some newbie questions

[SPARKY70]

hi, i just picked up an old super pacman cabinet, that was converted to final fight. from what i have learned from reading some posts, not to mention that the circuit board says jamma in big letters, i think it is a jamma cabinet.

this machine was left outside for a few years, and was only covered with a tarp.

the whole exterior of the cabinet is completely rotted, and really cant be saved, but surprisingly, the game is still playable.

i will have to build a cabinet from scratch. the monitor works, the sound works, most of the buttons work, and the joysticks seem to work.


ultimately, i want to set up a mame cabinet.

i read about the j-pac ($60), and it seems to be a real easy hook up.. however, i want to make my cabinet a 4 player cab. i read that i will need an additional i-pac ($40 ) for the additional 2 players.

 i also read, that it is a good idea to get the arcade vga card($90). and a cable ($?) to go from the vga card to the j-pac.
should i bother with the vga card?

it seems that i would be doing all this, just so i could use the original monitor.  so, approx $175 to hook up a 22 year old monitor.

the i-pac 4 is only ($60) but i will need to get another type of monitor.

is it worth the money and trouble to use the old monitor?, or should i just get the ipac 4, and use the difference of approx $115 towards a monitor or tv?

i dont know if i would even bother to use any of the old components, if i dont use the original monitor.

i see that there are a few other companies out there that make keyboard encoders.

can anyone recommend any other encoders that will enable 4 players, that they think is better than the i-pacs?

also, i have a dumb newbie question.
i see alot of refferences to ps/2 cables, and such.
does this stand for playstation 2?

[Tiger-Heli]

hi, i just picked up an old super pacman cabinet, that was converted to final fight. from what i have learned from reading some posts, not to mention that the circuit board says jamma in big letters, i think it is a jamma cabinet.

That seems to me to be a key indicator that it is JAMMA.

i will have to build a cabinet from scratch. the monitor works, the sound works, most of the buttons work, and the joysticks seem to work.

Actually, you might do better buying another completely gutted cabinet, (with decent exterior) and selling off parts of this one to make it work.

is it worth the money and trouble to use the old monitor?, or should i just get the ipac 4, and use the difference of approx $115 towards a monitor or tv?

This is mostly personal preference.  Personally, I like the crisp output of a PC monitor (although it's less "authentic").  S-video output to a TV will be your cheapest option.  The arcade VGA card to a true arcade monitor, the most costly and most realistic.  You could ask in the monitor/video forum, but everyone has their personal preferences.

My advice:  Read http://www.oscarcontrols.com/monitors.shtml Play LOTS of MAME on your current PC and monitor.  Play with the different settings.  See if you like it or if the "sharpness" takes away the authentic feel for you.  If you can do it with your current video card, or if a friend has a cab setup this way, run your computer to a TV and play with the settings, and see how this feels.  Then either find and play a video game at Chuck E. Cheese or somewhere, or preferably, find someone with an arcade monitor and play it.  At the end, you will probably know which way you want to go.

i see that there are a few other companies out there that make keyboard encoders.

http://www.mameworld.net/tigerheli/encoder/index.htm - shameless plug

can anyone recommend any other encoders that will enable 4 players, that they think is better than the i-pacs?

Not really, the MK64 was an option, but good luck finding one.  You CAN get 4-player support out of a KeyWiz (even the $20 Eco), but you have to make a LOT of compromises (stealth-shifted inputs, doubled buttons (P2 buttton 5 might also be P4 Up)), etc.

The better question is:  Will you have 3 other people around often enough to justify a 4-player cab.  For example, you could make a two-player cab and have front USB ports to connect a couple of gamepads for the occasional 4-player game.  Connect 4 gamepads to a USB hub and it's even a fair setup.

also, i have a dumb newbie question.
i see alot of refferences to ps/2 cables, and such.
does this stand for playstation 2?

Generally this refers to the PS/2 Keyboard or mouse port as opposed to USB or serial (or parallel or gameport).

The convention I use is PS/2 - Computer port, PS2 - Playstation 2 console, but I doubt everyone follows this.

[NoOne=NBA=]

is it worth the money and trouble to use the old monitor

As Tiger-Heli said, it's a personal choice.
The one thing I would ask is whether you want to play any vector games.
If so, go with the PC monitor.

You can put in settings to make it not look as crisp for raster games, but can USE its sharpness when you need it for vector stuff.
Trying to play vector stuff on anything but a vector monitor, or PC monitor, is a lesson in frustration.

[neuromancer]

I hooked up my arcade monitor with a standard VGA card. It worked well enough but I never got to the point of finding out how to lock in the refresh settings so the games would all play without needing to fiddle with the monitor.

