Custom JVS I/O - MEGA JVS

[winteriscoming]

I'm left wishing I had at least one more lit button on my cabinet.

I'm seriously considering installing a new button in my dashboard. I think a red square would look good up against the yellow circle and blue rectangle already present:

Edit: Looking at my control panel from behind, it's not going to be simple adding another hole. From the front it looks like there is a ton of space for more buttons. From the back there are a lot of supports for the wheel and frame and other structural obstacles crowding that area.

 

[freddiefiasco]

I'm left wishing I had at least one more lit button on my cabinet.

I'm seriously considering installing a new button in my dashboard. I think a red square would look good up against the yellow circle and blue rectangle already present:

Edit: Looking at my control panel from behind, it's not going to be simple adding another hole. From the front it looks like there is a ton of space for more buttons. From the back there are a lot of supports for the wheel and frame and other structural obstacles crowding that area.

Those buttons would look damn near sexy on a cab Even cooler if you could add symbols inside.

 

[winteriscoming]

Yeah, I'd love to figure out a good way to incorporate one. On the front there looks like plenty of room to mount one below View Change, but here's a pic of the inside of my OR2SP dash. There's no room without boring out some of the frame...

I'm am a little concerned about impacting the structural integrity of the frame, and I wouldn't want to put it somewhere that it looks out of place.

 

[freddiefiasco]

Yeah, I'd love to figure out a good way to incorporate one. On the front there looks like plenty of room to mount one below View Change, but here's a pic of the inside of my OR2SP dash. There's no room without boring out some of the frame...

I'm am a little concerned about impacting the structural integrity of the frame, and I wouldn't want to put it somewhere that it looks out of place.

Up until today I thought both the ID2 and OR2 dashes were the same. I will verify this when I get to my cab but the ID2 cab has an empty spot to place another button on the right side. On the left is empty real estate.

 

[winteriscoming]

Here's an example of my cab:

 

[Gondar]

Like if you ended a race on 6th gear, how would it know to reset? Or do you think it would be acceptable to have to down shift on your own at the beginning of the next race?

Why would it reset by itself? On a WMMT cabinet you would have to manually put it in the 1st gear since it will not auto center. With a two way shifter you could potentially solve it by having a timer. Hold gear up for 2 sec to put it in 1st gear, or something like that. The neutral position thing is a bit trickier... I actually never realized that you should put it in neutral when drifting, might be one of the reasons I suck at the game

 

[freddiefiasco]

Now I see what you mean...it definitely is different from my ID2 cab layout. On either side of the steering wheel there is empty space to bore out a hole for a button but the dash looks so clean I didn't want to think about making a button here. I thought about putting the button next to the view change button. Behind both options is a hollow space with enough gap to place wiring. (ignore the breadboard, that's my mario kart TEST Item button. You could maybe have a floating board above that yellow panel on the left (start and view buttons?) It may be a good place to add standoffs to float a button on a layered panel). On my other cab, the dash area was already damaged from some type of card reader so I placed the test/volume panel on standoffs in front of the damage. I could easily replace this metal plate with a larger one to add more buttons if I wanted.

 

[winteriscoming]

Why would it reset by itself? On a WMMT cabinet you would have to manually put it in the 1st gear since it will not auto center.

This is true, but in that case you have a clear indication that you've put it into 1st. I can play around with it. It's been a while, but IIRC WMMT has you put it into correct gear at the start of the race, at which point you'd be able to use the HUD to tell which gear you're in.

 

[winteriscoming]

Now I see what you mean...it definitely is different from my ID2 cab layout. On either side of the steering wheel there is empty space to bore out a hole for a button but the dash looks so clean I didn't want to think about making a button here. I thought about putting the button next to the view change button. Behind both options is a hollow space with enough gap to place wiring. (ignore the breadboard, that's my mario kart TEST Item button. You could maybe have a floating board above that yellow panel on the left (start and view buttons?) It may be a good place to add standoffs to float a button on a layered panel). On my other cab, the dash area was already damaged from some type of card reader so I placed the test/volume panel on standoffs in front of the damage. I could easily replace this metal plate with a larger one to add more buttons if I wanted.

Man! I wish my dash had a plate like yours for the start and view change buttons! I'd just make up a new plate and not concern myself with altering the original dash in some bad way...

I like the stand-off approach. I was thinking it might be possible to build a decent looking box that anchors into the 2 buttons holes and then I could use that as a platform to re-mount start/view change for any custom buttons.

A more complicated alternative would be dynamically labeled buttons:

If I went so far as integrating these, it could be cool to use the LCDs for informational purposes, too, like profile switching.

I'm just not sure how good these buttons are and if they'd be ok in a home-use arcade cabinet. For sure they'll require a custom mounting solution as they wouldn't fit into the existing round holes.

An alternative could be simpler generic buttons with no labels next to an LCD screen that labels them dynamically. I was thinking in a scenario like this that a larger color LCD screen could be used, and maybe it could display rules/etc for the chosen game/profile.

