The Space Invaders pinout can vary between brands of boards (Midway, Taito) and version (Standard, Deluxe). However, most follow the same pinout.

Space Invaders Card-Edge Pinout

Let’s start with the most important Space Invaders pinout: the 36-pin card-edge connector. This connector is responsible for two main things. Supplying power to the board set, and video output to the CRT.

The card-edge connector is on the motherboard/main board. This is the board that houses the CPU, memory (DRAM), and ROM chips.

One important thing to note about this connector is that the pins on the front and back of the card-edge are bridged. That means the card edge needs to proved +5v on both pin A and 01. If you use a replacement space invaders card-edge connector you’ll need to make sure bridge the the pins on the connector with your wire. The Space Invaders pinout is a bridge connector! Many people fail to realize this and their board set will not function as a result.

Space Invaders Daughterboard Pinout

On the Midway Space Invaders L-Board there are two boards. The mainboard (or CPU board) above, and the daughterboard. The daughterboard (some call this the soundboard) has two additional connectors on.

• 11/14 pin: Connects to coin mech, power-on-reset, and speakers.
• 8/ pin: Connects to the buttons

It should be noted that this pinout confuses a lot of people because the connector is split. For example if your board has a 14 pin connection, it may have two separate connectors with a space between them. For example a 6 pin, and a 7 pin connector. This is actually a 14 pin connector. The space is supposed to be the key to insure you insert it in the correct orientation.

Space Invaders Pinout Additional Notes

Adding a few notes here to help you along with your Space Invaders endeavors!

1. Space Invaders can be VERY picky about voltages. If you’re power supply is only putting out 4.8 volts you may have issues with your Space Invaders acting funny. Check your power supply with a meter and make sure you have the correct, +5, -5, and +12 volts coming from your power supply unit.
2. If you are bench testing your Space Invaders and you don’t have the daughterboard wiring harness connected, you will run into issues of a garbage screen. To correct this, make sure pin 6 on the 11/14 pin connector is tied to ground.
3. If your game is misbehaving, and you’re sure you’ve followed the Space Invaders pinout correctly, then we highly recommend you download and burn the Space Invaders Test ROM. This ROM goes in ROM position H and will help identify what is wrong with your board (bad RAM, etc).
4. Be careful about using pinouts diagrams without observing them on the board. Many of the websites out there are flat out wrong and following them could cause damage. Also, its possible you may have them upside down! Look at your board. Note the KEY position. Make sure you have the orientation correct. On Space Invaders, if you reverse the card edge you’ll be shorting your power directly to ground!

The post Space Invaders Pinout appeared first on The Geek Pub.

MAME originally stood for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, but lately they’ve just been calling the system MAME as a brand rather than an acronym. MAME is a software that runs on a PC, Raspberry Pi or other hardware and emulates old arcade machine hardware in a software platform.

MAME Cabinet Basics

A “MAME cabinet” is sort of a generic term given to any arcade cabinet that has MAME internals instead of original hardware. It can fit into any of these three classes:

• Custom Built MAME Cabinets – These are cabinets built at home, generally using arcade cabinet plans. They may be completely custom designs or they may be remakes of older cabinets (e.g. the Defender cabinet).
• Retrofit MAME Cabinets – These are cabinets which started out life as a specific arcade cabinet. For example, a Pac-Man or Donkey Kong cabinet that was converted to a MAME cabinet when the original hardware failed.
• Store Bought MAME Cabinets – These are cabinets built by manufacturers as a MAME cabinet from the very beginning. See our cautions on this option below.

So the question is which path should you take to get your MAME cabinet? There’s a lot to consider and so many different options and choices available even within each of these three broad categories! Let’s break it down!

Custom Building a MAME Cabinet

Custom building a MAME cabinet can be both enjoyable and very rewarding. If you are even the slightest bit handy, own a screwdriver and can afford a $25 jigsaw you can most likely build your very own MAME arcade machine.

Back in 2015, I wanted my very own arcade machine and could not afford to spend thousands on one from eBay. Eventually I decided to build my very own from scratch. Back then there were no plans or guides on the internet. So after building my arcade I created a set of plans for it to share with others. I love it so much, that I’ve built many different arcade since and have made plans for each one!

