First time owner needs help

[Mechazawa]

Greetings, I am new to the world of arcade hardware and just recently became the owner of a System 256 chassis. I always wanted to play Cobra the Arcade so when I saw a listing on sale i jumped on it.
Well the unit arrived but now i have absolutely no idea how this is suppose to turn on and connect to anything. I tried to read about JAMMA harnesses and power supplies but I have no idea what I need to buy or where to find it. I just want to know what i need to get this unit powered up and see it working.

Is it true that you can connect any standard VGA monitor to the system? Is it possible to rig up some kind of gun system or a controller to play the game?

Any help would be appreciated. Here are photos of what i received in the mail.

 

[Franco23444]

Well, you need a power supply and the appropriate 6 pin power connector to power up your system. I know for a fact the the game shares a lot of common parts Time Crisis 4 uses like the gun sensor (or whole gun assembly), the IR leds, the Gun Sense CPU PCB and probably the I/O board. I say “probably” on the I/O boards because Cobra the arcade originally uses the FCA pcb, which is compatible with racing games and Time Crisis 4. However, TC4 originally uses the V329 NA-JA pcb, which some Namco Noir cabs and Namco System 357/369 uses. Not sure if it’s compatible with Cobra the arcade. The only issue that the game might have is that the game uses cards and a card reader (different from Tekken 5’s card reader) to continue some part of the game, without it, the game would just crash or wouldn’t let you play some other levels of the game. Hopefully a patch has been found to overcome these issues.

 

[Franco23444]

Oh, you might also need some sort of upscaler because I don’t think that this game runs in 31khz 480p mode. It most likely runs in 15khz 480i resolution. The game also isn’t jamma but rather JVS, which uses a USB connection. You can use the 246 jamma b I/O pcb but it won’t do anything other than power up the system using the Jamma harness.

 

[djsheep]

On first take, those chairs at the back made it look like a loaded toaster!

 

[Mechazawa]

Thanks for the info Franco, I'll be doing research and trying to find the essential parts. Thanks for the heads up about the card reader, i'll definitely keep that in mind. I just have a few more particular questions about this getting this running and playable:

Power
Would this power supply suffice? I have to find some 6 pin adapter for it as well, right?

Video
Are these VGA connections like those used for computer monitors? If the game does support 31khz can I plug it into a VGA-capable monitor or would I still need some kind of upscaler or converter to make it a VGA or HDMI signal? I would like to be able to connect this to most modern displays ideally.

Audio
I assume I can connect this to the upscaler or a 3.5mm splitter to connect to speakers or headphones but correct me if im wrong.

I/O
So I was wondering if it would be possible to use wiring to connect a playstation controller or something similar and use the analog stick to aim the gun? just as a possible work around until I can setup a functional lightgun controller system setup.

 

[Franco23444]

That power supply will work wonders! The system only requires the 2 voltages: 12v,+5v, and ground. The system doesn’t use 3v or -5v. I got an original wiring harness from my time crisis 3 246 system. I’ll post a picture of the wiring. As for video, the arcade hardware probably uses 15khz 480i RGB - C sync. Unless you have a monitor that supports 15khz resolution, you will need an upscaler (or downscaler (240p) to converter the video into something that a computer monitor or tv can accept. As for audio, connecting the rca jacks to a headphone amp or any audio amp / device with audio inputs of your choice should be fine. as for controls, this game works exactly like Time Crisis 4 and other Sega ir gun games (HOD2,HOD4,ghost squad, Jurassic Park) because they share the same Sega OMZ IR setup. I’m not sure about the Sega games because I don’t own them but from what I have read, the Sega setups and Namco setups aren’t cross compatible (something about different IR led and sensor frequencies ). The Namco stuff are compatible, most importantly TC4 stuff. They share more or less the same parts. The gun sensors are the exact same, the only difference are the gun shells and the solenoid motors. TC4 uses a recoil solenoid while CTA uses a motor solenoid. Controllers will not work as these games were originally not meant for home use. What could work as an alternative could be an analog pot based arcade gun like the ones found on terminator 2 arcades and Namco’s Steel Gunner arcade. I’m not sure how to wire it up but it should work because the game uses the X and Y axis.

 

[Mechazawa]

Alright so just making an update while im waiting for my parts to come in:

I purchased a 250 watt ATX power supply and the 6 Pin 2x6 power adapter to connect it to the 256.
I just ordered an OSSC as well to convert the 15khz signal to HDMI

After doing some research I discovered about OpenJVS and am looking into striping a USB cable and connecting it with a USB / RS485 converter to connect it to the USB port on the 256. Was wondering if this setup would allow me to use a wiimote and ir reciever to act as the light gun for this game?

also, I bit the bullet and purchased a card reader unit from eBay. I was looking for the data cards used in the game and I have a question. I have noticed that some other games like Maximum Tune seem to use similar looking data cards to save progress. If i get my hand on a set of unused, brand new Maximum Tune cards, would it be possible to use them on Cobra? I'd imagine the ink wouldn't print correctly on the card but the data itself would be written properly, right?

