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Wondering about a Taito cabinet


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Hey all! I'm a relative newb to classic arcade ownership. Picked-up a Taito cocktail cabinet locally that was converted into Ms. Pac-Man seemingly a long time ago given the screen burn-in, and was wondering if anyone has any idea on what it used to originally be. A previous owner put in these curious metal covers over where buttons used to be on the control panels and it seems like perhaps 4 way joysticks were put in, though not sure. The monitor seems like it's original and it's color. I see a piece of paper stapled into the underside of the top that talks about sound controls for UFOs and invaders, which sounds like Space Invaders to me, or some version of it, as I know the original had a monochrome screen and a color overlay. Anyway, attached is a link to some pictures I took of the guts and the controls. Wondering if anyone has any ideas on what it was. The immediate previous owner seemed to think it was a Stargate arcade, though in Googling the images of Stargate cocktail, it seems different, plus Stargate seems to have been Williams, not Taito. Though again, newb here.

 

Pondering what to do with it -- keep it a Ms. Pac-Man (and ditch the bootleg PCB for a bonafide Midway PCB), try to restore it to what it was, maybe turn it into a Mr. Do sans the artwork (as it's a fun game), or maybe even stick a Raspberry Pi in it and program my own retro arcade game.

 

It's also missing the coin box, though the coin mech works. Seems like coin boxes are a little hard to come by. I bought my dad a Taito cocktail arcade of the original Space Invaders so was thinking of seeing if that coin box is a match for this cabinet and if it is, perhaps trying my hand at building a coin box out of hardwood with a drawer lock and maybe some rollers to let it slide in and out of the slot.

Taito Arcade – Google Drive

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Hi FeedTheCoinMech, I'm new here too but think I can answer that question - The Japanese made Taito cabinets are more common here in Australia (both upright and cocktail or TT) as we didn't get the licensed Midway versions - at least not originally anyway.

 

After the original monochrome release of Space Invaders Taito produced a Space Invaders Color (or Colour) TT (for TableTop) and I think that's what you have. The game was really just the black and white game but with a colour monitor (probably made by Toei) and a colour 'overlay' circuit to change the colour of the image at various parts of the screen simulating the cellophane which was attached to the screen of the monochrome version.

 

It preceded the Space Invaders part II (or Space Invaders Deluxe) which was true colour as the invaders stayed the same colour throughout rather than changing as they advanced down the screen.

 

It used a 3 board set (commonly referred to as a 3 layer PCB for some reason, incorrectly) and the board numbers were prefixed with CV. Hence in MAME the ROMset is sicv.

 

It would have had just the two way joystick and a single fire button which is not required for Pacman, of course.

 

The coin drawer is probably the same for all Taito TT machines. There was a coin meter attached to the back which unplugs as you pull the drawer out so you can read it.

 

I don't have that exact machine but I do have a Taito Missile Command TT which was licensed from Atari and sold in Australia and Japan, I believe - which is similar but has trackballs and a horizontally mounted Toei 14" monitor.

 

I also have a Taito upright cabinet (not a dedicated SI) which has had the SI 3 board set fitted, probably originating from a cocktail machine such as yours. I'm working on it at the moment.

 

Here's a couple photos of the 3 board set. I'm documenting the repairs to my units on this web page:

 

Hope this helps, Regards, John

 

John's Retro Workshop * Projects, Collections - jbtech.linkpc.net

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Hi again FeedTheCoinMech, looking at the remains of the control panel overlays in your photos it probably is a Space Invaders Part II machine after all, which used a different version of the 3 board set. Regards, John
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Thanks for the reply! Guess I'm better off just keeping it as a derelict Taito cocktail with Ms. Pac-Man or maybe adding a Raspberry Pi and programming a game of my own. Of course, with all the Ms. Pac-Man burn-in, eh, maybe just better off keeping it a Ms. Pac-Man, though thinking I should be legit and ditch the bootleg and try and get a legit Bally Midway board. Already replaced the chassis fan, spent the better part of last weekend builting a custom locking coin door out of wood that I'm going to paint this weekend, and plopped in some dummy fire buttons as the metal coverings looked odd. Did all that then lost player 1 right on the joystick. Fortunately found a short from the previous modder doing a sloppy splicing job. That control panel sure comes out way better than I expected! Very nice design!
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I have to agree, if the maze is burnt into the screen it would be less obvious to leave it as is. At least in Ms. Pacman the screen doesn't scroll (is that right? I think Pacman Jr. scrolls...)

