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Volunteers Needed! - New JAMMA Kit for Vewlix (and more!) - Universal JAMMA Interface

Arthrimus

Arthrimus

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I know I've been announcing a lot of projects lately, and I'm going to try to have all of these released fairly soon, but I have yet another project to announce today. A while back several members on this forum attempted to make a reproduction of the original Taito JAMMA kit, but for a number of reasons that project seems to have fallen through. I was involved only minimally and the contribution that I made was reproducing the JOINT PCB from the original JAMMA kit. Another component from that project was the Jassifier that @Frank_fjs designed. Since the original project fell through I got to thinking about how I might design a completely new JAMMA interface for the Vewlix that would not have the same design limitations of the original kit. This is what I came up with.

The Universal JAMMA Interface​
Parts Side:
R7orG4j.jpg

Solder Side:
bHGVyi6.jpg
[/align]The Universal JAMMA Interface is the main element of this design. It handles video and audio attenuation, and collects all of the controls into a convenient 40 pin IDC cable which can connect to a variety of different control panel wiring harnesses using a simple adapter.

Features:
  1. Power: Power is provided to the JAMMA edge through a pair of JST VL connectors which follow the JVS power supply pinout. There will be a space to attach a Negatron for -5V power.
  2. Video: RGB video is attenuated and buffered through a THS7374 for safe and proper video output for 75ohm consumer video systems. RGBS can be output by the Genesis 2 style 9 pin Mini DIN connector using standard Genesis SCART cables (this should also work with RAD2x cabels). Alternatively there is an HD-15 port for connecting directly to the OSSC's VGA in. The HD-15 port only outputs RGBS not RGBHV. R G and B levels will be individually adjustable using 3 potentiometers. Some of the resistor values are still up in the air, but the plan is for the pots to only control about 25% of the total attenuation so fine tuning the brightness and color balance will be easier.
  3. Audio: Audio is attenuated to line level. The JAMMA interface supports Mono and Stereo (MVS) audio input from the JAMMA edge (with a jumper for stereo), as well as switched external stereo input for PCBs that have dedicated stereo out. The stereo input is a switched jack, so if you have a stereo source connected the audio from the JAMMA edge will be disconnected from the audio outputs. There is a separate 3.5mm stereo out jack for directly connecting to the cabinet's audio amp.
  4. Controls: Controls are collected into a 40 Pin IDC connector for routing to the control panel wiring of the cabinet. Buttons 1-3 are always connected to the JAMMA edge, buttons 4-5 can be switched between the JAMMA edge and the Kick Harness connector, and button 6 is always connected to the Kick Harness. Specific control panel adapters will be released for each cabinet that this project will support.
I have already designed the Vewlix control panel adapter which is what I will be launching the JAMMA Interface with:

1XCyN0L.jpg

Future adapters will be designed for SEGA JVS cabinets and potentially Namco Noir cabinets if there is enough interest. Prototype PCBS are being made now, so testing should be able to commence in a couple of weeks. Pricing is still up in the air. I'll keep this thread updated when there is more info.
 
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Very cool.

Glad that you managed to work something out since the other project hit such a large roadblock. :(
 
looks cool. Curious if you have a means to retain jvs along side it, so the cab could remain flexible. Is the plan to connect the controls to a splitter of some kind? Analog controls directly to this, but also have them sent to a jvs io?

The only minimal drawback to my current setup with a jammafier and jassifier is the jamma ontrols are all through the jvs io first. But I can still run Jvs stuff without doing any extra config.
 
ekorz said:
looks cool. Curious if you have a means to retain jvs along side it, so the cab could remain flexible. Is the plan to connect the controls to a splitter of some kind? Analog controls directly to this, but also have them sent to a jvs io?

The only minimal drawback to my current setup with a jammafier and jassifier is the jamma ontrols are all through the jvs io first. But I can still run Jvs stuff without doing any extra config.
Click to expand...
The control panel adapter is a pass through type. The Vewlix harness plugs into it and then it hooks into your JVS I/O. That way you can leave the JVS I/O and the JAMMA interface connected at all times. The only thing that will need to be changed out when you switch PCBs is the power, audio and video.
 
Awesome stuff, too bad the other project didnt work out, but ultimately it leads to better stuff :thumbup:

Where do you see it being mounted on the vewlix?
 
Derick2k said:
Awesome stuff, too bad the other project didnt work out, but ultimately it leads to better stuff :thumbup:

Where do you see it being mounted on the vewlix?
Click to expand...
It won't be mounted, it will have a female card edge connector that interfaces directly with the JAMMA PCB. Think of this like a supergun purpose built for an arcade cabinet. As for the control panel adapter, there will be a 60 pin female plug on one edge that will plug into your existing I/O, and there will be a 60 pin male header on the other end that the G harness will plug into.
 
Arthrimus said:
Derick2k said:
Awesome stuff, too bad the other project didnt work out, but ultimately it leads to better stuff :thumbup:

Where do you see it being mounted on the vewlix?
Click to expand...
It won't be mounted, it will have a female card edge connector that interfaces directly with the JAMMA PCB. Think of this like a supergun purpose built for an arcade cabinet. As for the control panel adapter, there will be a 60 pin female plug on one edge that will plug into your existing I/O, and there will be a 60 pin male header on the other end that the G harness will plug into.
Click to expand...
Ok, just preparing myself to make it convenient to wire it all up. The jvs power cables that come with the vewlix psu are kinda short, so will probably extend those. On the jamma edge I can use the super sweet extenders made by Frank or RGB. I will probably make a plate to mount this on the stock taito scaler location.
 
I like the inclusion of the Negatron in the design. I will be following this project for sure.
 
Instead of the negatron, why not include your own converter? the negatron supplies at most .5 amps i think, and they usually dont last long, maybe a couple of years. granted its like a $20-30 device i think and easy enough to replace, so maybe not worth the effort/cost.
 
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I had no idea the Negatron had such limitations. To be honest I didn't actually look at the specs because it seems like most people recommend the Negatron. I'll look into other options for the production run, but the prototype batch is already being made as we speak.
 
Quick update, the SEGA version of the JAMMA transport PCB is finished now as well and is being sent for prototyping. This means I should be able to launch the SEGA and Vewlix versions of the kit simultaneously.
[align=center]
Front:
XO1LGov.jpg

Back:
sbR0BJ2.jpg

[/align]If anyone wants me to do a Namco Noir version I would need some measurements and info about the Namco I/O and Noir cabinet, but it should be totally doable.
 
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I've got a Noir....get me a list of what you need, and I'll get you the measurements over the course of this week.
 
This is going to be awesome! Definitely down for two.

I'll have to pick up an extra OSSC for inside the cab.
 
Awesome! The artifacts that you've seen is not specifically from OSSC. I have a P32L150 monitor that goes into Vewlix diamond blue and I see the same exact dots (and many other) artifacts when I use a HDMI switch using ps3 and ps4. If I unplug and plug back the HDMI, it'll fix itself but it is very very annoying. It is what it is. At least for me, I'm going to replace the monitor anyway since this inconsistent artifacts issue has been on my nerve.
 
Instead of a Genesis 2 style connector, why not an 8pin mini din? Doesn't the Genesis2 scart cables have components to level the video output from a Genesis?
 
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