Removing Power and Powering Arcade Monitor

[calz]

Hello,
I am in the process of converting a Virtua Fighter 2 cabinet into Mame. The game was working fine when I bought it so I decided (after much reading) to use the monitor that came with it (Nanao medium res) and set it to standard res using an ArcadeVGA card. I am a novice with electricity, and ONLY want to power the monitor after removing the main CPU, sound card, light, etc. I have read that I need to use an isolation transformer, but how do I safely unhook all of the other components running to the board? Is there any way I can use a modern PC power ATX or AT power supply instead of using the original for the game? I have attached an image of what the board looks like right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[grantspain]

you must use that transformer to power the monitor or you will blow the crap out of it

you can remove that power supply completely and its output wiring and install an atx in its place as long as it is 115v type(not230vac)

be aware the nanao monitor you have is most likely to have a jumper plug to change it to standard res

[MonMotha]

Most PC supplies (at least all that I've seen in the USA and several from Korea) can be switched between 240V and 120V ranges, so just make sure it's set for local line voltage (that would be 120 in the USA).  Looks like there is already an IEC type plug hooked up in there for the existing DC supply that you can re-use for your PC supply.

Do not mess with the isolation transformer for the monitor.  It is wired separately do the AC in the cabinet and will continue to work as you need.  Just remove the DC supply (the Peter Chou box) and substitute your own ATX supply.

[Kevin Mullins]

be aware the nanao monitor you have is most likely to have a jumper plug to change it to standard res

Absolutely ... DO NOT feed it the wrong frequency from the ArcadeVGA.
So be sure to change that first if you plan on running it at the 15khz resolutions.
And if it's a newer ArcadeVGA card then it may also be capable of outputting the 25khz medium resolutions. (don't quote me on that, just be sure to check it all out first)

And just to clarify what the others guys have said on the power supply / transformer issue:
The big silver one is the one you do NOT need. Leave the rest as it is.

[calz]

Thanks for the information everyone. I am just getting back to this, as I have been in "laminate jail" with the cab but finally got that finished. I took a look into doing this today and am confused as ever (never wired an isolation transformer or arcade monitor before). Just want to make sure it does not start a fire or I don't end up with a high pitched voice the rest of my life  . I was thinking that the ATX supply would be easier to run to a power strip than this one, but to be honest I don't even know how to wire the ATX to the transformer. I attached a better pick of my board below with some comments/questions so any help would be appreciated. Also changed the monitor to be 15khz from 25khz since this was easy to do once the monitor was removed from the cab. I have the ArcadeVGA on order as well as the video amplifier (read that I need this to avoid a dim picture). Sorry if these are stupid questions, but this is my first time working on something like this and I am really enjoying it.

[MonMotha]

You don't need to do much of anything, really.  Remove the Peter Chou supply (the big metal box) by unplugging everything.  Then remove the Virtua Fighter boards.  There should be a bunch of connectors you can disconnect to do so.  Note that the power supply in the metal box is not correctly referred to as a "transformer".  Do not call it such, or you will confuse people.

You will be left with a standard IEC type plug that will plug right in to your standard ATX power supply.  You can then hook that up to your PC and do whatever you feel.  You'll need a breakout cable or similar to hook up the video to the monitor.  You will also need some way of getting all the button/joystick inputs to your PC, but that's another topic.  If this cabinet is JAMMA (this may not be), then you might consider a "plug and play" wiring solution like a J-PAC.

Make sure you switch the monitor to the standard res (CGA/15kHz) setting, and ensure that you only feed it correctly timed video.  You will destroy the monitor if you do not do this.  DO NOT REMOVE THE BIG ISOLATION TRANSFORMER AND DO NOT MODIFY THE WIRING TO IT IN ANY WAY.  Removing that isolation transformer and hooking up PC video will destroy the monitor (and possibly you).

