Space Invaders Arcade Repair Video

Watch the Space Invaders arcade repair video for more info!

Space Invaders Arcade Repair: I bought a broken one!

As you can see the cabinet is a little dusty, but otherwise in almost perfect shape!

However, the electronics and wiring (as you can see) are a giant mess! Someone has added all of these jumper wires bypassing the card edge connector completely. So bizarre!

The other problem is that it’s simply showing these bars on the screen rather than loading the game. I initially thought this was the wiring, but as you’ll see shortly there’ more to this issue.

Tools I Used to Repair this Arcade

For all those who wonder which tools I use and where to get them, here’s a handy list to go along with this video and article:

• Wire Cutters
• Fluke 117 Digital Meter
• Weller Soldering Station
• Hakko De-Soldering Gun
• Quad Hands Helping Hands
• 22 AWG Bodge Wire
• EPROM Programmer
• IC Puller

Space Invaders Arcade Repair

So it’s time to get this thing disassembled and figure out what is wrong with it. Since I don’t know what’s wrong or even why these wires are here, I decided to label them so I would have a back out plan (should I need one). Anytime I am working on something new I always try to make it as easy as possible to backup a step.

After labelling all of the jumper wires, I cut them in half. This allowed me to finally remove the board from the arcade and put it on my electronics workbench.

RELATED: Building an Electronics Workbench

Diagnosing the Space Invaders Board

With the board on my test bench, I can now begin the Space Invaders arcade repair by diagnosing the board and trying to figure out why all of these jumper wires were put in place.

I started by using my multimeter and testing all of the card edges. Although they are very worn, they seemed to all have continuity to the main board and daughterboard (or so I thought, read on).

I couldn’t figure out why all of these jumpers were on there in the first place. This Space Invaders arcade repair was a little confusing! Why had they done this?

Well, I decided to take a closer look at the card edge connector on the cabinet’s wiring harness. I almost immediately realized what was going on. It seems that whoever replaced the original card edge connector didn’t realize that space invaders need a bridged connector. Meaning that both sides of the card edge need to be bonded! So they added these jumpers because there was no signal getting to the board! Insanity!

You can see on this diagram and on our Space Invaders pinout post how the wiring is supposed to work on a the cabinet’s card edge. As you can see pin A on the solder side and pin 1 on the parts side are supposed to both be +5V. If you just apply +5V on one side of the card edge, then parts of the board may never get the +5V signal it needs to work.

Removing the Jumper Wires

So with that discovery I felt pretty comfortable removing the jumper wires from the board and wiring harness. We can just add the missing bridges.

Using my soldering iron and Hakko de-soldering gun I removed all the jumper wires from the board. I then used a swab and some alcohol to remove the flux residue.

On the wiring harness, I removed all of the jumpers, soldered the wires back together and applied heat shrink tubing.

Finally, I bridged the connector pins to transfer the signal to both sides of the board.

Repairing the -5V Line (Broken Trace)

Of course, I didn’t expect this part of the Space Invaders arcade repair to fix the game, and I didn’t. Nothing changed with the operation, but at least we can get the board in and out now!

The next thing I did was start checking that we have the proper ground, +5V, -5V, and +12V everywhere on the board we expect it to be. Missing power is a common occurrence on these old boards, and indeed I found that the -5V line seemed to be missing at the processor!

After a little poking around with the multimeter I figured out that the card edge had a broken trace that I had missed!

In order to fix this broken trace I added a bodge wire to the board.

This fixed that problem and returned -5V to the processor. However, the board still behaved exactly the same.

Space Invaders Arcade Repair – Removing the RAM Chips

The next thing I started looking at was the RAM chips. Three of the chips seemed to be misbehaving when testing with my logic probe. The I/O lines seemed to either be stuck or have static on them.

I’ve been told that due to the poor design of these boards that eventually all of the RAM chips will go bad. With that in mind I decided to simply de-solder every RAM chip and put in sockets.

Adding Sockets for the RAM

I really think any good Space Invaders arcade repair should include socketing the RAM. This is just going to make all future maintenance and repairs easier.

After soldering in new sockets, I tested all of the old RAM and found two of the chips were indeed bad. So I added two replacements that I got from an eBay auction.

Replacing the Bad 75153 Shifter

After replacing the RAM, our issue was unchanged. Or so I thought. The game would still show the bars, with the game ROMs installed. But I found when I installed the Space Invaders Test ROM it now worked!

In fact, not only did it work, it immediately identified that one of the 75153 mux’s on the daughterboard was not functioning correctly.

So I grabbed another 75153 from my parts bin and replaced both of the first two on the daughterboard (since I was not sure which one had failed).

After running the Test ROM again, I get the message shifters OK and all other tests had passed! Could this be it? Will my board work now?

Unfortunately…. No.

Replacing Failed Space Invaders ROM

I noticed on the Test ROM’s main screen that it was showing a CRC of 3F55D17E for ROMs E, F, and G. This is bizarre, since that’s the CRC of a blank ROM and as you can see in the picture, they are clearly installed and I know they are not blank!

This let me to get out the logic probe again and start testing all of the pins on the ROM chips. I noticed pretty quickly that the chip enable (CE) line on ROM E seemed to be stuck. This means it was hanging the CE line for the other chips.

I grabbed my EPROM programmer and burned a new copy of ROM E and placed it in the slot.

Working Space Invaders

And it would seem my Space Invaders arcade repair journey has come to an end in success! SPACE INVADERS WORKS!

So to recap we had to fix or replace the following items to get Space Invaders working again:

• Repair the jumper wires and properly wire the harness
• Repair the broken -5V line trace on the motherboard
• Replace the failed 75153 mux IC
• Replace the failed ROM E with a stuck CE line

I’m a huge fan of making future repairs easier. So in addition to socketing every chip I replaced, I also try to label things so future troubleshooting is easier. In this case I labeled the ROMs with their position and correct CRC.

Space Invaders Arcade Repair: Playing Space Invaders!

Of course, we can’t leave it there! We have to put this board back in the cabinet and play some Space Invaders. No Space Invaders arcade repair would ever be complete without playing a few games to test it out!

And damn is she a beauty! Look at those little Space Invaders moving around the screen shooting their little weapons at me! But they’re no match for me! Just kidding, they kicked my butt good.

Well thanks for following along with this Space Invaders arcade repair. It was a blast! Nothing gives me goosebumps like taking something so cool that obviously neglected and sad and turning it back into a diamond. What an amazing game and wonderful piece of history all back and working!

The post Space Invaders Arcade Repair appeared first on The Geek Pub.

PETSCII is the name of the character set used on the Commodore PET computers of the late 1970s. This is a play on the term ASCII which is used on most modern computer. PETSCII Robots was originally designed for and released on the Commodore PET. Of course PETSCII is used as a play on the word “pesky”. Meaning Attack of the Pesky Robots, using PETSCII characters!

Attack of the PETSCII Robots may shortly become (if it hasn’t already) the game with the most ports to the most number of platforms! It’s available on Commodore, Atari, Apple, Nintendo, Sega, and many other platforms, including numerous architectures within those brands!

The 8-Bit Guy’s “Part One” PETSCII Video

A couple of months ago, David approached me about making a PETSCII Robots arcade. Of course I immediately knew this was something we had to do! You should watch David’s video on the build before finishing this article and video. It’s a Mega Update video, but he spends some time talking about the arcade version at the beginning of it.

The Geek Pub’s “Part Two” PETSCII Video

And here’s our video on the completion of the arcade and getting it up and running at The Electric Starship Arcade.

Designing the PETSCII Robots Arcade Cabinet

I got to work immediately and designed the cabinet in SketchUp! David gave me a list of cabinets that he liked and the one he liked the most was the one used by the the game 1943: The Battle of Midway. 1943’s cabinet however, is just a standard Dynamo HS-1 cabinet.

But! We wanted to change a few things. Mainly we chopped of the top so it would be about 5 inches (13 cm) lower. This allows it to roll under any standard doorway. The second thing we needed to change was the control panel. The Dynamo has a pretty cool looking control panel with a bunch of neat angles, but unfortunately that style turned out not to be compatible with the control layout we needed for PETSCII Robots.

We went through a few iterations, changing up and softening some of the angles and dimensions. We finally landed on this design (although we significantly changed the artwork and color scheme during production).

This design looks really awesome and I think we were all pretty happy with the final version.

Building the PETSCII Robots Arcade Cabinet

Building any arcade cabinet is a weeks long project. At least for the first time I’ve built this specific design. I can usually spit out repeats pretty quickly. But let’s go through my process for a first time build.

Printing an Arcade Cabinet Template

I have an HP Latex 115 large format printer and cutter combo unit for our business. This is the printer we use to print our very popular Arcade Button Labels, our Arcade Templates, and our Arcade Skins. It prints on paper, vinyl, plastic and banner materials, while the cutter is able to do die cutting (“perf cuts”) and cut through operations.

Having this printer has made it possible to really up our arcade game. Pun intended! It allows us to make better arcades and plans, and allows us to make better products for our customers.

With the template printed, I can then place it on a sheet of MDF. I like to use 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.

Cutting out the Side Panels

My tool of choice when cutting side panels for arcade cabinets is the Jigsaw. A lot people complain about not getting straight lines when using a Jigsaw. If that’s you check out our article on why your Jigsaw isn’t cutting straight! The main thing I have found besides having a good saw in the first place (with a blade guide bearing), is to resist the temptation to go faster. Keep the saw on medium speed and just go slow. This will allow you to keep the blade aligned to the material.

After a few minutes, the first panel is ready to go!

After making the first side panel, I needed to make a copy. A lot of times, I will just lay two sheets of MDF down and cut them together. Unfortunately on this PETSCII Robots build, I didn’t have a jigsaw blade that was 1.5 inches long (38mm).

I could of course, print another template, and do this all over again. Instead, I decided to use the first side panel as a template and then cut the second panel using my router and flush trim bit. This is a super fast and easy way to make a copy of something. The bearing of the flush cut bit rides on the original side panel while the blade cuts out a copy on the fresh MDF.

Adding the Top and Bottom Panels

From here, I moved on to cutting and placing the top and bottom panels onto the PETSCII Robots arcade cabinet.

To cut the panels I always default to the table saw. But let’s be clear, you don’t need one to build this or any other arcade cabinet. All you need is the same jigsaw you used to cut the side panels. In a pinch you can even clamp on a scrap piece of wood as a guide to keep your cuts straight. Never let tools stop you from making something! Remember, it was only 100 years ago that people built some of the finest furniture known to man with only a hammer, a pocket knife, and a chisel.

Another tool I like to use is the brad nailer. Again, totally optional. But if you have one you can move along with your build faster. Brad nails act like little clamps and hold the sections together while the glue dries. They really don’t add much additional structural integrity to the build, if any. Without a brad nailer just wait an hour or two after gluing before moving on to your next step.

Grab Handles for Moving the PETSCII Robots Cabinet

This arcade isn’t a home build and will be used in commercial environments. Due to this I put some extra features on the cabinet that I wouldn’t normally put on builds for someone’s home.

Arcades move games around regularly. This is part of keeping the arcade feeling fresh and new. Games will move onto the floor and off the floor during different seasons. Additionally, PETSCII Robots may find itself moving around the country frequently visiting new arcades and venues.

For this reason, I decided to add grab handles to the back-top of the cabinet. This will be a place that someone can grab the cabinet and tilt it backwards onto the rollers (more on those in a bit).

I used a large Forstner bit to drill four holes in the top of the grab handle panel. I then connected the holes using my jigsaw. I then sanded the holes to remove any marks from the jigsaw and rounded over the edges to make the handles easier on your fingers.

Once it was complete I added it to the back-top of the cabinet. I didn’t take pictures or video, but I did box these in later to make sure little kids (or adult jerks) wouldn’t be able to drop presents into the arcade cabinet that could mess things up.

Using Cleats in Arcade Builds

One thing I use in all of my arcade builds is something many refer to as cleats (or backer blocks). Cleats are small pieces of material that connect two other pieces of material. In my case they are 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch (19mm X 19mm). Cleats not only add structural rigidity, but they also make assembly so much easier since they align each section for you automatically.

I use a combination of glue and brad nails to hold my cleats in place, though many arcade builders will use glue and screws as a substitute.

Building the PETSCII Robots Control Panel

Next step in building the PETSCII Robots arcade cabinet is to build the base of the control panel. This is another change I made from my normal home builds. Normally I would make it so that the top of the CPO just lifts off. However, since this will be used in a commercial environment it is going to need some more industrial designs.

The PETSCII Robots arcade cabinet has a locking flip down control panel that is mounted on a piano hinge and locks with latches from the inside of the arcade.

This design allows for easy maintenance by being able to open the front of the cabinet to replace LEDs or failed buttons. It also prevents any unauthorized person from messing with it. The only way to open the latches is to use the key to remove the back cover of the cabinet and open the from the inside.

Making the Arcade’s Bezel

We decided the only way to go in PETSCII Robots was a CRT. An LCD just wouldn’t have the look and feel we wanted for a game that was designed in every way to be retro!

