Vicious's Project M.A.D. - Modular Arcade Desk

Update: The project has evolved from a simple arcade setup build, and a simple hack to a full blown modular arcade setup.

So I now dub my project M.A.D - Modular Arcade Desk

Its a desk that has 2 modes, "Arcade Mode" where the keyboard is under the desk and you have access to two players of arcade controls, and "Computer Mode" where the keyboard is out and can be used as normal.

Under the keyboard now when in arcade mode is a switch with 4 settings each setting toggles the arcade controls to a different setup. Currently Setting 1 is for the PC, this can be used with anything on the PC, Example all PC games & emulators.

Setting 2 on the switch goes to the hacked Dreamcast controllers so that I can play any dreamcast games with the arcade controls. Next thing on the list is my 3rd and final adapter for now, a Gamecube/Wii adapter, that also double functions as a seperate modular system for PS1, PS2, Xbox, PS3, PC, all depending on what game console cable you connect to it.

Its time to play games at home and save those hard earned quarters and bring new life to games that otherwise would have been boring or lost there arcade feel.

Old Post Below:

I took this:


add 30 minutes, a screw driver, a soldering iron, some wires, a wire cutter/stripper, and some solder.





And it became this:




Today a trip to Radio Shack to get a project box, a DB25 connector and it will become this:




This is part of my now dubbed M.A.D. project. (Multiple Arcade Desk) I turned my computer desk into a full fledged arcade control panel. My friend came over and today was the first time I got to play with somebody on it other than my kids. He and I had a really great time it was so much fun pounding away in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Metal Slug 2, and some other games.

The reason its "multiple" is that it uses a modular system to allow multiple systems to be interfaced to the same controls. Currently my PC is hooked to it so I can use Mame and other emulators with it, but later today the first secondary system (the Dreamcast) will be added, from there I still have 2 more open spots on my switch box, and the first to be added next is my Wii to play Tatsunoko vs Capcom!

Pictures of the project thus far:
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It brings gaming to an entirely new level of enjoyment, and really sparked some of the kid in me again. Plus its much easier to let my kids use this with no worries than it is controllers that they could break or tug on the cords. These are full fledged Happ parts, the stuff in the real arcades, its nearly indestructible.

 

dude sweet set up! You definitely get the classic like Turtle in Times or the Simpsons arcade game, lol. It is a setup I would like to do someday...

 

Another great mod by the master. This is great. I wonder if a PS1 controller would do. I have always been a Metal Slug fan Congrats!

 

Yeah PSX pad works and its rather easy, plus it has many converters that will let it work for other systems (like dreamcast) so you can hack that one pad and use it for a few different systems.

 

simply awesome!

 

Sweet, desk setup with the arcade stick.

 

Amazing stuff there Vicious.

 

Do you happen to have a circuit schematic for this?

 

For what part? The controller areas I used for wiring or my entire control panel?

 

wow, that is the coolest thing ive ever seen, i want one lol, masterful work man very ingenutive

 

How much you selling it for vicious? Ill pay generously

 

Pictures of you playing Rampage on it, stat!

 

wow that is amazing!! nice job!

 

Anything that frees a Dreamcast controller from its cheap, poorly fitting plastic casing. Those things are horrid.

 

lol another thing too is dream cast the buttons are too small.

 

The controller areas.

 

That is VERY awesome.

Makes me rethink the purpose of the old controllers i have sitting around...

 

I used a dremel with a wire wheel to open the soldering areas, then hot glue after soldering to make sure nothing ever comes off.

 

Wow, that's pretty bada$$. I've been planning on rigging an entire arcade enclosure for my MAME setup for some time, but I will just cheese out and spend entirely too much on a prefab case with controllers. I still haven't used the dremel I bought 6 months ago, so why start now?

 

Lol I hear ya. See I would be afraid to get a pre-fab cabinet and then have isues finding the right monitor or stuff to run the monitor.

I did this ultra ultra budget minded. I spend about $50 for the 2 joysticks & buttons.

$35 for the encoder to use it for Mame

and about $15 at Radio Shack for wire and stuff.

