How To Build A Bartop Arcade Machine With A Raspberry Pi

[@bytesizedengineering]

Huge thanks to my *channel members* who make these videos possible. If you want to support what I do and get access to free project files, an awesome discord community, and much more, head over to *www.patreon.com/bytesizedengineering* or click the *join* button here on KZbin.

[@dafrog491]

step 1 HAVE YOUR OWN FACTORY AT HOME.. ;)

[@bytesizedengineering]

Actually step one is having motivation, excitement, and determination. The rest can happen if you have those things! The reality is that I could have built most of this with the cheap hand tools I started out with. I built many things over the years with only a couple of tools. I never let the fact that I don't have all the tools stop me from making something I'm excited about.

[@dafrog491]

@@bytesizedengineering impressive

[@gergelysinko5093]

I built my second one in a small room with minimal access to tools, from scrap material. Actually every step in this video I did differently. But the end result doesn't look that different.

[@BillAnt]

Yep, just about everyone has a circular saw table in their garage, and most importantly one with a coin slot. xD

[@sablesanctum]

Minimal resources can spawn creativity.

[@hosamorfali3444]

This is one of the most satisfying videos I've ever seen in my life, good job sir, you are a genius

[@carflipz1919]

That coin operated table saw joke had me in stitches

[@m3rdpwr]

Great work! My buddy bought an old empty arcade cabinet and refurbished it. He put a large monitor on the flat and two monitors on the back as well as a tilt sensors, vibrating motors, etc. He has a ton of pinball machines games installed that utilize all the features when they were built. It's pretty awesome.

[@bytesizedengineering]

That sounds awesome! There are certainly lots of modifications and additions I could do in the future. Thanks for giving me some more ideas!

[@m3rdpwr]

@@bytesizedengineering You have such a great channel. I can't wait to see how it evolves and future channels. Such a strong subscriber count too, for as many videos as you have.

[@EternalSaber]

I've really come to enjoy all the arcade build videos all over youtube. If I had the materials, making a bar top that converts to a full size free stand cabinet would be cool.

[@mikesinclair66]

Love how you gave an in-depth tutorial on the physical construction of the exterior!

[@DerekDavis213]

The pacing, film angles, and narration are all excellent. Great video!

[@MichaelAlm]

This is great Zach!! I'll be watching this 10 more times while I build mine 🤣Thanks for all the info!

[@bytesizedengineering]

There are certainly easier ways to do it as well. Let me know if you get stuck and you want some help

[@DoctorCreme]

@@bytesizedengineering tancz

[@McCucumber]

I have nostalgia for bartop arcade machines, played one at my dads 40th birthday in 1986, I have more nostalgia for tabletop arcade games. Used to go to our local Pizza Hut almost weekley and the highlight besides the pizza was playing on the table top arcade system they had. Fatal Fury 1, only 3 characters but great childhood memories. Back in those days our school would give the kids a free personal pan pizza for reading so many minutes. Me and my brother always read just to get the free pizza and a trip to Pizza Hut. The Pizza Hut we went to is still there, and basically the same on the inside, except no video games. The late 80s and early 90s were truly a magical time to grow up.

[@bytesizedengineering]

I totally remember getting a personal sized pizza from Pizza Hut for reading when I was a kid! Great memories.

[@FollowTheLion01]

Cool project, and really affordable. Couple of minor criticisms. When soldering the wires to the lugs, you you pass the stripped wire through the hole, come back and wrap the end around the longer wire once. Then add solder. This gives you a tough connection. And there are really cheap connectors you can use for the GPIO header to avoid heating up your controller and to make it all pluggable. The extra time to do that would offset the time wasted on a difficult soldering job and the heat shrink you had to use, so not wasted effort.

[@TinyMaths]

That Pac man sound at the beginning broke my nostalgi-o-meter. I've seen your vid before, but it was great to watch again. I think a bartop is on my bucket list, but way off into the future though.

[@jublywubly]

Awesome! Thanks for making this video. I really like the barcade size. They're big enough to play on while being small enough to be portable.

[@ClbnaVGM]

In spite this is only 4 buttons layout, this is one the best videos I've seen on the subject. Thanks a lot !