Our plans aren’t just some PDF template that a guy made in his basement. These are high quality plans. We also offer high-quality full-size arcade templates printed on card stock we can mail to your door.

If you’re interested in our plans and designs, click any of the pictures below:

If you do decide to build your own you’re going to need to decide which guts to put in it. There are several options such as PC build, a RetroPie setup, or a even JAMMA (although JAMMA isn’t technically MAME).

In addition to a PC or Raspberry Pi, you’ll need a set of arcade joysticks and buttons, with a USB encoder. The USB encoder is the brains that connect the joysticks and buttons to your PC or Pi. If you decide to go with JAMMA, you won’t need an encoder, instead you’ll need a JAMMA harness.

Lastly, you’ll need some arcade artwork for your cabinet.

Retrofitting a MAME Cabinet

If you feel like building your own is maybe out of your league the second option might be a winner. Buy an existing cabinet and retrofit it with MAME components!

Retrofitting can actually be a bonus depending on how you go about it. A friend of mine bought an old Ms. Pac-Man machine that didn’t work. He pulled all of the guts out of it and sold each one of them (working or dead) on eBay. He made enough money on the sale of the parts to pay for the cabinet and a new LCD retrofit monitor! That’s a score!

If you retrofit a cabinet with MAME you’re likely going to need a few things:

• If you don’t replace the monitor and keep the existing CGA CRT monitor, you’re going to need a GBS-8200 CGA video convertor. This will allow you to hook your PC to the existing monitor using a VGA port.
• You’ll also need a way to connect your joysticks. Which means an encoder board or two. The encoder connects to your PC or Pi and tells it when the buttons are pressed.

Another simpler way (not technically MAME) is to leave everything in the cabinet original except for the motherboard. You can replace the motherboard with a 750 in 1 Multicade board. This board comes with 750 old school games already loaded and connects to the standard JAMMA harness already in the arcade. It’s a simple unplug and replace.

Multicade boards also have a VGA port and some even have HDMI making it easy to upgrade to an LCD monitor now or later. However it should be noted that there are those in the MAME cabinet community who believe that anything other than a CRT is arcade blasphemy!

Buying a MAME Cabinet

The last option that many people (typically those with some extra cash and no time) choose, is to simply buy a MAME cabinet from several sources.

This isn’t a bad approach and we understand not everyone is able to build or retrofit a MAME cabinet. However, we’d like to pass some caution with this approach. If you’re just shopping eBay or some other marketplace it is very likely the machine is junk: That is filled with crappy parts that will quickly fail, LCD screens with terrible viewing angles, and full of pirated games and possible malware.

You’ll need to take some time and make sure you are buying from a reputable brand. And even those come with some drawbacks. For example, Arcade1Up makes a very nice machine. However, it’s only 2/3rd scale and needs to be mounted on a riser base so normal adults can use it.

Our Recommendations

If you want a MAME cabinet in your game room and you are even the slightest bit handy, our recommendation is to build your own! The rewards are definitely worth and the journey is one you will remember the entire rest of your life. It’s an experience and a journey!

The second option we highly recommend is retrofitting an existing arcade. This is a great way to reduce the level of effort but still take a fantastic journey. You’ll also learn a lot about arcade machines in the process and be well prepared to fix it should something go wrong in the future.

The post MAME Cabinet – Buy or Build One! appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Die-Cut Arcade Button Labels (Black)

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Making Your Own Arcade Button Labels

Let’s start with talking about the various ways to make your own arcade button labels. It’s not as hard as you think, but the results can be hit or miss depending on the level of time you are willing to invest (and of course the amount of money you are willing to spend).

Cutting Labels on a Vinyl Cutter

We started first by making our own arcade button labels on a home hobbyist Cricut Vinyl Cutter. This is actually not a bad way to go. You can get vinyl super cheap from Amazon or Micheal’s. You can design the buttons in their software and then cut them out.

