New to Arcade Video Games - questions???

Snarly

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Hi,
I am new here and just bot 4 cabinets to play and learn about arcade games.
I have worked on cars, motorcyles, and recently a couple of pinballs.

I got a beat up Ms Pacman that I want to convert to 60 in 1. I ordered it Sunday from Nixs at Jamma Parts and got it yesterday...literally plug and play! After researching and thinking I would need a harness adapter and additional aux power I am really happy with this.

My wife loves it...the Ms Pacman is "her" cabinet and she did not fully understand what the 60 in 1 meant.
Easy menu to select games, etc.

It has a crappy control panel. Joystick is sluggish, player 1 button not working (but p2 is) and want to install p1, p2 buttons and maybe figure out a track ball.

The control panel is somehow "permanently" bolted on (maybe locktight or super glue?)- tonights project is to figure out how to get it open and look at the existing wiring.
The volume is REALLY loud - I can't seem to find a volume control on the cabinet - ideas?

Also, I am trying to figure out if I should get the elf 309 or the 450 gamebox...anyone have any pros/cons of each assuming price difference is not an issue?
I will be converting a Final Blow - cabinet is in excellent shape - no one of my "regulars" really likes the game. The control panel has 2 joy sticks and 3 player buttons for each.
I want to keep it fairly stock - do I need to add 3 more player buttons for each and maybe a track ball? Can I get a decent used replacement control panel?

PS - where should I post these type of questions?
Thanks,
Chris in Jersey City
 
First off, welcome to KLOV. :)

Secondly, you're a step ahead of me. I haven't made the dive in yet to get cabinets and get to work. Mostly due to space constraints. :)

Far as I know, this is the best thread to post your tech questions and ask opinions. You will find a lot of good, knowledge filled people here that are more than willing to share and help "newbies" to the hobby. Don't hesitate to post questions, likely someone will come along and know just the right answer.

Again, welcome to KLOV and good luck with the cabs! Feel free to post pictures as your work progresses, cause you know we'll be curious. :)

-C
 
It has a crappy control panel. Joystick is sluggish, player 1 button not working (but p2 is) and want to install p1, p2 buttons and maybe figure out a track ball.

The control panel is somehow "permanently" bolted on (maybe locktight or super glue?)- tonights project is to figure out how to get it open and look at the existing wiring.
The volume is REALLY loud - I can't seem to find a volume control on the cabinet - ideas?

It's not permanently bolted down :). Reach up through the coin door and feel around on the sides, there are latches you release and the control panel just lifts up.

Player one start button is probably just dirty - if it's an original Pac, then those buttons use leaf switches. Once you have the control panel up, you can see exactly how they work. You can adjust the contacts by bending them a bit closer together, and you can clean them easily by pinching a business card or other rough paper between them and pulling it through.

The "sluggish" joystick could be either due to dirty leaf switches, or it could just be the input lag on those multiboards. The emulation on the 48-in-1 boards really isn't very good. Also note that Pac used a 4-way joystick, so playing games intended for an 8 way stick (like 1943) is going to be annoying.

There is no volume control in the cabinet - it's a little control on the multiboard.

-Ian
 
Thanks for quick responses and other questions...

Hi - thanks for the welcome and quick replies....

Any ideas on control panels for the Ms Pacman and Final Blow?
Would appreciate used as I am closing in on the $$ limit I agreed with my wife to spend on my latest addiction!!!
I think Ms Pacman control board is 23.5 inches? Final Blow 24ish?

Suggestions on how to wire the exisitng harnesses versus buying harness adapter?

Thanks,
Chris
 
Any ideas on control panels for the Ms Pacman and Final Blow?
Would appreciate used as I am closing in on the $$ limit I agreed with my wife to spend on my latest addiction!!!
I think Ms Pacman control board is 23.5 inches? Final Blow 24ish?

What's wrong with the panel that's in the cabinet? Is it damaged? They do make replacement metal panels for Ms. Pac cabinets, and they're available from several places online. But if you just need to replace the overlay, or replace a button or switch, you can just replace those individual parts.

Final blow isn't going to have repro panels, but if yours is missing, someone might be able to help you find one. Control panels are usually pretty specific to the game they came off of - they're all different widths, depths, have different latching mechanisms and different mounting arrangements.

