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Hi,
I’ve decided to embark on building a cab rather than my preferred option of trying to find an old one to gut. ( I was offered one for a reasonable price but it was still too pretty to be pillaged by me ). So I’ve got a million questions as well as a massively limited amount of time inbetween jobs, home and general other waffle. I’ve got the standard tables working on my day to day PC, I even got a few back glasses working on my 2nd monitor, but I can’t for the life of me work out the stern tables ( all I really want is Ironman working ! ) they just error out telling me the name is wrong ( but I’ve got the roms from the stern site so I’ve got no idea now )
One of the biggest problems as I see it is that I’m in Australia ( and sleepy Southern Australia at that ) so things are expensive. ( freight bites ) Screens cost an arm and a leg for anything decent ( anyone have suggestions ?? I’m almost thinking about a soniq which if I don’t like I may be able to use as a vertical backglass .. ) I’m thinking a 42″ playfield but now that I’m building it’s able to be a bit rubbery on the sizing, zebs stuff in Au from the US$ is crazy money and although I don’t have a budget in mind, and I do have an understanding wife, I don’t want to have to skimp on the daughters wedding for the sake of a pinny .. although .. .. no, no I don’t ..
So I think that is step one, finding a playfield .. from there I can build a box and backglass.
The other thing I’m entirely not sure on other than the Stern tables, is nudging, I’m old enough to have worked in an arcade on saturday mornings, so being able to nudge realistically is a prime objective ( along with a decent number of contactors so it feels a real and a good old fashioned crack when I get a free game .. it still makes me smile ), and I’ve not read of a perfect nudging solution yet ?
Anyways, enough waffle, time to order some bits, and see how much wire I have left from my arcade cab which I finished over 10 years ago and still play now in it’s raw timber form as I’ve never had the inspiration to make it look as pretty as it plays ;)
Cheers,
al.
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Welcome Al, and good luck on your build, it’s lots of fun :)
For the Stern games you need the modified version of pinmame found HERE be sure to read the directions on how to install and where to put the files.
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If you go to Zebs site, it looks like you can buy some parts from ozstick and pintek, hopefully that will help with shipping as well
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Cheers for that,
Welcome Al, and good luck on your build, it’s lots of fun :) For the Stern games you need the modified version of pinmame found HERE be sure to read the directions on how to install and where to put the files.
Aaaaahhh, the stern needs it’s own vpinmame .. that will save the few remaining strands from turning grey ! Thanks, I’ll investigate fully tonight when I get home, and thanks also for the wicked tables that you have had involvement in. In particular your ’78 starwars story rang all sorts of nostalgic bells :) great fun & very creative.
If you go to Zebs site, it looks like you can buy some parts from ozstick and pintek, hopefully that will help with shipping as well
yeah, I’ve used OzStick a lot for the arcade, ( vga card, buttons, ipac etc ) but they carry a very limited pinny range at this stage, hopefully pintek turns into something once they have an operational website
It’ll take me plenty of time before I need anything substantial anyway I imagine :)Cheers,
al.
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I also spent a lot of time looking for a cabinet to gut and use but ended up building my own. If you go this route and want to trim with ‘real’ pinball parts like siderails, lockdown bar, lockdown receiver, lift channels for the backglass and things of that nature you will want to make sure you follow the plans for the appropriate table size you’re going after or else you will find yourself need to custom make things, like lockdown bars.
This leads to your decision on playfield size. It will be pretty darn near impossible to fit a 42″ screen in a standard body pinball machine. It is just too wide, so you’ve got two choices, build your cabinet to fit the 42″ and then go the custom lockdown bar route and then custom playfield glass… or step up to a widebody. When you step up to the widebody you will find your 42″ will be a little too narrow to max your area… I initially bought a 42″ for my playfield with plans on convincing myself I’d be alright with the gaps around the table and a smaller overall playfield area but ended up hunting down a 46″ TV in the end to fill the space out.
