converting a SF3 machine to MAME, some questions

[Sephroth57]

Hi this is my first post here and im just getting into MAME so i dont know too much yet but ive been absorbing info from webpages and posts all weekend as ive become obsessed with the idea of having a MAME machine in my garage. anyway, i picked up a "Three" (SF3) machine for a great price of 200$! fully working with monitor/coin door, etc good condition. i plan on ripping out the "brains" and sticking in a computer for MAME. Ive been looking at www.ultimarc.com and they have some inexpensive conversion items that seem pretty easy to use. Although im not sure on which ones i need?

it looks like i need a I-pac to convert the controls and that would plug into my USB? and what i would do is cut the wires coming off the buttons/joysticks, and wire the NO to the I-pac and daisy chain the ground to the ground terminal for each player respectively?  im pretty sure thats how it goes just want some comfirmation

also i will need arcadeVGA to connect the arcade monitor to my PC, how does this actually connect is there a slot on the back of the monitor that i plug a wire into and then plug into the VGA adapter, or do i take something off the board and put that into the adapter?  im a little confusing with that because i havent been able to find a good source with pictures/description.

also what is a J-pac for and do i need it? and is this everything i will need?

thanks if you read all this, im just trying to make sense of all this in my head so i can order everything ahead of time and do everything the right way

[DeathMonk]

You will need a J-Pac to interface the controls and an ArcadeVGA.

You can buy a USB or Keyboard port J-Pac.

You could also use AdvanceMAME and a normal videocard, but it takes a lot of knowledge and a compatible videocard.

[Sephroth57]

is there some kind of step by step directions for connecting an arcade monitor to a arcadeVGA card and the controls to a J-pac?  a detailed walkthrough would be awesome if there are any out there.

thanks

[SirPeale]

All that information is available for the reading at the arcadecontrols main site.

http://www.arcadecontrols.com

[Sephroth57]

i checked there before and i just double checked again to make sure i didnt miss anything i scrolled through every page a lot of the info seems outdated and theres a small blurb on I-pac it doesnt even mention arcade VGA or J-pac

[SirPeale]

Hm...you are right.  

Well, the search function works for the message board (mostly) but it's pretty much plug and play.  J-PAC connects from your computer via PS/2 cable to the unit, and then to a JAMMA adaptor, which plugs into your cabinet.  AFAIK you don't need the ArcadeVGA for that, it makes the signal 15KHz off the JPAC.  Someone else can chime in here on that, or check out the Ultimarc site, I'm sure there's more detailed info there.

[Sephroth57]

Yeah i saw that J-pac can accept the monitor input too but you have to play with advance MAME and do config settings etc. they mention that arcadeVGA and j-pac can be used together for an easier install which is what im going for since ive never actually seen the inside of a real arcade cabinet =P

thx for the replies, i got most of the info i needed just now i got a email back from the ultimarc site and he explained most of my questions.

[sush1a]

OT. but you lucky dog!!!  arcade place in mall had a SF3 for 500... i was about to get it... lucky I didn't or else I would be sad that I paid that much when you got it for 200...

[Sephroth57]

yeah i was lucky, i noticed the auction when it had 5 hours left in the morning at work, i watched it all day to make sure i didnt get outbid. and it happened to be kind of local, 4 hours away, so im gonna rent a U-Haul for 20$ on the weekend and take a roadtrip to go pick it up.

on another note my mom isnt too thrilled with me having an arcade machine in the garage, its not like the garage is normally clean.. and i probably would clean it if i was gonna be in there a lot... but anyway i wish i could move out but my car payments are too much...