Dingoonity.org
Dingoo Official Firmware => Hardware => Topic started by: abstauber on January 16, 2011, 08:12:35 pm
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Hi Everyone,
after exact one month build time I've finally finished my Dingux driven Mini-Arcade!
Specs
Dingoo: A320 at 420 MHz
Screen Size: 5"
Cab Size: 20x40x23 cm
Here are some images showing the cab in all its "80s Space Duel Glory" :)
Front view, the Dingoo's screen is typically hidden behind a small hatch.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/arc_front_dingux.jpg)
Size compared to a beer, the marquee is actually let when turned on
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/arc_front_beer.jpg)
Showing some of its side art
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/arc_quarteview.jpg)
And here's some footage on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qI4zYo7bjM
I've to say, the Dingoo was a really good choice for this project, as the cab is completely silent, runs on a single 12v adapter and plays almost all my favorite titles. Not to mention that it saved me about 200 bucks of buying a mini itx board.
If there's enough interest I could also post some info about the building process.
DIY Guide
How I build this cab
1. Planning is everything
First I started sketching on plain old paper
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/arcade_sketch1.jpeg)(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/arcade_sketch2.jpeg)
After that I found out that everything you want to do, someone else already did :P
So here's Pocket Lucho's amazing work of mini arcade cabs (spanish)
http://www.elotrolado.net/hilo_pocket-neo-arcade-2-0-proyecto-terminado_1251492
After sketching I made up a version in Google Sketchup to find out which parts I really needed and since I don't have a real cab at home, this step also helped me to get the proportions right.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/automat3.png)
Finally I build a cardboard-model and ordered the parts.
This is all you need to build a cab (no tools included)
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/parts.jpg)
- 0 - Wood: I bought 12mm multiplex in 120cmx60cm. What a huge mistake. This might be the most deformed piece of wood every made, so take my advice alway buy small pieces
- 1 - The cardboard model, which me about 1 hour. The cool thing is that it's perfect to dry the final shapes on wood
- 2 - Voltage Transformer. It's infinitely variable from 3 to 24 V and will be the Dingoo's battery replacement. I also used two protector diodes to prevent the transformer from being charged by an USB connection. So I set this transformer to 5v (the two diodes reduced the power by 2V)
- 3 - Voltage Transformer. This was set to 7,5V to power the screen.
- 4 - 24 pin D-SUB male connector. Since they're so cheap I bought two
- 5 - 24 pin D-SUB female connector
- 6 - heat shrink tubes
- 7 - Power Switch
- 8 - 12 V Jack. yes, I know I should say 2,5 mm DC Jack ;)
- 9 - LED Stripe to light the marquee 12 V
- 10 - VGA Ram cooler to put on the Dingoo's CPU, since it will be permanently overclocked
- 11 - PS One LCD Screen. Got very cheap on eBay
- 12 - 6 Seimitsu Push Buttons, 26mm diameter (couldn't find smaller ones)
- 13 - USB Jack and type changer (from USB type A to B or vice versa)
- 14 - platine legs, not used though
- 15 - Seimitsu Joystick, couldn't find a smaller one neither
- 16 - Mini Buttons for Start, Select, Reset and Power, 18mm diameter
- 17 - The Dingoo A320, yay!
- 18 - a cheap USB extension. Planned to replace the composite tv cable and connects the A320 to the PS One screen
- 19 - lot's of flex wires
- 20 - a Mini-USB to USB cable
- 21 - wires that came with the joystick
- 22 - tin-solder. Well, it's on the pic, so I better mention it :)
- 23 - screws
- 24 - angle brackets. Not used since I bought banana wood and had to directly screw it all together
- 25 - magnets. Also not used because of the poor wood quality
- 26 - hinges. Haven't used them either, but I bought smaller ones to attach the Dingoo to the cab
- 27 - 15mm - 30mm adjustable drill. Very useful to drill button and joystick holes.
- 28 - more magnets
- 29 - even more magnets :-[
Okay, besides tons of magnets I never used, here are some parts which didn't make it on the list:
- acrylic glass for the screen and marquee.
- Water resistant (!) inkjet sticker paper
- a few banana plugs for easier button assembly
- the two protection diodes I talked about in point 2
- paint
All in all rebuilding this cab might cost you around 320 eur, including the Dingoo. I actually just realized that I build an A320 cab for 320 Euro.
