Cheapest multi board?

[RayB]

What's the cheapest multi-game board that I can get?

I'm looking for something that has a few classics and that's it. I want to throw it into a JAMMA cocktail and sell it to my neighbor. I did the math on going the MAME route and it's a bit out of his budget due to the cost of an AVGA+JPAC/IPAC.  I could go the AdvanceMAME route but I really don't have the time to figure it out. (Already attempted it on my own MAME cab and ended up shelling out for an AVGA instead).

[Ken Layton]

Try a 4-in-1 from Dave at electronicamuse@aol.com

[Scott84]

Price?

Ken?

[RayB]

Thanks Ken. I emailed him.

[Ken Layton]

I don't know the price of the board offhand. I make the order for my friend Steve Mildenberger. He pays the bill and the board arrives a few days later.

[fredster]

About $240.

The 9 in one is better, but get games that are all 4 way's.
It's a little more, I think it's about $325.

I wouldn't get the 39 in 1's.

[ChadTower]

There's a local arcade repair/distro guy here I talked to recently... he was telling me he sold a lot of multigame cabs with these things.

Of course, he also told me the cheapest he could get them for was $500+ and so he has to get $700+ for them to make it worthwhile.

[MaximRecoil]

About $240.

The 9 in one is better, but get games that are all 4 way's.
It's a little more, I think it's about $325.

I wouldn't get the 39 in 1's.

I did the math on going the MAME route and it's a bit out of his budget due to the cost of an AVGA+JPAC/IPAC.

I would say that if an AVGA+JPAC = $146; or an AVGA+IPAC

[ChadTower]

Tell him it can be done with certain older, $15 video cards and a standard keyboard, then.

It is true if he wants to learn enough in the process.

[fredster]

He asked.

[RayB]

4-in-1 is $275 shipped.  Lower if you buy in bulk.

The comment about learning is fine, but I don't know this neighbor well enough to make this a project between us, and my time is limited. I have a cocktail table to get rid of, and his wife has always wanted a Frogger cocktail. I figured it's the perfect Xmas gift.

Oh well. Maybe I'll find time to experiment with AdvanceMAME again....

[versapak]

About $240.

The 9 in one is better, but get games that are all 4 way's.
It's a little more, I think it's about $325.

I wouldn't get the 39 in 1's.

I did the math on going the MAME route and it's a bit out of his budget due to the cost of an AVGA+JPAC/IPAC.

I would say that if an AVGA+JPAC = $146; or an AVGA+IPAC

[fredster]

On that website there is a PC to Jamma board, and it can just convert a computer to a regular jamma just by plugging it in.

You hook up the VGA and the Keyboard up to it, and you are done.

The simplest way to convert a video game to a PC.

No conversion at all.  Just add PC. 

Best part, the PC doesn't even have to be in the box, just a cable to it.

[RayB]

On that website there is a PC to Jamma board, and it can just convert a computer to a regular jamma just by plugging it in.

You hook up the VGA and the Keyboard up to it, and you are done.

The simplest way to convert a video game to a PC.

No conversion at all.

[MaximRecoil]

On that website there is a PC to Jamma board, and it can just convert a computer to a regular jamma just by plugging it in.

You hook up the VGA and the Keyboard up to it, and you are done.

The simplest way to convert a video game to a PC.

No conversion at all.

[SirPeale]

If you're just looking to play classics, you *can* do a Mame setup on the cheap.

First, look for a Delhi III motherboard.  They came in eMachines.  They have onboard ATI Rage 3D graphics and Crystal sound.  The ATI will do 15KHz, and there are DOS drivers for the sound.  I see them on eBay occasionally.

Looking for speed?  Get a CF card to IDE adaptor.  Write everything to it, make sure it all works, and make it read-only.

I've done a similar setup, and it runs most classics at full speed.

[Scott84]

If you're just looking to play classics, you *can* do a Mame setup on the cheap.

First, look for a Delhi III motherboard.  They came in eMachines.  They have onboard ATI Rage 3D graphics and Crystal sound.  The ATI will do 15KHz, and there are DOS drivers for the sound.  I see them on eBay occasionally.

Looking for speed?  Get a CF card to IDE adaptor.  Write everything to it, make sure it all works, and make it read-only.

I've done a similar setup, and it runs most classics at full speed.

$10 US for one of those.

Link

[quarterback]

If you're just looking to play classics, you *can* do a Mame setup on the cheap.

First, look for a Delhi III motherboard.  They came in eMachines.  They have onboard ATI Rage 3D graphics and Crystal sound.  The ATI will do 15KHz, and there are DOS drivers for the sound.  I see them on eBay occasionally.

