My Pedestal Arcade build | Tips for building your own 2020!

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

Great overview video, man! Most retro gaming, home arcade videos just go over the latest hot thing, or YACB yet another cab build 😝 Perfect birds eye overview of the home arcade arena, diy and commercial options. I've been out of the emu, mame scene for about 15 years, starting PC builds in the 80s and console emulation and mame mid 90s. Perfect vid to get up to date on the current scene

[@seekerofarcades4634]

🤔nice,but i always preferred standup arcade cabinets,but the good side about yours you can always upgrade your monitor to any size or expand your pedistal👍for more storage for console systems👍👍👍

[@geektoolkit]

There's definitely plusses and minuses to each. I do have several standups because I love those as well. I had to retire this one sadly, but replaced it with a smaller pedestal with quanba sticks that work nice for fighting games. But I do find myself at my standup with a vertical monitor playing "Mr. Do" and such much more these days!

[@kevinmccartney4906]

Very well done video! Appreciate the overview of the options from this nice high level. Thanks man!

[@geektoolkit]

Glad it was helpful! Keep in mind it’s a bit old so some of the options and sites may be down but hopefully it gives you some starting points

[@bradandrews777]

I would love to build a cocktail cabinet to play the football game I played years ago. Doubt it is worth the effort, but it would be fun.

[@vincestechshop]

I love how you bring all the options together. It really makes it simpler to decide which kind of arcade solution to build!

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou! Took a TON of work, but I felt that would be useful to the viewers. BTW LOVE your channel, you have some great content already!

[@nocount4835]

Awesome video!!!! Keep up the great work!!!!!!

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou!

[@jaekrieldgx_71]

Great Video and GREAT Cab! Love your design!

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou!!! Hoping to do a follow up. I think I like building them more than playing :)

[@zwadejupiter1]

Thank you for the video. Quite detailed I really appreciate it.

[@geektoolkit]

You're welcome, I'm glad it's helping others. I'm a huge fan of arcade games esp. playing them with arcade sticks :)

[@MyChannel-vm6dw]

This has been the most useful video on this topic I have ever seen. Does x-arcade tank stick controls work right out of the box with emulation station, especially trackball games or do I have to buy an adapter. Can you do a video on installing a GRS Trackball, wiring it to a control board and configuring it? Same for GRS Spinner. Ty!

[@Jakestarrr]

Thanks for the vid man, caught this on a random browse but you inspired me to build my own. Wish i could upload a pic to show you

[@geektoolkit]

Yay!! That’s awesome I’m glad to hear that! They are a lot of fun. I need to get back to actually playing the one I built instead of tinkering with it lol

[@arcadewill7011]

What an awesome and helpful show. You should do even more like this because many of the newbies (Arcade1up/iiRcade/MVSX/AtGames) do not many of these sites etc.

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou! I plan on doing some more gaming videos in the future (actually working on one now) though I try to focus on DIY mods for stuff for now. I will do an A1up mod video at some point, I need some time to work on it. AtGames is very cool as is iiRcade, I'll have to see how the gaming side of my channel goes to see if that is something I should pursue. Please subscribe if you like gaming stuff because I'm working on a facial recognition arcade video series that I think is going to be neat :D

[@geektoolkit]

Oh also, your channels cool! I just subscribed I'll have to check out that MVSX..I wasn't aware of that one! Ah that's beautiful you have a really cool setup

[@crimmy0204]

I need to build one of these soon.

[@geektoolkit]

Hopefully this video helps! They’re amazing fun :)

[@DaveLuxmore]

Awesome video! I've done a custom build myself but man, I wish I watched a video like this before I went deep into the rabbit hole!

[@geektoolkit]

LOL! I know exactly what you mean...sometimes when I make these videos I think "yeah...I'm going to say this on camera, but I wish I knew it before I built the one I built". In my tablet wall mount video, almost the entire video was 'dangit I wish I watched my own video before doing what I did". But hey, I figure others can learn from my mistake/lessons/experiences :D

[@obyrnedd]

Very thorough! A friend wants me to make him one with a Pi and I keep trying to push him towards x64.

