Neo-Geo MVS to Xbox cab project

[satoshi_matrix]

Hello everyone here at this fine site! I'm brand new around here and plan to buy my first arcade cabinet and undertake my first mod project. I intend to buy a Neo-Geo MVS 1 cart slot cab in near mint condition. I want to convert the cabinet into an Xbox 1 cabinet to play the many fighting games, arcade collections and of course homebrew emulators.

I'm posting this for two reasons. The first is to announce my project and will be updating it with lots of pictures. The second is because I have many questions that I'm hoping someone here will be kind enough to answer.

In order to pick it up, I will need to drive approximately 2 hours away. For those who have experience, what is the best way to transport an upright arcade cabinet the size of the MVS? Is it safe to lay it down? What can I expect it to weigh? Anything else I should know to transport it?

I've read that the Neo Geo MVS uses a slightly different connection from standard JAMMA. The first thing I need to ensure is that I can indeed connect an Xbox to an MVS through an Xbox to JAMMA connector.

I intend to replace the control panel with a custom Japanese style 8-button layout for both players. I've seen a few photos of the MVS control panel removed, and it looks like a curved "L" and not a straight piece. Does this present a problem for replacing the control panel with a new one? What material should I go with? I'd like to use wood if possible.

What are the recommend replacement buttons? I've modded a few home console arcade sticks over the years and the only ones I know are Sanwa OBSF-30 Snap Ins.


For anyone here who happens to own an MVS, I would like to know some specific info.
The exact measurements
How high off the floor the control panel rests (i.e can you play it sitting in a chair?)
How to open it (tools needed)
If possible, a picture of an empty cab from behind so I know what I'm going to be looking into.


As I'm sure that everyone here who has an arcade cabinet know, since this is my first cabinet this is a very exciting time for me.

Thanks kindly for any and all advice when working on my first cab!

[xmod]

hey,

nice project plans, could be interesting build.

as far as transport, I had to do the exact same thing, 2 hour drive to get me all the cabs i have. I transported 3 of em including a fully functional Gauntlet legends in a GMC Savana 1 ton. There were laid down on their back and no issues were reported, the Gauntlet still fully operational.

For the control panel, I used the included one from one of the cabs and rerouted the wiring to an actual xbox controller. Soldering skills and patience required. Only reason i am mentioning this is due to the 8 button CP you spoke of, I have the same for one of the players thinking it was enough, but realized that 10 buttons would be ideal. A, B, X, Y, Black, White, Left trigger, Right trigger, L3 and R3. I left out the triggers thinking i could managed, but you always end up needing one of the 10 buttons at one point or another. If you really have to go with that CP, i would suggest to leave black and white out over any other.

As far as the MVS cab, I am not familiar with it unfortunately.

I know how you feel... I started 2 weeks ago and I am hooked!!
hope my bit of info helped a little, good luck on your project.

xmod

[solidteezme]

Don't convert it to Xbox!! Unless it is in terrible condition with missing or faulty parts.

Neo Geo MVS cabs are awesome, just get a 5 slot system and some games and you will be away.

If your heart is set on turning it into mame, i would use a pc rather then an xbox, but i suppose thats just personal preference.

well theres my $0.2.

Solid,

[HaRuMaN]

Yes, you can transport a cab on it's back, just make sure all the parts are secure inside before you do so (monitor, pcb, etc).

The heaviest thing in a cab is the monitor, so be aware when you tip it on a dolly, it's gonna feel top heavy. 

If I had to guess, I would say you're looking at ~300 pounds, give or take 50.

[TEKNYNE]

Hey here is a good site for MVS info http://www.hardmvs.com/, it has the differences in standard JAMMA next to the MVS. I think Solidteezme meant a 6 slot MVS board, they are cool but be aware that they have issues do to the complexity.  2 and 4 slots are more reliable. I would keep it/ restore if possible and throw a JAMMA selector in there for other games or a PC.

