lcd screen for arcade cabinet free sample

Whether you recently purchased an arcade cabinet with a CRT monitor or want to build an arcade machine from scratch, making the decision to use an LCD or other digital monitor for your display can be daunting given the amount of information available on the subject. Deciphering issues like refresh rates, resolution and lag can certainly be intimidating. While it’s true a CRT monitor can give you blissfully lag-free gameplay, achieving the same experience on an HD monitor is possible with a little configuration.

Your hardware was designed for it. Older games, such as DDR Extreme running on a 573 unit, were designed to run in low resolution. This is because monitors being developed around that time had lower frequencies, plus memory was expensive and high fidelity graphics = more RAM = more $$. For example, DDR Extreme was pixel-perfected to look good at a resolution of 320 x 240 in blazing 15kHz (!) and the hardware simply isn’t capable of upscaling without distortion.

Lag. CRT monitors have incredibly low display lag as their analog technology doesn’t store image data allowing for sub-millisecond response times. LCD and other types of HD monitors, using digital technology, take time to process video input and blast it to the pixels on the display. There’s more work going on behind the scenes which can result in an ever-so-slight delay between input and display. That being said, most digital monitors today have nominal if any lag. For time-based games such as DDR or ITG, any microdelay can be especially noticeable but is easy to fix.

Most digital displays made today have nominal lag, though some are still better than others. Displaylag.com has an awesome database of tested monitors and their respective lag performance.

Note: Manufacturers tend not to advertise their display lag. What you might see advertised is “response time”, which has nothing to do with lag. Response time is just the time it takes for pixels to change colour and won’t affect gameplay.

Refresh rate is how often the display gets updated per second. Knowing the refresh rate of your monitor is important because you want to sync this with your game. If your monitor is displaying at 144Hz, but you can only configure your game to display 60Hz, you’re gonna have a bad time. For best display performance, ensure your monitors natural refresh rate (the value advertised) can match the refresh rate of your game.

Most arcade games are meant to be played from a distance, at an angle, or both. Cheaper monitors only look good when faced directly, which is bad news. You’ll want to find a monitor with an IPS or MVA display but monitors with good viewing angles will advertise this with their specs; those with crap viewing angles omit this information.

If you need a new monitor, you may have thought going LCD was a natural next step. While CRT monitors are no longer widely available they’re still possible to find. Check Craigslist to see if someone is selling one in your area, or X-Arcade continues to sell CRT arcade monitors for around $700 USD. While it’s possible to use a CRT television with some hacking, ideally you’ll want to find a dedicated arcade monitor that matches the frequency of your game.

In Graphic Options you can choose some basic graphical settings. Widescreen monitors will look best in 16:9, though you may want to adjust these settings depending on the size of your screen. Note: if you don’t have a lot of RAM or a dedicated video card, higher resolutions can result in decreased performance.

The important values in here are Refresh Rate and Vsync. Set your refresh rate to match the refresh rate of your monitor. For example, my monitor is running at 60Hz, so the SM refresh rate is set to 60. This will allow proper visual syncing between the game and your display.

Personally I find Vsync to be a pain in the ass. In theory, it’s supposed to force the frame rate to match the refresh rate of your display. In reality, it doesn’t really keep up so every once in a while you get noticeable display misalignment. I recommend turning this off. You may get slight tearing every once in a while, but the consistent display is worth it.

Note: My OpenITG machine is using an Nvidia GeForce GT 740 video card. Nvidia drivers have great configuration options and I highly recommend one for your machine. If you have a different video card adjust the guide accordingly as other brands have similar options.

Also double-check the issue is not with the monitor itself as weaker monitors might not reach perfection. Do a Google search to see if there’s discussions about your monitor and the performance others have seen with it with regards to display lag.

In Static.ini (OpenITG/SM3.95) or Preferences.ini (Stepmania 5). Change “0.005” to a value in seconds account for the delay (which unfortunately you’ll have to diagnose manually).

If you have Vsync turned off, this is to be expected though for most it’s more than tolerable. You can try enabling Vsync in Graphic Options > Advanced Graphic Options in Stepmania, though your mileage may vary as it can introduce other performance issues.