 

[winteriscoming]

I'm working on a new PCB design and I'm going to try my hand at double sided milling. If I can get that to work, there won't be any traces to manually route!

I think the feature set is right at about where I want it to be for meeting my needs. It has the parts and headers for 2 additional output lamps, 5 miscellaneous buttons (one needs to be the profile swap button), 4 inputs (can be used as additional misc inputs) and 5v for optos for WMMT shifter.

Rather than mess with trying to retrofit new wires into the existing 60 pin connector, I'm opting to have new headers for these misc components since they'll be easier for me to utilize, both from a design perspective and a wiring perspective. Routing more traces to the 60-pin header was going to be difficult anyway, and I've already got appropriate housings/pins on hand for the new headers.

It might be short-sighted to design this thing exclusively around using in a OR2/ID cab, but accommodating for other wiring configurations looks like it will over-complicate my design to the point where I won't be able to mill it. If I get into exploring sending a PCB design off to a manufacturer, then it will be more feasible to make more accommodations, as traces could be much thinner and can utilize vias out the wazoo.

 

[winteriscoming]

I remember thinking I would type this at one point, but am pretty sure I didn't. Sorry if it's a repeat pondering... It's not a super serious topic or anything. Just something fun to think about.

I started out referring to this project as an emulator, but is it? Isn't it really just a custom I/O board implementing (mostly) the JVS spec?

Though, I have the capacity to fake communication to make a motherboard think I've got features that I don't really have. For example, I am doing that for analog. I'm reporting 8 channels, but only measuring 3.

I can make a motherboard think I've got an exact branded I/O board plugged up, essentially spoofing the board.

I guess in some regards software is replacing a hardware equivalent, so maybe some aspects of this project qualify as emulation?

 

[Darksoft]

I think you could activate a mode where

I remember thinking I would type this at one point, but am pretty sure I didn't. Sorry if it's a repeat pondering... It's not a super serious topic or anything. Just something fun to think about.

I started out referring to this project as an emulator, but is it? Isn't it really just a custom I/O board implementing (mostly) the JVS spec?

Though, I have the capacity to fake communication to make a motherboard think I've got features that I don't really have. For example, I am doing that for analog. I'm reporting 8 channels, but only measuring 3.

I can make a motherboard think I've got an exact branded I/O board plugged up, essentially spoofing the board.

I guess in some regards software is replacing a hardware equivalent, so maybe some aspects of this project qualify as emulation?

I don't think this is an emulator, just a new implementation of the JVS protocol in a completely flexible way.

In any case if it works, is reasonable cheap and flexible, and can make available to the masses any JVS that you want, you can call it what you want

 

[winteriscoming]

They're not normal ribbon headers they're JST RA headers.

Interesting. I received my 60-pin locking headers today and was checking the fit with the 60-pin connector. I checked on both my OR2 cab's wiring and the ID3 wiring harness I have sitting in a box. In both cases, the connector housings are branded as AMP. The headers on both of my Type 1 I/Os are JST, though. I guess there's enough of a standard going on from the different manufacturers that they're relatively compatible. The headers I received are 3M and lock the AMP connectors in just fine.

I know what you're saying about the pin sizing inside the headers, though. The JST headers definitely have different pins.

 

[plasia]

A bit more than emulation, this is a flexible jvs implementation.

I'd call it the JVS Superbox for Winners.

 

[winteriscoming]

I had some pretty good success with double sided milling!

I'll post some pics in the morning. I didn't end up getting a chance to take any or I'd have added them to this post.

I basically nailed it on the first attempt, at least from an alignment perspective. I was disappointed to realize a few of my very thin traces ended up severed.

The 2nd attempt looks to have come out with all traces intact.

I went thinner on a lot of traces in the new design to try to get everything as compact as possible and so that more traces could fit. It looks like I can successfully mill at the thinner width if I use a new, sharp bit.

I'm also utilizing a pretty cool auto leveler program that builds in code to my gcode file to start out by probing the height of the copper blank at many points prior to milling. This has helped a lot as there ends up being a ton of height differences in a small pcb blank, especially when cutting at a depth of .004 inches.

 

[winteriscoming]

How many JVS drivers even use a Type 1 I/O? I was thinking about future expansion to support other drivers, but are there even that many?

I think Crazy Taxi 1 and CTHR might use a JAMMA adapter, and maybe the same for Jambo Safari. WMMT and Mario Kart use Namco I/Os with incompatible connectors. So all of those are out.

I don't know if anything would be that fun in a Route 66 or 18 wheeler setup due to the giant wheel.

I'd have to check some of the others, but if Club Kart uses a Type 1, it should already be compatible since controls map up fine in stock OR2 configuration. It just doesn't use a shifter, IIRC, so wouldn't be a great candidate for booting other games without some modifications anyway.

