Monitor, JPAC, ArcadeVGA, Speakers, Buttons

[Phatryde350z]

I bought a KI Cabinet over the weekend.  I ordered a JPAC and ArcadeVGA.  My question is this:  Once I take the JAMMA connector from the cabinet to the JPAC and then to the ArcadeVGA, how does the monitor get power?  According to Ultimarc, they recommend removing the old PCB / Power Supply.  Can I use the power supply in the cabinet even though it is not recommended?  Will the power supply be powered without the JAMMA connector connected to the PCB?  If the cabinet power supply is disconnected, does the power come from the computer (not likely I would assume)?  

Also, a quick question about the extra buttons (JAMMA+).  I also read on Ultimarc that the JAMMA standard only supports 3 buttons.  Using the JPAC, is it just a matter of finding out which buttons don't work and then daisey chaning the ground and then connecting them to the JPAC?

I would like to use the speakers already in the cabinet.  I am assuming that the speakers are already amped.  Can I tap into the speaker wires before they go to the amp and somehow wire them with an rca to headphone connector, then  connect them to the sound card?

Thanks in advance for help that anyone can provide.  I apologize if these have been answered before.

Nick

[SirPeale]

My question is this:  Once I take the JAMMA connector from the cabinet to the JPAC and then to the ArcadeVGA, how does the monitor get power?

The monitor does't get power from the power supply.  It get power from the isolation transformer, which has converted mains power to an isolated current.

[AlanS17]

I know this is off topic, but how much did you pay for the KI cabinet, and how complete was it?

[Phatryde350z]

I know this is off topic, but how much did you pay for the KI cabinet, and how complete was it?

The cabinet was 100% complete and working.  It was a KI cabinet with KI2 in it.  The controls, cabinet, monitor and speakers are all in excellent condition.  I paid $500 for it.  I thought that I got a great deal as now I don't have to buy a monitor/tv and also do not have to wire controls.  I couldn't believe the sharpness and color from the monitor, it looks brand new.  

Nick

[Phatryde350z]

My question is this:  Once I take the JAMMA connector from the cabinet to the JPAC and then to the ArcadeVGA, how does the monitor get power?

The monitor does't get power from the power supply.  It get power from the isolation transformer, which has converted mains power to an isolated current.

Thanks for the reply, I am not really sure what you mean though as I do not have any experience with arcade cabinets and have limited knowlegde of electrical componets.  Could you be a little bit more descriptive on how I would get power to the monitor with the JPAC and the power supply disconnected?

[AlanS17]

I know this is off topic, but how much did you pay for the KI cabinet, and how complete was it?

The cabinet was 100% complete and working.  It was a KI cabinet with KI2 in it.  The controls, cabinet, monitor and speakers are all in excellent condition.  I paid $500 for it.  I thought that I got a great deal as now I don't have to buy a monitor/tv and also do not have to wire controls.  I couldn't believe the sharpness and color from the monitor, it looks brand new.  

Nick

Yeah those KI machines have great monitors.

Do you plan on keeping the sideart or are you gonna get rid of it? KI is one of those games that had great side-art. Please don't kill it!  

By the way, the board w/ HD is worth some money. You can re-coup some costs of the cabinet on Ebay. However, you may want to consider this...

If you sell the KI2 set and get a KI set with the money (since they are worth about the same) you can sell the machine for at LEAST $700... I've seen them go as high as $900 if people are interested. That's at least $200 more towards building a better machine and you just saved that pretty cabinet!

Otherwise, maybe you can leave the sideart intact and save the CP.

I don't want to tell you what to do with your machine, but it's a great game and a pretty cabinet... You'd be hard-pressed to make better sideart than what that machine came with, and that's hard to say.

[Phatryde350z]

I know this is off topic, but how much did you pay for the KI cabinet, and how complete was it?