Mike Woods at Electric Starship Arcade found an old 19″ television set and removed the bezel from it. I was able to cut the bezel’s plastic down on the table saw and then make a frame from MDF to mount it in. It worked absolutely perfectly!

I just needed to route a small slot onto the MDF for the bezel to sink into.

And installed into the arcade it looks gorgeous. You may notice some roughness on the plastic due to the machine work, but don’t worry. The entire top of the bezel gets covered by a bezel overlay graphic. You will never actually see those parts!

Making the Arcade’s CRT Mount

CRTs are big and heavy. Especially arcade CRTs since they are usually mounted in a large metal frame and beefier built to withstand the abuse they will receive over their lifetime.

To compensate for this I made sure the mount in the PETSCII Robots arcade was just as big and beefy! I used some 2×4 material and cut the round-overs off of it. Scraps from my Electronics Workbench build. I first drilled them and added insert nuts for the monitor to bolt to.

To make sure they were extra strong, I not only glued them, but also used 3 inch screws from the outside of the arcade. I countersunk the screws on the outside of the cabinet and then used “plastic wood” wood filler to cover over them. I sanded it down and you can’t even tell there was ever holes there!

Arcade CRTs have 8 slotted screw holes on them. Four on each side, and then two front and two bottom. The insert nuts in our mount will align with the slots on the CRT (more on this later).

Feet and Casters for the PETSCII Robots Arcade

PETSCII Robots is going to need to be moved. A lot! And so to make this easier, I added casters to the back of the cabinet and feet to the front.

The casters will work in combination with the grab handles we made earlier. You can tilt the cabinet back and roll it around on the floor on two wheels. The front feet will keep it stable when sitting and being played!

The casters bolt to the back of the cabinet using four 1/4-20 bolts, washers, and nylon lock nuts. The feet use insert nuts and just screw in. However, the feet were a little short, so I added a 1 1/2 inch (38mm) spacer block to give them more adjustability for really slanted floors.

Routing for T-Molding

While I had the cabinet laying on the side, I took the opportunity to route the cabinet for T-Molding. T-Molding really makes an arcade cabinet pop. I never build one without it! We also offer high quality, but affordable T-Molding slot cutters in our store. A slot cutter makes easy work of installing T-Molding on your cabinet.

Building the Back Door for PETSCII Robots

Another commercial grade arcade cabinet feature I wanted to make for PETSCII Robots was the back door. The door needs to be removeable, lockable, and have vents for air flow (there will be a fan in the bottom of the cabinet).

I used a circle jig I got from Rockler, along with a my router and a top bearing flush trim bit to make rounded rectangle slots in the back door. I also put a tiny round-over on them just for aesthetics reasons.

The Rockler circle template works best if you use double sided tape, carpet tape, or fabric tape to hold it to the workpiece. Clamps work, but then they get in the way of the router.

I bought some expanded wire mesh from a big box store and cut it into squares using some snips. I then use my staple gun and stapled them to the inside of the door. This makes for a super clean look, allows air flow with the bottom fan, and keeps little kids or a-hole adults from dropping things like candy or beer bottes into the arcade. It’s amazing what you have to plan for in commercial spaces.

The top of the back door also has a key and lock that keeps anyone from opening the cabinet without authorization.

Finishing the PETSCII Robots Control Panel

Again using my HP Latex large format printer, I printed a template for the PETSCII robots control panel. I quickly punched all of the holes to make it easier to align the drill bit properly.

I then drilled all of the holes using Forstner bits on my drill press. Again, for this without a lot of tools, a handheld drill will work fine.

Because the artwork is going to roll over the front of the cabinet, I made a round-over on the front face of the control panel to make it look better.

I then glued and brad nailed the control panel top to the rest of the control panel assembly.

The Midway Completion Point of the PETSCII Robots Arcade

And we made it to the midway point! At this point the cabinet is mostly complete from a build standpoint. We just need to paint the cabinet and start the assembly process! And damn does it look good!

Drilling for Speakers

The one last thing we need to do before moving on to painting and final assembly is to drill for the speakers. We decided to go with these 6 inch (15 cm) Kenwood speakers in the arcade. They need a 5 inch (13 cm) hole to be drilled. To do this I used my drill and 5 inch “dozer” hole saw.

Caulking the Cabinet

Caulking all of the seams in your arcade is probably the most important item that get skipped by new builders. Caulking fills all of the gaps and cracks and covers imperfections in your cuts. This is especially true if you used most hand tools in your arcade cabinet build.

I caulked all of the seams on the PETSCII Robots cabinet and the wiped them off with a wet rag to remove any excess caulking.

Painting the Arcade

Unfortunately I built this arcade right in the middle of an oil-based paint shortage. I was almost unable to find any paint at all, and there was no chance I would be able to get any compatible primer.

Because of this it became clear I would have to do this build without primer and that my first coat of paint would have to be the primer.

This is fine, it’s just going to mean a little more labor in the painting process. The paint will soak deep into the MDF and will leave it with a rough texture. Similar to what happens with dimensional lumber when people talk about “raising the grain. It just means I will need to sand between coats, and especially good after the first coat.

I went with a satin black on anywhere paint would be showing. This is mostly on the bottom of the marquee, the top, and back door.

Since we’re going with really light colors on our vinyl, I painted the side panels and kick panel white. I was afraid if I painted them black there was a possibility that the black might “bleed through” and darken then vinyl artwork. In hindsight I don’t think it made any difference, Your results may vary. I did do a final sanding anywhere vinyl would be applied for better adhesion.

A lot of people always comment on my videos and articles claiming paint is a waste of time since I am applying artwork. That is a ridiculous claim. First, look a the instructions for any self-adhesive vinyl. Every single last one of them says not to apply to bare wood. Second, I’ve tried it. Six months later I was peeling the vinyl off and painting. It won’t last. The vinyl gets bubbles and starts peeling everywhere.

Mounting the Amiga 500 Motherboard

Since this PETSCII Robots Arcade is going to be powered by the Amiga 500, we need to put an Amiga 500 into the cabinet!

I drilled holes that matched the mounting locations on the Amiga 500 and placed insert nuts into the cabinet’s electronics shelf. The Amiga is attached with 3mm nylon stand-offs & washers, and hex-head cap screws.

Rather than use the aging (and destined to burn up the Amiga) factory power supply, we opted for a Nu-Brick power supply. I drilled holes into the top of the case and mounted it to the wall of the cabinet. I also opted for these short 1 foot (30 cm) power cables to keep everything nice and tidy inside.

Speakers and Amplifier

I mounted the amplifier at the top of the cabinet, and then wired it to the Amiga 500 using RCA cables.

I always like to make custom wiring harnesses anytime I do a build. I used ferrell connectors on the amplifier side, and spade connectors on the speaker side. I always label everything to make troubleshooting easier. I won’t remember what wire goes where a year from now.

I then mounted the speakers into the top panel of the cabinet where we drilled the holes.

Making the Lighted Marquee

One thing our PETSCII Robots arcade cabinet needs is a bad ass marquee. And backlit! So I went to work on the table saw making it!

I used a special blade specifically designed to cut plastics and acrylics. This blade has a flat top and makes super smooth cuts in this material. It also won’t burn it which is a big plus for materials that like to melt! One note is I do have to disable the SawStop protection electronics when cutting acrylic as the static electricity could possible set it off. The chances are low, but its a simple key turn to save yourself a possible headache.

Next up I printed out the marquee on the HP Latex 115 and and applied it to the back sheet of acrylic. There are two sheets at play here. A backer and an overlay.

And dude. It looks amazing!

The two sheets of acrylic with the marquee sandwiched between mount into the marquee slots at the top of the cabinet using some plastic marquee trim molding. It just screws in from the top and bottom.

Wrapping up the Control Panel

Now it is time to wrap up the control panel! Pun definitely intended! Many refer to this wrap as the “control panel overlay” or “CPO”.

Installing adhesive backed vinyl really isn’t that hard. Especially when you use air-egress vinyl that makes removing the bubbles super easy. We won’t print on anything else.

I wrapped the vinyl over the sides of the control panel. This makes for a super clean look. The folder over portions are hidden when the control panel is locked in place.

With the wrap done, I added all of the buttons to it.

PCBWay and TexElec Keyboard Adapter

We needed a way to connect the joystick and buttons on the control panel to the Amiga 500. Kevin Williams over at TexElec was nice enough to design us an Amiga 500 Keyboard Matrix adapter, and the sponsor of this article and video PCBWay produced and shipped it to us. Thank you PCBWay!

This adapter maps certain keys on the keyboard matrix to the input pins on the header, allowing us to connect our control panel.

Wiring the PETSCII Robots Control Panel

The next thing we had to do is wire up the PETSCII Robots control panel to the keyboard adapter.

I made custom wiring harnesses for each section of the control panel out of CAT6 cable. I again added ferrell connectors on the screw terminal side and spade connectors on the joystick and button side. I labeled each harness to make future troubleshooting easier.

Skinning and T-Molding

Again using my large format printer, we created side panels for the arcade using air-release vinyl. We worked in sections (only removing portions of the backer at a time) and slowly installed the artwork.

On the bottom and sides of the cabinet we cut the vinyl even with the cabinet. On the top and front we left the overhang and wrapped it over.

Again, with Air-Release vinyl, removing the air bubbles is as easy rolling over them with a hard rubber roller.

The arcade T-Molding then holds the folded over portions in place and makes it really pop.

RELATED: T-Molding Tips and Tricks

Installing the Monitor, Bezel Artwork, and Acrylic Protective Glass

It was at this point that I decided to get my workout for the day and install the very heavy CRT into the cabinet. I waited till the very end to do this to make moving the cabinet easier (since it was lighter), especially knowing we’d need to tip it on its sides numerous times during the build.

The monitor just bolts in using those same four screws and insert nuts we added at the very beginning of this build

After the monitor was in place, I added the bezel artwork. This literally just lays in place. It also covers the ugly sections of the trash can 19″ TV bezel we used to make this arcade. You can’t even tell. It’s awesome!

I cut out a thick piece of acrylic sheet to cover the CRT and artwork and protect them from damage.

When you close the control panel, it locks everything in place. To change the artwork or clean the CRT glass all you have to do is unlock the control panel and open it.

Of course, the cabinet wouldn’t really be complete it we didn’t install the back door!

Moving PETSCII Robots to the Electric Starship Arcade

Mike and Brendan from The Electric Starship Arcade in Haltom City arrived just in time to pick the completed PETSCII Robots arcade and transport it Mike’s awesome arcade.

Luckily Mike has a big ass box truck with a lift gate on the back of it. That took a lot of work out of moving the cabinet to his place.

First PETSCII Robots Arcade Players

With the PETSCII Robots arcade all setup at The Electric Starship Arcade, it was time for people to start playing the game. One of the first people to play it w as the super awesome Brinley! She figured things out pretty quickly and was able to kill off a few robots before she accidently crushed herself in the trash compactor! Oops!

Next up Brendan had to give it a go. You’d think he’d be tired after the moving exercise but he had to see what this was all about!

And of course, David was on-site to welcome some of the first players and give them some pointers.

If you’d like to play the PETSCII Robots Arcade game, you can visit his page that tells the current location. As of this writing it’s still at The Electric Starship Arcade, but it may find its way to various arcades all over the country! If you’d like your local arcade to host PETSCII Robots, have their owner reach out to us to schedule its availability!

PETSCII Robots Arcade Plans Coming Soon!

There will be a set of PETSCII Robots arcade plans coming in the next month or two if you want to build your own, or you want to build a RetroPie/MAME cabinet using this design. Check back for that! Coming Soon!

The post PETSCII Robots Arcade Cabinet Build appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Watch the Cocktail Table Arcade Cabinet Build Video

We highly recommend watching the Cocktail Table Arcade Build video as many concepts are much easier to communicate in video format.

Watch our Update / Part 2 Video

Building the Cocktail Table Arcade Cabinet

Building a cocktail table arcade is similar to building any other arcade. There are some basics you need to decide up front. Are you going PC based or Raspberry Pi based? Do you want to build it out of MDF or plywood?

I chose to build my arcade using Retropie (which is Raspberry Pi based). I feel like it has the most community support and it is drop dead simple. However, the Raspberry Pi can’t play modern PC games. So if you want to play Destiny on your arcade build, you’ll need to use a PC.

I also chose MDF for my building material. I often get questioned by people on this choice. Why not plywood? It is true that plywood is much lighter making for an arcade that weighs significantly less. It is also true that plywood isn’t near as dusty as MDF when cutting and sanding it (MDF for the most part is simply compressed sawdust). However, it is much easier to get a great finish on MDF than plywood. Plywood will need some additional work to remove the woodgrain texture from it. If you plant to 100% clad your arcade with vinyl artwork this may be a moot point for you.

If you want to build this arcade we a have a very detailed set of Cocktail Table Arcade Plans available that include templates, parts lists, and all of the dimensions.

Cutting Down the Material

The first step in any arcade build is generally to cut down the material into usable sections. I started by breaking down the sheet goods. In this build there are three sizes of sheet goods needed. 1/2″, 3/4″, and 1″ (13mm, 19mm, and 25mm). However, you’ll see later I have a solution to avoid buying the larger of the three materials!

