Making a bartop Mortal Kombat II

[oldgamesrbetter]

EDIT -06/29/08

So for this project I have in my possession or ordered so far:

*MK II Rev. 3.1 CPU + Soundboard
*Possible power cable for the sound board.. if the one from the MK 1 cabinet works.
*Kick harness
*Jamma harness
*Joysticks & buttons
*Set of speakers & speaker plates
*Switching Power Supply
*13" Monitor & CMPTR Cable
*Wood and everything I need for the bartop cabinet.

Anything else I need guys? ..or do you think i'm pretty set?

Plus does anyone have a MK, MKII, or MK3 control panel (buttons & joysticks not needed)? Planning to have one of the originals so I could build around it.

[oldgamesrbetter]

UPDATE: I won the auction on ebay.

This is what I won.



Can anyone help me? Tell me what else I need?

P.S. this was the auction description...

Details:
1.  This auction is for a known GOOD PCB. 
2.  Board is fully tested and working perfectly.
3.  Board is in very good physical condition
4.  Board is Jamma compatible.
5.  Includes SOUND Board and ribbon cable. DOES NOT include the power cable for the sound board (it is a straight thru 8 pin)
6.  Board is Rev. 3.1

[myntik1]

for a first timer I would suggest buying a cabinet, learning what the different components do and then from there attempting a build with a pcb


do a search for a mini midway cabinet, although I feel that you're going to be disappointed to a certain degree.  just pick a generic 2 player cabinet

if you're ready to tighten up your belt there's two ways to go.

you can make a super gun or you can build a mini cabinet.  I would suggest googling both and then making your decision. 

[Malenko]

you NEED the power wire (if you want sound)
you NEED the kick harness (if you want low punch and low kick for both players)
you MAY WANT a volume pot (you can change the volume in the CMOS)

I'll be 100% honest, if you wanna make a mini arcade, you're better off making a bartop MAME, in the long run its less expensive them making a mini single game cab.

or just buy this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=130314894292

/shameless plug

[Kevin Mullins]

You'll also need a switching power supply with +5, -5, +12 volts and a JAMMA harness.

[oldgamesrbetter]

I'm kind of a MKII freak.. so I just wanna dedicate this minicab to it. Thanks for the idea though.

Ok so I just bought the kick harness off of ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370120541774

Thanks again guys. You are being very helpful.

[oldgamesrbetter]

Another update.

So for this project I have in my possession or ordered so far:

*MK II Rev. 3.1 CPU + Soundboard
*Kick harness
*Jamma harness
*Joysticks & buttons
*Set of speakers & speaker plates
*Switching Power Supply

I still need that damn power cable for the sound board. I'm a little confused on that.

Do I need a certain type of monitor? Does it have to be VGA? The original I think was 25".

I have free access to wood and tools so i'm ok with the cabinet.

Am i missing anything else guys?

[Malenko]

I still need that damn power cable for the sound board. I'm a little confused on that.

Do I need a certain type of monitor? Does it have to be VGA? The original I think was 25".

I have free access to wood and tools so i'm ok with the cabinet.

Am i missing anything else guys?

you need the 8 pin power wire, it powers the sound board from the main board. I made my own, but they are easy to find (same wire for NBA Jam)
you need an 15Hz arcade monitor, not VGA. size doesnt matter.

I'll snap some pix of mine tonight

[oldgamesrbetter]

you need the 8 pin power wire, it powers the sound board from the main board. I made my own, but they are easy to find (same wire for NBA Jam)
you need an 15Hz arcade monitor, not VGA. size doesnt matter.

I'll snap some pix of mine tonight

Where can I find the 8 in power wire? I seem to have trouble. Someone on here offered to make one.

Any ideas where I can find a 15Hz monitor besides ebay?

YES! Please take pics of your MKII. I would love to see the set up on the inside.

[Jack Burton]

What size monitor do you need?

I have a spare 15khz capable Sony PVM monitor I could sell.  It's 13".

It looks like this:





You can't tell from the picture but the screen is actually already at a natural sloped angle like you would find on an arcade machine.  I don't know why it was manufactured this way, but it's cool. 

The picture on this thing is incredible.  You won't find an arcade monitor that looks better. 

