Spinner Knob

Well, I got the spinner knob in UPS today. I really like the way it looks, and I think I made the right choice.

One thing that you cannot see from the picture is that there are actually two set screws, one on either side shaft hole. Another thing to note is that once they are completely screwed in, they will be in about 1/8" so all you will see is two holes. Also, I find it interesting that it seems that the silver looking part is actually the part that is colored. But now that I think about it, I suspect what they did was machine the knurling, tap the holes, then dye it. And after all that, then they machined the recessed part out.

What I Have So Far

First off, I'd like to wish all you hoopy froods a happy Towel Day. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on to business.I had meant to post sooner, but I was extremely busy Saturday and Sunday, and then Monday and Tuesday I had a giant pile of cloths on my desk that needed to be folded and put away. But anyway, I received most of my stuff from Happ Controls last Tuesday (May 17), except for the spinner knob, but I'll get to that. Anyway, I finally cleared off my desk, so I could take a picture of everything I have gotten so far.

Here's everything that I got (from top left).
(x2) 4" Unshielded Speakers
It should be pretty obvious why you need these. I haven't quite figured out how I will drive them, but I expect that I will end up cannibalizing a set of computer speakers, that should make it fairly easy. 
SlikStik Tornado Spinner Assembly 
I wanted this mainly for Arkanoid, but I also definitely plan on getting TRON, along with others I'm sure.
Player 1 & 2 Buttons w/ Horizontal Microswitch
Of course I had to get these, it just wouldn't be right to not. After all, you have to have a way to start, and they also just look cool.
Replacement Ms. Pac-Man Joystick
I mainly wanted this for the ball top, again for the looks, but also because Pac-Man is one of my all time favorite arcade games. Now you may be wondering "But if all you're talking about is Pac-Man, why the Ms. Pac-Man replacement? After all, you can get the original Pac-Man replacement joystick right here?" Well, I'll tell you why. For one thing, I also like Ms. Pac-Man, possibly even better than the original. The other (main) reason is that the replacement for the original is about $50. Another thing to note, is that this joystick is 4-way, which not only is it very important for Pac-Man, but it is also important to note that other games require more than 4-way, which brings me to the:
(x2) Black Super Joystick
These are what each player gets. They are actually able to switch between 4-way and 8-way, important for any game where you have to go diagonal.
(x2)  Round Speaker Grille
Pretty self-explanatory. I thought about routing out the MDF, so I wouldn't have to buy these, but I couldn't come up with a satisfactory design.
(x2) White Button w/ Horizontal Microswitch
I think I will probably use these for left and right mouse buttons. This, in part with the Trackball (below) should let me avoid having to plug in another mouse and trying to find a place to put them.
(x6) Green Button w/ Horizontal Microswitch
These are for player 1 or 2, I haven't decided yet.
(x6) Blue Button w/ Horizontal Microswitch
Same thing, but for all of these things I will get into the control panel layout later
3" White Trackball
After running this through an encoder, it will function as a mouse. Combined with the white buttons above, I should be able to emulate anything I might need.
Miniature Round Pushbutton, Red
I was planning on linking this to the Reset button, but I might change my mind. Anyway, I'm sure I'll find some use for it.
Velleman Multimeter
Happ has a nice deal where when you buy so much stuff worth of merchandize, you get to choose from some free stuff. When you spend over $300, you have the option to get a free multimeter. Definitely not top-of-the-line, but not too bad either.

That's all for right now, I'll be posting soon.

More About the MAME Cabinet

So in case you're wondering, MAME Stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. What this means to you, is that with the right know-how, you can actually play old arcade games like Pac-Man or Galaga on your computer. Not content to just use the computer keyboard, many people (including me) decide to make an arcade cabinet, just like you might find in an arcade. I have been wanting to make this for a while, but I never had the money or the time to make it happen. So of course, I decide to build it the summer before I leave for college. Anyway, I spent innumerable hours on BYOAC (Build Your Own Arcade Controls), reading everything, from how to make your own keyboard encoder, to how to make a rotating monitor, as well as looking at probably over one hundred different cabinets, from upright to desktop to cocktail. After a lot of research, I finally decided to go basically with LuSiD's design. This is probably the most widely used design, most likely because it just works out really well. It can all be cut from 3 sheets of MDF. I might have to expand to 4, because at 6'1", a just over 3' high control panel doesn't really work, and I'm building it for me, so I can do what I want! I am basing the control panel layout on the Doughcade II (I think). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get his website to work. You have to remember that most of these websites (and a lot of the MAME stuff in general) have not been updated in about 10 years.
Anyways, I haven't figured out where I will put it, but I have some time to figure that out. Here is a panorama of my room if you want to suggest where to put it. Maybe later I will model my room in Sketchup and post it, so y'all can rearrange my room.
What I do have modeled in Sketchup however, is LuSiD's cabinet. I had to go from his 4 page PDF, and I just thought it was too confusing to try to build from, so I spent a few days trying to figure it out. All the PDF had was some tips on construction and the cut plans, so I modeled it in 3D to get a better visualization.
This is a picture of the model:

And here is a link to the model in the 3D Warehouse, so you can download it if you want, and play around with it.

First Post!

Ok, people, here's how it's going to go. My name is Matthew Walton, I'm homeschooled, but just finished up taking Dual Credit classes at the local community college. I plan on going to UNT this Fall to major in Electrical Engineering. Right now, I'm about to get started on a MAME cabinet. This will be a great project, because it combines many of my interests: woodworking, electronics, and computers. I'll be posting soon with more info for y'all, but for right now, I'm going to bed. It's getting late.