You can read the first part here
Building an Arcade with raspberry PI – Part 1
Buying the parts for the cabinet
So now that the software is running on the PI and working behind the television. The next step is to get the rest of the hardware parts. I bought the following.
- MDF Wood (18mm)
- Buttons and Sticks (16 buttons and 2 sticks)
- Ipac 2 Players (this can be connected with USB to the PI)
- 19 Inch Monitor (Bought at auction site)
- Cables to connect the buttons to the Ipac
- Power socket ( We connect to Pi and Monitor to this )
- On/Off switch
- Sound boxed (logitech z130)
Building the cabinet
Fist we need to have the designs for the arcade. You can design your own or you can download one from the internet. I have downloaded one of the internet that is exactly what I needed. I did however change some minor details. Like using 18mm MDF for everything.
The designs I’m using are based on Q*bert. I have found a file what can be used in google sketshup. You can download it here
Some pictures of the build
Connecting the buttons
I’m using the following button layout. 2 times next to each other. However I’m using the 6 button configuration. So I dropped the last 2 and place them above the stick. These will function as a start and select button
Connect all the buttons to the IPac 2. You need 1 wire wat is connect to every button of a player. This is called the ground wire (black wire in the picture). You connect this to the ground of the button/zipper. After that Connect every button one by one to the Ipac (red wires). HINT: there are allot of youtube videos for arcade button wires etc.
Configuring the Buttons
Now that we have installed the buttons we still need to tell Retropi . Which is what button.
The Ipac is like a keyboard connected to the PI. ASCII inputs. Download the Ipac software here https://www.ultimarc.com/winipacv2.html
Connect the Ipac with all the connected buttons to your pc/laptop. Now you can control what every button does. Only a-z and 0-9 for compatibility reasons. Otherwise some emulators might not work.
Now you can connect the Ipac to the retropie. Reboot the Pi. Once the Pi is booted. Connect to the Pi with Explore. Go to Configs -> All . And edit retroarch.cfg . This is the main file for all the configurations. Now place this in the file:
After
# rather than relying on a default.
Put this in:
input_player1_a = <your button>
input_player1_b = <your button>
input_player1_y = <your button>
input_player1_x = <your button>
input_player1_l = <your button>
input_player1_r = <your button>
input_player1_start = <your button>
input_player1_select = <your button>
input_player1_left = <your button>
input_player1_right = <your button>
input_player1_up = <your button>
input_player1_down = <your button>
input_player2_a = <your button>
input_player2_b = <your button>
input_player2_y = <your button>
input_player2_x = <your button>
input_player2_l = <your button>
input_player2_r = <your button>
input_player2_start = <your button>
input_player2_left = <your button>
input_player2_right = <your button>
input_player2_up = <your button>
input_player2_down = <your button>
Replace <your button> with the button you have configured with the IPAC software
After editing save the file. The controls will now work in the games. You can fine-tune this per console. By putting a retroarch.cfg file in the directory of that console with the control configuration you want. For NEOGEO you need to config this in the PIFBA directory
In games everything will work now. In some cases the navigation for retropi emulation station will not work. Hook up a keyboard or controller. Go to Retropie in the menu and select input then configure keyboard. Press the buttons on your arcade for every movement. It should work now
Customize the Arcade Cabinet
As mine arcade is coming in the living room. So I have painted mine blue/black/grey. It works for me. But there are websites which sells customize arcade stickers. That way you can create a good looking oldschool arcade
The Final Result
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