TEKNYNE

[XYXZYZ]

Personally I'd recommend against this. First of all I had a six button/25" monitor cabinet with an Xbox. With an Xbox, you're stuck at MAMEoX 0.84, support for which is pretty much dead. The graphics are stretched and crappy looking, it doesn't run many of the high-end games that 0.84 emulates, (Xbox = 733 MHz processor/64 MB RAM) the old ROMs are hard to find, XMUGEN never works... the Xbox was just too limited. The only advantage it had was the ability to play DoA, Soul Calibur II and stuff like that, which I never played very often.  Got a decent PC with an ArcadeVGA card (graphics look awesome) and never looked back. Mine was also a pain in the ass to connect, but I assume you're going to use all the available adapters from Ultimcarc. (Xbox video and controller cables + JPAC.)

I do have an MVS 2-25 with a PC in it (just for Neo Geo emulation, so the cabinet remains untouched) and I had to modify the JPAC but it wasn't too hard. I can give you more details as you need them. For the control panel I'm pretty sure it's a proprietary shape so you may have to just drill new button holes into it. And the MVS cabs are actually a little short- for me it's more comfortable sitting down as the control panel is a tad too low standing up.

Oh, and if you do wreck a Neo Geo cabinet for MAME you can expect to get some flames if you want to show it off on the interwebs; you are defiling the sacred cow to some people. (you definitely don't want to show this at neo-geo.com) You'd probably be better off with a generic Dynamo cab if that's important to you.  Say, is this cabinet a dedicated MVS-1-25? There are a lot of MVS 1 slot machines that are just kits slapped onto conversion cabs. In which case you won't have any problem with the sacred cow thing.

[satoshi_matrix]

Thanks for the responses and advice guys! Here I'll address what's been said so far.

xmod: Because I don't yet understand anything about Jamma kick harnesses and the like, both player 1 and 2 panels will be padhacked Xbox controllers. I've done this kind of thing before and I've modified stock console arcade sticks with sanwa parts. I know my way around a soldering iron. I guess I wasn't clear on what I intend to with the control panel. Indeed, I plan on creating a 10 button setup for each player (A B X Y White Black L R Start Back). You mentioned L3 and R3, as in the click of the two thumb sticks. I didn't know that was possible to padhack into a push button! If at all possible, can you please post info and a photo of where to solder to?

solidteezme: I don't intend to discard the MVS hardware at all, I just want to remove it. Maybe I will buy Neo-Geo games someday, but even MVS carts cost an arm and a leg and I can't justify having an arcade in my home that only plays a few titles I'll never really play. I'm much more of a Capcom fighting guy than I am a KOF fan. I'm using a modified Xbox because I already have one and it has many awesome fighting games as well as emulators. Eventually I will probably upgrade to a dedicated PC for MAME, but for now I want to put in an Xbox. 

HarumaN: Does it make sense to remove the monitor for transportation? I've heard it's very bad to leave TVs on their sides and I just really want to ensure I don't damage it during shipping. Any other advice would be useful. Should I cushion it with a large blanket or something? 

TEKNYNE: I've already taken a look through that site, but I still need to know if I can simply use an Xbox to Jamma connector for audio and RGB. I have a friend who thinks it should work. I'm hoping I can find the answer from someone who knows Jamma and knows the MVS well enough to tell me for sure either way. If not, I'll have to replace the monitor with I suppose a 25" TV and use component cables instead. I don't have such a TV, so that cost would be a huge blow.

XYXZYZ: Thanks for the advice. I'd love to hear more about the Xbox cabinet you had. I realize going with an Xbox means outdated tech, but I've been using a new Mame emulator called CoinOps Reignite v3 and it seems to play everything I throw it at with the exception of Marvel Vs Capcom 1 and 2. I suppose for that I would need to do the 128MB RAM upgrade. All references to doing this on forums I find are years old and links to sellers of the necessary RAM chips only yield 404's. I do however have an Xbox for parts. Do you know if it is possible to simply remove both 32MB RAM chips from that Xbox and solder them in the two expansion RAM spaces on the other Motherboard? I think it should work in theory at least.

