Need Advice on Easy Control Panel Swapping

snooktarpon

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I'm new to arcade gaming. I recently purchased a JROK Williams multi game board. So I plan on refurbishing an old cabinet for this.

As I go down this arcade rabbit hole, I started thinking about using other JAMMA boards.

I don't have the real estate to have a bunch of different cabinets so I'm hoping to use a single cabinet for different JAMMA boards. I know they have JAMMA switchers, but they doesn't seem they help if you have to switch the control panel.
I don't really like the idea of having a control panel with a ton of joysticks and buttons to address all the different type types of games.
So my thought is that I could make the control panel easy to swap out.
So in this situation where you need to switch a control panel, do most people use Molex type connectors for the control panel?
Are there better solutions for swapping control panels?
 
Your best bet is to make as universal of a setup as you can. What I would do is source a Dynamo (or clone) which was meant for easy conversion. It even has a tray for PCBs and the monitor can somewhat easily be rotated. Buying an older cabinet (like a williams cabinet) is less than ideal for what you want. From there you can use a standard 6 button control panel and only use the buttons you need or whatever you want to do.

I had to redo the connectors going to mine because it was all hacked up. If you have to swap the panels, just have a pinout you want to follow. If you do it right, you will never have to modify the main harness. I have my pinout written down on the tray. Each player has it's own 12 pin molex connector.

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The ease with which you can swap control panels depends on the cabinet. Some are simply removed by two latches, others are hinged and bolted to the cabinet. The latter is the case with all Williams games. I have done this before for people when I build machines. The most recent I can think of was a Stargate Cabaret running a Jrok multi Williams. I gave the gentleman a standard Stargate control panel with all the buttons and one 2-way joystick, I also gave him a Robotron control panel with two joysticks and zero buttons. In this case, it takes three bolts to remove the hinged control panel, so I used wingnuts so he could do it by hand. And yes, you would use a Molex connector to disconnect, but when you're doing control panels with different controls, you're gonna have to get creative with how you wire up each control panel so that the right controls work on the control panel after the swap.

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The ease with which you can swap control panels depends on the cabinet. Some are simply removed by two latches, others are hinged and bolted to the cabinet. The latter is the case with all Williams games. I have done this before for people when I build machines. The most recent I can think of was a Stargate Cabaret running a Jrok multi Williams. I gave the gentleman a standard Stargate control panel with all the buttons and one 2-way joystick, I also gave him a Robotron control panel with two joysticks and zero buttons. In this case, it takes three bolts to remove the hinged control panel, so I used wingnuts so he could do it by hand. And yes, you would use a Molex connector to disconnect, but when you're doing control panels with different controls, you're gonna have to get creative with how you wire up each control panel so that the right controls work on the control panel after the swap.

This exactly what I want to do. Thank you!
 
For multi-Williams I recommend going with a Defender cab. They are plentiful, easy to find and restore and are well built. Swappable control panels are wicked simple with them too. It's basically just an 8" x 24.5" plank with a 25 degree bevel cut at rear and a slot for the T-molding. Two clamps on the sides hold it in place.

I have one for Defender/Stargate; one for Blaster/Sinistar and a Robot Ron one that also works for Bubbles, Splat! and Joust...though I flap pressing left on the right stick! lol.

Ken Falta (@Wldfire here; https://goldenagearcadeparts.com/) did custom harnesses for me for each, and he has a JROK harness that plugs into the existing Defender connections so you don't need to wreck any OG wiring. Ken is great, makes great products and is highly recommended.

There are just the couple of Molex connectors to undo (three on the Blaster/Sinistar CP, extra one for the optical stick) and the two side clamps. Super easy and very convenient. Plus the panels make nice display items!

I'm planning on getting a BitKit2 for this cab at some point and having a specific panel and harness built for that too...but that's another project.

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