About to Build...

[ArcadeDunce]

I've put this off long enough.  The basic electronics from the old cabinet are sitting in a box downstairs, HOPEFULLY still in working condition.  My Jamma Boards of the Simpsons, and TMNT 1 and 2 are also sitting in a plastic storage container gaining dust.

I have a few simple questions

Should the basic electronic 'guts' of my old Jamma machine not work, would it be possible to buy new versions of that same equipment?   I wouldn't even begin to know where to look that isn't ebay.

- I've dreamed of buying an old Pac-Man, Popeye, Star Wars/ROTJ boards off of ebay. If any still exist.  Would it be possible to get these working with a JAMMA style cabinet?  I'd love to build a combo unit that is JAMMA and whatever the old games are so I can run  both and preserve the memories. I'm lucky, though, because as of current there is an old arcade down the Jersey shore that has all the main classic 80's games still working, including Star Wars.  But that might not be around for ever as games break down, so I'd like to preserve as many memories as possible .

This is the site that I plan to use as my guildline for building my cabinet.  It's more or less what I want, only I intend to put an LCD screen in there so I can use the rest of the space as storage for JAMMA boards.   Has anyone used this site to build a cabinet before?  Found it during a google search.  I'm curious to hear about your experiences... 

http://chris.polymathic.net/cabinet/part1.shtml

Thanks!
Neil (hoping to pick up his MDF and new Hand Saw in a few days to get started)

[Turnarcades]

Building a multi-JAMMA is easy as all you need to do in theory is trace the pin-outs from the original JAMMA harness in your cabinet, get hold of some JAMMA connection blocks from ebay or similar and then use a relay or switch to change the one you want to play. I know you said you wanted to avoid ebay, but this may be your best bet as there are frequently guys on there who build and sell multi-JAMMA harnesses, as well as conversion harnesses for many non-JAMMA games. Also, you could try going to one of the many Supergun builders (like raven) and asking them to knock one up for you. Many games/manufacturers had a specific connector even when JAMMA was introduced so you may need to do a lot of soldering or spend a bit to get a multi-rig going as you propose, so be warned.

I would question the wisdom of using an LCD monitor unless it is intended for arcade use originally. I've known in the past that using a supergun even on a CRT TV can cause damage in the long run and imagine you would have a hell of a game trying to hack your JAMMA harness to safely output the PCB games on an LCD monitor without danger or damage to the components.

If you areally after the classics and building from scratch, why not just consider building a complete MAME cabinet instead as all of these problems would simply vanish and you can set up/interface it all exactly to your liking, mostly with 'off-the-shelf' hardware solutions.

[ArcadeDunce]

I was thinking about MAME, but when I was into downloading roms about a decade ago, MAME websites where confusing as hell to navigate, disorganizing, annoying with 'vote for me adds', and just plain a hastle to deal with.  Plus, most had errors in them.

If Everything where available on XBox Live, or Wii Virtual Console, I'd go that route.  But for now, I'd rather find as many boards as possible. Only ones I need now, assuming the old ones are still working, are Pac-Man, Mrs.Pac Man, Popeye, Star Wars, ROTJ, and X-Men.  I was toying around with getting NBA JAM ( I think that was called) and Lethal Enforcer, but I dunno if Light Guns are sold..  These are the only games I'd love to play regularly.  Anything else is just extra. 

[Turnarcades]

If you are trying to get light guns you would need the original guns for each game, plus any interface, encoder board and specialist hardware the original cab utilised.

MAME cab building has come a long way since 10 years ago and the roms are readily available from more reputable sites these days, or by bittorrent. Emuasylum is an excellent site to get all the emu files you need and I seriously advise you rethink it as getting the setup you are after in original hardware will cost you about twice what it will cost you to do if you build an emulation cabinet.

To help you on your way, here is a company that sells switchable JAMMA connectors: http://www.jammaboards.com/store/6-in-1-multijamma-switcher-pcb/prod_250.html. Good luck with your project though and keep googling for the other answers you need. 

[ArcadeDunce]

I'm also trying to go the legal route, so multiple games in one might help solve space problems, but not exactly ethical ..


Is there a trust worthy place to buy Speakers, joysticks, Buttons, and Power Switches?
I ditched all those when I Threw out the older cabinet.  I'm going to install the Power switch in the front
this time in the form of a light switch type rather than a push button.  I'm going to use two speakers instead of three,
and no coin door, with a free play button instead.  Toggling the coin switch to get a play going was annoying.

Too bad I can't get a JAMMA board of Star Wars Arcade, assuming that's what it used.  But if any still exist, it'd probably be
expensive for such a big game.

[Turnarcades]

The best place to buy your gear is from www.ultimarc.com or groovygamegear if you are in the US. Alternatively ou should find everything you need on ebay. I really can't stress strongly enough how important ebay is to this scene as you find stuff on there that people had tucked away for years and is a cheap front for small-time vendors. Star Wars Arcade would be expensive and I doubt you'll find a board available seperately as you really need the original cabinet controls to play this game properly. Also if it is non-JAMMA then there is little point seperating it from it's original cabinet.