I followed mameman’s widebody plans to build my cabinet and then bought the widebody kit from virtuapin to trim it out. Everything fit perfectly. I did decide to stray from the plans on the backbox to accommodate my 32″ screen which lead to some of the backglass plastics being undersized, easy enough to work around by ordering some extra parts from virtuapin and pieces things together. Being in Canada shipping is really expensive too but I was able to drive across the boarder and pick my kit up to save a little money, not so much of an option for you :).
In regards to nudging and controllers to drive DOF have you looked into the Pinscape project? It is a great open source option for those with the patience to assemble everything, that may potentially save you some money if you have local suppliers of electronic parts. Most of the toys can be sourced from China. If you want to make your life MUCH more simple you’d order everything from Zeb but if you’re up for a fun ride you can go the DIY route :). (Numerous times on my journey I wished I had gone the Zeb’s route).
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Cool, thanks for that, priceless advice ! Hmm, maybe I’ll look at a slightly smaller screen and stick to standard body, I’ve got the dimensions at home, so I might go and measure up a couple of 40″ and see how they will go .. not sure what the store will think of me with a measuring tape, but I think it’s probs the best way to go. I notice a few peeps using UHD screens too, but I think they are still a bit pricey here, so I’ll stick to FHD.
Pinscape is new to me, I’ve not looked that far ahead yet, just vaguely knew it could be done, hopefully a few quiet days at work will let me get some research done :) I’ll check it out for sure .. i’m comfortable with rolling my own, and have a few mates that are sparkys to lean on, but I’m sure I will regret it !
I’m currently at the stage where I’m stoked if I can get a backglass working on a 2 screen setup on my PC, so I’m thinking the tweaking of software is pretty much under control, time to start gathering bits. I’ve got some leaf switches and a plunger kit on order, and I’ve got an ipac and ledwiz left over from another mame cab I never built .. screen is going to have to be the first big purchase I think ! Time to take the wife out for a nice meal ..
Cheers,
al.
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I got a 40inch Samsung Full HD from The Good Guys for only $440. It has a fantastic viewing angle for a cab, as it maintains contrast well from top to bottom (this is very important when selecting your screen, don’t just stand in front of them). It has a very small bezel as well, so there was no need to de-case (just etch in the logo and remote to the cab side). I coupled it with a cheap Palsonic 28inch and I think the size combo is perfect for a cab.
The only problem with the Palsonic is that it doesn’t remember it’s power state like the Samy does, so I have use the remote to turn it on, as it won’t automagicly boot with the cabs power. :( (There is a way around this using a USB device, but it’s another $60 so it’s important to get a screen that boots with power)
As far as pinball parts go…. I’ve used OzStick and GameDude & aliexpress.com for keyboard encoders/buttons/joy etc. For “real” pinball things like legs, I used Mr Pinball.
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Excellent cheers for the leads, I’ll head there tonight and have a look at what they can do for me. The power on is overcomable with a pulse8 CEC adapter yeah ? I have one on my xbmc box that is brilliant, but if I can find one that remembers power state it’s a win for sure. There’s a few aussies on here then :)
Edit : Don’t suppose you know the model you got for those dollars do you ? they are _significantly_ dearer at the moment …
Cheers,
al.
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Excellent cheers for the leads, I’ll head there tonight and have a look at what they can do for me. The power on is overcomable with a pulse8 CEC adapter yeah ? I have one on my xbmc box that is brilliant, but if I can find one that remembers power state it’s a win for sure. There’s a few aussies on here then :) Cheers, al.
There are a couple of options out there for the powering on of TV’s… sounds like you are using one I haven’t read about. The pinscape expansion board does have functionality to handle this and I am using it for my backglass TV which also doesn’t have the memory of power state. It does require you to solder directly on the PCB of the TV but it wasn’t a big deal. Since you have an LEDWiz already that would be duplicating a lot of what the Pinscape project does but it still does have a lot of other great features to it too… such as an accelerometer to accommodate your nudging. Hope you can find a deal on TV’s, I picked up my 46″ off a buy & sell website we use in Canada called Kijij, not sure if you have a similar site in Australia.