Like you said, the advantage of going with an Xbox means playing Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and indeed, Soul Calibur 2. Unlike your experience, these are fighting games that me and my friends still play often with console arcade sticks. One of my friends suggested that "wouldn't it be awesome if there was an Xbox arcade?" That's basically what prompted me to start this project.

Why go with an MVS? I absolutely love the way it looks. The bright red and white style would make it pop out in any room it's in. I'm not exactly sure what model of MVS this is, but I do know that it's only a single slot unit without the memory card or headphone jacks found in later models. It probably is a 1-25.


Things I'd still like to know

Is overheating an issue I'll need to be overly concerned about if I put the cabinet in an non air conditioned room?
In case I need to do touch up painting, what is the best kind of paint to use on arcade machines?
MVS specifics:
Does it have its own plugs in the back for servicing? [for a light, soldering iron etc]
How do you open it?
Is the control panel property shaped? could I not replace it with a rectangular piece of wood/metal?

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[HaRuMaN]

HarumaN: Does it make sense to remove the monitor for transportation? I've heard it's very bad to leave TVs on their sides and I just really want to ensure I don't damage it during shipping. Any other advice would be useful. Should I cushion it with a large blanket or something? 

Nope, leave the monitor in there.  You're more likely to damage it by trying to take it out anyway.  And yes, put a large blanket underneath the cabinet.

[Malenko]

MVS carts (arcade)are not expensive, the AES (home) ones are.

You are limiting yourself quite a bit with an XBOX but it is a VERY cost effective computer.

"10 buttons is ideal" until you realize you have 20 buttons on your panel. might be a tight fit on a 25" wide control panel.

To open the control panel on a standard MVS cab you reach up through the coin door and unlatch the 2 latches. Theres a buncha pix of my 2 and 4 slots in my sig.

[XYXZYZ]

Here's the Xbox machine I had. I still have the cabinet, just with a PC now. I never had any overheating issues. The Xbox case was removed for no particular reason.




Here's the padhacking birds nest I had. Later on I did the smart thing and built a proper Xbox > JAMMA converter by soldering all the stuff to a JAMMA fingerboard and stuffing it all in a box. You'll certainly want to do it this way if you plan on using the original Neo Geo hardware again. Note the subwoofer hanging under the control panel... by the way, the Ultimarc stuff will do video without problem, but you may need to build an amplifier for sound; the Xbox can't drive those speakers by itself. I gutted some PC speakers and connected the amplifier to the cabinet speakers originally, but for my Xbox > JAMMA converter I just made my own.

Here is the back of my MVS, with PC stuff secured to a board.

This is all you get with an MVS *-25, a small panel at the bottom for working with the power electronics. There is a very small removable panel at the top that lets you look at the monitor, but you can't do anything to it. The only way to service the monitor is to remove the glass on the front of the cabinet and remove the monitor completely. Also, note that the large power supply at the bottom is not connected to anything, the cabinet was actually using the smaller switching supply you see on the left, with mains passing through the old supply. (ignore the PC power supply)

To open a Neo Geo you have to open the coin door, stick your arm up the right and left sides of the top of the control panel and unhook two latches. The panel will then swing down like a door, and you can access the board, change games, fiddle with the monitor's remote board, etc. Here's mine with a modified JPAC connecting a PC-

Note the latches at the top.

And here's some control panel images from Payment_Due's Neo Geo restoration thread.



As you can see, you can't just use a piece of rectangular metal or wood. You may be able to get another MVS panel and modify it if you want to keep the original around.

That's all I can think of for now...

[XYXZYZ]

Theres a buncha pix of my 2 and 4 slots in my sig.