Some things to consider here:

• Products like Cricut use a cloud system and most things cost money. If you’re not a good designer you are going to wind up spending a lot of money buying assets from their store.
• There’s a limit to the designs you can make. When things get too small or too intricate the cutter is just going to screw the material up and shred your backing board. Designs made like this need to be rather large and plain to come out right.
• You’ll need to use transfer tape to get the vinyl off the backing paper and onto your buttons.

In our Wall Mount Arcade Cabinet we used the vinyl cutter for not just the arcade button labels, but our entire design and it turned out super cool. We did a Mario theme and even used it to make the graphics for the lighted marquee.

If you’re a little creative and have some patience, this is definitely a viable option.

Printing Your Own Labels

Another option we’ve tired with some success in printing our own labels. You can buy lamination sheets from Amazon and print your own button labels.

In our Cocktail Table Arcade Build, we also tried a similar approach using a label printer. This was suggested by a viewer and it actually turned out to look pretty good.

The biggest annoyance with printing your own is that you’re going to have to cut each and every one of them out by hand with scissors or a razor knife. This will be highly time consuming and highly annoying. We know. We did it. Twice.

Buying Arcade Button Labels on Etsy and Ebay

One of our subscribers recommended we just buy them pre-made on Etsy. What a great idea we thought. But after ordering several arcade button label packs from different listings on Etsy and eBay only to be delivered stickers printed on plastic sheets from a laser printer that had to be cut out individually with scissors, we were fed up! This was a complete waste of our time. Not only did we pay a fortune for them, they were no better than what we could have printed outselves.

Creating our Own Arcade Button Labels Sets

With that it was time to make a difference. And the timing was perfect. We recently purchased a huge large format printer from HP. It’s a printer from their Latex lineup that takes large 54″ rolls of paper, vinyl, or other materials. Along with that we bought a massive robotic cutter that could die-cut just about anything we could think of. We affectionately call these two machines “Big Bertha” and “Mamba Jamba”. Because… well… they are big!

We originally bought this printer for printing premium-quality arcade artwork for our customers. One day we were standing around talking and someone said to Mike “Why don’t you finally solve the arcade button label problem? You have the tools and technology to do it now!” And that was it. Printing our own premium die-cut arcade button labels was born!

We print these arcade button labels on premium transparent gloss vinyl (the paper backer is white) using high-quality eco-friendly latex inks. We then run them through the cutter and “kiss cut” each and every button. This means that no scissors or razor knife is required. Just peel the labels off individually and press them onto the button caps of your favorite arcade buttons.

And man do they look nice! We’re currently offering them in our own style and font, but the goal over time is to add more variations of fonts and designs to the store.

The sets include several sheets with many different icons ands styles to choose from for both 24mm and 30 mm buttons.

Grab them in the store at the link below:

The post Arcade Button Labels appeared first on The Geek Pub.

Watch the Arcade Restrictor Gate Video

Understanding Joystick Movements

Before we get into the basics of arcade restrictor gates, let’s take just a minute to understand some joystick basics.

Trust me! This is important.

The movement of the joystick has four basic positions (in addition to direction of travel). These movements (or movement behaviors) are not the same between all joysticks, even from the same manufacturer!

These movement behaviors effect how the joystick feels, how quickly it reacts, and how far it moves before coming to a stop. These movements are also affected by the tension and strength of the return spring used in the joystick.

Let’s break them down and understand what each one means.

Neutral

Neutral is the position in which a joystick rests when your hand is not touching the knob. In a perfectly constructed joystick this would be dead center and perpendicular to the control panel top surface.

Deadzone

The deadzone is any position where the joystick can be moved to without engaging/activating a microswitch. Often I see people refer to the deadzone as if it is a defective area of the joystick. This is false. You need some deadzone so that small movements by the player don’t unintentionally engage a microswitch. You should consider the deadzone on a properly designed joystick to be the safety zone.

Engage

Engage is where one or more microswitch becomes activated. This position is heavily dependent on the design of the microswitch. The microswitch will most likely engage before the switch is full depressed.

Throw

Throw is the position in the movement when travel stops. This is usually caused by making contact with a restrictor gate. However, should a gate not be installed this would be the location that the microswitch bottoms out.