The isolation transformer is only needed for the monitor and should only power the monitor.  If you don't alter the AC wiring, you should be fine.  Again, just unplug the existing DC power supply (the Peter Chou box) and install your own - the AC wiring is 100% compatible.  You should not have to cut or splice a single wire to do this.

[calz]

Thank you for the excellent information... much appreciated!

You don't need to do much of anything, really.  Remove the Peter Chou supply (the big metal box) by unplugging everything.  Then remove the Virtua Fighter boards.  There should be a bunch of connectors you can disconnect to do so.  Note that the power supply in the metal box is not correctly referred to as a "transformer".  Do not call it such, or you will confuse people.

OK, so I will remove the sound board and VF board as well. I am assuming that I should also disconnect them from the main board in the bottom of the cab where all of the other connections are. I noticed some of these wires are screwed down into the board.

You will be left with a standard IEC type plug that will plug right in to your standard ATX power supply.  You can then hook that up to your PC and do whatever you feel. 

A light just went off in my head! So basically I would use the ATX power supply from the PC that I am going to mount in the cabinet, then run the power connector from this power supply to my motherboard to power the PC. Since I am using the existing power connector from the board in place, the ISO transformer is already wired into that based on the ISEC connection. I was thinking I would use the actual motherboard connector to do this (duh). One question about that though... The AC connector from the current board (the one that eventually plugs into the wall with the switch on the back of the cabinet) will still be there... could I just use that switch to turn everything on? Or should I run that to a "smart" power supply and run that to the wall?

You'll need a breakout cable or similar to hook up the video to the monitor. 

I ordered the ArcadeVGA and the video amplifier (that I was told I would not need another VGA cable since this would work for that).

You will also need some way of getting all the button/joystick inputs to your PC, but that's another topic.  If this cabinet is JAMMA (this may not be), then you might consider a "plug and play" wiring solution like a J-PAC.

My plan for this was quite simple... I have an X-Arcade dual stick and a trackball. I was going to cut out my control panel, gut the X-arcades, and just use the buttons/joysticks/trackball in my new control panel. I thought this was a simple way to go since it is all USB/PS/2.

Make sure you switch the monitor to the standard res (CGA/15kHz) setting, and ensure that you only feed it correctly timed video.  You will destroy the monitor if you do not do this.  DO NOT REMOVE THE BIG ISOLATION TRANSFORMER AND DO NOT MODIFY THE WIRING TO IT IN ANY WAY.  Removing that isolation transformer and hooking up PC video will destroy the monitor (and possibly you).

Thanks for the warning.  I switched the monitor to 15khz and will do nothing until I get the ArcadeVGA. I wish I read this forum before I pulled the monitor out since I did not know there was still a charge in it.

The isolation transformer is only needed for the monitor and should only power the monitor.  If you don't alter the AC wiring, you should be fine.  Again, just unplug the existing DC power supply (the Peter Chou box) and install your own - the AC wiring is 100% compatible.  You should not have to cut or splice a single wire to do this.

Again, I am assuming that if I leave everything alone, then simply plugging in the ISEC power connector (the one  that goes through the power switch on the back of the cab, then to the wall) this is all I need to do to power the monitor through the ISO transformer.

Thanks again for the help!

[fa001]

The Real Bob Roberts site has articles on AC wiring. For example this picture should help you identify the parts in you cab.

[calz]

OK, I have begun this process and attached a picture of what my power board looks like now without the game board and sound card attached. Still a bit of confusion though. For my monitor chassis, there are 2 power connectors, 1 that says AC in, and goes through the iso transformer, and another red colored wire that seems to go to the connector on the Peter Chow box I removed (not going through iso). Anyone know what that one is or what I should do with it? Also, I was planning on hooking up the ATX supply to test the power out without the computer (still waiting for ArcadeVGA to arrive). Also it looks like the sound card was going through the ISO transformer as well, so I  am thinking I should remove those connections.

