My first arcade machine: Ms. Pacman / Galaga Cabaret Any advice?

[jeelani]

I just picked up a Ms. Pacman / Galaga Cabaret yesterday.  I traded my Playstation 3 with 2 games for it.  I think I got a good deal.  The only defects were that the overlay on the front of the control panel started to come off but the original owner attempted to glue it back on.  Also, I have no sound for now being that the original owner disabled the sound and lost the keys.  He said he is going to look for them tho.  As much as I would like to preserve the machine in its original form, a part of me wants to do what I can to get the most out of it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do with this machine?  I was thinking about getting a multigame pcb for it.  I was also considering rebuilding the control panel and adding more buttons and possible controls for two players.  I am also thinking about retrofitting a 22" widescreen lcd.  I did consider turning it into a Mame cab, but I dont know if i want to do that with a vertically oriented monitor.  I think I would rather hook my Wii up to it with SDL Mame Wii which is an option I am considering.  I have the following questions and would appreciate it if anyone could answer them:

1)  If the original owner cannot locate the keys, how can i gain access to inside the coin door and is there any other way to enable sound?
2)  To my understanding there is no volume control, it is either on or off.  Has anyone found a way to install a volume control?
3)  Has anyone converted a cab with a vertically mounted monitor to horizontal?  Is there any way for me to play horizontal games on this machine?
4)  If I wanted to add buttons to the control panel could I add them to the existing panel or would it be better for me to build a new panel?
5)  Is there even a reason to have two joysticks and buttons for two players on a vertically oriented system?  Do that many vertically oriented games allow simultaneous two player play?
6)  The machine comes with both Ms. Pacman and Galaga.  There is a button to switch between the games.  If you switch games in the middle of playing and then switch back, the game will resume where you left off.  Does that mean that there are 2 separate PCB's for each game?
7)  Has anyone retrofitted an LCD screen into these machines?  I turned my 22" LCD vertically and put it up to the  front of the machine and there was about half an inch to an inch space on the top and bottom of the bezel and about an inch to an inch and a half space on the sides.  It looks like it may fit but its going to be close.  Is it worth doing this or should I keep it like it is?  I wouldnt mind a bigger screen as well as a lighter machine.
8)  I saw there are kits to hook the Wii to the arcade monitor.  Considering that the monitor is vertically mounted, would hooking up the Wii to it make the picture turn sideways or will there be bars on the top and bottom with a smaller image?  Is it even possible to hook the Wii to a vertically mounted monitor?
9)  If I was to hook my Wii up to this machine using a vertically mounted LCD monitor, is there a way to turn the image sideways so it would appear to be upright?
10)  If I was to hook my Wii up to this machine, is there a way to have the option to switch back and forth to regular jamma play?

Sorry for all the questions but I am new to this and Im kinda excited.  I look forward to getting any advice I can get.

[spauldingd]

Its your game and you can do what you want, but my advice would be to fix the sound and then leave it alone. 

If you want a MAME cab, a junk cabinet can be found for next to nothing.  Or building a cabinet from scratch isn't all that hard (even I did it!).  Put your LCD and Wii in that and do it up right.

To get into the machine, you will need to drill the lock.  If you are careful and have the right tools, drilling a lock is fairly easy and won't cause any damage.  A replacement lock is only a few bucks.

Dave in Des Moines

[Malenko]

1)  Drill the locks
2)  There should be a volume control, either a POT or a menu
3) With a PC yes, with JAMMA standard PCBs, no
4) new panel
5)  a lot of vertical shooters could but I'd prefer it if yuo didnt rape that cab.
6)  No, its a 2 in 1 PCB by NAMCO
7)  Doesnt work that way, you'd have to buy a converter(upscaler) and even then it doesnt work the way you think it does.
8)  The picture would be sideways
9) Turn the monitor
10) JAMMA switcher, or moving the edge connector manually.



Sounds like the machine is nothing what you wanted.Where are you located, Im sure one of use could trade you a cab or something, to get you something we want and you want.

[jeelani]

1)  Drill the locks
2)  There should be a volume control, either a POT or a menu
3) With a PC yes, with JAMMA standard PCBs, no
4) new panel
5)  a lot of vertical shooters could but I'd prefer it if yuo didnt rape that cab.
6)  No, its a 2 in 1 PCB by NAMCO
7)  Doesnt work that way, you'd have to buy a converter(upscaler) and even then it doesnt work the way you think it does.
 The picture would be sideways
9) Turn the monitor
10) JAMMA switcher, or moving the edge connector manually.



Sounds like the machine is nothing what you wanted.Where are you located, Im sure one of use could trade you a cab or something, to get you something we want and you want.

Thanks for the answers.  Dont get me wrong, I am content with the machine the way it is.  I am leaning towards just leaving it like it is (especially after reading the answers to my questions), fixing the sound, and maybe getting a multigame pcb.  I was just curious as to what all can be done with this unit and my imagination started to run a little. 