 

I have a machine where a previous owner sliced into the button 3 and coin wires with a knife, then tied another wire between them and hey, presto, credit button! no solder, no insulation...

 

Best Regards, John

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Another quick newb question. So I clearly have a bootleg PCB. I count 36 contacts -- 18 on each side. If I wanted to get a legit Bally Midway Ms. Pac-Man PCB I know I'd need to adapt it as the connectors and pin-outs are different. I see adapters for sale that adapt non-JAMMA PCBs to JAMMA connectors and others that adapt JAMMA PCBs to non-JAMMA connectors. Though unless I'm just missing something, I don't see anything that can adapt pre-JAMMA Ms. Pac-Man or JAMMA PCBs to a bootleg Ms. Pac-Man connector.

 

My thought was to find the pin-out for the Ms. Pac-Man bootleg PCB I have, cut all the wires and crimp on insulated quick disconnect terminals, labeling the terminals, then get a JAMMA harness and install insulated quick disconnect terminals on that and connect everything so that I can make it a JAMMA cabinet, yet still retain the ability to go back to the bootleg Ms. Pac-Man if I wanted to. Does that sound reasonable?

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Hi again, there's a long answer to that and it's just my own opinion so please feel free to disagree - it's your choice entirely. It does no harm to take your time, see what's available and be sure before you proceed, especially if your machine is working as it stands.

 

Personally, I would avoid adding crimp connectors or using any individual connectors which could be connected in the wrong order at some point. Anyone who has had to troubleshoot cabinet wiring would possibly agree with me on that point.

 

If the original cabinet wiring hasn't already been hacked up too badly, my approach would be to leave that as original and then make or buy an adaptor to take you from there to whatever you need to connect.

 

The Space Invaders II TT would have had 2 x 36 pin (each 2 rows x 18 contacts) edge connectors, labelled G and T. All the power rails, control inputs, RGB and Speaker outputs originally appear on the G connector while the T connector has additional 'booster' power connections to minimise voltage drop across the 3 board set so for a single PCB setup you wouldnt normally need that one.

 

The Space Invader colour boards also have monochrome video output on the T connector which is normally unused apart from testing or perhaps installing into a black and white system.

 

Do your cabinet controls and video still go via the G connector? It looked from your photo that someone may have cut off and reused the original T connector for the Ms. Pacman PCB or maybe the label has been swapped.

 

If the G connector is there, with all the original wires still going to it, it would be possible to make or possibly buy an adaptor which uses a 36 way PCB 'biscuit' or 'finger' which plugs into the G connector and then wiring from there to the appropriate connector for your PCB of choice. Any extra signals such as joystick up, down etc which are not originally used in space invaders can be wired directly to the latter connector, or via a multi pin molex style plug and socket if you want the adaptor it to be removable from the machine by simply unplugging it. Again, avoid individual crimp plugs and sockets to reduce the risk of inadvertently crossed wires.

 

That setup, using a secondary group of wires for additional controls is often seen in the form of a 'kick harness' when machines are converted to later games which use extra buttons such as fighting games with six buttons per player, extra wires are needed for the 'kick' buttons etc.

 

If the original G connector has been cut off at some point and all the wiring has been connected directly to the repurposed T connector visible in the photo then I would work out the pinout for that connector and construct an adaptor from there to your new PCB being Midway, JAMMA or whatever.

 

Only if the original wiring was completely unusable, would I take the more extreme step of installing a complete new harness to go from your new game board directly to the controls, monitor and power supply.

 

I hope that makes sense, if anyone can suggest a better method or explain more clearly please do.

 

 

 

Having said all that, If the machine is not being used commercially I'm not sure it is worth all that trouble and expense just to install a genuine Bally Midway PCB and play the same game which the machine already plays. It wouldn't be returning the cabinet to its original configuration in any case - purely my opinion...

 

All the best, regards John

 

 

 

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That cabs in good nick and sounds like it plays. When I first got into arcades I was really hung up keeping things original as well, but most cabs in Australia were generic and when a game stopped earning it was swapped out. Your cab is a survivor and has history, Ms Pacman was released in 82. I wouldn't be concerned about it being a bootleg as that also what happened back then. You could clean the control panel and add a Ms Pacman overlay, maybe some instructions cards under the glass. But don't MAME it!