[@geektoolkit]

X64 IMO has just soooo many more options. Steam arcade games and updates are amazing!!

[@crappysoup]

I’m starting to form my plans and I find myself wanting the ultra $$$$$ options everywhere 🤣

[@geektoolkit]

Oh yes! What I find is worse is that after you get done, some new update or gadget comes out and then you may find yourself in a constant upgrade cycle. I’ve spent weeks doing more tinkering than gaming. The struggle is real :)

[@johnmecca9008]

The BigBox/LaunchBox you are showing at 25:18, is this just a program you download that includes all those game? I see people with Arcade machines from Extreme Home Arcades and the machines come with 70,000+ games. So I assume that things like that are downloads somewhere. I just don’t understand how it works and comes with such a clean interface. I just need something like this so bad.

[@Wilhuf1]

Question for you GeekToolkit. Atari Vault on a PC platform uses x-input. Were you using a generic pad for your controller? How did you get the controller commands to work with Atari Vault? Or were you using a different front end, such as emulation station to load the atari vault ROMs, and thus were not using x-input?

[@geektoolkit]

I have to double check but I believe I was using keyboard keys. I'm using an older ipac which emulated a keyboard before the ipac2 that had the controller emulation (I'm not sure if it was dinput or xinput). I'll double check, but I'm pretty sure that's what it used. (I'm already rethinking/rebuilding that setup :) ) For Frontend that was launchbox/bigbox. with a steamID it can just import the steam library.

[@lit_wick]

I am very happy with my @Games Legends Gamer Pro and my Todoe Coffee Table from Ashley Furniture. The coffee table has a liftable top half which gets the Gamer Pro right to viewlex cab control panel height. I just use my regular Living Room tv set and its Huge! So its a nice way to have a pedestal set up, while it not taking up any space in the house. I just keep the Gamer in the coat closet when not in use.

[@geektoolkit]

That’s awesome!! I just checked the gamer pro out and that seems like a super cool option. I wasn’t aware of that when I made this video but definitely belongs in the consideration list. I see the Todoe also now...that’s super slick. How is the wiring setup? Is it just two wires (power and HDMI?). Also I’m curious of the performance on the Legends machine...do you happen to know if it can run midway games (nba jam) well? I may have to consider that for a future setup!

[@lit_wick]

@@geektoolkit the Gamer works with Bluetooth to the "Core" which is a seperate device that plugs into the TV, it comes packaged with the Gamer. I don't like the Bluetooth and think it's laggy so there's an option to hook up directly with a USB to the core so I do that. Only a single USB cable connects from the panel to the Core. I've had success with most 90s arcade games. If it runs on a pi3, Ive concluded it'll run on the Gamer.

[@geektoolkit]

Oh that’s perfect!! I love having the option of wired, and that makes sense to me how that’s work. That’s also nicer than the Pandora’s box solution of having to run a power wire across. Thanks for the follow up and contributing that that’s a killer setup! I hope you’re getting some good time on it. I’m heads down into galaga in my portable I built...I need to get back to my pedestal and put some love into it

[@MrRobeva]

Very good video. Thanks.

[@geektoolkit]

Glad you liked it!

[@Danhanado]

So do your arcade controls work natively with the Xbox 360?

[@geektoolkit]

No not on that setup. I posted a video about that setup a while ago though...I had used Quanba Raf4s for my 360 which is an amazing setup if you want arcade controls on 360,ps3, and PC.

[@tres6198]

Amazing I've had my eye on that exact stand on Amazon.Amazing content sir love the information you provided on this

[@geektoolkit]

Cool Thankyou!!! I’m REALLY happy with it. For the price it gave me a unique design and it’s holding stuff quite well!

