DIY Arcade Mod Kit
I’m about to do the Arcade Mod to my silver VCI-100, but I’m wondering about the holes, what should I ask for at the machine shop? Should they punch, drill, water cut or plasma cut the holes? I don’t want to mess this up…
A good machinist could do it with a stepped drill piece but you leave less margin for error if a computer is making the cuts - so id go with something like getting them water cut.
Bento do you have any idea what one should expect to pay to get the cuts done?
You don’t need to go to a machinist to make your holes.
Use a metal drill 3mm to make few little holes, and with a good file, finish the hole and put your button on it !
Good tip. Anyone else have experience of holemaking (machine shop or home made)?
I tried my Dremel for a few minutes but it merely scratched the surface… 
Be careful !
I make mine myself with a dremel 
How I made …
First I have put my arcade button overlay on the VCI, and trace holes with a pen.
After I make some little near holes (metal drill 4 mm), and finish the work with a file.
I went to the hardware store and picked up a round file. It worked great.
I traced the holes on the 2.2 overlay using a permanent marker.
The Sanwa buttons have a diameter of 24 mm but the holes in the overlay are about 26 mm. The marker was almost 1 mm wide, so when filing the holes I made sure to not file down the marked area.
It took about an hour to make all 8 holes, I was really careful and tried the buttons in place all the time to make sure they fit. I made one hole too large, nothing serious, I just used some electrical tape to fix the button in place. All in all, super simple if you want to do your own holes and save a few bucks. (Please note that I do not guarantee that you will succeed. You do this at your own risk).
Wiring the arcade buttons, I seem to miss the red wire mentioned in Ean’s YouTube video (pictured left). Probably because my VCI-100 is the silvery version (pictured right). Can anyone confirm that the ground wire is in the same place as on the SE? (The first wire on the far right).
EDIT: I found the answer to the grounding issue here: http://www.djtechtools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1140&highlight=ground
My silver VCI-100 didn’t have the red ground wire but it’s in the same spot (far right on the picture)
I used the diodes from the original buttons. It’s a pain to desolder them but it saves you a trip to the store. Hmm, I wonder if they are really needed…
Everything works like a charm, thanks!
Ok where is the GROUND:
1.On eans video its on the LEFT. 2.On this picture its on the RIGHT. http://www.djtechtools.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=245&d=1223588802 3. Bento said its on the LEFT
So its on the LEFT(2 to 1)? 
Haha, it depends on the way you hold the button board 
It worked fine using the rightmost lead if you hold it the same way as in the video. (pictured in a previous post).
I really had trouble putting my previous overlay in place. So for the new arcade overlay I completely removed the old one, then I lightly sprayed the new one with water on the sticky side. the water makes it easier to reposition or even slide it into place. Be careful not to use too much water…
Diodes!
The mod kit dosent seem to be available at the moment so Im thnking of buying the components seperatly. What sort of diodes would I need to get?
Thanks
If you’re careful you can re-use the existing diodes, if I remember correctly I just desoldered them.
Thanks Fiffi but I am not that much of an electrical/soldering expertand would rather have the ease of new diodes. Any idea what type I’d need?
The diodes I bought from Radio Shack are IN4001. There was some discussion about them needing to be 1N4001, but after looking at the data sheets it was determined they were the same.
Is this the one?
Thank you.
I am in the UK. Would this be the same thing?
Looks like it.
Could someone tell wich way the diodes should go?
The line on the diode should be on the ground side and not on the button side, right?
Can’t seem to find a schedule anywhere .
According to this post by our long lost Pilmat the line goes towards the button.
I trust anything Pilmat says.