PCBs?

[Lem_Gambino]

I'm just curious as to how they work--I know they're the card that you need to play the arcade game, but I assume you need a cabinet or some kind of special console to play them, right? Like I said, I'd like to learn more about them so I don't have to hunt for ROMs or a modded PS2 (which requires money I don't have ATM =P)

[iatneH]

I don't mean to be discouraging, but if you don't have money to mod your PS2, I doubt you will have money to play more than one or two PCBs. In essence, one PCB is a console that plays only one game, minus all the typical cords you plug into a console (power, A/V, controllers).

Somebody else here can explain better or maybe link to another thread explaining how PCBs work..

[PC Engine Fan X!]

PCB -- is short for "Printed Circuit Board" and is basically a board with a bunch of electronic components soldered on. A typical arcade Jamma PCB is powered by both 12v and 5v lines from an arcade power supply unit (PSU) found inside an arcade cabinet or a generic PC PSU (in some cases with certain Supergun setups). It's recommended if going the Supergun route, to pick up such a Supergun with an arcade PSU installed (as some early 1980's produced Jamma PCBs are very particular with the 5v line) -- too much juice delivered, will end up a with a PCB "gone up in smoke" type of senario -- not a very pleasant situation to encounter from one arcade PCB hobbyist who deals with such vintage '80s Jamma PCB medium...

A Jamma PCB has a 56-pin edge connection interface with a special slotted key (that prevents one from connecting the said PCB wrong and possibly frying it in the process) that is hooked up to a 56-pin input edge connector (which is hooked up to either an arcade PSU or PC PSU, the general arcade controls + push buttons, the low-resolution arcade RGB analog 15 kHz monitor, and mono-speaker setup (or two speaker setup for those stereo-equipped PCBs).

Some bootlegged arcade Jamma PCBs do not have the essential slot cut in so thus requires an 56-pin connection interface without the special plastic slotted key in order for it to boot up properly. It's recommended that you buy original produced arcade Jamma PCBs from well-known arcade PCB manufacturers. (Of course, there are exceptions to that fact...) ^_~

The sound effects/BGM tunes piped through the Jamma interface is presented in mono sound only. Some arcade motherboards do output in stereo (i.e. -- Taito G-Net mobo, Sega Titan ST-V mobo, Neo-Geo MV-1 mobo, Capcom CPS2 mobo, Seibu Kaihatsu SP1 mobo, etc.) and require an seperate Left & Right RCA stereo output jack harness to further utilize such stereo option. By using a special plastic screwdriver, one can adjust a PCB's on-board volume pot trim to his or her desired liking.

Arcade PCB trivia: the Taito G-Net mobo setup can handle a pair of 100w at 8 ohms bookshelf speakers without overheating (or even breaking a sweat for that matter)...although it's recommended that one uses a pair of 20w speakers rated at 8 ohms should be more than ample for everyday use with such a Supergun setup... ^_~

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Here are some tips 'n' tricks that I've learned from dealing with such arcade Jamma PCBs over the years:

Static electricity is a PCB's worst enemy and it's recommended to wear such an anti-static wrist strap when handling such rare and expensive arcade Jamma PCBs. ^_~

It's recommended that one stores such valuable and expensive arcade PCBs in a anti-static poly baggie for posterity and safe-keeping...

About 10% of arcade Jamma PCB woes are due to the 56-pin edge connection interface being dirty -- having it super shiny and clean works wonders, you know? ^_~

Some arcade PCB hobbyists have resorted to sticking their cheap-ass PCBs in the dishwasher machine and giving them that "super clean shine". WTF!? Just be sure to dry underneath the socketed chips (with a hair dryer on the lowest "heat" setting) with no water droplets remaining before powering it up to be on the safe side... ^_~

The rest of the 90% of arcade Jamma PCB woes is the 5v line being underpowered and not supplying enough juice -- which results in glitchy and missing graphics shown on the arcade monitor. By using a voltameter and slowly increasing the 5v line pot trim (on an arcade or PC PSU), proper voltage can be restored/delivered and the PCB will start to work 100% again. If not, then will further require the specialized skills of an arcade repair techincian to fix such a "bad" PCB from the get-go.

An EPROM burner is a cool & handy tool that arcade techs use to "raise such dead eprom chips from the dead" (or salvage some good eprom chips from a bad PCB and later assembly them on a later PCB and have a complete 100% working PCB in the nearby future -- sort of "rainy day" PCB project if you will).

Hope this answers your question about what is an "arcade Jamma PCB"?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Battlesmurf]

so I don't have to hunt for ROMs or a modded PS2 (which requires money I don't have ATM =P)

Haha..no offence..but look at the prices of PCBs friend. Definetely not a cheap hobby, unfortunately.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Sure, by picking up some cheap-ass older retro arcade PCBs, delving into the arcade PCB hobby scene isn't too expensive -- but if you want to play some of Cave's more recent & current arcade PCB offerings, then yes, please be prepared to "bite the bullet & pay through the nose"...

Feel like paying $2,000+ USD on "day one" release of Cave's latest arcade PCB kit? Unless you're an arcade owner/operator or well-off rich person, then it wouldn't make monetary sense to purchase it if you can't earn some that hard-earned $$$ back in order to justify that expensive PCB splurge... ^_~

The arcade PCB hobby scene can be as cheap or expensive as one makes it out to be...