Understanding Joystick Directions

Ok. Before dive into arcade restrictor gates, we need to understand one last thing: Joystick Directions!

It is important to consider the games that you will be playing when building your arcade. For example, if you only ever plan to play space invaders on your arcade then you will likely only ever use left and right on your joystick! In fact, some builders eliminate the joystick altogether and just use a left and right button!

8-Way Joystick Configuration

Most all arcade joysticks out of the box come configured as 8-way joysticks. This means you have 8 possible electrical positions that the software can read: Up, Down, Left, Right, Up/Left Diagonal, Down/Left Diagonal, Up/Right Diagonal, and Down/Right Diagonal. Up, Down, Left, and Right are all dedicated microswitches. While the diagonal positions are the combination of two microswitches.

The problem many encounter when using an 8-way configuration is when playing a game that was designed for a four-way. For example, playing Pac-Man with an 8-way configuration can be an effort in frustration. Most of the time if you press in the diagonal position, Pac-Man will do nothing and you’ll lose a life. You have to be very methodical to remember to never press the diagonal positions.

More in a minute, but 8-way is always active with round, octagonal, and most square arcade restrictor gates.

4-Way Joystick Configuration

With a four way configuration you have only four positions that are active on the joystick. This could be the horizontal and vertical directions, or the diagonals, but never both at the same time.

If you plan to play mostly games like Pac-Man, we highly recommend you go with a 4-way restrictor gate.

2-Way Joystick Configuration

The last (but very important) configuration you should consider is the 2-way. There are some games that were designed for only left/right or up/down. The best example we can give you is Space Invaders. It only recognizes left and right.

If you’re building a dedicated Space Invaders machine, a 2-way restrictor gate is a must!

How Arcade Restrictor Gates Work

And now it’s time to actually talk about how arcade restrictor gates work!

First, you should know that not all joysticks support arcade restrictor gates! If you’re planning to use them then you need to make sure the joysticks you buy support them. All Geek Pub Joystick and Button kits support Sanwa-style restrictor gates.

Restrictor gates snap on to the back/bottom of the joystick and restrict movement of the joystick to certain positions. Some restrictor gates have snap-in inserts that are adjustable, while others are permanent. Sometimes gates simply make it less prone to enter a certain position (such an octagonal), and sometimes they completely eliminate positions (such as a 2-way).

These different types of arcade restrictor gates all serve different purposes, but ultimately work to limit the positions and movement behaviors of the joystick.

These different shaped gates divide up the total area of movement to suit the game or type of gameplay experience the player prefers.

Round Restrictor Gates

Round arcade restrictor gates are simply that, round. They don’t have any area where they restrict movement or offer any detents. The joystick is free to move into any position.

Octagonal Restrictor Gates

Octagonal arcade restrictor gates are exactly how they sound. They have 8 sides. Other than providing some detent areas to help the player align the joystick to a certain position they are basically free to move into any position.

Square Restrictor Gates

Square restrictor gates are where things begin to get complex. Many assume that all square gates are exactly the same. But they actually are available in different sizes. The most common square gate divides the joystick into 9 equal zones, where the neutral and deadspace are equal in size to the engage and throw space.

Turning a square gate insert to its diagonal position can have the effect of making the joystick prefer up/down/left/right positions and semi-reject the diagonal positions. This is a nice compromise when playing games like Pac-Man, making the game much more enjoyable to play on a typical 8-way stick.

Some refer to the square gate, turned diagonal or diamond as a rhombus gate. This is mathematically incorrect.

2-Way Restrictor Gates

Two-way arcade restrictor gates limit the joystick to either left-right only movement, or up-down only movement depending on whether the gate is installed horizontally or vertically.

Additional Restrictor Gate Variations

Over the decades many different arcade machines have come up with and implemented different types of gates that are specific to their games.

An example of this is the “plus” arcade restrictor gate. This gate completely eliminates the ability to use the diagonal directions. This gate provides a comparable feeling to that of shifting a manual transmission car. You must come all the way back to center before moving to another direction. Although a logical mistake, some refer to this a a bi-directional 2-way restrictor gate.