Say, do those middle panels come off easily? There aren't any screws or anything on my cabinet.

[TEKNYNE]

Sorry,

Alright I have not personally messed with a NeoGeo mvs cab. But did build a consolized mvs board a long time ago.
As far as I can tell. You will have to do a little rewiring or get a adapter to go inline as the wiring is different for speaker audio. JAMMA is mono the MVS is stereo.
With the XBox to JAMMA adapter for the speaker portion hooked up you will most likely fry something if it has connections for the speaker that is strait JAMMA.
As L and 10 pins have negative and positive voltages on them for JAMMA and the MVS has positive voltages on L and 10. So these connections will have to be removed or rewired to safely connect.
The low voltage audio only (positive mono) is on pin 11 on both JAMMA and MVS so that should be safe.

Sorry I am not very good at explaining things some one else might be able to explain better, also all of this depends on the audio setup of the cab. Is it amplified mono or strait speaker wire connections from the harness etc. Would be good to let people know.

[satoshi_matrix]

Wow, you guys are immensely helpful. TEKNYNE, I'm not sure I completely follow what your saying. I've confirmed that the cab is indeed an MVS-1-25. According to the hardMVS FAQ, "The 1 slot boards are the closest to JAMMA, but have the addition of a 4th button. Some of the 1 slot boards have an external connector to run Stereo sound instead of the mono JAMMA sound."

I of course do not yet have the cabinet yet (will be picking it up soon) but I do know that the Cabinet has two speakers so it must either be amplified mono or stereo. The seller claims the cabinet is near mint, so I assume the speakers are working mint as well. I certainly do not want to blow them. Are you saying that if I hook up the Jamma adapter to the MVS I will almost certainly cause them to blow? If so, is there a way around that to still get stereo sound?  If not, I suppose mono is fine. Sorry if I'm casuing you to repeat yourself, but please explain what I would need to do.

If it helps, this is the adapter I plan on using.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260578408824&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


How big are the stock buttons on the MVS? Looking at that empty control panel, those button holes look huge, way way bigger than could fit Sanwa 30 mm buttons.

[XYXZYZ]

I don't see any kick harness support on that adapter, but you're doing a padhack and just using the adapter for AV, right?

Go to HardMVS and get the JAMMA vs MVS comparison chart.
http://www.hardmvs.com/manuals/Jamma2NeoGeo4SlotPinout.pdf

All you're doing is making sure the right signal goes to the corresponding pin on the MVS harness, so you may have to cut some traces and route some jumper wires to get everything where it should be. For example, pin 15 (test switch) will have to be rerouted to pin M, and cut the trace on pin M (audio ground) and reroute that signal to one of the ground pins.

Audio wasn't a problem for me, just rout your left signal to pin L and your right signal to pin 10 and you should be good to go. The MVS grounds the speakers to plain old ground, nothing special there. I wouldn't worry about blowing the speakers.

And speaking of ground, one headache those Xbox controllers offer is multiple grounds. I had to do some fancy alligator clipping to get my controls working right.

[satoshi_matrix]

I asked the seller for more info on the Jamma to Xbox board and I was emailed the pdf manual. XYXZYZ maybe you or someone else can make sense of it and help me understand it. I've uploaded it to rapidshare.

http://rapidshare.com/files/381435701/TBX01_-_XBox_Console_Timer_Board_User_Manual.pdf.html

As well, please for someone who has an MVS, how big are the stuck buttons across? It looks like the stock buttons on the cab I plan to buy have been replaced and I want to replace them once again with Sanwa 30mm buttons if I'm able.

[XYXZYZ]

Oh yeah, the buttons holes are standard arcade button size, 1.125".

This is a rather strange adapter; first of all there's no key slot so you'll either have to use a Dremel tool and cut it yourself or remove the key from the MVS harness which will allow you to connect the adapter backwards, and if you have the MVS power supply hooked up that will send +12V into the "B" button line of the adapter, which I imagine will kill it. So just make sure you're not putting it in backwards.

