Some newbie Vewlix questions

[Zerox12]

I've had my Vewlix Diamond Blue now for a month or so and while I'm really enjoying it (somehow more than I expected) I've certainly got a few items I want to improve or address in the future. The top of mind one is the control panel. From the looks of it the top piece is pressed in (Above the buttons on a single player SFV panel) so instead of the metal above the panel being a mm underneat the CP, it's actually protruding in. I've seen products like JD Weld (Which I have zero experience with), and I'm sure there's some places in the area that do general welding work, but I'd like to get some input from folks who know a little bit more about this stuff than I. Picture attached:

Any suggestions on how best to deal with it? I'd have immediately jumped to "Just take it to a weld repair place" but as best as I can tell that whole steel piece is on that hinge and I wasn't seeing any way to remove it from the rest of the control enclosure. The other issue with the CP is on the right side the top doesn't sit flush so as-is if you press in on that side it'll rattle some. I've got some shock absorption in underneat to keep everything from being problematic but if there's an easy way to line things back up and get it flush I'd like to do it. I've had this thing long enough now that I'm not terrified I'm going to break something if I take it apart.

Two other main things come to mind as "I want to do this" - rear access for cables. I see a small panel on the very bottom attached with two screws that could provide access for cables and the like. Does anybody have 3D printer files for a replacement piece for that? If I have to design something (Or purchase a completed piece) that's fine. My objective is to replace it with a panel that has an ethernet port and possibly USB (or power) as well. I'd just leave it open and run cables through naturally but I've had mice before and am terrified of the prospect of a mouse getting in there. The desire for ethernet is I do want to get the PC version of Street Fighter 6 at some point (Normally a PS5 player) and when I do I'd prefer to have ethernet for playing online.

Finally: I've seen numerous posts on fan replacements. I'm planning on grabbing a pair of Noctuas and a fan controller to address it as those stock fans our LOUD. I'm not at all opposed to making my own cables to adapt the existing power to the current two fans to attach the PWM fan controller but free time of late has been short so I'm curious if anybody has harnesses already for sale? The idea would be unplug the existing fans from power, replacement it with a cable to power the Noctua fan controller, and then that drives the two replacement fans. If I have to make a cable myself it's well within my skillset, I just need to put this off to January. There's some quality posts on the forum describing how some people have replaced their stock fans so if nothing else I'm confident that it's a simple enough operation. I could always go with 5V fans and a powered USB hub but I'd prefer standard 12V fans + a controller if possible.

First real post here after my intro so hopefully I didn't go full newb and ask for something already answered elsewhere (I've done a fair amount of searching on the control panel issue with little luck).

 

[Mirkvid]

Is that an official panel or a reproduction? You could try finding some rubber strips to line the edges of the underside of the panel to try to make it flush. Does it look bent out of shape?

 

[rewrite]

I'm not at all opposed to making my own cables to adapt the existing power to the current two fans to attach the PWM

Just don't use PWM. Let it go full blast 100% of the time like the stock fans do. Check the voltage, measure the size (fans are not all the same size between models) and order away.

The panel isn't pressed in. And welding or JB Weld aren't options. You wouldn't weld your wheels to your car, don't Weld the CP to the cab.

It's just screwed on with nuts from underneath. If your panel is sitting weird, it's either not screwed down right or you have a poorly made reproduction panel, and given the color that'd be my first guess.

Pics of both the cab, the panel, and underneath the panel would be helpful.

 

[notsonic]

The control panel is supposed to sit in a recess and be a flush surface with the surround. There can be minor gaps around the edges but that's normal. I'm not really sure what the problem is unless the panel is sitting proud and irritating your wrists (common with repro panels). Better pics of the problems would help.

Use 12v non pwm fans at full speed. They shouldn't be too loud. Even though there's a decent volume of air inside the cabinet, it's still basically sealed.

The hole in the rear is indeed for cable access. I'm not aware of any pass through panels that have been designed. If mice are a problem, get rid of the mice! but also just put duct tape over the hole.

