(2020)

• New video card Radeon 5450
• Updated GroovyMame to .217
• Updated cabinet to Windows 7 x64 from XP

(10/16)

• Migrated back to Windows and GroovyMame after installing a supported ATI card.
• Installed Ultimarc Rotary and Pac-Drive interfaces
• LS-30 SNK rotary joystick module
• New Defender themed modular panel artwork

(10/14) Added a 2.5" white trackball panel (Centipede size)

(3/14) Computer upgrade and moved to GroovyArcade/ArcadeVGA 5000

My Dell computer was getting a little long in the tooth and the latest MAME releases seem to be requiring more and more horsepower so I purchased a new i5 system. I also purchased an ArcadeVGA 5000 card but had little luck getting it working with the drivers that come with it but luckily the card works very well with GroovyMame. I ended up switching Windows 8 (yuck) to GroovyArcade which is Linux based. Took a bit to massage their installation to where it worked well, but I'm happy with the results so far.

(6/11) GPWiz 49

Added a GPWiz 49 to the interfaces to work w/ the Williams 49 way I had.

(8/07) New WG 9500 monitor

Replaced my dying 19" PC monitor with a nice 19" arcade monitor. I bought a Wells Gardner D9500 multisync monitor. I wish I had done this a *long* time ago. The difference is stunning. Even vector games look better to me. I did have to do a lot of work to get the new monitor to fit and work due to the extra size and the large PCB. New pics are on the monitor page.

(5/07) New sideart, bezel, and kick panel art

I had new artwork done by the great folks at MAME Marquees. I ordered a Defender kick plate banner, Defender bezel, and custom Defender side art. I'm very pleased with their work and now my cabinet looks how I intended... AWESOME. :)

(3/05) New computer, switched to MAME, new coin door graphic

I bought a new Dell whose graphics card didn't work with AdvanceMame so I had to go to regular MAME. It has improved a lot in the effects it can render and I've got a pretty good configuration going which looks in my opinion even more authentic than advmame could pull off. I use the following:

• d3dfilter 1
• d3deffect rgbminmask
• full_screen_brightness 1.8
• zoom 4

Also got the missing sticker for my coin door. A pic can be seen here.

(5/04) Switched to ethernet cables from molex:

Changed my modular panel setup to use standard ethernet cables instead of molex connectors. I needed 3 hands to change controls w/ the molex, now I only need 2. I also don't have to worry about bad crimps as much. I used keystone jacks (passthru) and a large punch panel. You can see pics of the new modules on the controls page.

I also put up a lot more pics of different control configurations on the same page.

(10/03) Custom Defender artwork:

The people who frequent BYOAC are always looking to help out with an arcade cab building project. I have zero artistic ability so a nice fellow over there by the name of Nannuu offered to help me out with creating custom Defender artwork including the sideart and marquee. It came out excellent. You can see it on the main page.

I also added some great ambient arcade noise from Arcade Ambience project.

New artwork.

(8/03) New modular control panel:

I re-did my entire control panel layout. I went from a swappable panel setup to a modular panel setup. I'm very happy with the outcome! The details are here:

New modular control panel.

(10/02) Funspot Pictures:

I have made a few trips up to Funspot Arcade to play some of the original classic games. This place is like going through a time machine back to 1984. If you are ever in NH and like classic video games you can't leave without visiting. They are the largest remaining classic video arcade in the world.

Here are some pics I took of the arcade. Enjoy!

(8/02) Rotating monitor adjustment / Restrictor plate panel:

I built yet another panel. This one holds one 8 way joystick but uses a neat invention called a "joystick restrictor plate" made by Oscar Controls to allow easy switching between 4/8/4-diag/2vert and 2horiz way usage. Very cool. I also bought my spinners from the same place and I must say the products and service are top notch.

I also pretty much took apart my cabinet to adjust the placement of my monitor harness. It was about an inch too low and set too far back so I moved it forward 3/4". What a difference it makes!

(4/02) AdvanceMenu:

I switched my front end from ArcadeOS to AdvanceMenu. AdvanceMenu is a great program from the author of AdvanceMame. It has lots of great features. I had to make a few changes to it for my cabinet and will make them available here soon. I also added a macro to my advmame.rc to auto dismiss the OK dialogs when MAME starts up.

(4/02) Cabinet menu launcher:

I run multiple programs on the cabinet and don't like to grab for the keyboard to start up a program or reboot. The script uses python and the pygame library and can be downloaded from my programs page.

(3/02) Tombstone MAME burners / Wireless network USB adapter:

For the price of the media and shipping I was sent all of the MAME roms and extras. Very good service. No more 'roms missing' messages when trying to play a game. Visit their website. The wireless adapter works great for copying files around and not having to open the cabinet itself up. Very convenient. I can even surf the web to get new roms etc.

(2/02) DVD Rom games:

Bought DVD-ROM versions of Dragon's Lair 1 and 2, and Space Ace. I couldn't get the DVDs to play by themselves so I used a program called Daphne to play them.