I cut the sheet goods down using a Bora saw guide. This is very handing for using a circular saw to get long straight cuts. The main thing I am doing here is attempting to get pieces that I can easily handle on the table saw. Though if you don’t have a table saw then you can use these guides to cut to exact dimensions.

I then used the table saw to cut the side, bottom, and player panels down to their final dimensions,

Pro Tip: Always label your parts as you cut them out. This will make all of the next steps much easier, faster, and less confusing.

Using Cleats for Assembly

I almost always use cleats when assembling my arcades. I just feel like this extra effort makes for a much easier and cleaner assembly process.

The cleats add structural rigidity to the build. But more more importantly they turn all of your parts into puzzle pieces that all align and go together simply. No measuring needed.

I usually cut a small piece of scrap wood that is the exact size of the spacing required. For example, if the the side panel is inset by 1/2″, then I would cut a scrap board at 1.25″. That’s the thickness of our material, plus the inset. All you need to do then is line the cleat up using the spacer and nail it in place. Again. No measuring required and a perfect fit every time!

I use a combination of glue and brad nails to hold everything together. However, brad nails are purely optional. They just act like mini clamps that hold the MDF together while the glue dries. If you don’t have a nailer, just wait 30-45 minutes for the glue to dry.

And the finished cocktail table arcade cabinet base looks amazing!

Making the Control Panels

Cocktail arcade cabinets generally have two control panels. One on each side (although some have three). In our plans, I include “spray and stick templates” that make this process very simple. Just cut out the template and use some spray adhesive to attach it to the part to be cut.

I prefer to stack the parts and use double sided tape to hold them together. This way I can cut out more than once piece at a time. I used my bandsaw to cut these parts out, but a jigsaw works just as well.

I also include templates for drilling the control panels. This makes things go really fast.

I like to use a center punch to make a divot at the center point of every hole. This gives the brad tip of the drill bit a place to catch and keeps it from wobbling away from the hole’s center when it starts turning. I recommend using a Forstner bit for this operation, but a cheap Home Depot paddle bit will work fine.

Assembling the Control Panels

1/2″ MDF doesn’t do well with brad nails. It tends to crack and/or split. For this reason I decided to just use glue and clamps. This just means I’ll need to wait about 30 minutes before moving to the next steps.

Routing for T-Molding

Before final assembly of the cocktail table arcade cabinet we need to route the components that will receive T-Molding. It’s super important we route the T-Molding slots before we assemble, because the router will not be able to reach the components after glue up! This is a mistake many first time builders make.

Mounting the Control Panels

Mounting the control panels for our cocktail table arcade cabinet takes a little thought. We need to be able to access all of the wires and have a place to pass those same wires between the two different compartments.

To start, I cut out a 2″ (~50mm) tall access port on both sides of the cabinet. This is much easier to do on the outside of the cabinet than it would be later on the inside! I used my jigsaw for this operation.

I then proceeded to carefully align the control panels, glue, and then clamp them into place. The access slots make a perfect place to pass the clamps through!

Making the Table Top for the Cocktail Table Arcade Cabinet

The table top of the cocktail table arcade cabinet is 1″ (25mm) thick. As I mentioned at the beginning of this build, I didn’t want to spring for a full sheet of 1″ MDF since that would cost a lot of money at today’s prices, and I only need just a small piece.

Instead I decided to just glue together (or laminate) two 1/2″ (13mm) pieces of MD to make a table top of the thickness that I need. This is a pretty common practice in arcade builds by the way!

I applied a liberal amount of glue to the entire top surface of one of the sheets, combed it out, and then sandwiched them together into a single larger lamination. I clamped it up and let it sit overnight.

The next day I trimmed the laminated top down to its final dimensions on the table saw and then applied my big ass tabletop template to the top of it using spray adhesive.

Cutting out the Tabletop

I cut the tabletop of the cocktail table arcade cabinet using my jigsaw. I tried to stay just slightly outside the line and then came back with my orbital sander in order to bring things back down to the line.

The finished tabletop looks amazing!

Priming and Painting the Arcade

I almost always prime my arcades with filler primer. (See Why I use Filler Primer.) Filler primer fills in all the little imperfections and when you sand it, leaves a finish smooth as glass. It’s awesome.

I then shot the arcade the arcade with flat black. All of this using rattle can paint from Home Depot. You’d be amazed how good the finish of rattle cans can be if you take your time and do it properly (using proper techniques that is).

I really like flat black finishes on arcades. Of course, it really makes no difference if you plan to clad your arcade with a vinyl graphic decal.

Installing the T-Molding

In my opinion, no arcade is complete without T-Molding. It just gives it that awesome retro-look! Be sure to check out our full line of Arcade T-Molding in The Geek Pub Store!

On our cocktail table arcade cabinet, we decided to go with our line of yellow T-Molding. We put it on the sides of the cabinet, the faces of the control pane, and around the table top. It looks amazing!

We used three different sizes of T-Molding to cover the different sizes of material. You’ll need to plan ahead unless you build all of your cabinet from the same thickness of sheet goods.

Installing the Cocktail Arcade Monitor

I bought a 4×3 CCTV monitor on Amazon and then removed the LCD panel from it. Finding the right monitor with a good viewing angle is important. It’s also a good idea to find a monitor where the panel is not glued in and can be easily removed with a few screws. You can find this info on this monitor in the plans.

Installing the the Controls and other Components

We’re in the home stretch now! Just need to install all of the components and controls for this cocktail table arcade cabinet! That includes the encoders, buttons, joysticks, coin door and of course the Raspberry Pi.

For our build we’re using the Yellow Arcade Controller Kit from The Geek Pub Store. This kit includes the large and small buttons, joystick, encoders, and all wiring. You kind the the arcade controller wiring instructions for these kits here.

I started in this case by installing the coin door. It just slides into the hole and is secured by little brackets from the backside.

Then I installed the joysticks. They screw into the back of the control panel using four screws.

The buttons are next. They just slide through the holes and are secured by a plastic nut on the backside. The encoder is installed between the buttons and the joystick. The perfect place to hide it.

Each button gets a dedicated wire that connects to each button, along with a shared wire for powering the LEDs.

Once all wired up its time to install the control panel into the cocktail table arcade cabinet. I plugged the controller into a USB outlet just to check everything lit up and and it was a success! “Let there be light!”

You can see here the final wiring inside the cabinet. I tried to do a little cable management to keep everything organized. Mounted on the left side wall as a power strip, and the Raspberry Pi.

Installing the Glass Top

Every cocktail table arcade cabinet needs a glass top. When I see builds that skip this part I always shake my head!

I sat the glass top onto the cabinet and then gave it a really good cleaning with glass cleaner. I then attached it permanently at all four corners with tabletop arcade glass clips. These are just little U-shaped clips that screw in on the bottom side of the tabletop.

The Completed Cocktail Table Arcade Cabinet

I am so incredibly happy how well the completed cocktail table arcade turned out! It beat all of my expectations. Here’s a picture of it playing Pac-Man on MAME!

The post Making a Cocktail Table Arcade Cabinet appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Watch the Wall Mount Arcade Video

A Wall Mount Arcade For Everyone

In this article we will go step by step through the process of building a wall mount arcade, starting with cutting out the panels from MDF or plywood and finishing up with installing the electronic components (such as the monitor, buttons, and joysticks).  This arcade is powered by a Raspberry Pi running Retropie.  If you’re looking for more info on that we have several posts on these topics too!

If you’re looking for detailed wall mount arcade plans with cut and stick templates, we have them here!

Tools and Consumables Used

If you’d like to make this arcade and like the tools we used, here’s a handy list for you.  Using these links costs you nothing, and we get a small commission.  Thanks for your support!

Tools Used in this Project

• DeWalt Jigsaw
• Woodpeckers T-Square 24 inch
• Circle Templates
• Forstner Bit set
• Saw Stop Table Saw
• Bostitch Brad Nailer
• DeWalt 20v Router
• Router Slot Cutter Set
• Pro caulking gun
• Bench Cookies for painting
• Vaughan SF12 Soft Hammer
• Center punch
• DeWalt 20v Drill
• DeWalkt 20v Impact Driver
• Cricut Vinyl Cutter

Consumables Used in this Project

• Double sided fabric tape
• 3M Super 77 spray adhesive
• 18 gauge brad nails
• DAP black caulking
• Filler primer
• Flat white paint
• Vinyl Assortment Pack

Constructing the Wall Mount Arcade Cabinet

Let’s go step by step constructing the Wall Mount Arcade Cabinet!

Step 1: Layout the Side Panels and tape them together

We’re going to start the arcade by making the two side panels.  Because the side panels are exact copies of each other, were going to cut them out at the same time. Of course, of you’d prefer to cut them out individually, you can do that too.

I started by taking two scrap pieces of MDF I had in the garage and used double sided fabric tape to stick them together for the cut.  If you don’t have scrap pieces, just cut off a section of MDF or plywood from your source material and lay them over the top of each other.

Now that you’ve got them together, it’s time to layout the dimensions following the plan files.  Many people worry about angles when laying out arcade side panels.  I’m here to tell you there is an easier way!  If you layout the lines according to the plan files, all you will need to do is connec the dots between the lines and the angle will be created for you. It’s almost magic!

When laying out the side panels, we don’t create any curves.  All of the corners form hard angles.  Some of you will want to round over the corners for a more decorative look on your wall mount arcade.  You can do this an any number of ways.  You can use special circle jigs that you can get from places like Rockler.  Or you can use simple round things you have around the house such as a spray paint can or a socket.  I just used a 1″ socket from my Craftsmen socket set.

Set the socket up against any of the two intersections you want to round over and use a pencil to the create the arc by following the outside of the socket or other round surface.

Since these are purely for decoration you can make them as large or as small as you’d like (or completely leave them off). Make it your own!

Step 2: Cut out the Side Panels

Now it’s time to cut out the side panels of our wall hanging arcade. About the only way to do this for the average arcade builder is to use a jigsaw. Though if you had a full on woodshop you could use a bandsaw for this operation as well.  A quality jigsaw will make all the difference in how straight your lines are.

As with all operations of this type, going slow is the key to getting good quality results.  The faster you move the saw, the more likely you are to get off the line or make a mistake.

Step 3: Cut out the Rest of the Panels

I used my table saw to cut out the rest of the panels for the wall mount arcade. However, for those of you without a table saw, just keep using your jigsaw.  If you have a handheld circular saw that will do wonders as well!

Be sure to label each part as you cut it out to help you keep track of it later. Trust me. Do this.

Some of the panels have optional angles on them.  If you want to do these, you’ll need to set your saw to the correct angle as indicated in the plans. Most all saws (including jigsaws) have a setting to change the angle of the cut.  For the wall hanging cleat, I actually just oversized the board and cut it in half at a 45 degree angle to make both boards in one go. A super simple time saving step.

Step 4: Drilling the Control Panel

Before we assemble the wall hanging arcade we have two more steps to do! The first is to drill out the control panel for the buttons and the joysticks.  This can be accomplished using any number of bits such as a paddle or spade bit.  My favorite bit for this operation is called a Forstner bit.

From the plans, print out the spray and stick template.  I like to use 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. Just spray the back of the template and wave it around in the air to get it tacky.  After about 30 seconds you place it on the control panel and it will stick perfectly.

helps to use a center punch to start each hole (you can just use your smallest screwdriver in a pinch).  The spade or Forstner bit will have a brad point on the end of it that will align into this hole for a perfectly placed cut!

Step 5: Installing the Cleats (Optional)

My preferred method of building an arcade is to use cleats on the side panels to hold all of the other panels in place during assembly. This is a purely optional method, but it works very well.  If you are going to use screws (especially pocket screws), then there is no real reason to do these.  When using glue (with or without brad nails) this makes for a super easy and strong solution.

The first step is to lay them all out on one of the side panels to verify their positions and that you didn’t miss any during the cutting steps.

I took each of the cleats and applied glue to them. Then using other cleats as a spacer I positioned them in their exact locations.

Then I used my brad nailer to tack them into place. Brad nails don’t really provide much structural integrity.  At the end of the day they are just mini clamps that hold the wall hanging arcade together while the glue dries up over the next few hours.

Be sure to wipe away any glue squeeze out.  If you leave it, your panels won’t line up later because the dried glue chunks will be in the way.

Step 6: Routing for T-Molding (Optional)

The final step before assembling our wall mount arcade is to route out for T-molding. This is another purely optional step, but it really makes for a super clean finish and is very retro!

I normally use my router table for these types of operations, but for this video I wanted to show how to use handheld router, since that’s what most of you are likely to have.

They key to a good result with this type of operation is to go slow and take your time.  The faster you go, the more likely you are to jerk or misalign the router.

I routed out the side panels, the marquee, and the control panel for T-molding on this arcade.  This is your arcade, so make it your own!

Step 7: Assemble the Wall Mount Arcade

Now it’s time to assemble the arcade. This is the easiest part of the entire build.  I took each component and laid it out according the plans. I glued and brad nailed it into place.

My suggestion here is to start with the bottom panel first, and then the top panel.  Once those two are in place use a square to make sure the arcade is square and perfectly aligned.  Then install the rest of the panels.