Phew... good thing I didn't buy the GA380 ;D
You can also save some money if you already own a Dingoo and if buy a cheap arcade stick and rip out it's buttons and the Joystick. Using MDF instead of multiplex wood might also save some bucks as well as making the voltage transformer yourself.
2. D-SUB to Dingoo: shaky hands unwanted
First of all I wanted to check the PS One screen I got from eBay, so I quickly attached a composite jack to it in order to use the bundled TV-Out cable.
Btw. hacking a PSOne Screen is pretty well documented. Check this link (http://www.papayalabs.co.uk/hacks/psonelcd.php) if you like to learn more about this.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/psone_test.jpg)
Hooray, bought a working screen. This was also the last image, showing the A320 as a portable device ;)
The next step was to think about the pin assignment for the D-SUB connectors. Here's my list:
- 1 - Ground - black (Good Choice)
- 2 - DPad Up - red (Bad Choice :P )
- 3 - DPad Down - green
- 4 - DPad Left - yellow
- 5 - DPad Right - orange
- 6 - X - blue
- 7 - Y - pink
- 8 - A - white
- 9 - B - purple
- 10 - Start - gray
- 11 - Select - brown
- 12 - Shoulder Left - red/black
- 13 - Shoulder Right - pink/black
- 14 - Reset - yellow/black
- 15 - Power - yellow/red
- 16 - +V - red/green (for whatever reason I didn't use plain red)
There's also ground on pin 21 and 24. But enough with all those lists already, admitted, this is also for my personal documentation ;)
This is the front side. Except for X,Y,A,B, I've found nice solder points. The wires were hot glued to the board .
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/solder_front.jpg)
Here's the backside. This one was way easier except of the left trigger button. There's not much space between the solder point and the RAM chip. You can also see, that I've attached on part of the USB extension cord to the TV-Out Connector.
Not to mention the slick VGA cooler that fits perfectly on the CPU.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/solder_back.jpg)
I was so excited when I prepared the first functional test.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/solder_done.jpg)
Phew... I got lucky there.
A comment on the display connection: since the Dingoo is only capable of composite TV-Out, an USB extension was the cheapest choice. It has four wires, enough for Ground, Video, Audio Left, Audio Right, is also shielded and costs just 3 eur.
This is only the only downside of the whole project: video quality. It is "okay", but not as good the build in display. The PS One screen could do way better, if connected via RGB.
Here's the D-SUB counterpart:
On the left side you can also guess where the protection diodes are.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/cable_loop.jpg)
Afterwards I've attached bananaplugs to the buttons.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/buttons.jpg)
Then all parts went into a shoe box and formed Voltron made the first version of my cab ;D
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/a320_stick.png)
okay, no big deal. You might already know this pic
3. Ain't no carpenter
Unfortunately my apartment doesn't feature a basement but a garden: good in the summer, pretty annoying during wintertime. Usually I do all the sawing and milling outside, but at -5?C there was no chance to avoid a 100km drive to visit my parent's basement :)
I didn't take too much photos of the wood working, mainly because I wanted to spare me unnecessary long drives. In total I spend three days on this part.
So here's the a snapshot at a state similar to the Sketchup picture above. Of course I forgot to drill a hole for the side buttons.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood1.jpg)
And this is the side with that particular hole
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood2.jpg)
Almost done. The bottom door is from a cigar box :)
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood3.jpg)
Backside:
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood4.jpg)
The acrylic glass is kept in place by grooves I milled into it, but I did it too amateurish to show it around. Or to be honest, I was too annoyed after the milling to take a picture of it ;)
Now after being back at home, I started grounding and painting it. I applied 3 coats of white(sides) and black (everything else)
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood5.jpg)
This is how the cab looks inside without all the tech stuff:
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood6.jpg)
4. Assembly
After the cab finally dried, it was time to put this mess into it:
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/chaos.jpg)
Always start bottom/top
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood7.jpg)
Controls - I tell you about the decorations afterwards
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood8.jpg)
Dingoo assembly step 1
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood9.jpg)
and step 2.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood10.jpg)
Ready to close it up.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wood11.jpg)
Testing!