The type of cable you use to connect to your computer shouldn’t have a bearing on input lag, but this will vary depending on your video card and the quality of your monitor. You’ll have different display configuration options, and colours may appear differently but that’s about it. For context, my display is connected via HDMI and it looks amazing.

This arcade cabinet can be powered by a Raspberry Pi, leaving the majority of it open for storage. One side panel swings open, revealing six drawers (24" deep). There is also a…

Hello fellow Instructablites! I"d like to show you a design and build project to make an arcade cabinet. If you are old enough (like me) you may remember spending too much cash on these machines while have a drink in the local pub! Space invaders? Pacman? Galaxian? they are all playable on this machine which, while it is retro styled, it"s internal workings are very much up-to-date.

Most of the build time is taken up with building the cabinet itself. You will need reasonable skills to achieve a good result but you could opt for a simpler approach or cut some corners and still have a lot of fun. Also, you may need to buy a few specialist bits for your router or drill. (See the step about tools for more specific information)

I got the inspiration for this style of cabinet from a YouTube video I watch by the "Lumberjackass". He created a series of 4 videos which takes you through his build but there is no specific information on sizes and sources of parts. This Instructable fills in all the information you will need to complete a build including background information and tips. Also, please note, the "Lumberjackass" build is based on a PC whereas this is based on a Raspberry Pi and a software distribution called RetroPie (see next step). However, look at his great videos (set of 4) starting with this one...

I would rate the electronics and wiring of the joysticks and buttons as easy. The recovery of the LCD from the monitor housing is fairly straight forward but you need some strong fingers to prize the bezel away from the monitor body.

Overall, I"d rate this project as "doable" by most DIYers but it took me a few weeks to complete and the odd difficult moment. This instructable is written and documented to be a 1 stop shop for ALL the information you will need to complete the build - no further searching or hidden details need to be worked out!

I"ll try and repeat what materials were used during each step but I add this step as a round up of all items you will need to complete this build along with local links (for Sydney, Australia). I"ve done it in the form of a spreadsheet so you can use it to order the parts you need and mark them off as necessary, alternatively if you do not have excel there is a PDF copy.

The project utilizes a 17" monitor in the vertical or portrait layout. Hopefully you can get hold of a old unused/unloved monitor for free. Mine was a Dell which had the added benefit of USB outputs and a 12V output which was designed for a dedicated sound bar. I used the USB socket(s) to power the Raspberry Pi and the 12V to power the small 3w amplifier and string of blue LED"s.

To remove the LCD panel from its housing the plastic bezel needs to be prized away from the back. This takes strong fingers and some patience. Start in the centre of the bezel where it flexes the most then work towards the corners. You may be surprised at how simple the construction of these monitors are once you are inside!

It is 30 yeqrs since I did any CAD work. Yes, CAD was in its infancy in 1985 but I did quite a lot of advanced (for the time) 3d wire frame modelling which was on a shiny new mainframe computer in its own A/C room.....we even had a pen plotter - woohoo! Anyway, I decided to try my hand again and have created a set of drawings which I hope you find useful. I"ll put them here as an assembly (DXF format) and as PDF"s (zipped into 2 files) that you can just print out. I detailed the model only to ensure the parts fitted together and I did not detail some smaller features such as the screw fixing holes, I just worked those out as I went along.

Before drilling the through hole I created a counter-bore for the head of the metal insert to sit flush. If you don"t do this the melamine will probably crack as you tighten the insert into position.

NB: The insert is 2mm thinker than the melamine material. I choose them this length as I wanted to ensure the control box never comes away from the body of the cabinet. More details later in the instructable.

The 2 sides, front and back are glued and screwed together. You can also test fit the base but DO NOT glue this in position as this is your access panel for the joystick and button wiring. You may want to "feather" the edges so it slips in and out easily.

Note: I fitted another brace later in the build (at the bottom of the cabinet between the 2 lower braces - this was attached with another 2off 8G x 40mm screws (to base) and 4off 8G x 60 screws from the lateral braces into the cross base. (remove front/rear panel for access).

To allow quick and easy access to the inside of the cabinet the top is hinged. I used 3 hinges which are initially fitted to the end panel by creating 3 flat bottomed holes made with a 35mm "Forstner" bit. This step should probably have been done earlier as its best to drill the flat bottomed holes on the bench. However, its just a 2 minute job to remove the side panel so no great problem! The dimensions for the hinge fitting are printed on the pack of hinges.

