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LAI Mortal Kombat cabinet project


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Hi all!

 

I've already posted a bit about me looking to purchase this cabinet on this forum and everyone here was helpful about what to look for, and today it arrived!

I now own an LAI cabinet with an Ultimate MK3 PCB installed with a Kortek chassis that actually looks really nice after some adjustments, even though it's not a Nanao(?) which I've heard are better. Everything else electrical is in great working order.

 

Today I gave it soap, disinfect and polish and it came up pretty good!

 

I took all the metal off (including kick plate which was GROSS underneath, lots of dirt and sticky old Coke under there), pulled out and cleaned the glass and monitor, and air compressed all the dust and grime out)

 

IMG_20190811_151135409.thumb.jpg.073a4efa21ef0bb8e5c20aacf3c87bc4.jpg

Right in the thick of it

 

IMG_20190811_150854479.thumb.jpg.0002a14da2db02de1c93dab39b6ed847.jpg

 

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And here's what it looked like once i'd finished!

 

So now, my next step is to turn it visually into an MK2 cabinet including side art, marquee, and a control panel which I've added a small amount of custom artwork to for some unique personalizaton of my cab. (My start buttons don't match with the MK2 layout artwork so I edited them out, they will sit where the MK1 LAI layout has them, I don't mind not moving any buttons so I don't have to cut any metal etc etc).

 

smallmortal_kombat_2_cpo_orig_blue_CUSTOMBLOOD.jpg.0790306f00a2266b1629aca7693f3dde.jpg

 

 

And now I need to decide whether I hunt down an MK2 PCB or put a MAME board/Raspberry Pi in there so I can play everything.

Ideally i'd like to be able to switch between the two (PCB and emulation) but if that's not possible, does anyone here have any idea's what the ideal emulation solution might be and will I still be able to use the monitor? I really don't want to have to install and LCD.

 

I will post more once the project evolves!

 

Thanks again everyone for your help!

Edited by zer0entity
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LAI Mortal Kombat cabinet project

 

Definitely see if you can get an mk2 board to keep it original dedicated mk2. I wouldn’t recommend a multi board like Pandora’s box for mk emulation, it’s pretty crap. I don’t think they have mk2 yet anyway only mk1 (I could be wrong).

If you decide you want more than one mk variant on there you can always use a 2-1 jamma switcher with an original mk2 and umk3 board.

If you go down the mame route you can still use the original monitor with a jpac and mame rig setup with multiple versions of MK. I have one like this too.

Whatever you do don’t stick an lcd in there

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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Thanks! I definitely would like to get an MK2 board (and a 2in1 switch), but not sure where the best place to start looking or buying that gear is other than ebay? Are they most commonly imported from the States rather than found locally?

 

And yeah, I'd love multiple MK variants.

 

After looking at Pandoras thats definitely not for me as I love to be able to hand pick games and custom artwork.

 

I've heard of a "MAME board".. looked like a small blue PCB if i'm not mistaken? Or is using a PC the best way to run MAME?

 

And what about Raspberry Pi? Can they even connect and display on these monitors? I definitely have ZERO plans to put an LCD into this cabinet.

 

So many questions i know! Appreciate wherever anybody can help.

Edited by zer0entity
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I second the idea of sticking with original PCBs as you've obviously gone to all the trouble of finding an original cabinet with a 4:3 CRT in it- good work!

 

Start to build up a collection of 25"/26" tubes and chassis to match for future spares is a good idea.

 

In my experience if you keep an eye out on here and on ebay for the original boards within 3 months you should get lucky.

 

A wanted ad can't hurt either.

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Cheers! Yeah i too love the idea of keeping it all original and having PCB's to swap in and out and spare monitors etc etc.. even though it's not the MOST practical solution i agree that having the original LAI cab it would be a shame to go the emulation route.

 

In saying that, after looking around at PCB prices and availability, I am weighing up the JPAC/Raspberry Pi or PC option.. and if i could switch between the UMK3 board I have in there and emulation then that would strike a happy medium between running original hardware but also having multiple games to choose from. I could never, ever afford original boards of all the games I would want to play.

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Cheers! Yeah i too love the idea of keeping it all original and having PCB's to swap in and out and spare monitors etc etc.. even though it's not the MOST practical solution i agree that having the original LAI cab it would be a shame to go the emulation route.

 

In saying that, after looking around at PCB prices and availability, I am weighing up the JPAC/Raspberry Pi or PC option.. and if i could switch between the UMK3 board I have in there and emulation then that would strike a happy medium between running original hardware but also having multiple games to choose from. I could never, ever afford original boards of all the games I would want to play.