I've done a similar setup, and it runs most classics at full speed.

Wow!  I've got one of those eMachine/Delhi III's in the basement collecting dust!   It's sitting across the room from a couple arcade monitors that I don't use because I don't have an ArcadeVGA (and they need cap kits) but it sounds like I can put these to good use.

I don't know what the processor speed is on this old thing, but it's got to be slow (old Socket 7) what version of Mame do you use for this setup, Peale?  Or am I going to finally have to figure out how to set up Vantage?

[SirPeale]

I don't know what the processor speed is on this old thing, but it's got to be slow (old Socket 7) what version of Mame do you use for this setup, Peale?  Or am I going to finally have to figure out how to set up Vantage?

Using .96 right now, have been curious how .102 fares.  Yeah, I strive for accuracy AND gameplay.

450 MHz is what I'm currently using.  I think you can go to 550, but have to go thru some hoops to get it that fast.

[RayB]

.96 on a 450mhz machine? Isn't it slow with old games??

[menace]

what about using a PC monitor instead of fiddling with an arcade monitor--I know its sacrilege but my experience has shown that 90% of people (who don't frequent this board) could give a crap about arcade authenticity.  if it was me i would slap in a 19" pc monitor with a p3 450-650 and an older romset to play classics and away you go.  Unless of course the guy specifically requested an arcade monitor then i guess its advmame or avga.

[Goz]

Excellentcom has the 400 in 1's for $268 + shipping

[RayB]

I'm assuming that it is just a scan converter with provisions for audio and controls added on, and since even broadcast quality ($$$) scan converters aren't perfect (from what I have heard/read)...

I don't know what it costs, but if it is in the range of an AVGA + JPAC, then the AVGA + JPAC would be a better way to go I would think, since the AVGA generates a native 15 khz signal in the first place with no conversion required.

Folks, prepare to be shocked! The JPAC has competition! The PC2JAMMA device on that website (see previous posts for link) costs a mere $20us plus $20 shipping. Cheaper if you buy orders of 20 or more.

The specs are still a little sketchy, but here's what it says:

"PC2JAMMA board is designed for converting the signals of PC keyboard to arcade joystick and supporting standard CGA (RGB) monitor. It only works with DOS version MAME games, you have to install all required software and drivers for your PC yourself. We don't provide any driver either software.

PC2JAMMA does not have the function to convert VGA to CGA, if you have a non synchronized screen after installing it, then you might need to download a driver called arcmon.sys to synchronize the video signal."

So, it sounds like it still requires an ArcadeVGA or AdvanceMAME.

The cables you see in the photo are:
 - Black plug = stereo connect to sound card (but according to their jamma pin-out, only a single speaker is supported. They don't say if their board amplifies the sound or not.)

 - Small grey plug = connect to VGA output (but no conversion of video on the board. It probably doesn't block out of range signals either)

 - Large grey plug = connect to Paralell port (weird! I would think a serial port would be used for keyboard input!)

 - White plug = +5v and +12v

[quarterback]

Pic that's labeled

http://www.hsinpao.com.tw/pc2jamma.htm

[ChadTower]

Excellentcom has the 400 in 1's for $268 + shipping

The 400 in 1 is garbage and when you factor in all the clones on it, it's not many more games than the 39 in 1 which is also crappy.

[MaximRecoil]

I'm assuming that it is just a scan converter with provisions for audio and controls added on, and since even broadcast quality ($$$) scan converters aren't perfect (from what I have heard/read)...

I don't know what it costs, but if it is in the range of an AVGA + JPAC, then the AVGA + JPAC would be a better way to go I would think, since the AVGA generates a native 15 khz signal in the first place with no conversion required.

Folks, prepare to be shocked! The JPAC has competition! The PC2JAMMA device on that website (see previous posts for link) costs a mere $20us plus $20 shipping. Cheaper if you buy orders of 20 or more.

The specs are still a little sketchy, but here's what it says:

"PC2JAMMA board is designed for converting the signals of PC keyboard to arcade joystick and supporting standard CGA (RGB) monitor. It only works with DOS version MAME games, you have to install all required software and drivers for your PC yourself. We don't provide any driver either software.

PC2JAMMA does not have the function to convert VGA to CGA, if you have a non synchronized screen after installing it, then you might need to download a driver called arcmon.sys to synchronize the video signal."

So, it sounds like it still requires an ArcadeVGA or AdvanceMAME.

The cables you see in the photo are:
 - Black plug = stereo connect to sound card (but according to their jamma pin-out, only a single speaker is supported. They don't say if their board amplifies the sound or not.)

 - Small grey plug = connect to VGA output (but no conversion of video on the board. It probably doesn't block out of range signals either)

 - Large grey plug = connect to Paralell port (weird! I would think a serial port would be used for keyboard input!)

