Has this ever been done? I've got a broken Ms PacMan machine, if I can't get it working again i'm thinking of gutting it and throwing an xbox in there. Its cheaper and smaller than a PC, i can have it boot right to MAME and I can wire the controllers directly to the joystick/buttons. A few years back my roommate and I wanted to play some NES on my xbox with a NES controller. Since we were brokeass we decided to try and solder directly onto the PCB of the xbox controller. it worked! I don't see why I couldn't apply this to arcade controls.... right? Well what about the CRT? From what i've heard, its just S-Video, right?
I am sure you can fix it, keep as it a Ms Pac Man machine and if you feel the need to convert a machine to mame then find a generic machine.
Well I'm really hoping its something trivial. It moved to my new place in the bed of a truck, I'm guessing somethings just not seated properly. Now if its something hardware like a cracked board then I think i'm screwed.
Xbox Mame cabinets have been done before, there was a very good one on Xbox scene a few years ago. While they do make good cabs, especially if your using CoinOps, why not build one from scratch instead of gutting a cabinet that still has some value.
Agreed. The xbox idea is a last ditch effort if I can't fix the Cab. If I can't fix it i'll go looking for someone around Toronto who can, if that doesnt work or if its cost prohibitive then i'll look at gutting it. I live in an apartment so I dont really have the facilities to be making a cab from scratch here.
What's wrong with the cab? Also is it an original cab or a conversion? If it's an original it's worth more left alone and sell it for someone to fix then turning into a shit-taco mame unit (yeah, i'm one of those people). Also if you are really going to go down that route, best to do it properly with some Xbox->Jamma conversion pcbs as it will be easy and clean to setup.
I knew it'd be a touchy subject. Is there anyone here from Toronto that can help me with a fix? Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to get this fixed. Its an original cab. Everything is original with the possible exception of the power supply, there's a piece of tape that says it was serviced in the 90s but it doesn't look like the original power supply. If I've pooched the mobo then I'd look to sell it and finance a new project. I didnt know those existed. I'll have a look around.
What is wrong with it? It doesn't work is not very descriptive. Is it completely dead, does the speaker pop when you turn it on, does the monitor glow, is the screen showing garbage, etc, etc. A multimeter is a good start as you can measure the AC and DC voltages in the unit so you can see if the PSU is working. If it is completely dead then make sure the white interlocks behind the doors are working, if you open the doors and pull the switch knob out so it clicks you might find it springs into life. Also make sure all the fuses are okay, as a blown fuse can make it dead. The KLOV.COM forums are probably a better bet for finding people to help you repair it.
Not really a touchy subject, Just sad to see an original cab get thrown down the mame route for no good reason. All cabs can be restored/repaired with a little work. If you really have problems finding help, I can maybe offer to come over to take a look but I'm not an expert when it comes to cabs (I do have my own but I don't tinker as much with it, I more tinker with my home made JVS rig). Yep. http://www.ultimarc.com/xba.html
Thanks for the offer Subbie, I'm about to head out to Ottawa for the rest of the week so i'll be offline for a while (major server refresh, working nights replacing prod. servers). I'll post a video when I get home so you guys can see exactly what happens when it boots up. Hopefully that'll shed more light on the issue. I've got a buddy who's pretty savvy with electronics repair and another buddy who's a solder ninja. Hopefully between the 3 of us we can get it working... failing that I might have to take you up on your offer.
