miniMAME

Description of game:

It was a cabaret poker game of some type (not working). I decided instead of scrapping it I would make it a nice MAME cabinet. Put a PII/400 in it, with Windows 98 and MAME .68. If you want to know more about MAME, check out my Links Page.

Different games that this cabinet plays:

It’s not the fastest computer in the world, but it plays all the old classics very well.

How I got it:

Picked this game up in a small bulk buy in March, 2003. Was going after the Gorf, and this was thrown in for nothing. It was a non-working, unnamed poker game. Thought that the cabinet looked great, and it would make a nice MAME machine. “Should be an easy setup…”

Recent repairs:

Cleaned out the cabinet and removed all of the existing parts. Pulled the control panel and removed the 11! buttons mounted in it. This control panel also holds the coin mech. Cool design. I developed a control panel overlay that I plan to print and apply. I am going to mount a 1/4″ piece of Lexan to cover it. The lexan is also intended to strengthen the control panel so I don’t have to fill the holes.

Mounted a 15″ VGA monitor inside it. Had to remove the monitor from its case, and screw the parts into the cabinet. The tube depth is a bit too long for the glass to be installed back in its original position, so I repositioned the control panel and top board from the cabinet to give it another 1/2″ of clearance.

I then focused my efforts on the control panel. I really wish I had $50 to spend on a stepped drill bit like Bob Roberts sell. Well, I had to cut eigth holes in a metal control panel that already had eleven. What a nightmare. Tried metal cutting jigsaw bits, drill bits, and finally a Dremel cutoff wheel before I got the holes cut. I’m not posting a picture of the blank panel on purpose. Here is the end result, with a graphic of the CPO I designed with the help of the CAGA archive (see my links). One thing I think that is cool about this particular machine is how the coin mech is built into the control panel, and the coin slot is on top.

img src=”http://www.jeffsgames.com/images/arcade/games/minimame/minimamecpo.jpg” width=”547″ height=”137″>

Also had some fun with the speakers. See if you can tell what I made the grills out of. Sorry the pic didn’t turn out better. More clues later!

The computer was a real problem. Of course, since the small monitor was too big for the cabinet, why should the computer case be any different. Had a ton of engineering necessary to get this to fit. Why again did I use a cabaret case instead of a fullsize upright?

Oh, and here is the encoder I made for it. It’s from an old Gateway keyboard. Never knew understanding keyboard matrices could be so fun!

What it still needs:

Just have a bit of tweaking to do with the GUI, then clean out the games that I do not want to play in it. Also may try to add some old console emulators to it.

Final Thoughts:

My first MAME cabinet. This is really fun playing some of the games I haven’t seen since I was in school. This also saves me from having to make more JAMMA harnesses for the PCB’s I have laying around. This game is a perfect height for children in the cabinet I used.

Personal High Scores:

Nothing yet

Links:

3D Arcade…The best front end that I’ve ever seen for MAME and many other emulators.
M.A.M.E. Official Site…Here is the famous emulator
MAME Action Replay Page…Tons of MAME saved replay files
Mameworld…The best site on the net for everything related to MAME

Screen Shots: