Bally Space Invaders - 42/29/17 Widebody Build

[ArkMalmeida]

Hi everyone,

 

I was able to acquire a for parts Space Invaders cabinet in August and have slowly been acquiring other parts here and there to the point where I've been able to start a cabinet build.  I've learned a ton from reading through these forums - what a great resource - and figured it was high time that I started a build thread now that I've made some progress.

 

I'm hoping to make a modern build but keep some of the great details that I'm lucky to have with the Space Invaders cabinet as a base.

 

First the cabinet:

 

Here it is all cleaned out.  I'm very happy with the condition that the artwork is in.  Just need to clean it a bit more and maybe do a few touch ups in some of the scratched areas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cabinet came pretty complete with a lot of things that I'll be able to reuse in my build including legs (I've already sanded them down and repainted), lockbar and rails, playfield glass, plunger assembly, tilt bob, knocker, and coin door.

 

Here's a list of parts that I'll be using in the build:

 

PC

·         Processor:  Intel Core i5-3570K

·         Motherboard:  BIOSTAR TZ77A LGA 1155 Intel Z77

·         Memory:  CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600

·         Video Cards:

o   MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5

o   ASUS GTX650TIB-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB 192-bit GDDR5

·         Hard Drive: SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III SSD

·         Power Supply:  Thermaltake TR2 TR-700 700W ATX

·         Wireless Network Device:  TP-LINK TL-WN722N Wireless N150 High Gain USB Adapter

·         USB Ports: SYBA CL-PCI20114 18" 2-Port USB 3.0 Bracket

·         Operating System – Windows 7 Home Premium 64 –bit

 

 

 

Displays

 

·         Playfield:  VIZIO 47" Class 1080p 60Hz LED TV (E470-A0)

·         Backglass:  VIZIO 29" 720p 60Hz Class Edge LED HDTV

·         DMD:  Dell E172fpi 17" monitor

 

 

 

Sound

 

·         Lepai LP-168HA 2.1 2x40-Watt Amplifier and 1x68W Sub Output

·         Playfield:  VIZIO 47" Class 1080p 60Hz LED TV (E470-A0) Power Acoustik - Reaper Series 4" 2-Way Car Speakers

·         Pyramid PW877 Power Series Subwoofer

 

Cooling

·         Rosewill RFA-80-RL 80mm 4 Red LEDs LED Case Fan X 3

·         BifFenix Spectre LED 230mm Case Fan

 

 

 

Controls and Force Feedback:

·         U-HID Board

·         LEDWiz

·         *NEW* Virtual Output Kit from Zeb’s Boards

·         RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX 12V Power Supply

 

 

 

So far I've been able to assemble and test the computer:

 

 

 

 

I was able to get Visual Pinball VPinMame and PinballX up and running over the past few days and I'm starting to get some tables installed and running.

 

Can't wait to get everything put in the cabinet, get some buttons and more force feedback stuff ordered and get to all of the wiring.  That's the part that will be tough for me as I'm VERY green when it comes to electrical work.

 

Thanks for reading!

[Lobotomy]

Welcome to the club!

Love the original artwork!!!

The forcefeedback makes a huge differance!

Good luck with the build

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DeeGor]

Sounds like it will be a beast.

 

Looking forward to what you come up with.

[ArkMalmeida]

Have gotten a bunch of tables (almost 40) loaded up and running over the holidays and with the help of my neighbor made some great progress into getting the playfield TV mounted and the cutouts done that will allow me to drop the DMD monitor partially into the cabinet.

 

I'm trying to work out where to place the U-HID and Zeb's ATX breakout, and SMT Booster Boards in relation to everything else.  This is the layout I'm thinking I'd like to go with:

 

 

I've been reading through the Pinball Electrical 101 and the Addendum about interference so I want to make sure that I do everything right there.  Does anyone have any comments about the layout and any tips about what I would need to do to make sure everything is grounded/bonded correctly?

 

Also, can those who have gone through this process give me some tips on where you got your buttons, and electrical components (wire, terminals, etc.)?  I'm going to be ordering that stuff very soon and want to go with places that people have had good experiences with.  I'm especially interested in where people get their flipper buttons/leaf switches and launch, start, and extra ball buttons.  Most sites I've found either don't have all of them in stock at the moment or have them bundled with buttons I don't need.

[zebulon]

This site has a good selection. I've ordered from them before....

 

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/716/Switches-Pushbutton/1.html

[ArkMalmeida]

They certainly do and the prices seem good too.  Thanks!

[zebulon]

No worries. If you can re-upload that pic in the post above I can look at the placement for you.

 

Never mind, found it on HP.

 

The layout looks good. The only suggestion I have is to bond the metal mobo chassis to the closest power supply case (just remove a fan grill mounting screw and attach a braid or heavy (10awg-12awg) wire with a crimp on ring terminal and clamp the other end in a similar fashion). This will ensure that you have a common ground between the psu and the mobo and will help with the stability of the system. It also provides an easy path for stray frequencies to earth (ground).