Which Arcade Restrictor Gate to Use on Your Build

Good question! Almost all joysticks, including ours, ship with a square restrictor gate installed that is adjustable to two positions. This is because the square gate is the most common preference amongst gamers and builders alike. However, we recommend you try a few different gates and see which you prefer. You may find you prefer an octagonal gate.

If you are building a custom cabinet that will only play a single game you may want to customize the gates for that game. If you are restoring an original cabinet, you should match the gates to the ones used when the game was originally created. In our example of Space Invaders, you’d want to use a 2-way restrictor gate in the horizontal position.

The post How Arcade Restrictor Gates Work appeared first on The Geek Pub.

You can buy the GBS-8200 in our online store.

GBS-8200 Features

• Supports CGA, EGA, and YUV (component) signal input
• Supports VGA at
  • 640×480
  • 800×600
  • 1024x768
  • 1360×768
• CGA and EGA signal auto scan at 15, 24,, and 31 KHz
• YUV (YPbPr) signal auto scan at 480i/480p, 576i/576p, 720i/720p, and 1080i/1080p
• On-screen display supports English and Chinese
• Adjustable position zoom controls
• True digital 24-bit A/D converter for true 16.7-million color conversion
• Supports all VGA monitors, including CRT, LCD, PDP, and projectors

PACKAGE CONTENTS

In addition to this GBS-8200 manual, the following items are included in the box:

• The main GBS-8200/GBS-8220 PCB
• Power Cable (2 pin, +5V)
• TGB Cable (8 pin, 6 wire)

GBS-8200 CGA/EGA to VGA Converter

This is the latest revision GBS-8200 CGA/EGA/YUV (component) to VGA converter for arcade machines.

$39.99

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GBS-8200 Menu Control

Power Supplies

• Power cable (2 Pin Connector)
• Multi-Voltage Power Supply:
  • Switching Power Supply (Center Positive)
  • Input: 100-240VAC
  • Output: 5V DC 2.0A

GBS-8220 Board Layout and Diagram

No GBS-8200 manual would be complete without a board layout and diagram! The board is laid out as follows:

GBS-8220 Manual: Basic Configuration and Installation

Connect the output monitor (your VGA monitor) to:

• The VGA OUT connector (sometimes labeled P4), if your monitor uses a 15-pin DSUB connector.
• To the 12 pin VGA header if your monitor has a ribbon cable.

Connect the CGA, EGA, or YUV output from your JAMMA connection to:

• The 5 pin RGB input header if your JAMMA connector already has one wired up (most common).
• Or, use the included 5 pin RGB adapter cable and make the following connections:
  • Red Video to Red Wire/P11 (R)
  • Green Video to Green Wire/P11 (G)
  • Blue Video to Blue Wire/P11 (B)
  • H. Sync to Gray Wire/P11 (S)
  • V. Sync to Yellow Wire/P11 (VS)
  • Ground Ref to Black Wire/P11 (GND)

For more information on the JAMMA Pinout go here.

Connect the GBS-8220 PCB to your +5VDC Power Source:

• Connect the RED wire of the power cable to the +5VDC source and the BLACK wire to the DC GROUND source. connect the 2-pin.
• Connector the power cable to P9 on the GBS-8220 converter PCB.

Note: The power requirement for the GBS-8220 is +5VDC +/- .5VDC @ 2A. If the power supply is unable deliver 2amps, the GBS-8200 will behave erratically.

Power up the GBS-8220 Converter

• Power up the GBS-8220 converter and wait 5 seconds.
• Press the AUTO button on the GBS-8200/8220 PCB. This should self-adjust and lock-in the picture on your VGA output monitor.

If you don not see a picture:

• Remove the P11 wire harness from the converter P11 connector.
• Move the GRAY wire over one position on the connector (so it is next to the YELLOW wire).
• Connect back into the converter and power up then try the AUTO button again.

GBS-8200/GBS-8220 Troubleshooting FAQ

In addition to providing a GBS-8200 manual, the following are some common troubleshooting questions and answers:

Q: No signal displayed on monitor
A: Check that both the input and output cables are connected and that the power to the GBS-8200/8220 is on. Try pressing the SW button to change input sources.