Yaay!! ;D
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/mslug.jpg)
5. Decorations
As you could already see from the list above, I bought inkjet sticker paper from amazon, printed all artwork and let it dry for a few hours.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/stickers1.jpg)
Then I applied a few coats of clear varnish... in.. err.. the living room. Well the plants survived, but having a bigger apartment is a plus on cab crafting ;)
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/stickers2.jpg)
The varnish really pushed the colors and made stickers more resistant. Even though the paper should be waterproof, I feel more save now. If you have a print shop around, you could also save yourself some trouble and get your stuff printed there.
6. Conclusion
Hmm.. what's left to say? The cab is done, I had tons of fun building it and I keep on having fun when playing some games :)
Thanks for reading and consider building your own :D It's worth it!
Feedback very welcome :)
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great! i'm interest about the process building!
but can you remove the dingoo from the mini-arcade or not?
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sweet build
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Super!
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That thing looks awesome. Nice work!
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Give it to me. ;)
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Hi abstauber,
your Mini-Arcade cab is brilliant mate, awesome work! :)
If you could post some more detailed build specs/pics etc, that'd be very cool too!
;D
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This is really cool. Can you build another cab with six buttons so we can get our SFII on? ;)
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This is pure awesomeness.
Me need one ;)
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Hey, great that you like it!
@Coccijoe
Well... you can remove it, but it's pretty useless then, unless you build another controller for it.
As you can see in this thread (http://boards.dingoonity.org/dingoo-hardware-general/external-joystick-mod/), the dingoo is completely wired against a D-SUB connector.
Btw. does anyone need the battery and some buttons? :D
@EreWeGo
I hope I'll find some time this week to work on the images. After that I'd be happy to show you how I made the cab.
@10basetom
The cab actuall has 6 buttons, the shoulder buttons are mounted at the sides, but I agree: for a six button fighter it's a bit fiddly.
On the other hand, pinball plays really nice :)
@everyone else
Thanks for the comments, keep em coming ;D
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Sweet !
You should really make an How-To build my own Dingoo Cab !!
Would be great.
Keep on.
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Excellent work dude, looks awesome.
Ive been thinking about building a mame cabinet but this looks like a cool project as well. Some more info on the build process (even a step-by-step guide, perhaps) would be truly awesome.
Well done! Respect!
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Thanks guys, started with the guide, spell checking is done later ;)
I hope, you like it!
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Great! Karma for you!
Is it a "St?rtebecker"? :D
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I want your marquees and side art~ ;D
I've replaced the controls on my A320 arcade mod with a Sanwa set, now it's a real arcade ;D
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Extremely impressive!!!
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@schanall:
Thanks and well spotted :D A beer is the best measure ;) !
@difuno:
Seriously? Be warned, it's not vectorized. Oh, and looking at the pic you've posted I thought your cab already had Sanwa Buttons. Personally I'm more in favor of Happ buttons, because the punchy micro switches. Unfortunately those were way too big for this cab.
@Orion4874:
Yay :)
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Little oftoppic: I'm collecting "beer tastiness". And St?rtebeker Pilsener-Bier is in my personal top 20ty :) And I have tested over 400 different beers so far.
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Little oftoppic: I'm collecting "beer tastiness". And St?rtebeker Pilsener-Bier is in my personal top 20ty :) And I have tested over 400 different beers so far.
"Tastiness" indeed. All beer tastes like a sick ape's rancid foot sweat. :P
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@schanall:
Thanks and well spotted :D A beer is the best measure ;) !
@difuno:
Seriously? Be warned, it's not vectorized. Oh, and looking at the pic you've posted I thought your cab already had Sanwa Buttons. Personally I'm more in favor of Happ buttons, because the punchy micro switches. Unfortunately those were way too big for this cab.
@Orion4874:
Yay :)
It's not vectorized but it is still way better than mine ;D
Mine didn't started with any Sanwa controls, I just recently changed the controls, and it works much better now.
I really like your cab's size and design, but I am just afraid I will lift it in the air or sweep it off the table when I am playing games ;D
Gosh I am too violent :P
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Hi there!
This project is really great!
Just couple of questions:
1. Do dingoo buttons operate with common ground ? (I mean when you press the button, it connects to ground ?)
2. Do all buttons operate the same way ? (see question 1)
Thanks a lot for answers in advance =).
Oops, another question: How do you connect Dingoo to powersource ? Have you removed the battery ? Does your voltage transformer connected to USB power input or directly to battery pins instead (?) of battery.
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@difuno: Alright, I'll try to find a nice place to upload it.