 

Also those vertical control panels aren't great for button mashing. Mine has a single fire button and you can get away using your knuckle, but I couldn't even think of playing a two/three button game on it.

 

Get another cab to play around with as your are going to end with more than one anyway.

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Have you tried tracking down the machine's origin though Taito America?. All the stuff here come in through Taito Australia, ( was eaten up by AMF Bowling), but I do know there was a Taito America as we here at Taito Australia bought in parts from Taito American when Japan couldn't supply.

The early TTs had the metal plate cut to suit the joystick / button combo the TT was made originally so you should be able to detect the original factory made holes and work out what the machine was originally made. Later TTs had a large rectangular hole punched in the metal plate, plywood over that with holes machined in it to suit what ever game they or you choose with an alloy "Taito" dress plate with holes to suit. The blank plywood panels and the blank "Taito" alloy plates were sold as spare parts. This later idea was so much better.

 

As for your wiring, Taito cabs and TTs were made to be repaired so every part has connectors so they can be completey disassembled with virtually no need to de-solder anything. Good idea, makes working on them a breeze however, now every circuit goes through a number of connectors and most problems you get with now old Taitos is connectors.

I personally would rip out the "original wiring" and replace it with a brand new Jamma harness simply to get rid of all the potencial connection failures that you can spend hours on finding and fixing. From Jamma you can convert it to anything older to suit the board using an interface.

 

The tube, can't help burn in. Should be easy in the states to track one down. They only used Wells Gardener's in the states unlike out here were we used Kargas, Toshibas, Hytachis and Omrons plus a few others in much smaller numbers but no two are compatiable as in chassis to tube that I'm aware of anyway.

 

Might want to look at changing to a 20" from the 14". Pretty easy to mod changing as necessary but make sure you have a tube surround to suit prior to buying a 20" tube/chassis. It will be the hard part to get. Get a new glass cut and spray the glass in bitumous black paint or the paint will fall off over time to suit the now bigger tube surround.

We did heaps of these mods for customers as well as the large rectangular hole in the hinged player metal panel.

 

Unfortunately I spent most of my time working on genuine Taito 20" TTs so most of my parts are to suit 20" Taito TTs but some parts are compatiable so I may be able to help with some parts.

 

Good luck which ever way to go and I'll continue watching your post.

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Thanks again for the replies, everyone!

 

John, yeah, it seems that the previous modder used the T connector. I don't see any signs of the G connector. What you suggest sounds smart -- to be less invasive and keep the original modded connector as-is and maybe try and make an adapter. Guess I'll have to look into that. I was hoping I could find a 36 contact finger board with screw terminals and then use that to wire-up a JAMMA connector and maybe try out some other JAMMA PCBs. Mr. Do is a title I like and seems like it was released in a TT/cocktail form factor. In the back of my mind, I'd like it to have the potential for it to be returned to a commercial environment, even though that probably would never happen.

 

Also, I don't like the notion of possessing bootleg hardware. I get that something this old it's not like Midway is going to be coming after me for possessing counterfeit hardware if it's not used commercially, but it's the principle of it. Though perhaps just possessing a genuine PCB even if it's not installed will make me feel better. :-) That and I guess bootlegs are a part of arcade history, especially considering Ms. Pac-Man started as an unauthorized hack. Alas, this seems like it was more nefarious. This cabinet seems like it did see commercial use with the bootleg hardware considering "Insert Coin" is burned into the CRT, unless 2+ owners was just of the mind to use it as a piggy bank, like I am!

 

Poidapoida, yeah, kind of wrestling with the notion that it's not all original by any stretch, certainly a bit of a derelict cabinet, yet it also has some unique history, so perhaps best left as-is, or at least go as least invasive as possible. I'm definitely not going to just MAME it as I like the notion of collectible, original hardware. When I speak of Raspberry Pi I'm referring to programming my own homebrew games, as what I lack in electronics skills I kind of make up with some game programming skills, at least in the 2D realm. A dream of mine is to cook-up my own 80s era arcade game and have it be in a commercial environment devouring quarters. Alas, with this unit and all the Ms. Pac-Man burn-in and history, yeah, perhaps done with another cabinet. I kind of want to build a cocktail/TT cabinet now that I have one in front of me and see how nice it's constructed. Plus, having the arcade actively accommodate adult beverages is a bonus!

