Mortal Kombat II Machine Conversion

[thinmann]

Hey everybody, this is my first time even attempting something like this. So forgive the idiocy.

I've had a Mortal Kombat II machine in my garage for about 7 years and the idea was to convert it to a MAME Cabinet. After reading all the "DO NOT REMOVE THIS MONITOR UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE" statements, I cowered away because I'm a big loser and scared.

With that being said, i've looked and read a million pages of information and options and to be honest I feel like i've gotten even more confused.

What I would like to know simply is, where to start? Links? Suggestions? Anything that would help I would appreciate.

Thanks.

[thinmann]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,80229.0.html

This is helping. Sorry.

[rabidfrog]

I'm going to try removing a monitor in the next few weeks.  If I survive I'll post an update!

[TJCOMBO]

Definitely look into groovymame for running roms, Jamma wiring (which is the mk2) power supply, and a jpac for controls. If you want to play fighting games, use win 64xp and preferably a dual core Pentium for the MAME computer.

[thinmann]

^ This is exactly what kind of help I need. That's awesome.

[mgb]

Welcome Thinmann,
  Welcome to a wonderful, sometimes frustrating hobby.
A lot of people hype up the dangers of messing with monitors. When simply removing and installing them, there is very little if any danger. of course you still wanna stay clear of the high voltage and there are things to be aware of.

Best bet is to keep reading these forums and of course Google is your friend.
You may also wanna look at videos on youtube.

When I started, I must have watched a hundred videos on doing monitor capkits (or maybe it was one video a hundred times) and now they are like second nature to me.

Good luck with your future projects, I look forward to seeing your progress.

[HaRuMaN]

Is the monitor broke?  Is that why you are removing it?

[thinmann]

I'm a graphic/web designer so I'm more of a software guy, so I just never wanted to break anything that I couldn't let someone else have.

I get scared messing with stuff like this.

The idea was to completely gut it and put a new monitor in it. The game was actually working fine until recently. The sound has never worked, but we'd just drink beer and make our own sounds as we played.

Now it's not booting up so I've moved the game to my gym and the owners and I are going to attempt to get it working and then re-skin it with the gym logos and stuff.

That's where we stand right now.

[paigeoliver]

Where are you located? I can help if you are local.

I'm a graphic/web designer so I'm more of a software guy, so I just never wanted to break anything that I couldn't let someone else have.

I get scared messing with stuff like this.

The idea was to completely gut it and put a new monitor in it. The game was actually working fine until recently. The sound has never worked, but we'd just drink beer and make our own sounds as we played.

Now it's not booting up so I've moved the game to my gym and the owners and I are going to attempt to get it working and then re-skin it with the gym logos and stuff.

That's where we stand right now.

[jennifer]

     Telling people monitors are safe, and possess very little danger (if any) Is irresponsible....Shame on you!

[Malenko]

     Telling people monitors are safe, and possess very little danger (if any) Is irresponsible....Shame on you!

Pulling a monitor out is QUITE safe,its when you remove the anode cap that it becomes more dangerous....shame on YOU
unless you mean potential back pain from the weight

[jennifer]

      I wont disagree with the fact this one one may be quite safe, judging by how he described the problem....However a problem tube can
create some ungodly high voltages, Not only once, but multiple times even in places you wouldn't expect, The chassis frame for example.
      No, in my opinion monitors are not safe....Don't be a ---meecrob---.

[Malenko]

Don't be a ---meecrob---.

Only if you promise not to be a ---Bad words, bad words, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when saint censors you?---!

[jennifer]

That would hurt less then being zapped by a faulty monitor...Jennifer still thinks you are a

[05SRT4]

hahaha that dude socks her in the face!!

[Malenko]

That would hurt less then being zapped by a faulty monitor...Jennifer still thinks you are a

then we both agree, he shouldn't play the game because a wire may have come loose and energized the control panel, it is made of metal ya know. better yet he shouldn't get out of bed, there might be a lego on the floor. /sarcasim

"Possible" and "likely" are not mutually inclusive. Don't be a fear monger, that's worse than a ---meecrob--- but not as bad as xousche

[jennifer]

    Nobody said he shouldn't fix it. Or play with Legos.

[mgb]

I have pulled a lot of monitors and never had a need to discharge simply for that.
of course I also discharge before doing serious work on them though.

I guess long sleeves help if there are alot of skeeters out.