It got expensive when I decided to make it modular, then I had to get cables, project boxes, a switch, terminal blocks, dreamcast controllers ect.

I did it almost entierly so that I could play Marvel vs Capcom 2 on my dreamcast with arcade controles. Figures the day after I ordered the stuff to do that I find out how to emulate it on my PC with no problems.

Still the modular thing will pay off I think, I am importing Tatsunoko vs Capcom for the wii and now I can hack some Wii controllers and play that game arcade style too, and the cost of adding an additional system is very little, just some controllers, one parallel port cable and a project box.

The question at hand now is to use gamecube controllers or wii classic controllers. As both will work and both have pros/cons.

 

Thanks man, it's quite appreciated.

 

Update, sat down and made more progress today.

I got the terminal strips I needed and actually finshed the controllers themselves. My plan was to do the entire converter box today but the project box I got is not big enough. I wanted the two controllers one ontop of another but I could not remove the VMU connection bracket on the 2nd controller like I had planned. Nothing short of cutting it off would have worked. I almost did cut it off but then I saw my original plan to have the VMU area stick out of the top of the box for P1 was not going to work well, it would be too close to where the cable comes out for the system and VMU slot 2 would be obstructed.

So I decided I will just have to use a big box, place the controllers side by side and have the VMU stick out the back of the box for both controllers. The Advantage is it will be less jammed in the box, easier to repair, and now both players can use a VMU.

Its a good thing I triple check all my work, when testing the connections with my multi metere I found one of the buttons on the first controller the connection got messed up. The hot glue was not seated and when bending the wire it came off and moved some grounding itself as I had nearly 0 resistance when testing it. I had to melt the glue with a blow dryer, remove the wire and re-solder it. I rushed and did not clamp down the controller so re-solding the new wire was not very neat or professional but I glued it down right away and it tests fine so I think its ok.

Both controllers came out pretty "pro" the green wire one is the 2nd pad and it came out much better. Now I just need to rewire the main control panel to my DB25 board, and put the I-PAC in a converter box and wire/solder up a DB25 for it. And do the same for the Dreamcast controllers and we are in business.

Soldering the DB25 connectors should be easy, cutting the project boxes should not be too hard with my Dremel.

I already decided Gamecube or PlayStation is next after these two are done.

Pics:

Pad 1 Done


Pad 2 Done


My Pin Out for both Pads


Both side by side, the cut VMU holders so they will mount flush in a project box, and the DB25 connectors that will be wired to them for interfacing

 

Update: Took the big leap of faith today and decided to rip apart my perfectly good working Mame control panel in order to implement the modular system. It was a bit harder than I expected in some ways and I did not really have the right tools for the job (as usual) but it came out ok, and to my great relief when I got done with it today it all tested out and worked perfectly on the first go (very lucky as fixing it would have been a major pain)

So first step was to remove the IPAC from my control panel, move the wires out of the way, and install the DB25 header, lucky its a small board almost the same size as the IPAC so it fit in place well, my wires also lucky were long enough to make the changes needed though two of them were pretty tight.

Here is the CP now updated with the DB25 header on it for interfacing


A closer up shot


With the IPAC off I now had to make the adapter box for it that would accept the DB25 input and hook to my switch.

This is one of the places I really did not have the tools for the job, I needed a file or maybe a router as well as a good solid work table. Instead I had a dremel with a cut off wheel, and the top ledge of a brick in the back yard to work with. I slowly and carfully cut away at the box until the DB25 header fit into place:

It somehow manged to fit better "upside down" but that does not matter.

The notch on the side for the USB output was harder since my cutoff wheel was 2x the size of the hole I needed and I had no real way of telling where it needed to be. So I trilled a hole close to where it needed to be, put the IPAC inside the box and eyed it. It came out very close but the hole work was crappy, I sort of want to flush the IPAC against the edge but I have no way to mount it to do that currently and the wires inside are holding in place very well.

Here is the inside of the box, you can see it has stuff sticking out here and there making it hard for me to put the IPAC where I want it, so center ended up being the best option so it would be level.