 

Autosteve, thank for the suggestion on trying to contact Taito America. Didn't think of that. Worth a try. Yeah, fun with CRTs for sure. I come from a previous hobby of user-level tinkering with CRT projectors for home theater (as in dialing them in but not serious enough to pull off replacing a picture tube). I actually had this one CRT projector that had some not so good 16:9 burn-in and fired-up GNU GIMP, drew a feathered white pattern over the virgin CRT phosphor area and "counter-burned" that in. It actually worked! Though with a more unique burn pattern like a Ms. Pac-Man maze, yeah, that would be madness. Interesting I see a Hitachi label on the tube and an TOEI label on it as well. Working in IT I have a whole slew of LCD monitors just collecting dust, though I'm sure putting a LCD monitor in this is just as sacrilegious as MAMEing it.

 

I added all the pictures so far of the project. Undoubtedly super basic compared to actual arcade refurbishing, but still fun getting it spruced-up a bit! Thanks again for the comments! This weekend will hopefully be painting the custom-built coin box, finishing that up.

 

- Mike

Taito Arcade – Google Drive

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Seems like I could get a JAMMA to Konami cabinet adapter...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JAMMA-to-Ko...4AAOSwdehfjFjH

 

...a JAMMA to terminal adapter...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jamma-2-ter...-/293063904942

 

...and a JAMMA harness...

 

https://www.amazon.com/RetroArcade-u...3399296&sr=8-4

 

...and try wiring it up. The 36 contact "T" connector measures out at 67mm from center of far left to center of far right pin, and in comparing it with the picture of the adapter, it matches. 56 USD for all of this is kind of a bummer, but no soldering is nice, as is not butchering the existing wiring, which while not pristine, is functional.

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Hi again Mike, by the way - have you looked under the glass on your machine? When I came to replacing the (cracked, not toughened and non original) glass which was on my Missile Command TT I found the original game instruction cards were still there. They just couldn't be seen as the entire glass had been sprayed black except for the CRT area. I haven't masked out my new glass at all yet, just bought a roll of black paper, carefully cut out the three areas and laid it on top of the table under the glass. I'll do it the proper way one day, when I find the courage...

 

Thanks, Autosteve for the hint about using bitumous paint to spray the glass, when I do.

 

Regards, John

 

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- just noticed your latest post Mike - I think it's time to brush up your soldering skills, well worth it in the long run and you can do simple repairs or make up any adaptor you can dream of cheaply and easily! Best Regards, John
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Yeah, I only want to solder where absolutely necessary, but my skills could use some improvement there, no doubt.

 

No goodies under the glass. The guy I bought it from had replaced the glass (and fortunately included the original glass, which is a bit scratched up, though I may ultimately put it back on), though didn't do the best of job installing the replacement glass. The spray job on the underside wasn't the best -- somewhat sloppy interior edging. I also noticed this white substance under the glass and was wondering what the heck it was. Took the glass off and turns out there was this piece of plexiglass duct-taped to the underside of the glass and I was seeing the other side of the duct tape! Right now I'm designing and 3D printing some black spacer grip pieces to hold this piece of smoked plexiglass centered right over the monitor so it won't need to be taped to the glass, which strikes me as not original. Not sure if this plexiglass was stock with the arcade or what.

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I have a photo of my Taito machine when the glass was removed. There is a tinted / smoked screen which spans the CRT cutout and on the underside it has a shaped surround or bezel to match up to the curve of the tube. Those two parts appear to be glued together as an assembly. The top of the table is routed so the assembled plexi panel just drops in and rests in a groove so it sits flush beneath the glass. There is also a metal clip, visible on the underside to the left which keeps it in place should the top be opened with the glass removed, as in the photo.

 

Apart from the screen orientation I would have thought yours would be similar.

 

- how did we ever manage before 3d printing! I've made up lots of miscellaneous clips, brackets and spacers too. Regards, John

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I gotta be missing that part that fits nicely atop the CRT. Ah well. The plexiglass is centered now and looks better now -- no duct tape adhesive of duct tape peeking though. Was thinking of maybe better masking it at hitting the underside with some paint, but good enough for now. Found a machine screw where there should have been a flush wood screw holding the glass bracket and was thus munching into the wood, plus a couple of missing wood screws. A previous owner certainly had no OCD issues! Well, the wiring job was already evidence of that.