There is no key mapped to the coin switch, this thing uses it's own circuitry to display "insert coin" on your Xbox screen, presumably making the system unplayable until you do, but there is a free play option. You still won't be able to insert a coin to start your MAME games (that's part of the authenticity!) unless you do a little hacking. Come to think of it, you may not need to do a pad hack; this adapter gives you eight buttons per player and you can just solder your kick harness onto the corresponding pins on the adapter that the MVS harness doesn't use. And maybe jump the back button over the the coin switch.

The documentation they provided doesn't tell you much, with all the parts on that board I assume it has the video and audio amplifiers you'll need.

[Malenko]

Say, do those middle panels come off easily? There aren't any screws or anything on my cabinet.

yeah, tapped them from the inside with a hammer and luckily all the staples stayed pretty straight. They aren't meant to come off (especially repeatedly).

[satoshi_matrix]

Thanks for your help. So the buttons are 1.125" which my math says is 28mm. Sanwa buttons are 30 mm across so I suppose I'll have to do a bit of filing in order to get it to fit. Can anyone recommend the best tool? If I add more buttons onto the existing metal panel as it seems I cannot replace it, does anyone here know where I could get a custom overlay? I'm thinking something like a Lamilabel as it's something I'll need to design myself.

XYXZYZ I once again thank you for your help, but I am an absolute beginner at understanding arcade parts. Could you please explain what a"key slot" is and what it does? If its an existing part on the MVS, why would I need to insert it backwards? Is there a way of telling which side is "correct" on both the slot and the board itself?

I'm not particularly interested in anything to do with the coin slot as this cabinet will be in my home for only me and my friends to play. I don't intend to ever have it needing real money to play. I'm still going to have to do padhacks as I plan on each player having all 10 buttons on the Xbox pad available, and possibly 12 if L3 and R3 are possible to padhack. xmod mentioned it. Is it possible to padhack those inputs to a push button? In CoinOps (Xbox Mame emu) these are used to toggle auto fire on and off.

However, all this might be an idea to shift over to a future cabinet. In my searching for MVS info I've come across the prospect of chinese MVS multicarts that have like 100 games in 1. Anyone know much about these? If they're really that good I might end up leaving the MVS intact.

I also have the option to buy Rolling Thunder 1 for $100. It's got a 19" monitor and a 25" horizontal plane. I know I'm off topic, but as far as arcade monitors go, how big is the maximum size I can retrofit a newer monitor in there?  

Sorry I've shifted around so much. lol hopefully this all makes sense in hindsight.

[xmod]

xmod: Because I don't yet understand anything about Jamma kick harnesses and the like, both player 1 and 2 panels will be padhacked Xbox controllers. I've done this kind of thing before and I've modified stock console arcade sticks with sanwa parts. I know my way around a soldering iron. I guess I wasn't clear on what I intend to with the control panel. Indeed, I plan on creating a 10 button setup for each player (A B X Y White Black L R Start Back). You mentioned L3 and R3, as in the click of the two thumb sticks. I didn't know that was possible to padhack into a push button! If at all possible, can you please post info and a photo of where to solder to?

No prob.

Where you see the analog on one side, you should see the button it clicks on when analog is pushed down.




Flip it around, and you will see the 4 pins from that button, solder to the one that has a trace going somewhere (circled), the other 3 will be grounded (arrow).




the triggers are the tricky part as they technically cannot be done! upon removing the triggers in order to reach the solder points, you will be removing a resistor due to pressure sensitive switches. In order for me to get this working, I had to solder the 2 points together, otherwise it will act like the triggers are consistently pressed.