[ArkMalmeida]

Thanks Zeb!  I still have some braiding from the cabinet left so I'll make sure to do that.

[CarnyPriest]

Sourced my push buttons, resistors, fuses, fuse holders, diodes, bass shakers, etc at Parts Express. Really good prices plus free shipping (if, like I did, you place a large enough order). Easy to find an online coupon.

http://www.parts-express.com

[ArkMalmeida]

Thanks CarnyPriest - I'll check them out.

[LordOpeth]

Very cool.  Although I would love to have a space invaders intact!

[ArkMalmeida]

I've been working on the build pretty steadily, but it's been a while since I checked in with progress so I figured I'd share some pictures from about a month ago that show how I converted the backbox and from when I got all three screens and the computer in the cabinet and up and running:

 

My solution for the 47" playfield TV mounting:

 

 

 

 

 

Decided to go with a shelf to support the backglass monitor and a one piece frame for the DMD cutout and to hold it all together:

 

 

 

 

After some paint, mounting car speakers and attaching the Bally logo plate:

 

 

 

 

And after dropping the playfield in:

 

 

 

Then I finally got a chance to take some tables for a spin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I took these pics I've actually had time to get the buttons in and mostly wired and get some force feedback stuff in as well.  I'll get some pictures of the build as it currently stands soon.

[DeeGor]

It looks like links to all your latest pictures are broken.

[ArkMalmeida]

Thanks DeeGor!  Guess my original way of linking to them made them only visible to me or something.  Should be all set now.

[Hollywood]

Did you decase the monitors?

[ArkMalmeida]

No.  I didn't have to decase any of them.  Space Invaders is one of those earlier widebodies that Bally did (Paragon, Embryon, Future Spa) that are super wide - over 27 inches, so I had plenty of width to work with.  That, and the artwork being in such good shape were the things that made me jump on the cabinet to use for a VP build because I was nervous about having to decase a TV.  I actually originally bought a 50'' LG to use for the playfield, because I got a really good deal on it but found that although these cabinets are wide, they seem to be shorter than a standard Williams/Bally widebody.  So the 50'' fit perfectly from side to side but I would have lost about 2 inches of playfield lengthwise.  I ended up going with a 47'' playfield instead.  Fits great front to back but there's about 1 1/2'' on each side I'll have to cover with some kind of trim.  The 29'' Vizio I found fits nearly perfectly in the back box, and I was able to drop the 17'' I'm using for the DMD into the hole between the back box and cabinet by expanding the hole a bit.

[Hollywood]

Any videos of this in action? I would love to see it. Great job!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[ArkMalmeida]

I haven't taken any yet, but I will definitely make a few when it's all done.  Haven't been able to find any time to work on it the past few weeks, but I'm going to take it apart and get some more pics soon.  Should actually be able to make some good progress on it this weekend and I'm hoping to have it completely finished within the next month or so.

[ArkMalmeida]

Wanted to give an update as i'm happy to report that I am finally done with the build.  Put the glass on and ran it through its paces with some company last weekend and it came through like a champ!

 

Here's a final set of pictures:

 

Dark view of the inside:

 

Same shot with flash, showing off a good look at Zeb's shaker/gear combo:

 

A shot deeper in.  Lots of wires!  They're actually pretty organized compared to the rats nest that was there before i started!:

 

Some outside shots showing the finished product:

 

 

 

 

A HUGE thanks to everyone who directly or indirectly contributed advice and tips.  I definitely couldn't have completed this project without all of the incredibly helpful people of this community.  Thanks to Mukuste, fuzzel and the rest of the team who are making giant leaps in the improvement of VP, all of the amazing table builders, modellers, and contributors (unclewilly, Randr, 85vett, melon, bodydump, JP Salas, mfuegemann, gtxjoe, Dozer316, and countless others), Wildman for all of the incredible backglasses, swisslizard for DOF and arngrim for the LEDwiz tool and all of the excellent configurations. 

 

Special thanks to:

 

Spektre - You were extremely helpful and patient answering all of my questions about analog plungers at the beginning of the build when I was especially clueless about how anything worked.

 

DJRobX (and swisslizard) - I wouldn't be running all of the toys I am without all of your help with the Sainsmart board.

 

Zeb - I definitely could not have gotten any toys up and running without all of your gear and advice.  Having force feedback definitely makes the cabinet.  I'm currently running the following off the LEDWiz and an 8 port Sainmart board:

 

- Lighted launch, start and extra ball buttons

- 10 contactors

- beacon

- fan

- shaker and gear motor

- knocker

- 5 LED light bar

- LED undercab lighting

 

If anyone has any questions about any aspect of the build fire away.  I will say that if I can successfully get a build done, than anyone can!

[randr]

Awesome!!!