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The original 3-screen Mini-Pin... DigiPin ***Heavy update to thread***


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#1 swaffar

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Posted 03 March 2012 - 11:36 AM

***Disregard the first few replies... This first post has been completely overhauled***
 
After years of trolling various forums (but mostly this one) I've finally decided to build a cab.  I first had this idea many years ago, but VP didn't support fullscreen tables.  That was back in the V6 days.  I sat back and followed the build threads religiously, and now I've finally bit the bullet.  I can't really call this a mini, but it's definitely not a full... more like 3/4.  One reason I'm not going full size is the fact I'm in the Air Force and stationed in Germany.  I'd rather not have to move a huge cabinet.  Also LCD screens are crazy expensive on the local economy (forget about LED) and USPS won't ship anything too big over here.  Then there's the fact that I don't like the idea of using a full sized monitor for the DMD.  It seems wasteful, but mostly I'd rather have a true backbox that I can fold down without half of a third monitor sticking out somewhere.  So I went the USB monitor route.  I picked up a 7" mimo on ebay for $85.  I was a little worried how it would look, but it's great.
 
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:
I've had about five people ask me for plans so I uploaded my sketchup file to MediaFire.  You'll need to learn sketchup if you don't already know your way around it... But I hope this helps you guys out!
You can find the file here: DigiPin plans
 
plans_zps7cce505b.jpg

 

UPDATE:
I've been getting lots of questions about this build so I've decided to update this first post to list all parts used.
 
PC:
Motherboard: MSI 880GM-E41 AMD 880G
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
CPU Fan: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler
GFX card: EVGA GeForce GTX 460
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro Power Supply - 600-Watt
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB DDR3-1600MHz
HDD: Crucial m4 64GB SSD
 
Cabinet:
Wood: 3/4" (19mm) MDF
Backglass screen: NEC 1970NX 19" LCD Monitor - 1280 x 1024
DMD screen: Mimo 710s 7" USB Monitor  **I recommend using a 720s model for Windows 7 compatibility!** (mimomonitors.com)
Playfield screen: Acer H274HL 27" LED Monitor - 1920 x 1080
Speakers: Pioneer 4" 110W Car Speakers
Subwoofer: Cyber Acoustics 2.1 Computer Speakers with Subwoofer and Desktop Control Pod (CA-3090)
Lockdown bar: Custom 15" VirtuaPin Lockdown Bar (virtuapin.net)
Power Strip: BITS Limited SCG5 Smart Strip
Legs: 28-1/2" Smooth Black Legs set of 4
Leg bolt plate Data East /Sega/Stern set of 4
Leg leveler - 2-1/2" E-Z Glider set of 4
Leg bolt 3/8-16 x 2-3/4 set of 8 (marcospecialties.com)
Plunger: VirtuaPin Digital Plunger Kit (http://virtuapin.net
Buttons: 2" Red Launch Ball Button, Start Button, Extra Ball Button (marcospecialties.com)
Goldleaf Pushbuttons (ultimarc.com)
NovaGemCDR Coin Drop Replacement Pushbutton (groovygamegear.com)
Lights: Vollong 3W RGB High Power LED (superbrightleds.com)
Clear Domes with screw tabs (marcospecialties.com)
DC 24V 10A 250W Switch Power Supply (ebay)
2X 22 LED Car White Flashing Grill Strobe (ebay)
Controllers: I-PAC 2  32-port USB Keyboard Encoder (ultimarc.com)
LED-Wiz 32-port USB Lighting and Output Controller (groovygamegear.com)
LED-Wiz Booster Board (zebulon at vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=18203)
 
Tools:
Tablesaw
Router (9/16" straight bit  &  1/4'' Radius x 1/2'' High Roundover bit)
Powerdrill (1"  &  3-1/4" forstner bits for pushbutton, fan, and speaker holes, 3/8" bit for leg bot holes)

Edited by swaffar, 05 September 2013 - 05:57 PM.

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#2 StevOz

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Posted 03 March 2012 - 11:51 AM

Power supply seems dodgy and you will be better served with a GTX460 which you should be able to source for a similar price.

Files I have uploaded here...

 

http://www.vpforums....ownloads&mid=34


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#3 swaffar

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Posted 03 March 2012 - 04:15 PM

 
QUOTE (StevOz @ Mar 3 2012, 12:51 PM)
Power supply seems dodgy and you will be better served with a GTX460 which you should be able to source for a similar price.

 

I'm not a PC gamer so I just assumed the higher number was better... and it was $25 less. I know it doesn't really make sense, but TigerDirect's prices aren't always indicative of value. But thanks for the info... I quickly changed by order to:
EVGA 01G-P3-1363-KR GeForce GTX 460 SC
Ultra ATX 450-Watt PSU

I realize the original one is skimpy, but I'm not planning on drawing too much power in this thing... Oh well, another $15 is worth it to keep it future proof.

Now my only real concern is that my super-high contrast LED playfield might make the 500:1 LCD backglass look like a joke.


Edited by swaffar, 27 August 2013 - 05:15 PM.

