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MAMERoom Virtual Music Jukebox Plans
Review by Kevin Steele
January, 2004
Introduction
MAMERoom.com has come out with some great arcade-related
plans. If you've read my review of the Ultimate
Arcade plans, you already
know that I've been impressed with their attention to detail and clear,
concise instructions. So, I was very interested when they sent me a copy
of their latest plans.
The Virtual Arcade Jukebox is, in many ways, a companion to the Ultimate Arcade cabinet. After all, once you've got a great arcade machine, you need some great tunes blaring in the background while you're setting the high score in Asteroids, right?
The jukebox is a unique wall-mount design, a low-profile design with just enough room inside for a motherboard, controls, speakers, and an LCD display. It's a creative design, and shows what you can do when designing a computer system for a single use.
Like their Ultimate Arcade plans, the Virtual Music Jukebox plans are exquisitely detailed, with clear instructions and a wealth of extra information on how to do the job right. What's improved this time is an exceptional amount of drawings, page after page of clear measurements, and a great layout that really makes everything easy to read and understand.
Getting Started
Once again, CyberTech Design has created a document that provides you with everything you need to get the project started and completed. The plans feature a great list of all the parts you'll need, even listing stores where you can find the parts.
A Detailed Materials List and Parts Layout
A detailed overview of the plans is provided, including several pages of large drawings showing the measurements of all the parts (in both metric and english). These large drawings really help legibility, which is (obviously!) important when reading measurements!
The "mini-tutorials" on such things as applying laminate and counter-sinking screws are all there, this time moved to the back of the document as appendices. This is fine, as it helps keep the flow of the document focused on the task at hand.
Need to Learn How to Apply Laminate?
Step-by-Step
Speaking of the task at hand, the new document layout is exceptional, in my opinion. It clearly shows each step in the creation of the jukebox, with detailed instructions and notes, along with several very well done illustrations of that particular step.
Great Step-By-Step Instructions
In some ways, this is a more complicated project than their Ultimate Arcade - there are lots of small pieces and tight clearances (everything is cut from a single 4' by 4' piece of MDF!). Luckily, the instructions take you through everything methodically, with plenty of warnings about things that might go wrong.
Details, Details, Details.
I know I've been raving about the details in this document, but I really have to do it one more time: this is an exceptionally detailed set of plans (okay, I'm done with the word detailed, I promise!)
The plans cost $24.99, or $59.99 with full-size templates. As I mentioned with the Ultimate Arcade Plans, as a technical writer I am genuinely impressed with this document. If you're looking for a unique addition to your arcade gameroom, the Virtual Music Jukebox may be a project that is music to your ears.
Pros
- Great layout
- Concisely written, with plenty of information
- Very well illustrated
Cons
- You still need to build it