[@tres6198]

@@geektoolkit now I will definitely pick one up

[@ceekay1103]

Dude you are the man for the video. Is this all available to use on a Mac. I have a Mac mini that I'm thinking about using.

[@geektoolkit]

It’s not sadly simply because I don’t have a Mac to develop against. I wonder if it’s run in parallels though. It’s not resource intensive. Would a windows build be useful in that case? The video playback is hacks in windows because of the behavior of windows media player but it’s on my list of things to work on

[@mikeinfantino9167]

Happen to know what the details (brand/model ) for the pedestal are? Amazon not showing the page any longer..thanks!

[@geektoolkit]

I dont, sadly they delisted it about a year after this video, and I sold mine and moved to a different system. I'll try to find a similar setup, though my next one I may build myself at this point.

[@mikeinfantino9167]

@@geektoolkit thanks, I was able to zoom in on your video where you showed the Amazon link, see it's an Atlantic brand, found their website and am going to order. In case anyone else asks 😊

[@geektoolkit]

@@mikeinfantino9167 OMG nice! I didn't even remember seeing that brand on there! Well done! I'm glad to hear they have it still it's a handy stand!

[@bmontano71]

👍 video . Can I use any button style or joystick style with the iPac 4 encoder? And can I add a push and pull spinner to it as well? Do all the arcade buttons have to be from the same manufacturer? And can I mix and match from different manufacturers of buttons and joysticks on the same encoder board? Looking to use both Japanese and American style joysticks and buttons. Thanks b

[@geektoolkit]

You can mix and match buttons and most joysticks with an ipac. Make sure the joystick has either 4 switches or 5 wires coming off it...most happs have 4 switches, japanese (sanwa/siemitsu) may have 5 wires...one is ground. All of that can work in an ipac, and you can mix and match joysticks and buttons. Manufacturer shouldn't matter, buttons just match up to swtiches. The spinner is an analog device, and will need its own encoder or solution. some spinners nowadays are USB. So you'll want to look into the particular spinner you're going for to see how it would connect. trackballs are the same way if you decide to add that. Hope that helps!

[@RandomStuffByMe]

Awesome build! What is the length and depth/width of the control panel?

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou! It's 42" wide 15" deep 6.5" Tall. If you're looking to put a PC into it I'd probably make it slightly taller to make it easier (or buy a PC with the height in mind), or go with lower profile buttons if possible.

[@thenextmj4523]

How high is your pedestal off the ground? I want to use an xarcade tankstick on something like that but i think my sweet spot is the tankstick on top of something 35’’

[@geektoolkit]

That pedestal is 31" and I have a legends Gamer pro on it which brings it to about 35". I would say adding another 2-4" would be a better height than what I have now (the gamer pro is thinner than the monstrosity I had up there before from this video). I think your idea of a tankstick on a 35" height would be a great combo

[@Tailgun]

I'm looking for the exact same thing, with the same dimensions. So far, no luck. Hope you reply if you find one.

[@recensioniveloci]

Amazing!!!!!! 😎

[@geektoolkit]

Thankyou so much!! I am really enjoying this project, so glad others appreciate it. If you do a build, I hope it goes well!

[@recensioniveloci]

@@geektoolkit I saw the project. Very beautiful and ... complex! 😅 I would like to but I have no manual skills to carry out such a large project. Appreciate those who can accomplish such things! 😎👍

[@N8_THN]

Ooh, I really like the aesthetic of the stand that you used. Might just have to do a project like this! out of curiosity, how bad is the wobble when using the controller?

[@geektoolkit]

Cool! That was what drew me to it. So I think the thing depends on how heavy of a control panel you put on it, and if it's on wood or carpet. The stand is actually really sturdy...there's a solid base piece of wood that gives it quite a bit of stability. I also have an Xbox one and 360 on the bottom, so that helps (If needed you can also add some other heavy decorations on either side to further stabilize it). That being said, I just played with it and I barely notice any wobble when really going at it (and on normal 'menu style movements..nothing'). My control panel is a bit large and hefty as well though, so your mileage may vary. For the price it's really just tough to beat though

[@richp1985]

Amazing video! Wanted to order this stand but not available bummer. Anything out there similar.