[oldgamesrbetter]

Bump. Look at first post to avoid reading everything here.

[Turnarcades]

I would question the wisdom of creating a JAMMA-based Bar-Top. You're gonna need to cram a lot of genuine hardware inside a small space, and this is going to be incredibly difficult. Making it with a PC would simplify the wiring ten-fold, work out cheaper and save you getting electric shocks and a big meltdown with the heat generated in that tiny space.

[oldgamesrbetter]

I would question the wisdom of creating a JAMMA-based Bar-Top. You're gonna need to cram a lot of genuine hardware inside a small space, and this is going to be incredibly difficult. Making it with a PC would simplify the wiring ten-fold, work out cheaper and save you getting electric shocks and a big meltdown with the heat generated in that tiny space.

lol, I know.. if anything it'll be a learning experience. I really want this to work out. I'm sure i'll have some speed bumps. I don't care. it'll be fun none the less. I'll let you know if I completely F this up.

[Jack Burton]

I believe the best way to go about this would be to put the monitor and controls one on side and the PBC and power supply on the other, instead of the PCB-under-the-monitor style.

Here's my two-minute MS Paint sketch:



I'm sure he could find some kind of small coin mech to use to make it a true arcade machine and put a very small coin box in there.  I think it would be neat. 

Do you plan on this being one or two players?

[oldgamesrbetter]

Definitely want it to be two players. I want it to kind of be the drunken party game at my place lol.

I'm still deciding if I want a coin slot or not. That sketch isn't a bad idea at all if I go that direction though!

[Kevin Mullins]

Plus does anyone have a MK, MKII, or MK3 control panel (buttons & joysticks not needed)? Planning to have one of the originals so I could build around it.

You do realize how big those are right?
Considering you're talking about building a "bartop".

What monitor do you have?
You mentioned a 13", but is it even capable of working with the original board?

I would question the wisdom of creating a JAMMA-based Bar-Top. You're gonna need to cram a lot of genuine hardware inside a small space, and this is going to be incredibly difficult. Making it with a PC would simplify the wiring ten-fold, work out cheaper and save you getting electric shocks and a big meltdown with the heat generated in that tiny space.

Seriously....... it's about the same if not worse going the PC route.

[oldgamesrbetter]

This is true with how big the control panels are. Might be better off making my own smaller version to fit the cabinet. Just weighing out all of the options.

Its the monitor posted by Jack Burton on this topic.

[Turnarcades]

Seriously....... it's about the same if not worse going the PC route.

Not at all - we create many Bar-Tops and the reason it is simpler is because PC hardware is available much smaller and have ready-made cable solutions for connecting it all up using an LCD or CRT PC monitor. Doing it with arcade hardware you will have a lot of hard-wiring needing to be done and many 'exposed' boards, wires and circuits as opposed to just a simple PC mobo with sockets already built in.

[Jack Burton]

Using an original MKII CP would be possible but I wouldn't recommend it.  The cab would be too deep and wouldn't actually fit on a bar.  I recommend bunching bunching the controls closer together.  MK uses tap, tap motions instead of QCF and DP motions so I don't think it will be as much of an issue.  I used to play on some awfully cramped MKII conversions back when it came out and it's perfectly playable.  One of the Wal-marts I played at had a DK converted into MK!

[Malenko]

original control panel is pretty big......

sure you dont wanna just buy my MKII machine? it'd come with MKII and UMK3

[Gatsu]

it is a really good deal too! I'd get it if I lived closer. But thats a helluva trip.

[oldgamesrbetter]

original control panel is pretty big......

sure you dont wanna just buy my MKII machine? it'd come with MKII and UMK3

Someday i'd like to have a machine like that. But I want the fun/aggrivation of putting it together.

[Reptilz]

How is this comming along?

[WhereEaglesDare]

Something must have been done in Nine Months.....

[eclipso]

Look up the arcade vortex thread in the project announcments section thats his bartop.

[oldgamesrbetter]

Sorry guys! I forgot all about this thread haha. I went the pc route and did some photoshop artwork.. come over here and check it out.. its almost done!

ARCADE VORTEX http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99724.0

[oldgamesrbetter]

This is a video of the finished product