2 Player Bartop Arcade Machine Powered by Pi

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2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) by rolfebox on July 22, 2014

Table of Contents 2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Intro: 2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 1: Tools and materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 2: Designing the cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 3: Designing the controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 4: Designing the marquee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 5: Cabinet prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 6: Control panel prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 7: Cutting the panels pt.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Step 8: Cutting the panels pt.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 9: Assembling the cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Step 10: Paint it black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Step 11: All the trimmings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Step 12: Mounting the screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Step 13: A note on audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Step 14: Wiring the controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Step 15: Wiring everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Step 16: Lighting the marquee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Step 17: Access hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Step 18: Raspberry Pi config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Step 19: Finish him! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Author:rolfebox I'm a guy who likes games and design and making stuff.

Intro: 2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) The 'Galactic Starcade' is a DIY retro bartop arcade cabinet for two players. It is powered by the Raspberry Pi micro-computer and plays multiple types of retro games primarily NES, SNES, Megadrive and arcade (MAME) games. Using a Pi keeps the cost, weight and complexity to a minimum but the cabinet could also house a more powerful PC-based system to play more modern games. I've always wanted an arcade machine for authentic retro gaming but they take up a lot of space and cost a lot of money. Making a custom bartop cabinet like this one solves both of those problems. It also lets you play potentially thousands of games on a single machine. This project costs under £200 (approx. $320) to make, whereas a prebuilt custom cabinet can set you back four or five times that amount! This is my first big DIY project and my first Instructable - be nice! Any questions or feedback are more than welcome in the comments. UPDATE #1: Thanks for the great reception to the Starcade everyone! Very pleased to have placed in two competitions and won some top loot from Instructables. I'm loving the photos in the comments, keep 'em coming please! UPDATE #2: After a ton of requests I have finally got round to making some handy PDF guides which show all the necessary dimensions to make this arcade machine even easier to build yourself! I've knocked up full 1:1 scale printable guides for the side panels and the control deck, plus a reference sheet with dimensions and angles for the rest of the panels. You can download the PDFs below. Enjoy!

File Downloads

starcade_controls.pdf (413 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'starcade_controls.pdf']

starcade_refsheet.pdf (445 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'starcade_refsheet.pdf']

starcade_sidepanel.pdf (415 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'starcade_sidepanel.pdf']

Step 1: Tools and materials If you want to follow along at home, here is the basic recipe for the build. Substitutions for similar items are fine - this is just documenting what I personally used. I've shown how much I found each item for online, although bear in mind that quite a bit of this stuff was already lying around the house and I didn't actually go out and pay for. This list should show you the total cost if you were to buy everything. You will need: Internals Raspberry Pi model B - £24 (Amazon) Clear case for Pi - £3 (Amazon) Heatsink for Pi - £3 (Amazon) 32gb class 10 SD card - £12 (Amazon) 4-way extension lead - £1 (Amazon) Fused switched mains inlet socket - £7 (eBay) Display 19" LCD TFT monitor with built-in speakers- £25 (eBay) HDMI to DVI cable - £2 (Amazon) Controls Joysticks + buttons + USB interface - £44 (ultracabs) Cabinet 12mm MDF board 1829 x 607 - £15 (B&Q) 9mm MDF board 1829 x 607 - £9 (Wickes)

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

6mm MDF board 1829 x 607 - £7 (Wickes) 3m x 15mm coloured t-molding - £6 (arcade world) 750ml all-purpose white primer - £9 (screwfix) 400ml matte black spray paint - £3 (screwfix) 600mm brass piano hinge - £5 (Wickes) Marquee Plexiglass 500 x 240mm - £3 (screwfix) Flexible LED strip kit - £13 (Amazon) Approximate total spend = £191 ($305) You will also need the following tools. A lot of these are pretty common but if there's something you don't have - borrow it! I personally borrowed a great deal of tools and advice from my housemate, fellow retro gamer and all-round good egg Jonny from 1up Living. He pops up in a few of the photos and generally helped a lot with the build. You will need: USB keyboard and mouse Screwdriver Drill with ~28mm, ~12mm, and ~2mm bits Clamps! Table saw Jigsaw Router Sandpaper Filler Wood glue Screws Paint roller and small brush Patience

Step 2: Designing the cabinet I did a lot of research before building this cabinet. Mainly looking at other people's designs. There are a lot of great instructables already for custom arcade machines I've kept track of my favourites here - but none of them covered exactly what I was after. After taking in a lot of inspiration I decided the main criteria for my design would be: two-player classic 80s arcade style relatively portable I wanted to make something that would look vaguely 'real' with authentic controls for a convincing arcade experience at home. A couple of sketches later and I was on my way! I designed several iterations of the cabinet using SketchUp, a free and easy-to-learn tool for 3D modelling. I already had a basic shape and style in my head, but the modelling process helped me figure out the angles and dimensions that worked best aesthetically.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 3: Designing the controls I wanted a versatile setup that could handle all the main gaming platforms I was trying to emulate. After some research I settled on a six-button Capcom-style layout with additional Start / Select buttons on the front. This layout is perfect for beat 'em up games and has enough face buttons to adequately represent all the consoles the Pi can emulate. I knocked up an instructional poster to explain the control schemes for each console, as it can get a bit confusing for new players switching between systems otherwise. This will be framed and hung on the wall as an official reference guide for arcade machine newbies. In terms of dimensions and button spacing I used a lot of trial and error and prototyping to see what felt right. I feel that the final design is wide enough for two players and with enough wrist support to be comfortable during long gaming sessions - very important!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 4: Designing the marquee The marquee is the backlit title graphic found at the top of all arcade machines. I chose the name 'Galactic Starcade' as I felt it evoked the somewhat cheesy feel of classic cabinets while also being (at the time of writing) an entirely unique name. Hence the zero results on google. I found a great resource for hi-res arcade graphics, Arcade Artwork, and photoshopped some iconic videogame characters into a spacey marquee graphic. The starry background is from the original Space Invaders cabinet and the title style is a kind of homage to classic arcade game logos.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 5: Cabinet prototyping I would highly advise full-scale prototype modelling if you're designing a cabinet yourself. That said, if you want to work from my designs exactly, feel free to skip this section! Using some spare cardboard, I taped together a pretty rough mockup of the cabinet design. I had only really designed the arcade machine digitally and wasn't certain it would look and feel right in the real world. The full size mockup allowed me to assess the size of the cabinet in context (i.e. on the kitchen counter where it is destined to live) and figure out if I'd left enough space for two people to play side by side. It also helped me figure out the optimal playing/viewing angles for the control panel and screen. Overall I was very happy with the size and shape of the mockup and only made minimal changes.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 6: Control panel prototyping I ordered a full control panel set from ultracabs which included two Japanese-style (i.e. ball-topped) joysticks and eighteen buttons of various colours. After designing my control panel layout on the computer I drilled a few holes in some scrap wood and set up a standalone controller to test out the setup before committing it to the cabinet. This is a great way to test the ergonomics of the design with some actual factual game time. I wired up the test controller and played a good few games on it to see how it felt. See later sections on how to wire up and configure the controls. Overall I was pretty pleased but the prototype taught me that the buttons should go a little closer together and that a little more space at the bottom for wrist support was needed. I then fed these realisations back into the final design. Better to tweak now than when its too late! I left the prototype wired up and used it to play games on my computer to scratch that retro gaming itch while I was working on the rest of the arcade machine. If you made it look nicer the standalone controller could be a full project in its own right!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 7: Cutting the panels pt.1 Let's get dusty! Armed with a dimensioned print out of the design (IKEA style because, well, why not?) we took to the shed to cut out the MDF panels. Big shout out again to 1up Living who helped a lot with the next few stages of the operation. First up we cut some 12mm MDF into 500mm wide panels on the table saw. Once one edge of each was squared on the mitre saw, we simply worked through the panels (base, rear, monitor face, control panel, little strip on the front, and marquee), setting the fence and blade angle on the table saw for each cut. For the screen cut out, we carefully measured the screen and cut a hole in the panel using the jigsaw. The screen was then laid in place and chunky bits of wood were glued and screwed up against the edges to provide a tight fit. That's the prep work done - more detail on the monitor mounting later.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 8: Cutting the panels pt.2 For the sides we taped a printed template onto a bit of 9mm MDF and cut through it with a stanley knife to mark the shape. This was cut out using a jigsaw, and given a little love with some sandpaper to round off the edges and suchlike. Its important none of the corners are too sharp to ensure the T-molding will fit properly later. The other side was cut from this using a template bit in the router so we knew they would be identical. The side panels are thicker than the rest of the cabinet at 15mm, with a 3mm channel running along the edges the whole way around the perimeter. The channel needs to be completely central and will house the plastic trim (T-molding) later on. The side panels are a bit chunkier than the rest of the cabinet because they also act as legs and will be supporting the weight of the whole machine. Also T-molding just so happens to come in 15mm but not 12mm. There are a couple of ways to achieve this but with the tools at our disposal we found the simplest way was to form the 15mm panels using two pieces of thinner wood (9mm and 6mm) sandwiched together. The 9mm piece was cut and sanded exactly to size as explained above. The 6mm piece was cut out very roughly with a few cm of bleed all the way around and then cut accurately using the router's template bit again to ensure it would fit its other half exactly. We then set the router to a depth of 3mm and cut a rebate all the way around the edge of the 9mm panel, making sure to cut into the inside edge rather than the face edge. Once happy with that we got some heavy duty wood glue on the go and sandwiched the 9mm and 6mm pieces together, ensuring the rebate was in the middle to form the 3mm channel. The two sides were held together overnight with as many clamps as we could lay our hands on. Rinse and repeat for the other half and you've got two side panels ready to go!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 9: Assembling the cabinet Time to put all these panels together into something vaguely resembling an arcade machine! This stage uses a lot of wood glue, clamps and caution. The first step is to knock up some little batons to act as internal bracing for the rest of the panels. These won't be seen in the final piece so can be made of any scrap wood. My batons were cut from lengths of 20x20mm wood that was lying around. Drill a few countersunk holes in all of the batons to make it easier to screw them into the cabinet panels from the inside - it can get pretty fiddly otherwise, and possibly split the wood. These will be screwed and glued to the panels along each edge that was joining the side panels. We printed out a full scale sectional diagram of the cabinet and used it to trace all the important points on the side panel in pencil. Then by laying the panel flat on the floor the other pieces can be placed on top of the drawing. Once we were sure everything fitted together and the angles were right, each piece was glued carefully in place, getting a clamp on there wherever possible. This was then turned over and placed on top of the other side, lined up with marks from the same template, and glued and screwed in place. It takes a pretty small screwdriver to get to some of the screws around the control panel and it gets a bit fiddly, but it leaves the outside with no visible screws so I think it's worth the effort.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 10: Paint it black Before applying any paint I used white surface filler to fill in the 'seams' between panels. I rubbed the filler in with a finger along any edges that had a slight gap - corners too. This needs to dry and can then be sanded smooth with 120 grit sandpaper. I also applied a thin layer of filler all around the inside edge of the screen cutaway to give it a smoother and nicer finish, again carefully sanded down before the next step. I spread out an old blanket to protect the rest of the shed and went at it with some white primer. I used a little roller for the most part and a small brush to make sure all the corners and edges got enough coverage. I did my best to avoid brush marks though as I was aiming for a smooth finish. A little sanding between coats can sort out most of the marks though. Two coats should do the trick. Next up was the black finish which was achieved with a few coats of spray paint. It's worth having a read to learn how to apply spray paint properly. In a nutshell, hold the can about 20cm away, keep the can moving, and try to do a lot of thin coats rather than generous coats. It's also important to wear a good quality mask, and work somewhere well ventilated.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 11: All the trimmings T-molding is the plastic trim which really gives a cabinet that genuine arcade look. I bought a strip of yellow T-molding from Arcade World UK. It comes in several sizes - I opted for the 15mm, although its worth noting that most distributors have a wider selection of colours in the industry standard 3/4 inch size. Installing the T-molding is fairly straightforward but it does take a bit of time. Start from the bottom to make sure any seams remain hidden. Slot the plastic into the groove a little section at a time, with a tiny drizzle of glue to hold it in place. Use masking tape to hold the T-molding fully in place while each section dries, although be careful to use tape that won't wreck your nicely painted finish. In theory the channel should be tight enough for the T-molding to pop into and then hold firm by itself, but the way we made the side panels necessitated some use of glue just to be sure.

