very cool! I've built 2, one from scratch, one from an old cabinet, but I just use a PC.
couple questions, since I'm considering building another using the rasp PI.
how do you interface the controls? both my builds use an opti-pac for the one with a trackball and J-pac for the other. are those compatible with the rasp Pi?
did you buy plans for your cabinet or design it yourself? when I did mine from scratch I had over $250 just in materials, all the metal L-brackets and proper screws were surprisingly expensive (68 brackets and 275 screws since the ones that come with the brackets are too long)!!
I used the Ultimarc plans from Cybertech designs with the flip down slide out keyboard drawer.
Yours look great. Nice work.
To answer you questions:
1. I used a USB button and interface kit from Amazon. It is called Easyget, the link is below. I know Optipac will work with RP but I don't know about JPac. The kit I used was cheap and easy to to connect. RertoPie recognized it as a SNES controller. RetroPie lets you configure individual buttons to be anything you want. The arcade emulator lets you configure buttons for coins, 1-Player, 2-Player, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WAY9848/?tag=atomicindus08-20
2. I drew up my own plan. Basically figure out a side profile you like, draw it on a sheet of MDF and cut it. Figure out the width you like and frame the sides using furring strips. Fill in the blanks as go along to make room for control panel, screen, etc.
As you saw, I used angle brackets with furring strips and ordinary drywall screws. Primary materials were: The Easyget kit, RaspberyPie, cables, a 19 inch LCD monitor (craigslist, $5), 1 sheet of 3/4 MDF, half sheet of 1/2 MDF, furring strips, angle brackets, 3/4 plastic t-molding, some Plexiglas, some Formica for the control panel, couple of LED light bulbs and sockets, plugs and wire, primer and paint.
This thing can come apart in 15 minutes for moving. I did so because I made and painted it in my garage to be moved to its final location in the basement. Much easier to move individual pieces. All told, I spent less than $250. I already had all the tools so there was no tool expense.