 - White plug = +5v and +12v

[SirPeale]

.96 on a 450mhz machine? Isn't it slow with old games??

Not the ones I'm playing.  Robotron 60/60.  Galaga is 59/60 but I think it can be tweaked out.

[paigeoliver]

What games are on those 300 and 400 in 1 boards?

[Goz]

Excellentcom has the 400 in 1's for $268 + shipping

The 400 in 1 is garbage and when you factor in all the clones on it, it's not many more games than the 39 in 1 which is also crappy.

Funny... On the 400 in 1 I played on; I saw no clones (duplicates)

[Goz]

What games are on those 300 and 400 in 1 boards?

Paige,

 Here's a PDF list of games for the 300 in 1 horizontal multigame. The 400 in 1 has more, but I don't have the current list.

Here's a PDF list of games for the 1 in 1 vertical multigame.

-Goz

[nostrebor]

Goz,

The 100 in 1 vertical list is different than those I have seen before. This is an excellentcom board? Do you have a web page for it? Price idea?

I'm building a vert only cabinet, and this would be an interesting way to go. I just cannot find any info on their site about these boards.

Thanks!

[Goz]

I just put a copy of their latest price list here it is an excel spreadsheet. Yeah they actually have a bunch of kick ass stuff that just isnt detailed very well like their console to jamma solutions they call 'super' which allow you to use arcade guns with Dreamcast, PS2, etc...

Wish they had a better site.

-Goz

[fredster]

I never tried that PC2Jamma, but it's been on that site for a long time.  It looked like a pretty good way of just adapting a machine to me.  If you had a newer machine with medium resolution, it might work without too much hassle.

I don't like the 4000 in 1 boards much myself.  The look like they are running mame anyway.  You can't play them all very well.

I like the 9 in 1's.  They still sell them, just email them or as Ken suggested, email dave.

The game combinations all should be 4 ways.  You can't play MsPac and TimePilot.  Ms Pac is a 4 way and Time Pilot is 8 way for instance.

[paigeoliver]

Do the 300 and 400 in 1 boards also have the VGA output like I have seen on some of the other bootleg boards?

[rchadd]

what about this?

http://www.arcadeshop.com/multi-pcb/multi-pcb.htm

got a nice list of supported classic games there

programmable but with plug and play simplicity of a jamma board

[rchadd]

If you're just looking to play classics, you *can* do a Mame setup on the cheap.

First, look for a Delhi III motherboard.

[Goz]

Do the 300 and 400 in 1 boards also have the VGA output like I have seen on some of the other bootleg boards?

Yep

[fredster]

what about this?

http://www.arcadeshop.com/multi-pcb/multi-pcb.htm

got a nice list of supported classic games there

programmable but with plug and play simplicity of a jamma board

That's a nice one. It would be very adaptable to most arcade machines.

[paigeoliver]

Do the 300 and 400 in 1 boards also have the VGA output like I have seen on some of the other bootleg boards?

Yep

Hmmm, I might buy one then.

[SirPeale]

where to find one in UK?

*shrug* eBay?

searched ebay using emachines and comes up with quite a few hits. but not sure which one to go for....

but what model had Delhi III motherboard? what processors would it support?

According to a Google search, the Delhi III comes in these systems: eTower

[SirPeale]

Okay, so I have one of these motherboards, I have a hacked VGA cable and I have a couple arcade monitors.  My question is: how do I get all of this working?  Mainly, I guess, I'm interested in how to get the vid card working at 15KHz.

I presume (based on things like your DOS driver comment) that you're running DOS mame.  I haven't ever set up DOS mame before, but I could probably figure that part out with some work.  It's been a while since I've installed DOS, but I've got v6.something around here somewhere.   But how do you get the arcade monitor working at 15KHz through DOS?

Do you have some .ini files or DOS drivers or something that I could get from you (or you could point me to?) that'll get the video card working?   Also, are you able to boot up the machine at 15KHz, so even the BIOS startup screen is CGA safe?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is a new world to me.  My experience so far has all been through Win98 using MameWah and a 21" PC monitor.  Any specific pointers you can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks
qb

To get the arcade monitor modes working with DOS Mame, instead of 'monitor=standard' in mame.cfg, you have 'monitor=arcade'.

When it boots, yes, it's not a 15KHz signal.  So far it appears to be okay.  I'm using an Ultimarc video booster.  It's been said they don't halve the signal like a J-PAC does, but I get a split image.  No whiney complaints from the monitor, either.

The driver I was referring to was monarc.sys, which I THINK is available on the PC2JAMMA site.