Bob

[paigeoliver]

A 4 player machine with a 19" monitor is kind of stupid. It isn't worht doing, you will need a 25". 

I suggest just cutting a new cabinet for your final fight parts (look up the plans for Pac-Man cabinets, your parts will fit, and those look nicer than super-pacs), and moving your game into that cabinet. You'll be able to reuse all your cabinet hardware, so the new cab will only cost some wood and paint.

Keep your Final Fight in the new cab and build your 4 player from scratch.

[SPARKY70]

first off, thanks for the replies...!


i understand what you mean about personal preferrance for a display.
i am not very interested in the authenticity of the display.
after all, i dont rmember any authentic machines that played 5,000 games....LOL.

i have been using mame since approximately version 5 way back in 1997. i have been playing it on my pc monitor, and i am very happy with its display.

i am still curious about the tv setup though.

i understand that i will need a tv with an s video input, and an s video cable.
so i will need some type of s video out card from my pc?

what would i have to do to get the signal to go out an s video port, as opposed to sending the signal out to a pc monitor?
p.s. i use mame32.

i would still like to do a 4 player setup. whenever i mention i want to setup a machine, they always ask if it could play gauntlet. i also like gauntlet, and i think it would be great when i have people over, that they can all play together. another friend of mine loves to play some 4 player wrestling game, i think its wwf.

i forgot to mention, that i got the old cabinet for free. i figured i could at least use it for parts.

what parts do you think i could/should reuse other than joysticks and buttons, coin door in a mame cabinet, if i am not going to use the original monitor.
i guess the whole jamma board would be unnecessary. correct?

also, there is some type of voltage dropper in the cabinet. what components does this power?, and would it be necessary to install it in a mame cabinet?

thanks for your help!!

[Tiger-Heli]

I'm not building a cabinet (planning a desktop controller) so some of this I'm not positive about.

i have been using mame since approximately version 5 way back in 1997. i have been playing it on my pc monitor, and i am very happy with its display.

There's the first part of your answer . . .

i am still curious about the tv setup though.
i understand that i will need a tv with an s video input, and an s video cable.
so i will need some type of s video out card from my pc?

My current graphics card has S-video out, but I have never played with it.  You should be able to get a RADEON S-video card for under $50.

what would i have to do to get the signal to go out an s video port, as opposed to sending the signal out to a pc monitor?
p.s. i use mame32.

AFAIK, just connect a cable between the S-video port and the PC.  (Some cards I think need a monitor and the TV connected (bad), and some cards I think will send a signal that the TV can't handle initially so you need to have the PC already booted before you turn the TV on, but that might just be arcade monitors and I'm hopelessly confused).

i guess the whole jamma board would be unnecessary. correct?

AFAIK

also, there is some type of voltage dropper in the cabinet. what components does this power?, and would it be necessary to install it in a mame cabinet?

I believe that's the arcade power supply.  For a MAME cab, I think about all it would power is the marquee lights, but someone else might know more.

[paigeoliver]

Ok, if you are scratch building and want to save money on parts then do the following.

Dismantle your horked Final Fight cabinet.

You should be able to reuse the joysticks and buttons (I would use them for players 3 and 4 and get new ones for players 1 and two). They SHOULD be Happ supers, as that is what the final fight kit came with.

The marquee light gets reused, it can be powered by standard house current. There should be two wires going up there, they will work just as well off house current as they do off the isolation transformer.

Your coin door should come off in one piece and be transferred to the new machine.

Pull ALL the rest of the wiring, with power supply/transformer and list it on ebay as a complete jamma wiring kit with power supply and transformer. It will SELL. Be sure and explain that it is everything you need to wire a jamma cabinet.

Marquee goes on ebay, so does the bezel if you have it. Put them in the same lot, a bezel and marquee in the same lot will go higher than a marquee by itself, but no one buys bezels by themselves (from my experience).

IF you purposefully build for it then you can reuse many of the cabinet trim pieces, like the marquee rails.

Monitor goes on ebay, take a picture of it working. I will SELL.

Control panel goes on ebay unpopulated, be sure to mention that it fits a Pac-Man style cabinet.

Your Final Fight board gets wrapped up nicely and mailed to the following address.

Wingate Inn
ATTN: Paige Oliver
13615 Riverport Drive
Maryland Heights, MO 63043

[neuromancer]

A 4 player machine with a 19" monitor is kind of stupid. It isn't worht doing, you will need a 25".

[paigeoliver]

A 4 player machine with a 19" monitor is kind of stupid. It isn't worht doing, you will need a 25". 

Gauntlet came with a 19" monitor 

Bob

Yup and it was still stupid. The game wasn't stupid, but cramming 4 people around a monitor that size was.