think I'd be happy with 2 mame cabs. Especially if each one is dedicated to a specific screen orientation.

[darko]

That's about what I figured for my Mario Bros. narrow body. But, like you said, it's the project. That's what I discovered with my MAME cocktail; it was more fun to build it than to play it. I eventually traded it off for two real machines.

Mine is the wide body. Does that make a difference? I know virtually nothing about cab collecting.

[dstone]

@darko I don't think it really matters. Same board set and all but the control panel, marquee and bezel are wider.

[jcalder8]

I have had the most luck with Kijiji and Craigslist.

I had/have both dedicated and original machines. It really comes down to what you want the most. I started off buying dedicated machines I decided that they didn't hold my interest so I MAME'd one and kept my Nintendo Red Tent. The one I did MAME had a blown out monitor and painted sides so I didn't feel bad about gutting it.

[varkias]

@jcalder8 What games do you have with your Red Tent?

[jcalder8]

@varkias I've got:
Excitebike
SMB
Tetris
Ice Climbers
Golf
Hogan's Alley
and I just recently picked up Dr Mario

[varkias]

@jcalder8 Damn! very nice!  I need to get some spare PCBs... I've got SMB and Castlevania right now, I'd like to pick up Balloon Fight and Mighty Bomb Jack.

[pceslayer]

So I picked up a "Street Fighter EX2 Plus" Dynamo cabinet in ok condition for $250. Has some issues, but nothing too serious.

No AC cable to the unit and the wiring was a mess inside. After about an hour or so I had everything re-wired
Power supply is missing the +12v so no audio. I rigged up a pc ATX PSU and borrowed the +12v to test and works
The screen bows @ the corners(pot tweak or bad caps?)
Has a piece of the plexi on the controls broken off
Missing the marquee
Coin door needs a new lock and new bulbs and is also missing the coin sorters.






^^ Screen bowing?? I'm not sure what to call it

[scott]

Nice! That screen looks like you might be able to adjust it like an old crt monitor. Also you might want to look into upgrading your lights to led.

[pceslayer]

@scott I thought the same thing, but alas I couldn't figure it out. Pots do everything but tweak the edges.