Entry level noob needs help w/ control wiring.

[nick-g]

My first post!  I'm very happy to be a part of this forum. A lot of very talented people in here!  Ok...so I picked up a Galaga cocktail that I've slowly been restoring. In the process I decided to convert it into a multicade. Bought new control panels, joysticks and a Galaga to jamma connector. Game boots up and everything works great!  For those of you familiar with Galaga, the joysticks are only wired to go left and right. There is no up and down!  How do I wire up the joysticks to have up and down functionality?  Keep in mind I have zero experience with any sort of electric work so if you have tips, please explain in simplest terms possible. Please also tell me which parts / tools I will need and where I can buy them. Thanks in advance for all your help!

[HaRuMaN]

Welcome!

First off, do your joysticks have 4 microswitches each?

When you say Galaga to JAMMA connector, is it an adapter that would allow you to put a Galaga board IN a JAMMA cabinet?  I haven't seen any converters that allow you to put a JAMMA board IN a Galaga cabinet.

[nick-g]

The kind that allows a jammaboard to work in a Galaga cab. Purchased from lizardlickamusements.com. New joysticks are Ms Pacman style 4 way with 4 microswitches.

[HaRuMaN]

Which one exactly is it?  I see a couple on their website, but both are Galaga to Jamma, and not the other way around.

[nick-g]

It appears they no longer carry it. It looks almost identical to the Ms Pacman version pictured here:

Http//:lizardlick.com/images/parts/adapters/j2kon.jpg

[nick-g]

also available here:

Arcadeshop.com/pics/jamma2galaga-adapter-5.jpg

[nick-g]

Can anyone help?  This should be pretty elementary stuff for the highly experienced people in here....

[grbgemen]

so the galaga harness plugs into the adapter which allows you to plug into a standard jamma board.  if thats the case then obviously there is no inputs on the galaga harness for up and down.

now i am not 100% sure but i imagine you could solder onto the jamma adapters silver pins and add the up and down inputs from the button.  you would need to identify which pins are up and down first.  like i said, what i said could totally not work at all.  wait for someone else to chime in on that.   

another option would be to just rewire the cabinet with a new jamma harness. 

[nick-g]

I have considered doing a jamma rewire but there has got to be a simpler solution....

[nick-g]

Bump.

[NickG]

your name is seriously bugging me, heheh.  you shouldn't need to do a full rewire just yet.   If your Galaga harness is fully wired then you may have the up and down wires leading off somewhere (same connector for Bosconian); then you just have to find the other end of the wires on the up and down pins, then wire the to your joys. 
If it is not fully wired  (which is more likely) then it is probably easiest to solder your joystick wires to the up and down through-holes on the jamma to galaga adapter.  I suggest you familiarize yourself with a jamma pinout and a galaga pinout.  You'll probably see what I am talking about then.

[nick-g]

Thanks NickG...lol.  I appreciate the help.  Any suggestions on a good soldering iron?  What type of wire should I use?

[Jouster]

Thanks NickG...lol.  I appreciate the help.  Any suggestions on a good soldering iron?  What type of wire should I use?

I'd suggest one that gets hot...but maybe that's just me.

Jouster

[grbgemen]

if you plan on doing a a lot of soldering in the future, then you might want to invest in a nice high quality iron. 

if you are just going to use it here and there then you will be fine with a cheap one from Radio Shack. 

[nick-g]

what type of wire do you reccomend?

[grbgemen]

22 guage

[nick-g]

Great info!  How would I go about finding out which terminals to connect to?  Is there a standard jamma wiring map?

[grbgemen]

search google for a jamma pinout or im sure there is one someplace here on the site.