Identify my supergun

[Sumez]

In a recently acquired pack of random arcade goondness I found this extremely compact supergun that clearly seems to have been mass produced. It has a somewhat big external PSU, but the supergun itself is basically just a JAMMA adapter with plugs on the side, looking like this:


(image is stolen from another page with no info on it - mine is identical though)


Does anyone have one like it? Know who made it?

And even more important, ever tried opening it? Even though it's compact as hell (so is my other supergun, and it's PACKED with wires, so I'm afraid of opening it up), I figure it's doing everything through a single PCB, so I imagine if I want to wire extra buttons to the controller connectors (from the typically unused pins in the end of the JAMMA standard) it should be a pretty simple job - but before going ahead I'd like to know if anyone else have any experience modifying a similar supergun.

[ZOM]

Mass produced? Nah. That looks like your typical standard european do-it-yourself "MAK". I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't even a PCB in there, just JAMMA directly wired the control ports and RGBS out. The ones I've build for me & buddies in the past look almost the same(but with added RGB pots & female scart)...
Judging by that pic, you might need to find out the AV-pinout on that d-sub 9 connector first.

[Sumez]

No worries about the D-sub - it has a male plug to scart cable with it, and the supergun works just fine.

I just took another look at the one I have, and it seems its RGB pots and coin/test buttons are also on the top side visible on that picture, so it's not identical. But apart from those, it still is, along with the marks on the JAMMA connector.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yeah, I've got one of those MAK (Multi Arcade Konsole) superguns myself -- it has three adjustable knobs for adjusting the output levels of RGB + a pair of RCA phono-outputs as well. Works like a charm nevertheless.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Sumez]

Tell me about this MAK thing. So if it's not a standard PCB, what is it?
I can't find any information on it not in German.

[shmuppyLove]

Tell me about this MAK thing. So if it's not a standard PCB, what is it?
I can't find any information on it not in German.

It's entirely possible to build a supergun without a PCB. Generally you only need a PCB if you're adding ICs for video conversion, the rest is just wired directly to the JAMMA connector. Most of the time the PCB just has a bunch of traces to replace all the wires you'd need otherwise, and surface-mounted sockets to plug things into.

[Sumez]

Huh, I know that. All the superguns I've ever seen or worked with have been entirely a bunch of wiring.

It's the size and shape of this thing that makes me suspect it has a PCB made for the purpose inside of it. And yes, when I say PCB, I'm talking about a simple circuit board with traces to replace a bunch of wiring.


So, as I was getting to... tell me about MAK.

[gray117]

There was no mak standard as such but there were a lot of distinctive looking ones that seemed to originate from germany - I suspect it was a small one man band company type affair but can't remember anything specific... since then the small look became kind of popular with other makers.

Part of the small setup involved the power supply that I believe may have started life as an odd (HP?) laptop power supply/cord standard. A similar one used to be available everywhere at around the same time but seems to have since died out (?) - I think it was on such a topic on neo-geo.com that I last heard about this in particular...

Either way, it let them create relatively small superguns with nicer build quality than many of the awkwardly large arcade/pc power supply variants. Plus the euro rgb/scart meant no video conversion fuss - the long time bane of many a US supergun maker....

I have no idea whether its a nicely done jumble of small wires or a pcb inside...


... Offhand I suspect this looks like a newer variant, and probably not pcb based if it was made by an individual... I would be presume the joypad connections follow neo geo standard, the 9 pin dsub [rgb - probably 1r 2g 3b 4gnd] however is anyone's guess...

[Sumez]

Yup, the D-sub 15 ports follow the Neo Geo's standard button layout, but the Neo Geo controller port has 2-3 empty pins that I could use to add additional buttons for those boards that have this on their JAMMA connector (namely the Atomiswave, as well as game select on MVS)

I guess I'll just try to pry it open and hope hell doesn't break loose...

[gray117]

easy come, easy ...

[ZOM]

Just crack that nut, it's just 44 wires at most.

You can use pin 2 & 10 on the controller connectors for your extra buttons.