I took the DB25 header, cut and striped all the wires I would need and soldered them in.



This was very hard for me even though it should have been easy. I needed to find the right technique to heat the element without unsoldering another wire. All the wires were very close, and I had some solder fall between to contacts and it took forever to get it out so it would not short them out. My biggest breakthrough here was when I screwed the DB25 header to the project box to mount it in place. After I had done that working with it was 500x easier. Also I had very poor light so I could hardly see what I was doing.

A closeup of the finished header.



I let the hot glue dry some and finally the time came to put the box together, my god this was harder than it looks.

That wire is pretty stiff and it did not want to bend. The Player 1 side was not too bad as I just bent those wires over and put them into the PCB but when when I went to do P2 side I had a problem, the box was on top of the PCB so I could not screw the terminals down or see what I was doing (poor light again made it even worse) Plus tracing down what wire I was using was hard. Its an optical illusion you look at a wire and try to trace it back to the DB25 header and somewhere it makes a cross with another wire and you cant see it and end up with the wrong wire in hand. I tried to be patient and test each wire with my multimeter first but due to the nature of the DB25 header it was hard to get a connection on the female side so I would get false readings.

An hour at least past to do what I thought was going to be the easiest part but finally after some awkward bending, some praying, and some luck it came together.



Larger



Before I dared to close it up I took it into my room and pluged it in with it hanging out of the box to test it. I was so happy to see that every button worked and that they were all in the right order, so I just had to cram it all in the box and screw it shut.

Here is the core of the modular system, a 4 way DB25 switch and it will connect to other project boxes like this for each system.





That location is temporary for testing, today I am going to move it under the desk. It will be under the keyboard drawer where its easy to get too when the desk is in "arcade mode" but you wont get to it in computer mode. That black small box will be behind it or beside it. It will sit on my huge sub woofer that occupies the space under the desk.

Now the next step is to make the Dreamcast adapter, with the controllers done and this box done I think it should be an easy task. Thing is I decided since I can not find the right size project box for the Dreamcast controllers that I am going to make it myself out of plexi!! Its going to be a big box and I think its going to look really cool an probably sit on top of the desk. I cant wait to get that next part going.

My biggest 2 recommendations for the project box part today is.

1.) Use thin wire, that thick wire I had is too hard to bend to work with in a box like that. I think its 22 or 24 gauge. It worked great for the CP as it holds its shape and holds itself up without ties or mounts but for box work it sucked.

2.) Use a bigger box, A small box looks better and uses less room but a bigger box would have made life easier.

And I just made this and printed it at work, need to glue it onto the box when I get home.

 

Posting back to show what became of those hacked pads. It took all day. Much more work and tools needed than I thought but it came together somehow, and just like the IPAC project box adapter I was lucky enough that everything worked first go perfectly.

First was the fact I could not find a project box the size I needed for 2 pads and they were expensive for big ones so I though I could save $$$ to do it myself, after the tools... probably not but I have the tools for the next box (the Wii adapter) so that one should be cheaper.

I decided a material that was easier for me to work with and would be cooler than wood was plexiglass.

I asked what was the best way to cut the stuff on the cheap and I was told a scoring tool. It worked but I messed up some some of my lines drifted due to my clamps moving or because the cutter moved. So my box was not 100% even, and I put it together with hot glue so its hard work to get it perfect when assembling, though my metal square helped a lot.

After over an hour cutting and sanding down the pieces I got the main box together with no lid and gave the pads a test fit:



I know it looks bad, I have no idea how to get hot glue to be "neat"



Then I used 4 drill bits going from small to larger to make holes approximately where I would have the DB25 connector, the 2 controller cables, and the VMU slots, then I opened my router and used it for the first time! It was fun and wow what a great tool (that $25 laminate trimmer from harbor freight w/ the 3 bit set from them also) this "mini router" was perfect for a job like this as I had to hold the weight of the router up to not bend the plexi. It seemed to not want to move if I let it go slow it would melt the plexi and get stuck and also make a build up on the side so I have to move fast. I got distracted when the DB25 connector fell and moved the router and chipped it on one spot. But I tested the VMU, DB25 Connector, & controller cables and it all fit ok. The DB25 fit was a bit too loose to use the screw holes correctly though.

