New arcade machine owner, any advice?

Hey guys! In a previous thread, I mentioned I had scored a neo geo MVS arcade machine. This will be my first arcade
machine, so do you have any advice? So far, I've learned it's best to replace the battery since the type if battery used has a bad habit of leaking when the machine is left unused. I've also noticed that the buttons and sticks are quite simple to replace, do they eventually wear out or something? Where is the best place to find replacement parts? Are there compatibility issues to consider if you do replace them?

 

Play games

Those shops I mentioned before will have parts. The original sticks and buttons were Seimitsu - you might be able to order direct from them over there, or Sanwa if you prefer their sticks. They'll probably be fine for now. Microswitches have a finite lifespan - again, you could just replace the switches (when it comes to it) if everything else on them is good.

 

Two advices:
1. When you have problems, check your voltages.
2. Be careful when you plug the JAMMA harness; putting it the wrong side will fry your MVS.

 

I ordered directly from Sanwa when I lived in Japan. They now have a Rakuten shop. See here: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/sanwadenshi/

 

The sticks and buttons clog up with gunk like a gamepad right? Can you disassemble them to refurb them or do they not take kindly to being taken apart? Do the stick and buttons start to lose their responsiveness like a gamepad as they age or do they just suddenly stop working?

1) You mean voltages aside from what's coming out of the wall? There's like settings inside the machine itself that needs to be set or something?
2) Is that an issue when I'm using an actual Neo-Geo cabinet?

They still make replacement parts? That's awesome! Even more awesome that you can buy direct from the manufactuer! But retro said that my cabinet used Seimitsu parts, would there be an advantage to switch brands? I'd probably stay with the stock brand if not.

Speaking of batteries, I've heard some people use a super capacitor instead to avoid leaking altogether. Any idea where I can get me one of these?

 

1) Nope, I mean, inside your cabinet resides a power supply. From time to time, either this supply voltage needs to be adjusted or some carts will need the voltage to be adjusted to work properly. Usually, it is the number 1 problem you encounter with JAMMA boards, so you better be prepared with that.
2) It can be an issue with ANY JAMMA cabinet, including your Neo-Geo one. Don't worry, it's really nothing, but knowing that might save you a lot of stress. ;-)

 

You can also order directly from Seimitsu (http://www.seimitsu.co.jp). Isn't their site awesome? At least they now have a SSL order form.

 

Stick chose is down to personal preference. It's highly unlikely that you'll need to change them, anyway. Yes, you can just clean them.

Braintrash - he's just using it as an MVS cabinet. It comes as an MVS cabinet. It's not wired as JAMMA. You can't just plug a JAMMA board into it, you'd need to make a harness. The voltage should remain fine - but yes, measure +5V on the edge connector if you have glitches.

As for inserting the board the wrong way round, it's not an issue leaving it as MVS. Even with JAMMA, most cabs should either have a keyed connector or at least be clearly marked as parts and solder side.

 

Cool, thanks!

Semimitsu ALSO continues to manufacture replacement parts and you can order from them directly? Is there a REALLY big retro arcade machine scene in Japan that warrants two of the original companies to do this?

*EDIT* Jeez! The parts on Seimitsu's site are CHEAP! 150円 for a button and 1,200円 for a stick? Not even worth the bother of refurbishing them when brand-new OEMs can be had at that price!

 

Yes they do . That's how I made my fight stick.

 

Prepare for your monitor to stop working. Find a TV repair dude in advance

 

On that topic, are the screens possible to replace? Like, can you scavenge the tube from a normal CRT?

How does the coin slot on these machines work? Can you change what coin the machine takes or do you need to buy a whole new coin slot? If you can, I think I've finally discovered a use for 1 yen coins.

 

Yes, there are harnesses that that you can convert a crt TV to an arcade monitor. Personally, If I ever got an arcade cab I would just put it in free play and forget about the coins.

 

Free play is the easiest thing to do, and then you don't have to worry about coins. You could also connect a button to the coin lead, and each button press will insert a coin. Still, it's easier just to switch the game to free play mode.

 

True, but putting in coins is kinda fun too. And 1 yen coins are useless anyway, this would give them some value

 

I guess, but if you run out of coins then you're screwed, unless you think you can empty the coin mechanism before the continue timer reaches zero. With free play, all you have to do is press start, and you never run out of continues. With an MVS (the model I have, at least) all you have to do is turn on dipswitch 7 to enable free play.

I have the controller I use for my Model 3 (it's a Neo Geo CD controller) wired so that the select button inserts a coin. I pretty much keep it on free play though, so I don't really use that button.

 

True, but I have no many useless 1 yen coins it's not even funny! Is it possible to choose what type of coin you need to insert or do you have to replace the entire coin slot?

 

Not sure about that. You can change the number of coins needed to play the game, but I don't think you can change the type of coin it accepts. In the US, most games from the 90s took either quarters or the arcade company's coins (which you would get from a machine in the arcade), and the operators could go into the BIOS and choose how many coins were needed to start the game.

 

You would need to reprogram the coin mech. It probably doesn't have a setting for such small coins, so it would be difficult.

Finding such a large CRT television would be tricky - you're better off repairing the chassis if it ever comes to it.

 

Mechanical coin mechs are set to a specific size, thickness and weight.
When the piece is identified as being correct, it is directed to the bottom of the coin mech.
There it activates a microswitch that gives the game board it's coin in.
Electronic coin acceptors measure the magnetic field changes of coils when a coin passes.
Sometimes they have a learning mode. You need to flip a dipswitch and insert a number of coins.
After that, if you flip the switch back, it will accept those coins. They usually have 6 outputs, so that at least 6 different coins can be used.
Sometimes, those go to a credit board that generates multiple coin pulses if a bigger value coin is inserted.
Sometimes the game board has multiple "coin in" inputs.