[Malenko]

Xousche doesnt discharge monitors, monitors discharge him.
Xousche doesnt plug in arcade machines, his chi is so powerful he just holds the power cord and they turn on.
When Xousche plays street fighter he throws hadokens and shoryukens by tapping light kick twice.
To go between regular and speed up Ms. Pac-man, Xousche just moves the joystick faster.
When playing Galaga, Xousche always gets 50/40 in the bonus stages.
The movie "JoySticks" was written about Xousche, they had to cut out the fight scenes because Xousche was hurting all the stunt men
Both kick moves in Kung-Fu were based on 2 variations of the Shaolin toe stab
When playing pacman, Xousche can eat the ghosts without first consuming a power pellet
Xousche beat the first street fighter without continuing , using Akuma, on the japanese version.
The only thing you have to fear is fear itself, and Xousche
Xousche's favorite character in Samurai Showdown is Dan Hibiki
Xousche is able to shoot the bullet proof cars in spy hunter
Xousche invented the Konami code, so others could feel what its like to play as him.
Xousche taught ChadTower how to load MDF
To stay true to the game, Xousche plays the pinball game "Tommy" blind folded. He is still on ball 1, from 3 years ago.
Donkey Kong hired Xousche to capture Pauline
Xousche is a hidden Character in the first Xmen game, when you use his mutant power everything dies and you get to watch the ending.
When Xousche dunks the ball in NBA Jam its worth 4 points.
When Xousche plays NBA Jam he is always on fire.
Xousche once beat Gauntlet without continuing or eating any food.
When Xousche plays Burgertime, real hamburgers fall out of the coin return slots.
Xousche doesnt need to reload when playing lightgun games.
Xousche's best score on every course in Golden Tee is 17
Xousche can triple dribble while playing double dribble.
When the road splits in OutRun, Xousche goes straight.
Xousche plays Dance Dance Revolution while doing a handstand, he plays Guitar Hero with his feet.
Xousche uses triple ships in Galaga
Xousche has never lost a subscriber in Paperboy
Xousche can beat every mini game in 720 using any controls
Xousche beat Tecmo Bowl using Penn State
Xousche can beat the dam level on the first TMNT game without taking any damage and with a full minute left on the clock.
Xousche drew the original MegaMan box art for NES as a joke
Xousche has seen the real ending of Solomon's Key
To make the game just a little harder, Xousche loses his armor in Ghosts n Goblins on purpose. He has yet to lose a single life.
Xousche has no idea why people think the wind tunnel/speeder level in Battletoads is considered "hard"
Xousche can beat every level in Super Mario 3 while in the frog suit.
Since he is Schizophrenic he alone is the best 10 videogame players in the world.
Xousche has caught every single pokemon ever.
Xousche is the one who shot that guard with an arrow to the knee.

[jennifer]

    Jennifer has no idea what your trying to say... Dont discharge monitors, eat your boogers, I just dont care.

[jennifer]

     And furthermore I find it quite interesting nobody is calling X2 a fear monger (Sorry to hear about your arm btw), Fact of the matter is he"s
right and you know it....So before you go telling some 8yr old kid monitors are no big deal, They are "safe"... think...Don't be a Malenko.

[mgb]

I wouldn't say x2 is a fear monger,
based on the problems he's had with monitors and injurys, I'd say he's not very careful and maybe he needs to be reminded about safety.
But  thats no reason for everyone else to run around wearing rubber rain boots because they have to adjust the horiz hold on their monitor.

[Malenko]

     And furthermore I find it quite interesting nobody is calling X2 a fear monger (Sorry to hear about your arm btw), Fact of the matter is he"s
right and you know it....So before you go telling some 8yr old kid monitors are no big deal, They are "safe"... think...Don't be a Malenko.

I was calling you a fear monger, you dolt. Don't feel sorry for Xousche's arm, much like everything else he's ever posted it probably didn't happen. I dont know many 8 year olds who own MKII machines, that are graphic/web designers, and who drink beer.


Please Jennifer, enlighten me to where I explicitly said that monitors are no big deal. I stand by my statement that pulling a monitor is safe and messing around with an anode cap is not. Now of course he should use common sense and check for arcing and all that jazz, but to tell him he's going to get hurt/killed is more irresponsible. Don't you have pinball machines to never restore or something? At least you stopped typing in the 3rd person.

[jennifer]

 #1,   You think 8yr olds dont read these threads, I got my first pin @ 8 , diddnt have help threads to read then, but they do today.
 #2,   You diddnt say monitors are no big deal, MGB did. You shamed me as a fear monger, after I shamed him.
 #3,   What possibly would X2 have to gain by lying about his arm, I dont know him, but Ive heard the same story too many times.
 #4,   I wish I was working on a pin , Im building a paint booth tonight, Got the laptop out here.
 #5,   Jennifer...Jennifer...Jennifer, (Giggle, that was just fun)
 #6,   Monitors can be dangerous.
 #7,   You are no longer a meecrom.

