Need some info about mame....

Bigwig416

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Im thinking about turning my mk2 cab into a mame cab. I have a few questions hopefully someone can anwser. Because this cab has a standard res monitor does that mean I can only play standard res games or will medium res games work as well. Also wondered if anyone can help me with a list of parts I will need. Im thinking only a jpac and uhh that video card... i forget the name now.

Really the monitor question is my biggest concern.
Thanks in advance.
 
Standard res games are your best bet for that monitor.

You don't "NEED" an ArcadeVGA. There's an app - Soft15KHz - that will get MOST modern video cards displaying a proper picture.

I would recommend a J-PAC though. Makes plugging into a JAMMA harness a breeze.

As recommended earlier, the BYOAC forums have all that info and more. Go over and start reading.
 
im on that forum but its honestly so hectic lol. thats why i figured i'd just ask here but thanks for the info. I guess im on the hunt for a jpac now.
 
All you need is a jpac and an arcadevga video card from www.ultimarc.com and you're good to go, it'll play everything. What's wrong with th MKII? If you use the jpac, you can keep the original harness intact - please don't tell me you're going to paint the cab or put some goofy MAME logos on it... :D
 
What's wrong with th MKII? If you use the jpac, you can keep the original harness intact - please don't tell me you're going to paint the cab or put some goofy MAME logos on it... :D

Agreed. Please dont hack up a mk cab. unless it a converted dynamo or somin.
 
since its a crappy mk cab just gut the thing, and start from scratch.
i cant stand to see a good arcade monitor wasted on a mame rig
you will end up with a better working mame rig and then you can use a nice 19 inch or larger crt pc monitor that way you can actually read the text on your menu and when you need to enter windows to update things

and the jpac and arcade vga are stupid expensive
i use the key wiz from groovy game gear they are 25$ for the solder version or 35$ for the screw termnial version
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/
list of thingsneeded
1. wire
cheap or free if your cab still has plenty

2. key wiz
25/35$

3.nice old crt pc monitor 19-25 inch
i get mine for 5$ each from a local computer recycling warehouse

4.pc (at least a 2 ghz p4 with 512 of ram and a 128 mb graffix card)
again i getmine at the local pc warehouse usually around 40-50$

5. set of cheap 6 $ computer speakers (make shure you can cut the speaker wires easy so you can splice the amp into the speakers already in your cab )

then you need a few momentary push buttons(so you can turn on the pc without having to screw with opening the machine
3$ at radio shack
and 2 20 cent wall outlets

im working on this one now just got to do some wire mangment and install a monitor bezel



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its not like your machine is a classic just a cookie cutter mk cab
 
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since its a crappy mk cab just gut the thing, and start from scratch.
i cant stand to see a good arcade monitor wasted on a mame rig

What better monitor to display arcade games on?
and the jpac and arcade vga are stupid expensive
i use the key wiz from groovy game gear they are 25$ for the solder version or 35$ for the screw termnial version

How much are his time/energy/effort worth? JAMMA harness is already in there, all he has to do is plug in the J-PAC and the controls are all wired up. The video he just needs a card that's compatible with Soft 15.

I've tried for years to get Randy from GGG to make something that plugs into a JAMMA harness, but he doesn't see the point. The point is JAMMA harnesses are already readily available, on most post 1990 cabs, and dead cheap.
 
What better monitor to display arcade games on?


How much are his time/energy/effort worth? JAMMA harness is already in there, all he has to do is plug in the J-PAC and the controls are all wired up. The video he just needs a card that's compatible with Soft 15.

I've tried for years to get Randy from GGG to make something that plugs into a JAMMA harness, but he doesn't see the point. The point is JAMMA harnesses are already readily available, on most post 1990 cabs, and dead cheap.

yes an arcade monitor would be ideal but for a mame rig the pc crt's are way better

have you ever seen a pc plugged into an arcade monitor while it was in windows (ug) you can barley read the text and everything looks fuzzy

if you use a pc crt allong with gameex then you can have high res immages in your menu and in windows and then in game it drops the res to the proper settings

i also understand that a jpac is a wam bam thank you mam soultion but if you do that you might as well just buy one of the 1xxx in one boards

i preffer a mame rig to be just that an updated machine that can be used for years without a hassle

you start using the old jamma harness and original monitor and your asking to have to rebuild the monitor or trouble shoot problems with your jamma harness

when i build a mame rig i like to know that every thing is done right and will last

its a little more labor intensive but in the end you come out with a well built machine that you can trust to last down the road and is way easy for the end user

i sell my machines so i guess thats why i like having everything nice and new in the cab (if somthing fails i know it was me and not some op years ago that tried to splice a wire into a jamma harness )
 
I've built quite a few Mame machines, and they've all lasted for years of heavy child use.

There's nothing at all wrong with using a JAMMA harness. If he thinks the old one is dodgy he can get another one brand new for less than twenty bucks.

As for the monitor, it's a crapshoot no matter what. I've seen K7000s last for twenty years, and a brand new D9200 die within hours.

As for flash, I've got AtomicFE on a K4600 and it looks awesome. If you're trying to read standard Windows text on one of those (or any std res) you're asking for a headache, but why would you? It's not made for small text! It's made for games.
 
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