88 replies to this topic

[kiwiBri]

Update:  Its been well over 2 Months now waiting on AliExpress parts. I have opened disputes for the items (RGBs, Heatsinks, and solienoids) .   If anyone is looking to buy, I'd stay off AliExpress.   All my Ebay and Amazon orders that originate from China and Hong Kong have arrived promptly. 3 weeks usually  - 4 weeks max. Now I have to wait for the refund process before looking to buy replacement parts..  just incase the parts do arrive. I am quite annoyed agh!  The GOOD news is that DigiKey has flat rate shipping of $8 and it they delivered in under 24hrs!

Edited by kiwiBri, 23 April 2017 - 06:11 AM.

[kiwiBri]

Update: April 7

 

Been looking at the software. Installed the SAM version of VPinMAME and got a couple tables working. I can see that setting up games and PinballX will become quite time consuming.. 

 

Update: April 21

 

RGB Heatsinks arrived finally. Waiting on the flashers though! agh!  I have been busy with a couple side projects of fitting a new monitor in the backbox. I'll explain more later when I have a more substantial update. 

 

I finally got PinballX, Pinball FX2 and Visual Pinball 10 (VPX) all working nicely.   

Edited by kiwiBri, 23 April 2017 - 06:11 AM.

[kiwiBri]

Ok, so a small update. Spent the last two nights looks into the wiring of the buttons and the coin door. I decided to reuse some wiring I salvaged off two old Williams coin doors for my coin door. I was going to keep the connector on them and try to hook it up like a real machine but figured it was pointless. I spliced the matching coloured wires together, then crimped on the connectors for the switches and coin door lights. Its amazing how easy it is to crimp and fast you can work when you have a decent wire stripper and crimper!!  

 

While soldering the service buttons, I ended up partially destroying one switch. I have been able to salvage it and using a multimeter I tested all the switches work fine. I put 12v to the lights also to test them out.  I will be continuing with the cab buttons and then wiring up to the pinscape board. Will need to practice crimping dupont connectors i guess for the pinscape connectivity.

 

Wiring up the coin door...Took a while to tidy it up... I even wired up the Slam Tilt switch I also fitted from the salvaged Williams coin door harness.

 

Testing the lighting...

 

Edited by kiwiBri, 14 September 2018 - 12:48 AM.

[roar]

Jealous of your real coin door I'm missing the service buttons on mine, have considered getting some but it sits on the list of nice to haves that I'm not sure will ever be completed. Cab is coming along nicely, I still like that Judge Dredd artwork just fine on it.

[kiwiBri]

Jealous of your real coin door I'm missing the service buttons on mine, have considered getting some but it sits on the list of nice to haves that I'm not sure will ever be completed. Cab is coming along nicely, I still like that Judge Dredd artwork just fine on it.

 

I have a couple coin doors that were given to me when I bought the cab, but ended up springing for a bare new one.. The doors were in need of a repaint and a bit of work. When I was springing $$ for the cab hardware I decided to go for the new door.

 

I have a 25c coin mech in one slot and a "any coin"  mech in the other - works with all coins. I plan to use one of the coin reject buttons as a extra coin button with a micro-switch at a future date. I wired up a spare wire just in case I need it. 

 

My soldering skills are crap... while soldering one of the common wires to the service buttons, I melted the bottom of another button.. lucky I had a spare button from the bunch of buttons I got when I got my Virtua Pin button set.  I used crimped wires for the other connections

 

The JD artwork has grown on me, and  I wish I took more care of the cab with some of the paint work I did and minimized the overspray in some areas. 

 

You know, the project has evolved from "an arcade game in a big box with screens" to more of a "pinball machine simulation". I have been enjoying the build tasks and solving the unique challenges of the build.

Edited by kiwiBri, 24 April 2017 - 05:41 PM.

[roar]

My coin reject buttons are used as my credits... I haven't gone to the trouble of setting my roms on free-play. I think that is probably the better solutions. There are some pictures here on the site on how to jury rig mico switches to your coin rejects... I can snap you a picture of mine too if you want to have a look. I promise not to recommend getting any of the parts from aliexpress

 

I just settled a dispute with an aliexpress vendor on the weekend after waiting 60+ days for a part for my chexx project... the same time I ordered 6 new things for the home theatre project... I'll never learn!

[DDH69]

Looking good.

 

I too have a Williams genuine coin door.  I detached the main coin mechanics and glued micro switches behind the coin return push area to make more buttons available to me from the front panel.

[kiwiBri]

Looking good.

 

I too have a Williams genuine coin door.  I detached the main coin mechanics and glued micro switches behind the coin return push area to make more buttons available to me from the front panel.

 

yeah, that's what I was thinking of doing with a spare micro switch I have - glue to the side of one of the coin mechs. The coin reject button should be able to "click" it when used. 

My coin reject buttons are used as my credits... I haven't gone to the trouble of setting my roms on free-play. I think that is probably the better solutions. There are some pictures here on the site on how to jury rig mico switches to your coin rejects... I can snap you a picture of mine too if you want to have a look. I promise not to recommend getting any of the parts from aliexpress

 

I just settled a dispute with an aliexpress vendor on the weekend after waiting 60+ days for a part for my chexx project... the same time I ordered 6 new things for the home theatre project... I'll never learn!

