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Smashy

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Jan 15, 2012
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New guy saying hello. I didn't see a place for introductions, so I'll do it here. I was referred here by someone on another forum. I'm 45 years old, which means I was a kid/teenager during the late '70s/early '80s and spent much of my time in the arcades of the day. I haven't been into the gaming scene since then, except for buying Xbox/Wii games for my kids.

I recently decided to try arcade machines for the home when I found a local arcade was selling off old machines at pretty good prices to make room for new ones. So I acquired my first three arcade games over the last couple of weeks. They're in good shape and work fine (except for one that's having a small problem), so all I'm doing to them is small stuff like replacing marquees and light fixtures. There's another machine I've got my eye on, if it's still for sale when I have the money at the end of this month.

But I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all. I don't have any experience working on these machines and I don't know anything about how they work. I've been reading some threads and I'm seeing all kinds of technical terminology and buzz words that I've never heard before. It's almost like another language. So I hope I don't sound too stupid when I ask questions, 'cause I'm having a hard time following the discussions when I don't know what half the words mean.

Anyway, glad to be here.
 
Hi I'm a PC tech who hung out in the arcades in the 80s and 90s and for my first machine I bought a project which is abit more of a mess that I thought(I'm new at this too). This is my first machine and I had to have a Konami four player one(mess of headaches I can tell you that). I found a guy who fixes them on the side so I'm taking it to him this week and then have him explain some things to technically minded me so I can fix it the next time.

I have some games I really want but for now most will be Jamma boards as I don't have the space. Honestly that list in my sig is somewhat influenced by what I miss. I saw what I think was a Tower of Doom in high school and have wanted to play both that and Shadows over Mystaria ever since. I've collected systems, games and carts for years but never arcade but last year my friend fixed up an old Jamma machine and after that I met a collector at Anime Weekend Atlanta who inspired me to start.

Hopefully I can snag what I want over time but things like four player D&D games are hard to find.
 
Description of what JAMMA is:

The JAMMA standard was invented in 1985; any game older than this will not be JAMMA. JAMMA (Japan Arcade Machine Manufacturers' Association) is a standard 56-way connector used on many arcade boards to simplify conversion of cabinets from one game to another. The majority of newer games use a subset of this pinout. Some games (i.e., Street Fighter) which need extra buttons have extra connectors for these additional controls. The JAMMA connector has a .156" pin spacing edge connector (male on the game board).
 
welcome!

Welcome, theres no turning back now, at least you have found the support group.
You will soon learn a lot here, I know I have and its only been a week.
 
I knew jack shit when I started too. I wouldn't say I had any sort of inclination or ability to be good at repairs or electronics prior to starting working on games either. That's not to say I am an expert at anything now, but after being here a few years I now have to ability to diagnose problems reasonably well and fix stuff. With the type of experience on this forum, there is little that cannot be fixed.

What part of oregon are you in?
 
What's Jamma?

Yeah, I'm really new at this.

to simplify, jamma is a standard that started in the mid 80's, where all arcade game boards could connect to the same wiring harness and play, without having to change the wiring harness or add connectors for stuff.

so basically, on any JAMMA game, you could pull the board out, and simply plug in another you wanted to play, and go from there. it's like a universal pinout.
 
Welcome Smashy....(cool name). As it's been asked, what games did you score from the arcade, and what's left that you can remember? There are some other KLOVrs, some you might know in OR.

I recall going to Funland (i think that was the name) arcade in Portland, OR back in the mid 80s. Some great titles back then.
 
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to the OP - what games do you have?


I got this Lethal Enforcers II.


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It has the wrong marquee, and I'm having a heck of a time finding the correct one, but that's not a big deal right now. The problem this one is having is it doesn't always respond when you shoot on the left side of the screen. That was a problem before I bought it, but the guy replaced the chassis (I don't even know what a chassis is) and that seemed to fix it. It worked fine, and it worked the first day I had it home. But now it's not responding again. Also the colors are off. Eveything has a green tint. He said it's because the monitor is old and needs replacing. But I was okay with that. I paid $300 for it (it was working fine at the time). I'm going to call the guy this week and see if he can help me figure it out.

I also got this R-Type for $200. It's in great shape, works fine, no problems.

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And I paid $100 for this Clutch Hitter machine. No problems with it, except the marquee is faded and was cut wrong for the glass size. I just got a new one, haven't put it in yet.

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The other one I'm thinking of buying is Special Criminal Investigation. Its looks good, plays fine, screen looks nice. It has the shifter with the built in trigger and thumb button. They want $200 for that one.
 
"Hay is for horses."

Welcome to arcade hell....... no just kidding. If you've already bought three games you are on your way to becoming addicted. Now its just a matter of how many can you get in your house before it gets hard to close the door. ;)
 
Welcome! Just keep on asking questions and don't worry about it. There's a ton of fellas here that have great knowledge. There's always someone willing to help. With any luck you'll find a fellow klov'r that lives close to you and is willing to give you a hand fixing things and showing you how these games work.
 
I got this Lethal Enforcers II.

The problem this one is having is it doesn't always respond when you shoot on the left side of the screen. That was a problem before I bought it, but the guy replaced the chassis (I don't even know what a chassis is) and that seemed to fix it. It worked fine, and it worked the first day I had it home. But now it's not responding again.

i don't know much about light guns, but have you tried cleaning the monitor tube itself, as well as the inside and outside of the bezel? i would think if it's real dirty it might help, but again, i've never owned a gun game so not sure.
 
Man, I feel stupid. What's a bezel? I assume that's the glass?
 
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