Bigbully100678 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Hello all. I am a new member. I came here after visiting a local arcade and reliving some the fun from my childhood and playing the many pinball machines they had. I started to think I may want one for my home, but quickly became discouraged after looking at prices for new, and even used machines in decent shape. I regained some of my excitement however after stumbling across a digital pinball on craigslist. I had no idea such a thing even existed. So my question is, after doing a bit of research and looking around, I still don't think I could afford to buy a pre-built digital machine, but should be able to afford to build one myself. The amount of info is a bit overwhelming though, and I'm not sure what my starting point should be so that's really my question. Any help/advice will be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider allknowing2012 Posted June 27, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 27, 2015 Easiest way to do this is get an old cabinet and gut it out. After that you need a PC and a couple tv's and a plunger/key encoder. That's it. To get started, grab a pc and load up the software and start learning :-) The pc doesnt have to be stellar but the graphics card should be something from the last 5 years :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukedock Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I will be honest with you. Building a pin cab is not a five minute job, but its so much cheaper and more fun.A lot of it is a learning curve. However every problem you face, someone here (or on the 'other' forum) would of had the same problem.On either site I have never been 'talked down to' no matter how daft of a problem I had. Look for TVs on sale in local stores on offer, take a tape measure with you to check before you buy.Get an old pinball cabinet (in the UK three are on ebay at the moment). Another issue is even if you BUY a cabinet, it doesnt come with working tables as it is not legal to sell them. Only 'legal' digital pinball with proper games is the ULTRAPIN which is not a bad unit, and in time you can build another PC and upgrade all the games that way.What country are you in? It may be an idea to find someone experienced to help you do the build.This is a great community, the authors do all the tables for no fee. I have had so much fun with my cab. It is fully working but I dont think it will ever be completley finished as I keep changing things and adding bits. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider Itchigo Posted June 28, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 28, 2015 I went the cheapest and easiest route. I got an empty cabinet, and empty backbox, and put tv's in both. Add buttons, and an encoder, wire them up. My PC is outside the cab- in fact I'm on it now. Then it's a matter of configuring the software, and the computer. A decent computer, and a good graphics card. That's all you need to play. You can get as crazy as you like with "extras", but that's all you need to enjoy the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider watacaractr Posted June 29, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hello Bigbully, welcome, it's great to be able to have an existing cabinet but you have to find the right size lcd tv to fit so i prefer to find an inexpensive used/new 42 - 46" lcd online or in your local paper and build around it. Custom is the way to go for me. You can find fairly cheap wood and supplies at your local hardware store. Do some research on actual pinball cabinet specs and build from there. All the other equipment will be the easy parts, i.e. computer, graphics card, stereo system, etc. There are many many tutorials and videos on building and setting up your system on the internet. Graphics for the actual cabinet can be either painted on or digitally printed and applied that way. Everybody has their own look and style and you will too. I was a newbie 2 years ago (I don't post much) and have never looked back thanks to this site and the "other" one. Hope this helps... a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider 85vett Posted June 29, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 29, 2015 Let's start by trying to find out what your budget is. That will tell us if you can go straight for a cab or if you should stick with desktop for now while saving. To get into a cab, about the cheapest I could imagine would be about $1500 if you do all the work yourself. Doing as Itchigo has done will be the best option for saving cash as you can use an existing computer to run things (assuming it's powerful enough. P.S. - Don't give up on real machines as well. The new games and some of the highest ranked games can be stupid expensive but there is still a whole lot of fun tables out there that are sub $2K that are a blast. Sign up on pinside.com and you can start to get a good idea of what the pinball market is like these days. That site has a bit of nerdy drama on it but if you stear clear of a few bad apples it really is a good resource for help and finding machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider Itchigo Posted June 29, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 29, 2015 If I could find the "Mark as best answer" Vette, I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukedock Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Budget is the main thing. A cheap 'ready made' one will still need work (you will have to load tables etc and get them working) - is expensive when it comes to doing your own.This was my breakdown:1 - Old fishtails cab and backbox with legs and side rails - £100.2 - 47 inch screen (I think it is!) - £1203 - 17 inch DMD monitor - £104 - backglass PC monitor - £305 - iPac encoder - £396 - VirtuaPlunger kit - £160 plus import costs - £200! (I still have to use an iPac as the buttons have latency otherwise). I personally wouldnt bother with this again.7 - Buttons and switches - £258 - Used PC i7 3.3gig, 12gb ram, motherboard - £1609 - 2gb ddr5 ram graphic card - £12010 - 1gb dd3 ram graphic card - £30 11- 128gb Solid state drive - £65 (worth every penny but normal HD will do) 12 - used glass - £30 13 - Decent DVI and VGA cables - £20 14 - Mains relays that turn everyting one - £20 15 - 10 inch Woofer - £15 16 - Car speakers for backbox - £25 17 - Small amp 12v - £20 18 - 800w ATX PSU - £40 19 - 500w ATX PSU - £20 (to run amp and solenoids etc....) 20 - Car starter relays - £2021 - 12v relays for solenoids - £20 22 - Cooling fans for cabinet - £20 23 - Ground isolator between PC and amp - gets rid of noise.Ebay is great - get as much as you can (used). I went for used or refurbed screens.If you buy a used PC it may have a windows 7 license sticker on it with a serial number (save you some cash).Of course I am in the UK and all this is in GBP - I am sure someone will post up rough costs.I have some things still to add. More LEDs and SOLENOIDS. Cabinet art (if I could be bothered as you cant see it where my machine is). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spektre Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Run...run away fast!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider Itchigo Posted June 30, 2015 Content Provider Share Posted June 30, 2015 I want to clarify though. I didn't use an existing computer, I built mine specifically for this cab. But I built it strong enough to do whatever I wanted in addition to cab functions. My desktop sits on my workbench, and is connected to my cab by extension cords. I use a windows hotkey to play (windows/p). Duplicate screens to use it as a pc, and extend to play games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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