 

Agreed about the 3D printing. I was eager to find some use for it in this mini project. It's funny -- when I first heard of 3D printers I thought, really?, such things will really be common household appliances? While we're not actually there yet, the list of useful things at work and at home I've used mine for keeps getting longer and longer. My design software of choice is OpenSCAD. Computer programming meets LEGOs! I just want a 3D printer that can print in metal. Was thinking of the prospects of trying to make a fingerboard adapter with the 3D printer, though that would undoubtedly be very painstaking. Though I suppose a fingerboard like this...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JAMMA-Finge...-/293628927428

 

...could be very carefully cut down to size with a Dremel drill to fit that T connector. The pin spacing and widths do look the same. Hmm.

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Yes, if you can't find a 36 way 'finger' you can always trim one to size as the pitch of the contacts is usually 3.96mm (not sure why that exactly)

 

Normally I'd get a pcb 'finger', some assorted colour wires and an edge connector socket to suit the new PCB and make a short loom using the correct pinout for each end.

 

But if you don't need the extra cable length and want to avoid soldering you can do it with one of these:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-JAMMA-Adapter-Version-2/151552965719?hash=item234942bc57:g:JicAAOSwFNZWyNDj

 

Note: it's the socket which goes to your PCB so if you have a JAMMA PCB the 56 way socket will fit but take some care plugging it in as I don't think the socket has a key inserted.

 

- The key itself is often just a little plastic strip which slots into a groove in the connector - another job for the 3d printer maybe...

 

They have other versions with 44 pin or other socket sizes to suit non-JAMMA PCBs too, I believe.

 

The other side could be trimmed to suit your T connector quite easily. And your original board will still work, just plug it back in as it was originally

 

Regards, John

 

Universal JAMMA Adapter Version 2 | eBay

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Thanks. I ended-up buying that JAMMA Fingerboard adapter PCB I linked to. I'm going to try and trim it down to 73mm width with contacts lining up. Think I'll try and score it with a utility knife instead of busting out the Dremel as fiberglass dust doesn't sound like fun. Also bought a JAMMA harness and going to try soldering it in correctly. Bought one of those 60-in-1 boards solely to serve as a cheap JAMMA test board. Looks like the pin-out for the Ms. Pac-Man bootleg board is as follows (any [ ] indicates a missing pin in the T-connector I have)...

 

<pre>
parts side
           SP-                             COIN
GND GND GND GND +12V NC         +5V 1DN 2DN CTR COIN    RED 2RT 2LT TBL
[ 2][ 4][ 6][ 8][10][  ][14][16][18][20][22][24][26][  ][30][32][34][  ]
[ 1][ 3][ 5][ 7][  ][11][13][  ][17][  ][  ][23][25][27][29][31][33][35]
GND GND GND SP+ +12V 1UP 2UP    +5V         2ST 1ST 1RT 1LT BLU GRN SYNC

solder side
</pre>

 

Curiously, pin 9 looked like it should have been +12V but the pin was missing. I take it pins 9 and 10 connect on the PCB? Not sure.

 

In looking at the JAMMA pin-out it looks like it should be pretty straight-forward. Though some more newbie questions...

 

1) Because I seem to only have one +12V from the T connector, should I connect both +12V wires on the JAMMA harness to that single +12V connection or should I run back a separate wire back to the switching PSU for the second +12V? Perhaps it doesn't really matter? Sounds like I should use 18AWG wire for power wires if I do the latter instead of 22AWG.

 

2) The JAMMA pin-out calls for "video ground". Since I have no video ground on the T connector, do I leave that disconnected, connect it to the main ground, or maybe video ground is hidden somewhere in the cabinet somewhere disconnected?

 

3) Sounds like -5V shouldn't be wired up.

 

4) If my final intent is to get an adapter like this...

 

https://www.arcadeshop.com/i/369/pac-man-series-jamma-adapter.htm

 

...to adapt an original, non-JAMMA, Ms. Pac-Man PCB to the system, I see the original Ms. Pac-Man pin-out calls for "7 VAC". I find reference to "7 VAC" being "+5VDC"...

 

https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/spies.cgi?action=url&type=pinout&page=Pac.html

 

...so maybe I'm overthinking that and I just trust the adapter?

