Six Button JAMMA Cabinet + MiSTerCade + J-PAC & PC [Solved]

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zorrobandito
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Six Button JAMMA Cabinet + MiSTerCade + J-PAC & PC [Solved]

Unread post by zorrobandito »

I have an Australian LAI 26" CRT cabinet. The original control panel was configured for 2 players and six buttons. The cabinet uses a standard JAMMA connector and the extra three buttons are wired to a molex connector. 10+ years ago I added a J-PAC encoder and a PC running a front-end and groovyMAME. The extra 3 buttons were wired to the extra terminals on the J-PAC.

I recently purchased a MISTerCade and hooked it up via JAMMA. It works perfectly - but with only three buttons per player.

Problem Statement: How to hook up the additional 3 buttons to the MISTerCade while preserving the pre-existing JAMMA harness and J-PAC + groovymame option?

What Would Capcom Do?
Capcom had an additional wiring harness for their 6 button games. CPS1 is the simplest.

Solution: Wire up a CPS1 connector.

Thanks to some helpful advice and parts from local electronics store, Jaycar, I've completed the surgery.

Parts
  • 60 Amp 12-way Screw Terminal Strip
    10 Pin 0.1 Header with Crimp Pins - 2.54 pitch
    wire - if possible, match the colours for the CPS1 connector (I couldn't but used consistent colours)
Method
    • Check your wiring distance requirements. Measure two pieces. Strip the ends.
      Wire the cabinet wires for buttons 4,5,6 - for both players - to the screw terminal strip
      Wire both of the new wires into the same hole, matching the cabinet connections.
      Wire the other ends to the 10 pin header. Be careful to check the positioning first. Pin 1 is marked on the MISTerCade board.
      Wire the other set of ends to the relevant J-PAC screw connector - 1SW4, 1SW5, 1SW6 and 2SW4, 2SW5, 2SW6
      It seems the ground for the additional buttons is not required because it's already provided via the JAMMA edge connector.

I could have wired up the JAMMA connector as CHAMMA but I wasn't sure about the effect on the J-PAC.


After spending an afternoon and most of an evening, I have the best of both worlds. Arcade perfect recreations of a growing number of horizontal arcade games *and* access to emulated versions of every arcade game - vertical and horizontal.

Life is very good.


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