[grantspain]

the monitor is a nanao ms series,the red wires are the manual degauss switch which you should find in the coin door area or under the cp not the psu area-DO NOT REMOVE THIS CABLE
i do not  think you need to remove any more wires and it looks ready to attach a atx psu now

[calz]

the monitor is a nanao ms series,the red wires are the manual degauss switch which you should find in the coin door area or under the cp not the psu area-DO NOT REMOVE THIS CABLE
i do not  think you need to remove any more wires and it looks ready to attach a atx psu now

Shoot... I already snipped the cables going to the coin slots since I was not going to use them. It seems one cable goes to the coin slot and one to the connector to the chow box... do I need to resolder this wire back to the coin slot?

[grantspain]

the manual degauss connector wires should go to a momentary action switch,just follow the two red wires from the monitor plug to see where they go-it should not go to the peter chou psu

[calz]

the manual degauss connector wires should go to a momentary action switch,just follow the two red wires from the monitor plug to see where they go-it should not go to the peter chou psu

Thanks for the information. The 2 red connections from the monitor chassis go to a connector that has 2 white wires. One white wire goes to the back of the coin area, the other to behind the iso transformer (not chou box). I snipped the wires that went to behind the coin door when I first got the cab, thinking I would not need them, but I am not sure if the button in the coin area is the degauss or not. Looks like I can just reconnect the white one and be all set. The attached image has more detail.

[grantspain]

hmmm,your original wiring looks wrong unless someone modified this to a auto degauss

imo you should just unplug the yellow plug with the red degauss wires from the white and remove that old 3 core cable

i will check one of my nanao ms8 to see if your degauss plug has been modified

in any case you can carry on with your cab as the degauss can be rectified later

[Kevin Mullins]

hmmm,your original wiring looks wrong unless someone modified this to a auto degauss

Actually looks like it's wired like a standard light switch.....but in this case operates the degauss function. That's definitely a momentary pushbutton type switch right below the coin meter that he's pointing to.
So it looks to me like the AC is coming into the pushbutton on the black line, then when the button is pushed it kicks it back out through the white line. Green line just grounds the entire metal box.
And the other white line that goes to the yellow plug is coming straight off the AC down by the transformer, not switched.

[grantspain]

yes and thats not correct for a nanao ms8-29 fan monitor,i reckon someone has been messing with this in the past

[Kevin Mullins]

Most likely..... looks like they used a section of power cord.
Probably swapped the monitor out from something else, etc.

Looks like there are PTC components and such on the chassis already, so would what he has "technically" work for the degauss?
(haven't looked for any schematics yet)

[calz]

yes and thats not correct for a nanao ms8-29 fan monitor,i reckon someone has been messing with this in the past

This was a virtua fighter 2 game that worked fine when I bought it. I was actually pretty amazed with the picture quality on the monitor when it was working, and since this could go 15khz decided to go the arcade monitor route for this... thinking now I might have been better off using a regular TV   , but already ordered the parts to get this one working.

[grantspain]

what happened when you pressed that switch then?because from my reckoning if you had pressed on that switch for more than a few seconds then a fuse would have blown

the rest of the wiring is correct and btw you have one of the best quality monitors ever made in the history of video games
a tv can never match that monitor in a million years

[calz]

what happened when you pressed that switch then?because from my reckoning if you had pressed on that switch for more than a few seconds then a fuse would have blown

the rest of the wiring is correct and btw you have one of the best quality monitors ever made in the history of video games
a tv can never match that monitor in a million years

I simply turned the game on, played it a few times, turned it off,  then started the gutting process. That is why I snipped the wires to the coin area. I never touched that switch in the coin door. Should I hook this white wire back up to the switch or just remove that plug completely from the monitor chassis? I am a bit concerned that there is that white wire going to behind the transformer though. Do I really need to have degauss hooked up?

I am glad to hear that about the monitor :-) - I did a lot of research and that is what I read, but I am just concerned about causing a fire or death with this thing now .

[calz]

First off, I would like to THANK EVERYONE for the help 

I removed the credit counter that was above the momentary push button and it revealed a sticker label that indicated the button was for degauss (image attached). I then re-soldered the green, white and black wires to the coin area panel and connected them back to the connector.

