Introduction: Red Baron 2.0

The Red Baron is a portable stand up arcade cabinet with the capability to be a full on arcade, or a stand up workshop computer. 

SPECS:

Rare 1971 Red Baron Arcade Game by MCI Milwaukee Coin I
X-Arcade X-Arcade Dual Joystick
MAME Plus Emulator

Dell 24 inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
Athlon 64 X2 2.3GHz
6GB DDR2
750GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 6150
Microsoft Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
TP-LINK Wireless 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0

REQUIRED TOOLS:

Power Drill
Circular Saw
Table Saw
3" Dry wall Screws
1/4" to 3" Drill Bits
Metal Sheers
Palm Sander 
220 Grit Sand Paper
Plywood Scraps
Hardwood Scraps
Wood Glue



Step 1: Let's Begin

I began by gutting all the old electronics, projector, speakers, capacitors, and cleaning out the inside and outside of the cabinet. 

Step 2: Mount Flat Panel

Installed the monitor, using shims and scrap wood i had laying around the shop. Looks are not important as this is tucked away inside the cabinet. Make sure the monitor is solidly installed, and that there is minimum pressure on the screen.

Step 3: Install PC

I mounted a power strip inside the cabinet and simply set the tower on its side to keep from tipping over. 

To run classic games through an emulator, you do not need a overly powerful pc. This was a refurbished dell tower that i purchased for $170 shipped from newegg.com. I installed a couple extra gigabytes of DDR2 and it runs windows 7 like a breeze.  

Step 4: Build Deck for Mouse/Keyboard/Gamepad

I built this extension to allow for two player to be able to play side by side with room on the x-arcade game pad.. or for their to be plenty of room for one person to navigate using a wireless keyboard and mouse. 

I used reclaimed douglas fir tongue and groove floor boards, and the lip is made of walnut scraps. 




Step 5: Reinforce Cabinet Base & Casters

The original base of the cabinet is made of particle board that was not sufficient to support the new weight i was adding to the arcade. So i decided to frame the base with an assortment of hard wood scraps, and more reclaimed wood flooring. The very bottom of the base is framed with chunks of oak.. oak will be strong enough to install the casters into and support the weight of the burly red baron. 

Step 6: Set Up Operating System & Emulator

Then play! 

Check out more projects like this at http://www.jarboeinitiative.com/

Game.Life 2 Challenge

Participated in the
Game.Life 2 Challenge