 

You'll find that the MAME emulations are great as long as you're running a CRT. It's only when the LCD comes into it that they just look too 'pixellated' I guess you could say. With modern games LCDs are great.

 

In my experience you'll save a lot of money with MAME but you'll need to know a fair bit about PC's to keep it running. Whereas with the original boards you just unlock your door and flick the power switch and you're on, no need to worry about updates and website shutdowns and what-not.

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I'll definitely be running the CRT thats in there, I will never ever use an LCD, thats a promise!

 

Luckily I do know a lot about about PC's and MAME, i've already set up a massive Launchbox setup on my home PC so to able to port the arcade section of that over to this machine would be something I'm a LOT more interested in doing than spending thousands of dollars on collecting PCB's.

 

I guess really what I need to learn about is:

 

1. Installing a JPAC and making sure all the buttons are wired and working correctly to it

2. Choosing between a Raspberry Pi or PC set up for the hardware

3. Being able to flick between the JPAC and the original PCB in there (I assume thats just swapping the JAMMA harness around)

4. Learning how MAME and the JPAC handles different resolutions being sent to the CRT

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I guess in theory you could switch between a mame setup and original pcb using a jamma switcher. Have never tried this before though. It’s usually one or the other lol

Have a search on the forum and look at the Wikipedia on here, there are heaps of threads about setting up a mame/raspberry pi rig.

The only issue with switching different resolutions is you may need to adjust the monitor after doing so.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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Thanks! I definitely would like to get an MK2 board (and a 2in1 switch), but not sure where the best place to start looking or buying that gear is other than ebay? Are they most commonly imported from the States rather than found locally?

....

 

I've heard of a "MAME board".. looked like a small blue PCB if i'm not mistaken? Or is using a PC the best way to run MAME?

 

And what about Raspberry Pi? Can they even connect and display on these monitors? I definitely have ZERO plans to put an LCD into this cabinet.

 

Have a look at the sponsors section on here and check their websites. You should be able to get one in AU

 

Use a pc with mame setup or raspberry pi. You will need a jpac to convert the 31khz to 15khz for the arcade monitor.

Don’t use the games family xxxx in 1 ‘blue boards’ you mentioned

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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Congrats on the nice pickup! Great to see this machine cleaned up and cared for!

 

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Aussie Arcade mobile app

 

Thanks! I'm all too aware of the importance of preserving these cabinets, I wish I could take more! This is the exact model of cabinet that wowed me as a 10 year old in Timezone all those years ago, and especially the imposing MK2 cabinet with that awesome Raiden artwork and booming sound, I was floored.

To be able to finally own one is a dream come true, I will care for it greatly!

 

Also just to be clear I won't be removing anything from this machine. Whatever modifications I make I don't want to decommission any original hardware, unplug yes, but would like to be able to return it to stock if I wanted to, not that i intend to sell it. Owning a Midway Wolf unit board is just too awesome to rip it out.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Have a look at the sponsors section on here and check their websites. You should be able to get one in AU

 

Use a pc with mame setup or raspberry pi. You will need a jpac to convert the 31khz to 15khz for the arcade monitor.

Don’t use the games family xxxx in 1 ‘blue boards’ you mentioned

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

 

Understood! Can i ask, once i've got the 31khz to 15khz set will that work across games with different resolutions or could I expect per-game settings to display them on the CRT? I enjoy doing that honestly i'm just curious how much I'd have to tweak to get each game I'd like to play running. Any particular software/frontends you would recommend for PC/RPi set ups?

 

And thanks yeah I will for sure be trawling for info through these boards, some impressive back catalogue knowledge here, I appreciate your help, cheers!

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LAI Mortal Kombat cabinet project

 

Understood! Can i ask, once i've got the 31khz to 15khz set will that work across games with different resolutions or could I expect per-game settings to display them on the CRT? I enjoy doing that honestly i'm just curious how much I'd have to tweak to get each game I'd like to play running. Any particular software/frontends you would recommend for PC/RPi set ups?

 

And thanks yeah I will for sure be trawling for info through these boards, some impressive back catalogue knowledge here, I appreciate your help, cheers!

 

Most mame roms like MK1/2/3 are set to run on 640 x 480 res on 15k, so you shouldn’t need to worry about running different res.

Groovy mame is good for handling that though.

 

There are heaps of different frontends you could use like mamewah, maximus arcade and hyperspin. I’m using hyperspin as it’s nice n flashy but does take the most effort to setup.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

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