Photos of Arcade monitor connecting process?

[MartyNg]

Hello. I have a cabinet with a 25" Zenith arcade monitor. I am working on my first MAME cabinet and am trying to visualize everything before I start buying parts. Being a visual learner, I am looking for photos of how to connect my PC to the monitor, either by making a custom cable or using the Ultimarc Video amplifier. Most specifically, I don't understand if I have to cut the wires going from the monitor to the JAMMA harness, or if I can disconnect those from the monitor and just connect new wires from there to my PC. Could anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

[SirPeale]

Zenith doesn't make arcade monitors; they make tubes.

I'm guessing you have a K7000 series monitor.  Can you post a picture of it?

[MartyNg]

Zenith doesn't make arcade monitors; they make tubes.

I'm guessing you have a K7000 series monitor.  Can you post a picture of it?

Sorry for the case of newb-itis. I somehow missed the fact that the tube is different from the monitor components. I tried to take pictures with my TERRIBLE camera in my cell phone, but it only works when you're within 10 feet of the surface of the sun, so you can barely tell what they are. Anyway, I did find the model number on my target machine, and my other machine. 25K7191 and 25K7193. The 7191 is in the cabinet that I want to use for MAME.

[SirPeale]

You mention a JAMMA harness, so are you going to use a J-PAC?  That would be the easiest way to do that.  You will need the video amplification on this model.  The J-PAC incorporates an amp in it's design.

[MartyNg]

I was going to try to build a custom 4-player CP, so I was going to grab the 4-player IPAC and hope that I can find a video card lying around that might work decently without having to buy an ArcadeVGA. (My next conversion will be the one where I spend the cash to do everything right)

[SirPeale]

Better idea would be a J-PAC and a two player I-PAC.  Save you a lot of wiring.

[MartyNg]

Better idea would be a J-PAC and a two player I-PAC.  Save you a lot of wiring.

Really? Will that allow 4-players (P1+P2:6 buttons each/P3+P4:4 buttons each)? Will this still allow the IPAC shift functions? Perhaps I didn't do enough research. I was just going to order parts. Good thing I checked this thread!

Now I'm looking forward to less wiring!

[SirPeale]

It should allow everything.

[MartyNg]

It should allow everything.

That's great to hear! So I could even just get the JPac for now to get everything up and running then add player 3 + 4 down the road. Cool. Thanks a million! Now I'm on to research for connecting them up.

[SirPeale]

The only thing I note above is you're hoping to not use an ArcadeVGA.  There are certainly ways to do this, but it'll require a bit of work on your part.

I assume you're going to use Windows?

[MartyNg]

The only thing I note above is you're hoping to not use an ArcadeVGA.  There are certainly ways to do this, but it'll require a bit of work on your part.

I assume you're going to use Windows?

I'm prepared to do a little work before dropping the cash. I am waiting for an older model to pop up on ebay though.

I have a Win98 box set up for the job.

I was just thinking a bit more....using a CUSTOM control panel, aren't I losing the nice wiring for the player 1 + 2 controls, so don't I have to still wire all the players after all? (It would be ince to avoid any damage to the cabinet so I can pop it back to Tekken 2 when I move on to the next cabinet.

[SirPeale]

I was just thinking a bit more....using a CUSTOM control panel, aren't I losing the nice wiring for the player 1 + 2 controls, so don't I have to still wire all the players after all? (It would be ince to avoid any damage to the cabinet so I can pop it back to Tekken 2 when I move on to the next cabinet.

The player 1 & 2 controls should be wired into the JAMMA harness, so you shouldn't lose them at all.  Possibly the extra buttons (the ones outside the JAMMA spec) won't be.  What you can do is build yourself a harness to plug into the existing harness that screws into the terminals on the J/I-PAC.  That way if you want to run your Tekken board, it'll take you no more than 2-3 minutes to unplug the harnesses from one and into the other.

You sure you want to make a 4P CP?  From what I understand, most people who build them hardly use the 4P.

[MartyNg]

The player 1 & 2 controls should be wired into the JAMMA harness, so you shouldn't lose them at all.  Possibly the extra buttons (the ones outside the JAMMA spec) won't be.  What you can do is build yourself a harness to plug into the existing harness that screws into the terminals on the J/I-PAC.  That way if you want to run your Tekken board, it'll take you no more than 2-3 minutes to unplug the harnesses from one and into the other.

You sure you want to make a 4P CP?  From what I understand, most people who build them hardly use the 4P.

I read your post a couple of times then went and looked into my cabinet. I think I'm following you. I thought all the player controls went right into the JAMMA harness. Upon further inspection, I can see that are several different harnesses that group the wires together and then all join into the JAMMA harness. If I understand you correctly, I could just wire my custom CP into homemade harnesses that plug into the harnesses that plug in to the JAMMA harness. Phew!

Current setup for Tekken 2:
CP==>Harness A ==> Harness B ===>JAMMA Harness => Tekken 2 Board

My new proposed setup:
CP(P1+P2)==> Harness C (new custom) ==> Harness B ===> JAMMA Harness ==> JPAC
CP(P3+P4)==> IPAC==> JPAC

Am I on the same page as you now?

You mention that people don't use 4-player often. I would say that in my house, the potential is definitely there, however it IS a lot of work just to add two players, especially at my first attempt at a MAME cabinet. Maybe my best bet is indeed to just get the JPAC first (even though the Tekken CP only has 4 buttons per player) and get that up and running. If the crowds around my machine get too big, perhaps I could add the IPAC for P3 + P4 in the spring or something.

Thanks so much for your help Peale. It's great to be a newbie and be able to receive help without getting belittled! Great message boards here! I will definitely be sharing my experiences for the next newbie that comes along. Perhaps I'll put together a little tutorial with photos and what I learned during the process.