The cabinet was 100% complete and working.  It was a KI cabinet with KI2 in it.  The controls, cabinet, monitor and speakers are all in excellent condition.  I paid $500 for it.  I thought that I got a great deal as now I don't have to buy a monitor/tv and also do not have to wire controls.  I couldn't believe the sharpness and color from the monitor, it looks brand new.  

Nick

Yeah those KI machines have great monitors.

Do you plan on keeping the sideart or are you gonna get rid of it? KI is one of those games that had great side-art. Please don't kill it!  

By the way, the board w/ HD is worth some money. You can re-coup some costs of the cabinet on Ebay. However, you may want to consider this...

If you sell the KI2 set and get a KI set with the money (since they are worth about the same) you can sell the machine for at LEAST $700... I've seen them go as high as $900 if people are interested. That's at least $200 more towards building a better machine and you just saved that pretty cabinet!

Otherwise, maybe you can leave the sideart intact and save the CP.

I don't want to tell you what to do with your machine, but it's a great game and a pretty cabinet... You'd be hard-pressed to make better sideart than what that machine came with, and that's hard to say.

Do you happen to know the make of the monitor that comes in them?  I am going to pop open the back when I get home to see if I can find any indications.

The sideart is actually printed on the board it appears.  I thought it would have been vinyl.  I am not sure if that is how most of them are or not (I don't remember back 10 years when I used to be in the arcade every day ).

Yeah I figured that the board w/hd was worth some money and was planning on selling it on E-Bay.  I opened the coin door yesterday and also found the KI and KI2 manuals in MINT condition in there.  There was also about 20-30 or so dollars worth of tokens sitting in the back of the coin door .

I was planning on leaving the sideart for sure as I think it looks awesome.  I like the CP also and will probably leave that too.  I would like to get a custom printed marquee though.  I've always wanted a Midway cabinet and I am glad that I finally got one for a good price.  It took a while to find.

I just need to figure out how to get power to the monitor (does it have a standard plug?) then I will be good to go.  I don't think the JPAC/ArcadeVGA will be too hard to get running nor the wiring of the extra buttons.

Nick

[GCS]

Just curious, are you in the DC area??

Greg

[Phatryde350z]

Just curious, are you in the DC area??

Greg

How come you are curious?  I live in PA like 10 mins from Philadelphia.

[GCS]

Just curious as I know someone in the DC area who was selling one.

I almost bought it myself but went another direction instead.  I have seen pics of his and it is in EXCELLENT condition so I was just curiouse if you had gotten the same one.  Not everyday you see a KI2 machine around (oh and his asking price was pretty close to the same as what you paid for it).

Simply my own curiosity  

ENJOY IT!!

Greg

[SirPeale]

Thanks for the reply, I am not really sure what you mean though as I do not have any experience with arcade cabinets and have limited knowlegde of electrical componets.  Could you be a little bit more descriptive on how I would get power to the monitor with the JPAC and the power supply disconnected?

Once you get the cabinet, open the back up and follow the wiring from the monitor power back down, and you'll see that it terminates at a transformer.  It's called an isolation transformer, and from there it should go to mains power.

There is a thread in this forum right now about isolation transformers, give it a read.

[Phatryde350z]

Thanks for the reply, I am not really sure what you mean though as I do not have any experience with arcade cabinets and have limited knowlegde of electrical componets.  Could you be a little bit more descriptive on how I would get power to the monitor with the JPAC and the power supply disconnected?

Once you get the cabinet, open the back up and follow the wiring from the monitor power back down, and you'll see that it terminates at a transformer.  It's called an isolation transformer, and from there it should go to mains power.

There is a thread in this forum right now about isolation transformers, give it a read.

I read the thread you were talking about, and I also found some info on the web.  From what I can gather, (keep in mind I am clueless when it comes to outlets, etc) I just leave the monitor connected to the isolation transformer correct?  Nothing else needs to be done?  When/if I disconnect the power supply, will the monitor still be powered when the cabinet switch is turned on?  I apologize if this all sounds stupid, and I thank you for you help.