I bought sand paper & a file to make this part perfect but the router did a better job and I was to impatient to make it perfect.

Here is how it looks half way:


I used hinges & magnets made for cabinets. Worked to my advantage as the lid would have fallen inside the box but the magnets hold it up. I did not take into account that there IS a thickness to the plexi so when making a box you need to offset for that...



I forgot to take pictures of the part where I soldered the DB25 connector and the wires, it was easier this time after doing it for the IPAC, I learned having it mounted was important so I took an old dirty 2x4 from outside and screwed the DB25 header onto a board to work with it. I only had one wire out of the bunch that I had to resolder. Also my pin out makes it easy for me to just solder away.

So this is after I did all that, put the wires in the box, cut them closer to length and attached them.



For the red P1 wires on top I could eye them to see where I needed to connect it, but for the green I was blind so I had to play roulette with my multimeter while keeping track of what pin I was wiring to know what wire to attach where. My wire job did not come out as neat as I wanted but its far better than just a mess.



And here it is actually hooked up and in action.





I made the box big after having a very hard time with the small IPAC box, but then looks like I made this one too big. I am happy with the width & depth, but it was too high. If it had been just as tall as needed it could have set on my desk, but due to its size it has to sit beside the dreamcast ontop of my dresser.

But hell it works, and maybe I will use that space for something

Now all that is left is to photoshop the pinout and print a dreamcast logo to stick on there.

Then next project is the Wii adapters! Since they are smaller and its the 2nd time round I expect it to be easier.

 

This is sick!! Great work vicious!

 

I gotta make a video of it in action, I think that would do it more justice, but I have no cam corder. Though my Fuji F30 can take video.

Play arcade games on the PC, and a flick of a switch and use the same controls for the Dreamcast. Lots of games really feel good with the arcade controls. Soul Caliber, Ikaruga, Power Stone, Guilty Gear.

Next paycheck and I am going to order the parts to make my final adapter box, for the Wii/Gamecube, Its important to me for Tatsunoko vs Capcom.

 

Awesome man!

Just for the record, here's what I hacked together in a weekend with an X-arcade stick, and two monitors. Lower monitor is LCD which displays the key controls for the game being played. I designed a Web interface to launch the games, and to display appropriate graphic at the bottom.

It has a slide out drawer (as you can see gray underneath) with keyboard an mouse for quick access. It runs an a P3-533, 512MB RAM, Window 98SE of all things. LOL. Spare PC I had serves its purpose I suppose.



It's been a few years since I made it and it's currently disassembled due to having kids and that area being used as a play area. But I plan on a more comprehensive update down the road as Vicious is doing. I may have to steal his plans. LOL!

 

Thats pretty cool stuff, very creative with the dual monitors showing the controls. I imagine that would be very time consuming when you have hundreds of games though. Still I have no idea how to do something like that.

I have the kids taking up all the space too, thats why a full blown cabinet was not possible (plus I do not really have the tools or budget for that) but I do plan to make the real deal later in life. With a small twist though. No authentic 15hz CRT, and instead of a big 37" LCD like I use now, in order to make it take up less space and be portable its going to be on wheels and use a projector as the monitor

The idea is to have a "Arcade Box" that has the PC, Game Systems, and the Projector. It will just be a box on wheels. Then a stand alone control panel that the legs fold up on that will connect to the arcade box via the DB25 connections. I can easily intergrate all this work into that project later.

The major benifit is that my arcade box is portable so I can take it to a friends house or a party, or just put it out of the way when not in use. The other benifit is that it will be easy to build and cheap on materials. I feel the projector will offer the semi blurred graphics of a CRT for that more traditional arcade feel but yet also give me a huge screen when wanted to give a super awesome arcade experience for new age games.

