ArcadeCab

2/27/05

Ronni's Cabinet
Today I received a few pictures of another completed cabinet.  Ronni, a visitor from Denmark, recently finished his project and wished to share it with all of you.  He made several modifications to the basic plans that I thought were definitely worth passing along.  He used smoked glass for the monitor bezel as well as making the monitor/glass a steeper angle than the sides, giving a very nice look.  The blue T-molding sets off the cabinet, too, in my opinion.  All around, excellent work! 

Give it a look  on the Visitor's page  

2/24/05

Hard drives
Having recently added another hard drive into my network, I am constantly amazed at how quickly the capacities increase while the price continues to plummet downward.  I had it in my thirty-something head that ten years ago the price per meg of storage was about a dollar (350meg=$350).  Not entirely trusting in myself, I googled and found an interesting little site that lists the prices the drives have sold for over time.  There is some fascinating information in addition to the charts.  Give it a look here.  Oh, by the way, I did have it right in my mind.

2/19/05

Single-player control panel problem fixed in the Store
The Paypal description was coming up with some of the Ultra-trackball information.  This was, understandably, confusing to customers.  My apologies and it should be fine now.

2/17/05

New addition to the ArcadeCab product line
ArcadeCab is proud to announce another product in our Store: Single player control panels; laminated, drilled out, and ready for you to install your own controls.  I have had an increasing number of requests for custom panels in the recent month and decided to make available these boxes in a variety of standard layouts.  These panels are sized the same as the Ultra-trackballs and will handle rough play.  Give them a look in the Store.  

The Single-player control panel box features:

• 3/4" MDF construction of the top and sides
• Black Wilsonart laminate on top and sides
• Holes drilled to receive a Happ Competition, Ultimate, or Super joystick; underside routered out 1/4" to add more height to the stick
• Predrilled button holes (per your template selection); includes 6-8 player buttons, hole for coin, and hole for player start
• Predrilled cable routing hole out the back
• Hardboard bottom pre-drilled and fastened with 4 screws
• Slotted for T-molding; T-molding included but not installed (installation $2.50 extra)
• 4 rubber feet installed

2/13/05

New product from OscarControls
Oscar has released a new product this past week, the V2 Spinner.  This is a new version of his hugely popular Vortex spinner, but with a smaller footprint and some great options.  There is an add-on kit to allow this to be used as a push-button spinner, for games like Ikari, Frontline and Tron.  Full push/pull functionality will also be available soon.  This spinner is going to be a great alternative for those with space limitations on their controller. 
From the feature listing on his page:

"The V2 frame is extremely durable and rigid due to its all steel box construction. The hi-resolution encoder wheel makes the V2 very responsive, little to no adjustments to the MAME settings are required for perfect gameplay.
Frame – The V2 frame can be completely disassembled by removing four screws. This allows for better access to the spinner for installation of an “upgrade kit”. The entire frame is finished in a gloss black cathodic acrylic electrocoat for life-long protection.
Flywheel – The V2 flywheel is machined from solid aluminum. The 2” diameter flywheel is taller than the Vortex’s, but the mass is identical. This gives the spinner the same “weight” as the Vortex in a smaller package.
Shaft – The hardened shaft on the V2 is fully adjustable for wood or metal control panels. To change the mounting depth of the spinner, simply loosen the two screws on the flywheel, adjust the shaft, and tighten the screws.
Bearings – The removable upper bearing on the V2 is the same as used on the Vortex, while the lower bearing is press-fit directly into the frame.
Optic Board – The V2 ships with the Oscar Controls Universal Optic Board. This optic board is compatible with the Ultimarc Opti-PAC and MiniPAC, Hagstrom ME4, and the optional USB mouse interface (see order page)."

2/8/05

New product announcement: GP-Wiz
GroovyGameGear, the company that sells the KeyWiz controller for control panels, and the popular Omni-stick (which we recently added as a controller option) has announced another option in.  Randy T has announced on the BYOAC forums that the GP-Wiz USB controls interface will be available for ordering in the next few days.  According to his announcement, the features are:

-  "Super-Fast USB Gamepad functionality.  Reports the status of ALL 32 inputs 100 times a second!!!   Much faster than USB Keyboard technology.
-  No limitation on the number of simultaneous button presses and each input has equal priority.
-  Unique USB serial numbers for multiple unit installations on the same computer.
-  Plug and Play HID device.  Tested with 98SE, Win2K/XP.  Will most likely work with other systems that comply with the the HID specification..
-  Completely bus powered.
-  Common GROUND wiring method.  Only one input wire and a shared ground line to each switch.
-  Small footprint.   Fits anywhere.
-  Includes 6' USB A to B cable
-  No-Solder version as shown, only $22.95
-  Eco version available for $19.95  (requires soldering of input wires)"

2/6/05

New cabinet added!
Chris, a long time friend of the site, has put the finishing touch on his cabinet and finally calls it complete.  He has been waiting to finish his marquee before calling it done and it was worth the wait.  His marquee is very unique, in my opinion, as it shows a very subtle Mame when unlit, but when it is lit up, Mame shows very distinctly.  Very cool!

The cabinet sports ultrastyle as the frontend, which is only right as Chris is the creator of ultrastyle.  Ultrastyle has been mentioned several times previously in the News.  If you haven't checked it out before now, do so sometime soon.

2/3/05

New cabinet added!
Another excellent completed cabinet has been added to the Visitor's page.  Jason Yourell and his buddy James Burke have just completed their first cabinet.  Jason, who has communicated with me for the last few months, is a Graphic Designer who added his personal touch to the cabinet.  I think the flames on the sides add a great touch.  Now that Jason's cabinet is complete, the two are ready to begin on James' cabinet.  Can't wait to see that one. 

Go check out Jason's cabinet on the Visitor's page.

1/29/05

ArcadeCab's One year Anniversary
It has been a year since the move from the old Tripod site. ArcadeCab.com has afforded me the opportunity to share my projects, interests, and hopefully some know-how with all of you.  Traffic has grown steadily since last February which is gratifying. It thrills me when a visitor takes the time to email about their project that have either begun or completed using my plans.   I plan to add more content this coming year and to actually finish some incomplete projects. 

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you visit again soon.