Step 12: Mounting the screen I used a refurbished 19" 4:3 LCD TFT monitor I found online pretty cheap. 19" is perfect for a cabinet of this size, but its hard to find anything to buy new as nobody manufactures 4:3 aspect ratio monitors anymore. Plenty of people are selling old monitors on the cheap on ebay though. It doesn't matter if the casing is a bit battered as it will be hidden within the cabinet. The front of the cabinet was cut at an earlier stage to precisely fit the dimensions of the screen itself. The wooden surround for the monitor - that is, four supports, one for each side - are fixed permanently in place. The monitor is then slotted firmly in place and more supports are added at the back to hold the weight and keep the monitor in check. These support panels are easily accessed and unscrewed for removal of the monitor in case it needs any maintenance. This will vary from screen to screen, but for this project the monitor had to be mounted upside-down to fit properly in the right position. If you have to do this its very easy to set the Raspberry Pi to output everything rotated 180 degrees so its still visible as normal. This can be achieved by typing sudo nano /boot/config.txt

into the commang line, followed by adding the line display_rotate=2

to the bottom of the config file and hitting save. On reboot everything should be upside-down (that is, the right way up)! Setting display_rotate to 0 or deleting the line will revert everything to normal if necessary.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 13: A note on audio For big beefy sound you would want separate speakers - and maybe a little subwoofer - to be mounted inside the cabinet somewhere. Websites like Arcade World UK sell special arcade speakers with little audio grilles which can go wherever you like. I got very lazy for this stage however, and settled for using the speakers built into the monitor. This is not ideal but saves a lot of work. It can go plenty loud enough for my needs and the old school sounds that come from these old games sounds just fine through cheap monitor speakers. I used a standard 3.5mm audio cable to connect the Pi's audio out to the monitor's audio in port. Its worth setting the Pi to always use this port for audio (rather than trying to output via HDMI). This setting is easy to change, just type sudo raspi-config

from the command line to open the configuration screen, then select 'advanced options', 'audio' and choose to force the audio out through the 3.5mm jack.