 

Sounds too that if I get the JAMMA setup going then an easier, albeit more expensive way, might be just trying to get a Class of 1981 Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga board and just using that. Seeing the state of Ms. Pac-Man boards on eBay, yeah, quite battle worn.

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HI again, if you're going to use a pre built Jamma harness that saves soldering up one end. I have a couple multigame PCBs which are great for testing and as a substitute when your original board is out of action...

 

Yes, if there's 2 +12v pins they would be connected together on the PCB so they would have gotten away with just running one wire. Ideally, connecting both would reduce the likelihood of a bad connection.

 

I would connect both +12V wires from the JAMMA connector to your pin 10 on the T connector.

 

I think video ground is usually connected to the main ground on the PCB anyway but if the JAMMA harness has a wire connected to that pin, run it to one of the ground pins on your T connector.

 

Yes, safest to leave the -5V not connected whenever it is not required.

 

OK, so the original Pacman type PCBs must have had rectifiers and regulators on board to allow AC from a transformer to be wired directly to the PCB. It appears there is an alternate way to connect a DC supply so you would follow the latter pinout.

 

The Jamma - Pacman adapter will be correct providing your JAMMA connector is correctly wired in the first place. But that would be using two adapters in line which would add to potential connection problems. I would be more inclined to wire up an adapter from your T connector directly to the Pacman pinout or, better still, go with your last option which would likely be more reliable than buying an original PCB on eBay.

 

Also - before you connect any other game board you need to check your +5v as it may need to be readjusted.

 

First, check the Voltage arriving at your existing, working game board and make a note of that. As long as the board is working and the voltage is somewhere between 5V and no more than about 5.2V that's OK, just make a note so you can set the same voltage next time you use that PCB.

 

The little multigame PCB will draw less current from the supply so to prevent over-voltage:-

 

Before installing it check your +5V supply with no game board installed. If it has risen to more than 5.2V then adjust it down to about 5.1.

 

Then connect the new game board (make sure it's working) and re-check the +5V arriving at the PCB, if it is below 5V adjust it up a bit, +5.1V is a safe mid point to aim for.

 

Best Regards, John

 

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- Just noticed your pinout shows Speaker (-) connected to ground, on some PCBs there is just one active output and the other is ground but on some both speaker (+) and (-) are active, complimentary outputs so you may need to check and wire the JAMMA harness so that both speaker wires are connected but not grounded. regards John
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Yeah, about the SPK- and GND, that was a discrepancy I found in pinouts for the bootleg Ms. Pac-Man. I'm assuming it's SPK- and connected it to SPK- on the JAMMA harness.

 

Just got done making an adapter (attached for everyone's amusement). Quite mess of wires. Literally a loom! I was basket-weaving getting it all connected! I think having the insulated disconnect terminals made staging for soldering way easier. I was actually happier with my soldering job than with the crimping, as the crimped on ends seem to have a little play in some cases. Bought a ratcheting crimper that was doing an inferior job than the cheapo hand crimper I had, which I switched back to. I doubled over the 20AWG wire for the 22AWG disconnects and that helped a bit. I guess if I have issues I may just splice them, get a screw block terminal to join them, or figure out something else.

 

I just tested all connections with my multimeter and they all seem good. Bought a Namco Class of 1981 Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga PCB to use and I figured even though it's like 2x the cost of an original, non-JAMMA Ms. Pac-Man, it gets me the fast and regular versions, Galaga, and secret Pac-Man game, plus the hardware is 20 years newer and is JAMMA, so no additional putzing with yet another adapter. I now see though that in that game it seems to use player 1 and 2 button 2s for start game, as there are 4 start game buttons -- two for Ms. Pac-Man and two for Galaga. I'll have to figure out something there that doesn't involve cutting holes into the control panel as I want to keep that as-is. It would be neat to have a held-in start button press be interpreted as start game for Galaga and a quick press interpreted for start game for Ms. Pac-Man. Perhaps a fun future project for an Arduino to be added in, but for now think I'll just wire it for 1 player starts for Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga and perhaps put switches inside the cabinet for 2 player games.

 

The Class of 1981 board should be here this Wednesday and the 60-in-1 board is on a slow boat from China, but may borrow a 60-in-1 board one of my friends said he has just sitting to test out my adapter. Don't wanna let out the magic smoke out of the Namco board, which almost cost as much as the original cabinet with bootleg hardware! Though what I should probably do now is plug a JAMMA fingerboard into the cabinet, power it on, and just verify +12V and +5V are where they're expected.

