USB Arcade Console

So you've gotten yourself a copy of M.A.M.E., or RetroArch, and you want to use it as the heart of a video gaming system, with authentic arcade controls? My previous article on building a JAMMA multigame arcade machine, though Similar, was an all-in-one project. This project was to make a console box that you could hook up to any computer to play your arcade and/or home console games on.

Though just a glorious plain old pine box at heart, this was my first time working with arcade controls, and the box ended up being much larger than required -- at least taller.

Just a plain rectangular box, based on the amount, and placement of buttons and joysticks. The top of the box is where all the controls are located, and I hinged it to the box so that there would be easy maintenance.

The holes are 1-1/16th size holes, based on the width of the threads on the buttons. I tested a variety of bits on this. The worst to use are the blade-type bits. They're too messy and tend to make rough holes and sometimes break the wood. A standard drill bit is hard to find in that width, without it being really long, and expensive. In the end, I went with a hole-boring kit that I got from Harbor Freight. This is the type of bit that is used for putting holes for door-knobs into doors. The kit had a variety of different size head, including 1-1/16".

Here I am testing the size of the holes.

The Joysticks use the same size holes as the buttons do, but you need to account for the square body of the joystick, when planning out the locations of your controls. Here is the finished console.

I decided on the trigger/flight-style joystick for maximum compatibility. With a trigger finger button and a thumb-button, the joysticks will allow you to easily play games like Battlezone, Tron, and other games where triggers on the joysticks are important for control. They are not analog -- they're just 8-way, so analog joystick games are not possible. If you're wondering what games use analog sticks, that would be arcade classics like Williams' Blaster and Sinistar, Atari's Red Baron, and Cinematronics' Tailgunner.

With this arrangement, complex game controls like those of Taito's Assault, could be duplicated for near-perfect arcade feel.

I added a spinner knob so that games like Omega Race, Mad Planets, Tron, and other games that used a combination of joystick and knob, could be played.

The wiring from the underside. Pardon the out of focus photos.

The USB controller being used is the one from X-gaming. There are cheaper ones you can use, but this has the support for a trackball and a knob built into it. I got the joysticks and knob from Ultimarc.com. They are one of the few places wher e the trigger-finger sticks are less than $20 each. The spinner knob is expensive. I have no idea why, but suspect it's because of the fact that it weight a pound, and is made of solid steel.

Finally, testing the box on my laptop running MAME.

The biggest advantage to this is that it's universal -- it works on any computer with USB support.

One thing I decided on doing was actually mounting a Raspberry Pi or tiny NUC-sized computer inside of the box, so that it would be an all-in-one system. You would just have an HDMI cable going to your TV, and a power cord for the computer inside.

There is certainly plenty of room in the box.