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Why JAMMA?
tommy:
Every thing i have is new, power supply ,monitor,cant really find a new pcb most times but ,mine are new enough and never had a problem( knock on wood ) also i dont have to worry about programs failing and this is not compatilbe with that and so on ,it works perfect every time theres no control problems i find it less of a headache
SirPoonga:
What fredster said that didn't pertain to mame killing the arcade industry
--- Quote --- Why Jamma?
Now that you know it's just a standard wiring harness, the reason was simple. Back in '85 and '86 the arcade business was taking a nose dive. The early machines were wonderful proprietary creations that were unique. To work on a Midway, you had to train on Midway, or Atari, or whatever. You had to buy parts like you do for old cars.
Jamma made a standardized platform when the cab building business went to crap. Instead of paying $2000 + for a new game, you could take an old one and convert it for less than $1000. It was a move necessary to sustain the Arcade business.
Lots of classics bit the dust. They made their money and they were spent. Young punk kids for some reason wanted new games. Go figure.
--- End quote ---
paigeoliver:
--- Quote from: danny_galaga on February 18, 2005, 10:18:54 pm ---
BTW, i have two PCB's myself and can't wait until the day i can run them in my own homebuilt JAMMA cab- so don't think i'm saying having a cab with a PCB is not a good idea. i think it will rock! i'm just saying that surely the maintenance isn't as easy. fredster? paige? you guys have a bunch of machines. what are your experiences?
--- End quote ---
Jamma machines tend to be rock solid reliable IF they are wired properly, have a good power supply (if you just have one or two cabs then just buy new power supplies, one less thing to worry about), and have a good monitor.
Remember, in a JAMMA cabinet you can replace all that ancient wiring and power stuff, and most jamma boards have few or no large caps on them, so they age much better than classic boards. Most classics have so many problems because of aging capacitors and power supplies, which can entirely be avoided with a JAMMA cabinet.
For the record I still own a pair of JAMMA cabinets. A Super Neo 29 Candy (Japanese Sit-At Neo Geo currently Running Mr. Driller 2) and a Defender. The Defender is an original cabinet with new arcadeshop Multiwilliams pcb (JAMMA), new Multiwilliams control panel, new power supply and wiring from Bob Roberts and an older monitor that is still working very well.
I also find that I play my two Jamma cabinets more often than I play my Mame cabinets.
danny_galaga:
ah yes, i must admit i was bunching ALL pcb games together in my mind. looking at one of my jamma pcbs, it doesnt seem to have many electrolytics on it (which i assume are the most troublesome caps). i guess too, the chips are more modern too, so if something goes wrong with one they are more readily available...
Fat_Trucker:
I'm in the process of getting my first MAME cab together.
Like most noobs I have opted for a generic Jamma cab since its a good way to start learning about MAMEing without things getting too technical. It also allows me to make modifications to the cab design without having to build it from the ground up. Its a straightforward, gentle way to ease yourself into the hobby.
By using a J-Pac to MAME, I will still be left with a cab that I can easily switch back to its original format and use PCB's on.
As soon as this project is completed I will have (hopefully) learned a thing or two about MAMEing and cab design and wiring at which point I intend to build a dedicated cab from scratch.
At the end of the day regardless of whether you are MAMEing or just Gaming we all share a common appreciation of old arcade games and have an interest in preserving them in whatever format.