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There’s a few aussies on here then :) Cheers, al.
Yep… we’re like ‘Chicken Man’ … “we’re everywhere!! we’re everywhere!!” ;)
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Yep. If you need help, I’m happy to assist with questions.
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So I managed to find a 40″ Panasonic for the deck. I’m thinking I’ll save up for a back glass screen and dmd but in the meantime start cutting and framing.. just need to find some time to be able to make a start !
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I’ve got a question that I’m sure has a sensible answer if anyone can shine some light ..
When a playfield goes in I notice a lot of cabinets have a large ( well not large, but noticeable ) bit of filler from the lockbar to the beginning of the playfield. Why ? It looks to be about maybe 100mm, I figure I’ll just shorten my cab at this stage, but I’ve not done a sketchup yet to see if there is anything too obvious in the way.
I don’t imagine it is plunger, as you’d just lower the plunger, I don’t think it would be flipper buttons ? or is it just that it doesn’t look awesome all the way down to the lockbar ? I’m drawing up my dimensions, contemplating decasing the playfield and I think I can get it into a standard lockdown bar sized width at this stage, so thanks Rusty for the 40″ guidance!
Swapped my extraneous ipac for a carton of beer, to help with contemplation, and ordered a zebs analogue real plunger kit, so that will make things easy.
Started the “left over parts I have lying around” PC build to run the system, can’t believe I ended up with an I7 3.2GHz 8GB ram, a 750 watt modular power supply and a 480gb SSD all sitting around, also found a heap of old crap that needs to go to the recycler.. just need to get a video card, but may upgrade my desktop and cycle the 660 into pinball service.. ( although there were a couple of tables that struggled on that card from memory. )
I’m going to have to get the ply and start some wood work in the next fortnight or so, as I can’t look at a chair without thinking it looks like a bloody pinny ..
But with the cold nights we are having I might start setting up some software .. :)
Cheers,
al.
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I have not had problems running anything with a GTX 660. I run three screens off of the card.
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Yeah I had a 650ti and upgraded to a 960 and both ran just same perfectly fine in visual pinball honestly 960 is just not needed but is nice I suppose for impressing friends
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Messing with the VPinball app and push notifications.
So if you haven't downloaded app yet what are you waiting for!?
for IOS and Android********************************************************
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Cool I’ll get it into the new old build and see .. i think it was an out of memory error from memory .. might have just been a one off, but I remember renaming the folder with the error, so I can try it again. 960 I will likely throw into my desktop, they have come down a fair bit since the 10xx series releases ..
Cheers,
al.
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You may not want to shorten your cab if you plan on using standard side rails and playfield glass… both those will require you to follow the plans. People often fabricate an apron for this space with some going to more details than others. I’m still working on mine to be honest but with the 46″ screen in there it will be rather small so I don’t think I will do anything more than a bevelled piece of mdf painted gloss black.
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If you do put a spacer I would put it at the back instead of the front by the lockdown bar. I personally think you want the screen at least starting as close to actual spot as possible since the apron is on the screen usually as well. Others of course have done and feel differently
On mine I am fitting the cab to the screen and cutting down the side rails to fit and ordering a custom sized piece of tempered glass. My standard width cab ended up 4″ shorter than a real one with a 41.5″ screen. Quotes I’ve seen on the custom glass is $30-$40, so really not much more than standard size.You need to login in order to like this post: click here
Quotes I’ve seen on the custom glass is $30-$40, so really not much more than standard size.
Wow that’s cheap! I used 6mm Starfire optically clear toughened glass and that cost me $180 Australian (trade price as we use it in my photography gallery)… it did have polished edges to make handling safer, perhaps that punched the price up a bit? …and it was 6mm, what is the standard thickness?
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3/16” is standard, so a little under 5mm. And that’s just plain tempered glass, none of that fancy Starfire optically clear stuff,(what ever that is) nor polished edges.
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