The complete assembly looks really awesome!

Step 8: Prepping for Paint

The outcome of the finish work of any arcade is only as good as the prep work you do beforehand.  It’s important that paint has a super smooth and clean surface to lay down onto.

In order to get that super clean finish, we need to start with filling any nail or screw holes left over from assembly of the wall mount arcade. In my case a bunch of brad nail holes!

I used some spackling to fill in all of the nail holes.  I prefer spackling because it won’t leave a divot or “sink in” after it dries like caulking or some other putties might.  It also dries super fast.  I applied the spackling with finger and then used my 5 in 1 tool to wipe away the excess for a perfct smooth finish.

The next thing I did was sand the entire cabinet with my orbital sander.  And then touched up any corners it couldn’t reach with a rectangular sanding sponge.

Then after sanding I caulked any visible joints of the arcade with some black caulking I had left over from another project.  With caulk, less is often more.  Don’t put too much on or it will be a paint to clean it up.

Step 9: Painting the Wall Mount Arcade

After the caulking has dried and been sanded lightly its time to prime the arcade.  I generally like to use Filler Primer for this operation but I was completely out at the time I made this. So I just used regular Rust-O-Leum primer.  I only shot a single coat and let it dry overnight.  Plywood and MDF can really soak up the paint, so a good primer is a must!

The next morning after the primer was good and dry I gave it a quick sanding and then shot it with flat white Rust-O-Leum paint. You guys have been complaining that all I ever make is black arcades. So I made a white one!

I have a full HVLP sprayer. But I have to tell you for small jobs like this, I much prefer a rattle can.  There’s no sprayer to clean up afterwards and I can do just as good of a job.

The only thing I’d caution on with rattle cans is this: If you want to avoid runs, use lots of thin coats rather a couple of heavy coats.  You’ll get much better results.

Step 10: Installing the T-Molding (Optional)

Of course, if you decided not to do T-molding you can totally skip this step! But everyone knows that I am all in on T-molding. I love the stuff. It makes an arcade look like an arcade!

I decided that red T-molding (along with red buttons) would be absolutely gorgeous on this white arcade and let me tell you, it does not disappoint! I have an entire video on How to Install T-Molding if you want to learn more about the process of installing it.

In a nutshell, I recommend using a soft face hammer, such as a rubber mallet to do the install.  The mallet is not about forcing the molding into the track, but rather saving your hands and fingers from all of the pressing.  You’ll thank me later.

Anywhere the T-molding bends, you’ll need to notch or slot the track portion to bend around the curves. Super simple. I just used some side cutting pliers.

And people does it ever look gorgeous!

Step 11: Install the Speakers

I decided to install different speakers than I normally do for this wall hanging arcade.  These little speakers are from Drok and have a separate power amplifier.  I decided to mount them inside the marquee for a super clean look.

Unfortunately I wasn’t sure up until this step which speakers I was going to use so I waited to drill these until after assembly.  You could certainly do this step before assembly and paint.

I used a regular bit for drilling the mounting holes, and Forstner bit for drilling out the sound holes.

Step 12: Install the Marquee Light

The next thing I did was install the light for the marquee.   This is just a regular 12-inch under cabinet light I bought from Home Depot.  I just screwed the mounting brackets against the back of the arcade and then it just snaps into place.  It plugs into the quad outlet in the bottom of the arcade.

Step 13: Installing the Monitor

Installing the monitor is pretty simple. It just leans back into place.  I put some foam weather stripping down in order cause a tight seal between the monitor and the arcade cabinet.

Then the monitor simply press fits into place and is support by the cleats we installed in step 5.

Step 14: Installing the Buttons and Joystick

I include two templates with the arcade for the control panel.  A single-player template and a two-player template.  For this build I chose the single player template.  It’s just a simple matter of dropping the buttons in place and screwing the nuts on the backside.

I normally like to screw the joystick down using wood screws from the back side of the arcade.  However, since the wall mount is too small to get a drill under, I decided to use exposed machine screws on this build.  I might change these out at some point with some red anodized ones if I think about it.

And let me tell you.  I love the color theme of this arcade.  All of the red and white just looks amazing!

Step 15: Rear Cable Management

I really wanted to clean up all of the messy cables in the wall mount arcade. I decided on using some plastic cable clips to route all of the cables in a single bundle around the edges of the cabinet.

Since this arcade is super thin in the spirit of wall mounting it, there isn’t much room for cables to stick out the back of it. In order to solve for that problem I added a 90 degree HDMI adapter to the back of the monitor to keep it from interfering with the wall.

And with everything in place the cable management really turned out nice!

Step 16: Making the Mushroom Marquee

I wanted to make a super special Marquee to go along with this awesome color scheme.  I decided on a Geek Pub logo along with some super awesome mushroom dudes reminiscent of my all time favorite game.

I started by taking some plexiglass (acrylic sheets) cut to the right dimensions and laminated one of them with some white vinyl from my Cricut vinyl cutter. I used a razer knife to cut it to size and then a random gift card to squeegee out the bubbles.  Some of the stubborn bubbles I popped with a needle.

Then I used the Cricut to cut out my logo.

And then I made some awesome mushroom dudes on the Cricut.  This was a four layer process.  Each component being cut and applied separately.

And wow was I happy with how these turned out!  This marquee is going to totally rock!

Step 17: Installing the Marquee

The marquee simply slides into place in the marquee slot at the top of the wall hanging arcade. To keep it from coming out, I added two little decorative trim pieces, on each end.  This allows servicing if needed but will otherwise hold it permanently.

This is definitely my favorite marquee of all of my arcades!  And I thought it was going to be hard to get a decent size marquee on a wall hanging arcade!  So excited with this version!

The Completed Wall Mount Arcade Cabinet

I could not be happier with how this arcade cabinet turned out!  It is absolutely gorgeous in every single way.  If you want to make this wall hanging arcade, you can grab the plans here.

The post Make a Wall Mount Arcade appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Watch the Tabletop Arcade Video

A Smaller Tabletop Arcade

In order to maximize our space savings for this arcade cabinet, we’re not only going to use a smaller 4 X 3 monitor, we’re going to liberate the LCD panel from the monitors case.  This will allow us to save about another inch (~25mm) from the width and two inches (~50mm) from the depth of the arcade. This is a significant savings!

Parts List for this Project

If you’d like to build this project yourself, here’s a handy parts list to get you started:

• 1/2 sheet of 3/4″ MDF
• 4:3 LCD monitor
• Raspberry Pi 3
• Raspberry Pi power supply
• HDMI cable
• EasyGet arcade controls (Sanwa style)
• Power receptacle w/switch & fuse
• Cooling fan
• Mountable USB ports
• Buttons for LCD menus
• USB speakers
• T-Moulding
• Rust-Oleum filler primer
• Rust-Oleum flat black
• The Geek Pub Tabletop Arcade Plans

And here are some of the tools I used in this project:

• SawStop cabinet-style table saw
• Shop Fox 12″ disc sander
• DeWalt jigsaw 
• Center punch
• Bosch router
• T-Moulding router bit
• Irwin clamps
• Bostitch brad nailer
• 1-1/4″ brad nails
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Cricut vinyl cutter

Liberating the LCD Panel

When I originally spec’d and bought this monitor, it never occurred to me that LCD panels would be glued into the bezel.  Well, it turns out they are. When I opened the case of the monitor I was very disappointed at what I saw. However, I then did some research and found out that this is a new trend in monitor construction and it might be difficult to find a monitor that was not glued in.

The second thing I discovered is that simply buying the LCD panel is two to three times the price of buying a monitor and just gutting it! Ridiculous. I need my tabletop arcade to be somewhat affordable after all!

So first things first, I removed the back cover. This requires just removing three screws and then using a couple of screwdrivers to pop it open by going around the bezel.

After that, I just unscrewed and removed all of the components inside the monitor.  We’ll need to save all of these. They’ll get added to the inside of our cabinet in just a bit. If you bought the same monitor for your arcade, you should have four boards (still wired together).

• LCD main board
• LED backlight driver board
• Front panel buttons board
• IR receiver board

Removing the LCD Panel from the Bezel

The good news is, removing the glue actually turned out to be super easy. All it took was a couple of flat tip screwdrivers and a little scraping. It was surprisingly easy to do!  This is great because I wanted this to be a simple project anyone could do.

Just use a few different sizes of flat tip screwdrivers and slowly work around the edges of the LCD panel scraping away the glue. Once you get it all removed the LCD panel will simply lift up from the bezel. After that, I just went around the bezel with a razor knife and removed any remaining gunk.

Laying out the Tabletop Arcade

Next up I laid out the components on the MDF and came up with the mounting locations for the LCD, joystick and buttons. This took a bit of time to get everything sorted out where it would feel comfortable to play and still meet my strict size requirements (smaller the better!).

The thick outer lines are simply a reference I used for the cabinet walls underneath. This way I could make sure I didn’t do something dumb like put the buttons where the walls were!

The good news you don’t have to do any of this, as you don’t have to do any of this, because I put everything into SketchUp and Adobe Illustrator and created an awesome set of Tabletop Arcade Plans you can use to make quick work of this.

Just print them out and glue or tape them to a sheet of MDF and cut/drill away.

[button link=”https://www.thegeekpub.com/product/tabletop-arcade-cabinet-plans/” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Get the Tabletop Arcade Plans HERE[/button]

Cutting out the Arcade Parts

Next up I used my SawStop table saw to cut out the main section. One thing I’d like to point out though is that you don’t need expensive tools to make this project! I have received a variation of the following commend at least 100 times on my other arcade videos: “Well, if I had your tools I could make this too.  This video is useless.”. The truth is quite the opposite though. The only tools you really need to do this project are a jigsaw (an quite honestly, a $12.99 Home Depot handsaw would work too!), and drill. Everything else is completely optional.

I used my 12″ disc sander to round the corners. You could use a jigsaw or a hand file for this as well. I like the disc sander because it gives me very precise control over the finished product and a super smooth edge. I do follow this procedure up with a little 150 grit sandpaper just to make it smooth since I am running 60 grit on the disc sander.

To cut out where the monitor goes, I used my DeWalt jigsaw. It’s the best jigsaw I have ever owned, and it is not even battery powered!

RELATED: Why your Jigsaw won’t Cut Straight

It’s super critical that you go slow here and make sure you get these lines as straight as possible. I actually made a slight error in two places and couldn’t figure out why I was struggling. After it the cut was finished I realized the blade was bent! Ugh.  Well its good enough not to redo.

Drilling the Joysticks and Buttons

Next up I used my templates from the plans and some spray adhesive to prepare for drilling the holes. Without the template this is quite the pain to measure out.

I centered punched the holes using my trusty punch. This makes it super easy to align the Forstner bit (or a paddle bit) to the template and drill the holes. I highly recommend you use a waste-board behind the top pane to keep the wood from blowing out during the drilling process.

Reverse Counter Sinking the LCD Display

This part it completely optional, but I felt it would make the completed tabletop arcade look more finished. The MDF is 3/4″ thick. That’s a long way for the LCD panel to sit below the tabletop.

Using some 1/8″ strips of plywood and some carpet tape to hold them in place, I used my router to reverse countersink the LCD display about 1/2″ into the MDF.  Then I used a 1/8″ round-over bit to finish the top side of the new MDF “bezel”.

Slotting for T-Moulding

Our awesome tabletop arcade build must have t-moulding! T-moulding just has that awesome retro-look that!  I’ll put t-moulding on both the table top as well as the side sections.  I used a router with a t-moulding slot cutter.

Tabletop Arcade Assembly

Over on the table saw I cut out the rest of the base.  I needed a front section, back section, and two sides.  I cut out the two sides together. This is both convenient and time saving, but also makes certain the sides are identical.

Next up I had to drill out the buttons for the back panel, and cut the power/fuse/USB ports. I’ve made this super simple with an awesome stick on template you can use.

Lastly, we need drill the holes for the speakers. Again, super simple with a spray and stick template.

The finished product looks like it was made in a factory.  If you don’t use my templates, you could also do this on a CNC machine.

Finally its time to join all of the base sections together into a completed base. I used glue to join the sections and some Rockler clamps to keep everything lined up.  Once it was together I tacked it with some brad nails.

People often assume brad nails are for structural integrity. That’s actually not the case all.  Brad nails are fairly weak and pull out very easily. Brad nails are only there to keep the sections together while the glue dries. Another example of why the “If I had your tools” myth needs to die. Brad nails allow me to go faster and move on with the project without waiting 24 hours for the glue to dry.  In other words, brad nails are completely optional and if you don’t have a nailer, you just need a little more time.

And my Major Screw Up…

And this is where I made my huge mistake.  All of this work to get to this point to ruin the whole project?  Thankfully not.

What I did was glue the base on upside down. Ooops.  I was in a hurry with dinner cooking and family over and just needed to get this one last step complete. In my hurry I put the base on upside down!

I didn’t realize my mistake until about 10 minutes later. I’d already put the camera and lighting away. Off camera I quickly popped the base back off (luckily the glue hadn’t completely set yet) and flipped it over.  I let the glue dry overnight and the sanded off the glue on the bottom of the base. All is well!

