I just found out about a website that can convert blogs (and other RSS feeds) into a podcast automatically. This service called odiogo uses a text to speech system and merges those results with audio created from your text.
Here is the URL to use if you want to subscribe to the podcast version of this blog
http://podcasts.odiogo.com/ripplin-river-tech/podcasts-xml.php
This looks like a good way to spend a rainy afternoon, try to memorize some pacman patterns.
http://www.mameworld.net/pacman/patterns.html
I haven’t mounted my speakers yet, partially because they have a volume control on them and I can adjust the volume as long as I can reach it.
Well pausing the forums.arcadecontrols.com I found an application that allows me to control the volume from buttons. Using this app, I can hold the Coin button down and press the player 1 start to lower the volume and player 2 button to raise the volume. Pause button is now the Mute as well.
Discussed here http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=69901.0
And downloadable from here http://hofle.com/mame/CabVol.zip
Oh, and to get this to install on Windows 2000, I was forced to install .net Version 2.0 from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en
Well it’s up to +1 F but with the windchill factor it’s still pretty cold. Must be time to post some progress on the IceBox
I ordered 1/4 tempered glass from a local glass store. Found some spiffy brass brackets for the corners.
I also found a sylvania LED light at Menards on sale for $13.
I need a more unique name, so I’m going with the ICEBOX. The oak reminds me of an antique icebox and the cold snap we have been having lately does as well.
While I am looking for glass for this arcade, I have to do some thinking…Can I come up with a better name than “The Machine Cocktail Table”? I came up with the name machine because I didn’t have a name for it and I would just say I’m going to work on “the machine” this weekend. Problem is the thing doesn’t really look like what you think of when you think machine.
Maybe something to do with the Oak (someone else already has an Oak cocktail table) or the extra cold weather (IceBox Cocktail table?, (cause it’s so cool)) we have been having lately or the fact that it is great to have inside during cold weather (Cacooning Cocktail table (ha, bleh)).
This thing is almost done, I can play most games including windows games such as Ultimate Pinball and SpaceTripper by PomPom without use of the keyboard. Shopping for glass next week and continue to refine the GameLauncher interface is about all I have left. Perfect for cold January days.
I’m still not totally done, but the whole thing fits in the cabinet and runs. I had some problems with the emulator not using the full screen area. I wasted time with the mame.ini file, clean stretch, hardware stretch, resolution and etc settings. Finally realized this was due to the graphics card limitations of the laptop…it was in dual screen mode, so once I toggled the screen over to run only on the monitor, Joust could run in all it’s glory.
I also found that my Ultimate Pro Pinball and Atari Anniversary PC games run fine on the arcade. However, the pinball games require the CD be in the drive…have to see if there is a fix for that! (You may be able to see in the picture that I still need a button, figure I will use that for an easy to reach bump button for pinball games)
Hey, last night I wired all the ground connections, and this morning I wired everything else…and viola! it’s workin!
I used 20 gauge solid core for the positive connections, but I liked the thicker 16 gauge flexible wire I used for the negative connections better.
Playing Bezerk!
Found some time to attach the cabinet locks and drill additional holes and then it was time for stain.