Q: “Input not supported” is displayed on the screen.
A: Your monitor may not support all resolutions. Lower the output resolution. You can also reset the GBS-8200 to its default 800×600 resolution by pressing DOWN/AUTO for 5 seconds and releasing.

Q: Image does not fill the screen.
A: Use the position and zoom controls to adjust.

Q: Image shakes or freezes
A: Press DOWN/AUTO to initiate an auto scan. This should restore the image.

Q: Black area on the screen, screen is too dark, or colors are not correct.
A: Adjust “Clamp sp” and “Clamp st” while keeping “Clamp st” less than “Clamp sp”. Generally “Clamp st” set to 3 and “Clamp sp” sett to 4 will be optimal.

Q: Image color not right
A: Use RGB ADJUST potentiometers to correct colors.

The post GBS-8200 Manual (CGA to VGA converter) appeared first on The Geek Pub.

The PB5S is a drop in replacement mainboard system for existing arcade machines, or can be used to build your very own custom arcade cabinet. It uses a standard JAMMA connector and the standard JAMMA pinout making it easy to swap into existing cabinets.

Although its referred to as having “999 games”. There are several versions available with more or less games. Some having as many as 1299 games!

Pandora’s Box 5S Features

The Pandora’s Box 5S is packed with features to help you setup and build your retro arcade cabinet.

• Connects using a standard JAMMA Connector
• Includes a menu systems for game selection
• Ability to connect external volume knobs
• Connects to coin doors for quarters and/or tokens (or a bypass button)
• Games are configurable and cheats can be enabled/disabled
• Enable only the games you want or all of them!
• Supports both CGA and VGA monitors, or can be connected to an HDMI upscaler
• Supports both upright and multi-player cocktail cabinets
• Standard JAMMA video output or VGA output (Auto output detection)

PB5S Specifications

The PB5S-999 is packed with some pretty cool tech too. Here’s the specifications for the box:

• CPU: ARM Cortex A8 @ 1Ghz
• RAM: 2GB (DDR 3)
• Storage: 8GB (MicroSD)
• Video: CGA via JAMMA or dedicated VGA
• Audio: via JAMMA or dedicated 3.5MM jack

Pandora’s Box 5S Game List

The following is the Pandora’s Box 5s game list. When configuring the 5S, you can scroll through these numbers on the configuration screen to enable or disable each games, as well as configure game options (difficulty, number of lives, etc.)

And that’s it for the Pandora’s Box 5S game list! Well, at least the 999 standard games!

The post Pandora’s Box 5S Game List appeared first on The Geek Pub.

What is JAMMA?

JAMMA stands for “Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association”. This organization created the standard for the JAMMA connector back in 1986. By having a standard connector on arcade boards, this simplifies conversion of a cabinet from one game to another. Converting a cabinet became as simple as pulling and replacing the board and then changing the decals.

The majority of games do not use the entire JAMMA connector, rather opting for a smaller subset of the pins that satisfy that games controller needs. However, some games such as Mortal Kombat have extra buttons and therefore must have extra connectors for these additional controls!

The JAMMA connector is a .187 inch (3.96 mm) card-edge connector. Female pins will be found on the harness, and make pins on the board’s header.

JAMMA Wiring and JAMMA Pinout (PDF included)

As mentioned the JAMMA connector is female on the harness side and male on the board side. It’s a card-edge style consisting of 56 total pins. Although some JAMMA connectors are keyed, not all are making it is possible to plug the JAMMA connector in upside down. Doing so is likely to cause damage to the PCB components.

Often you’ll see JAMMA pinouts and wiring diagram refer to the connector by its sides: Solder Side and Parts Side. This means exactly what it sounds like. Circuit boards (generally) have parts on the top, and the solder pins on the bottom. When referencing these terms on a JAMMA connector, we mean the parts side goes up and the solder side goes down in orientation to the PCB.

You can see on the picture below of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles board how this connector sits, illustrating both sides of the board.

JAMMA Pinout (PDF Included)

The JAMMA connector is loaded with connectivity options! Power, ground, joysticks, buttons, and more. The software and hardware works together to listen for signals on each of these pins and make a logic decision in the game.