[@bytesizedengineering]

As I said in the video, I only really play super old arcade games that don't require very many buttons. It's really pretty trivial to add more buttons if you want. I didn't want more buttons on mine

[@ClbnaVGM]

@@bytesizedengineering Does it reduce input lag using GPIO's instead of USB ports ?

[@jacobkeller29]

Dude, your doing all of the projects I want to do. Love fusion 360.

[@bytesizedengineering]

Do you have any projects you have shared anywhere?

[@sirraymondluxuryyacht8131]

I like that you used the blue rubber trim....means you don't need to be an expert woodworker to have nice edges...also the 3D printer ARCADE sign is really nice

[@teez386]

i’m not surprised people are still watching this more than a year on it’s so intriguing and entertaining to watch and a great project especially during this pandemic. sad MDF is so hard to get hold of tho

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks! This is still one of my favorite builds I've done. Stay safe and healthy!

[@danielfonseca4283]

Making my first arcade build : ) this video was great

[@ApolloSevan]

I would love to see a video of your workshop and what you have found smart to keep in stock.

[@bytesizedengineering]

My lab and workshop is a total mess after this project. Once I get things cleaned up and organized again, I might do a shop tour video. It might be available on my patreon page first, not sure yet.

[@Kimchi_Studios]

Another quality tutorial. Will be coming back to this once I get back to America soon...Noone buys or has power tools in Asia since the majority live in apartments. Everything is tape. It's a builder's hell.

[@bytesizedengineering]

What part of Asia do you live in? South Korea? (Kimchi?)

[@Kimchi_Studios]

@@bytesizedengineering Yep! South Korea but headed back to US soon. 10 years was enough. LOL

[@bytesizedengineering]

@@Kimchi_Studios I lived in Japan for 2 years and really enjoyed my time there

[@modembuddy4010]

Impressive! The attention to detail with the marquee really makes it stand out.

[@MrDegsy69]

Moden Buddy it certainly shouts out with that 3D printed effect. I personally would just design something in photoshop and print it out to duratran to be backlit with a trans illuminated diffusion sheet. At least swapping it out is a snap if you get sick of the look.

[@jimmydiresta]

Wow well done

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks Jimmy! And thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@shaychromoy]

Omg ! A jimmy diresta comment! ❤️

[@bytesizedengineering]

@jimmydiresta I'm considering stenciling your band name, "The Bologna Burps" on the side. Thoughts?

[@apap7170]

Why 4 button instead of six?

[@redtoaster7078]

Cant wait to make this with my dad! I’m 12 and I really like old retro games, and I love arcade machines, siand even better, we have a sorta old moniter that we can use! Thanks, I’ll tell you when it’s ready :D

[@bytesizedengineering]

That's awesome! I'd love to see it when you're done

[@redtoaster7078]

Also, what cable do I use to connect the raspberry Pi 4 to a dell moniter? Also can you do the Australian version since me and my dad are not sure what to do, thanks.

[@bytesizedengineering]

@@redtoaster7078 depends on what your monitor has as in video input. If it has HDMI you can use an HDMI cable. If it has DVI then you'll need to use an adapter from HDMI to DVI. If it just has VGA then I'm not sure it's going to work with that monitor.

[@redtoaster7078]

@@bytesizedengineering ohhh ok, thanks. Cant wait!

[@christophefan2010]

Nice job, but why did you only instal 4 push buttons instead of 6? did you ever played Mortal Kombat II or Street Fighter games? :)

[@bytesizedengineering]

I only play old arcade or Atari games which don't require many buttons.

[@nroc6206]

Im wondering more why the "ab" and "xy" are switched

[@q295]

Just play tekken then

[@chrismooney71]

Excellent work! The arcade cabinet looks fantastic. I'm jealous 😉 You certainly know your stuff, well done and keep up the good work.

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thank you Chris! I really appreciate your kind words and feedback!

[@admiralmoo5716]

That Marquee is a stroke of genius. Well done!

[@isteascope]

Excellent job. You have a lot of experience and skills in electronics and programming. I gonna take some of your ideas and I gonna apply in my work. I am working in a industrial plant. Thanks for sharing your work.

[@jccnguyen]

The finished product is very polished, good work!