@a320.emulate.su:
1) Yep, just one common ground. You can also take look at my pin assignment in the first post
2) Yep
3) Yes, I've removed the battery and connected the voltage transformer directly. Although I've added protection diodes to prevent the transformer from being charged by USB power (in case its connected to the pc)
But at least with Dingux the A320 work perfectly on USB Power only, so instead of buying a voltage transformer and diodes, you could also get a powered USB Hub.
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ged by USB power (in case its connected to the pc)
But at least with Dingux the A320 work perfectly on USB Power only, so instead of buying a voltage transformer and diodes, you could also get a powered USB Hub.
Thanks a lot for replies!
Using usb power is nice, but there is a delay on start, when you are getting "usb logo" when, native firmware boots...
And another question, may be you do know - is there a pull-up resistors on dingoo buttons (not on ground parts, but on signal ones). I think, they should be... may be inside the IC, where buttons are connected.
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That's why I'm using Dingux: Instant PowerOn as soon as I connect USB. But of course this is just a side effect because I also have the voltage transformer.
Dingux is also set as the primary boot OS so the USB logo won't appear. As for the pull-up resistor... no idea, how they did it, could be quite possible.
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i really really want one. how much would you charge to build one for someone? =)
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Hehe, unfortunately my flat is too small to start a cab factory. Besides my woodworking skills are quite.. err.. basic ;)
Oh, and I've made a youtube video today ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qI4zYo7bjM
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Have not you used any loud speaker? Would the little speakers on A320 be sufficient?
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Oh sorry, I should really finish the build documentation.
I've used the internal speakers of the PSOne screens. They are quite loud, have a decent quality and I didn't have to buy extra speakers or an amp. The Dingoo speakers are way too small for a cab of this size. Not to mention that they sound awful at a high volume.
PS. I really should start uploading the artwork somewhere ;)
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Oh sorry, I should really finish the build documentation.
I've used the internal speakers of the PSOne screens. They are quite loud, have a decent quality and I didn't have to buy extra speakers or an amp. The Dingoo speakers are way too small for a cab of this size. Not to mention that they sound awful at a high volume.
PS. I really should start uploading the artwork somewhere ;)
Oh, sorry I've really missed the speakers on the PSOne Monitor. :P
I watched your video but really can't tell for sure if the music in the background really came from the games being played (honestly speaking, did not sound like the game BGM), and I checked in your list but couldn't find the speaker item. That was why I had that question. ;D
Yup, waiting for your artworks ;)
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Hehe, well the BGM is just a dream from my childhood, it's from an ancient Emerald's Mine disk. Live sound is included when I play Ultimate Drift, but my cheap cam can't be trusted - the PSOne speakers can be very loud and sound absolutely sufficent.
Here's my artwork, just make sure you upload some pics of your cab once you've added this :)
http://www.sonores.de/temp/sp_marquee.png (802 Kb)
http://www.sonores.de/temp/sp_sideart.png (3,4 Mb)
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Hehe, well the BGM is just a dream from my childhood, it's from an ancient Emerald's Mine disk. Live sound is included when I play Ultimate Drift, but my cheap cam can't be trusted - the PSOne speakers can be very loud and sound absolutely sufficent.
Here's my artwork, just make sure you upload some pics of your cab once you've added this :)
http://www.sonores.de/temp/sp_marquee.png (802 Kb)
http://www.sonores.de/temp/sp_sideart.png (3,4 Mb)
Thank you so much!
Downloading the artwork, I think my next question will be, I gotta find a way of getting printed in good quality, what printer and paper you used for printing your artwork?
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@Difuno
I've completed the guide, hopefully it answers your questions :)
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This Guide is great.
I liked reading it. One day i will make my own arcade.
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@abstauber
Wow, it's amazing what you have done with your dingoo :D
A question though: how does it handle the native dingux games (As in non emulated. Not to confuse with Native OS games)? Some example games I'm especially interested in: Doom, Duke3D, Cave Story, Thruster. I'm guessing since they weren't designed for arcade controls, they might be cumbersome in control.
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@SiENcE
Yay, please build one too. Then we just need usb-networking for some cool arcade multiplayer action ;D
@zear
Hehe, since I used to play those games with a keyboard, all these games feel strange to play :)
Currently I've only tried XRick, Ascii Portal, Gianas Return and Wolf3d and I've no trouble with the controls so far.