Step 14: Wiring the controls This step can be pretty fiddly. The buttons will just slot nicely into the pre-drilled button holes and should be held in place by tightening the plastic washers on the inside of the cabinet. That's the easy part. The tops of the joysticks are unscrewed and temporarily removed, allowing the stick part to be slotted through from inside the machine. It can then be painstakingly screwed into place from the inside using a tiny screwdriver and plenty of willpower. Its important to make sure the stick is aligned properly so that it can move properly in all directions. You can test this by holding it in place from underneath and twiddling it. You will hear and feel the microswitches click as you move in each direction. The all-in-one arcade controls set comes with a USB interface and pre-crimped wires which just slot onto the interface at one end and the buttons on the other. The picture makes it look really confusing but as long as you keep track of your progress its simple business. The set comes with instructions and the distributors made this how-to video to explain the wiring in more detail. In essence, each button (and direction on the joysticks) will have two connectors which should be wired up to the USB interface. One into a general input and the other daisy-chained to the ground connector. Be careful not to bend the metal connectors or use too much force when attaching the wires - I snapped a microswitch clean off one of the joysticks and had to order a replacement part. It doesn't matter too much at this stage which input each button is connected to - once its all set up and plugged into the Pi we can use a system tool to figure out which button is on which port and map them accordingly.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 15: Wiring everything else At this stage its a good idea to install a universal and easily accessible switch to allow everything to be turned on and off at once. The switch I bought takes a standard kettle lead and is just slotted into a pre-drilled hole and screwed in place. The next step is to chop the plug end off a cheap extension lead and wire it into the back of the on/off switch. This is where having a wire crimping set really comes in handy. If you don't have one its time to get the soldering iron out. There are plenty of guides online if you're not a pro at rewiring. The extension needs enough sockets to power the monitor, the Pi, the lighting and the speakers (optional). Next thing is to get all the kit plugged in and organised with plastic twist ties to stop everything getting too chaotic. Gotta make sure all those wires are tidy!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 16: Lighting the marquee I got the marquee graphic printed professionally onto reverse print backlit film paper, which is usually used with lightboxes. It has a plastic film on the back which diffuses the light as it passes through. I've seen a lot of people online printing their marquee graphics at home on normal printer paper and it seems to look okay done that way. Definitely an option if you want to avoid a trip to the local print shop. Once printed, the graphic is then sandwiched between two sheets of clear perspex / plexiglass to hold it flat. These perspex sheets are cut to size and fixed inside the marquee box. The thickness of the perspex is not too important, so long as its not bendy. The sheet I used was about 3mm thick which was more than enough. The cabinet is designed so that the marquee box and graphic are removable, to make it easy to swap out graphics or replace the lighting if necessary in future. Before putting the marquee box in place and screwing it down, I stuck down two strips of LEDs with hot glue and popped the wires through a predrilled hole on the surface. They can then be connected up to the power source we wired in the previous step. It is common to use a small strip light for the marquee, which is fine, but we happened to have some LEDs lying around the house so we just used them. We figured they would be easier to install and give a more spread out light that wasn't so focussed in the middle.

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Step 17: Access hatch Almost done now! Once all the wires are looking neat and tidy and the marquee box has been fixed into place, it's time to attach the access hatch / back door any way you see fit. For this step I cut a brass hinge down to size and screwed it straight into the back of the cabinet. I attached the hinge to the door half first and the cabinet half second. Its useful to stick some folded paper under the door to hold it at the right height while screwing the hinge in place, and to use a gimlet or nail to pre-mark the spots where the screws will go. I also screwed a small piece of scrap wood on the inside of the frame to stop the door from angling into the cabinet itself. A small magnet hot glued onto this wood, and the appropriate spot on the inside of the door, gives it a nice snap-shut sort of feeling and stops the door from swinging open when the cabinet is carried around. Lastly you can affix a small handle or drill a finger hole to allow the door to be easily opened. Not much more to it than that!

Step 18: Raspberry Pi config Only thing left now is to get the hardware and software set up and working! I won't go over the setup in too much detail as there are a lot of tutorials online for setting up emulation on the Raspberry Pi. As a complete newbie to the Pi and Linux in general, I found a few things a little confusing so I will outline the basics as best I can for anybody wanting to follow along: 1. Download the latest RetroPie SD card image. This is a preconfigured setup for the Pi running EmulationStation, which is basically a pretty front end for navigating and launching games for multiple emulators (also included). You could install all the emulators manually but using the pre-made image saves a great many hours of work. 2. Write the image to your SD card. You will need at least a 4GB card just to run RetroPie. Buy a bigger card as you will need space for the games and any future updates. I went for a 32GB card which is probably overkill - 8GB should be plenty. There are many ways to write SD card images, but the simplest options are to use third party utilities like Image Writer for Windows or Pi Filler for Mac. I'm assuming Linux users can do this step without my help. 3. Set up the Raspberry Pi. If you haven't already, install your heatsink on the Pi. It literally just sticks onto the big chip in the middle. The heatsink is optional but will help the machine stay cool when playing games and allow the Pi to be overclocked further without crashing. Pop the SD card into the Pi, make sure you have a keyboard plugged in and power her up! It should boot straight into EmulationStation and ask you to configure the keyboard for the menus. Now's a good time to make sure all the hardware is working as expected. 4. Download ROMs. You're on your own for this step. I should note that it is illegal to play game roms that you don't already own in physical form and I can't condone it. I have heard its possible to torrent large batches of roms but you'll have to ask google for more information on that. Moving on. 5. Transfer games to the SD card. Do this over the network using something like CyberDuck. Game roms are stored in the appropriate folder on the Pi and will be read automatically by EmulationStation. 6. Configure your controls. This is the part I found the most frustrating, mainly because I'm such a Linux noob. The physical controls need to be wired up before

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

you can tackle this part. It involves figuring out the ports that each button is wired up to and then editing the controls config file to map the keys to the right buttons in-game. The websites linked further down cover this in a lot more detail. 7. [Optional] Add a custom splash screen. I designed a splash screen to match the cabinet graphics. It really ties the room together! Big shout out to the tutorials found on Lifehacker and SuperNintendoPi - these go into more detail on the Pi setup and were instrumental in helping me figure out what I was doing! The RetroPie forums are also very useful if you get stuck - chances are somebody else will have struggled through the same problem at some point!

