Help adding buttons to my machine?

spmahn

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
266
Reaction score
0
Location
Bristol, Connecticut
So I'm new to this, and I'm looking for help adding new buttons to my machine. Right now I have a 4 Player Sunset Riders cabinet that has 4 Joysticks each with 2 buttons. What I want to add is two additional buttons, a Start button for each player, and an additional action button as well.

From reading through my Sunset Riders manual, and other manuals, and from looking at the inside of the machine itself, I think I have the theory down on how to wire additional buttons. What I'm looking for however is if anyone can provide me with a how to guide laying out all the items I will need to add new buttons ie: Buttons, Connectors, Wires, etc., a guide on how to actually wire the buttons, and maybe some tips on drilling the required holes into the control panel.


Can anyone point me to somewhere I can find some help, or maybe provide me with some advice?
 
the Build Your Own Arcade Controls forum may be best suited for what you want to do, although there are gobs of other people on this site (probably in the Restoration section) that do the same exact thing.

just to get a few items laid out here though, the actual button wiring for players 1 and 2 are wired into the JAMMA harness itself. there are control inputs for the 4 joystick directions, 3 attack buttons, a start button, and technically the coin switch as well.

in fighting game applications, there are more than 3 attack buttons, so the additional buttons plug into a separate header on the respective game's board and is generically termed a "kick harness" since it's predominantly for lower attacks.

players 3 and 4 also use the same kind of wiring as a "kick harness" too, also using separate player 3 and 4 headers on the game board, allotting for all the same kind of inputs as found on the JAMMA harness.

so I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "adding more buttons", but as far as physically adding new ones, I personally used a 1-1/8" hole saw bit for a drill.

so, please specify in greater detail what you intend on doing. are you talking about changing to a different game?
 
I'm interested in swapping different (ie: Non-Konami) boards into my machine. The problem is, that most games require a Start button which the Konami cabinets do not have. Other games (NBA Jam, X-Men, etc.) also require a third action button for gameplay. What I want to do is add these buttons to the control panel (Ports 24 and 17 on the JAMMA Harness, 11 and 9 on the 3 and 4 player plugs). I pretty much understand that I need wires, connectors, buttons, a new Molex connector, etc. to do this, but I was just hoping to get a more detailed list of parts, and instructions etc.

Thanks
 
Find out where you wish to place the additional buttons and drill a 1-1/8" hole where you want the button to be. To drill the hole I suggest a step drill bit. These are readily available at harbor Freight for about $10-$15.

Once you have your button holes drilled install the buttons and run the wires to the microswitches. That's pretty much all there is to it.
 
Thanks for the help. Now, can anyone reccomend the best / cheapest place to get the Molex Connectors / Wire / Connectors / Microswitches / Buttons I will need?
 
Back
Top Bottom