I need some help getting started.

[mxpxpxpx]

My Brother about a year ago purchased a broken Mortal Kombat Machine, the screen does not work but you can hear and play the game fine. Getting the machine fixed is going to cost to much money so I want to turn it into a mame machine. I have a 1ghz computer that I can use, so all I think I need is a keyboard encoder, but I am not sure. The Machine has been modifed it has the street fighter 2 joystick layout no side art and a very plain bezel. I am  probably going to sell the PCB board and the other stuff. Since I have a computer all I think I need to do is hook the controlls up to the PC and add a few more buttons for like for coins and access to a main Menu. Here are some pics of the machine. Thanks for all the help ypu give.
Matthew Nichols

















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[steveh]

it might be cheeper then you think to fix the machine the way it is.  visit the monitor forum, and see if they can help you getting the screen working.  at minimum if you still want to use it as a mame box, you can use that screen with a arcadevga card.

[Kaytrim]

Looking at your control panel and marquee I'd say that whoever converted this to MK did a real piss poor job of it.  Keep the coin door and mechs, you can wire those into an ipac or keywiz.  I also agree with steveh in that the monitor might be salvageable.

If you still end up converting this cab take a look at Kinevel's Dynamo he was able to add a new control panel box to a cab just like yours and it looks real nice.

Welcome aboard and good luck with your plans for this cab.

[mxpxpxpx]

Those pics are old the monitor has been removed to put a pc monitor in. I was thinking about going with the key wiz max 1.5 keyboard encoder that I saw on groovy game gear. Do I need a special graphics card or will a standard AGP one work?

[Kaytrim]

Those pics are old the monitor has been removed to put a pc monitor in. I was thinking about going with the key wiz max 1.5 keyboard encoder that I saw on groovy game gear. Do I need a special graphics card or will a standard AGP one work?

If you are using a PC monitor then I wouldn't worry about a special graphics card.  Just a run of the mill card even a built in one will work.  My motherboard has a built in video system and it runs my 19" monitor just fine.  If you were going to power a TV or standard arcade monitor then you would need something different.

[mxpxpxpx]

do I need 2 Keyboard Encoders one for each player? how can I tell which joystick I have is it a 2 way, 4 way, or 49 way? I was basicly going to run classic games like namco, nintendo, konami, and console games like NES, SNES, and Genesis games. Will the joysticks I have work or do I need a different one. If I get the Key Wiz Max 1.5 do I need to cut off the end of the cable that is connected to the MK board or just buy an Encoder that I can hook it up to as is?

[leapinlew]

do I need 2 Keyboard Encoders one for each player? how can I tell which joystick I have is it a 2 way, 4 way, or 49 way? I was basicly going to run classic games like namco, nintendo, konami, and console games like NES, SNES, and Genesis games. Will the joysticks I have work or do I need a different one. If I get the Key Wiz Max 1.5 do I need to cut off the end of the cable that is connected to the MK board or just buy an Encoder that I can hook it up to as is?

Hey mxpxpxpx,

You need to do some reading. Everything you're asking is answered in Saints book (Saint is the guy who runs this place). You can buy the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/0764556169

You can also do plenty of reading at the wiki:
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

This hobby covers a lot of areas. From woodworking, electrical, and plenty of computer configuration. It's cool your jumping into the hobby and you'll be glad you did some research. Of course, have fun and good luck!