In the arcade business, it's the "latest and greatest" that will attract the arcade gamers to your arcade...nobody wants to play with stale or old arcade PCBs titles that aren't just raking in the dough anymore..... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[pcb_revival]

I'm just curious as to how they work--I know they're the card that you need to play the arcade game, but I assume you need a cabinet or some kind of special console to play them, right? Like I said, I'd like to learn more about them so I don't have to hunt for ROMs or a modded PS2 (which requires money I don't have ATM =P)

Then let the roms come to you.

Looks like you need the service of a mame burner. Use Google.

[Lem_Gambino]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

[neorichieb1971]

Additionally, its easier to find ROM's than PCB's. In some cases its easier to find rocking horse shit.

[SFKhoa]

For PCBs, get a cabinet to play it on or a supergun.
btw, welcome to the board. XD

[system11]

As people have said, playing PCBs is fantastically expensive - compared to just buying used console stuff on ebay.

[DEL]

Bloodflowers wrote;

As people have said, playing PCBs is fantastically expensive - compared to just buying used console stuff on ebay.

Expensive but almost always better (see Mush, Ibara). Unless you have the port ever.

[Lem_Gambino]

As people have said, playing PCBs is fantastically expensive - compared to just buying used console stuff on ebay.

If you say so...I'm in a period where I'm more into other games than SHMUPs (paying Psychonauts, Pokemon D/P and Picross DS atm), but I have Perfect Cherry Blossom, which is my favorite SHMUP so far. I'd like to play DoDonPachi, though.

[splitblkribbon]

If you say so...I'm in a period where I'm more into other games than SHMUPs (paying Psychonauts, Pokemon D/P and Picross DS atm), but I have Perfect Cherry Blossom, which is my favorite SHMUP so far. I'd like to play DoDonPachi, though

DoDonpachi works very well in mame in my opinion. It's also not hard to find at all.

[Lem_Gambino]

DoDonpachi works very well in mame in my opinion. It's also not hard to find at all.

I just downloaded it, and it looks great. ^_^ Now I just need to configure the controls...Suggestions? I'm new to MAME and there's like a million buttons to configure! X_x (I was thinking of a Touhou-like setup, using the Left Shift/Z/X keys)

[kengou]

DoDonpachi works very well in mame in my opinion. It's also not hard to find at all.

I just downloaded it, and it looks great. ^_^ Now I just need to configure the controls...Suggestions? I'm new to MAME and there's like a million buttons to configure! X_x (I was thinking of a Touhou-like setup, using the Left Shift/Z/X keys)

of course the controls are personal preference but the game is set up differently from Touhou, so a shift/z/x setup won't really work. I use z/x/c for most of my games, for DDP it's just Z/X for shot/bomb. I also have my controller mapped to those with an autofire button for Z so I don't have to tap the button repeatedly.

[Ceph]

DEL, I like your new avatar

[DEL]

DEL, I like your new avatar

Hey Thanks !
I owe it all to Twiddle.

[Mortificator]

I just downloaded it, and it looks great. ^_^ Now I just need to configure the controls...Suggestions? I'm new to MAME and there's like a million buttons to configure! X_x (I was thinking of a Touhou-like setup, using the Left Shift/Z/X keys)

You don't need to mess with everything. The controls under "input (general)" list every possible input for every game, and since pretty much every game uses its buttons differently it won't accomplish much changing them. The only thing worth altering there is "P1 Up/Down/Left/Right" under "Player 1 controls" (you'll probably want that the same across most games). After that, just go to "input (this game) when you play a game for the first time and set its specific controls.

I'd recommend you get a USB controller. If you have a Dual Shock 1 or 2 laying around you can get a converter at Radio Shack for like $14.

[Lem_Gambino]

...just go to "input (this game)" when you play a game for the first time and set its specific controls.

I'd recommend you get a USB controller. If you have a Dual Shock 1 or 2 laying around you can get a converter at Radio Shack for like $14.

Where is "Input (DoDonPachi)" on the menu?

Also, I've had better luck controlling SHMUPs with the keyboard more than a controller (I thank Touhou again for that).

EDIT: Forgive all the questions, I'm new at this, still.

[SFKhoa]

Where is "Input (DoDonPachi)" on the menu?

Also, I've had better luck controlling SHMUPs with the keyboard more than a controller (I thank Touhou again for that).

EDIT: Forgive all the questions, I'm new at this, still.

Try pressing Tab in-game.

[Shion]

...just go to "input (this game)" when you play a game for the first time and set its specific controls.

I'd recommend you get a USB controller. If you have a Dual Shock 1 or 2 laying around you can get a converter at Radio Shack for like $14.

Where is "Input (DoDonPachi)" on the menu?

Also, I've had better luck controlling SHMUPs with the keyboard more than a controller (I thank Touhou again for that).

EDIT: Forgive all the questions, I'm new at this, still.

Just press TAB while the DDP rom is running, and select "input (this game)". Under that section you can configure the controls for the particular game you're running on mame at that time.

[Lem_Gambino]

Excellent! Thanks! I'll give this a try later.

EDIT: One last question, though...How do I enable the Autofire Button?

[SFKhoa]

If you're using just MAME32, there IS no Autofire. But since it's DoDonPachi, press F2 to go the in-game settings and enable it.

[Lem_Gambino]

Well, I'm glad I got the latest version (0.119) then, but I keep pressing F2 and nothing happens. Do you mean while the game is actually in progress and not just on the title screen?

EDIT: Nevermind, I had to HOLD it down. Thanks for that, anyway.