Inane World

My chosen computer for this project was a Dell Optiplex SX260, model DCT.  I chose this because it was one of the surplus computers I had in the garage, and also it’s very tiny, which is helpful for the cramped real estate in the back of this bar top cabinet.  It has a clip-on stand, [...]

I tried to re-use the original mounting bezel but the wood had become wet at some point in this poor beleaguered console’s life, and as it was pressboard, it was fragile, swollen, and crumbly.  So, new wood was procured, and with my friend Randy’s help, we crafted a new slide-in mounting panel. I removed the [...]

As I mentioned, the wires on the provided harness are no where near long enough to reach the interface board when mounted in any spot other than just behind the keyboard (and that’s where the monitor needs to live).  So, I had to extend them.  This involved 22 gage wire, shrink-wrap tubing, and 22 gage [...]

Once I was satisfied that the hardware was all basically working the way I wanted it to, I decided to take a break from construction and delve into the software.  My goal was to get the software to work with my jury-rigged control panel and prove to myself that I could create a machine which [...]

The next step was to wire the panel. Here’s a link to the button/joystick kit I used: CLICK HERE Here’s a link to the keyboard encoder: CLICK HERE The XARCADE keyboard encoder came with a wiring harness, so it should be fairly simple, right?  The wires are labeled next to the small connector which plugs [...]