Nick

[SirPeale]

When/if I disconnect the power supply, will the monitor still be powered when the cabinet switch is turned on?  I apologize if this all sounds stupid, and I thank you for you help.

Should be.  A lot of cabinets are wired differently.  You'll have to verify your wiring to make sure.

[Xenepp]

It's worthy of note that not all monitors are wired to a transformer.

For instance my old Apachee 3 cab had a Hantarex setup in there in which the monitor takes it's power from the PSU.

 -Joel

[Phatryde350z]

It's worthy of note that not all monitors are wired to a transformer.

For instance my old Apachee 3 cab had a Hantarex setup in there in which the monitor takes it's power from the PSU.

 -Joel

What type of Hantarex was it?  I looked last night and this monitor is a Hantarex Polo 25.  If it went to the PSU then I am assuming I would have to rewire it with a isolation transformer before I could use the monitor without the power supply?  Do you know if the power supply will still run without the JAMMA board connected to it?

Thanks,
Nick

[mred84]

Well if it is THIS Hantarex Polo you don't have an isolation transformer.

http://www.hantarex.co.uk/pdf/POLOs.pdf

In the specs it says it is powered directly from the mains.

[MonitorGuru]

Once again... it can NOT hurt anything to wire a monitor through a 1:1 isolation transformer even if it does not require it.   A transformer is about $11+ship from bob roberts.  Don't skimp.  What if you change the monitor out later and forget?  You'll blow up numerous components if it's not isolated and it needs it.

Use an isolation transformer all the time and you can't go wrong.

[Phatryde350z]

Well if it is THIS Hantarex Polo you don't have an isolation transformer.

http://www.hantarex.co.uk/pdf/POLOs.pdf

In the specs it says it is powered directly from the mains.

Yes, I found this out later.  It states right in the KI2 manual that it does not require one.  For time being though I just have the JAMMA board disconnected and the Power Supply is powering the fan and whatever else it needs.  Thanks for you reply.

[krick]

FINALLY!  Someone on these boards that's near me!
I'm in Pennsauken, NJ.  About 15 minutes outside Philly.
We should get together some time.

I'll try my best to answer some of your questions from this thread.

I've got a VERY similar set up.

I'm using an ArcadeVGA and a J-PAC too.

I bought a working GigaWing JAMMA cab with a 25" Hanarex Polo monitor back in January.

I completely removed the GigaWing JAMMA board and the cabinet's power supply.

It's not usually a good idea to run a power supply without a normal load on it.  If you are running your's with just a cabinet fan connected, that's probably not enough of a load.

You should just wire up a connector to the fan so it can tap power off of the PC power supply instead through one of the 4-pin molex drive connectors.


The JAMMA connector spec only "officially" supports 2 players with 3 buttons each.  Some manufacturers have "extended" the spec to include up to 5 buttons per player.

For games that require more than 3 buttons like Street Figher 2 and Mortal Kombat 3, an additional harness commonly called a "kick" harness is used to supplement the JAMMA harness.  This is sometimes referred to as JAMMA+.  The reason it's called a "kick" harness is that on fighting games with 6 buttons, the three punch buttons are wired through the standard JAMMA harness and the 3 kick buttons are wired through the "plus" or "kick" harness.

The J-PAC has additional inputs via screw terminals for buttons 4 thru 8 for each player.  If your control panel has a "kick" harness, you will need to make up a new kick harness that you can wire directly to the J-PAC's screw terminals.

The final piece of the puzzle is getting sound from the PC into the cabinet speakers.  I did this by taking a crappy pair of USB powered computer speakers, hacking them up for the amplifier board inside, and wiring it to the cabinet speakers.

You should check out this thread to see what I went through with speakers before I arrived at what I currently have...
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16381

If you have any questions or need help with something, let me know.