 

[Zerox12]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

First, I'm fairly certain this is an official SFV panel. It's got the USB port on the right side top and when I got the cab it had all the proper equipment (JVS USB I/O, upgraded 1080p monitor) so I have no reason to believe it's a repro. Pics of both inside and out:

Specifics on why I think (thought?) something was off is there's a whole lot of give on the top of where the buttons are. When buttons are strongly depressed (Been playing a lot of Dariusburst and as things get stressful I tend to hold things down a little harder) you can see and feel more give than I would have expected. Additionally, the way it sits agains the surround (I got that term right?) is different than on the other spots on the panel. I'd also heard the welds on the CPs can stress and give with significant use and age. I bought an actual Vewlix and understand that it means "not new" and certain age related problems exist. I'm okay with that, and I'm merely trying to best understand how to care for and maintain this thing.

As far as fans going full blast - I realize a Noctua (Or some arctics) will be much quieter at full blast than the existing stock fans, but I still was hoping to be able to effectively run in a "quiet mode" if desired. I'm possibly overthinking it though. Either way, I'd still need to adapt a power cable if I wanted to do this mod in a clean non-destructive manner as these JVS connectors aren't anything like I've seen on standard 12V PC fans. Perhaps that's me over thinking it though as there's no way I'd ever want to return to stock fans.

The panel isn't pressed in. And welding or JB Weld aren't options. You wouldn't weld your wheels to your car, don't Weld the CP to the cab.

This is why I ask questions. I know I'm a newb with this stuff and want to better understand things before doing anything major. It's also why I've spent some time using the thing before trying to jump in on major changes.

The hole in the rear is indeed for cable access. I'm not aware of any pass through panels that have been designed. If mice are a problem, get rid of the mice! but also just put duct tape over the hole.

Thanks! Yeah I get rid of them and they seem to come back when it's cold. One or two a year show up and it's getting to be around that time. Duct tape is an interesting solution. Considering the spot is pretty well concealed I'd actually be pretty okay with that as my solution.

Anyway thanks again for entertaining my questions. Any help and advice is greatly apprciated.

 

[Mirkvid]

Yep, that's a Taito panel, from the look of it, maybe the surround that the panel sits in is bent above where the buttons are. I'd just pull the panel out and take a look, maybe put a ruler along the inset part and see it it looks warped. If it was, I'd just bend it back the best I could with a pair of pliers wrapped in a cloth so I don't scratch anything.

Nice cab though!

 

[notsonic]

I can definitely see a slight bend in the panel and surround. Maybe remove the panel and try to straighten out it and the surround and then make sure it's mounted nice and tight. Also focus on a lighter touch instead of the gaijin smash . I used to play Tekken a little too aggressively until my hands hurt. It took a little while but actively thinking about it helped me chill out.

 

[Frogybloop]

I just replaced the (super loud) fan in my Vewlix FC with a Noctua NF-F12 and wired in a little DC motor speed controller stuck onto the side of it inside the cab. Aside from the speed controller oddly working in reverse of what it should, the whole setup worked great and I dialed in a fan speed that moved enough air without too much noise before closing the cab back up. Honestly, the NF-F12 at full speed was almost as loud as the original, I just chose it based on another post in the forum and figured "heavy duty? hell yeah!". If I was going to do it all again I would probably just install the speed controller on the current fan and dial it back a bit to lessen the noise. The way I figure it, the beast mode fans in these things were made to keep the systems cool in hot and stuffy arcades with less efficient hardware, so they are way beefier than you would need with a newer PC running in these cabs now in your cooler, less stuffy house. So, the lower air flow is almost certainly fine.

As for the connectors, I had a bunch of PWM fan connectors sitting around from other projects so I used these to replace whatever was on the cab originally, that was I can throw a different PC fan in later if I like. Connectors are really just personal preference though.

 

[Zerox12]

I just replaced the (super loud) fan in my Vewlix FC with a Noctua NF-F12 and wired in a little DC motor speed controller stuck onto the side of it inside the cab. Aside from the speed controller oddly working in reverse of what it should, the whole setup worked great and I dialed in a fan speed that moved enough air without too much noise before closing the cab back up. Honestly, the NF-F12 at full speed was almost as loud as the original, I just chose it based on another post in the forum and figured "heavy duty? hell yeah!". If I was going to do it all again I would probably just install the speed controller on the current fan and dial it back a bit to lessen the noise. The way I figure it, the beast mode fans in these things were made to keep the systems cool in hot and stuffy arcades with less efficient hardware, so they are way beefier than you would need with a newer PC running in these cabs now in your cooler, less stuffy house. So, the lower air flow is almost certainly fine.

