Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: M.Lanza on December 24, 2008, 01:23:43 am

Title: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: M.Lanza on December 24, 2008, 01:23:43 am
Hmmm....

So, ever since I converted my jamma cabinet into a vertical mame machine,
i've had an urge to play some of the jamma boards that have just sat in a box for the past several months.

Emulation is nice and all and mame does an excellent job of reliving the arcade experence through software
especially when interfaced with actual arcade hardware and mounted in an actual arcade cabinet,
but nothing beats the feeling of playing the games on the actual hardware,
so i've decided to build a supergun so I could play my jamma boards on my t.v.

I've been thinking of building one for the past month or so and already had most of the parts I needed
sitting in boxes not doing anything, so I felt that if I just took what I had so far and set it all out so
that they were constantly visable, I would become more motivated to start this project,
so I did just that.

The components I have so far:

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC070066.jpg)

New jamma harness
Jamma powersupply
AC line filter
Fuse block
Terminal block
Terminal connectors
Plunger switch (power on/off)
Adjustable jamma board holder
New happ buttons
Slightly used sanwa jlw joystick
Box to mount controlls

A few jamma boards to start out with:

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC070069.jpg)

Tetris (atari)
Tetris plus (jaleco)
WWF superstars (american technos)
Neo geo mvs (MV1-F with unibios) and a few cartridges:

Art of fighting, world heroes 2, kof 94, kof 96, and metal slug 2

So far, I'm off to a good start.

The first ting I'm going to do is build my joystick.

When I was going through my boxes, I found this.

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC070067.jpg)

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC070068.jpg)

It used to be a case for my psp that I got at gamestop, but now it's going to be a joystick.
It's about the perfect depth for the joystick and buttons and it has enough surface area
to mount everything comfortably.

All I have to do is tear out all of the crap inside the case and cut out the mounting holes
once I find a joystick / button configuration that I like.

So far I'm thinking about this setup.

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC070071.jpg)

So far, I still need:

A base to mount all of the jamma components on, along with some rubber feet.
A video transcoder ( I'd like component, composite, and an s-video connection )
Joystick ports ( I'm thinking about db-15 connectors so I can use VGA cables )

I'd like for this thing to be no larger than a colecovision.

That's all I have so far. It should be fun.
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: Hornpipe2 on December 24, 2008, 03:08:56 pm
What's a supergun?
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: Curbfeeler on December 24, 2008, 03:38:02 pm
Quote
What's a supergun?

Dude, who cares.  All that matters for this project is:

James Bond Factor = 10 of possible 10
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: Franco B on December 24, 2008, 04:32:22 pm
Lol. It appears I'm not the only one here full of Xmas 'spirit'  :)

A supergun it basically the components of a JAMMA cab shoehorned into a smaller box so that people with JAMMA etc carts can play the games without a full size cabinet. See [here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperGun)] for a little more info.
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: M.Lanza on December 25, 2008, 03:00:01 am
I've got the controller box populated.

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC080066.jpg)

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC080068.jpg)

and added some rubber feet to the bottom of it.

(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/war2thegrave/PC080067.jpg)

The top is kind of flimsy since it's made from a thick form of posterboard.
It will hold up well enough for the time being though.
I'll probably get a better box once and transfer the controls over once the rest of the supergun finished,
but it will probably be a while though.

That's all I can do untill I can order a jroc transcoder, but it is a start.
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: slasherman on December 26, 2008, 01:01:02 pm
Very nice and portable project ..how is the sanwa jlw joystick compared to Mag Stick plus ?
Mag Stick plus is a little bit too tight for my taste...a like joysticks with a long travel
Title: Re: Back again and building a supergun
Post by: M.Lanza on December 27, 2008, 07:25:50 am
I've never used a mag stick so I can't really compare the two.

The jlw is farily configurable by changing the shaft length, the spring,
and restrictor plates, so the throw can be adjusted to your liking.

I can't really complain about it, though it doesn't feel as tough or durable
compared to american stick such as the happ super, but I guess that japanese
arcade machines weren't expected to receive the kinds of abuse that
american or european cabinets normally would.