MAME Version 2.0: Diary of a MAME Project

I'm not sure right now what I'm going to do with my next MAME project. I've recently made room in my basement for a couple more arcade machines, so I'm probably going to get another pinball game and (probably) a JAMMA cabinet. I'm considering setting up a JAMMA cabinet to play typical arcade games, and building a PC2JAMMA setup.

What follows is my thoughts on the next MAME cabinet that I was going to make. Right now that project is on hold. I'm getting very involved in arcade collecting, so I'm more interested in aquiring real arcade games. I'm leaving the diary entries online because a) there are some good ideas, b) there are some good pictures of an auction, and c) entry 6/13/1999 even has some measurements of a typical arcade cabinet (for those who may be building their own).

After completing my first cabinet, I was really bit by the "arcade bug." While I like playing the cabinet, I also find the restoration work very therapeutic. I spent countless hours working on the MAME cabinet and Dragon's Lair cabinet. But, I have finally run out of things that I can do. So, I'm giving my cabinet away to one of my best friends, and I'm going to start all over.

What I'm going to try and do is document the entire process from beginning to end. About every week or so, I'll try to add something to the diary. (Of course, there will be times when I just don't make any progress for a week or two. But, I'm going to try to be as consistent as possible.)

So, on Saturday, May 1st, 1999, there is the next auction. Hopefully I will pick up an arcade cabinet there. If not, there's another one coming up on May 15th.

Take a peek at the first entry