[@geektoolkit]

Ugh that sucks. It happened once before and they came back in stock. I worry that they may be revamping the model though since I can't see anyone else selling it (when I made this video there were 4 or 5 sellers, and I'd listed Atlantic because they were the lowest price, and I believe the source. This may be the revamp, but you'd be starting over as far as knowing if it'd be a good table to buy. The etsy route may be more appealing if you're willing to do the paint/finish work. amzn.to/3lPkvhd

[@SharkBytesKnox]

Would you be interested in being contracted to set up a PC with all the games for me to install in my arcade console? Thanks

[@geektoolkit]

I appreciate the offer but I’m sorry I don’t do that

[@SharkBytesKnox]

@@geektoolkit any recommendations on where i get could help with something like that? I am really not good with computers

[@geektoolkit]

@@SharkBytesKnox You can search for Pandoras box on aliexpress, that's probably the one way to get games and not have to do anything yourself..thye'll sell a dual control stick setup with games setup, and you just plug it into your tv.

[@a-aron5508]

How could someone get roms if they don't have any. Thanks

[@geektoolkit]

Google is your friend

[@Raziel.82]

It looks like a tomb!

[@geektoolkit]

LOL! I spose so now that you say that. I should decorate it for haloween like that :D Or play tomb raider. Or both! lol

[@Raziel.82]

@@geektoolkit 😁😁👍🏻

[@jrgaln]

I took your advice and bought that same pedastal/entertainment center and it turned out to be one of the worst purchases I've made. Post gripe good video. Get a new pedastal.

[@geektoolkit]

Oh no...the x patterned one I have? What did you not like? or did yours have issues? I just have mine to compare to...I'm still using it actually and haven't really had any issues with it (other than it gets dusty and shows easily because it's black, but I think that's true of any dark furniture I'd have).

[@jrgaln]

@@geektoolkit It came with missing parts and trying to put it together sucked. The predrilled screw holes had cracks in it and the panel fell off and I scratched my brand new 65 inch tv. I'm returning it and am waiting for authorization from the dealer via Amazon. Literally ordered the GSR solutions pedastal cabinet last night.

[@geektoolkit]

@@jrgaln I'm really sorry to hear that. I had none of those issues, and the link I posted has 4.5 stars with over 300 reviews, so I felt like it was a safe recommendation. Did you use the same seller (Atlantic? They're the maker of it). That all being said, that was a budget choice, if you went with something from GRS you're going to just have a better setup all around. they do amazing work!

[@jrgaln]

@@geektoolkit It happens man no worries. It could always be worst.

[@geektoolkit]

I really appreciate your support. I try my best to make sure I recommend good stuff and stuff I’ve actually bought. I have been thinking about upgrading lately though, and I just pulled the trigger on the AT games control panel...Walmart dropped them to 99 dollars so figured I’d give it a shot with coinopsx. Let me know how the GRS panel is, maybe I’ll update and do a follow up. I just need to find time to actually do some gaming instead of projects :) Thanks for being cool, I appreciate you

[@arcticserpent]

I'm sorry, but I don't see it. It belongs in r/ShittyMAME. Had to be downvote #10, it looks tacky, like some shelves put on a cheap Halloween costume they made as a 12 year old. Don't see how most of those can be called "good".

[@geektoolkit]

Alice that was so…kind! Thankyou! I will aspire to do better!

[@arcticserpent]

@@geektoolkit I'm working on my first cade currently. Its ganna be bad, so I'll be sure to update you when I have a video of it. It'll take a while though since its a side project.

[@geektoolkit]

Mine was a side project of a side project. I’m the end of you learn and enjoy it I think that matters more than anything. I look forward to yours and hope it surprises you with how awesome it comes out!