My system obviously did not require me to be enough of a craftsman to build a full cabinet. I have a distinct feeling that if I started from scratch I'd likely not be writing this site now because I'd still be banging away on it. Either that or the final product would be too embarassing to put it on the web because it looked like an overgrown birdhouse built in ninth grade shop class.

In all truth, I suspect I could build a reasonable cabinet and might do it someday... but my heart wasn't in it for this first endeavor.

I started on the MAME side of it first, actually, and on a whim rigged up a VGA to arcade monitor cable late one night after discovering AdvanceMAME. After startling the heck out of myself by the cable working on the first try (I had a long list of reasons in my head why this was going to be a fiasco), I started casting a covetous eye on the Millipede cabinet with dreams of classic arcade utopia dancing in my head.

I'm trying to keep some perspective on how this process would have gone had I just dragged in my first arcade carcass from the wild with no prior experience or parts on hand. I've spent many an hour debugging old games and am fairly comfortable with the design methodology common to most older arcade games. This includes wiring harnesses, power supplies, switches, and the basic ins and outs of arcade monitors. You could easily use a MAME project as your diving in point if you base it on a classic machine... but I can think of lots of previous trial and error I likely took for granted with this project.

Granted, I sold the bulk of my collection and about a zillion miscelleanous parts last year. My attic, though, still has quite a few pieces scattered about including wiring harnesses from past systems. Also a number of complete systems that were lowest on my priority list are still sitting in the garage where they have become a marvelous spider and woodland creature habitat. Parts robbed from this detrius have proven quite useful in the last few weeks.

[Sidenote: The other day in the garage I discovered that there was one mind-numbing 90's conversion fighting machine I had never opened and was floored to find a complete M.A.C.H. 3 boardset still mounted inside minus the laser disc player. The archaeology continues to this day. Not that I'm going to wear a fedora and take a whip with me to the garage next time, but there is a certain little buzz that comes from such discoveries...]

So the project involves some knowledge of arcade wiring and wiring of electronics in general. If you're going to mate your system with an existing arcade (sound, power, etc) I'd recommend you download the schematics or buy a manual for the machine you're using as a base. I have the Millipede schematics and books here thanks to a helpful operator who left them in the machine (not unusual - dig around). If you are buying pre-made controls or interface boards they will likely have decent instructions on how they should be wired. Look at the original controls in the machine for pointers because the concepts are identical.

The physical aspects of the cabinet are pretty much a carpentry process. My father helped a great deal on this process having done a lot of woodworking and carpentry in his life. He's also an artist and designer, so he had a very good approach to the process of coming up with the control panel shape and template (detailed later). This process involved plywood, a saber saw, sanders, a table saw and a good bit of cursing at inanimate objects that are, in fact, out to get you and foil your intentions. We're both convinced an experienced cabinetmaker would likely have us both keelhauled or at least strapped to a belt sander for a number of reasons, but we figured that we were not, in fact, manufacturing fine dining room furniture.

Working with the formica for the control panel is a whole process unto itself and will require a router to be done properly. The same stands true for the T-molding on the edge of the control panel. I had witnessed the formica process when we renovated the kitchen a few years ago, so I was fairly comfortable in tackling it myself. One tip from recent experience: don't do this in your computer room. The amount of very strange formica dust/shavings this thing jets out in a terrifying plume are staggering. It also smells rather hellish, assuming you're not already brain damaged from the formica adhesive.

The software and computer side of this process is the one I'm most comfortable with as a programmer and network system administrator maintaining a small army of Linux machines. Nevertheless, it has caused many stressful hours during the project as I wrestled with numerous issues surrounding the driving of the video hardware at low frequencies and refresh rates. This is the focus of AdvanceMAME which, while fantastic, is not for the faint of heart especially when you consider it is all bleeding edge and in active development.

Now, before I start sounding like I'm painting a grim picture on the software front, rest assured that this is also a community effort and one where you are likely to find voluminous information and some amount of assistance from others. It is a two-way street, though. Ask questions, but also offer your experiences in a positive manner to help others. These are not end-user commercial products... they are a labor of love by volunteer programmers and nothing is more offensive to the community than people whining in an accusatory manner that their baby is a pain in your (inexperienced) ass. Contribute. Participate. Absorb. Be brave and learn as you go.

It is not likely that there is something you're going to tackle that others have not before you, so information abounds on the software side. That goes for both the Linux OS and the emulation programs themselves. This site, for instance, is being written in an effort to contribute to this community and in many ways is being patterned to fill gaps I felt existed when I was in the throes of MAME'ing my cabinet.

So, to summarize the skills and tools from this project I would point out the use of:

• Linux knowledge

• Fundamentals of electronics & wiring (nothing so complex as logic / ICs)

• Reasonable but not extensive woodworking skills

• Table saw, saber saw, sander, router, drill

• Soldering iron, multimeter

• At least the basics of how a classic arcade is wired

• Knowledge of monitors and video signals is a major plus

• The ability to scour the web

• A good attitude in open-source project forums

• Patience (not my forte'... but I survived)