mame jamma adapter

[chickennoodlespraypaint]

well im pretty bent on making a dedicated mame pc... i dont really know that much about this mame business but ive been reading up on everything. i have two arcade cabinets... a two player vertical monitor and a 4 player horizontal monitor... and always having to switch pcbs to change games is just driving me insane... haha. but what i really want to do is have one dedicated mame pc that i can switch back and forth between cabs. but the thing is... would it actually work if i built a pc to jamma adapter... would it be able to go up to 4 players with two buttons each? and easily go back to a vertical screen with 2 players and 3 buttons each? i dont really like posting in forums because usually i can just find my answer by searching... but i really cant find anything on this... it would be really amazing if someone could help out. i have instant messengers and everything and i can provide pictures of anything if needed... and i also need some pointers on what parts are totally essential for a dedicated mame pc... but that can be talked about later. thanks!

[david656]

get a arcadeVGA and J-PAC and a PC with a arcadeos DOS mame setup then you can plug a pc straight into your arcade cabinet no fuss

[BobA]

You don't have to build your own adapter.  Just purchase a jpac from ultimarc.
http://ultimarc.com/jpac.html

You main problem would be switching from back and forth from verticals to
horizontals.   If you setup for a large horizontal monitor then your verticals
will be smaller but will be very close to the normal 19 inch size when seen on
a large horizontal monitor.

Not sure what you are trying to acomplish when you talk about controls.  You
just put what you need on your CP and then assign them to the game you want to
play.   For example you can have a 4 player CP and only use 2 joys for the
vertical games.  You would have to set up your buttons to account for the max
that you would need. for example you setup player 1 and 2 with 6 action
buttons and 3 and 4 with only 4 each.

If you want to physcially move the (adapter)jpac from vertical to horiz cab
then you can use the original buttons in each cab.  The jpac will allow the
use of 2 joys and 4 buttons each.  To connect the other 2 players on a horiz
cab you would have to install another controller to connect the extra players.
This would not be switched to the other cab.  This adds another level of
complexity which and does not get you away from switching something from cab
to cab.

My personal preference would be to put the controls on one 4 player cp and use
a large horizonal tv/monitor for both the horizontal and vertical games.  I
would use an IPAC 4 which allows all the inputs.  Since 4 player controls are
not jamma related the jpac is not needed and direct wiring to the ipac4 is
probably easier.

There are as many ways to do this as you can want or can imagine.  You do not
have to use ultimarc but it came to mind first since you wanted a jamma
interface.  If you do not want a jamma interface then GGG provides lots of
choices as well.

[ARTIFACT]

you can also get a multijamma which can switch jamma games without touching a wire... AND get a j-pac with a mame pc.

voila

[BobA]

Hey guys.  Remember he is looking at a 4 player cab.  Jpac alone will not do this.   It is not as simple as multijamma and jpac when you are talking 4 players.   Lots of extras to look at.

[markrvp]

Hey guys.  Remember he is looking at a 4 player cab.  Jpac alone will not do this.   It is not as simple as multijamma and jpac when you are talking 4 players.   Lots of extras to look at.

He can do a Jpac with an Ipac for players 3&4.  The Ipac plugs into the Jpac.

[BobA]

Yup. That is what I recommended previously or forget the whole jamma thing and go ipac4

[chickennoodlespraypaint]

oh wow! the help! i love you guys!

my 4 player cab is a little taken apart right now... so i guess i put the whole ipac4 thing on hold and play shooters all winter. um. and speaking about that third button... i have the holes and the buttons installed... but i just dont know what wire to connect to actually make it "button number 3". i thought i was going to be able to find it no hassle. but i guess its a little more complicated than that. either that or im just really lame.

but about the jpac... its really that easy? if i wanted... i could just connect it to the computer i have now... pop in a keyboard... configure the controls... run mame... and im totally set?

[knave]

but about the jpac... its really that easy? if i wanted... i could just connect it to the computer i have now... pop in a keyboard... configure the controls... run mame... and im totally set?

If you have an arcade monitor you will need to convert the signal from the PC to the correct frequency 15khz.  As mentioned above the Arcade VGA card also from Ultimarc will do this.

[chickennoodlespraypaint]

but about the jpac... its really that easy? if i wanted... i could just connect it to the computer i have now... pop in a keyboard... configure the controls... run mame... and im totally set?

If you have an arcade monitor you will need to convert the signal from the PC to the correct frequency 15khz.  As mentioned above the Arcade VGA card also from Ultimarc will do this.

ok! sweet! i was just making sure...

[ARTIFACT]

Hey guys.  Remember he is looking at a 4 player cab.  Jpac alone will not do this.   It is not as simple as multijamma and jpac when you are talking 4 players.   Lots of extras to look at.

ahhh yes sorry... 4 players mmhh yeah