Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

219

Chapter 11, How to Build a Home Arcade Machine

the contact paper slowly, and make sure to work out the bubbles by

rubbing the applied paper with a soft cloth. If you do get a bubble, you

can carefully pierce it with a razor blade and smooth it out.

Assemble the marquee

Just above the screen of your arcade cabinet, you will want to have a backlit

sign identifying your project. This “marquee” is constructed by printing out

a color image onto a wide sheet of paper, sandwiching this paper between

two sheets of Plexiglas, and placing it in front of a light source.

You can use an inexpensive fluorescent tube lamp as the light source.

Simply mount it behind the marquee. If necessary, add a power cord long

enough to reach to the bottom of the cabinet. The plug will be connected

to a power outlet in the base.

You can use any image you want for the marquee; to make your own, design

an image slightly smaller than 7 inches by 28 inches using your favorite

paint program. If you want the classic image, you can get the marquee art-

work printed at Kinkos for about $16 from the original TIF file available on

the MAME web site (http://www.mame.net). Sandwich the print between

two Plexiglas sheets of 7 inches by 28 inches each. Before you mount

the marquee, install the florescent light fixture by simply screwing the

assembly into the cabinet behind the sign. ...