[@forby_]

Very nice! Digging those swoops one the side panels 👍

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks 4B!

[@roganrodriguez1813]

This is a super dope project! I've started looking into raspberry pi's for the first time and I'm really excited to see what else can be done with them! Thanks for inspiration! (:

[@yose42]

nice work Zack! now I know what to do with my Pi forgotten in the locker

[@matt4193]

you are my favorite tech boomer

[@realdanbyers]

That's pretty slick Sir

[@dr.seltsam2092]

You are a Multitalented GUY! Nice work! Especially the crafting of the Wood

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks for the encouraging words!

[@salwakhan9493]

love how detailed this was im definitely going to attempt with my only knowledge coming this video alone 😭😭😭

[@kemy6775]

Seeing how you set up the coin slot would have been cool. Nice build.

[@bytesizedengineering]

I wish I had more time to explain that. I may do that in a future build.

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

I like the bartop form factor because of the reasons you mention, ie lower material cost, compact size for home use and movement. Another cool thing is you can always build, buy a rise base for it later to turn it into a cabaret, full size style

[@franfb7934]

Do you think there’s a way to shutdown the raspberry pi securely? I thought about using an sr flip flop and making the raspberry pi send a signal just before shutdown to the flip flop, but nobody seems to do anything about the secure shutdown, so maybe just pulling the power out is ok?

[@bytesizedengineering]

From everything I've read the raspberry pi is just fine with removing the power. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that it uses an ARM processor and flash memory. Normal commuters use a more traditional x86 style processor and have their OS running on magnetic disk drives. Power down sequences are more important for safely writing registers and memory with the older architecture.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

What a masterpiece and a beautiful build too. Thanks for posting this as well. Have a nice day.

[@jimmydiresta]

Love the vid game accents !!

[@BillAnt]

The coin slot on the circular saw table just killed me. xD

[@laafawnduh]

Hi question for you. I am currently in the middle of this project. The button kit that I got requires 28mm holes for the buttons and a 24mm hole for the joystick. Did you buy specific drill bits for this? I am having a hard time finding hole saw drill bits for these sizes. Also, what router bit did you use to make the cut out for the joystick?

[@svenp2263]

"keep in mind you should only use roms you actually own". Lol!

[@dimsoneill]

Riiiiiight.

[@selami32]

we all have tons of arcade machines in our backyards and we have harvested their roms

[@Synthematix]

You never actually own games anyway theyre always the property of the software houses.

[@cameronmcgehee]

@@Synthematix well, that is 100% true with "buy to subscribe" platforms like steam, but if you own a physical copy of a game, yes the company owns rights to the game contents and can sell them and stuff, but you own a copy of them.

[@AF.281OldChannel]

Barabbas but why?

[@Pauluz_The_Web_Gnome]

That was easy, I am gonna maken one on a free Sunday afternoon!

[@Pauluz_The_Web_Gnome]

Update: Done in 10 hours!

[@bytesizedengineering]

Well done, I would love to see pictures of your result!

[@FishBeeProductions]

Very nice work sir!

[@paulgerrard6085]

One leasson i learnt after many many years of struggling with straight cuts....Buy decent tools! junk that Ryobi and get a dewalt or Makita and you will be amazed by the difference it makes ;) Build came out great none the less!

[@bytesizedengineering]

I have used all brands and in my experience having good sharp blades is really what matters. I don't think certain brands produce straighter cuts than others.

[@paulgerrard6085]

@@bytesizedengineering for jig saws the pully guide the blade runs though made a big difference on mine. plus the dewalt has a pressure sensitive trigger to adjust speed, big help for square cuts and control. For circular saws the metal base made a big difference in square cuts: Cheap saw it was thin metal which allowed the saw to tilt. Dewalt saw's base/shoe is about 1/4" thick. Cheap chop saw I have is very difficult to calibrate and dosent hold calibration.... I found you pay for what you get when it comes to tools, just wish id gone the quality route to begin with. Would of saved me years of frustration.

[@ddbb6047]

Most impressive work.

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks! I appreciate your comment!