[button link=”https://www.thegeekpub.com/product/tabletop-arcade-cabinet-plans/” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Get the Tabletop Arcade Plans HERE[/button]

Painting the Tabletop Arcade

Next up we need to paint our tabletop arcade!  When building things from MDF I like to use filler primer.  Filler primer is just like it sounds, it fills gaps and imperfections in the material. It goes on a little rough and leaves a bit of a texture, but just 5 minutes with 220 to 320 grit sandpaper and its silky smooth and the MDF will look like glass. It’s fantastic!

I painted the tabletop arcade with Rust-Oleum flat black. It goes on looking very glossy, but after it dries its got a very retro flat look to it.

One question I get a lot is why not use my HVLP sprayer?  Honestly? It’s a giant pain in the ass and I can get close to perfect results with a rattle can. I just tend to go that route on smaller projects and save the HVLP sprayer for the big stuff.

Installing the T-Moulding

Installing the T-Moulding is a pretty simple task. I like to use a little rubber mallet and just tap it into place. Try to drive the T-moulding in straight and not an angle. If you get too far off center you will damage the track and have to start over with a new section.  How do I know? Yep. I’ve screwed it up before!

When you get to the end, use a very sharp razor knife to cut the t-moulding, using the ends as alignment tools. If you do it right, it should make an almost invisible seam.

Installing the Tabletop Arcade Electronics

First up on the list is to install the monitor. It just sits in the recess that we routed out earlier. However, its going to need something to hold it in, and we’re going to to need a place to mount the guts of the monitor.  We’ll handle this in one step!

I cut a 3/4in by 12in piece of plywood out and added some double-sided tape on the bottom of it.  This will will sandwich the monitor in place.  The double-sided tape doesn’t support the monitor, its just there to keep it from moving or wiggling when the arcade gets some abuse.

I mounted the LCD panel controller board and LCD backlight driver board on this same bracket. It’s the perfect location. I used some 1/8in plastic stand offs between the boards and the bracket just to provide some clearance.

I used a similar mounting method for the LCD panel’s power supply.

I went ahead and mounted the joystick at this point. Mostly because I would need to work around it with everything else and wanted to make sure it had plenty of room.

The instructions for the joystick say to use through hole carriage bolts, but I think those look just tacky as as can be, so I use #8 X 1/2in screws from the underside.

I used this IEC-13 power receptacle that has a switch and fuse. This is going to be my new method going forward for all of my arcades.

I wired the IEC-13 power connector to a single-gang box.  Be sure the ground wire is connected to this box as well as the outlet!

Next to the power outlet is the perfect spot to place the Raspberry Pi 3 B+!  Again, I used some small plastic stand-offs to lift the board off the wood and give it plenty of clearance.

I use these awesome little USB powered speakers in most of my arcade builds. They rock because they sound pretty good and they are powered via USB. This eliminates the need for amplifiers or additional wiring. Of course, you can certainly install better speakers if you like.

There is a powered USB port on the back of the monitor’s control panel. This is the perfect place to get power for our USB speakers!

Speaking of USB, one thing I like to do is play console games on my arcade. Having some external USB ports makes this super easy. So I installed these surface mount USB ports on the back of the arcade. Perfect place to plug in my Atari and Nintendo clone controllers.

Installing the Tabletop Arcade Buttons

I used my Cricut vinyl cutter to create the numbering and lettering for my arcade buttons. You can make all kinds of cool designs, but I just went with standard numbers, ST, and SE (for Start and Select).

Then I set each button into place on the tabletop arcade to make sure everything looked right.

The buttons are secured on the backside of the arcade with plastic nuts. Just tighten them down until they won’t move when smacked around (cause you know they will be smacked!).

Last up, I connected all of the buttons to the EasyGet controller board.  This board just plugs into the Raspberry Pi via USB.

Connecting the LCD Front Panel Buttons

The monitor had 5 front panel buttons on it.  These were Auto, Menu, Power, Up, and Down. They are what allow you to configure the monitor, change its inputs, and reset it if something goes wrong.  I wanted to keep these, but I didn’t want to have to turn the arcade upside down in order to do it.

To make it easy, I added 5 new push buttons on the back of the tabletop arcade cabinet. These are just pin for pin soldered to the original control panel’s circuit board.  This brings all of monitor controls to life on the back of the arcade!

[button link=”https://www.thegeekpub.com/product/tabletop-arcade-cabinet-plans/” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Get the Tabletop Arcade Plans HERE[/button]

The Finished Tabletop Arcade Cabinet

And that completes this awesome tabletop arcade cabinet.  As usual, the artwork I ordered didn’t make it here in time, so I just put my name and “tabletop arcade” on the front of it to give it some flair for the video!  I hope this inspires you to make your own tabletop arcade!

We also have a great tutorial on installing and setting up RetroPie here.

[button link=”https://www.thegeekpub.com/product/tabletop-arcade-cabinet-plans/” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Get the Tabletop Arcade Plans HERE[/button]

The post How to Make a Tabletop Arcade Cabinet appeared first on The Geek Pub.

The Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 Setup

The setup for this project is pretty simple.  I had an extra (working) Commodore 64 that I’ve been storing.  To build the RPi C64 I didn’t want to alter the Commodore 64’s components in any way that would not be reversible.  No cutting the plastic. No wiring or soldering changes.  It had to be 100% capable of being turned back to stock.  In the future, I might run into a Commodore 64 shell that I can transfer all of this componentry into and return this C64 to factory.

The other thing I wanted to accomplish with this project is a very clean look.  Most of the projects I see on the web that slip a Raspberry Pi into a Commodore 64 leave big gaping holes in the back of the computer and it looks very much like a hack.  In this project I will use 3D printer parts to fill in the C64 port openings and re-purpose them as ports for the Raspberry Pi (HDMI, micro-USB, and a power switch).

Building the Raspberry Pi Commodore 64

So let’s get started and make this awesome project!  I’ll take you through each step one at a time!

The Board Layouts

Let’s first discuss the board layouts, and then I will cover the individual components.  Links will be in the article and full list at the bottom of the page if you want to build this same project!

We’re going to use several components to make this happen, and create a super clean Rasbperry Pi Commodore 64.  First thing we’ll do is 3D print some covers for the existing Commodore 64 ports.  These will also provide port placement for an HDMI port, a remote power switch, and a micro-USB port to provide power to the whole system.  In the center of the C64 will be a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.  This will be the main compute unit and will Retropie as the main OS and emulation software. On top of the Raspberry Pi we will install Petrockblock’s Powerblock to provide remote switch boot and shutdown capabilities for the Pi.  The last, but very critical component is the Keyrah V2 which will interface the C64’s factory keyboard into the Raspberry Pi via USB.

The Keyrah V2 – C64 Keyboard Interface Board

The Keyrah V2 is an interface board that translates the keys of the Commodore 64 to a standard keyboard interface (via USB).  Simply put, it allows you to plug the C64’s Keyboard into the Raspberry Pi‘s USB port.  But it’s even better than that!  It’s also designed to use the existing side panel of the Commodore 64.  It provides two joystick ports, a power switch that doubles a keyboard emulation selector, and a USB port where the C64 power port used to go.

For those of you who don’t want to do a Commodore 64 Raspberry Pi conversion, the Keyrah V2 can be used to simply turn the Commodore 64 into a keyboard that can be used with a regular PC.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B – The New Brain

Our converted C64 will need a new “brain”.  Since we’re removing the Commodore 64’s original motherboard, the Raspberry Pi will take it’s place.  The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is a single-board-computer (SBC) based on the ARM architecture.  It will run a software called Retropie which will house various emulation software packages such as MAME (arcade emulation), an NES emulator, and of course VICE (Commodore 64 emulation).  With the combination of the Keyrah V2 and VICE, the Pi will be able to 100% emulate a C64!

The PowerBlock – Remote Power Control

The PowerBlock from PetRockBlock is an optional component for this build, but really takes things to the next level! It mounts on the Pi’s GPIO header and does a few really cool things.  The first is that it provides power to the Pi, rather than plugging the micro-USB into the Pi’s USB port. You plug your power source into the PowerBlock.

Turning on power, is no different than any other Pi with a remote power switch; the Powerblock simply provides 5 volts of DC electricity to the Pi.  Where things get awesome is when you flip the power to the Pi off.  The Powerblock continues to provide voltage to the Pi while it issues the system shutdown command and brings Raspian (the Pi OS) to a safe state.  Once the Pi has completed shutdown, the PowerBlock stops providing 5 volts and powers down the Pi.

The PowerBlock will keep your Pi’s SD card from getting corrupted from repeated loss of power without a clean shutdown. I highly recommend this product for any Raspberry Pi enthusiasts!

The 3D Printer Components – Making it Clean

As mentioned earlier, I 3D printed some freely available components from Thingiverse. These will make this Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 conversion look super clean! These components will not only cover all of the open ports from the C64, but will provide port locations for our Raspberry Pi connections!  The IEC port cover also provides a very clean mount location for the Raspberry Pi!

Assembling the Raspberry Pi Commodore 64

This is where things get really fun, assembling the Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 into a completed unit!

Installing the Knurled Hot Set Nuts

In order to make the 3D printed components last forever and make installation as simple as possible, we’re going to install knurled hot set nuts into the 3D printed components.  The heat from the metal nuts will melt the plastic and result in a permanent bond to the plastic when they cool.  These nuts provide mount points for all of our componentry.

To install the nuts, you simply hold them in place with some needle-nose pliers and heat them with a soldering iron. They will sink into the cavities and become permanently attached.

Installing the Cables and Switch

Once the hot set nuts are in place it’s time to install the HDMI cable, our remote switch, and micro-USB that will provide 5 volts to the PowerBlock.  These just screw into the 3D printed left panel using the knurled hot set nuts we just installed and some cap screws.

Install the Boards

The next step of the Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 build is to install all of the components boards.  Install the Raspberry Pi, the Keyrah V2, and the Powerblock into place.  Solder wires to the remote switch and plug them into the PowerBlock’s switch header.

Attatch the Commodore 64 Power LED and Keyboard

The final step before closing the case on this project is to connect the Commodore 64’s power LED to the PowerBlock’s LED header and the keyboard to the Keyrah V2’s C64 pin header.

The Finished Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 Conversion

After putting the case lid back on and screwing in the screws you have a completed Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 conversion!  I highly recommend running RetroPie on this conversion and installing the PowerBlock drivers to complete things.  I have a video on installing RetroPie if you need help.

The completed conversion will allow you to run the VICE emulator on the Commodore 64. Play all of your old games, or simply write a basic program on the C64! VICE (optional install in RetroPie) will even emulate the Commodore disk drives like the 1541 allowing you to load or save your programs and games to the Raspberry Pi‘s SD-Card.

Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 Parts List

Get all of the parts you need to build this project from the links below:

• Keyrah V2
• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
• 32 GB micro-SD card
• PowerBlock
• HDMI extension
• Micro-USB extension
• SPST power button
• Knurled hot set nuts
• Cap screws
• Washers
• Headers
• USB-A to header cable
• Quad Hands
• Weller Soldering Station

Watch The 8-Bit Guy RPi C64 Video

Watch The Geek Pub RPi C64 Video

Some Things I Would Do Differently

If I were to remake this project I would change some things.  Not significantly, but enough to make it significantly better for my uses. In fact, I may well go back and make these changes later.

The first thing I would change is to add a 3.5mm audio jack to the computer. It never occurred to me through this entire build that the monitor I was using doesn’t support HDMI audio. It doesn’t even have internal speakers.  So a place to plug in external speakers would be a super nice addition.

RELATED: Geek Pub RetroPie Setup Guide

The second thing I would do is add one or two external USB ports. Probably in the cartridge port cover.  This would allow me to plug in a USB keyboard or a USB thumb drive.  The problem is that the C64 keyboard is missing a lot of keys found on the standard 101-key keyboards in the US and EU. Remember the keyboard combos and the keyboard Olympics required to type outside of the C64 emulator can be maddening. An external keyboard for configuration would be ideal! Of course there are two workarounds for this problem: a) SSH directly into the Pi, and b) Bluetooth keyboards.

The post Raspberry Pi Commodore 64 appeared first on The Geek Pub.

About a year ago, I introduced my Bartop Arcade Cabinet Build. It was a big hit and I got so much great feedback from you guys! You guys really are the best audience ever. Well, today I’ve taken almost a years worth of feedback and used that to design and release an all new version of my bartop arcade based on all of the requests you guys have sent me! I am calling this version the Pacade, mostly because it is themed after a 1980’s bartop arcade cabinet that played only Pac-Man and Galaga (and since I can’t legally call it a Pac-Man bartop arcade). This new RetroPie Bartop Arcade has some new features. The stand-outs are 1) front facing USB ports for add-on controllers, 2) a fan option, 3) no lighted marquee, 4) and a VESA mount option for the monitor. So with that said, let’s get starting building the Pacade!

Watch the Pacade RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet Video

Constructing the RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet

Step 1: Layout the Side Panels

Using the plans, layout the components of the arcade on sheet of MDF (or plywood if you prefer).  MDF is generally easier to finish because it doesn’t have wood grain.