Step 19: Finish him! Its done! Sit back and admire the finished project and treat yourself to a few rounds of Street Fighter or Micro Machines to celebrate. There's a few things I would do differently but overall I'm very happy with how this turned out. It proves that a little thing like the Raspberry Pi can happily power a near full-size arcade machine. Please post your own DIY arcade projects in the comments, I would love to see them!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

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Raspberry Pi Powered Bartop Arcade Machine by MoTinkerGNome

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MoTinkerGNome says:

Nov 3, 2014. 10:28 AM REPLY Well, you certainly went and raised the Bar. Topping my build... Congratulations good sir. Good luck on the contests and I voted for ya. And yes all puns intended. :D

rolfebox says:

Nov 5, 2014. 7:44 AM REPLY Thanks MoTinkerGNome! I don't think your build is taking a backseat by any means, console yourself with the fact that I voted for you too! (Puns equally intended.)

MoTinkerGNome says:

Nov 5, 2014. 9:18 AM REPLY

And even if we don't win the contests. We still have awesome Pi-Cade Machines. On a separate note we need to work out a pinball machine that runs android for Pinball Arcade. Their software and tables are awesome I just hate touch screens for gaming. Could use a 24 for a mini or a 32" 1080p TV/Monitor Mercury switches or accelerometers could work for the nudges and tilt and buttons and

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

microswitches are easy..... HMMMMM stand alone pinball emulator...

MsSweetSatisfaction says:

Nov 3, 2014. 9:30 AM REPLY

Hey, welcome to instructables, this is amazing! I hope to you keep positing awesome things!

rolfebox says:

Nov 5, 2014. 7:49 AM REPLY Thanks MsSweet! I really appreciate the lovely response I've had from you guys over at Instructables :) I fully intend to post more awesome things in future!

tomatoskins says:

Nov 3, 2014. 12:09 AM REPLY I love how well documented this is! I love that more and more people are building arcade machines. They are all just so beautiful!

mhoggard says:

Mar 26, 2015. 7:35 PM REPLY

i'm curious is it possible to add a coin slot i wanna get that real authenic setup in my room

brook.gerard.0 says:

Mar 26, 2015. 4:50 AM REPLY What did you do about switching the monitor ON? Most monitors I have seen will sit on standby after mains is turned on. I'm in the process of designing mine and just looking to see if people already have solutions to this. I'm otherwise resorting to dismantling the monitor and soldering a wire pair in so I can place a switch in a more appropriate place. Otherwise seeing if I can move the entire monitor control pcbs down under the controls panel so I can adjust the monitor by lifting the panel up.

rolfebox says:

Mar 26, 2015. 6:14 AM REPLY Basically it's set to standby, which means when you turn the machine on it notices the signal coming from the Pi and automatically switches on to the right input channel. I didn't have to mess around inside the monitor or anything. I can't promise all monitors will behave the same, I found this one on ebay but the standby behaviour is pretty much perfect for this project!

sherkan says:

Mar 21, 2015. 2:06 PM REPLY

Hello, I am French and I have a small question, how you access your desktop ignition button? And how you adjust the sound ? Sherkan

armyofmike says:

Mar 19, 2015. 9:39 AM REPLY @rolfebox - I can't thank you enough for the incredible write-up you have here. It's funny- I decided to make this the first time I read your Instructable, and it continued to be my source of truth for practically every step along the way. I deviated a bit from the original design: - Added speakers to the left and right of the marquee - Living in the US, our MDF is sized a little differently, so I went 1/2 inch for the sides, control panel pieces and monitor panel, then went 1/4 inch for the rest. You can get away with pieces this thin, but DO NOT skip the bracing part that rolfebox touches on. - After building my prototype, I decided to make the overall cabinet just a bit bigger. Best of all, this saved me some time cutting, as my MDF boards all came precut at 24 inches wide. The entire cabinet is about 20% bigger than rolfebox's. A couple other notes to anyone building one of these currently, especially in the States: - I LOVED the yellow t-molding and had a hard time finding anyone who would sell 1/2 inch yellow molding to me in small quantities. Only place I found was The Arcade Boneyard (dot com). Rob was great to work with, I'm happy to report. - The arcade controls used in this Instructable are outstanding, but there was some issue with the controller interface. RetroPie 2.3 is the latest version that DOESN'T break the Xin-Mo USB interface slightly. The left and up joystick buttons will not work, and other directions will "stick". There is a fix for this if you're running a later version (http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/autofire-on-the-axis/#post-87676), but as of the time of this writing (RetroPie 2.6 is current version), RetroPie 2.3 is the only version that works with the Xin-Mo "out of the box".

