Here we are.  Lacking any creative talent, this was a big sticking point for me and one of the main reasons the project sat idle for years. 

The background is just a Photoshop cloud rendering.  The artwork around the controls (arrows, etc.) and the font came from the super-nice Arcade Paradise guy.  The MAME logo was picked up somewhere on the net... I think Oscar of Oscar Controls originally designed it.  The original MAME logo was a JPG, so I spent some time deleting the black around the logo.

The control panel overlay (CPO) was printed by MameMarquees.com and turned out pretty nice. 

Control panel facts:

Here's the wiring:

20 gauge stranded and 0.187 crimped quick disconnects.  Hey, look at the cool light socket I put under the trackball.  Guess what?  The ball isn't translucent.  Hmmmm.  There's a piano hinge that allows the top to easily open.

The encoders are mounted in the bottom of the control panel box:

On the left is an older IPAC from Ultimarc.  Check out those large XT/AT-type 5-pin DIN plugs for the keyboard connectors!  The right board is an Optipac, also from Ultimarc.  They work great.  Highly recommended.

To the far right there's an 8-position barrier strip from Radio Shack with a matching shorting bar connected.  There are about 10 black wires going to the buttons, daisy-chained 3-4 buttons per ground wire.  The green wires are the ground for the trackball.

Click here to move on to the audio stuff.