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Anyone convert their MAME Cabinet to JAMMA?

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DaveMMR:
Don't know why but I'm a little burnt out on having to go through Windows (or any other OS) to get to my machine running. Yeah, I rigged a button, have a Smartstrip, hid Windows and minimized boot time, but for some reason I feel like I want my machine be more "authentic" by just being able to flip a switch and have a game (or menu) running and then just flip it right off, without the "shutdown".

On top of that, it seems "simpler". Instead of having 600 games (or whatever), of which maybe five get played at any one time, that all have various button-lighting profiles and control-schemes, it'd be nice to not have to worry about those stupid little things.

So anyone throw a Jamma harness in their cab (or think about it)? Any thoughts, opinions, warnings, advice on going that route?

(Also, I do still like MAME and will probably end up keeping a PC hooked up with a Jpac in the cabinet for those times I want an "unlimited" selection.) 

paigeoliver:
Mame and Jamma in the same cabinet has never been worth it to me. You end up futzing around with it a lot and breaking stuff. Easier to just have 2 machines.

You can also go DOS based and not have to worry about the shutdown.

yotsuya:
DaveMMR-

I'm considering building a cocktail and wiring it for JAMMA, then getting PCBs for it as well as a XX to Jamma adapter (say, Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga). I already have a MAME vertical and MAME horizontal, so I think a this would work best on a cocktail- I'd try to keep it more "real-world" authentic.

opt2not:
I just converted my cocktail cabinet to Jamma for the same reasons you wrote. I found I started getting annoyed of configuring and loading Windows and UI's, soft 15khz, hacking a cabinet together with Mame interfaces, having some games not perfectly emulated, dealing with power/smart strip stuff...etc. 
Mame is nice, but there is something about real hardware that feels better to me, and in some cases plays better. I find I use Mame as a sampling tool, if I wanted to try out a game I've never heard of before, while original hardware is for games I want to concentrate on and of course own outright.

Converting to Jamma just made sense to me. You still retain the ability to add a Mame device later (via Jpac), but with the conveniences of wiring standardization to support real boards.
I used Bob Robert's guide, it's a great how-to resource:
http://www.therealbobroberts.net/jh.html  (follow this to a "t" and you'll be fine).

Some words of advice:
- Get a good quality Jamma harness. This goes with a Switching Power supply. My rule of thumb is to avoid the ones made in china. Go for the ones built in the USA or Japan (mainly replacement harnesses for candy cabinets). Some of the chinese made harnesses are built with too thin wire for the power connections, and in some cases the connections are properly secured to the connector.

- Switching to Jamma means you will be giving up on amplified as well as stereo sound. But I followed Bob Robert's "cheap amp" tutorial, and was able to get a mono sound from the jamma connector, outputted to both channels and amplified. The guide requires a bit of soldering know-how, but it really isn't that difficult.

- Supporting more than 3 buttons will require a kick harness. For my cocktail I didn't need to worry about kick buttons since it's I'm just using the standard jamma 2 button setup. But if you need to run Capcom boards like Street Fighter or the beat-em-ups like D&D, you'll need to get yourself a Kick harness. (either CPS1/2, or CPS3)

- Buy molex connectors for modularity. This makes it easy to take components out, as well as organize connections throughout your cabinet.

- Cable ties are your friend.

CheffoJeffo:
I ONLY put MAME boxes wired for JAMMA in my cabs.

It is so much easier to deal with if I want to make a change or use my MultiJAMMA. Or, if say, I want to change my vertical MAME to an xx-in-1, I spend 20 seconds and all is done.

The JPac is Cheffo's best friend for MAME boxes.

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