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Archive for the ‘Coin-OP’ Category

And now for something completly different….Bartop MAME

September 23rd, 2009

Okay, so on Sunday I decided that I wanted a bartop arcade machine. I’m spur of the moment like that, so I went to Home Depot and bought some wood, and Wal-Mart to buy some corner brackets that evening. Later that night I had the sides, top, and bottom made, and a basic shape formed. Here it is on Wednesday and I’ve got a working unit that I just came in from playing. Simply put….IT IS AWESOME!!!! I used a LCD monitor that I had laying around, and luckily it had the screw holes in the back for a VESA mount, so I just used some angle aluminum and made some brackets for it (I love that stuff), to mount the computer I used 2 pieces of flat aluminum stock for mounts that I tapped and threaded some motherboard spacers into. For a monitor bezel I used a piece of plexli that I cut the protective covering on it to the viewable area of the monitor, and then painted the rest black to give a nice border. (all this is on the back side so it can’t get scratched. The computer is a spare P4 with 512 MB DDR that I had laying around. The keyboard interface, buttons, and joystick I had from previous arcade machine work/building. The hinge I  used on the control panel was off an old slot machine that I parted out (I had several), but it was too wide and got in the way of 2 of the L brackets, so I had to cut it some. Anyway, I’m not done yet, close, but not yet. I will post again when I can!

Coin-OP, Computers, MAME, Things Trevor Wishes He Had

DIY (Homemade) Coin Changer

July 10th, 2009

With all my coin-op machines that only take quarters, what do you do if you only have paper money? As many arcades have change machines, I decided why can’t I have one? I used a solenoid out of an old copier that I parted out, a Picaxe 08M, relay, bill validator, and some old phone warning signs that were given to me. So far I have about $50 in the project, that includes some wood, lock, and hinges for the box.

I would like to give a special thanks to Russell Fergusion for his help in point me in the direction of the Picaxe controller. He does alot of robotics and such and I’m sure I will be working on another project with him.

Video: (the ding sounds are from Rocky playing the pinball machine)

Pics:

Coin-OP, Misc. Electronics

New Toy!!!!

July 2nd, 2009

Up for my entertainment pleasure is a 1970 Williams Strike Zone pinball machine. I went to McKinney yesterday to pick it up for $125, and got back around 11:30. Of course I played around with it a bit, it needs some work, but I knew that from the beginning. I’m looking forward to working on this project!

Coin-OP, Pinball