[@cedricbanks2149]

4:30 rubber mallet all the way thru no finger no. Great build man

[@Anthony-dt4lc]

My teacher made one of these and I believe he used your design. Nice job m8

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks! I wouldn't call it my design. I was inspired by others who have built these.

[@Anthony-dt4lc]

byte sized yeah, we play it all the time in lunch. It’s a lot of fun

[@AF.281OldChannel]

Nice work! Even tho it looks kinda big, and you added a coin slot? Now that’s interesting! Edit: I only watch this video cause it’s satisfying

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks for the encouraging words!

[@ricketyrawddawg100]

Puts a quarter in the coin slot to run the saw . Classic!

[@vemundkremund3221]

Awesome work man!

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks!

[@geraldford6409]

GReat job for a prosumer level build with access to such tools First time I've seen a small form factor coin slot for a DIY bartop. Cool

[@roblapihuska9275]

leaving holes for the pellets in the marquee is brilliant! Well played!

[@developabit9060]

Fantastic arcade build. Coin acceptor was a great touch.

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@adamosadamou5966]

You have a great way of explaining things in a simple way. Cheers

[@davidellismartin9619]

One of the best tutorials ever! Thanks!!

[@samvandenberg6730]

hi! what a great video I am looking forward to making my own arcade machine soon, this really helps/inspires me. Thanks! :)

[@LinkCherryTree]

@3:25 The wood starts cracking

[@bytesizedengineering]

Shh, don't tell anyone! Yeah, I was not too happy about that either. Good eye though!

[@jennieanddavis]

Bruh. That edit though. Funny stuff!

[@bytesizedengineering]

This had to have been my favorite build so far

[@STR82DVD]

Nicely done lad.

[@MrDanielPare]

Nice project and I really like the marquee. But did you really solder the controllers directly on the GPIO of the pi? That makes me fell sad thinking about the 64 wires that you had to connect to it. One could have use an old IDE ribbon cable and connector. Thus making the project serviceable.

[@bytesizedengineering]

I explain why in the video. This is a permanent installation and I didn't want the IDE ribbon cable coming off. This happens to be the way I did my build. You could certainly do it differently if you were to build one.

[@leonardoromero8]

Really great video and excellent design.

[@fahimferdous5043]

That coin part! 😂😂😂

[@spacexion]

One of the clearest videos about building an arcade bartop I've ever seen. I surely get inspirations for mine own project. Thanks a lot!

[@WeBuildStuff]

I have got to get a coin operated tablesaw for the shop!!

[@bytesizedengineering]

I had fun coming up with silly stuff to throw into this video! Thanks for watching

[@WeBuildStuff]

@@bytesizedengineering totally awesome!

[@PuppetMasta03]

Great build. Time and patience.

[@aryannagar7581]

Really awesome video, I really want to start an arcade game center and this might be helpful.

[@raptorgames9]

You are a gangsta! 😎 Next pinball machine?

[@bytesizedengineering]

I think that's the first time in my life I've been called a gangsta! You know, that would seem to be a great follow up project, but quite honestly I don't really have a whole lot of interest in building one. I've seen lots of others build them though. Have you seen Ben Heck's channel? They recently rebranded to some other name dealing with element 14, but you should check it out.

[@hayosmusic]

Multi skilled and multi talented. Well done! Very entertaining video.

[@bjjbrawler1]

Amazes me that ppl downvote vids like this. Every single amazing youtube video has dirtbags that do this. I can only guess its jealousy, and theyre miserable in their parents basement wishing they had crazy skills and motivation like this dude.

[@GeekGuyMJ]

Great Project! I’m getting ideas to make my own. I was thinking of using a black and blue color scheme so when I saw yours, I had to check it out. Great job!

[@GeekGuyMJ]

Liked and Subscribed :-)

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks, I want to see pictures when you finish!

[@daspen]

looks great, what are the shorter dimensions for the side panels? Also angle measurements? thx

[@zbow1974]

this is awesome, i am going to make 2 of these with 1 joystick and button set in each, put them together with a hinge on 1 side so it opens and closes to get access to the inside and make it a 2 player face to face system, glad we have hdmi splitters to mirror the screen from a single board, not going to use a pi in mine i am using the pandoras box 9 i think, since i have few laying around

[@therealmartinez5930]

lol the coin slot to turn on the saw good job with this!

