What should I know when buying my first real Arcade PCB?

[Locke141]

I really want to move on up to some real acad hard ware looking for a deal on Mr.Pacman but am in absolutely no rush. I want to to the multi Pac eventually.

What's a good price?
What should I ask or think about when looking to buy?

[paigeoliver]

I really want to move on up to some real acad hard ware looking for a deal on Mr.Pacman but am in absolutely no rush. I want to to the multi Pac eventually.

What's a good price?
What should I ask or think about when looking to buy?

Pac boards should be no more than $90-$100 shipped these days. Those 60 in 1 boards devalued them quite a bit.

I have a stack of Pac and Ms. Pac boards. I would be glad to cut you a deal if you are willing to wait a few weeks until I can get around to testing them to make sure you get a good one (been like 3 years since any of them were plugged in). I think I have a Junior Pac as well.

[Locke141]

Sounds good,

I would much rather buy from you then eBay.

PM your price when your ready and we can go from there.

[yotsuya]

Locke, you’ll need either a Pac harness or a Pac-to-JAMMA adapter (which I recommend) to do any wiring. My Ms. Pac was empty when I got it, so I put in a JAMMA harness and a regular Pac-Man board running a 6-in-1 kit hooked up via an adapter.

[paigeoliver]

Locke, you’ll need either a Pac harness or a Pac-to-JAMMA adapter (which I recommend) to do any wiring. My Ms. Pac was empty when I got it, so I put in a JAMMA harness and a regular Pac-Man board running a 6-in-1 kit hooked up via an adapter.

You also need a Pac transformer as well to get the AC voltages. Better to just use the jamma adapter, or make your own harness to use a switching power supply if you don't have that.

[Locke141]

Thanks guys,

What would be the safest Easiest part to order to do the power? Can I buy one of the cheep power supply’s off aliexpress?

[paigeoliver]

No, get a real Happ Power supply, don't risk your board with a no-name Chinese garbage power supply.

[Locke141]

No, get a real Happ Power supply, don't risk your board with a no-name Chinese garbage power supply.

Will do. Is there one particular one you would recommend or will any Happ that hits the right voltage in AC?

[opt2not]

I swear by the Mean Well MWP-606. Great quality, 15Amp with EMI filter switching PSU. I’ve been running them for years without failure or shifting voltages. They’re somewhat harder to find in the States, only a very few vendors carry it. I do know Twisted Quarter carries them though.

[paigeoliver]

This is the one I buy when I need to buy one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Pro-110W-UL-Power-Supply-made-by-happ/390120935300

I bought a couple chinese ones once, one was defective out of the box (wasn't producing enough power to run anything other than those tiny icade boards and even then it wouldn't go past 4.7 volts) and the other just failed within a few months.

[yotsuya]

This is the one I buy when I need to buy one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Pro-110W-UL-Power-Supply-made-by-happ/390120935300

I bought a couple chinese ones once, one was defective out of the box (wasn't producing enough power to run anything other than those tiny icade boards and even then it wouldn't go past 4.7 volts) and the other just failed within a few months.

I second this. I swap out cheap ones with real Happ Power Pros every time.

[Locke141]

This is the one I buy when I need to buy one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Pro-110W-UL-Power-Supply-made-by-happ/390120935300

I bought a couple chinese ones once, one was defective out of the box (wasn't producing enough power to run anything other than those tiny icade boards and even then it wouldn't go past 4.7 volts) and the other just failed within a few months.

That looks reainable. I’ll order one after we organize the details for a Ms.pacman board, no rush.