Looking for Cabinet and HS Help in London, UK

[scotrob69]

Hi,

Apologies in advance for the long message, I checked with BBB and he said it should be ok to post this in this forum.

I have followed Hyperspin's progress for a year or so now and was first inspired to get my own cabinet upon seeing the preview videos around the time HS was released.

Having been so inspired I ordered a cabinet kit from a UK outfit RedRocketRetro who kindly provided a flat pack cabinet kit and a box of electric goodies that I had selected. (RedRocketRetro have since ceased to exist I believe however I was very pleased with the cabinet at the time)

The cabinet is based on a Mortal Kombat II shape however it is a bit shallower as I was to use a 22" lcd as opposed to a more traditional CRT monitor.

I eagerly built the cabinet and fitted all of my new components into the control panel and had a working cabinet which I hugely enjoyed. However it never quite got finished, my install of Hyperspin was never 100% and when I moved a few months later the control panel was put away and the cabinet never quite got finished.

Fast forward another 6 months and due to my work schedule I have never really got the cabinet finished and it remains as a monumet to my lack of finishing and technical skills sitting in the corner of our living room.

I am really keen to have a very polished and working cabinet that "just works" and is a piece of pride rather than a reminder of my limited skills in applying vinyl and crimping wires and was wondering if there was anyone on the forums who was a dedictated hobbyist who would be interested in taking the cabinet for a few weeks and finishing the job for a fee.

Current Status

Cabinet built and solidily standing with control panel wired together (although this may need redone). Cabinet is primed and cut for T Molding (which I have) however the cabinet needs to be properly finished to a high standard and the monitor mount may need straightened. I also need someone to source or build a nice looking bezel and obtain a piece of toughened glass that can be fitted over this (there is a slot cut for a plexiglass piece however this needs to be widened to accept glass.

Electrics are all present and mainly working however I would need help in finishing these to a good standard. There are speakers, a working coin door and a marquee light all fitted but could do with polish. I would also like to rig the system to load up and work on pressing an on button and to power down in the same manner.

Control panel is wired with light up buttons however the trackball has never quite been fitted correctly and it would be good to get this all redone properly.

I have cleaned up the computer that I have available to install this on (specs are plenty fine to run anything and has a clean XP install) however it would require someone to completely reinstall hyperspin, get this working with a selection of emulators and have it work seemlessly with windows hidden.

In my enthusiasm for the job I also bought a couple of light guns and these are great and if someone was able to fit these and have them working also that would be wonderful - however I understand that these a re a bit of a pain so no worries if not possible.

If anyone gets back to me and is interested then I can post pictures and full descriptions of the parts and current state and what the job spec would be to assist someone in coming up with a quote.

If someone was just a cabinet expert than happy to have someone just fix the machine correctly as I am sure if needed I could get the software working myself.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help. I have really enjoyed keeping track of the site and software over the last years or so.

Many thanks

Rob :banghead:

[scotrob69]

Update 24.11.09

Ok, so the reason I first abandoned my cabinet build was that I could not work out a way to have the computer inside turn on from outside the cabinet.

I am using an oldish dell computer and upon reading some of the material on the web I opened up the PC to try to rig an external power button. I thought that this combined with a smart strip would do the trick nicely.

When I opened up the PC, Dell had helpfully combined the power button with a few USB ports and audio ports into one I/O board which was implanted into the front of the computer. I tried to pull this out to mount the power button externally but was left with an old Dell PC with a mangled front panel and a serial cable and I/O board hanging out of the front and was no closer to my aim.

I recently had a more tech savy friend round and asked his opinion as to what to do - he took about 3 minutes to tell me that I just needed to solder a couple of wires to the relevant points on this board and to connect these to an external button.

A few minutes with a soldering iron and a couple of cups of tea later and I had an arcade button wired to this board that when pressed triggered the on / off button on the PC.

I obviously spent the next 6 hours turning off and on my pc using my big red button...

This button is now going to be mounted externally on the cabinet. In the cabinet the PC is connected to a smart strip which then powers on the speakers and monitors etc.

Given this "minor" success I am now determined to succeed in finishing off th beast and getting back to being really awful at Ghouls n Ghosts, Garou, Golden Axe etc.

As such, and to prompt me to actually keep up with progress I attach a couple of photos of the cabinet as it is and will post an update as I actually get a few more bits working.

If anyone else has a Dell PC and is equally frustrated by trying to wire a pwoer button externally then please let me know and I can post a few pictures of my franken-soldering and big red button.

[sosfx]

Where in London are u?

[scotrob69]

NW6, yourself?

[sosfx]

E16

[sosfx]

I Would be willing to help out but i have not got the room to take the thing away but if there is anything else ;)

[scotrob69]

Cool - you dont happen to know anyone with crazy cabinet building skills around London that could turn my pumpkin into a princess? Whilst I have managed to get my power button working I still reckon it will take me another 6 months to have it in good shape.

[scotrob69]

Sorry didnt see your quick reply - thanks for the kind offer and ill be sure to drop you an email with any specific queries about cabinet building this side of the ocean.

I think the key points that I'd like someone to help with is in making a smoked glass screen (and routing a place for it to sit, a nice custom monitor bezel out of mdf or foam and in painting and decorating the outside of the cabinet - unfortunately all things which really require some sort of studio or space to do this.

I am still hopeful that there is a custom cabinet builder or enthusiast around london that has a shed full of woodworking toys and would like a bit of work ahead of xmas.

What kind of cab do you have?

[sosfx]

Hi Scotrob69
sorry had to go out yesterday and work :( then was a wembely to see Micheal McIntire
I have a Sega Naomi cab so i didnt build mine but I did all the software and setup and would be willing to help with any issues or questions that you may have.
As for the building I havent done that as yet so I dont think I will be much use to you there, anyways heres my email sosfx@hotmail.com
drop me a line and we can chat

[scotrob69]

Update 02.12.09

Further prompted by my success with my big red button we have some further movement:

- Took everything out of the arcade and sanded the mdf;
- applied 4 coats of sadolin black paint, sanding in between rounds (In case this assists anyone else I can confirm that it is best to wait till it is not raining before trying this);
- Fixed coin door to cabinet;
- ordered a 3mm piece of custom cut grey acrylic for the screen from Holloway Plastics - I had previously been using a piece of cut yourself plastic from a local DIY store and the difference in quality is outstanding.
- created a bezel from a piece of black mount board with 3 pieces of black foam board attached with spray mount and cut a hole for the monitor.

Next -

- rewiring
- mounting my big red button
- software set-up
- thinking about ordering some artwork
- etc

Sosfx - thanks for the encouragement, How was Mr McIntire - heard the concert was fantastic!