I guess the 26-pin and 60-pin headers from a Type 3 game could work in my board, but do many people even own Lindbergh and later drivers that it would be worth accommodating all of their inputs/outputs?

Is a device like this going to be useful in any other types of cabs, where the idea is to remap existing controls to work with other games? Don't a lot of other games just end up using the same standard 2 player joysticks and x player buttons? On top of that, aren't a lot of cabinets essentially JAMMA and wouldn't have compatible wiring connectors anyway?

I could see coming up with a JAMMA version of this, but the easiest implementation of that would be to wire in a JAMMA edge. But at that point am I just providing a cheap JAMMA to JVS alternative or is there some other need to fulfill?

 

[freddiefiasco]

What if you call it the BadMammaJamma Standard?

How many JVS drivers even use a Type 1 I/O? I was thinking about future expansion to support other drivers, but are there even that many?

I think Crazy Taxi 1 and CTHR might use a JAMMA adapter, and maybe the same for Jambo Safari. WMMT and Mario Kart use Namco I/Os with incompatible connectors. So all of those are out.

I don't know if anything would be that fun in a Route 66 or 18 wheeler setup due to the giant wheel.

I'd have to check some of the others, but if Club Kart uses a Type 1, it should already be compatible since controls map up fine in stock OR2 configuration. It just doesn't use a shifter, IIRC, so wouldn't be a great candidate for booting other games without some modifications anyway.

I guess the 26-pin and 60-pin headers from a Type 3 game could work in my board, but do many people even own Lindbergh and later drivers that it would be worth accommodating all of their inputs/outputs?

Is a device like this going to be useful in any other types of cabs, where the idea is to remap existing controls to work with other games? Don't a lot of other games just end up using the same standard 2 player joysticks and x player buttons? On top of that, aren't a lot of cabinets essentially JAMMA and wouldn't have compatible wiring connectors anyway?

I could see coming up with a JAMMA version of this, but the easiest implementation of that would be to wire in a JAMMA edge. But at that point am I just providing a cheap JAMMA to JVS alternative or is there some other need to fulfill?

Probably Gun cabs? Or even Fighting Cabs

 

[Darksoft]

What if you call it the BadMammaJamma Standard?

 

[glstar]

How many JVS drivers even use a Type 1 I/O? I was thinking about future expansion to support other drivers, but are there even that many?

I think Crazy Taxi 1 and CTHR might use a JAMMA adapter, and maybe the same for Jambo Safari. WMMT and Mario Kart use Namco I/Os with incompatible connectors. So all of those are out.

I don't know if anything would be that fun in a Route 66 or 18 wheeler setup due to the giant wheel.

I'd have to check some of the others, but if Club Kart uses a Type 1, it should already be compatible since controls map up fine in stock OR2 configuration. It just doesn't use a shifter, IIRC, so wouldn't be a great candidate for booting other games without some modifications anyway.

I guess the 26-pin and 60-pin headers from a Type 3 game could work in my board, but do many people even own Lindbergh and later drivers that it would be worth accommodating all of their inputs/outputs?

Is a device like this going to be useful in any other types of cabs, where the idea is to remap existing controls to work with other games? Don't a lot of other games just end up using the same standard 2 player joysticks and x player buttons? On top of that, aren't a lot of cabinets essentially JAMMA and wouldn't have compatible wiring connectors anyway?

I could see coming up with a JAMMA version of this, but the easiest implementation of that would be to wire in a JAMMA edge. But at that point am I just providing a cheap JAMMA to JVS alternative or is there some other need to fulfill?

Initial D (1-2-3) cabs, Club Kart, Star Wars Racer, Outrun 2, Crazy Taxi/Jumbo Safari on naomi upright, all using a Type 1 JVS I/O.
F-355 (1-2) using a Type 2 JVS I/O.

 

[twistedsymphony]

How many JVS drivers even use a Type 1 I/O?

based on my notes, according to the service manuals for each of these games (so it's possible they're incorrect): IT's also possible different cab variants use different I/Os

Sega JVS I/O Type 1: 837-13551-92
Hikaru - Star Wars Arcade Racer
NAOMI - Jambo Safari
NAOMI2 - Club Kart
NAOMI2 - Initial D Arcade Stage 1
NAOMI2 - Initial D Arcade Stage 2
NAOMI2 - Initial D Arcade Stage 3
NAOMI2 - Kings of Route 66
NAOMI2 - Wild Riders
Chihiro - Outrun 2

Sega JVS to JAMMA I/O: 838-13683-02
Hikaru - NASCAR Arcade
NAOMI - Crazy Taxi

Sega JVS I/O Type 2: 837-13844-02
NAOMI - F355 Challenge
NAOMI - F355 Challenge 2
NAOMI - Wave Runner GP
TriForce - F-Zero AX

Sega JVS I/O Type 1.5: 837-14505
Lindbergh - Outrun 2 Special Tours

Sega JVS I/O Type 3: 837-14572
Lindbergh - Hummer
RingWide - Sega Racing Classic