Currently I do not know of a way to wire up L and R buttons. You Can solder to the blob that you just made but I noticed that A, B and possibly other buttons are activated when this is done. I know this sucks, and I'm looking into it. If anyone finds a way before I do please let me know and I'll update the site

Check this site out for further info, it helped me alot to get this going.
http://www.nuclearplayground.com/joysticks/

hope this helps buddy.




edit:
PS: MAME and XMugen runs like a charm. I have tested over 80 arcade classics with it and no issues or lag.
Obviously, you wont run recent stuff, but anything under 2001 runs 100%.
Mugen has 5 character sets and it just a cool addition to a cab. I can also run Daphne with all these great laser disk arcade giants like Dragon's Lair.

I know the ultimate solution is a PC to be able to run even more stuff like dreamcast, Sega's M2 and that Virtual pinball stuff, but xbox is a quick and non expensive solution.

ALSO, for the coin door: most arcade emus like FBA and MAME uses the Back button to add coins, just wire your Back button to the switch of the coin slot. that was very easy and rewarding.

[satoshi_matrix]

Hey thanks! That looks like its for a Duke Controller F. Do you have pics of the controller s? Are the soldering points any different?

[xmod]

Soldering points are very similar to all controllers. But would suggest to stick with official xbox ones, S controller being the best, so good thing.

sorry for the pic, but the good ones are inside the cab already. previous pics where from a duke like you said and many failed madcatz! lol

L3 on the S controller

[HaRuMaN]

Xbox S controllers are the best for hacking.

You can hack everything, including the triggers.

[xmod]

ok, did some searching this morning about the triggers and found some info for us buddy.

The problem in removing variable resistors is it leaves zero voltage. Because of this the PCB will usually consider them engaged. Triggers will be usually be viewed as held in, and analog sticks will be viewed as a diagonal.

To replace variable resistors with steady resistors that will make it so interfering signals are not sent, first remove the resistor by heating the three solder point and pulling it out. For variable resistors used by triggers, usually one steady resistor is needed between the voltage source and the middle signal point. This will send a low voltage (which usually is not zero) and make the PCB consider it unengaged. 10K resistors usually work fine, but around 5K is often preferred so it does not affect much current in the PCB.

So the 2 connection that I soldered together must be undone, and using the middle one, adding a resistor of 5-10k value should do the trick.

Im going to do one of mine and see how it goes, will have informative pics for you.

[HaRuMaN]

Or you could just do like I do, and leave the trigger pots in place.

[satoshi_matrix]

More complicated, but is it possible to hack the left thumbstick to the digital input needed for an arcade stick? Every padhack I've ever seen gets its traces from the d-pad. If the left thumbstick itself could be converted into an arcade stick, it would make possible playing games like Outrun 2006 and The Red Star on the arcade cab.

[HaRuMaN]

More complicated, but is it possible to hack the left thumbstick to the digital input needed for an arcade stick?

Not that I know of.

[xmod]

Like he says, leave the trigger pots on, much less complicated.
I was up late last night making the big decision to add the triggers to my CP and yeah, screwed an S controller that the pots where already off.
The other one which I had left the whole trigger assembly worked perfect by hooking up to the middle point.

More complicated, but is it possible to hack the left thumbstick to the digital input needed for an arcade stick? Every padhack I've ever seen gets its traces from the d-pad. If the left thumbstick itself could be converted into an arcade stick, it would make possible playing games like Outrun 2006 and The Red Star on the arcade cab.

some info on that:

In replacing analog sticks and their variable resistors, things are more complicated. First, removing them from several solder points can be difficult. You can usually bend the resistors away from stick and just deal with removing the other eight points. You will need some desoldering braid and probably some flux paste. Desoldering braid works like a mop; first cover the solder needing removal with flux paste so the heat does not ruin the board and the braid can absorb the solder, then press the braid directly against the solder and heat it using a soldering iron; move the braid around like a mop and collect as much solder as you can. You can also submerge it in constantly heated solder and have it soak it up. Keep in mind the braid needs to be heated too to absorb the solder. As braid is used, it is cut and thrown away. With as much solder removed from the analog sticks as possible, push the stick out of the PCB; you may need some pliers to help in this.

source:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/pcb_wiring.html

Im not going into that, too much work, even tho very tempting. maybe later, but for now looking to finish this build so I can move on to the real project which will be a Mame with a PC.