[Malenko]

#1,   You think 8yr olds dont read these threads, I got my first pin @ 8 , diddnt have help threads to read then, but they do today.
 #2,   You diddnt say monitors are no big deal, MGB did. You shamed me as a fear monger, after I shamed him.
 #3,   What possibly would X2 have to gain by lying about his arm, I dont know him, but Ive heard the same story too many times.
 #4,   I wish I was working on a pin , Im building a paint booth tonight, Got the laptop out here.
 #5,   Jennifer...Jennifer...Jennifer, (Giggle, that was just fun)
 #6,   Monitors can be dangerous.
 #7,   You are no longer a meecrom.

#1, An 8 year old shouldnt be working on an arcade machine.
#2, I know I didnt say it, but you said I did.
#3, Xousche has never and will never make sense. Pity perhaps?
#4 And Im cleaning the house
#5 Thats not the 3rd person
#6 Ex Fiancees are more dangerous
#7 That's debatable.

g'nite

[paigeoliver]

You really don't need to discharge just to remove the monitor. Particularly if the monitor hasn't been powered up for days, weeks or months (many monitor techs, myself sadly included, will just pull the suction cup off a monitor that has been sitting for a long period of time).

[Nipedley]

It all depends really on how much you know the machine you're working on. If everything is proper, there should be no danger touching the frame and removing a monitor.

I always discharge before removing the chassis, but otherwise it's fine - I know my grounds are hooked up right and while in the cab the frame is earthed. That said, if you're worried, just discharge it anyway and you know you're alright.

[CheffoJeffo]

This thread is full of all sorts of bad information and I would really recommend that newbies ignore it.

My personal take on things:

• You can get some nasty shocks from monitors
• People always talk about cases of death occurring from handling monitors
• In my experience, nobody has ever pointed to credible evidence of somebody dying from monitor shocks
• Tubes can store a charge for a long time, but most often don't
• Tubes can build up a charge after sitting for a long time
• Removing a monitor is not rocket science and is not particularly dangerous if you pay attention
• Discharging a monitor is not rocket science and is not particularly dangerous if you pay attention
• Discharging the tube doesn't mean that you have discharged the other potential sources of stored energy (e.g. capacitors)
• You are more likely to hurt yourself by dropping the tube (and may do so if you get a bite from an exposed cap)
• Monitors are meant to be removed for repair and are pretty easy to remove
• To my mind, it can be more dangerous to try and discharge a monitor while inside a cabinet than to remove the monitor
• I will almost certainly never discharge a monitor before removing it to a place where it is safe to work on
• I will never try to work on a monitor through a little access hole (the Die Hard duramold comes to mind here)
• First timers don't get hurt when removing or discharging monitors. Experienced and careless folks do
• The worst thing that happens to first timers is that they freak out when they don't hear a big snap upon discharge.

I refer the interested reader to better sources of information:

BYOAC Monitor FAQ

The Monitor Repair section of the Restoration page in the BYOAC Wiki

Randy Fromm's videos on Monitors (part 1 of 4 below):

CRT monitors-Part 1of 4

[jennifer]

Hey everybody, this is my first time even attempting something like this. So forgive the idiocy.

I've had a Mortal Kombat II machine in my garage for about 7 years and the idea was to convert it to a MAME Cabinet. After reading all the "DO NOT REMOVE THIS MONITOR UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE" statements, I cowered away because I'm a big loser and scared.

With that being said, i've looked and read a million pages of information and options and to be honest I feel like i've gotten even more confused.

What I would like to know simply is, where to start? Links? Suggestions? Anything that would help I would appreciate.

Thanks.

    Dont be scared of it... Just be aware of the dangers... If you do get bit, the natural reaction is pull away, With a screwdriver in your hand,
Well you get the picture...Read up on the safety, And do it. That monitor (from your description) Doesnt sound like a problem tube, It may not even
spark.

[mgb]

I'm not even sure the op is really following this anymore. He had 4 post and his last one was #7. He probably realized he wasn't getting much help here and moved on.

[yotsuya]

I think he got killed. RIP, OP.

[PL1]

I'm not even sure the op is really following this anymore. He had 4 post and his last one was #7. He probably realized he wasn't getting much help here and moved on.

He's probably on vacation, since he last logged in on the 29th.

If not, this might -- unfortunately for OP -- be the evidence CheffroJeffro denied.   

In my experience, nobody has ever pointed to credible evidence of somebody dying from monitor shocks

I think he got killed. RIP, OP.

Scott