Is there anything else I'm missing or should I be able to boot and play the game with everything i've listed?

 

[Franco23444]

Alright so just making an update while im waiting for my parts to come in:

I purchased a 250 watt ATX power supply and the 6 Pin 2x6 power adapter to connect it to the 256.
I just ordered an OSSC as well to convert the 15khz signal to HDMI

After doing some research I discovered about OpenJVS and am looking into striping a USB cable and connecting it with a USB / RS485 converter to connect it to the USB port on the 256. Was wondering if this setup would allow me to use a wiimote and ir reciever to act as the light gun for this game?

also, I bit the bullet and purchased a card reader unit from eBay. I was looking for the data cards used in the game and I have a question. I have noticed that some other games like Maximum Tune seem to use similar looking data cards to save progress. If i get my hand on a set of unused, brand new Maximum Tune cards, would it be possible to use them on Cobra? I'd imagine the ink wouldn't print correctly on the card but the data itself would be written properly, right?

Is there anything else I'm missing or should I be able to boot and play the game with everything i've listed?

That should probably work, I’m also doing my own test with the similar gun system and stuff with Time Crisis 4. If you’re interested, I have a spare gun sensor and gun shell, minus the solenoid that I can probably sell to you. I will also make a setup guide if open JVS doesn’t work properly.

 

[Mechazawa]

thank you, i really appreciate all the help you and the others on here have offered. I'll have to wait a bit before i could buy any major upgrades but I'll keep it in mind for the future. Might need some help with OpenJVS but hoping to be able to follow along the tutorials I've found.

Also want to include an update. Capture card and oscc arrived in the mail as well as the RS485 adapter

I'm a bit worried about the power supply. I think i might have purchased the wrong part possibly? I'm still waiting for the 6 pin adapter to arrive in the mail but I'm already confused. The power supply comes with two 9 pin connectors and a 3 pin. But the adapter i bought seems to have 6 and 8 pin connectors. Did i purchase the power supply for a JAMMA setup instead of JVS? Or do i need another adapter in-between?

 

[Franco23444]

I can be able to help you with the power supply pin outs and send a picture of my cable if you want. The game board only uses 12v and 5v DC. You don’t need -5v or 3.3v. Those 9 pin molex connectors are pretty cheap and always available, just buy or find some 16 awg wire and make your own adapter. I can also make one for you if it seems like a bit to complex for you.

 

[Mechazawa]

I can be able to help you with the power supply pin outs and send a picture of my cable if you want. The game board only uses 12v and 5v DC. You don’t need -5v or 3.3v. Those 9 pin molex connectors are pretty cheap and always available, just buy or find some 16 awg wire and make your own adapter. I can also make one for you if it seems like a bit to complex for you.

Yes if you could send me a picture of your cable and the pin outs that would be appreciated.

 

[nem]

If i get my hand on a set of unused, brand new Maximum Tune cards, would it be possible to use them on Cobra?

Very unlikely.

 

[Franco23444]

I just finished setting up and testing my TC4 setup and oh boy! It’s a huge pain in the ass to set up lol! Probably the worst Time Crisis game to setup. It’s a pretty awesome game though. I had to make the wiring harnesses. It works though.

 

[Franco23444]

Here are a coupling pics of my power supply and the power harness, the colors of the wiring goes as follows: red: 5v, orange: 12v, black: Ground. My power supply is pretty old as it came from a dedicated Time Crisis 3 cab. I also made a custom dual power cable harness for Time Crisis 1 and Time Crisis 2 with a voltage regulator for 3.3v.

 

[Mechazawa]

Thanks for the info. Just got the 6 pin connector in the mail but it doesn't look like your set up. I don't have much wiring experience, but I know someone with experience with automotive electrical wiring. Can we just cut the wires i need and splice them together directly?

 

[Franco23444]

Thanks for the info. Just got the 6 pin connector in the mail but it doesn't look like your set up. Can I just cut the wires i need and splice them together directly?

You can but I wouldn’t recommend that. Not sure what the yellow cable on your PSU is (3.3v?) you could also build an adapter for your cable.

 

[Mechazawa]

So i need to find a 9 pin adapter and wire it to the 6 pin connector then? What is the name of the parts that i need to make the adapter?

If you were to make an adapter what would the turn around time for that be?

 

[Franco23444]

Well, you can reuse the same connector and just cut off the ends or find the appropriate plugs for the ends pieces. The 9 pin connector is just a 9 pin molex connector. I can make you one but I need to know what power supply you got and I need to order the parts.

 

[Mechazawa]

Just a little update. I managed to recieve the card reader in the mail. It smells a bit more musty than usual but seems to be in good condition overall. Not sure if anyone knows what i would need to connect this to the system. But if you do I'd appreciate any knowledge you could share!

 

[Mechazawa]

Anyone got any idea what i need to make this piece work?