Hi! I am new to this forum and would like to comment on what an amazing collection of information this community provides!
I have always wanted an arcade machine and after many months of research, learning, scheming, and saving I finally decided to pull the trigger! My original plan was to buy an old cab, gut it and make my own MAME cab.
As luck would have it, I found a fully functional Golden Tee FORE! 2005 system for a VERY reasonable price and gave myself an early Christmas present!
I would still like to follow through with my original idea of making a MAME cab, but after learning that the GT FORE games are not currently emulated (and do not seem to be coming anytime soon) I would also like to continue to play GT.
I know that most people would suggest that I just find another cab and make a separate MAME system, but unfortunately that is not an option for me. The wife simply will not allow another cab in the basement
(I was lucky to convince her in the first place!) The thought of moving another cab into the basement is also a deterrent as I had a tough time with this one (Man, is that GT cab heavy!)
I have read A LOT of posts on this forum, and I pieced together what I think will accomplish the "dual" cab I am looking for. I definitely need some guidance, and appreciate all input as I more than likely am missing something.
Here goes:
My plan is to modify the Control Panel by filling in the 5 GT button holes and then adding 2 player 8-way joysticks with 6 buttons each. I may also add a single 4 way joystick, not sure yet. I will keep the GT Trackball. I also want to add Player 1 and Player 2 Start and coin buttons, and a few more "admin" buttons (Esc, Pause, etc.)
I will use a j-pac to connect the MAME PC. Using the JAMMA harness in the GT cab will give me video, sound, and the 5 buttons GT uses (re-wired to the "new" buttons I choose). I will use an i-pac to connect the joysticks and additional buttons to the PC (either directly through USB or piggy-backed off the j-pac, I am not sure which is the "better" setup). I will use an opti-wiz to connect the trackball to the PC (and hopefully to the GT PCB at the same time by splicing the wires). Finally I will use a MultiJamma to be able to switch back and forth between the GT PCB and the PC.
I know that I will get a few comments about some of my decisions, so I will try to clarify them now.
I do not want to have to wire a new JAMMA harness in the cab to add the extra buttons, that is why I am using an i-pac as well as a j-pac. I just think it will be easier to wire buttons to an i-pac then to have to mess with the video, sound, and power throughout the cab.
I know that I can use "shift" functions to accomplish the start, coin, and admin functions without extra buttons, but I like the idea of using buttons, just a personal preference.
The cost of this endeavor may be more than just building a separate cab, but like I said above, having "one cab for all" is worth the extra money for me.
I have some concerns with frying multiple components with this setup as I am not sure how powering all of these components at once will work out. In my head, both the PC and the PCB would need to be powered on and the trackball would need to be physically connected to both the PCB and the opti-wiz at the same time in order to easily switch between the 2 systems.
OK, sorry about such a long post but I wanted to get as much info out there as possible. Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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Topic: JAMMA and MAME Combo Cabinet (Read 1546 times)
