The CRT bracket

After testing our massive CRT inside the cabinet we came to the conclusion that the ledge that the CRT needs to sit upon needs to be raised up in order for the TV to be viewed correctly.

Using some 2x4 we measured the correct position and sawed and drilled and the ledge into place. The CRT now sits perfectly in the correct position inside the cabinet - it looks better every time we do some work on it! :)

The re-wiring begins...

We first removed all the old white buttons that came with the machine and using the pushbutton wrench we were quickly able to fit the shiny new buttons and microswitches.

We have kept the existing controls sticks and microswitches that were already in the machine as they looked fine, when we start testing we will see if this was a good idea of not.

We began crimping the wire (small gauge) and connecting the player one buttons together using the female spade connecters that slide nicely onto the connectors on the microswitches, which will make it a lot easier if we discover any loose connections.

All buttons then needed to be 'daisy chained' together and then connected to the ground on the iPAC board. Then each individual microswitch is connected straight into each relevant hole in the iPAC board. Player one controls done for now....

Sound system

After browsing around on amazon.co.uk one lunchtime (not really looking for arcade parts) we came across this more than suitable Logitech 2.1 sound system for the machine and it was a steal at only £14.00 - including delivery. She arrived on my desk this morning so I took a quick snap! Cheers amazon

The parts have arrived

The new internal parts of the machine have now arrived so we can start thinking about putting some of the wiring elements together. We have ordered the following parts from our new friends at 'gremlinsolutions.co.uk' and also the wire/spades from a bloke on ebay.

x12 - Happ competition pushbuttons (red, green, blue, yellow and black)

x2 - Happ 1 & 2 player start pushbuttons

x14 - Microswitch (which were included with the buttons)

x1 - Pushbutton Wrench (makes removing and tightening the buttons much easier)

x1 - I-PAC2 FS32 Version (USB)

x1 - 14 gauge wire

x1 - 12 gauge wire

x50 - female spade connectors

Firing up the emulator

Here is the PC running the emulator on the CRT television, which we connected with an S-video to Scart lead.

Initially we were only receiving a back & white picture, but one graphic card driver update later and all was fine. We quickly booted up two classics to get us all excited over the prospect of playing these golden-oldies again.

The gutting is complete

Here is the entire contents of the cabinet including the marquee light. It doesn't look like much when put in box all together.

The controls

Here is the the underside of the control panel once we had gained access by removing the screen. As you can see, the wiring is still intact and rather neat and tidy. We will be removing all the buttons and replacing them with shiny new ones, but will retain the joy sticks.

The gutting begins

Here is the inside of the six button cabinet viewed from the back. You can see the Jamma board (minus the cart) and how little content there actually is inside an arcade cabinet. We have also removed the glass screen from the front of the cabinet in order to access the control panel.

The cabinet now has a beating heart

Here is the PC that will run the MAME emulator. It has been cobbled together from two non-working machines and now works a treat.

The spec ain't too bad and the graphics card has the all important S-Video connection, which will enable us to connect the PC to the CRT television.

A replacement monitor is found

Over the last few days we have been looking for a 21"/22" CRT televison or computer monitor.

After searching through local paper/internet classifieds and charity shops we came across this beauty:

It's a Sanyo 21" CRT television and the best news was that it was free. We will connect the television to the PC via a Scart to S-Video cable. The resolution of the television is a closer match to an arcade monitor than that of a computer monitor.

We placed it inside the cabinet on the shelve. As you can see from the picture, it needs to sit a bit higher in order to sit more central within the viewable frame of the cabinet.

The cabinets arrive with a little surprise inside

We had the cabinets delivered today, and they are tucked away safely in the garage, which was kindly supplied by Matts dad. Both monitors have been removed so we will need to look out for a couple of replacement monitors over the next few weeks.

Upon opening one of the cabinets, we found the complete Jamma board with a Neo Geo MVS cart. The cart in question was Mutation Nation, a scrolling beat 'em up released and developed by SNK in 1991.

Alberto remembers playing it on one of the arcade cabinets outside the the viewing area of Fort Regent swimming pool when he was a wee lad. He said it's best described as Streets of Rage with Mutants.

We are not sure what we will do with cart at the moment, but it was certainly a nice find.

The dream begins

It's many a boyhood dream to own an arcade cabinet that has all your favorite games (if you're a gamer). We both spoke of one day building our own MAME cabinet, but when we were offered the chance to buy two cabinets which we could convert to MAME, little did we hesitate in going for it.

The dream began with the viewing of two out of service Jamma cabinets. The monitors in both cabinets were no longer working, one cabinet had a six button configuration and the other was a three button configuration.

We asked to have the monitors removed from both cabinets prior to delivery, as we would be replacing them with a CRT television or computer monitor.