MMP Dyno Cab

The following will detail the conversion/restoration of this cabinet.

Whoo! Got 2 of these monster cabinets. Nothing better than a Dynamo cabinet for mame...no classic cabinet sacrificing, and the panels are pre-drilled for 2 trackballs, or three joysticks, with buttons for all! This one was a Gal's Panic 2 which everyone knows is a great game for the young children in the family (!)

PERCENT COMPLETE


		The marquee went in first. Lights are wired, but not connected. Two 15 watt bulbs do the job nicely.

UPDATE! Sold this cabinet, and the new owner wants a 4 player panel, so I designed the modifications to the right. I've started the construction, and it looks like it will work out just fine. Based on the NBAJam cabinet.


	Here the new panel starts to resemble the rendered cab. The protective film is still on the plexi, and the underlay isn't in place. I found a local supplier for the long carriage bolts, so no more old and rusty bolts for me! For the trackball, I have purchased a sheet of bulk steel, and will make up a custom mounting plate that will be hidden by the underlay graphic. I am awaiting the joysticks and spinner to complete the panel. I will buff the edge of the new plexi smooth and shiny with the cloth wheel in the grinder before I assemble the whole thing.

	Using my makita plunge router, I countersink the joystick positions. The same will be done for the spinner when it arrives. I routed the outline of the steel plate out on the top area of the panel, just the thickness of the plate. The gaps were filled with extra strength wood filler (see pic to left), then a quick sanding, and a layer of paint, and it looks assembly line perfect. Once the underlay and plexi is in place, the trackball will be rock solid (the mounting bolts will help keep the plexi in place). The Happ Hi-lip trackball came up perfectly flush with the plexi, exactly what I was hoping for! The Hi-lip balls are used on golden tee golf games, and are absolutely perfect for this application, and built to take a lot of punishment!
	I'm making up two panels at the same time, the other for the Power cab. This one is as far as it can go without the I-pac4 and the new joysticks. The T-molding has yet to be installed, but the groove is cut. Except for the substitution of 5 buttons instead of 6, the panel matches the mockup perfectly. Who says knowing autocad isn't useful?
	The spinner went in no problem. I wired it up to a selector switch that will determine if the trackball will be working, or the mouse. I'll post a pic when that's running perfectly. The Happ Supers showed up today. They are probably the best of the microswitch joysticks. They have a reversible actuator on the bottom, that allows 4 and 8 way play. I found that if I set the actuator to 4 way, and bent the arms on the microswitches, I can get very good response in 4 way games, and still be useable for 8 way games. If this arrangement doesn't work, I will set the player 3 joystick to 4 way, and redirect the controls of the 4 way games to that stick. That's the great thing about these games...if something isn't right, it can be narrowed down and changed with little difficulty. The wiring was debugged today, and all the controls are working 100%! The switcher for the trackball and spinner worked like a charm. For a detailed howto on the switch, check out the instructions over at Oscar Controls. (worked for me!) Since I didn't want the switch poking up out of the control panel, where it could get smacked in the middle of a game, I put it on the coin door, where of course a knee will never hit it. Hmm. Anyways...the switch is a DPDT ON OFF ON switch.
	Well, got it all put together, and it works! Removable control panel, 20" monitor, amplified speakers, Mame capable, Jukebox ready, and 10 gigs of hard drive space to spare for possible future upgrades (like if I ever figure out how to get pinmame running correctly :/) All in all, I'm very pleased with this cabinet. Whoo hoo!! It is a shame I have to wipe the roms and songs before I deliver it, but rules are rules, and better safe than sorry.
	Here is the one pic I remembered to take, while I was installing it. Fits right in at this office. They were just constructing this lunchroom/gamesroom, so I didn't take any photos of the whole room, but I'll probably be back to do any upgrades/maintenance, and I'll try and remember the digital camera when I do!