After the hinges are fitted to the side panel the cabinet top can be marked up and pilot holes pre-drilled. The top can then be "offered up" and the hinges can be screwed in place.

The top needs to be routed out to accommodate the LCD screen. To do this you need to rout from the upper surface AND from the lower surface, this will allow the screen to be close to the top of the melamine and not seem "buried" deep beneath the surface of the cabinet.

After routing the upper and lower cut the LCD can be fitted in position using 2 lengths of 50mm x 19mm dressed pine. I routed an undercut to accommodate the LCD screen metal surrounds. 2 x M6 bolts were used on each side with the 13mm blind metal inserts used to hold the side panels in position.

I bought some cheap speakers that are self contained as they are designed as "in ceiling" speakers. I"ll link them in here but have to say the quality of the sound is OK for an 80"s retro arcade cabinet but you won"t want t listen to music too long - they lack any depth. What can I expect at this price!

These feet are zinc die cast and have a retro rocket 50"s look to them. I got then from this vendor in china and had to wait 3 weeks for delivery but if you order then when you start the project they should turn up just it time as they did for me!

The "T" moulding provides a great finishing touch to the cabinet. It also lends an authentic feel and a soft edge to be bumped . To enable the moulding to stay in position it needs a 1.6mm (1/16") slotting cutter. The trick is setting up the cutter to exactly half way across the section of MDF. Use a test piece before cutting the real thing!

To minimize the wiring lengths and also make the controls easily accessible I added a platform for the Raspberry Pi to be mounted on. It was a scrap piece of plywood left over from a previous project. The size is approx

...and choose your own preferred layout . I chose a layout with 1 joystick and 3 buttons. This is more than enough for most early games from the 1980"s/90"s, particularly when you consider this vertical screen layout. The joystick is mounted to the top in a recess 6mm deep. This leaves 12mm for the 8 screws used to hold the joystick in position. The buttons are mounted in 28mm holes, I counter-bored the holes with the 35mm Forstner bit but this wasn"t necessary as the buttons have a really long thread on them and I think I"d skip this detail on a future build.

Note: The drawing calls for a 36mm counterbore as the plastic nuts on the buttons are 35mm in diameter - however I found the 35mm Forstner bit worked fine.

To ensure the control boxes are going to stay put I used 4 large "mudguard" washers under the M6 bolts (and an additional 4 under a M6 nut on the inside of the cabinet). These will help spread the load of the frenetic joystick and button pushing for years to come!

Using the pre-assembled (purchased) wiring harness link up the joystick micro switches and buttons. A common black return wire daisy chains all the individual micro switches together. Then individually coloured wired are used for the other terminal.

The ControlBlock PCB simply plugs into the Raspberry Pi and is the same form factor. The wiring from the joystick and buttons can now be terminated directly into this PCB using the green terminal blocks. This PCB also has an on/off function into which I wired a switch (see later step).

I used a tiny (and very cheap) amplifier which can produce 3w of power. I first tested the setup outside the plastic box to ensure it worked without getting hot (which it doesn"t). The amplifier is powered from a 12V to 5V DC-DC converter. The sound is adequate to fill the room and has to be turned down quite a lot for normal use.

An on off Button was added to the underside of the base of the cabinet (essentially hidden). This button is of the on/off type (not a momentry type). The button is wired into the ControlBlock PCB on top of the Raspberry Pi. Although the button is an on/off type it works through the ControlBlock to do a software shutdown and so it takes about 20seconds for the Pi to actually go off.

I drilled the required 5mm holes and then glued and screwed the pegs in. I then marked out the locations for the other end of the fixings and drilled out the 8mm hole and 14mm cross hole. The end result is not as neat as I might have hoped but with it being under the top is is hardly visible.

Using a chopped off white 2m extension lead and an IEC lead I routed the mains power into the cabinet. A simple screw connector block interconnects the 3 wires.

It is entirely optional as to whether you decorate your cabinet with artwork. Some people prefer the authentic look with artwork dedicated to one game or theme. In my case I chose artwork with a space theme. The top is a real photograph of the Australian night sky and the artwork on the sides is fictional but still with a space theme.