For the first person shooters: LR-Trigger are on ring or middle fingers, right hand's thumb and forefinger on the 4 buttons and the rest of the left hand moves the joystick.
But playing Doom with a joystick always feels wrong for a null-modem deathmatch veteran ;)
Compared to a padlayout you have at least one more finger on the buttons, if triggers are needed. Without trigger buttons you can have even more fingers on the action buttons.
I'll test these particular games later this week and let you know how I did.
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Great idea ! Great cab ! Great guide !
I start to thinking build my own. I have one of these PS1 LCDs and it's getting dust. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at soldering.
PS: Die Anleitung ist wirklich Hammer. Dankesch?n.
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Absolutely amazing work abstauber ;D I will be looking into building one of these when I have the time.
Ikonz101
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Thanks guys! I hope I see some builds soon.
PS:
If not, consider selling me your PSOne Screens ;D
@zear: Playing czDoom now, works great even on "Ultra Violence". Duke3D somehow way harder, maybe because of the more complex control scheme or simply because I'm better at Doom :)
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Well this has been a great help and gives me some idea as to whats involed, I will start a new topic as soon as 8)
Thanks abstauber great work ;)
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Hi There,
Love your cab, INSPIRING !
I commented on the youtube video (black n white tvout issue) I resolved that (got another screen :))
Here is what I got so far....
Joystick and buttons
Joytech 5.6 Screen
Speakers
Dingoo (stripped)
Are there any guides about for the following:
Extending the USB:
making Dingoo run from a plug not batteries (I am new to electronics)
Solder Points for the wiring
Any other tips
Where to get the power converters mentioned.
Could you please post links to where you got all the parts?
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Glad to hear that your project is still going on :)
I bought most of my electronic stuff here: http://www.conrad.com/, although I could have easily bought at a local store. The part number of the voltage converter is: 19100 (just enter it in the search field)
Extending the usb was pretty easy, since I just bought this genderchanger: Neutrik NAUSB-W-B. So you simply plug in a standard mini-usb cable and connect that to the dingoo.
I bought my converter (and all other arcade parts) at http://www.arcadeshop.de
For preventing the usb-connection "charge" the converter, I applied two protection diodes. I don't exactly know which one it was, but it could be a 1 N 4001 I=1A U=50V.
You can also order that one from conrad.com.
As for the soldering I haven't made any guides, but it's pretty straight forward. Just google for some joypad hacking guides, it's almost the same deal. All buttons are connected to the same ground, which makes it pretty easy.
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Thanks for the reply....
I sourced the arcade stick and buttond form arcadeshop.de ;)
I am looking into the power converter next, now I have the part number that will help a lot... :)
Then onwards and upwards....
I looked at the USB plug http://www.neutrik.com/us/en/misc/210_t2_987072893/NAUSB-W-B_detail.aspx but I am not sure what it is for.
The biggest problem I have is i know NOTHING about electronics or where i put the voltage converters for the screen and dingoo.
What it the thing I connect to the dingoo usb to stop it going into charge mode?
Sorry I have lots of questions, Its because i do not understand what im doing...
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Awesome Build!!
I plan on making one of these for my girlfriend for christmas!
I was planning on getting a pico-itx board, but stumbled upon your build and changed my plans
Just bought the LCD, bought an portable RCA 5" TV with composite input, hopefully the colors are good, TV is from 2004, good deal though, since it is useless due to overtheair signals in the U.S. being digital now.
Anyways, i use sketch-up constantly, would it be possible to for you to upload the sketchup file or even the dimensions of the cabinet, you can even upload it to the Google Sketchup warehouse if that makes it easier for you
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/
Thanks in advance!!
Again, really awesome project :)
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Hi there,
me again.... im stick at the following part...
Voltage Transformer.
QUOTE: It's infinitely variable from 3 to 24 V and will be the Dingoo's battery replacement. I also used two protector diodes to prevent the transformer from being charged by an USB connection. So I set this transformer to 5v (the two diodes reduced the power by 2V)
What should I connect it too?
What should I connect the diodes too?
Thanks
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Hey Ace, sorry for the ultra late reply. I hope this diagram makes it up a bit.
(http://shatten.sonores.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/dingoo_wires.gif)
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abstauber,
Thanks for the reply, That does helps loads... It makes more sense to actually see it in a diagram...
I will post my progress :)
Thanks again I really appreciate it