After this was done, I connected the ATX power supply, plugged it in, flipped the switch, and wallah the monitor powered on without any issues at all. Since this is not connected to a video card or anything I was just seeing a screen with some lines through it. I am waiting for the ArcadeVGA card so in the meantime can you let me know if the picture on this monitor is normal when not connected to anything (image attached). I just want to be sure that this is the way it is supposed to look and nothing got messed up when I took it out of the cabinet. Also want to be sure that it is OK to power it up like this (should have asked that in the first place). Thanks again.

[grantspain]

yes thats normal

[calz]

OK, I can happily report that everything is WORKING. Received the ArcadeVGA and the monitor picture looks great.

One small dilemma. It is obvious that I need more power in the cab for various things and would like to install a power strip now. On my Peter Chou power supply that I removed, there is a separate cable for AC that went to the marquee light. I was thinking the easiest thing to do would be to solder those wires to a power strip, and let it be controlled by the main switch in the back. The Chou box would also power the main board, and I would plug my ATX supply into the power strip. Also, for the marquee light, since I am using the original one that came with the game, I was going to solder a connector to that and simply plug it into the power supply... thoughts?

[calz]

Been looking into this a lot more and need to know if this will work.

Can I remove my PC/ATX power supply from the current board, and just replace it with a power strip by removing the plug and soldering it where the power supply currently plugs into? Would this affect the ISO transformer or power that is going to my monitor? I would then just plug everything into the power strip, including the power supply. Pic below give more details:

[Kevin Mullins]

That would work just fine.
Use the AC line that originally powered that power supply.

Just be sure to understand whether or not that power supply is running something like coin door lights or anything like that. (you can just wire them to your PC power supply if it does)

The marquee and monitor are wired elsewhere, so they should remain as is and work fine.

[calz]

Cool, thanks for the info. The monitor goes through the ISO transformer on the board that will get turned on with the same original switch in the back of the cabinet same as the power strip (currently PC supply). It is my understanding that the monitor power is not tied to the PC power supply at all, so replacing that with a power strip should not have any impact on the way it is currently working.

[calz]

Cool, thanks for the info. The monitor goes through the ISO transformer on the board that will get turned on with the same original switch in the back of the cabinet same as the power strip (currently PC supply). It is my understanding that the monitor power is not tied to the PC power supply at all, so replacing that with a power strip should not have any impact on the way it is currently working.

Actually, thinking about this a bit more, couldn't I wire a standard plug to the wires that go to the marquee and just plug that into the power strip? Right now it is not connected and I was going to reinstall the Chou power supply to take advantage of the connector it was using to power the Marquee. This would let me eliminate the extra power supply and save some electricity.

[Kevin Mullins]

Actually, thinking about this a bit more, couldn't I wire a standard plug to the wires that go to the marquee and just plug that into the power strip?

Certainly..... you've got the right idea.
There's several minor variations to do what you want to do. Just a matter of picking which works best for your setup. (for the AC side of things)

Right now it is not connected and I was going to reinstall the Chou power supply to take advantage of the connector it was using to power the Marquee.

Not quite sure what connector you're talking about coming off that power supply, all depends on what kind of marquee light fixture it has. If it's a fluorescent bulb then the fixture is probably 110-120v AC.

[Kevin Mullins]

Take a snapshot of what you have currently and maybe we can tell from there what your other options are.

[calz]

Take a snapshot of what you have currently and maybe we can tell from there what your other options are.

Sure thing.
Picture 1 is what the connector looks like coming from the Marquee light.
Picture 2 is the connector that used to connect to the Chou box for the marquee before I removed it (circled in picture).
Picture 3 is the connector on the Chou box the marquee used to connect to (circled in picture).  I should note that on the side of the power supply this is labeled "ac output connect 3 pin".

You can also see the power supply here that I am going to remove and replace with a power strip.