[HaRuMaN]

About that, much easier to desolder the analogs with a solder sucker.  I've done a couple of those where the guy wanted the pad as flat as possible.

[satoshi_matrix]

I'm a solder sucker man myself. Braid I find is harder to use. I'm been thinking of what padhack to go with, but then I realized that I could simply gut one of my existing console arcade sticks. With regular Xbox controllers you have cut the yellow wire and install a push button to turn the system on and off through the controller. Is it possible to extend the Xbox power button to its own pushbutton on the control panel directly without going through the controller? Basically I just want to extend the power button directly to the cp. If this can be done, how?

[HaRuMaN]

I haven't decased my Xbox in a while, but this should be possible.  Open yours up, look at the power button.  It should just be a simple switch - 2 connections.  Solder a wire to each connection, and run them to a pushbutton on your CP. 

[XCVG]

I'm a solder sucker man myself. Braid I find is harder to use. I'm been thinking of what padhack to go with, but then I realized that I could simply gut one of my existing console arcade sticks. With regular Xbox controllers you have cut the yellow wire and install a push button to turn the system on and off through the controller. Is it possible to extend the Xbox power button to its own pushbutton on the control panel directly without going through the controller? Basically I just want to extend the power button directly to the cp. If this can be done, how?

Yes, IIRC do the console side of the hack, then connect it to a switch instead of going to the controller. Bad explaination, maybe you should try XBOX-Scene?

[xmod]

Basically I just want to extend the power button directly to the cp. If this can be done, how?

very easy.


Front panel power assembly



Backside
Just hook up your positive and ground.



Have the wire come out underneath the front plate, through the vents.



Nice little pushbutton on the side, or CP if you wish.



made the whole thing with molex connectors for easy removal.



 

[njay]

i really like the support in this thread ! 

[satoshi_matrix]

WOW that's excellent! I see you did it with a pushbutton hitting a microswitch. I assume you can simply that by simply wiring it to a Sanwa OBSN-24?

This is really looking excellent.

[satoshi_matrix]

I got in touch with the seller today and I've confirmed I'm going to pick it up this Saturday. I plan to test it out to ensure it works before I pick it up, but I've heard arcade monitors can be deadly to the touch even after you unplug them if mishandled. Is it safe to touch the outside casing, even the back? Also is it safe to lay the cabinet down after its recently been on?   

I'm probably being silly and paranoid, but I think that's better than being dead. Any precautions you guys can give would be awesome.

I plan to lay the cab down on a blanket on the floor of the van I'm renting. What is the best way to lay it down? On its back or one of the sides? Or maybe the front?

[Malenko]

I transported all 3 of my neogeo cabs on their backs with no issues.  Most of the death/pain stories come from the anode suction cup on the monitor. Suffice to say, it ---smurfing--- hurts when you do it wrong. I discharged the monitor (a 32" de-cased TV) TWICE and it still got me when I was puttin the cap back on.

[satoshi_matrix]

Okay, sounds good. Anyone have any final advice regarding transporting? The big pick up day is only a few days away! I'm as exciting now as I was for the Wii launch back in November 2006!

Edit: I'm doing some ordering now for replacement parts. Does anyone know where I can find cherry microswitches for sale? Lizardlick doesn't have them. I only need four.

[Malenko]

cherry brand is hard to come by, the replacement is just as good. I might have a few .....somewhere

[satoshi_matrix]

Awesome. If you find them, I'll gladly buy them off you.

[Yvan256]

So you bought THREE Neo-Geo MVS cabinets?! 

Are you planning on having spare parts, empty cabs, etc? Building one "perfect" cab from three bad cabs?