Now you can finish off the sides with the "T" moulding. Attach the moulding starting at the top and working around a few cm at a time, always ensuring the print is well folded over the edge and trapped by the moulding as you go. This is a bit trick as the print does not stick to the exposed MDF very well and will only stay in position for a few seconds. Be patient we are nearly finished!

Using the same technique used to apply the side prints, the top print can now be fitted. I ended up removing the LCD monitor to finish off the print fitting (and you could do this now), but if you leave it in you would want to put a piece of paper over the screen to stop the print sticking to it.

I placed a protective piece of paper (in fact the backing paper for the print attached in the last step), over the print. I then roughly cut out some 6mm MDF and clamped it to the top. The routing was carried out in 2 steps:

NB:These instructions are for setting up via a windows based computer, if your an Apple aficionado to the RetroPie wiki and follow the device specific instructions there:

Once you have loaded this program on your computer, run the software and format your SD card with "Fat32" Ensure you pick the correct drive to format! Call the SD card "RetroPie"

Make sure you download the correct version for your Raspberry Pi hardware! If you are unsure as to the version of Raspberry Pi you have then look at this page....

4) Open up Win32DiskImager and select the SD card as the card to write to. Then using the drop down, browse to the image downloaded in step 3 and write the image to the card. Go for a coffee as this will take a few minutes!

5) "Eject" the card for your computer by right clicking the drive in windows explorer (safer than just pulling it out). The SD card can now be removed and placed in the Raspberry Pi.

Here is a great video showing the installation and configuration of RetroPie - its for an earlier version but it should guide you ok and I recommend you follow it However, but be aware some features have changed for the version I used here (4.0.2 Sept 2016)

Now we need to do some specific configuration settings particular installation. The 1st this is to turn the screen around 90Degrees to use it in the portrait format.

Once the Pi has rebooted you need to follow the instructions in section 8 on the page (scroll well down) to load up and compile the driver for the ControlBlock PCB

....What are ROM files? Hmmmmm well in short they are the "game" files. I can"t give direct links here due to commercial rules but I"ll suggest how you might search the Internet for files for your favourite game. I found this the most frustrating part of the project and I wasted some hours in research. For that reason I"m going to endeavour to tell you a quick route to get your system up and running ASAP. From there you may gain confidence and start your own searches to find suitable files.

I set my RetroPie up with the intention of using one emulator. This narrows the criteria for searching for the right ROM files. the Emulator I chose was "Ir.mame2003". this version of MAME using a particular version of ROM set, namely 0.78.

These full romset"s contain hundreds of games and are consequently very large (several GB). Either the whole file can be "torrented" or maybe split into several zip files. It took me a day to download a full set so "patience is a virtue" You can search for individual game files but in the end I found it most productive to get a full romset and then pick out which games I wanted one by one.

1) Format a USB key, eject it and plug it into your Raspberry Pi. The LED on the key will flash then after a minute or so will either go out or be on all the time. The USB key can then be removed from the Raspberry Pi and plugged back into your computer. This steps only needs to be done once and RetroPie should have created a series of rom folders on the USB drive.

2) Copy the zip file for your chosen game from the romset onto the USB drive. Put the file in the sub folder for the emulator you want to use. In my case I put the files in the "Arcade" folder

As for the Roms - have you set up pacman with the "in game menu" via the "Tab" key? By default, I"ve found all new games loaded up are set to "upright" and this needs to be toggled to "cocktail".0

This is a good guid but very poor on final setup, if you have a cocktail table there is no global setting for dip switch in mame...you have to go into every game and change this, its a pain in the arse, nobody has comeup with a solution for this which i think is rediculous0

I would like to know how is the configuration on Retropie , in order to have a really cocktail arcade configuration, when a player 1 looses, to flip the image to the other side player 2... and so on.... Thanks

Would you believe your extensive instructions for building an Arcade Cabinet would still be useful and relative today. I cannot thank you enough for the hard work you have put into the detailed instructions, as I am now gathering the parts, to build my own cabinet. I live on the Gold Coast so a lot of your parts lists and links work for me, Thank you!0

Awesome..! I added it to my collection. OnceI"ve made all my other stuff I frequently play around with, I"ll build one for my teenie boy. Erhmm...at least that is the excuse for my wife..lol0

