153 replies to this topic

[court461]

I use the pinscape setup in my cab....it would be great if i could just wire in a blaster.... my TVs are not deceased 

 

Mine are alive as well.     I agree it is a lot to pay, I looked around for a while, and could not find anything that was plug and play.  If the pinscape board would do it that would be awesome, wish that would have been around when I was building my cab (or I wish I would have known about it then).  I have been following that thread and it is impressive.  I am pretty happy with my virtuapin plunger, but the DIY factor is cool.

 

 

I use the pinscape setup in my cab....it would be great if i could just wire in a blaster.... my TVs are not deceased 

I wouldn't say I decased mine... I took them apart far enough to pull the pcb out and then put the case back on... Then I bought a new tv last weekend for my playfield and that one has RS232 on it so I'll just use that instead

 

 

I did the same at first.  Problem with my TV was the buttons were on a PCB.  So not as easy as just hardwiring the connection for the power button.  I tried the easy hold down the power button trick, which worked fine for my backglass tv, but on my playfield tv it caused it to cycle on and off repeatedly.  The IR blaster while expensive for what it is, works very well.  I set it up one time and it is pretty flawless.  It would be great for a home theater setup, but is a little bit wasted using it for this application.

[Pete248]

Really like what you've created.

I plan to build a cab similar to your's. A cab with standard width but shortened in length to fit my 40" playfield monitor (super small bezel, so it indeed fits into a standard width cab).
 
I've been looking for month for someone, who has build a cab with standard width but slightly shorter length. Glad I found this thread.

Two questions concerning cab size:

Is your playfield monitor flush with the front of your backbox or protruding below your backbox?
 
I assume you've planned the angled top of your cab to fit the length of your playfield  TV plus the width of the lockbar. Right?
 
Could you tell me the dimension of one of your side panels (lenght and height at front and back)? I'd adjust it to the size of my playfield TV.
 
In case you made any sketches of the individual parts of your cab, I'd appreciate, if you could send me a copy or post them here.

Greetings

Pete

Edited by Pete248, 31 July 2016 - 02:20 PM.

[court461]

Really like what you've created.

I plan to build a cab similar to your's. A cab with standard width but shortened in length to fit my 40" playfield monitor (super small bezel, so it indeed fits into a standard width cab).
 
I've been looking for month for someone, who has build a cab with standard width but slightly shorter length. Glad I found this thread.

Two questions concerning cab size:

Is your playfield monitor flush with the front of your backbox or protruding below your backbox?
 
I assume you've planned the angled top of your cab to fit the length of your playfield  TV plus the width of the lockbar. Right?
 
Could you tell me the dimension of one of your side panels (lenght and height at front and back)? I'd adjust it to the size of my playfield TV.
 
In case you made any sketches of the individual parts of your cab, I'd appreciate, if you could send me a copy or post them here.

Greetings

Pete

 

 

Hey Pete!  Can't wait to see your build.  Yes, when I was starting my build I did not find many examples of a standard cab with shorter dimensions.  I basically adjusted the length so that the angled part like you said is long enough for my lockbar, my playfield screen, then just a couple of inches more to the backbox.  This gave me room to angle my leds on a panel from the backbox to my playfield.  There is not really any excess room.  I wanted this look over a spacer panel at the front or back needed if I did not adjust the length.  As far as measurements, here is something rough I put together when I was getting my artwork designed for size.  This should be pretty close.  I used a 39", so with a 40" I would think yours would be a touch longer.  If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

Court

 

[court461]

Here are some pics to try and show how much room at both ends.  It is hard to see with the glare, but hopefully you can make it out.

 

 

 

[Brer Frog]

Thanks for posting the dimensions.

Not sure if I’m ready to build a cab but keep thinking about it. I had a real pinball years ago so know that they take up more space than one may initially realize. And they’re heavy & not the easiest thing to move.

I’d have rent a truck to bring home 4’x8’ sheets of plywood. But Home Depot had some nice looking 2’x4’ sheets of sanded ¾” plywood that I thought might work. It costs a bit more to buy the smaller sheets but I could get them home in my car.

Your 1220mm side length is almost exactly 48”. And the 575mm height is a little less than 24”. Two sheets of the 2’x4’ plywood would work great for the sides with minimal cutting. Anyway that's one thing I'm kicking around.

[BorgDog]

@Brer Frog  Home Depot or most any other lumber store will also cut sheets for you, usually for free.  I wouldn't trust them to cut to the exact measurement, but it is much cheaper to buy a full sheet and have them cut it then it is to buy several small sheets.

[Brer Frog]

BorgDog -

 

I think it was HD that said their cuts were accurate to within 1/8". I've cut 4'x8' sheets using a 7" circular saw but it's a pain in the butt to find & line up a straight piece of lumber to use as a straight edge. If the 2'x4' sheets are really square that would be helpful. I don't have a workshop so it would be nice to minimize cutting with a 7" saw.

 

That being said, the 4'x8' sheets did not look nice & flat, at least not the sanded plywood. The more expensive birch/maple/etc did look better. The 2'x4' sanded sheets looked flat, but of course it's more difficult to see a warp in a small sheet.

 

I usually start a project saying something like "how hard can it be"? All I'm doing is building a box & putting a TV in it. That is until I see these elaborate cabs with all sorts of goodies in them. At this point I'm considering my options.

[BorgDog]

Have you seen a cheap easy to make sawboard to use as a guide?  Only need to find one nice straight piece once, then once made it's good to go, accurate, and easy to use.  Here is a thread over on the Build Your Own Arcade forum that talks about it. http://forum.arcadec...ic,43568.0.html  Even though I have a decent shop with table saw etc, I still have one of these for cutting big sheets of plywood down to size and works great for angled cuts as well.

[Brer Frog]

I've previously seen those sawboards in some videos & I like the idea. I just need to find a straight piece of lumber for that upper guide piece. I thought about buying a metal guide & somehow attaching it to the bottom piece of wood. I'm presuming a metal guide would be very straight.

 

Something like this.

http://www.homedepot...J4900/100188970

[BorgDog]

seems a little overkill, but yes straight it would be.  I would probably look for a 1x2 or 1x3 in the hardwoods section as they tend to be better, poplar is not too expensive.  Or another alternative would be to buy a 6 foot level at harbor freight for cheap and attach it to the board, not the best levels but the ones I have are at least straight.  http://www.harborfre...evel-68366.html

[court461]

Well, I am moving across the country.  I guess it is time to see how solid I built this thing.

 

 

 

 

 

[nickbuol]

Hopefully you can hinge down the backbox, or remove it.  Take off the legs before loading as well. 

 

If you don't do those things, people will pack under and on top of it, and you are asking for trouble.  Maybe you have already planned to do this already, but I've seen it happen way too many times not to say something about it.

[court461]

Hopefully you can hinge down the backbox, or remove it.  Take off the legs before loading as well. 
 
If you don't do those things, people will pack under and on top of it, and you are asking for trouble.  Maybe you have already planned to do this already, but I've seen it happen way too many times not to say something about it.

Luckily I moved myself, so I avoided stacking. I used tie-downs to secure to the wall of the truck in multiple places. Good news is it made the trip fine with no issues. Bad news is it will be a while before I can play due to a new job and having to unpack.


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[doug2104]

Very nice and well built virtual pinball cabinet. And I agree with you 100% about droping the height some too, else the angle will be too steep.  Becaue You shorten the cabinet by 6". I have seen where people have shorten cabinet plans and did not drop the height and the angle would become steeper. Anyway Thank You for posting your Complete Beginner Built.

Edited by doug2104, 07 April 2019 - 10:54 PM.