First Jamma Cab, MK2

[Slydsho]

so i got my first Jamma Cabinet, Mortal Kombat 2,
Personally This is the Mortal Kombat I never really enjoyed playing, but from my research the cabinet design itself is the same for all of them (?)
so what i would like to do is convert it to play MK1, MK2, MK3, UMK3.

I've Gathered that i should get a J-Pac for the project, but with all the information i can find on this conversion, I can't seem to find out what I want to know...

1, do i need a pcb to control the buttons and sticks like an i-pac?
2. do i need to get a 15khz vga card? (ArcadeVGA 3000 Card PCIe)
3. is any soldering involved or is the j-pac plug and play?

I've literally just got home with the machine and play tested it to confirm that nothing was damaged from the road trip.
picked it up from a OU Frat House, these guys rebuild jamma cabs in the basement, pretty awesome people too.

as far as i can tell, the left coin mech isn't functional, missing the micro switch assembly, and the two joysticks have had a good life, now are very loose and not accurate when moving about the screen. last but not least, the marquee isnt lighting up... I've only opened it up to confirm that its all "original" and not a pc to begin with and play tested a few rounds... oh yeah, also has a slight buzz from the speakers, but nothing loud, just barely noticeable

aaaand pics or it didnt happen! here it is my new piggy bank.   

[adamated87]

Looks like a sweet cabinet to me.

I'm working on my first mame cabinet, and last night I play tested my i-pac4. Personally, I feel like I made the right decision on how easy everything has been to set up. I'm sure that you could do the keyboard or controller mods, but I honestly prefer it this way so because of how easy troubleshooting is.

[dandro]

Yes a JPAC will plug right into the harness, so all the buttons will work, etc.. however since the JPAC gets it's power from the USB, you'll want to disconnect the power from the power supply via the harness so you don't fry the JPAC. THere are a bunch of video cards out there that support soft15k, quite frankly I keep reading issue after issue with people using the ArcadeVGA and trying to get it to work right, but then likewise, I read nothing but awesomeness from them too.. 50/50. I used a JPAC with Jamma harness and a Radeon 1600 Pro card (with soft15) works perfectly. Jamma cabs complete like this need pretty much no tweaking to work with MAME.

[segaleeroy]

have not seen a Mortal Kombat 2 cabinet since i was a kid i want one

[Slydsho]

Yes a JPAC will plug right into the harness, so all the buttons will work, etc.. however since the JPAC gets it's power from the USB, you'll want to disconnect the power from the power supply via the harness so you don't fry the JPAC. THere are a bunch of video cards out there that support soft15k, quite frankly I keep reading issue after issue with people using the ArcadeVGA and trying to get it to work right, but then likewise, I read nothing but awesomeness from them too.. 50/50. I used a JPAC with Jamma harness and a Radeon 1600 Pro card (with soft15) works perfectly. Jamma cabs complete like this need pretty much no tweaking to work with MAME.

thats great to hear! I'm gonna do a bit of research on soft15 and see what all gfx cards i can use.

[HaRuMaN]

Have a working MKII pcb in it?  Want to get rid of it?   

[Malenko]

other than cost, why not Multi JAMMA it? I play MK1, MKII, UMK3, WWF Wrestlemania, and NBA Jam TE on my MKII

[Slydsho]

to be truly honest i only want umk3.... the board is so hard to come by for me though, i found a few suppliers but they are sold out, and ebay has one but the bidding is what kills me, no time for that... i would love to trade someone for a umk3 and keep it all jamma. but yeah in the end the MK2 Jamma and sound board will be sold/traded (at least from my understanding i get rid of the 2 and only get the umk3 jamma to play)

[Slydsho]

other than cost, why not Multi JAMMA it? I play MK1, MKII, UMK3, WWF Wrestlemania, and NBA Jam TE on my MKII

multi jamma as in one of those XX-in-1 jamma board/box or do you mean each jamma board on a switch of some sort?

I've also came across a XXX-in-1 Jamma that has all the mortal kombats, but would it be worth it, im going to end up with a ton of games i don't want on the machine, unless you guys know of a better multi-game, single board setups out there...

heres the link to the multi that has all the desired MK games (mainly just want UMK3)
http://www.jammaboards.com/store/2019-in-1-games-king-multigame-jamma-pcb-kit.html

and if i decided to get this "jamma board" would it be plug and play? (still total newb at jamma conversions, only understand that "jamma" is a standardized plug type)

[Malenko]

I meant all the MK jammaboards plugged into a switcher.

[Slydsho]

I meant all the MK jammaboards plugged into a switcher.

yeah i did a bit more research and came to the conclusion of that.... that specific multi unit i linked is just a computer with a jamma out. not satisfactory.... so i have deided that i would like to make the cabinet a dedicated mk3 or umk3, either is fine because both of those games have consumed my childhood, i easily paid for both machines already with how many quarters i put into every mk3/umk3 cab i've seen.

[Malenko]

the odds of finding a non ultimate MK3 are pretty slim, and when a board does pop up is mega expensive. Im sure theres a way to revert a UMK3 to MK3, but why would you bother. Just be sure to get the juggernaught roms from hobbyroms when you do land a UMK3 board.  Out of curiosity, whats your budget?

