Like many of you, I was really impressed by Nephasth’s test rig/Supergun
The Troubleshooter. I have seen similar devices at some local arcade repair parties, but none of them had the same level of flair and showmanship that Neph’s did. We chatted about it, and he offered to sell me the parts I needed to make my own.
I decided to go with a bit of a different design. I wanted to keep this strictly a test rig, so I didn’t need to incorporate the video out components that a Supergun would use. Other than the parts I bought from Neph, my plan was to use only parts that I had on hand or that I could get cheaply on eBay.
So what I had to start with was:
A Jamma Harness
Arcade Power Supply
Voltmeter for testing voltages
2 potentiometers and knobs (one for sound, the other for voltage)
Buttons for keypresses (to simulate joystick and all buttons
4” arcade speaker
Differences with the original TSI went in with a few fundamental differences in mind with the original Troubleshooter. I knew for a fact I didn’t have Neph’s craftsmanship or toolset, so I decided not to mount my parts on the outside. My design was much more traditional. My plan was to keep everything internal. This would work out OK since I wasn’t going to use a joystick. As I stated, mine was a straight testing rig, not a true Supergun, so I wasn’t so worried about long-term playability. Eliminating the Supergun components also saved me internal space (having said that, I have a greater appreciation of the original due to the way Neph made all those parts fit).
ConstructionMy plan was for the briefcase to look very unassuming, only realizing it’s true potential when opened. I took the original control panel template and customized it, taking out what I didn’t need and adding what I did. I decided to mount everything internally on ¼ sheets of plywood. I didn’t want to make any holes in the case (other than the ones for the rubber feet), so basically I figured I would sandwich the components between the two wood sheets. I could screw the internal components down to the bottom, and easily make the control panel button holes out of the top.
I made the holes in the bottom for the rubber feet to get screwed into. I used 1 ¼ drywall screws through the bottom, then cut 4 columns out of a 1” diameter dowel. This held down the floorplate (which I covered with vinyl for looks), locked the feet in, and provided stability. I later added two more columns near the center sides to prevent flexing. The holes for those were mounted though the floorplate (but not the case).
With the internal frame built, I then moved on to the control panel/top plate. I taped my template down and drilled all the holes, then used a Dremel with a router attachment to cut the power connector, voltmeter and monitor holes. Well, let’s just say I wasn’t happy with the results. As careful as I was, I still got unwanted splintering, router drifting, and, worst of all (and my fault) misaligned holes. I was planning to cover the whole thing with vinyl anyway, so wood filler and sanding could fix the first two isses, but nothing could really fix the third.
I took the CP to work in order to use some of the woodshop equipment to sand it down, when I had a thought. The shop teacher is a friend of mine and has been supportive, so I asked him if he had any metal scraps I could use to make a drill template. He went one better- he gave me a piece of aluminum someone had found and given to him to use. He offered it to me to use. I grabbed the AI file of my control panel, imported it into the plasma cutter, and a few minutes later I had the CP I had designed in my head…
It was beautiful. I decided to simply sand it down and keep it raw, brushed aluminum. It really gave the device an industrial look that matched the case as well as my jukebox project. Because it was plasma cut, everything fit perfectly. I had to drill holes for the column mounts & monitor mount and enlarge the hole for the voltmeter.
With that done, it was time to wire it up. I used the JAMMA connector and just trimmed the wires down to fit. I was very careful with the wiring, especially with the monitor. Neph made a great set of harnesses for the monitor and emailed me the schematic, so I was pretty confident there. Inspired by many of the wiring projects here, I did my best to make sure everything was routed cleanly. I also applied some decals I had made up to surround the buttons.
So with everything installed and wired cleanly, I decided it was time to fire it up. I turned it on, fired up the power, and….
Nothing.
I could see the monitor was turned on, but I was getting nothing on the voltmeter. I went back and checked the wiring, and, as careful as I had been, I still got some of them backwards on the monitor. I undid the shrinkwrap, re-wired, re-shrunk, turned it on again, and….
It worked!!! Whoo!!! I got an image and sound!
But no voltmeter reading. I hooked it up again… nothing. I went back and looked at the eBay listing and saw my second mistake. When I ordered the voltmeter, I didn’t realize that it started measuring at 14v. Naturally, it couldn’t measure the 5v coming from the power supply, as that didn’t put out enough juice. I ordered a new one from eBay, but that one didn’t work either (bad unit). After another unsuccessful attempt, I finally got one. Now everything was working fine.
ExteriorSince mine was an internal unit, I didn’t have to worry about painting or powercoating. However, I did want to give it a personal touch. I kinda liked the logo that was sprayed on the case, so I used that as an inspiration in my design. Neph’s original plan also included a Space Invader, so I used that as well, putting a small “2” on the player cannon as a shoutout to the original. I gave the design to my decal guy, and he printed it right up.
It’s been a fun little project, and it’s proven pretty useful as well, as I’ve already used it to test and troubleshoot some boards. As you can see, there's even enough space in the lid to house some items. If you’ve ever wanted a JAMMA test rig, take the plunge.
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Topic: Troubleshooter II - Portable JAMMA Test Rig (Read 5960 times)
