To help support fabrication and R&D on future games, I'm building a limited number of populated TRON to JAMMA adapters for $99 ea in 1. Red with Red LEDs, 2. Blue with Blue LEDs, or 3. Green with Red or Yellow LEDs. Bare PCBs are still available for $5/ea (up to 2) in Red only, with BOM. Flat rate priority shipping is $12. DM me if you'd like either.
Bally/Midway MCR JAMMA Adapter for TRON and Discs of TRON
This is a limited run JAMMA adapter for TRON and Discs of TRON. This adapter allows you to connect a Bally/Midway MCR TRON or Discs of TRON arcade PCB to JAMMA, and map spinner controls to buttons, with adjustable rotation speed, providing an excellent adaptation for gamepad or joystick play. All boards are hand assembled and soldered in the USA.
FEATURES
- Eliminates the need for a spinner, mapping buttons to adjustable-speed CW and CCW rotation of Tron's arm. This allows the game to be played with a joystick or game pad, without a physical spinner. A spinner can still be connected directly to the MCR board if you wish to use one.
- Sync Combiner: Combines H and V sync signals into a single composite sync
- Onboard op-amp circuit with separate volume control
- Power-on Reset Circuit: Delivers +5v to the reset circuit on power on
- Battery Circuit: Allows an external 3.6V battery to be connected to maintain game state
- Fire and Deflect (DOT) buttons, and jumpers to assign B2-B4 for CCW and CW spinner rotation
- Test switch and momentary test and service buttons
- Indicator LEDs for power on and reset
- Onboard volume control replacing external MCR control
- Molex pin mappings and connections printed on silkscreen for easy setup
COMPATIBILITY
Only some video devices support the non-standard video mode used by TRON (512x480 interlaced @30hz). Most CRTs with a separate H and V sync can render this but must be connected directly to the MCR's sync. The following devices have been tested and found compatible using the adapter's composite sync:
- OSSC Pro* with all HDMI monitors
- OSSC Classic** with most HDMI monitors
- Sony PVM-14M2MDU
* In "Scaler" operating mode, OSSC Pro can re-render TRON in any supported resolution. This has been successfully tested with various brands of HDMI monitor.
** Requires advanced timing profile to sync, available upon request. Monitor must support resolution.
DISCLAIMERS
TRON and Discs of TRON are trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. This product is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Disney.
As this adapter supports multiple titles and configurations, Molex wiring is not included. You will need to crimp your own connectors. A legend is provided directly on the silkscreen of the adapter.
Due to the diverse number of JAMMA setups and user skill, use of this product is entirely at your own risk.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Above each Molex connector on the adapter silkscreen, you'll find the name of the corresponding connector and pin numbers for the MCR PCB. Verify these against your manual's wiring schematic.
2. Decide on a physical location for the adapter. Ensure the adapter does not make direct contact with the MCR circuit board.
3. Decide on the two buttons to map your CCW and CW spinner rotation to and set the appropriate jumpers near the top of the adapter. Generally, buttons up and left/right to the fire button are most natural. If your JAMMA setup supports remapping, you may wish to remap the fire button to an ideal position in between two other buttons.
4. Using 2.54mm JST or similar connectors, crimp and set the adapter ends of the Molex using the appropriate size connector. Some Molex connections will be longer on the MCR side due to pin spacing and key pins. Use a multimeter to ensure all connections are sound.
NOTE: I recommend shifting the spinner encoder D0-D6 pins over one, for increased speed, e.g. map D0 to pin 11 rather than pin 10, and so on, omitting D6 entirely. This will double the normal speed of the encoder, providing better gameplay and a wider adjustable range.
5. Once all connections are made, flip the "TEST" switch on the adapter to the "ON" position. Connect to your JAMMA system and power on into test mode. Ensure all controls respond.
HINT: If everything but "left" works, try reseating the adapter in the JAMMA connector; it may not be aligned correctly.
6. Using a small screwdriver, adjust the VOLUME and PREAMP trim pots to the desired audio level and gain. If the sound is overdriven or too loud after adjustment, turn the GAIN switch to the OFF position. Turn off the "TEST" switch and the game will reset.
7. Start a game. Using a small screwdriver, adjust the ROTATION trim pot until Tron's arm moves at the desired speed. If, at maximum speed, the rotation is still too slow then you can shift the encoder connections to multiply the speed. For example, map D0 to MCR pin 11 instead of pin 10, and so on (omitting the adapter's D6 entirely). Each shift multiplies the speed by a factor of two. Pay special attention to the key pin when shifting. This will leave one or more high adapter pins unused.
TROUBLESHOOTING
GAME DOES NOT ALWAYS RESET ON POWER-ON
The adapter includes a power on reset circuit, however the MCR stack's power supply also provides a crash watchdog. If you are not using the MCR PS board / power supply, then this watchdog is not present to reset under certain conditions, and you'll need to either press reset or power cycle the game if it hangs on boot.

