So I wanna build a MAME machine

[Queen Of The Felines]

I've been toying with the idea of building a MAME machine for quite a while now, but I have no clue how to go about it. Anybody ever build one before and/or can direct me to any websites for pointers?

Kristine

[Raedon]

I have a couple of friends go about building a MAME machine. One had a SFII cabby he got for $400 in 95. He gutted it and made one (the monitor had been dead for a while.) He put an old 17" monitor in there which looked really dumb, and made it hard to play. He used an old 300mhz Pentium with 64megs of ram so only older games worked. When he updated his computer he put all the old stuff in the MAME case and he baught a flat 25" TV (think it as like an Apex or something) and used a GF2mx TV out. Last I was there it looked like the real deal when playing SFII.

Another friend make a cocktail from scratch. I really liked his and I'm considering that as a MAME project.. Smaller then a full size, can be used as a table, fits all apartment enviroments.. Only problem is forget about 2 player fighting games.

[xertcev]

This place has it all:
http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade.htm

You'll probably want to get an I-PAC
www.ultimarc.com
Or maybe a Hagstrom Encoder
http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/modules.html


Here's one I'm working on right now.
http://home.mchsi.com/~lindner24/base.jpg
I still need to make a marquee and paint the coin door.
The control panel was a quick prototype I built.
Eventually, I'll have a few swappable panels for different games.


I'll probably get a site up sooner or later on my project.
The biggest thing is choosing your monitor style.
(Arcade Monitor, TV , Computer Monitor, Arcade VGA Monitor)
Then choose your interface.
( Keyboard Encoder, Joystick Hack, Keyboard Hack)
A keyboard encoder is by far the easiest. Some encoders include
trackball and/or spinner hookups.

So get over to ArcadeControls, figure out what you want to do, and do it :)
You can get by without any electronic experience
(just stay away from REAL arcade monitors)
Let me know if you need some help or have questions.