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Building my first test bench

MegaMan

MegaMan

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Hi :),

So I’ve been seriously collecting arcade boards for about eight months now and I’ve built up a small collection of rare boards. I think I finally should build a test bench to test and quickly play the boards that I have to make sure they are all working correctly. I’ve been talking with @halowarrior40 and he’s been an extremely great help with telling me what I need and the best parts to buy. I have done some research myself, but I’m finding it a little difficult because it seems like everyone’s bench is a little different. Also, I don’t have any experience when it comes to messing with Power supplies, monitors, or superguns so it’s kinda like reading Portuguese to me. I have purchased Randy Froms arcade and pinball machine books and videos so I should have a lot more knowledge about arcades in a few weeks, but I would like to get a head start and get some more suggestions about what I should buy. I’ve seen some benches where they are very neat, organized and compact. I put some pictures that I found of other benches. The monitor I would like to use is a Sony PVM-8042Q 8. I also know that I will need a switching power supply and a supergun, but there are several different kinds and I just want to make sure I’m buying ones that are good quality. What other necessary parts do I need? Also, for now I only have CPS1 and CPS2 boards.

Thanks for the help!
 

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I suggest the following (and it's what I use on my test bench):

High-quality SuperGun, such as the HAS, MiniGun, or Axunworks.
SCART RGB cable from the SuperGun to your PVM.
High-quality arcade power supply, such as a Mean-Well RT-125A.
Inline voltmeter, such as the ones that JNX @XianXi produces.
CPS2 kick harness that matches up to the SuperGun you're using.
Either an Undamned USB Decoder or a Saturn to DB15 controller adapter for easy six button controller support.
Anti-static mat to set the arcade boards and SuperGun on.
High-quality surge protector to plug everything into, such as the Furman Power Station 8 (high end) or Tripp-Lite TLP1208TELTV (mid range).
 
I have basically that tv on my test bench. It doesn’t use scart but it does accept RGBS. I had retroaccess build me an 8pin to BNC cable that’s like 1 meter long, connects to my minigun. That setup works for almost every jamma board, just a few bootlegs needed sync regen from my HAS. Otherwise @ShootTheCore describes my setup, so I agree with the rest above. It’s great for any jamma testing.
 
ShootTheCore said:
I suggest the following (and it's what I use on my test bench):

High-quality SuperGun, such as the HAS, MiniGun, or Axunworks.
SCART RGB cable from the SuperGun to your PVM.
High-quality arcade power supply, such as a Mean-Well RT-125A.
Inline voltmeter, such as the ones that JNX @XianXi produces.
CPS2 kick harness that matches up to the SuperGun you're using.
Either an Undamned USB Decoder or a Saturn to DB15 controller adapter for easy six button controller support.
Anti-static mat to set the arcade boards and SuperGun on.
High-quality surge protector to plug everything into, such as the Furman Power Station 8 (high end) or Tripp-Lite TLP1208TELTV (mid range).
Click to expand...
Alright so this is what I found.

Monitor: SONY TRINITRON PVM-8042Q 8" COLOR VIDEO MONITOR

Supergun: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304214310606?hash=item46d495fece:g:NpsAAOSwlHNhhZNC
Or https://m.axunworks.com/product-p669501.html

SCART RGB cable: https://www.ebay.com/itm/193398140176?hash=item2d076d6d10:g:tQQAAMXQAEFSD-4B

Power Supply: https://www.trcelectronics.com/View...MI8pGL7qSj9AIVDYbICh3tewFUEAAYASAAEgLYsPD_BwE

Inline volt meter: I wasn’t able to find one but it looks like the supergun on eBay already has one.

CPS2 kick harness: https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products/cps2-kick-harness

Undamned USB decoder: https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products/undamned-usb-decoder-plus-by-ud-game-tech

Surge Protector: https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-R...ocphy=1024885&hvtargid=pla-350070383683&psc=1
 
Thanks! I’ll review this again just to double check that I have everything correct. Now what to I use for a joystick and buttons. I see in some setups people have really nice control sticks. Also what are the black boxes that the cables seem to be going into?
 

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Don’t buy any cables until you know which supergun you’re using. Then I recommend buying a cable that connects the supergun to bnc directly without having any other connectors in between.

I see recommendations above for scart, which (unless the supergun outputs via scart) will require you to have two cables connected together (eg 8pin/9pin-genesis2 to scart, then scart to bnc). Why? That’s 2 cables for one job! and the scart to scart connection in the middle can cause you headaches if they don’t mate well.