Step 2: Cut All of the Components Out

While it’s certainly best to cut everything out with a tablesaw, the only tool you really have to have to make this bartop arcade cabinet is a jigsaw.

Step 3: Add the Backer Blocks

Using backer blocks will make your cabinet much easier to assemble, but are purely optional.   If you’re just going to screw the cabinet together, you can can skip this step.

Step 4: Rout out for the T-Molding

Every old school arcade cabinet looks awesome with T-Molding.  That’s why I use T-Molding on all of my builds.

Step 5: Assemble all of the Components

The cabinet can be held together with numerous methods.  Screws, glue, brad nails, etc.  I prefer to use wood glue and brad nails.  The brad nails are only there to hold things together while the glue dries.

Step 6: Drill the Control Panel

Using the provided drilling template, drill all of the holes for the buttons and mount the control panel.

Step 7: Prepare for Paint

To prepare for painting the arcade cabinet, you’re going to want to fill all of the holes with wood putty and then lightly sand the cabinet with 220 grit paper.

Step 8: Prime the Arcade Cabinet

Prime the cabinet with Filler Primer. This is a step you don’t want to skip. Primer will make then end product look night and day better.  After priming, lightly sand the primer with 220 grit paper.  It is best to wait 24-48 hours before sanding.

Step 9: Paint the Bartop Arcade Cabinet

It is best to let the primer cure for 24 hours before painting the cabinet.  If you paint it sooner, you run the risk of getting a crackling effect in your paint.

Step 10: Install the T-Molding

No arcade would be awesome without T-Molding.  Well, that’s my opinion.  If you need more help with T-Molding, visit my T-Molding Tips and Tricks page.

Step 11: Install the Electrical

I always install a quad outlet box in the back of my cabinet.  If you’re not familiar with electric, just use any old power strip from the local home improvement center. Always test the power with a plug tester before using it the first time, to make sure you wired it correctly.

Step 12: Install the Control Panel Components (Joysticks and Buttons)

Install the joysticks and buttons and wire them to the manufacturer’s specification sheet (should be included with the buttons).

Step 13: Install the Monitor and wire the Raspberry Pi

Install the Monitor in the case, and then plug the HDMI, speakers, and USB ports into the Raspberry Pi.  Attach the Pi to the arcade cabinet using velcro or double sided tap.

The Finished Pacade Bartop Arcade Cabinet

The Pacade turned out freaking awesome.  There are few things to note about this cabinet.  First, I decided to ditch the lighted marquee at the top. Second, I added USB ports in the front, a fan option in the rear, and a VESA mount for the monitor, of you choose to use one  You may also want to take a look at this RetroPie Setup Guide to get you started.

Video Transcript

Hey Guys!  It’s Mike from The Geek Pub.  And on this episode, we’re going to build the Pacade!

Guys, I can not tell you how excited I am that so many of you have built my arcade cabinets, both my bartop arcade cabinet and my fullsize arcade cabinet. Now one of the questions I get most often is “Will you customize a cabinet for me?” and unfortunately I am not able to do that.  But I am about to make a lot of you very happy.  One of the requests I have gotten over and over and over was.. “There’s this 80’s model bartop arcade cabinet that only plays Pac-Man and Galaga” and it had a really unique design that none of the other bartop arcade cabinets had.  We’ll we’re going to make a version of that cabinet today that works with Retropie and a standard 24 inch off the shelf monitor that way anybody can build it.  And it addition to that we’re going to make some updates to both this new arcade cabinet and retroactively to the plans for my old bartop and full-size arcade cabinet.  And that’s going to be, we’re going to add USB ports to the front so that you can attach like Nintendo controllers, Atari 2600, XBOX, all of that through USB.  And then the second thing that we’re going to add is a hugely requested feature for all of my arcades is a VESA mount back plate for all of them, because some people are just simply afraid that the cabinet is going to get tipped over and the monitor is going to fall out.  So we’re going to add that.  I’ll add that to all of the plans, and then if you’ve bought those plans, you can simple re-download them for free. That’s one of the great things about my plans is that anytime I make an update you can have the revision for free if you purchased them in the past or if you are member of the guild. So let’s get started.

OK. So what I have done is I’ve drew out my design here on this section of MDF.  A lot of people like to start with Sketchup, Me personally, I just like to draw it on the actual board that I am going to work with, or on a big sheet of paper.  And then once I get it the way I like it I will copy it, or create a version of that in Sketchup and then make some adjustments. For whatever reason that’s just easier for me.  But now that I’ve got the arcade cabinet built in Sketchup I am going to just discard this and I am going to start with a brand new blank slate over here and draw it out because this is just a big mess. And then I am going to show you some tips along the way as we go.

OK. So one of the questions that come up over and over and over and its answered in my videos, its answered in the FAQs on my website, its answered in the plans, but it still keeps coming up, so I keep bringing it over and over again. and the question is “What is the angle you used on such and such piece of such and such arcade?”  and I could give you the angle and you could sit here with an angle gauge and try to figure it out and all of that, but the truth of the matter is there is a far better way to do it. And that is.  For example on the top of this arcade, the front of the arcade is exactly one inch taller than the back of the arcade. So all you do is you measure over one inch, draw your line, and then use another straight edge to connect those two dots.There you go, you don’t need the angle.

OK.  So here’s another pro tip when it comes to circles and curves.  So on the plans you’ll see that the curve starts three inches over and it starts three inches up on this particular plan (on this particular arcade), so you don’t really need to be concerned with what the size or diameter of the circle is.  All you need to is make a mark three inches up and three inches over and then draw tick marks.  Wherever those intersect is really the only piece of information that you need to know.  And then you just use that to draw your curve.

So a lot you guys that have watched my other videos know that I like to use these little backer blocks or some people call them connector strips.  But regardless of what you call them, they are just material that is cut to the exact same thickness as whatever the material is that you are building your arcade out of.  And so in this case they are three quarter by three quarter because my material is three quarter inch thick.  And what these do is that you simply brad nail and glue them down to the side panels of your arcade and then once the glue dries and you get ready to assemble your cabinet it makes it very easy for the other panels to just slip into place and they fit exactly.  So there’s no struggling.  You don’t have to worry about clamping or any of that.  And then a little bit of glue and couple of brad nails and you’re good to go and you can move on to the next piece. It makes  assembly very fast.  So I highly recommend that. It is completely optional.  You can just use glue and screws or no glue at all if you feel like you want to take it apart at some point in the future, and these are completely optional if you do that. But it really makes it easy for me, so I use them pretty much every time.

So what I like to do is since you know your backplate is going to be exactly three quarter inch. So here’s an example.  We know this is going to be exactly three quarters of an inch thick, so all I do is I use one of these three quarter inch strips agains the back of the arcade or wherever it is we’re going to use this and then with the other one just add some glue, spread it out, and put it on there. Where you put it is really not all that critical as long as long is it doesn’t overlap any other parts and as long as it is exactly the distance of the material that you are using to the back of the arcade.  And see look at that I just moved it. Line that up again. There we go. And there we go!

OK. And this one will be one of the supports for the monitor. And there will be one on each side. And then again we’re going to do a VESA mount on this arcade as well. But this just happens to be exactly the same thickness as the monitor so we’ll just put it right there on that line, that’s where the monitor is going to sit. So this backer block will just go right behind that. And that will be the right side support for the back of the monitor. And finally this will be what the keyboard rests on and I don’t really need a spacer for this because I just drew a line where it goes.

Well you guys know how much I love T-Molding, but if you don’t its OK. Just substitute the T-Slot bit for a round-over bit and a little sanding and paint and it will look good too. But, I am a T-Molding guy.

OK. Here’s another little pro-tip for you. When you’re trying to put these panels together, and you want to make sure everything lines up perfectly… The easiest way to do that is to take a piece of scrap material that is the same size as the material that you are working with, and just use a clamp (a small clamp) and clamp it on.  Once you’ve done that it is as simple as pushing it on and pushing it back until it stops. Then you know you are perfectly lined up.

One piece of feedback I get a lot on the comments section, and in my feedback on my website is “if I could include additional templates for the control panel?”. And a lot of times it is simply that they want less buttons. So instead of having eight buttons per play they only want to have four. The simplest solution for that is when you are building the arcade, just drill the buttons that you actually want. So if you only want four of these buttons don’t drill all eight and you will accomplish the same thing.  That being said I am going to start including, and I will retroactively add this to all of the other plans that I already make is a single player option. This single player layout will just have one joystick right in the center with one button players. Sorry with one button “hahaha” with one player buttons with a couple of different buttons for coins and things like that. So that will be included retroactively in the existing plans.  And this is what we are going to use in today’s arcade build is this single player layout.

All of my plans include spray on templates for the speaker holes.  And so all you have to do just like the keyboard is spray on a little glue, wave it around just a second to get it tacky (or get it to stick together) and then stick it on the side of the arcade.

On all of my arcades I put a back door on the back of the cabinet, or a maintenance hatch if you will. And that allows you, because you know at some point you’re going to want to make a change to something that is in the cabinet.  That allows you to get inside and make those changes. The back door is actually cut one eighth inch smaller both directions than the hole that it goes in. This is to leave it plenty of room to open and close without rubbing. And so what I find is that I have these little little sixteenth of an inch printed circuit boards, but you can use anything… paper, cardboard, whatever and just lay those on the bottom of the cabinet before you put the door in and that way you know there will always be a sixteenth of an inch all the way around and we’ll do that before we install our hinges.

And here’s another little pro-tip for you. When you are mounting the hinge, go ahead and close it to a forty-five degree angle the backwards direction and this will allow you to space it perfectly on the cabinet. So just put it up against the cabinet and drill your holes.

OK, so contrary to popular belief, you actually do need to sand and finish MDF.  It is actually a lot easier to finish MDF than it is plywood because MDF doesn’t have a wood grain to it. But there are places like right here where there is just a little bit of a gap and we want to fill that in.  And anywhere that we shot a brad nail we also want to fill that in.  And so I like to use just this plastic wood, its from DAP but you can use anything you want really.  You can also use spackling, it works just fine on MDF. So we’ll just use this and we’ll fill in all of those gaps and holes.

After the wood filler dries, which takes about four or five hours, then I like to use 220 grit on the random orbital sander just to smooth everything out.  And the last thing we want to do before we prime it is just to put caulk anywhere there are seems that are going to be visible.  And on this particular cabinet there are only two places, right here and right here. So we’ll just put a little caulk on there and then we will prime it.

So I have a whole video on why I like to use filler primer on MDF and if you want to know more, check that one out.

OK. Well for the paint on this cabinet, I am going to go with this Rust-o-lem rattle can from Home Depot. It’s called Oasis Blue and I think it will look really good with the black T-Molding that I am going to use. And this particular paint is a satin.

OK. So I went ahead and installed the T-Molding really quickly and if you need help installing your T-Molding
I have several videos.  Just check one of my other arcade cabinet videos. In addition I have a whole tips and tricks video in the guild that you might want to check out. In the same vein, I have installed electrical in almost all of my cabinet builds so if you need some detail on that just check one of those other videos, but I’m going to go ahead and just quickly for this video install the electrical.

Alright! It is time to put the control panel together. Now, I am not going to go into a lot of detail in this video, because I have plenty of other videos that talk about how to wire up the control panel, but one thing I do want to point out and let you know is that when you are using these smaller buttons and I really like to use these for the start and select buttons or the one up two up buttons on my cabinets. But I get some feedback on the website sometime that they are not deep enough. That when you put them in the material, especially when you are using three quarter inch material there is not enough room on the back to install the nut. There is a solution for that. I have a whole guild video on how to back-bore these so that you can put the nut on and the nut will actually countersink. So check that out if you are having problems with that.

So those of you who have watched my other arcade videos know that I really like to use these little USB speakers. They sound really good and they are kind of perfect for the form factor of the arcade. But some of you have asked why I hot glue them in.  And the answer is really simple, hot glue is really strong. Some people don’t think it is, but it is really strong. Especially if you apply it right.  And I really like to use hot glue because it will last forever and if I ever want to take it out its certainly possible to do so with a little heat from a hair dryer or a heat gun you can just remove it just a couple of seconds. So it allows me the option to change these at any point in the future that I want to and provides for a really simple mounting method.

Alright! So now we’re going to install the monitor. And there is a couple of reasons that I select this monitor and I use it on almost all of my builds. The first reason is, that is is bezel-less. So except for across the bottom and there is a little Acer logo that you can put a sticker over or paint it black or whatever you want to do, but it is a bezel-less display for the most part.  So when it sits in the cabinet there is no big bezel it just looks like a solid piece of glass. The second item, and it is really important when you are building an arcade is that this monitor remembers it power state. So when you turn this monitor off by unplugging it, and plugging it back in, it remembers whether it was on or off when it lost power.  And that is perfect for an arcade where we’re not going to be able to get to these buttons because they are behind a piece of wood.  So in the case of a power failure when the arcade gets power the monitor will just turn right back on because it remembers that it was on when it lost power.  So let’s go ahead and install this.

So mounting the display is really simple.  You just set it on the base and then just tilt it back. It is going to be a little bit tight and that is by design. It makes it a nice pressure fit.  You can also put a VESA mount behind it if you want it to be really resilient.