Not all games have this feature but if they do it is settable in the game menu. The game menu is accessed by attaching a keyboard to the Raspberry Pi and hitting the "tab" key. a menu will appear on the screen and if the game supports it there is a setting for Cabinet type - "Cocktail" or "Upright" - choose cocktail and exit the menu. The game remembers the setting so you only need to do it for each game once.0

I would like to make one and going over your plans I was wondering if you could provide the measurements for the the Control Panel positioning and positions for the Braces on the End Panels

Not much at all really - there would be no need to rotate the screen (in the boot config.txt file) as I assume you would use it in "normal" landscape mode. With many arcade games there is a "in game" menu that is accessed by using a keyboard and hiting the "Tab" key after the game has started. In this menu you may find a "Upright or Cocktail" setting which you need to choose the first time you run that game.

Anyway, can I ask a favor - are you able to please do a quick measurement for me? I want to know what is the likely LARGEST Monitor that would fit into the available cabinets top dimensions... If you can measure the table top and see what is the "useable" area on the underside of the lid that won"t hit anything once it"s all put together (Eg: The wooden framing)

I"m assuming in my answer that you will be using the monitor in the landscape format not portrait as I have with the dell 17". Anyway, the width is about 370mm but don"t forget the timbers taper in at 5 degrees. So, both the 24" (definitely) and hopefully the 26" would fit in. The larger monitor would be a very tight fit though. As for the length dimension the hinges take up about 70mm in from one end of the cabinet, if you centralize the monitor then you"d be taking 2 x 70mm from the interior length (which is 660). 660-140=520mm hmm this means that even the smaller monitor is going to be a squeeze, possible best to just make the cabinet sides a bit longer.

Another thing to consider is the location of the Raspberry Pi and how close it is the the back of the monitor, although this is easy to overcome by placing the platform a bit lower.

Hi mstone25 - yes full details on step 3. Its not a cheap build but you could do something similar for a fraction of the costs Incurred. For a budget build you would forget the "T" moulding, leave out the glass top and perhaps the artwork could be hand drawn (but not by me I have no talents in that department)!

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This is concave momentary push button similar to the ones you find on arcade games. Simple screw in design. Perfect for mashing. This button has a great tactile, feel.

The Pixelcade™ software includes thousands of marquee designs painstakingly remastered in 8-bit form covering the majority of popular emulators and MAME games. If the selected game does not have a corresponding LED marquee design, then a generic emulator marquee (ie, atari2600, mame, nes, etc.) will be displayed or scrolling text. To create your own LED marquee designs, author a 64×32 (1 Panel Installation) or 128×32 (2 Panel Installation) PNG or GIF animation in your favorite image editor like Photoshop. High contrast colors and preferably a black background look best on the LEDs. And if you can, please do share your creations with the community on the

Racing has been a theme in the coin-operated arcade machine industry since Sega released Grand Prix in 1969. Since that time, the racing game has evolved from those electro-mechanical machines to modern, coin-operated video game cabinets. A variety of refurbished collectible racing arcade game machines are available on eBay for inexpensive prices.Which cabinet designs were collectible racing-style arcade games offered in?

Unique driving and racing-style video game machines were available in many different cabinet designs. Collectors planning to add a classic coin-op driver or racer arcade machine can find titles in:Uprights - These provide steering and speed controls for single or multiple players (for example, Atari"s 1986 "Super Sprint").

Deluxe ? Games that simulate real car or motorcycle controls for one or two contestants (for example, Sega"s 1985 "Hang On").What types of game graphics did classic racer titles use?

Driver or racer titles from the classic era of coin-op machines used rear image projection with a first-person view. As video games began to overtake electro-mechanical machines, the technology improved enough to allow for vector graphics in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, the video game industry began to produce machines that used early 2D technologies such as top-down perspective and side-scrolling graphics. These eventually gave way to 2.5D graphics and then 3D imaging seen in more modern video game designs.What types of controller mechanisms do classic arcade racers have?

Early titles used two and four-way controllers for vehicle controls with additional push buttons added soon after. These simple control features were improved upon, and many driver/racer game titles from the "Golden Era" of coin-op video games used:Steering wheels and double-joysticks ? These control vehicle directions while driving.