Drilling a DIY memory card slot?

[Billkwando]

Yeah I just went to town with some nice sewing scissors.

 

[Billkwando]

I'm finally finding the time to get around to putting all this together. LOL

I can't imagine how bulky the original cables are, cos these things are huge.


It's crazy up in here, son!

Unfortunately it turns out that the B&D drill battery charger I bought is an 18.8v, and while it looks identical to my old charger (except for 1 little notch that keeps it from sliding on) my batteries are 14.4v. I assume modifying it to fit on my batts would just burn my house down? So annoying! Arrgh!

Guess I have to wait that much longer to get past the getting started part of getting started.

Is it safe to run the ribbon cables under the board, or would it get too hot or restrict airflow or something? I wonder if it's safe to fold these cables? like folding it diagonally so it makes a right or left turn. I guess I should ask the wise NTM.

I also have to figure out a way to mount it sort of "floating", so that it's slightly above the bottom of the drawer (where I'll be cutting the slot, in the center).

 

[HeavyMachineGoob]

Yes you can fold ribbon cables, they're designed to do that.

What could possibly generate heat inside there? Feel free to run the cables underneath. They're plastic, they will insulate against the MVS board (well, somewhat...).

 

[Billkwando]

Yes you can fold ribbon cables, they're designed to do that.

What could possibly generate heat inside there? Feel free to run the cables underneath. They're plastic, they will insulate against the MVS board (well, somewhat...).

When I say fold, I mean crease sharply. You sure that's still ok?

 

[HeavyMachineGoob]

Yes, I do it lots with solid core ribbon cables and they work fine. I don't know if your cables are stranded or solid core, but IDE-type ribbon cables are designed to fold sharply to make turns.

 

[Billkwando]

With this kind of audio connector: http://cpc.farnell.com/_/mj-073h/3-5mm-jack-sockets-stereo-panel/dp/AV15099

Hope that gives you some ideas

I ended up ordering a pair of that very jack (MJ-073H from Newark.com), though I'm going to countersink the outside lip so it's flush with the cabinet, then put the memory card/headphone plate over that, which will hold them in. Though I might take some of my Rustoleum all-blackening touch up paint and blacken the inner rings.

Hopefully I can wrap the whole thing up by next weekend, and provide pics and measurements for other Dynamo cab owners who also wanna go the extra mile in making a super authentic genuine fake restoration MVS cab.

 

[Billkwando]

Just wanted to update this thread on my progress a little bit.

I believe I'll be finishing up the whole thing tonight (unless I pass out on the floor, been up til 2am the past 2 or 3 nights working on this).

Here's our friend the memory card slot. It's a little rough around the edges, literally, but I'm gonna try slapping a little DAP Plastic wood on there just to make the edge look nice and sharp. You won't be able to see it once the plate's on and the slot is painted black, but I'd got a can of the stuff and have never tried it.

and here's the slot from the reverse side, with me leaning over the control panel:

Here's the Neocardmasta. I cut strips from an old cigar box, cos they're the perfect 7mm-ish height I needed to raise the reader off the floor of the drawer the perfect height. The strips are on the outside because the solder points on the other side stick out too far for it to sit level if you were to just slap it on a big piece of wood.

Here's the Neocardmasta mounted!

I really can't believe how perfectly it all lined up. I was afraid that the slot would come out below the floor level of the drawer, so I'd have to route it out for the cardmasta to fit (or some equally horrifying scenario) but I'm pleased to say that if you use a standard sized memory card sticker/plate, and line it up with that, it works out near perfectly.

More pics (and video) later!

 

[Billkwando]

The deed is done.



It took all night, but I finally got it the way I want it. More pics and info coming once I finish with the inside. Time to sleep.

 

[werejag]

congrates it looks very nice. got a pic of how you mounted the headphone jacks?

 

[Xian Xi]

Nice work.

 

[xsq]

this turned out pretty awesome! Congrats.

 

[Billkwando]

Thanks everybody!

Ok, so the jacks are 7mm, except for the lip at the top, which is 9.8mm. I drilled 2 holes with a 9/32 (7.1mm) bit, then did the outside hole with a 3/8 spade bit. If I had it to do again, I would do the spade bit first, since it was hard to make a clean hole without something for the pointy thing in the middle to grab on to.

Here it is with the jacks popped in.

Then the plate itself is what holds them in. Turns out, this isn't perfect, since these are particularly stiff jacks, so you can feel the plate flex a tiny bit when you unplug them...but it's not going anywhere, and hopefully the jacks will loosen up with a few uses. I didn't want to glue them in or anything, cos jacks have a tendency to die eventually.

I don't think I'll be using them all the time anyway, honestly. The headphone jacks are tradition, and must be honored.

Edit: At a later date, I may put a little hot glue in the hole and then plop them in, since I can rip that stuff right out if I really want to (say, if I needed to replace a jack). I gave myself enough extra wire that I can pull them out (without desoldering) if I need to, so if I ever have a reason to take the plate off, I may do that.

Seriously though, I was surprised how much bass the Neo pumps through my regular, non-bling headphones.



Here's how I laid out my ribbon cables:

Here's the finished product

I'm super happy with how it came out. Thanks everybody for your suggestions and input and thanks to NeoTurfMasta for an amazing product!.

 

[Goldenheart]

I won't be using an MV IC, I'll be using one of NeoTurfMasta's memory card readers. As you recall, they're not going to have the headphone jacks, so mine will be wired directly to the 4-pin connector.

Hello all. I just became a proud owner of an MVS last Christmas. My cabinet's been converted from another game, so I don't have the headphone jacks or memory card slot either. I'd love to wire up a headphone jack too, but I don't know which pin is which. Care to share?

Also, I see there are 4 pins for 2 players' headphone jacks. Does that mean player 2 gets a different signal??? Interesting if true, but I can't imagine what the difference would be. I would think it'd be the same audio for both players. I suppose it could just be they use only 3 wires from a standard 4-pin connector.

This is a pretty nice forum you guys have here. I'm glad I can join the crowd.

 

[Billkwando]

Hello all. I just became a proud owner of an MVS last Christmas. My cabinet's been converted from another game, so I don't have the headphone jacks or memory card slot either. I'd love to wire up a headphone jack too, but I don't know which pin is which. Care to share?

Also, I see there are 4 pins for 2 players' headphone jacks. Does that mean player 2 gets a different signal??? Interesting if true, but I can't imagine what the difference would be. I would think it'd be the same audio for both players. I suppose it could just be they use only 3 wires from a standard 4-pin connector.

This is a pretty nice forum you guys have here. I'm glad I can join the crowd.

Welcome, stranger.

The pinout is:

1.Left
2.Ground
3.Ground
4.Right
(same for the speaker connect)

Both players get the same signal. In the case of my hack job, I just made my own Y cable.

Oh and here's the MVS info emporium:
http://www.hardmvs.com/

 

[Goldenheart]

Welcome, stranger.

The pinout is:

1.Left
2.Ground
3.Ground
4.Right
(same for the speaker connect)

Both players get the same signal. In the case of my hack job, I just made my own Y cable.

Oh and here's the MVS info emporium:
http://www.hardmvs.com/

Excellent! Thanks for the info Billkwando! My speakers are stereo, but I'm sure my Logitec 2.1 speakers will sound better. Plus, I'll be able to mute it quickly when the phone rings.