Can you please explain to me how retrofitting an LCD works (since it doesnt work the way i think it does) or refer me to more info?

[Malenko]

arcade monitors dont run at the same refresh or resolution as LCDs. so you'd have to get a upscaler and in all honesty the picture wont look as good as the arcade monitor. For what you want , your best bet is to just start building a MAME cab and go from there. Then you can run a PC to the LCD and the Wii if you want. Then you can switch between the 2 using a simple remote control. If you wanna MAME it up I have a KI1 machine that I'd trade you with a JPAC for that mspacman/galaga =)

[CheffoJeffo]

I wish I had a decent manual for this so I could verify if that is a Std Res or VGA monitor (I think it is Std Res, but can't seem to confirm it), but dropping in a widescreen LCD would be fraught with problems and is, sorry to say it, a really bad idea.

In any event you need to figure out what kind of monitor you have in there before even considering doing anything, so we can save the technical discussion until then. Same thing with hooking up your Wii -- no point in having a discussion until we know what you actually have.

You can rotate a the monitor, but it depends heavily on the cabinet and I don't know if you have the room in that cabinet for it.

According to the schematics, it has a volume pot.

http://www.namco.co.uk/PDF-manuals/namco-manuals/Ms_Pacman_Galaga_Cocktail_manual.pdf

Drill the locks.

You should also have PacMan in there, but need to know some sort of code to activate it.

[Malenko]

Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left on the game select screen for PacMan

Left, Right, Left, Right, Up, Up, Up, Fire to turn on/off Fast Pac/Fast Shot

[jeelani]

arcade monitors dont run at the same refresh or resolution as LCDs. so you'd have to get a upscaler and in all honesty the picture wont look as good as the arcade monitor. For what you want , your best bet is to just start building a MAME cab and go from there. Then you can run a PC to the LCD and the Wii if you want. Then you can switch between the 2 using a simple remote control. If you wanna MAME it up I have a KI1 machine that I'd trade you with a JPAC for that mspacman/galaga =)

yeah i agree that i would probably get more use out of a MAME cab, but I just dont have space for a full size machine.  The cabaret fits perfectly in my 2 bedroom apartment, anything bigger will be excessive.  I have seen someone build a MAME cabaret from scratch, but I dont have the time for all that.  I think im just going to build a separate control panel for use with my Wii/PC and use it with my 32" lcd for horizontal games.  When I get a house with a gameroom, I can turn it into a fullsize machine.  For now I think the cabaret will fulfill all of my gaming desires.  Where are you located tho and what is KI1?  Killer instinct? 

One more question about LCD's:  when using a widescreen LCD with an arcade cab, does the picture fill up the entire screen or are there bars on the top and bottom to make up for screen ratio differences?

[jeelani]

I wish I had a decent manual for this so I could verify if that is a Std Res or VGA monitor (I think it is Std Res, but can't seem to confirm it), but dropping in a widescreen LCD would be fraught with problems and is, sorry to say it, a really bad idea.

In any event you need to figure out what kind of monitor you have in there before even considering doing anything, so we can save the technical discussion until then. Same thing with hooking up your Wii -- no point in having a discussion until we know what you actually have.

You can rotate a the monitor, but it depends heavily on the cabinet and I don't know if you have the room in that cabinet for it.

According to the schematics, it has a volume pot.

http://www.namco.co.uk/PDF-manuals/namco-manuals/Ms_Pacman_Galaga_Cocktail_manual.pdf

Drill the locks.

You should also have PacMan in there, but need to know some sort of code to activate it.

how can i find out for sure what kind of monitor is in there?  i dont think rotating the monitor will work, this unit is very small in width...

[jeelani]

Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left on the game select screen for PacMan

Left, Right, Left, Right, Up, Up, Up, Fire to turn on/off Fast Pac/Fast Shot

Wait I do this at the Ms. Pacman introduction screen?  And do I do it before or after I insert credits?

[Ginsu Victim]

Insert coins first, then enter the code at the game select screen.

[RayB]

You're all assuming this is a genuine Namco machine and board, however to my eye, it is shaped exactly like my Centipede cabaret. (Tempest cabaret also came in that shape/size).

It's a damn good conversion though.

Having said that, there are chances that:

A. It could be running off a PC or some other hardware, not necessarily the 2 in 1 board people here referred to. (Actually you'd be really lucky if it had 2 genuine boards running off a jamma multi-adapter, which is what I suspect based on the fact that it resumes your game).

B. If it's running off a PC it could be a PC monitor in there.

All will be answered once you drill out the lock(s). (did he not have ANY of the keys? not even the coin door key?)


PS: I vote to leave the machine as is.

[CrazyKongFan]

Yeah, I agree with RayB. Centipede was my first thought too. The official Namco reunion cabaret's were shaped more like a regular Ms Pac, just smaller.