As for the connectors, I had a bunch of PWM fan connectors sitting around from other projects so I used these to replace whatever was on the cab originally, that was I can throw a different PC fan in later if I like. Connectors are really just personal preference though.

What's that end up looking like, connection wise? NF-F12(s) wired into the DC motor controller, and that then hooks into the JST connector that goes back to the Vewlix 12V supply? Your comment about just wiring in the motor controller with the existing fans has me intrigued as doing so would save me having to unmount the monitor to replace the fan there. My biggest issue with the fans, and the entire reason I'm looking into fan controllers, is the noise level is absurd. I was thinking of ordering a set of male/female 2 wire JST connectors to make some adapter cables for the existing 12V supply. That way I can test any connections or fans easily without having to remove or mess with the existing fans in any way. The room that I have this thing in is consistently the coldest room in my house, and especially as we head into winter I'm confident I can run these fans at half power and still keep things nice and cool.

 

[Frogybloop]

What's that end up looking like, connection wise? NF-F12(s) wired into the DC motor controller, and that then hooks into the JST connector that goes back to the Vewlix 12V supply? Your comment about just wiring in the motor controller with the existing fans has me intrigued as doing so would save me having to unmount the monitor to replace the fan there. My biggest issue with the fans, and the entire reason I'm looking into fan controllers, is the noise level is absurd. I was thinking of ordering a set of male/female 2 wire JST connectors to make some adapter cables for the existing 12V supply. That way I can test any connections or fans easily without having to remove or mess with the existing fans in any way. The room that I have this thing in is consistently the coldest room in my house, and especially as we head into winter I'm confident I can run these fans at half power and still keep things nice and cool.

Heres an admittedly shitty picture of the setup, so sorry you cant see the wiring better. But roughly what you said is correct. I wired up so that the fan was wired correctly up to the motor controller, then out to a female PWM fan header. I then wired a male fan header to the 12V supply in my cabinet (my JST connector had already been removed at some point so it was already just empty leads) and connected the two once I had the fan installed. Then it was just a matter of dialing in the fan speed to my liking.

Are you talking about case fans or monitor fans here? You may want to be careful about putting a motor controller on the monitor fans as I think there are sensors built into the monitor that will disable it if it sensing any deviations in monitor fans speeds. I have read about people replacing the monitor fans, but honestly if you really want to get rid of the monitor fan noise just replace your monitor entirely. You'll get a way better quality image and you can up your resolution to whatever you want. The Diamond blues aren't even true 1080, I think they just accept a 1080 signal and downgrade it to 720. I believe FrancoB is taking final orders on his Vewlix monitor mount system right now if you hurry. Thats what I used to replace mine with a 1080 LG and it was night and day. Excellent product.

 

[Zerox12]

Heres an admittedly shitty picture of the setup, so sorry you cant see the wiring better. But roughly what you said is correct. I wired up so that the fan was wired correctly up to the motor controller, then out to a female PWM fan header. I then wired a male fan header to the 12V supply in my cabinet (my JST connector had already been removed at some point so it was already just empty leads) and connected the two once I had the fan installed. Then it was just a matter of dialing in the fan speed to my liking.

Are you talking about case fans or monitor fans here? You may want to be careful about putting a motor controller on the monitor fans as I think there are sensors built into the monitor that will disable it if it sensing any deviations in monitor fans speeds. I have read about people replacing the monitor fans, but honestly if you really want to get rid of the monitor fan noise just replace your monitor entirely. You'll get a way better quality image and you can up your resolution to whatever you want. The Diamond blues aren't even true 1080, I think they just accept a 1080 signal and downgrade it to 720. I believe FrancoB is taking final orders on his Vewlix monitor mount system right now if you hurry. Thats what I used to replace mine with a 1080 LG and it was night and day. Excellent product.

I appreciate the picture. I never would have expected the motor controller mounted so directly on the side of the fan but that's a neat solution. Gives me an idea of how I can go about this.

As for the fans - I'm talking the two 120mm case fans. One on the bottom back and one that's up near the monitor. Seems to both be powered by the same 2-pin JST connector going to the 12V supply (I traced the cable, and unplugged it to verify it's what I thought it was). They're so freaking noisy and as a result I need to have the volume higher to compensate. My kids bedrooms are all above the room I have it in so being able to run quieter will help me out in general, not just to directly dampen the fan noise.