[Slydsho]

to be honest i can afford up to $400 for the board but im not willing to pay that much, because i can build a mame conversion for the unit for under $300... i guess to better put it, my limit would be about $250-$300 on the high end of the scale, i saw one sell on ebay for about $100 just before i got the cab, i wasnt sure if the guy on craigslist was going to sell it from under me so i didnt bid on the PCB, now i regret it.

btw: love your mk/ki2 cab

[Malenko]

thanks! My KI2 is gone, but I still have my KI1 cab and my busted KI2 boards.

As for UMK3, I have a working board but Ive often thought about converting my MKII back to just MKII and getting rid of UMK3 (MK1 and WWF dont need the run button) so if you cant ever find one, I might hook you up. I have the 1.1 roms and the zeus hack (replaces stryker and shang with Human smoke and noob siabot)
Honestly I dont play on my MKII cab that much, it was the first dedicated cab I ever bought and I dont ever plan to get rid of it.

Your budget is a little high, I wouldnt spend more than 150 for one, I'd sell you mine somewhere in that range (I'd hafta to look up what the zeus hack cost me) + shipping . But keep looking and consider me a possible last resort. There's a user on here names q*bert_op I believe, he sells PCBs all the time and is a GREAT seller. I bought a T Unit MK1 and an NBA Jam TE off of him a couple years ago.

[Slydsho]

sweet deal, i'll most def keep you in mind, if i get a umk3 board, then i would have no use for the mk2 board, so if your in need of that board, a possible trade+cash can be done.... also if i get the hack roms, id also like the original roms (if you still got them) to be honest i'm looking for that untampered with childhood memory of mk3/umk3 so the originals is what i would use...side note, i just dumped 15 quarts at 25c=1cred in mk2 and couldn't get past to 10th fighter 

[Malenko]

I have the original 1.1 ROMs (not enough difference between 1.0 and 1.1 to have both) and I have the replacement Zeus ROMs. I also already have MK1, MKII, and WWF. If you could find me an NHL Open Ice board, you'd be my hero and I'd trade you even up for it

[Slydsho]

the 1.1 roms are perfect. Ill see what i can do for open ice, if i find anything, you will be the first to know. 

[Malenko]

When you find the UMK3, Haruman has been looking or an MKII for ages.

[HaRuMaN]

When you find the UMK3, Haruman has been looking or an MKII for ages.

 

[Slydsho]

ill take care of Haruman, I promise. 

[MK3FAN]

I meant all the MK jammaboards plugged into a switcher.

That is what I did a few years ago...



I put all 5 pcbs in one cabinet via a 6-in-1 switcher. Much easier than the Mame route. I also have a UMK3 board that I can sell you with ANY revision of the game you want. How's $100 sound? Shoot me a PM if you are interested. It's in really great condition with 1.1 currently installed in it. Here are some pics....

[Slydsho]

 
that is a very impressive setup, i've seen bits and parts for doing a multi jamma, but thats the first ive seen in action, the remote control is awesome, and your playing level is impressive as well. if and when i get the umk3 jamma, im going to offer the mk2 jamma to haruman, if he decides he doesnt want it, then a multi jamma is the way to go. thats just crazy how well it just switches through the boards, but then again i am new to the jamma scene.

[Malenko]

That's a good deal from a known trusted member (I vouch for him, if that means anything to you) , odds are HaRuMaN will cover most of that cost when he buys MKII from you. Everybody wins.

hey MK3Fan, you don't happen to have any NHL Open Ice boards do ya?

[HaRuMaN]

Oh I wants it.  For sure.

[MK3FAN]

That's a good deal from a known trusted member (I vouch for him, if that means anything to you) , odds are HaRuMaN will cover most of that cost when he buys MKII from you. Everybody wins.

hey MK3Fan, you don't happen to have any NHL Open Ice boards do ya?

Unfortuantely, no. I only have the one in my cab. I have 2 spare Wolf Units, but they are back ups in case any of the 6 I have in my cabs go bad. If you can find an Open Ice security chip, you can swap the roms onto any Wolf Unit and be good.

[HaRuMaN]

Ooh!  Thanks for the MK2, Slydsho!  Packed great, everything arrived in excellent shape, tested great.   

[Meph]

Any new progress on this?  Curious to see what he came up with.  I also did a Multi MK this year with MK1, MK2, UMK3, and WWF.  I restored a MK1 cabinet and a member on KLOV created an amazing 6 button (MK3/MK4) layout in the MK1 style which you can now buy from Rich at ToG.  I went with a 6in1 switcher and a kick harness condenser.  It was a fun project.  I hope the OP doesn't ditch the art on the cab since MK2 is probably the best cab of the 4.

Warehouse Fresh!


MK1, MK2, UMK3, and Switcher in this pic.  Before I cleaned up the wiring.

[Slydsho]

that looks amazing, but i had to sell mine.... a friend bought it and the cabinet looked exactly as it sat in the previous photos but was running umk3... as soon as i get my housing situation taken care of, i will be buying it back and making progress