Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

213

11

11. How to Build a

Home Arcade Machine

Cost

Time

Difficulty

$500–900

one week

moderate

Do you have fond memories of spending your entire week’s allowance play-

ing Dig Dug, Defender, Pac-Man, Centipede, or any of the other great ’80s

arcade games? Are you having trouble finding any of these classic games to

play? Have you ever wanted a full-size, stand-up arcade machine in your rec

room at home?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, read on! This chapter will

show you how to hack together a full-size arcade machine that will play just

about any arcade game. In fact, you can probably load almost every arcade

game into the system. You will need lumber to build the cabinet, a spare PC,

a color television set, a TV video board, and a set of arcade controls.

First, I will cover the construction of a full-size, arcade-quality, stand-up

cabinet. For many people this will be the hardest part of this hack. Next,

you will wire up a set of arcade controls to a front panel and wire them to

an interface card. You will then install a TV set and PC inside the cabinet.

Finally, you will load a piece of software called MAME on the PC.

The cabinet will give the machine a real arcade feel, but if you find this part

of the project a bit much, you can simply build the arcade controls into a

box and connect it to the PC. Or, if you want a cabinet but are not feeling

particularly handy, you can buy a used arcade cabinet, refurbish it, and

install new controls if necessary. Check your local yellow pages for dealers

or look on eBay.

Credits

All photos and portions of the text copyright

© 2003 Jeff McClain.

What You Need

• Basic woodworking tools (jigsaw,

electric drill, files, T-square, clamps,

Dremel motor tool)

• Medium-density fiberboard (MDF)

sheets

• A PC

• Color TV set or PC monitor

• Arcade controls

• Soldering iron and solder

• Other items listed in

Exhibit A

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