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#4 Blitz17

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 04:20 PM

That was great advice from StevOz. I would still have concerns about 450 PSU. If you experience the system crashing and shutting down I would start by getting and solid 500W or 600W PSU from a name brand.

But the rest of your build specs look great. Similar to my mini I built. Please post some pictures when you can. The GTX 460 will be great. That is what I use as well.

Good luck.

Edited by Blitz17, 04 March 2012 - 04:21 PM.

Having a cabinet to play full screen pins is awesome! Check out my mini pin cab here on VPForums.


Processor: AMD Dual Core X2 Phenom 555 BE 3.2Ghz (OC to 3.5Ghz)
System Ram: GSkill Ripjaws 4G
Graphics Card: Asus Nvidia GTX460 (driver version 270.99) (OC)
SSD: 40G OCZ Vertex 2
Power Supply: Antec TruePower 750W
Operating System: TinyXP

#5 djjoke

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 06:30 PM

Which OS do you want to take?

I have used Win7 Pro and Win XP 32......
Win XP 32 is the better choice, because it takes less performance of your cpu.
so you don´t need to take 8gb of ram. XP supported only 3gb!

Edited by djjoke, 04 March 2012 - 06:30 PM.


#6 swaffar

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 08:07 PM

 
QUOTE (djjoke @ Mar 4 2012, 07:30 PM)
Which OS do you want to take?

I have used Win7 Pro and Win XP 32......
Win XP 32 is the better choice, because it takes less performance of your cpu.
so you don´t need to take 8gb of ram. XP supported only 3gb!

 

Well... I was going to go with Tiny XP but I honestly didn't know XP only supports 3GB. sad.gif That's hard to believe!
I guess it's been longer since I used XP than I thought.

8 gigs was recommended so I'm assuming 3 won't cut it for the more demanding tables. Am I wrong?


Edited by swaffar, 27 August 2013 - 05:16 PM.

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#7 kruge99

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 09:12 PM

...even Noah's "extreme" PC build for his cabinets only contain 4Gb RAM.

virtuapin.net extreme PC cabinet build


Best Regards,
Todd.

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#8 swaffar

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 09:56 PM

Just checked microsoft's site and it states that physical memory limit for XP is 4gb for x86 and 128 for x64. That sounds about right. 3gb would be a very strange limit considering that RAM and DIMMs come in 2's and 4's.

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#9 swaffar

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 11:39 PM

After getting tied up with lots of Air Force work and moving, I finally got around to my build.
































Edited by swaffar, 14 May 2012 - 01:07 PM.

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#10 swaffar

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 12:23 PM

well i just hit a snag.... when i went to cut my backbox side pieces, my p.o.s. craftsman "skill" saw kept creeping on me. it's one with a quick release chuck. i was fighting with it for 30 minutes before i noticed it doesn't even hold the blade straight... so i destroyed it. i guess that's what i get for buying cheap tools. does anyone know the dimensions of a williams hinge? i might just get the real thing, but i'm afraid it would be too big. i think the throw would be too long.

Edited by swaffar, 07 May 2012 - 12:29 PM.

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#11 swaffar

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 02:40 PM

A little more progress despite the useless skillsaw.










Edited by swaffar, 14 May 2012 - 01:07 PM.

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#12 Itchigo

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Posted 07 May 2012 - 09:50 PM

Looking good! Tiny xp is fine, I used it for a desktop and vp ran great (1 screen) even though it was a P4. I'm on W7 64 bit ultimate now with no problems (2 screen, different computer), but I have a tad more than 8g memory too (16g). otvclap.gif

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#13 swaffar

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Posted 10 May 2012 - 10:44 AM
















Edited by swaffar, 14 May 2012 - 01:06 PM.

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#14 trowhill

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 01:22 AM

Swaffar,

Looking good, what program are you using to design it?
From one Air Force dude to another - Thanks for serving....

#15 Rawd

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 01:27 AM

Very good work man. Yes, what program is that?


 


#16 kruge99

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 10:02 AM

QUOTE (Rawd @ May 10 2012, 09:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Very good work man. Yes, what program is that?


Looks a bit like google sketchup.


Best Regards,
Todd.

[proud owner of a Williams Solar Fire]

- It's called "The American Dream" because you have to be asleep to believe it.
George Carlin
- Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence.
Henrik Tikkanen
- "Reality check, Michelle, Talk about composure, Total lack of. He's a man-- About-- 12 Feet Tall--"
Carrie Kelly
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#17 swaffar

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Posted 14 May 2012 - 04:00 AM

Not much progress this weekend as I was in Frankfurt on a bierbike (youtube it) but here are a few more shots. Also if anyone here works in a metal shop can I get some help? I can't use real pinball hinges for the backbox and need some custom one's made. Name a price if you're game.




Edited by swaffar, 14 May 2012 - 01:06 PM.

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#18 CaptainNeo

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Posted 14 May 2012 - 06:44 AM

reminds me of the Super mario mushroom world pin I used to have. smile.gif
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#19 swaffar

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Posted 14 May 2012 - 01:06 PM

Slept in this morning so only a few minutes worth of progress.






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#20 NEW

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Posted 14 May 2012 - 09:17 PM

nice design, greetings

Cesar