 

ha - don't worry about the AliExpress thing.  If I must use AliExpress again, I'll be paying a bit more for the better shipping methods. The ePacket is better than the AliExpress Free Shipping it seems.  Also,  I see some of the parts are on Amazon and EBay - more on the shipping but not too crazy. Usually because they are trying to avoid the 3/4 week refund period .  I actually used www.banggood.com for my terminal crimper, and that arrived in 10 days. I did pay $1.50 extra for shipping.  I'll probably leave the games on "coin" mode until I get bored with dropping coins into the slot etc

I do have a spare WPC Service button bracket. I'll pass it on sometime in the future..

 

Oh, I did order a DTDP Rocker switch for the cab. (PC Power on switch) to be used like a real modern machine to power the cab on/off. That will be the "icing on the cake" for the build so no rush in receiving it, as long as it arrives.  

Edited by kiwiBri, 25 April 2017 - 07:31 PM.

[dzorbas]

Rigged my coin reject button to power on/off my MAME cab.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/JHzqdBLNGYrDsJrw5

 

Not the prettiest but it work perfectly well.

[DDH69]

Here's a quick picture of one of my micro switches mounted to run from the coin reject button.

 

Edited by DDH69, 26 April 2017 - 09:09 AM.

[kiwiBri]

Rigged my coin reject button to power on/off my MAME cab.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/JHzqdBLNGYrDsJrw5

 

Not the prettiest but it work perfectly well.

 

Here's a quick picture of one of my micro switches mounted to run from the coin reject button.

 

 

 

Thanks guys!

[kiwiBri]

Thought I'd post a picture of the "Helping Hands" or "Third Hand"  I made :

 

 

Its been quite handy for a few things related to my build. 

 

Lots of examples online on how to make these:  ie.   http://www.instructa...g-Helping-Hand/

Edited by kiwiBri, 14 September 2018 - 12:48 AM.

[Rocketman69]

Your project is coming along nicely.  Much quicker than mine.  I need some of your motivation.

 

Quick question:  Which 46" TV did you end up using?

[kiwiBri]

Your project is coming along nicely.  Much quicker than mine.  I need some of your motivation.

 

Quick question:  Which 46" TV did you end up using?

 

Hey! I think I remember reading the start of your build thread. From memory I think you had some amazing woodwork skills building your cab!  Well during the winter the build was going reasonably well and I ordered some parts from China with the expectation they would be 3-4 weeks away as they usually they are when bought on eBay or Amazon, but unfortunately they took nearly 3 months. I still haven't received my RGB LEDs. I did get refunds on the items, but that's not the point. Things did stagnate, frustrating as it is. I finally got my buttons working recently and after playing a couple games on the cab I can see why the *simulation* of Visual Pinball in a cabinet can be enthralling.     But With summer approaching, I'm running out of spare time...

 

As for the TV I'm using, Its a Samsung 1080p that came from a restaurant that closed down. It has a good viewing angle as its a commercial display. Before picking it up, I spent a ton of time reading up reviews of TVs etc. and had penciled in a few models I had read up on a review site -   rtings.com

They have good reviews of the viewing angles and other features of the TVs that are beneficial for our use..  ie. Backlighting, refresh rate, game mode etc.

Edited by kiwiBri, 13 September 2018 - 07:17 PM.

[kiwiBri]

Update: June 23 2017  
 
Cab's almost done, just a few things to tidy up.. 
 
Here's a video... 
 
 
https://youtu.be/85acPlQvQCI
 
 

Edited by kiwiBri, 14 September 2018 - 12:51 AM.

[roar]

Things are looking really great... you're in the home stretch... until you find about 6 other things you want to do it I find it is the project that never ends.

[kiwiBri]

Things are looking really great... you're in the home stretch... until you find about 6 other things you want to do it I find it is the project that never ends.

 

Thanks Roar,  yes,  I've started that "other things" list already ;-) 

 

oh, and I have really come to appreciate that cab Artwork much more. I watched Dredd again the other day   

[whynotpizza]

Great build!

 

Are you still a bit unhappy with your audio setup? Is it not loud enough? I am debating going with a similar setup or buying a complete PC based speaker system.

[kiwiBri]

Great build!

 

Are you still a bit unhappy with your audio setup? Is it not loud enough? I am debating going with a similar setup or buying a complete PC based speaker system.

 

 

Actually, I'm content with what I am using it for. For pinball games etc its great, and loud enough. I just wouldn't use the same components to make a jukebox.  The Amp does seem to cause the sub to  break up a bit, but I found a sweet spot.  If you have a PC setup, and not too fussed about making a "authentic style" setup.. I would just use that. Many builds here with regular speakers. 

 

Oh, btw - Side rails and Addressable LEDs are on! .. Just need to wire up a "Night Mode" switch and that it!..  

then starts the "mod. list"...  

 

* undercab LEDs

* beacon flasher

 

while I start to install the new VPX tables..  Indiana Jones, Monster Bash - they all look amazing

[roar]

Indiana Jones is the cats pajamas! Played it a bunch last night. Looking forward to seeing your addressable led work.

I'm no help with your night mode issues... I didn't put an led in and don't have any trouble with mine... I'm using a momentary switch to.