OK!  So the new Bartop Arcade is complete, and I am calling this one the Pacade! And some of those of you who are watching are saying “Hey! We didn’t see you put the graphics on!” and this is true, I didn’t show it in the video, because this video is already just too long. So I am going to have another video where I show how to do that. But I did just use a vinyl cutter called a Cricut. You can get them at pretty much any craft store or you can get it online at Amazon. You can make all kinds of cool graphics and lettering. That’s how I made the iconography for the buttons. And they are just little vinyl cutouts that you stick underneath the button. We’ll have a whole other video on that process at some point. I want to talk about a couple of things that make this arcade different from the other one that I made previously.  And most of the things that I have done to this one will be able to be retrofitted to that cabinet and I have updated the plans so that you can add some of these features. The first one is the front USB ports. I have a whole video on the Guild about adding USB ports to your computer, or to your arcade and so check that out if you want more details, but these are just USB ports that I bought off of Amazon. One thing that I got a lot of feedback on, I didn’t show it in the video and I promised that I would, unfortunately, that camera did not turn on when I thought it was on, but there is a VESA mount available for this. It is also in the plans, so if you want to make the monitor be held on firmly from behind rather just a press fit like I generally do, you can add that. The next thing. I got a lot of feedback from people that said they didn’t really want a lighted marquee because they felt like it would waste a lot of energy and so the Pacade does not have a lighted marquee.  Normally there would be about another three inch, four inch section on top with banner with an LED behind it and we didn’t do that on this particular arcade. Although it wouldn’t be that hard to modify the plans and add that if you really wanted it. Anyway, the next thing that I think is really awesome is that I have two templates now, one for single player, and one for two player. A lot of people say the bartop arcades are too small and I will never play two player on them.  And quite honestly I just think it kind of looks cool to just have the joystick right in the center and some buttons on the side. So I used the one player option on this build, but you can certainly use the two player option.  The templates are included for either one.

The other thing that I added to the back of the cabinet is a fan option. So a lot of you feel like that it needs some more cooling. So I don’t really think that a fan is necessary for a Raspberry Pi build, but I did include a fan option and there is also a drilling template for making holes for the fan and installing it if you decide to put a fan in your cabinet.  So that’s it for the Pacade!  Thank you so much for watching. Hit that like button and I will see you in the next video!

The post Make the Pacade (Bartop Retropie Arcade Cabinet) appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Making an iPad Arcade

The great thing about using a tablet to make an arcade is that its super tiny! You can literally put this thing anywhere! On your kitchen cabinet, nightstand, or even your desk at work! The iPad arcade is also incredibly simple to build. It’s small, its affordable, and it connects Bluetooth to your iPad so you don’t even need any cables to make it work!

Watch the iPad Arcade Video

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Building the Tablet Arcade

If you want to build your own tablet arcade, follow along with these steps and I’ll show you how. You can also download a set of plans from my website if you need some help.

Step 1: Cut out the Parts

Using a handheld saw and a jigsaw, cut out all of the sections of MDF needed to make the iPad Tablet Arcade.

Step 2: Add the T-Molding Slots

The T-Molding slots must be done before assembly, as the bit will not reach all of the sections after glue up.

Step 3: Glue it Up!

Use a brad nailer and wood glue to glue up the tablet. If you don’t have these, just use wood screws.

Step 4: Drill the Control Panel

Using the template from the The Geek Pub, drill out the control panel using a Forstner bit. A paddle bit will work in a pinch.  Always use a backer board to prevent blow out.

Step 5: Prime the iPad Arcade

I really like to use filler primer. In fact, I have a video about filler primer for guild members.

Step 6: Paint the iPad Arcade

I used three coats of paint after a light sanding.  Apply these coats about 7 or 8 minutes apart from each other.

Step 7: Install the T-Molding

Use a rubber mallet to install the t-molding into the t-slots.

Step 8: Wire the USB to the AdaFruit

Cut the end off of on old USB cable and use the red and black wires to attach to the ground and voltage in on the Adafruit. Cover the unused wires with heatshrink tubing.

Step 9: Wire the Controls to the AdaFruit

Connect all of the grounds from the buttons and joysticks together and wire those to the ground terminal on the Adafruit. Then connect each button and jokstick position to a pin on the Adafruit.

Step 10: FAIL

Well after all of that work, this project turned out to be a complete fail. Due to the way that the iPad integrates with keyboards (you can’t send up/down, etc and you have to use a key down and a key up event which the Adafruit can not do) I am unable to make this configuration work.  I could easily make this work with an Android or Windows tablet. So at some point in the future I will pick up a device and finish this project. For now, I just can’t spend anymore time on it. There is also the option of adding an Arduino as a middle man and having it do the key presses.  I just don’t have time to spend hours writing the scripts.

The post Make an iPad Arcade (Tablet Arcade) FAIL appeared first on The Geek Pub.

There are several ways to go about setting up an arcade’s internals. The first is to find the original boards from the 1970/80/90s and install them into a homemade cabinet. This really limits what games the cabinet can play, and is very costly. The second way is to use a PC to emulate all of the games. That’s great because you can literally play thousands of games on your arcade. The third way is my favorite. Use a Raspberry Pi 3 running RetroPie!

Watch my Video on Installing RetroPie

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[button link=”https://www.thegeekpub.com/product/arcade-cabinet-plans/” type=”big” color=”green”]Download the Arcade Cabinet Plans Here![/button]

Retropie and the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer that was created for the education community. It’s an incredible device that is incredibly affordable. The Pi is a full blown computer, running on an ARM chip similar two what modern smart phones and devices use. It has wired and wireless networking, 4 USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, speaker port, SD Card slot, camera connector, touch screen connector, and lastly, GPIO! It runs on a variant of Debian Linux called Raspbian. The last thing, the gooey filling so to speak, is RetroPie, the emulation system that runs the arcade. The combination of RetroPie with the Raspberry Pi is a dream for many retro gamers.

General Purpose Input/Output

The Raspberry Pi has very cool 32 pin header on it called GPIO. These pins allow the Raspberry Pi to control the physical world and take input from it. You can connect, relays, motors, switched, LEDs, and all kinds of other sensors to these pins. They’re not required for arcade machines, but that can be used in certain situations. The GPIO could control a coin mech for example. If you were emulating a race-car game, the GPIO could fire the shaker motor in the seat. If your character dies it could flash the marquee lights. Possibilities are endless. Again, not necessary, but opens neat possibilities that would require additional hardware with a PC.

SD Cards vs Hard Drives

The Raspberry Pi does not use a hard drive. The entire computer is based on an SD card. You can certainly plug in a USB hard drive if you needed one, but the system is designed to operate without one. This has pros and cons. SD Cards can be slow, and prone to corrupting under heavy usage. With an arcade cabinet it shouldn’t be an issue since we’re not doing much writing to the card. A big pro is that you can change images in the Pi and test new configurations by simply putting in a new card, or a copy of a card, without making any changes to your normal card. If something goes wrong, just pop the original back in and you’re back in business.

RetroPie

RetroPie along with Emulation Station are the front ends that connect all of the emulators for each system into one clean finished product. RetroPie has built in emulators for MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator), Commodore 64, NES, Atari, Amiga, Apple II, PlayStation and many, many, more. In addition RetroPie comes completely configured on an SD Card image that you simply download from the RetroPie website. There is little to no configuration needed, depending on how complex of a system you are looking to build. In many builds, you’ll just load Retropie on your SD Card and be playing games in a few minutes. In other cases a little tinkering may be required. Regardless, it is the simplest solution available for most gamers.

Where to Buy the Raspberry Pi 3

Canakit Raspberry Pi 3

If you’re going to build an arcade cabinet with RetroPie, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is buy a Raspberry Pi 3. You can use a RPi 2, but the emulation won’t be as good, so get the RPi 3 if you can. I really like the kits from CanaKit (CanaKit is not a sponsor, though they should be). CanaKit makes kits that contain the Pi 3, a case, power supply, and other optional components such as HDMI cables, SD Cards, card readers, breadboards, etc. These kits make it super easy to get started. If you plan to do more than just arcades and gaming, you’ll want to definitely consider the Ultimate Kit.

You can also buy the CanaKits on Amazon.com They qualify for Prime Same Day delivery in many areas for the same price as CanaKit’s site, which is a bonus for some of us.

The cases come in many colors. Black, white, red, etc. I really like the clear case as shown in the photo to the right. It’s awesome to see the circuitry of the Pi through the case. I’ve even considered the possibility of lighting the case on the inside to make it glow.

Parts List for this Project

If you don’t already have the items for this project, here’s a handy list!

• Raspberry Pi 3
• 32GB SD Card
• USB NES Classic Controller
• Acer 24″ Monitor

Installing Retropie

There are a few steps required to get RetroPie onto your Rasbperry Pi. Just follow along and we’ll make this as easy as possible.

Get the Latest Image of RetroPie

Head over to the RetroPie website and grab a copy of the latest image. Drop a copy on your PC and unzip the file somewhere.  Hang on to this file. We’re going to need it in a minute.

Format the SD Card with SD Card Formatter

Next, grab a copy of the SD Card Formatter for Mac or Windows, depending on your platform. Install it on your system and use it to format the SD card. Do not format the card using Windows! The SD Formatter was created specifically for memory cards using the SD/SDHC/SDXC standards and will give you higher performance from your card that the OS format utility will.

Install the Image onto the SD Card

Depending on your OS, you’ll need to use a different imager to image the card, I’ll talk about the two most common.

Using a MacOS (OSX) to Create a RetroPie Image

My favorite tool for imaging any Raspberry Pi image using MacOS (OSX) is Apple Pi Baker. Grab a copy from their website and install it on your Mac. It will ask for admin privileges.  Allow it. This is required for the software to have access to format a file system.

Using Windows to Create a RetroPie Image

My favorite tool for imaging any Raspberry Pi image on Windows is Win32 Disk Imager. Grab a copy from their website and install it on your Windows PC. To run Win32 Disk Imager, right-click the executable (after you unzip it) and select Run As Administrator. This is required for the software to have access to format a file system.

Booting up RetroPie

The next step is to install the SD Card into the Raspberry Pi, plug in the HDMI and power and boot it up. The Raspberry Pi will go through a couple of reboots as it installs itself and reconfigures the file system. This is perfectly normal and will take a few minutes.

You’ll eventually see a splash screen for emulation station and land on a screen asking you to configure a game controller. All you need to do is attach your game controller to the USB port and press each button as it asks you.  This will map the buttons on your game controller to the configuration files in RetroPie.

RELATED ARTICLE: Connect Xbox One controllers to Retropie

Install the Game ROMs

Installing the game ROMs is incredibly simple. Don’t ask me where to obtain them, I can not tell you. If you don’t understand why, I am sorry. The easiest and fastest way is to install them via a USB stick.

USB Stick ROM Install Method

Find a USB stick and format or erase it. Create a directory on the USB stick called “retropie” without quotes. Plug it into your Raspberry Pi while RetroPie is up and running. Wait about one minute and then unplug it.  Plug it back into your PC or Mac and you will see an entire directory structure has been created. You’ll want to open the retropie –> ROMs folder. Place your ROM (game) files into the corresponding folder. If you were installing Super Mario Bros, you would copy the ROM file to retropie –> ROMs –> NES.

Eject the USB stick and place it back into the Raspberry Pi.  RetroPie will copy all of your game ROMs over to emulation station. No simply press START and then QUIT. Select RESTART EMULATION STATION. Emulation Station will refresh and all of your games will be available. Just select one and start playing!

The post Setting up RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi 3 appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Watch the RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet Video

Using the Raspberry Pi for the Bartop Arcade

Some of you will undoubtedly ask why I would use a Raspberry Pi instead of a full PC, like in my original full-size arcade build. There’s a bunch of reasons!

• The Raspberry Pi is only $35. Literally anyone can afford to buy a Raspberry Pi!
• The emulation software is pre-built and pre-configured.  All you have to do is download it and place it on an SD card. It honestly couldn’t be any simpler.
• Many other games like Quake, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and others have free ports to the Raspberry Pi which usually come included  in your download of RetroPie. This means with literally no additional work, you can be playing all kinds of old PC games too.
• There are emulators for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Nintendo, Atari, etc all included.
• The RetroPie interface is clean and super easy to use.
• The Raspberry Pi has a general purpose Input/Output (GPIO) that can be used to control all sorts of things, such as flashing lights, sounds, or even flash your lighted marquee. Imagine if you get shot in Quake and the marquee flashes or the cabinet vibrates. All of that is possible with the GPIO pins of the Pi.

RELATED: RetroPie Setup Guide

All of that being said, most certainly all of this can be accomplished with a PC. It will just cost more and take a little longer and in some cases require a few extra add-on components.

The Controllers and Buttons for the Bartop Arcade

On this build I decided to switch from the X-Arcade joystick and controller over to the Sanwa Arcade Joystick & Buttons and Easyget LED Arcade Controller. I did this because I wanted to add some color to the cabinet and I also wanted the buttons to have LED lights in them, so that I could put transparent labels under the buttons. I felt like this would make a really cool effect. I bought one red joystick, ten red LED lit buttons, one blue joystick, and ten blue LED lit buttons.