Some people like scart terminators for flexibility in multi-console setups, but for a test rig you should keep things simple. Otherwise you’ll find yourself probing the color lines on the pcb when the dang scart<>scart joint is just loose. Saying this from experience…
 
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ekorz said:
Don’t buy any cables until you know which supergun you’re using. Then I recommend buying a cable that connects the supergun to bnc directly without having any other connectors in between.

I see recommendations above for scart, which (unless the supergun outputs via scart) will require you to have two cables connected together (eg 8pin/9pin-genesis2 to scart, then scart to bnc). Why? That’s 2 cables for one job! and the scart to scart connection in the middle can cause you headaches if they don’t mate well.

Some people like scart terminators for flexibility in multi-console setups, but for a test rig you should keep things simple. Otherwise you’ll find yourself probing the color lines on the pcb when the dang scart<>scart joint is just loose. Saying this from experience…
Click to expand...
Thanks! I thought something was a little off. Now, I would like to use a supergun like the ones shown in the pictures above. How do I get one? Do I need to build it myself or can I get someone to build one for me? Once I figure out how to get one I’ll go from there and figure out what else I need. I really appreciate all the help from everyone!
 
An encased SuperGun typically costs a bit more since the power supply is included, and while there’s plenty of low-quality options out there, good ones that I’d trust connecting expensive arcade boards into are few and far between. The only one that’s easy to find new right now and that I’d recommend is the AxunWorks JJ-C Box:
https://www.axunworks.com/product-p125502.html

Be aware that the current worldwide parts shortages means you’ll be waiting a little while for an AxunWorks SuperGun to arrive. I ordered a JJ-C Box myself about six months ago and it hasn’t shipped yet.

You can also keep an eye out for a used JNX SuperGun or a Jasen’s Custom MK30 SuperGun-both of them are nice, but neither are produced anymore. Another quality option from about a decade ago that shows up used occasionally is the Sigma Raijin-it combines two full-size arcade joysticks and a SuperGun into one unit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sigma-Raij...p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
 
ShootTheCore said:
An encased SuperGun typically costs a bit more since the power supply is included, and while there’s plenty of low-quality options out there, good ones that I’d trust connecting expensive arcade boards into are few and far between. The only one that’s easy to find new right now and that I’d recommend is the AxunWorks JJ-C Box:
https://www.axunworks.com/product-p125502.html

Be aware that the current worldwide parts shortages means you’ll be waiting a little while for an AxunWorks SuperGun to arrive. I ordered a JJ-C Box myself about six months ago and it hasn’t shipped yet.

You can also keep an eye out for a used JNX SuperGun or a Jasen’s Custom MK30 SuperGun-both of them are nice, but neither are produced anymore. Another quality option from about a decade ago that shows up used occasionally is the Sigma Raijin-it combines two full-size arcade joysticks and a SuperGun into one unit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sigma-Raij...p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
Click to expand...
Thanks again! I’ve looked at the Sigma Raijin-it before and honestly I might just choose that. Now, let’s say I choose the sigma Raijin, what other things will I need? I know I will need a monitor. Will I also need a power supply?
 
The Sigma Raijin supports S-Video so you should be able to connect it right up to your PVM - although it looks best with RGB. It comes with its own JAMMA harness to connect between the SuperGun and PCB, and it integrates its own power supply too. I think the only other thing you'd need is a CPS2 kickharness connector if it doesn't come with one.
 
ShootTheCore said:
The Sigma Raijin supports S-Video so you should be able to connect it right up to your PVM - although it looks best with RGB. It comes with its own JAMMA harness to connect between the SuperGun and PCB, and it integrates its own power supply too. I think the only other thing you'd need is a CPS2 kickharness connector if it doesn't come with one.
Click to expand...
Do you know how often these come up? I would like to get a cleaner one and I’ve seen a few that sold on yahoo auctions. I think I’m going to get it if I can find a nice one.
 
I see one show up sale in forums roughly every six months. I haven’t proactively looked for one. You can also start a Want To Buy thread.
 
ShootTheCore said:
I see one show up sale in forums roughly every six months. I haven’t proactively looked for one. You can also start a Want To Buy thread.
Click to expand...
I was thinking I would put a wtb post up. I already have one up for mm pf marquee and I don’t want to spam but I’ll post one later today. A really nice one just sold on yahoo auctions on November 11th.
 
Aren’t all three of those the same SuperGun, just with different options built-in?

I’m not a fan of SuperGuns with built in controls personally so I can’t vouch for any of them besides the Sigma Raijin. Hopefully someone else that’s used them can chip in.
 
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