Its going to be a really cool product when I get around to it I am sure. Intergrated subwoofer too

mameroom.com sells premade stands for the x-arcade sticks. This is the model for the new dual tank stick


That was the motivation to make a stand alone control panel, but I want to modify the design to make the legs fold up for storage or moving. The projector idea was all me, I really like how nice a HD projector is and would use one as my monitor if I could My computer setup one day will be triple 20"s on a TH2GO and a HD projector above it for the single screen stuff.

For the arcade I think just a SD projector will work well though.

 

Yeah, a little time consuming, but made controls for a dozen or so most played games. Initially I just had a graphic. My longer term was to have the graphic created, with an ini file for each game indicating text for each button and axis.

I'll probably restart all this in another year or so when my little boys aren't so dependent on me 100% (they're only 15 mos and 3 mos right now).

 

Mine are 2, 3, 4 & 5 trust me it doesn't get better

When they are small the playpen can hold them, when they get older they come to you and so there is no escape

You know how hard it is to comfortably solder when you have batman, spiderman, and the hulk running circles around you??? Thats what I had to do the other day.

 

Great, my oldest already likes to be thrown around on the bed and wrestle. I guess I just need to start now and whenever it gets done it gets done. Probably better that I take my sweet time anyhow. It'll be a much better in the long run, than my normal hack in a weekend projects that I normally do.

I'm hoping if I start now, by the time I have it perfected my guys will be old enough to enjoy it! My plan is to make it semi-portable too. I'm hoping to use a notebook or netbook to drive it. Maybe I should get familiar with I-PAC now, and then build off that.

Anyhow, good work. Looks great!

 

How much does it actually cost to buy an arcade machine from like sega,capcom, etc?

 

Several Grand at least.

 

WOW dude that is pretty awesome, props on that. Thats extremely sick, love it love it love it

 

Im just like you, I do things quick & dirty. I do not know how these guys have projects that span months or even years at a time.

The I-PAC is really good if you want PC only, I like how easy it is to use and the software for it is great, so you can remap your keys on the fly (or even use batch files in Mame to reprogram them per game or game type) the shift key function is a life saver to save yourself the need for admin buttons.

If you want more than just PC out of one device though, there are some better alternatives I think.

 

WOW, very impressive piece of work, nice job Vicious.

 

extremely nice +1

 

The project is completed!

I just finished the 3rd and final adapter today. To much luck it all worked perfectly first try when I plugged it in. This last adapter was may more complicated than the rest. Its a modular adapter inside of a modular setup.

The db25 comes in and goes to a multi-console encoder and RJ45 goes out. So for now I just want to use my Wii so I hacked two gamecube cables to RJ45 and pluged them in. Played some Tatsunoco vs Capcom today and it was great! (like 10x more fun on the arcade controls than with a classic controller)

However those encoders also do PS2, PS3, Xbox, and PC. All I have to do is hack the console cable I want to a RJ45 connector and plug it in, the encoder auto recognizes the system its plugged into.

So my arcade control panel can now be used on pretty much every system and its all at the flip of a switch.









I'll get more pictures & details up at a later time but I am on my EEE right now so no editing software and no mouse so dont want to do too much image work.

I'll have to take a video of it in action sometime soon but all i have is my point & shoot camera to record with.

 

This makes me miss my arcade so badly. I built my arcade around a coctail kit that sells for about 250.00 usd here

http://www.arcadedepot.com/HTML/kits.html

I had working coin door, original pacman underlay. switching 4/8 way sticks from top of the panel. invested alot into it. now it sits in storage since i moved out of my apartment. even to just tinker with it again would be fun.

if anyone looking into arcades but not the best at woodworking check my link. there is still ALOT that has to be done so dont feel like your cheating.

 

I can't see the picture, but this sounds ridiculously awesome.

 

Yeah this is one of those a picture is worth a million words things. Lots of soldering work and stuff here and I purposely used plexi because its clear to show off all the neat insides of my adapters. I have not done much cable management yet but I may leave it as it is.

 

Cable management, stable phanagement. If something catches on fire, or you pull the entire thing down with your foot, it just builds character.

 

Luckily no high voltage here

Only fire I will be seeing is in my victims eyes when I kill them for the 50th time in a row with my ryu/karas combo in Tatsunoko vs Capcom.