Newbie in over my head. Few questions...

[James391]

Long story short, I bought my first two cabinets, a complete/functioning Raiden 1 and a Raiden 2 cabinet and board as a project. I thought it would be a simple matter to plug the board in and figure out how to hook up an LCD monitor and call it a day. Naturally, it wasn't that simple.

First issue: the LCD conversion. I had read about doing it before making the purchase, but I didn't know the difference between JAMMA and any other board. It doesn't appear to be as simple with this type of board. I would appreciate some insight as to how to proceed, as I have read some contradictory things about the process.

Secondly: it appears as if it will need to be completely rewired. Someone appears to have needed some parts off of the cabinet at some point and simply cut them out. Probably the video control board and such, as that is missing. I do have a power supply. What I am wondering is if all JAMMA cord sets are the same. I want to make sure I get what I need.

Also, can JAMMA support 4 players? The dip switches on the board have settings for up to four players, but the connector does not appear to support wiring to four sets of controls. The control panel requires some work, so I'd consider just replacing it with a larger 4 person panel, if this even possible. Even with a 2 player setup, I'd like a larger panel if possible.

On this note, the repair of the control panel. The plexiglass is cracked and the sticker beneath it needs to replaced, especially considering that I plan to move some buttons. Are there stock sizes of plexiglass, or do I need to cut my own? Are sticker sheets available anywhere?

Since I'm basically starting from scratch, is there anything else I should consider or know?

Thanks for your time.

[jennifer]

      Thats quite a list, And Jennifer is not going to be of much help to you, Given the Jamma nature of this project...But I have built a cab or two, And the first thing is, do this as two projects, one as the cab, and one as a bench test board and monitor, Get it to work and then put it together... A manual is the next thing ( you have one Im thinking ?) this, and a good quality volt meter will go a long way, You will most likely wind up repining something along the way, so A pin extractor is something that should be considered also.... Now for the cab, There are some awsome threads on this forum on the subject, and yes you will be fabricating a new control panel and plexy and possibly creating some art, (or getting lucky and finding what you need) to do what you say, But dont give up, Its not really that hard ...Why, even a girl can do it, Giggle. 

[James391]

      Thats quite a list, And Jennifer is not going to be of much help to you, Given the Jamma nature of this project...But I have built a cab or two, And the first thing is, do this as two projects, one as the cab, and one as a bench test board and monitor, Get it to work and then put it together... A manual is the next thing ( you have one Im thinking ?) this, and a good quality volt meter will go a long way, You will most likely wind up repining something along the way, so A pin extractor is something that should be considered also.... Now for the cab, There are some awsome threads on this forum on the subject, and yes you will be fabricating a new control panel and plexy and possibly creating some art, (or getting lucky and finding what you need) to do what you say, But dont give up, Its not really that hard ...Why, even a girl can do it, Giggle. 

Thanks for the reply. Great advice as far as treating it as two separate projects. I've sort of unconsciously been doing it that way, but going forward it'll be intentional. I can see how it will be a good way of doing things.

I have a manual.....sort of. It really doesn't contain any major information beyond the dip switch settings, though.

I have a great multimeter; and a moderate background in electrical engineering....so at least I know what volts are and so on.

Anyhow, thanks for the reply. I still need to figure out the Jamma stuff, but your post has given me a bit more confidence on the rest.

[Nephasth]

Raiden and Raiden 2 are both only 2 player games. The dip switch setting you're looking at is for the number of lives per game. Standard JAMMA does not support more than two players. There are 3 and 4 player JAMMA games though, but they require an additional harness (also called a kick harness, because games that require more than 3 buttons require an extra harness for the additional buttons, like the "kick" buttons on some fighters). JAMMA games that utilize an additional harness are sometimes referred to as JAMMA+ games.

[James391]

Raiden and Raiden 2 are both only 2 player games. The dip switch setting you're looking at is for the number of lives per game. Standard JAMMA does not support more than two players. There are 3 and 4 player JAMMA games though, but they require an additional harness (also called a kick harness, because games that require more than 3 buttons require an extra harness for the additional buttons, like the "kick" buttons on some fighters). JAMMA games that utilize an additional harness are sometimes referred to as JAMMA+ games.

Thanks! Great info. My manual is the Japanese version, lives must have been translated as players instead.

[DeLuSioNal29]

If it's a Jamma machine, you'll need this wiring harness for each machine (since you said they are all cut up).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-JAMMA-Wiring-Harness-Multicade-Arcade-Video-Game-/221169675090?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337ebd6b52

I've attached the standard Jamma pinout below.  You simply connect the wires as labeled to your devices.  (+12v on power supply, +5 on power supply, ground, etc).  Then you connect your buttons and controls to the labeled wires.  Plug in a Jamma board and go from there.

Here's a video on how to wire up your buttons.  The concept is the same for Jamma, except you would be connecting your buttons (microswitches) to the Jamma connector your purchased above instead.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,80229.0.html

However, if you want to install a PC into a Jamma cab (using the Jamma wiring and the original monitor) you'll need this circuit board called the J-Pac to convert the PC signal to the arcade monitor.

Last but not least, if you want to go with an LCD and PC for a MAME unit, you can bypass the Jamma nonsense altogether and simply purchase an iPac2 here:  http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html

Hope this helped and welcome to the hobby!

DeLuSioNaL29


P.S. - Pics would help greatly.  Do you have any of these machines?

DeLuSioNaL29

[mgb]

As far as your question about the plexi, pretty much, you will most likely have to cut and drill your own.
you can check here http://thearcadeboneyard.com/ and see if they have one but I doubt it.