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

major lazer says:

Mar 16, 2015. 9:49 AM REPLY I was thinking of attempting this build in my wood shop class using Plywood instead of MDF and was wondering if there is anything I should keep in mind when converting the measurements into inches so they're easier to work with in my shop class. Great build btw!

Fjalmari says:

Feb 27, 2015. 3:47 AM REPLY

Hi, I'm at the finish line with this project. I'm having a problem with player2 configurations. Could you post your lines from the retroarch.cfg file? I'm using same buttons and joystick from ultracabs as you did. But when I try to play multiplayer games the p2 joystick moves p1 and both joystick needs to be moved to move p1 as a normal speed. I don't see what is the problem with my configurations. By the way this project is awesome!! Signed up just to make this comment and to send you the photo after it's finished (hopefully after two days)

Fjalmari says:

Feb 27, 2015. 9:42 AM REPLY For notice my p1 up,down,left,right is the same as p2. Both give -0 +0 -1 +1 when I run the retroarch joystick config. I think they're supposed to give different outputs to work properly or am I wrong?

Fjalmari says:

Mar 2, 2015. 2:09 AM REPLY I decided to work my way around the problem and changed the wiring so p2 up,down,left,right is buttons not axis and both axis are wired to p1. Needed to widen the connectors a little bit so I managed to put two connectors in one microswitch. Well problem is solved and I'm able to enjoy the games that I used to play years ago. Here is the outcome:

sholz says:

Mar 15, 2015. 10:16 AM REPLY

They ARE supposed to give diffrent outputs. I fixed this with the help of this: http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/autofire... The autor made a kernel update; you can download a noob-proof script there to fix this immiadetley:) I also had the problem that the sensitivity was much too high (i had problems to navigate only one entry up/down in emulation station). The kernel fix managed it to resolve this problem too! :D

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Nishansen says:

Mar 15, 2015. 3:01 AM REPLY

Hi rolfebox! I just love your work and have decided to make my own first Raspberry Pi project. You write that there are some of the things you would have done differently. Is it possible to hear what you will do different?

TJOpitz89 says:

Nov 10, 2014. 7:46 AM REPLY

Awesome project! I am working on something very similar right now and you have given me some fantastic ideas. I have one question for you, though; How did you change the controls for the MegaDrive emulator? The standard RetroArch controls are terrible. I like yours, A, B, and C all in a row.

rolfebox says:

Nov 11, 2014. 6:54 AM REPLY The main config file is kept at /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfgand is where most of the general setup, including button mappings, is stored. Additionally there are folders for each emulator at configs/nes, configs/genesis, etc. These each contain a blank retroarch.cfg file which can be used to set any overrides for that particular system. Hence the different setups for each console to make it more closely match the original joypads (see step 3).

petachock says:

Nov 17, 2014. 1:55 PM REPLY Really good project, so good I just had to make one. pretty much a rip off of your design! I followed the instructions for setting up the joysticks from the Nintendopi link from your tutorial. Everything worked OK apart from I could only get one controller to work, it took me ages to figure out how to make them both work, but thought I'd share as it may help others with the same set up. The guide tells you to go into the config file for the controllers 'retroarch.cfg' and copy the text for controller 1 and paste underneath changing the text input_player1_joypad_index = “0? to input_player2_joypad_index = “1? and every occurrence of player1 to player2. When I did this the second controller still didn't work. In the end all I had to do was to change the joypad index for player 2 to 0 as well..... input_player2_joypad_index = “0". After that everything worked! P.S. To map the correct buttons for player 2 I ran 'cd RetroPie/emulators/RetroArch/installdir/bin ./retroarch-joyconfig >> ~/RetroPie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg' twice, once for each controller. You will get the correct button numbers now for both controllers in the config file and can amend as per the guide. Hope this helps others spending hours searching the forums. Thanks again. Cheers!

rolfebox says:

Nov 18, 2014. 3:46 AM REPLY

Thanks petachock! This stage took me a while to figure out too, thanks for elaborating on the details. If you have actually built your own cabinet from (or similar to) my plans, I would love to see some photos - please share!

petachock says:

Nov 18, 2014. 6:18 AM REPLY I built my own cabinet from mdf like you as I had some knocking around. If I were to build one again I would try to avoid mdf as it is just to dusty and awful! Instead of screwing my cabinet together I used a biscuit jointer to give me a smooth outside, I didn't like the idea of fiddly screwdriver work. I have got a few things still do on the cabinet, like the marquee graphics, but its useable and my kids (5 and 7 year old boys) love to play Golden Axe III. See my attached photo!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

AaronN2 says:

Mar 14, 2015. 2:19 PM REPLY Great idea about the biscuit joiner! I was considering making rabbets and dados with my router, but biscuits should work fine. Also, I am using birch veneer plywood which is great for painting. I used MDF for my first cabinet. What a mess and it's not nearly as strong.

rolfebox says:

Nov 19, 2014. 4:18 AM REPLY That looks great petachock! Its eerie seeing what is essentially a twin of the machine in my kitchen. So pleased somebody has made my design, didn't expect anyone to do it so quickly though! What graphics are you going to use for the marquee?