The only real downside to the Sanwa solution over X-Arcade is that each set of joystick and buttons requires a separate EasyGet controller. If USB ports are at premium in your arcade you’ll need a USB hub to use them. In addition, you’ll have to find additional space to mount each controller board on the inside of the control panel.

Finally, I do really love the ball top joystick as compared to the teardrop provided by X-Arcade. It just feels very retro and has that old-school arcade look!

Constructing the RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet

Step 1: Layout the Side Panels

The first step is to layout the side panels on a sheet of MDF.  You only need to draw out one panel, because we will cut both panels at the same time.

Step 2: Draw in the Curves

You’ll need a compass to make the curves. Unfortunately the little store bought ones won’t work. I made one out of nothing but a 14 inch piece of scrap wood and a bolt. The easiest solution would be to use a 14 inch string, with your pencil tied to one end and a nail tied to the other.

Step 3: Cut Out the Side Panels

Cut the MDF panel in half and sandwich the left and right panels together.  Clamp them to a table, and then use your jigsaw to cut them out. Once your finished with the cut, unclamp the sides and fold them open. This will reveal two exact copies a mirror of each other.

Step 4: Install the Connectors

To connect the side panels the center panels you could just glue and brad nail them directly together (or use screws or nails). However, that would be incredible hard to hold in place during assembly and it would also be difficult to make sure both sides were perfectly aligned and square.  To make it easier, first we lay out 3/4 x 3/4 inch connectors on the panels. We can take our time and measure everything out, and then glue and brad nail those to the panels.  But! This also has another great benefit: No visible nails or screws on the outside of the cabinet that will need filling later!

In my case I am using 3/4 inch MDF to build my cabinet, so these connectors are inset exactly 3/4 inch. You’ll need to adjust your spacing if you go with a thicker or thinner material.

Step 5: Assemble the base Arcade Cabinet

With step 4 done, assembling the arcade cabinet is almost as easy as legos.

Step 6: Route the T-Mold Slot

This is a completely optional step depending on how you want your finished arcade to look. I personally love the retro look with T-Molding. T-Mold requires a slot in the MDF. You have to route all of the components before final assembly, otherwise your router won’t reach the internals. If you’re not going to add T-Mold, you can skip this step.

Step 7: Install the Front and Back Panels

Now that we’ve routed all of the T-Mold slots we can finish install the panels. On the backside we’re leaving a large 14 inch hole. We’ll make a door to cover this in a later step.

Step 8: Drill the Control Panel

The control panel can be a real pain to drill out accurately. That’s why the plans include a glue on drilling template. Just glue this drilling guide to your control panel and with spray adhesive, drill the holes and then remove it by peeling it off. I recommend Super 77.

Step 9: Install the Back Door

The back door of the cabinet will be used for maintenance purposes.

Step 10: Drill for the Speakers

Another really hard thing to get aligned is the speaker holes. They consist of 60 holes on each side of the cabinet. I’ve included a left template and a right template with the plans. Hitting the holes with a sanding sponge will make them look like they were made at a factory.

Step 11: Prime the Bartop Arcade Cabinet

It is critically important to prime MDF. MDF by its nature will soak up paint. Ultimately MDF is nothing but glued together sawdust. I really like to use Rust-Oleum’s Filler Primer with MDF. It will fill any tiny cracks and imperfections. The only downside is that you absolutely must hit it with sandpaper between primer coats and before painting. It is worth it though because this will leave you with an incredibly smooth base to lay your paint on top of. It changes everything when painting MDF.

Step 12: Paint the RetroPie Cabinet

In my full-size arcade cabinet build I got a lot of comments like “Yeah, anyone with an HVLP sprayer can paint like this.” So with this build I decided to do everything with rattle cans. I can assure you the paint came out just as good.

Step 13: Install the Electrical

I installed a quad outlet plug inside the arcade cabinet. This provides the exact number of outlets needed to run the RetroPie Arcade since most everything else is USB powered.

Step 14: Install the T-Molding

The T-Molding pops in the to T-Slots we routed earlier. I find the best way to install it is with a small rubber mallet.  At the 90 degree turns you’ll need to notch the ribbed track to allow it to curve around the corners. It makes for a very clean look.

Step 15: Install the Marquee Light

I like to line the inside of the marquee’s slot with reflective tape. This makes for a cleaner look once it is lit. The LED light is simply a cheap $20 light from the local big box store.

Step 16: Assemble the RetroPie Arcade Control Panel

Install the joysticks into the arcade with four screws. Install all of the buttons and screw the large plastic ring nut to the back. Then plug all of the controls into the controller boards.

Step 17: Assemble the Major Components

Install the control panel board and install the monitor. The monitor just slides ins place and is held by friction.

Step 18: Install the Raspberry Pi

Install the Raspberry Pi. I used an industrial adhesive backed velcro to hold all of the components in the back of the cabinet.

Step 19: Install the Lighted Marquee

The Marquee banner is just a poster I had printed at a local office supply store for $5. It is sandwiched between two pieces of plexiglass that I cut out on the tables saw.

The Completed RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet

The completed cabinet turned out awesome!  I am super excited with this one! Stay tuned for future projects and we’ll break down some of this build into more detail, including the specifics of loading the Raspberry Pi!

Some of our Awesome Customer’s Work

Check out some of these truly amazing looking builds from our customers, based on this set of bartop arcade plans.

RELATED: Free Play

Video Transcript

Hey guys! It’s Mike, from The Geek Pub! And on this episode we’re going to make this awesome BarTop Arcade cabinet using a Raspberry Pi!

The first thing we want to do is layout the side panels of the RetroPie Arcade Cabinet onto a section of medium density fiberboard. As alway, you can get all of the dimensions in the plans at TheGeekPub.com.

After drawing a rectangle the size of the arcade cabinet, I used my angle finder and a straight edge to transfer the angles.

I couldn’t find my square, so I just used piece of known square plywood to make a 90 degree line for the front of the marquee.

You’ll need a compass to draw the large curved section of the side panels. Rather than buy one, I just used a scrap piece of oak, a pencil, and bolt with a pointed end to make my own. You’ll need to make two tick marks from each end. Wherever they meet is the where you’ll place the center of the compass to connect the top and bottom.

I used my table saw to cut out the rectangle, and then made a second rectangle. The second one will be clamped under the first one. This will allow us to cut out both side panels in one go.

I used my air compressor to keep the sawdust out of my way. This keeps the line highly visible while I cut out the side panels of the arcade cabinet. The best rule of thumb I can give you when using a jigsaw is: Go slow! Take your time. It makes a big difference in the finished product.

Once the panels are cut, open them up on the workbench like a book!  You’ll have two identical side panels for your arcade!

I cut out a bunch of sections of 3/4 X 3/4 inch MDF to use as connection points inside the bartop arcade cabinet. These are inset exactly 3/4 inches. This not only makes the assembly of the arcade cabinet easier, but has the benefit of leaving no exposed nail heads or screws on the outside of the arcade cabinet.

Where appropriate, rather than measuring I simply used spacer of the right size. This ensures my spacing will be dead on accurate. You can cut these spacers from scraps. Simply pull them out and discard them afterwards.

You can use also reuse the spacers as angle finders and place holders when gluing and nailing in your connectors.

The next step is to glue and brad nail the side panels to the top and bottom panels. Be sure to make sure everything is square. If you don’t have a brad nailer you can use screws or just use clamps and wait for the glue to dry.

The 3/4 inch connector pieces we put in earlier make assembly super simple. All you have to do is add glue and line everything up. Again, I am using brad nails to speed up the process. The brad nails are simple there to hold everything together long enough for the glue to dry.

I love the retro look of T-Molding on arcade cabinets. In order to install T-Molding, we need to cut a T-slot in the side panels and all of the components. You have to do this before final assembly as the router will not reach everything after assembly.

Now that we’re done with the routing, we can simply install the remaining panels. We’ll start with the bottom panel of the marquee.

This board will be the bottom frame of the LED monitor.

Then we will install the front of the control panel. This board is slightly inset for a 3D appearance.

On the backside we just need to frame in where the access door will go.

I created this awesome drilling template that you can get on TheGeekPub.com. Just lightly coat the back of it with spray adhesive and press it to the control panel.  Using the template makes it super simple to drill out all of the holes for the joystick and the buttons. It’s also a fantastic reference sheet for install the buttons later.

I used my drill press and Forstner bit to drill out the holes, but you can use a handheld drill and a paddle bit in a pinch.

Once you’re finished, just peel the template off and discard it.

I cut a section of MDF the exact size of the access panel in the back of the arcade and installed it using a piano hinge and a small latch.  This will allow future access to inside of the cabinet for maintenance reasons. I used a couple of paper spacers to center it and my square to make sure everything would open and close easily.

The arcade cabinet has two speakers, one on each side of the cabinet. Provided in the plans is a drilling template for each side to make drilling the 120 holes much simpler. Just attach them with spray adhesive. And then get ready to drill and drill and drill and drill.

When your finished drilling, just remove the template and use a sanding block to remove any burs, it will look like it was made in a factory.

The next step is to prime the MDF. Primer is critical if you want an awesome finish. When I prime MDF, I like to use filler primer as it fills in all the little imperfections. You’ll need to sand it with 220 grit sandpaper before you paint it though.

In my full-size arcade cabinet everyone told me that it was easier because I had an HVLP sprayer, so for this cabinet I am using rattle cans from my local home improvement center.  I decided to go with flat black.

With the cabinet laying on its backside, I installed some polyurethane feet to keep the cabinet from sliding around not he table.

I installed an electrical box in the back of the cabinet and then drilled a hole to accept the power cord. This will be the electrical system for the entire cabinet.

In the electrical box I installed quad outlets, exactly the number of plugs necessary to power the RetroPie Arcade!

The next step is to install the T-Molding. I find the best way to get a smooth finish is to use s small rubber mallet. Take your time and go slow and the results will be fantastic.

When you get to one of the 90 degree cuts you’ll need to cut the track section of the T-Molding to allow it to bend around it. This really makes for a nice seamless look.

In order to make the lighted marquee more uniform in appearance, I like to line the inside of the marquee with reflective tape. Once that’s done I install an 18 inch LED light from the local big box store.

Installing the controls is very simple. Each joystick requires four screws, i recommend pre-drilling these to make sure they sit flush.

The tops of the joystick have a black washer to cover the hole and then you just screw on the balls.

Then its just a matter of inserting all of the button into their respective holes.

On the back of the board you just install a large plastic nut on the back of each button.

Now it is just a matter of plugging every button into the correct socket on the controller board.

I love these USB powered speakers because they fit perfect in arcade cabinets and don’t take up much room. I just use hot glue to hold them in place, and they be easily removed with a heat gun.

This is where the really fun part begins. Final assembly! Start by popping the controller board in place and and installing the monitor.

I like to use this industrial adhesive velcro to hold the components in place. It allows you to easily remove them later for maintenance but will last forever.

For cable management I use this two sided velcro stripping to roll up the wires.

You can get your marquee printed at any office supply store’s copy center for about $5. Then you just need to cut it to fit the size of your marquee.  You’ll sandwich it between two pieces of clear plexiglass. Don’t forget to peel off the clear plastic protector it comes with.

The marquee banner just drops into place.

To keep it from coming out I just glued in two small 1/4 inch pieces of MDF that I pre-painted black.

The last step is to plug in the LED light!

OK!  Well I think this cabinet might have been more fun than my full-size arcade cabinet and the reason why I think is because I used a Raspberry Pi. Now a lot of you are probably asking “Why did I use a Raspberry Pi?”  Well the first reason is very simple. It costs $35 dollars. Literally anyone can afford to buy a Raspberry Pi! The second reason is RetroPie. So RetroPie is preconfigured. You just download it from their website. There’s no configuration trying to figure out how to get some front-end to work or some game to work. You just download the entire RetroPie image and load it on your Raspberry Pi and you’re done. You’re ready to go. All you have to do then is drop your game ROMs on. The third reason is that the Raspberry Pi has GPIO. Now I did not use any of the GPIO features on this cabinet. But if you wanted to have a game say where if you crashed, the cabinet would shake. Using the GPIO off the Raspberry Pi would make that incredibly simple. And then finally the fourth reason is no cooling. So the Raspberry Pi puts off almost no heat. So you can put the Raspberry Pi in here with no fan and you are ready to go. If you wanted to use a PC in this cabinet instead of a Raspberry Pi I would probably just add a fan to the back door and plug it into one of the USB ports.

Well guys, stay tuned for some future videos, because we’re going to break this down a little but farther.  We’re going to talk about the Raspberry Pi and how to load RetroPie and some of those other things as well as how to connect the control boards in a lot more detail. So look for those coming up.

Well hey be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram. That’s Facebook.com/TheGeekPub and Instagram.com/TheGeekPub. I post pictures of all of my projects as I build them, so you get a sneak preview of what’s coming in the next video.  Also consider becoming a patron on Patreon by clicking this link here. That will help me fund projects like this and I can make more videos. See ya next time.

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