56 replies to this topic

[JM136]

Hi guys, long time lurker/learner and figured I would never start building it unless I bit the bullet and actually acquired some parts, so here I am.      

 

 

I will hopefully be able to provide some pics along the way, and a build video when its all done.  Any feedback/suggestions from those who have been through this would be much appreciated!  I was able to build the PC about a month and a half ago, and have loaded about 80 Visual Pinball X tables and have gotten the Pinball X front end up and working.  All this has been a huge learning curve and I wouldn't have been able to do it without this forum, and the many people who contribute their time so others can enjoy this hobby. 

 

 

Here is a parts list of what I've gotten so far with more to follow:

 

Screens:

 

Playfield - LG 43" 4K Monitor 43UD79-B (38-1/16" x 22" x 3") (Costco)

Backglass – HP 30” 16:10 Monitor ZR30W VM617A (27-1/4" x 17-3/4" x 3-5/16") (used from Ebay)

DMD - PinDMD V3 (Virtuapin)

 

 

PC:

 

CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 1800x (Newegg)

Cooler - Gammax 300R air cooler (Newegg)

Motherboard - ASRock AB350 Pro4 (Newegg)

RAM - Ripjaws V 16 Gb DDR4-2400 (Newegg)

GPU - Geforce GTX 1080 D5X 8G (Newegg)

PSU - EVGA 550 B3 550 watts (Newegg)

SSD - Samsung 860 EVO MZ-76E500 (Newegg)

OS - Windows 10

 

 

Pinball Cabinet:

 

Cabinet – mameman23 Widebody plans altered/narrowed for playfield (22-1/4" inside width, 23-11/16" outside width) and BG (27-5/16" inside width, 28-3/4" outside width). 3/4" plywood cut by me. (Woodworkers Source)  

Speaker Panel - Williams plans/measurements altered to fit PinDMD V3. 1/2" MDF cut/routed by me. (Home Depot)

Speaker Grill - Plastic cabinet speaker grill screen 7" x 7" cut down to fit. (Pinball Life)

Speaker Panel Brackets - Williams/Bally Speaker Panel Latch Bracket (Pinball Life)

Hardware – Custom Lockdown bar, side rails, legs, etc.. ultimate cab builders kit (Virtuapin)

Plunger - Virtuapin digital plunger kit v3 (Virtuapin)

Buttons - Ultimate cab builders button kit (Virtuapin)

Coin door - WMS/Bally coin door (Virtuapin)

Fans - Uphere 3-pack 120 mm fans (Amazon)

PF Glass - Tempered Annealed Edge (42-7/8" x 22-13/16" x 3/16") (OneDayGlass.com)

BG Glass - Tempered Annealed Edge (27-1/8" x 19-1/8" x 1/8") (OneDayGlass.com)

DMD Glass - Tempered Annealed Edge (13-3/16" x 3-11/16" x 1/8") (OneDayGlass.com)

 

 

Audio Control:

 

Volume Knob - DROK USB Volume Control Knob (Amazon)

Equalizer Software - Peace Equalizer Interface APO (https://sourceforge....-apo-extension/)

Volume Software - PinVol (http://mjrnet.org/pinscape/PinVol.html)

 

 

Backglass Audio:

 

Speakers – 5-¼” Lanzar MX52 (Parts Express)

Subwoofer – 8” GRS 8SW-4 ohm (Parts Express)

2.1 Amplifier – KNACRO TPA3116 50W + 50W + 100W ***(Without Bluetooth)*** (Amazon)

 

 

Surround Sound Feedback (SSF) Audio:

 

Transducers – 4 x Dayton audio DAEX58P (Parts Express)

4 channel amp – Wondom AA-AB33182 100W x 4 (Parts Express)

 

 

Lightbar:

 

LED’s – Chanzon 3W RGB 6 pin 300-350mA x 5 (Amazon)

Chips – Chanzon 1-3-5W LED Heatsink 6 pin 20mm (Amazon)

Heatsinks – BNTECHGO 40x40x11mm Black Aluminum Heatsinks (Amazon)

Lighting Control - LED-Wiz 32 port USB Compatible Lighting and Output Control (Groovy Game Gear)

Edited by JM136, 30 May 2019 - 06:31 PM.

[JM136]

Here is the first big shipment of parts for the PC from Newegg

Starting the build 

First time, so a little nervous 

Here is the PC built and booting up

[JM136]

And here it is all wired up and working! It's not pretty but it's a nice conversation starter for when company comes over.

 

 

 

 

[Onevox]

Looking good. I look forward to watching your cab get tricked out. Nice parts list.

 

I see you got the memo about always showing your build with AC/DC.

[Brer Frog]

Looks like you've got a good start. Looking forward to seeing the cabinet build.

[knightrdrx]

Thanks for posting. I could spend the whole month picking and choosing the parts with uncertainty.this helps

[JM136]

Looking good. I look forward to watching your cab get tricked out. Nice parts list.

 

I see you got the memo about always showing your build with AC/DC.

    ...Thanks!  I just went through your build and am very impressed.  Originally I was waiting for an older cab to pop up for sale as a donor, but you have to act quick before they're snatched up out here in AZ.  

Question for you.  I see you went the SSF route for feedback, are you happy with running that solely, or do you feel the need to add contactors/solenoids, etc...?  I decided to try out the SSF with the possibility of adding mechanical feedback later if needed, but haven't got to experience either yet.

Looks like you've got a good start. Looking forward to seeing the cabinet build.

Thanks! Spent a good portion of yesterday finally cutting all the plywood.  It's exciting that I might have a shell to put all the electronics in soon!