petachock says:

Dec 17, 2014. 6:57 AM REPLY My mate made me a marquee and I have finally put it on the arcade. See attached photo of finished arcade.

rolfebox says:

Feb 2, 2015. 2:58 AM REPLY Spacemen vs Robots. I'm glad you went for a similar space theme to the Galactic Starcade. Our machines are like cousins!

petachock says:

Nov 19, 2014. 5:31 AM REPLY I do tend to get on with things quite quickly once I have an idea in my head. I had been thinking of gettting a rasp pi for a while, had a load of 600mm*600mm mdf and like making different stuff so just got on with it! Not too sure on what graphics I'm going to use yet......I have a mate who's quite arty so I'll see if he has any suggestions. I'll post another photo once I've done.

sholz says:

Mar 4, 2015. 6:36 AM REPLY Could you post your config file? I cant get my ones working. They joysticks are working in the emulatorstation menu, but not in the games.

petachock says:

Mar 10, 2015. 5:48 AM REPLY Sorry for late reply. File is attached. The info you need is right as the bottom although the numbers for left, right etc. will be different according to how you wired your joysticks.

retroarch.cfg21 KB

Mackasmacka says:

Mar 14, 2015. 1:57 PM REPLY Hi and congrats on the build. I have too followed your designs :) very nice write up just need the time to paint it and finish it lol. One thing though pal, I printed your side panel pages and put them together then used this as reference as I cut my centre pieces, as u were using 12mm mdf I placed my centre pieces onto the print and the 12mm was exact but the measurements were a bit too long ? it wasn't a biggy as I had the print out to remark and cut. But yeah overall very nice and im glad I found your page :) my hat has been tipped, thank you very much

sholz says: Hey Pals! During a snow storm i decided to make a papercraft case (paper, + epoxy resin + body filler) BUT: There was too less epoxy left^^ So i waited until the wather got better and I went to the local wood dealer for MDF. This is my first woodworking/paintjob ever, so please be kind! :D Some additional Infos: -If you use the ultracabs set like in the tutorial you could get a problem. My Joysticks was waaaaaaay too sensitive for going around in the menu. (It

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Mar 10, 2015. 9:15 AM REPLY

was hard to get on entry down, instead of 4-5). There is a easy solution in the RetroPi forum for this. The author made a noob-proof script to fix this problem. Here is the Link: http://blog.petrockblock.com/forums/topic/autofire-on-the-axis/ -If you use the retroarch_config file to map the joysticks/buttons: The config was ok; BUT the axis lines dont worked for me. So I used the ones i found online instead; They work perfect. Here is my config file: (Please note; If you wired the buttons not in a row or if you have a other button layout you have to edit the numbers) EVERYTHING AFTER THE ###--- IS ONLY A NOTE FOR YOU, DONT PUT THIS IN THE CONFIG FILE) You find this file in /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg - Easy to Edit with WINSCP ___________________________________________________________________ input_player1_joypad_index = "0" input_player1_b_btn = "1" input_player1_y_btn = "4" input_player1_select_btn = "7" input_player1_start_btn = "6" input_player1_a_btn = "0" input_player1_x_btn = "3" input_player1_l_btn = "2" input_player1_r_btn = "5" input_player1_up_axis = "-1" input_player1_down_axis = "+1" input_player1_left_axis = "-0" input_player1_right_axis = "+0" input_player2_joypad_index = "0" input_player2_b_btn = "11" input_player2_y_btn = "14" input_player2_select_btn = "7" input_player2_start_btn = "16" input_player2_a_btn = "10" input_player2_x_btn = "13" input_player2_l_btn = "12" input_player2_r_btn = "15" input_player2_up_axis = "-3" ###--- RetroArchConfig gave me a other entry than this one. This four (up, down, left, right) are working. input_player2_down_axis = "+3" input_player2_left_axis = "-2" input_player2_right_axis = "+2" input_enable_hotkey_btn = "6" ###-- If you press Button 6 AND 7 you get back to Emulation Station input_exit_emulator_btn = "7" ###-- -"input_save_state_btn = “#” ###--- Save Games input_load_state_btn = “#” ###--- Load Games ___________________________________________________________________ Additional Infos: -DO NOT EDIT THE LANGUAGE OF THE KEYBOARD! EmulationStation have problem with a other keyboard mapping than english. -ScummVM Games are running fine! IF you have problems with Retropie (because you dont have a clue of linux) and you dont able to add the AUTOFIRE-ON-THE-AXIS Fix from above you also can use a Raspicade image. The Ultracabs Joysticks are count as one Joystick, so you have to fix the Kernel. The RASPICADE Image have less emulators, but they are ALL compatible to the Ultracabs controllers. (They are XinMo Controllers.) In Retropie you have to fix them (on 2.6) in Raspicade you dont. But Raspicade have less Emulators. So, this was it from my point:D Good Luck!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Chillimonster says:

Feb 28, 2015. 2:02 PM REPLY

Yay. Finished my cab based on your plans. Next one started (50%) complete.

