Arcade power supplies vs pc power supply.

[mvsfan]

Ive had not so good luck with arcade power supplies powering jamma boards.

Ive had one that zapped a couple jamma boards before i realized something might not be working right with it.

I had another one where i was adjusting the screw on the side and it zapped a board. not something to adjust i guess.

But the one thing i have that has never damaged any of my boards is an Atx power supply i re wired to power jamma boards.

It works excellent and powers everything good including the neo geo 6 slot. its been working for years.

I guess you could say its the only thing i would reccomend.

[Sumez]

My home built supergun is based on a regular ATX power supply, and it works perfectly. It doesn't have -5V,(but then again, neither do a lot of jamma cabs.

I'd love to hear arguments against using one (I guess it's hard to find one where the 5V is adjustable?). They are often notably cheaper than dedicated arcade PSUs.

[nmalinoski]

Pardon my ignorance of arcade hardware, but what, precisely, needs to be done with an ATX power supply to make it work with arcade hardware? Do you simply need a 20/24-pin to something else adapter? Does the ATX power supply need to be hotwired on, or do you wire it to a power switch?

[Sumez]

You just need the voltages required by the game (usually 5V, occasionally 12V and -5V) and the monitor, as well as enough current to drive them.

In most arcade cabs the power wires are just connected to the PSU using simple screw terminals. How you hook it up doesn't really matter as long as they are making connection.

[mvsfan]

Its a matter of wiring the power supply voltages you need to a jamma connector.

you also need to wire in a switch to it so that it works without a pc. you need to connect THE PS_ON pin in the ATX connector to ground using a momentary switch.

[nmalinoski]

Its a matter of wiring the power supply voltages you need to a jamma connector.

you also need to wire in a switch to it so that it works without a pc. you need to connect THE PS_ON pin in the ATX connector to ground using a momentary switch.

I don't think you can use a momentary switch; my understanding is that ATX power supplies need the green wire continually grounded to stay on. You could probably get away with just bridging it to ground with a cut length of paperclip.

[mvsfan]

on off switch then.