 

Thanks for posting. I could spend the whole month picking and choosing the parts with uncertainty.this helps

I know your pain!  I've obsessed for months on what components to use.  There are so many great builds on this forum that it's hard to narrow it down!

Edited by JM136, 03 November 2018 - 08:15 PM.

[JM136]

Started with mameman23's plans in the images below.  Narrowed the playfield cabinet to 22-1/4" inside width, 23-11/16" outside width and Backglass cabinet to 27-5/16" inside width, 28-3/4" outside width keeping bezels intact. Got the plans laid out on the wood last week. Spent a good portion of yesterday cutting up some wood.  Just used a "straight" board with some clamps as a a straight edge, and a circular saw for most of the cuts.  Anything that had to be beveled, like the front panel of the cabinet, and the top/bottom of the back box, I used a table saw.

 

 

 

 

 

So Originally I was going to shorten the plans by about 4 inches, so there wouldn't have to be a filler panel in front or behind the PF monitor. After working on some graphic ideas in Photoshop, I felt like it looked a little stubby.  So I went back to the full length plan, and I'm going to try to angle the light bar a bit, and put a small filler behind the PF with no filler needed in front.  Any thoughts?

 

 

Edited by JM136, 30 May 2019 - 06:37 PM.

[knightrdrx]

I have a guy builds my PC's for me for 100 flat .I don't know the wiring.plugging cards is easy. I'd like to try it myself since there's no tower for him to put it in. but I'm nervous.

[JM136]

I have a guy builds my PC's for me for 100 flat .I don't know the wiring.plugging cards is easy. I'd like to try it myself since there's no tower for him to put it in. but I'm nervous.

Not sure why, but I was a bit nervous building the PC.  It's my first build, but I've replaced power supplies and hdd's in our family PC's in the past.  I was blown away at how easy it was.  The hardest part was mounting the cooling tower to the top of the CPU.  I say go for it, especially if you are going to be building a pinball machine!

[knightrdrx]

Ok did you follow a guide somewhere for suggested bios settings and such?

[Brer Frog]

I built a PC a few years ago & it went together in about 20 minutes. Your only plugging together 5 or 6 components, The time consuming part is picking out the parts that you want/need.

 

The motherboard manual was pretty good in showing what went where, and I don't think I changed any bios settings with that PC.

 

The October 2018 issue of MaximumPC magazine had a good article on building a PC & setting up software & bios. You can probably get it with an onl8ne subscription or maybe your library has that issue & you could copy the needed pages.

Edited by Brer Frog, 04 November 2018 - 12:54 AM.

[JM136]

Ok did you follow a guide somewhere for suggested bios settings and such?

Yeah I left the bios alone.  Other than specifying that windows boot up from a disk drive initially, I didn't have to make any changes.

[JM136]

Started out drilling some pocket holes yesterday, and then said what the heck, lets put this thing together.

 

  Ran a bead of glue, shot a few brad nails to hold it in place, and then anchored in with some pocket screws.

Most everything lined up pretty good, only had to sand one edge down to sit flush with the other panels.

 

 

 

Feels like the second biggest hurdle is done, getting the bulk of the construction/wood work done.  The first hurdle being getting the computer up and running with some working tables and a front end.

 

Had to make sure the lockdown bar would fit!

 

[robertms]

Very nice, looking great so far 

[knightrdrx]

Can you share what you got for the wires for the button kit. Ready made harnesses or wire and connectors by the foot?

[JM136]

Very nice, looking great so far 

 

Thanks!  I thought I had seen most of the great builds on here but just took a gander at yours, very nice!  I've been contemplating on how to mount my subwoofer, basically free air like you and so many others have done, or build a sealed or ported box that still down fires out the bottom of the pinball cabinet.  Are you happy with the performance of the sub? Would you do it differently after having used it for a while?

Can you share what you got for the wires for the button kit. Ready made harnesses or wire and connectors by the foot?

So I plan on getting most of the wiring done with the following.

 

http://a.co/d/dybmQCX Crimpers with dupont connectors

http://a.co/d/2GNStYc Wire by the foot

http://a.co/d/bhD9R7x Female Spade connectors

[BoltBait]

I've been contemplating on how to mount my subwoofer, basically free air like you and so many others have done, or build a sealed or ported box that still down fires out the bottom of the pinball cabinet.  Are you happy with the performance of the sub? Would you do it differently after having used it for a while?

 

I mounted mine on the bottom of the cabinet and protect the speaker with a fan finger guard.

 

https://boltbait.com...ball/wiring.asp

 

I'm very happy with the way it sounds.

[Onevox]

Nice progress. On SSF: I've never heard a cab with contactors so I don't know what I'm missing. But the whole point of SSF or contactors is to trick the mind ,,, a tactile feel to a video game. SSF does a good job of that in a much simpler way, in my view. I like that I can completely control the sound of everything, from "off" (in my early morning game testing) to something that makes my real pins feel weak. 

 

Subwoofer: I'm sure I'm cancelling a lot of frequencies with three different subs firing inside my cab. One day I may enclose my backbox sub which fires down and outside the cab. My SSF subs are open air, but are there only to provide thump, not tuned audio response. And they do a good job on the thump. (And I don't have room for enclosures on those.)

 

Looks like you don't have a sub for SSF. I recommend one. Here's an early test I did to demo the difference by pushing my flipper button:  

Edited by Onevox, 09 November 2018 - 11:09 AM.

[knightrdrx]

I would certainly try sst before spending a ton on motors and stuff that may require more maintenance than the rest of the cabinet

Edited by knightrdrx, 09 November 2018 - 06:31 PM.