Chillimonster says:

Feb 5, 2015. 7:39 AM REPLY

Just singed up here to congratulate you! Really awesome effort and fantastic results. I am about to attempt a build based on your plans, but was wondering if you had any (ANY, no matter how unfinished they may be) plans, either in sketchup or any other package that may help my build. Anything would help :-) Chris

rolfebox says:

Feb 26, 2015. 10:32 AM REPLY Hi Chris! Thanks for your support. I've just recently updated step one of the Instructable to contain reference PDFs with many of the plans and measurements in, some at full scale to print out. I've had a lot of requests for plans and hopefully these documents will help you crack on with the build! Good luck :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Chillimonster says:

Feb 26, 2015. 11:39 AM REPLY

Thanks :-) Really appreciated. Nearly finished my first cab based of these plans with very minor alterations, Just the t-Molding and Marquee to complete this weekend when i have time. Learnt so much putting this one together that will be taken forward to the next build such as countersinking the screen on the back of the MDF to get it closer to the front of the board and countersinking some tempered glass on the front to give it a clean look. I have also added twin headphone sockets just under the lip of the control panel (one at each side) for late night gaming ;-) Also making the control panel from 18mm next time to give some room for the insert nuts (Had to pad it out slightly this time round to ensure they had enough room) - they are cheap as chips from Screwfix. 2nd one is just being started but slightly wider / taller to take a trackball and bigger monitor.

stiltskin says:

Dec 5, 2014. 7:39 PM REPLY

Hi I want to build your arcade machine. Do you perhaps have actual sized drawings/models of the side panels so I can print and cut these out and use them to make the side panels?

rolfebox says:

Feb 26, 2015. 10:41 AM REPLY Hi stiltskin. Sorry its taken two months to reply but yes, I have just added exactly what you ask for to step one of the Instructable as a set of PDFs. Probably should have included the full size drawings first time round but this little update should make things much easier for everyone. Enjoy!

sholz says:

Jan 28, 2015. 12:57 AM REPLY Hey, do you kept the sktech up template? I am planning to do the case of my arcade with paper and resin. I did several Skulptures and smaller Cases with this method and would love to take a try on the arcade one!

rolfebox says:

Feb 26, 2015. 10:39 AM REPLY Hi Sholz. Unfortunately I'm not planning to share the sketchup files but I have recently added some PDFs to step one that you may find useful. Paper and resin sounds really interesting, good luck and be sure to post some photos!

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

jhawkins14 says:

Dec 7, 2014. 6:42 AM REPLY I'm 90 percent finished with the mini bartop arcade we are building and i discovered your instructable. You did a great job, not just on the arcade, but in describing the process. I like how you put a plug on back for the power cord to connect to... It looks so much cleaner that way. I'm definitely using that idea.

jhawkins14 says:

Jan 5, 2015. 5:57 PM REPLY Okay, we finished ours now. Thank you again for the idea on the outlet plug on the back of the machine. Never seen someone do that before.

rolfebox says:

Feb 2, 2015. 4:33 AM REPLY Great to hear you've finished your cabinet and taken some ideas from this Instructable. Would love to see the finished thing if you have photos!

jhawkins14 says:

Feb 2, 2015. 7:46 AM REPLY Better than just photos... Here is our Instructable. http://www.instructables.com/id/Donkey-Kong-Bartop-Arcade-Powered-By-RPi/

rolfebox says:

Feb 26, 2015. 10:36 AM REPLY Great job! I saw this when it was first featured on the front page. Really nice design work to incorporate the original DK art. Nicely written instructable too!

jhawkins14 says:

Feb 2, 2015. 7:49 AM REPLY Step 20, the first photo: the clean looking power cord & plug. I totally took that idea from your Instructable. Thank you again!

ethridgt says:

Feb 17, 2015. 6:30 PM REPLY Great job! It turned out really nice. Will you share your measurements for the control panel layout? Also, how did you configure your arcade so that you can switch games without a mouse or keyboard booked up?

rolfebox says:

Feb 26, 2015. 10:29 AM REPLY Hi ethridgt! Glad you liked it. I just recently added some PDFs to step one of the Instructable that should help you with the control layout. You can now print full scale blueprints as reference to help you cut out your own control panel. The emulationstation software runs all the menus and handles choosing the emulators, games etc. Its really easy to configure the custom controls to operate it and the Pi boots up straight into the menu so there's no need for keyboard or mouse at all once everything is set up. Hope that helped :)

T-p says:

Feb 23, 2015. 1:17 PM REPLY

Hey rolfebox, can you help me out? I would like to know the measurement for the back of side A. (SEE IMAGE)

rolfebox says:

Feb 24, 2015. 5:20 PM REPLY Whoops, I probably should have made that part clearer on the diagram. The piece you've highlighted is labelled BACK on the left side and is 544.3mm long. :)

OscarZ1 says: I have just joined this website to say what a fantastic build. I wish I had more confidence with Table Saws etc. I'm going to ask a buddy with Joinery experience if he'll help me build one, I'll do the PC/Electronic side.

view all 121 comments http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/

Feb 12, 2015. 8:47 AM REPLY