[@biancarally3558]

Me: "Wow, does he really need a quarter to operate the machinery? I've never seen that before. Maybe he has kids and its some type of safety precaution" Also me: **scrolls down to the comments to see if anyone else is intrigued** Everyone else: **understands the joke** Me again: **disappears**

[@bytesizedengineering]

I had fun with this edit coming up with silly things to throw in there

[@bland9876]

i just assumed he was using some equipment that is somewhere where anyone can use it but you just have to rent it

[@fatalheal]

A "Dave & Buster's" for carpenters might be a really cool idea, I don't know about serving alcohol though, lol.

[@dailyhauntedhistory]

+5 points if you actually wire up the saw to the coin slot

[@dailyhauntedhistory]

Would make a cool vid

[@xyzebruh1083]

I see your rolls of filament, you could also 3d print the brackets to build a MPCNC, the MPCNC could also help you with milling out future projects like this one. Cool video, I plan to make a few of these for my son

[@imdarzolo7299]

Favourite build! Good job.

[@DustinRogersinMO]

Great video man. I’ve had a set of arcade joysticks/buttons for several years and have been meaning to build one but don’t have room for a full size arcade. I may be able to swing this bar top version though. Is the coin accepter wired to the pi so that it requires coins to play? Or is it just for “donations”?

[@bytesizedengineering]

That's awesome! You should totally do it! I have digital plans available for sale. I don't currently have the coin slot connected but it could totally be used to add credits to the game

[@joshelguapo5563]

Yeah I'm totally doing this. Gonna try to make it full sized, but I do not know how to use CAD software, but I'm sure it's easy enough to learn with some tutorials

[@MichoOussama]

Dude has all these crazy tools but can't find a pencil sharpener.

[@Anthestudios]

Thanks for the GPIO tip!!

[@davidecosciani9232]

WOW! You are awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@bob14072]

I love it! Very nice work!

[@antoniodias2883]

Awesome video man! Thanks!

[@KurtofTrades]

is this 3/4" mdf? and how much is it to ship these?

[@luisreyes1963]

And they say American Craftsmanship is forgotten. Great job! 👍

[@cloane85]

Excellent video thank you for posting. With videos like this it makes it easy to DIY

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thank you Carson! I really appreciate your comment and feedback!

[@cloane85]

@@bytesizedengineering Absolutely. I know all the hard work that was put in, and it's deserved my subscription. Can't wait for more videos !

[@SuperWolfkin]

It's very pretty but I think more interesting than a desktop arcade would be a desktop jukebox. So many of us (I guess the older ones mostly now) have large collections of music and it would be cool to be allow people to peruse and select tunes in a party (after the pandemic is over).

[@danimations80]

Nice clear video Zach... thorough and helpful for anyone considering making their 1st arcade cabinet!

[@plankalkulcompiler9468]

Wow, that is an amazing build dude!

[@user-yv2cz8oj1k]

If by amazing you mean bodged hack.

[@McCucumber]

Looks like a fun project.

[@bytesizedengineering]

I had a lot of fun with this one

[@pacowang283]

That is so awesome. Love your videos! Thanks

[@Bearcade]

Great build! I have a cabinet I built for light gun games. I want to learn how to use a router and add T molding.

[@milanbaros2005]

You can run a chisel along the T-Section to get a nice flush finnish against the wood. I've seen pro cabinet makers do this trick.

[@bytesizedengineering]

Good tip.

[@russo3j]

Was hard to tell but was there some input lag when playing the games?

[@silent_majorityusaf8858]

Incredible. Well done brother

[@geraldford6409]

Also, great call on the raised lettered marquee with LED PAcMAn dots. First time I've seen a build with raised lettering Also be cool to animate dots with sequential on/off

[@bytesizedengineering]

Thanks

[@geraldford6409]

@@bytesizedengineering Could also illuminate each letter with LED(s), maybe also with sequential lighting option USe White plastic next time and RGB LEDs for multicolored letters

[@kencress1267]

Well done

[@demencia89]

Sick dude, thanks for sharing

[@estabandesousa9017]

Stellar job buddy. Big up!