Skip to content
Logo

Hackaday

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Hackaday.io
  • Tindie
  • Contests
  • Submit
  • About

the hackaday logo

1 Articles

Broken Laptop Lives Again In Skull ‘n Wrenches Arcade Cabinet

July 2, 2014 by Kristina Panos 8 Comments

arcade cabinet buildWe’re pretty fond of home-built arcade cabinets, especially when those cabinets feature a giant HaD logo on the front. We teased you with a picture of two predators playing it at Maker Faire Kansas City, and we thought you might like to see what makes it tick.

[Dustin and Nick] have dubbed this the Dustin and Nick Arcade [DNA]. They built the cabinet from the ground up out of 5/8″ MDF, primed it, and painted it with exterior paint to ward off moisture damage. At the heart of this build is the bottom half of a laptop that suffered from a broken screen. The plexiglass overlay lets players view the guts of the thing, which we think is a nice touch that literally exemplifies Open Design.

So, what happens when you drop your proverbial coin? [Dustin and Nick] used an C# NES/SNES emulator that runs from the command line using a WPF interface. [Nick]’s software selects the appropriate emulator for the approximately 700 available games. You’ll find [Nick]’s code and a ton of build pics at [Dustin]’s site. No wonder they won a Maker of Merit ribbon!

Don’t have the space to build a full-scale cabinet? You could make a mini Ms. Pac-Man cabinet, but then you’d only have Ms. Pac-Man to play with. And we’re pretty sure she’s spoken for.

Posted in laptops hacks, Nintendo HacksTagged arcade, arcade cabinet, laptop, mdf, NES/SNES emulator, the hackaday logo

Search

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe

If you missed it

  • A Field Guide To The North American Cold Chain

    13 Comments
  • The DEW Line Remembered

    18 Comments
  • The Fight To Save Lunar Trailblazer

    29 Comments
  • Hacking When It Counts: DIY Prosthetics And The Prison Camp Lathe

    12 Comments
  • Dearest C++, Let Me Count The Ways I Love/Hate Thee

    57 Comments
More from this category

Our Columns

  • FLOSS Weekly Episode 841: Drupal And AI: The Right Tool For Everything

    1 Comment
  • Mach Cutoff: Bending The Sonic Boom

    26 Comments
  • Robots Want The Jobs You Can’t Do

    10 Comments
  • Hackaday Links: July 13, 2025

    8 Comments
  • Trickle Down: When Doing Something Silly Actually Makes Sense

    10 Comments
More from this category

Search

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe

If you missed it

  • A Field Guide To The North American Cold Chain

    13 Comments
  • The DEW Line Remembered

    18 Comments
  • The Fight To Save Lunar Trailblazer

    29 Comments
  • Hacking When It Counts: DIY Prosthetics And The Prison Camp Lathe

    12 Comments
  • Dearest C++, Let Me Count The Ways I Love/Hate Thee

    57 Comments
More from this category

Categories

Our Columns

  • FLOSS Weekly Episode 841: Drupal And AI: The Right Tool For Everything

    1 Comment
  • Mach Cutoff: Bending The Sonic Boom

    26 Comments
  • Robots Want The Jobs You Can’t Do

    10 Comments
  • Hackaday Links: July 13, 2025

    8 Comments
  • Trickle Down: When Doing Something Silly Actually Makes Sense

    10 Comments
More from this category

Recent comments

  • RetepV on A Neural Net For A Graphing Calculator?
  • Svemir on Arduino Saves Heat Pump
  • RPM on Blu-ray Won, But At What Cost?
  • sweethack on Building A Stirling Engine Bike
  • RetepV on The Fight To Save Lunar Trailblazer
  • anon on ESP32 Plugs In To Real-Time Crypto Prices
  • paulvdh on Improve Your KiCad Productivity With These Considered Shortcut Keys
  • Joshua on Blu-ray Won, But At What Cost?
  • arcturus on Building A Stirling Engine Bike
  • Elliot Williams on We’re Hiring: Come Join Us!
Logo
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Hackaday.io
  • Tindie
  • Video
  • Submit A Tip
  • About
  • Contact Us

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe to Newsletter

Copyright © 2025 | Hackaday, Hack A Day, and the Skull and Wrenches Logo are Trademarks of Hackaday.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Digital Services Act
Powered by WordPress VIP

By using our website and services, you expressly agree to the placement of our performance, functionality and advertising cookies. Learn more

 

Loading Comments...