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Hi, the soldered ends look pretty good in the photos.

 

Not sure about all the in line connectors, I didn't think they were necessary and certainly increase the potential for bad connections - but if you've tested them, all the connections are good and they all go to the right places they should still work...

 

Yes, without plugging in a game board you can test if the power supply rails appear on the right pins. You can also double check those speaker pins on the JAMMA connector with the multimeter, to make sure neither is shorted to ground - don't want to blow up the sound amp on your new PCBs!

 

Best regards, John

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Well, the 60-in-1 board came early! I got it swapped in and at first got a garbled image and immediately killed the power. Skiddish that it might have been outputting VGA instead of CGA (maybe it cannot even do that on the RGBS connection on the edge connector versus the VGA connector?), as I've smoked a CRT projector that way 18 years ago in college -- accidentally feeding HD to a poor Sony VPH-1031Q resulting in a a trip to a repair company, though a good excuse to have a replacement blue picture tube put in while it was in for repair! I digress.

 

Double checked and that wasn't the case as it was set to CGA. Plugged it back in thinking perhaps HHOLD was out of wack, as the previous owner had issues with that. The pots on the video board are a little janky, but for 40 year old hardware, eh, I shouldn't complain too much. I tinker with the video controls and get some semblance of the test pattern the 60-in-1 board outputs when put int test mode. I'm thinking, is there something wrong with one of the video connections? I'm getting red, green, and blue. Problematic sync connection? I take it out and check all the contacts again. Everything checks out. No short circuiting and I was able to kinda play a game of Ms. Pac-Man in that state, though with severe garbling of the image.

 

I then wonder about this missing video ground from the pin-outs I found online for the bootleg board I think I have. I had video ground connected to regular ground and upon disconnecting it and reconnecting it, no difference in the garbled image. I did notice it was pulsating in somewhat of a tune with the demo music the board plays in regular mode on the menus. I disconnected the speaker connections and still garbled. I then think about the video connector I cut off the harness when making the adapter. Red, green, blue, white for sync, and black for ground. I then look in the cabinet and see the bundle of cables coming from the video board and making their way to the T connector. There were 2 contacts on the T connector that I wasn't sure about -- pins 16 and 18. I wired them in my adapter to disconnect terminals just in case. Well, pin 16 was video ground! Got that figured out and presto! Nice clean image! I was extra happy as the intermittent humbars the Ms. Pac-man bootleg was exhibiting were going to be my next concern! No sign of those on the 60-in-1 board! Glad that issue is with the bootleg board and not the video hardware. Perhaps edge contacts of the bootleg board need cleaning?

 

Back to the 60-in-1. So I then found that controls suddenly weren't working. Perhaps a bad ground connection? I take the board and adapter out again and check all the ground connections. Everything seems to be right with the adapter. I don't find any bad connections or short circuiting with nearby connections. I had one spare ground connection no longer in use now that I figured out that pin 16 of the bootleg pin-out was video ground. I swapped that spare ground in for another one and suddenly I got controls again. Well, almost all controls. P1 down and P1 start weren't working. Again I think, bad connection? Maybe even with my player 1 joystick, which had a bad splice previously? Though that was with P1 left, not P1 down. I once again check connections with the adapter and everything seems in order. I take the 60-in-1 board out, switch it to VGA mode, connect it to a PC PSU and monitor, get to the input test page, use a jumper wire to take the pins for P1 down and P1 start to ground on the edge connector and get nothing. Upon closer inspection of the board I see a damaged resistor and capacitor! I'm thinking that had to have been from the factory, not my adapter that cooked those components. Going to RMA the 60-in-1 and have another 60-in-1 that should be here tomorrow for hopefully everything to go smoothly for a sanity check before trying the Class of '81 Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga PCB. The insulated terminals did pay some dividends in helping troubleshoot this, so I guess that was worth it even though I spent quite a bit of time getting all those crimped on.

 

Maybe if I'm feeling adventurous I'll try another adapter and skip the disconnect terminals now that I have a better idea of what goes where. Pin 18 on the T connector is still a mystery. Perhaps it was the service or test button? Perhaps more likely test? I'll have to trace that back and try to see where it goes. There is a test switch one can press by sticking a screwdriver into a hole in the underside of the cabinet but it takes a convoluted pathway and its ground wire was cut.

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