The following JAMMA pinout will help you when wiring or troubleshooting a JAMMA connector.

You can grab the JAMMA Pinout PDF here.

JAMMA Functional Diagram

Next up is the functional diagram for wiring up and connecting JAMMA boards and connectors. When wiring up a JAMMA we recommend the following order of operations:

1. Connect AC1 and AC2 to the power supply and plug it into the wall.
2. Test the 5V output with a multimeter and make sure it is close to 5V (between 4.8V and 5.1V is ideal).
3. Disconnect the power and connect the +/-5V and 12V connections.
4. Re-connect the power and test the 5V output with a multimeter. If it is not between 4.8V and 5.1V turn the +5V adjust until it is.

Again, just another reminder that not all arcade cabinets and games have all the same needs for connections. If your game only has 2 buttons, then button 3 and 4 will be missing.

You can grab the JAMMA Functional Diagram PDF here.

JAMMA Trackball Pinout

The JAMMA trackball pinout is slightly different from the JAMMA standard pinout as it replaces the joystick pins with the direction and clock pins from the track ball.

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How to Download RetroPie ROMs?

There are several ways to download RetroPie ROMs. We’ll take you through the list and help you understand your options.

Buy a RetroPie Preloaded SD Card from Amazon

Probably the fastest way to get started is to buy an SD-Card pre-loaded from Amazon.  For example, this card comes loaded with over 100,000 game ROMs ready to go. It would take a lifetime to build a collection like that.  Of course this card isn’t free as the sellers have to pay royalties and licensing fees.  But it is no doubt the fastest way to get started.

Disclaimer

The reality is, much of what you find on the internet are links to download RetroPie ROMs from unknown and unlicensed sites. While many games are considered abandonware, it still doesn’t mean you just download it for free legally. It just means the rights holder is not currently enforcing their rights. But they could change their tune at any moment and you could be prosecuted or slapped with a hefty fine.

The retro video game market is a very bizarre world of companies who vigorously fight piracy of their old games, to some who have made their games freeware. Don’t get caught downloading a game you thought was freeware only to get a threatening letter in the mail.

The Geek Pub does not make any claims about the legality of anything you download, buy, or copy from others using this guide. It’s up to you to obey the laws in your jurisdiction. We recommend that you do so!  The Geek Pub does not provide ROMs to anyone under any circumstances.

Types of ROMs to Download

Before we go further, it’s important to really important to understand that there are different classifications of ROMs. Let’s break them down quickly.

Public Domain ROMs

You can download RetroPie ROMs that are Public Domain in many cases directly from the game developer.  Many game studios have released their older games for free into the public domain. However, in most cases you are required to download the games directly from them, and not from some 3rd party or torrent site. Since these companies have shown good will, we feel like its a good idea to respect that agreement and download from their direct links.

Abandonware ROMs

This is legal grey area for sure. In some cases the legal rights holder doesn’t even exist anymore. Either because they closed their doors and went out of business without selling their assets, through bankruptcy, or they just don’t enforce their copyrights anymore for whatever reason.  This isn’t an area that’s been tested in court, but many in the legal profession believe that it’s just as criminal to download an abandonware game as it is any other copyrighted work. We feel its probably not that simple. Download at your own risk.

Copyrighted ROMs

Most game ROMs are still under copyright, and most game studios are still enforcing these rights. Downloading RetroPie ROMs of these games without legal permission is most definitely a crime and most definitely punishable.

Many believe that if you own the game already, then you’re legal. And this may or may not be true. You are allowed to make backup copies of your material. But I suspect that the lawyers would argue in court that since you can and do use both simultaneously it is not a backup.  One lawyer wrote that they simply bought a Pac-Man cartridge and put inside their RetroPie arcade cabinet not connected to anything, installed the game from a torrent, and then screwed it shut.  No one knows if that would hold up in court, but it did clear his conscious! Again, its all a legal grey area.

Homebrew ROMs

Homebrew ROMs are a relatively new thing.  Small teams or one man shows are developing games for retro computers.  In fact my own brother has developed several retro games for old computers, such as Attack of the PETSCII Robots for many platforms, including the C64, