John's Arcade Forum - Classic Arcade and Pinball Collecting and Restoring Discussion Forum - RETRO MAME - Nintendo Vs Forum

This is one good use of an empty cab .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMq3nfG4rys

I just got into this hobby a few months ago and it was alittle rough for me at first because i am handicapped but i still managed
to get the machines up three flights of stairs and running around finding the parts to build these.
I am half blind and deaf and broke my spine in a work accident and live alone.
Did i mention i suffer from brain damage?  Its not easy staying motivated and positive
but i wasnt always like this , i use to be a fabricator and paint cars. I needed something to work on to keep me busy.
As a kid , well me and my brother use to walk to the arcade with 5 bux and just hang out. i lost my brother last year
and i thought it would be cool to have the arcade memories back.
So i started watching John's youtube videos and its not just what hes doing but how he goes about it and explains it
that makes his videos stand out from the others. It got me motivated again to have and play arcade machines.
ANYWAYS...
Each coinop 5 machine has about $450 invested into them. I did not build these to resell them i just needed something
to do because working on my 3 antique cars in the winter is a bummer without a heated garage.
I did manage to get some dedicated arcade machines but these multi machines i gotta tell you
are way better for an apartment than many dedicateds. I did all the work myself
and the xboxs from scratch . I even had to learn to padhack.
All in all i learned alot making these four machines.
Already had an offer for the sega race cab for 900 . dont know if i wanna let it go
but judging by the amount of space i have here if i want more dedicateds one or two multi's gotta go.
I looked at my cars and thought "Well i dont need the 62 t-bird i wonder how many arcade machines i can buy with 12 grand off craigslist?"
Fact is id only have room for a bed in my apartment if i do that so go with a few multi's lol.
And anybody that tells you CRT is the way to go can pound up a rope.. Less heat , weight and more room to work with.
Doesnt look as cool with vector games but looks good regardless.
(http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb392/turbografx/73186_761885777173208_1863626225_n.jpg) (http://s1203.photobucket.com/user/turbografx/media/73186_761885777173208_1863626225_n.jpg.html)

So if you are thinking about building a multi i suggest snagging an empty cab and ordering a tank stick from xgaming
then find a used cheap LCD off CL (if you can find an original xbox with coinops even better) and just slap one together.
If i can do it  should be easy for you .

Nice one.

yeah from scratch meaning a blank xbox .
Trust me , id rather be doing something easy like burning an eeprom than having to make a flash drive in xfat get recognized in windows so i can dump the exploits on it.
Its no picnic having to use 2 xboxs to hotswap a larger hard drive in using linux lol.
This project isnt just maming a machine its having to know ahead of time if you can even get large pata drive that is lockable , a monitor that will fit the cab, component upscaler.
200 bux for an xarcade stick (shit aint even top quality in my opinion) but it works .
I think im gonna sell a few and buy some working dedicateds this week.

Great inspiring story.  As for the Xbox comments.  I've had experience with both softmods and hardware mods to my xbox with Xecuter chips, etc.  They each have their strengths and weaknesses.  By I've probably enjoyed the softmod the most since it was so easy to do (Splinter Cell save game exploit).  It limits your hard drive space, but I've only loaded the games that I really like to keep the menu choices more customized and smaller.

yeah i was gonna do that too but we have computer shows and vendors sometimes bring 320 gig pata drives.
Ive never seen the modchip . was told it was better.

You could always use a 60 in 1 if you are in a pinch.  They go for about $50 shipped and can plug directly into a VGA monitor (D-sub connector).

im gonna get a 60 in 1 tonight and a few power supplies from a buddy.. to have just in case.

For the most part i think im getting a new monitor 19" too. for my neo geo cab.