Also note that a lot of games got converted into other games at some point. So, a cabinet that you see as Final Blow might originally have been another game. A picture of the cabinet will allow us to determinie what type of cabinet it is.

Suggestions on how to wire the exisitng harnesses versus buying harness adapter?

You can easily make an adapter using fingerboards, or you can replace the whole harness, or you can buy pre-made adapters, or you can hack up the existing harness. Usually, making up an adapter (or buying one) is preferred, that way you can put the wiring back the way it's supposed to be whenever you want.

-Ian
 
New Problem: cabinet wouldn't start unless I tape..

Hi again,
I got home ready to start working on the Pacman control panel and my wife was concerned that something else had happened to the machine. It would not start up.

So....I broke out my circuit tester and went to work.

I traced all the power lines...
then I tested each power transfer point.

Turns out it is related to the 2 kill switches: one on the backboard and one on the coin door.
After a few shocks while testing the kill switches...I taped them both with the kill switch buttons taped down and the machine works.

Are the kill switches bad? Any harm in either bypassing the coin door and keeping the one on the backboard?
I also have a hunch that this is also related to the top on/off switch. It seems to work randomly.

Also, there are 2 fuses on the bottom near a transformer looking thing - I took both fuses out and it did not affect anything (I had a work lite plugged into the transformer things base outlet)>

Thanks in advance,
Chris
 
Control Panel

Turns out it was bolted on both sides and I had to strip the bolts to get it off. I thought I might have to damage the control panel but it came off once I removed the bolts.

The player 1 start button did have a break in the line which I fixed.

The control panel does have 4 button holes that someone covered up.
I plan to install buttons and then figure out how to wire them to the harness.

Still thinking of maybe putting a track ball but not sure about cutting an opening the the panel...

Chris
 
The 'kill switches' you are talking about are the AC interlocks for the back door and the coin door. They are there for safety--so people won't get shocked by a loose wire or live component when reaching in to get the coins or when taking off the back door. When the back door is on, and the coin door is closed, the actuators on the interlocks are pushed in, allowing the AC from the power cord to go to the rest of the machine. With both interlocks closed and creating a circuit, the power switch on top of the machine turns everything on and off.

You shouldn't have to tape them down--most of them can be bypassed in the 'on' position just by pulling the actuator out slightly until it clicks (it will stay locked in the out position).

If you got shocked while testing those switches, I would recommend slowing down and doing a bit more homework on safe troubleshooting. Like they say, better safe than sorry!
 
88mph - thanks!

Thanks for your detailed reply...

What a great bit of info about pulling out the ac interlock. I think it was probably already pulled out on the coin door and I caused the problem by pushing it in.

This coin door one is actually screwed on away from door - so that makes sense.

Chris
 
Saturday Update - Great Progress!

So my wife almost hates me again.

I have been coming home from work every night and taking these cabinets apart.

Thanks to help from this forum and lots of you tube how to videos I am happy to say that all 4 cabinets are working.

I used the Miss Pacman and Final blow to trace all of the wires and think I now understand how the electrical, monitor, control board all interact.

A few trips to Home Depot, Radio Shack and my first order from Happ really made the tasks easier than I thought.

I replaced all the buttons and their connectors, rewired a lot of things, and did not do much soldering - I got a lot of female, male adapters, different color wires - manuals were all online.

I did make a cool template for the jamma connectors and then labeled the wires - a time consuming process but well worth it when I either rewired non working buttons or added new buttons.

Miss Pac got a cool control panel facelift: I turned 1 player button into 1 and 2 player, the 2 player button is now button 3, and added player 1 and 2 buttons on both sides of the joystick.

Now I am done with the major things and have a list of one off projects. The wife invited folks over for an arcade party and giant water slide cool down.

Thanks for your help,

Chris
 
The control panel does have 4 button holes that someone covered up.
I plan to install buttons and then figure out how to wire them to the harness.

Still thinking of maybe putting a track ball but not sure about cutting an opening the the panel...
Chris
If the CP is that beat up and you want to add a trackball, ArcadeShop sells one for the Pac style cabs that are made for multi-boards. It has joystick, trackball, 3 buttons, plus the starts. Some people complain because the joystick isn't centered, but they also sell a blank panel for those super anal.
 
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