Iraq Ain't So Bad!

Look what we have in Iraq!

I suck!

Well this is entirely embarassing but I messed up my cuts pretty badly when I made the beveled angles. I loaned a co-worker my table saw and tried to do it the wrong way. Since I was short of boards and I had ended up using the templates, I pretty much gave up!

I went online and eMail Scott over at MAMERooms.com and asked if there was a way that he could special-order a cut of the wood with the laminate and ship it to me. Not only did he say yes but he mentioned that they had just finished up the prototype to do just that! I may well have been his first customer!

Well I ordered it and he was very generous and gave me a discount on what I spent on the template (I didn't even think to ask for that).

It arrived yesterday so here is what I am going to do. I am going to finish putting it together and write up a review on how it was put together and everything involved and post it here.

Project can FINALLY BEGIN!

Well I finally got my garage all cleaned up! Now I can mess it up all over again with this project! I am taking all of next week off of work and will spend most of my time getting everything up and going on the VMJ.

I am still uncertain as to the best way to cut the wood. I bought the template but can't decide if I want to use it as a guide or take it apart and use it to trace onto the wood. I may want to use it again in the future so I think I will just use it as a guide and sight-cut everything with the usual tools.

I have been sidetracked by other projects (Putting in an attic floor) and as a result my garage as been completely messed up! As soon as I clean it up, I will be able to start this project. I finally have everything I need.

Template

I eMailed Scott over at MameRoom and apparently my template order was lost in the system so it should be arriving anytime now. I can't wait to get started.

Pahinko Balls

I finally got all of my Pachinko balls. I am really enjoying the Woody Woodpecker Pachinko and now that I have the volume controls on it, it is a lot easier to play. Of course without being able to understand Japanese, I can only guess as to what I am doing but either way, it is a lot of fun!

Wood

Got my wood and am now just waiting for the templates so I can cut it all good & proper!

Parts Received

I went to Home Depot today and got most of the stuf fI needed. I was going to order a laminate sheet but it was too expensive so I decided against it. It would have cost around $140.00 to order one sheet and have it delivered (I don't have a truck). So I have decided to paint it black using spray pain and I don't know if I will still apply the T-Molding... it might not work without the laminate. I will test it out on some scrap to get a feel for it. An alternative would be a nice flat black veneer if I can find one.

News and Information

Lots of new stuff going on. I got my Pachinko and I love it! I had to immediately order some volume controllers because that thing is too loud! I also got my order from HAPP and will go get the lumber I need tomorrow if I have the time.

Pachinko Foul-Up!

Well I ordered 1200 Pachinko balls via eBay and when the box arrived, it only had 5 balls in it! I guess they all fell out of a small hole on the side or something! The seller said they would resend the order out but of course it will be a good week or two before they arrive :(

Virtual Music Jukebox

For anyone interested, the software used to manage your audio files on your video jukebox can be found here.

Costs List

Scott Glazer of MameRoom has given me permission to post my costs list. When I finally purchase everything, I will put it up!

Plans and Templates

I am still awaiting my templates but I went ahead and printed out the very detailed instructions I purchased from MAMERoom. It is a pretty huge document and is very easy to read/follow.

I contacted their sales department to find out if they would mind my posting a costs list and will post it if they approve.

My GameEx Theme

Night was kind enough to post my theme on his website. Here is a picture of the main page. I have plans to redo some of the other pages (Media and Emulators) but I am probably going to start a new one to be used solely for my media PC that is used with my television.

Absolutely the BEST MAME FrontEnd

Just want to say a bit about GameEx. GameEx is by far the very best MAME FrontEnd available on the web! Tom Spiers has really put together something that is tailored to the customer. Through his website and attached forum, he takes requests and updates the software to include just about anything you might like with it. Additionally, a user known as 'Headkaze' has authored some accompanying software to allow each user to create their own themes to further customize the FrontEnd.

I have a MAMERoom Ultimate Arcade II cabinet that I put together and customized and I was able to tailor a very specific FrontEnd using GameEx for it.

I also have a media PC attached to my 42" Plasma HDTV and I have tailored a complete media platform for that as well. Here are some of the features that you get with GameEx (It is free BTW with a nag screen that goes away with a small donation):

GameEx is a graphical DirectX based front-end for MAME, Zinc, Daphne, PC Games, and all command line based game emulators, along with being a complete Home Theatre PC solution. The original goal was for it to be used on Windows Media Center as a plug in for playing games and for Arcade Cabinets although will run on Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, and Vista. If you have Media Center and don't need a games plug-in, GameEx still adds additional features including Internet Radio, News Reader, DVD's on disk, and Karaoke.

Additional themes can be downloaded by an affiliate user (Night) at this site

Software Purchase

Went ahead and ordered the necessary software:

Virtual Music Jukebox is known as the industry standard when it comes to a true Jukebox Experience. VMJ is designed as the ultimate MP3 Jukebox Software that gives the true look and feel of a modern, bar style jukebox right on your desktop. VMJ even offers many of the same options that you'll find in the popular digital jukeboxes at your local bar or pub.

New Pachinko Machine

I have ordered through eBay a new Pachinko machine! I am going to surprise my daughter with the Woody Woodpecker Pachinko pictured above.

I found a page online that describes it in detail. As I install it and get it up and running in my home, I will post about how we enjoy it in our home.

Purchases

Here are the speakers I got for the sound system. They are standard 4" Shielded speakers. I also got 2 grills to accompany them. I just need to rip the amplifyer out of some PC speakers to make them jive with the system.

Purchases

I ordered a number of different illuminated pushbuttons from HAPP. In respect to MAMERoom.com, I won't post the part numbers or amounts needed (You will have to buy the plans yourself for that!) but I will tell you that HAPP is one of the best places to buy anything necessary to build any type of arcade component machine. I think with the illuminated buttons, this will look very nice!

Purchases

Today I went ahead and ordered some stuff online. I ordered the virtual music jukebox marquee through MameMarquees LLC at a very reasonable cost (I will total the cost sheet when the project items have all been purchased).

I also went to HAPP Controls and ordered all of the pushbuttons I will need. I already have a spare IPAC so I don't need that. Now all I really need is the hardware and I am off to Lowes tomorrow to get what I need.

Unfortunately I will have to have the MDF and Laminate sheets delivered at the cost of $59.00 which is their current local delivery rate. Otherwise, I should be able to take everything home with me tomorrow and start preparing my work area to get this thing going.