...
Krick

[Phatryde350z]

FINALLY!  Someone on these boards that's near me!
I'm in Pennsauken, NJ.  About 15 minutes outside Philly.
We should get together some time.

I'll try my best to answer some of your questions from this thread.

I've got a VERY similar set up.

I'm using an ArcadeVGA and a J-PAC too.

I bought a working GigaWing JAMMA cab with a 25" Hanarex Polo monitor back in January.

I completely removed the GigaWing JAMMA board and the cabinet's power supply.

It's not usually a good idea to run a power supply without a normal load on it.  If you are running your's with just a cabinet fan connected, that's probably not enough of a load.

You should just wire up a connector to the fan so it can tap power off of the PC power supply instead through one of the 4-pin molex drive connectors.


The JAMMA connector spec only "officially" supports 2 players with 3 buttons each.  Some manufacturers have "extended" the spec to include up to 5 buttons per player.

For games that require more than 3 buttons like Street Figher 2 and Mortal Kombat 3, an additional harness commonly called a "kick" harness is used to supplement the JAMMA harness.  This is sometimes referred to as JAMMA+.  The reason it's called a "kick" harness is that on fighting games with 6 buttons, the three punch buttons are wired through the standard JAMMA harness and the 3 kick buttons are wired through the "plus" or "kick" harness.

The J-PAC has additional inputs via screw terminals for buttons 4 thru 8 for each player.  If your control panel has a "kick" harness, you will need to make up a new kick harness that you can wire directly to the J-PAC's screw terminals.

The final piece of the puzzle is getting sound from the PC into the cabinet speakers.  I did this by taking a crappy pair of USB powered computer speakers, hacking them up for the amplifier board inside, and wiring it to the cabinet speakers.

You should check out this thread to see what I went through with speakers before I arrived at what I currently have...
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16381

If you have any questions or need help with something, let me know.

...
Krick

Thanks for the reply.  Unfortunately, you are a day or so late .  I found pretty much everything I was looking for.  It is good to know that the Power Supply should be disconnected.  I am not really sure how to do that though.  I am going to wire the bottom buttons tomorrow and I should pretty much be done after that.  I will have to figure out how to remove/disconnect PSU.  I bought Creative Labs Inspire 2.1 w/woofer and put them in the cabinet.  The sound is loud, but it doesn't seem to have the same dynamic sound as the cabinet speakers.  I will probably have to take the shielding off to make them sound better. BTW, I live in Trevose.  Pensauken is not very far from me, maybe we could get together sometime.

Nick

[krick]

I bought Creative Labs Inspire 2.1 w/woofer and put them in the cabinet.  The sound is loud, but it doesn't seem to have the same dynamic sound as the cabinet speakers.  I will probably have to take the shielding off to make them sound better.

Just curious, does your cabinet have two speakers in the marquee area already?
If so, to get "authentic" arcade sound, you should use them with a PC speaker amplifier hack like this...
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/speaker/index.shtml


When you say "take the shielding off" the Creative speakers, do you mean "remove the cases"?  If so, I wouldn't recommend that.  Check out this thread for more info...
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=18769

BTW, I live in Trevose.  Pensauken is not very far from me, maybe we could get together sometime.

Cool.   My email is:  krick (at) 3feetunder (dot) com

Drop me a line sometime and we can meet up.

[Paul Olson]

Phatryde350z,

There should be a molex connector from the power supply, that plugs into the jamma harness.  Just unplug that, and leave everything else there.  That will leave power for the transformer/monitor and marquee light.

Paul

[krick]

There should be a molex connector from the power supply, that plugs into the jamma harness.  Just unplug that, and leave everything else there.  That will leave power for the transformer/monitor and marquee light.

He might not have a molex connector.  My cabinet had the jamma power wires screwed directly to the power supply with crimp on "fork" connectors.

Regardless, it's probably not a good idea to run the power supply with no load.

[BombProofPlane]

Some power supplys don't turn on without a load