The monitor - I actually bought a universal bracket from Hadouken Arcade when I bought my cab there thinking I'd need that sooner than later. Since my Blue had the SFV conversion it also has an updated 1080P monitor so that's now a "nice to have" rather than a need. I'm only rocking a GTX1650 Super in there so higher than 1080 is going to present me more problems than anything else. Down the line definitely going to look into a 1440P and something like a 4060 but need to wait on that since my wife was already pretty accomodating with buying the cabinet itself. Don't want to push my luck.

 

[Frogybloop]

The fans in there are so noisy because of how big they are and the high RPMs they run at. At least this was the case for me, and I only have 1 case fan. Start with some motor controllers and see if the lower speeds still give you adequate cooling. You can always upgrade the fans down the road.Best of luck! Post in here with your results!

 

[Zerox12]

My November is going to be crazy but I'm going to give this a go in December unless things go sideways. I'm excited to start making some improvements on this thing. I'll definitely share some pics and any useful observations if it goes well. This forum has been a great resource for me just learning from others so I'll be happy to share my own experiences in modding.

After that's done I may move on to sorting out how to wire the existing coin mech to register as a button press on my brook UFB. My kids love the idea of me grabbing some 100 yen coins and having the coin mech actually do something.

 

[Zerox12]

Well, I attempted to wire in the DC motor controller with little "success". I made a two pin JST jumper using some parts from digikey without much issue, but after adding in the DC motro controller the only thing I really gain is the ability to turn the fans completely off. Here's the setup:

When fully turned on, the fans run no problem. At "off" they turn off. Anything in between and the power supply whines which obviously is not good. I may end up grabbing a Noctua fan controller and wiring that in as originally planned, but was really hoping to not have to replace the existing fans. The cost, although a little much in my mind, isn't ideal what I was really hoping to avoid was having to disassemble the thing to the point of removing the monitor just to swap out fans. I've done some tear down of parts of it for cleaning but taking the monitor out looked like an unpleasant experience. Still, decent learning experience and having learned the connectors, pins/sockets, and even premade wires can be easily found at digikey on the cheap means I'm far less nervous about experimentation. Gives me the opportunity to make new cables and test wiring without having to really having to muck around with much of the initial wiring.

Outside this fan business I found elsewhere on this forum a 3d-printer design for a replacement back panel piece to have a smaller opening and fit an ethernet jack. I have that now printed and test installed. Being able to leave ethernet running consistently (much better experience for Street Fighter 6) alongside probably running a USB hub externally is nice.

 

[nem]

Using a (variable) resistor to control a fan is a bad idea.

You could use an adjustable buck converter.

 

[notsonic]

I just used the inline fan speed adapters that come with noctua fans.

That said if you really want to control it just get a PC fan controller or separate 12v fan controller. I don't really think any of that is necessary though.

 

[jepjepjep]

I did this too. I used the 3-pin Noctuas that came with the low-noise adapters. I haven’t felt the need to use them yet, it’s been pretty quiet as is.

 

[borked]

PWM fan of choice and Noctua NA-FC1 fan controller.

https://noctua.at/en/products/accessories/na-fc1

I make an adapter from the native cab connector to 4pin fan connector to power the fan controller, which also powers the fan(s) connected to the controller. Obviously the controller adds fan speed/duty cycle control to the connected fans.

Doesn't give you temp control over the pwm signal, but if you just want to use a high speed fan and drop the speed to a reasonable volume, this will do the trick.

 

[jermz1]

For the small hole in the rear. I made this panel a while back.
EZ I/O Panel

 

[Zerox12]

For the small hole in the rear. I made this panel a while back.
EZ I/O Panel

Wow. That's one slick panel, especially the aluminum version you have at the end of that thread. I find myself increasingly less able to tinker (Unfortunately), but that's almost exactly what I envisioned as a "next step" part. Right now I've just got ethernet but in a perfect world I'd like to pass in USB and video. My setup at this point is very geared specifically towards PC (I finished the MVP so I could enjoy the cab at least), but I've got an eye towards hooking up a PS4, 360, and others on demand / as the mood fits. Alas I have plenty of time to come up with plans and concepts, little time to tinker (Unless I sacrifice time to play and that ain't happening).