My First - Sega Cab to Mame Conversion

[jjohnson103]

I've wanted to build a Mame machine ever since i read about a conversion in an issue of Popular Science years ago, (http://books.google.com/books?id=fAAAAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false  page 104) and took the first step last year with a gutted cabinet I got off of Craigslist for 25$! (my wife actually found it!) Due to my son being born shortly after getting the cabinet, and my 3 year old is a handfull also, I haven't had the time (or the money!) to do anything until recently.  After a LOT of lurking to get ideas, I've started this to document my build and hopfully get feedback and ideas from the members here! It'll be slow going for a while since cash flow is still an issue, but after seeing some of the spectacular builds here I've got something to shoot for!

So anway, my cabinet appears to be an old Virtua Fighter cab that been badly converted to Zombie Revenge but came without a gameboard, monitor, and was also missing a switch off of one of the coin mech's. My plan is to use a 27" TV that I already have as the monitor, paired up with a Compaq Tower (P4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb Ram, 80gig primary and 40gig secondary harddrives) that I picked up for $30.    Since I won't be using an arcade monitor and the original Jamma harness was pretty hacked up, I pulled out most of the wiring with the exception of the CP wiring which will be routed into an Ultimarc Ipac2. My longterm plan is to build a larger control panel to house a trackball, lighted button and better joysticks, etc. But one thing at a time: get it working first, make it work better second, and then finally make it look nice last! Fits into the budget better...  

Of the attached photos, the first 2 are before pics and the third is my new AC power entry wiring. I like to keep things modular, so I reused the original power entry plate and switch (it was rated for 15 amps). I also replaced the old beat up 18Awg power cord with a 16Awg cord, wired through the old power switch to an outlet. my smart power strip is then plugged into that, with my PC being the master device controlling power to my monitor, marquee (original flourescent with new bulb and ballast), and secondary power supply for +5V and +12V for light/accessories. The only thing plugged into the power strip in the photo is the cord I spliced onto the marquee wiring.

Next up, actually buying my Ipac2!