Golf GTI at Mt Panorama, Bathurst

Our Golf GTI parked on the famous Mt Panorama circuit at Bathurst, NSW. We visited Bathurst on the return leg of a Christmas road trip from Canberra to Brisbane. The circuit is a public road, and anyone can drive on it (albeit at a maximum of 60Kmph). What a pity the road isn't more along the lines of Germany's Nurburgring...

New project: cocktail arcade machine!

I've embarked on a new DIY project, which is building a cocktail table arcade machine. It will run old classics such as Galaga, Arkanoid, Donkey Kong etc using a vertical monitor configuration. My original aim was to build a Ms Pacman or Galaga replica, but I have decided instead to create my own design from scratch. I won't be finishing this cabinet as quickly as my first one, rather I plan to take my time and try and achieve a higher quality finish. Whether I achieve this or not remains to be seen!

Work to date includes purchasing a cheap 2nd hand PC and installing front end software and Mame on it. I also managed to completely hide Windows, so that the PC boots straight into the front end without any Windows screens or mouse pointers. I have mounted the 19" Sony monitor in a solid wood frame, and have created two control panels. Lots of work remaining, but at least I'm on my way!

Player 1 control panel

Artwork is sandwiched between a MDF base and 3mm plastic top. I designed the artwork using 'Inkscape' and incorporated some freeware vector images sourced from the web. Note: cutting plastic is a very frustrating experience!

Trackball close-up

Trackball glows green when in use, and red when in standby. I plan to obtain some replacement bolts with smooth rounded heads when I can track some down.

Player 2 control panel

I printed the artwork out using our A4 inkjet printer, and consequently you can see a clear join between the pages. I've ordered an A2 size print out online, which should provide me with a seamless control panel overlay.

Coin mechanism

The real deal this time, no more pressing a button to simulate inserting a coin! You can see the microswitch in the bottom right of the photo... when a coin falls through the mech it hits a wire arm that extends from the microswitch, triggering the switch and registering 1 credit.

19" monitor mounted in frame

This is an old photo- I have tidied the frame up quite a bit since then! The whole thing is screwed and bolted together, with the straps helping to provide additional tension. Actually, I'm not sure if the straps are doing much at all really. They can't hurt I guess :)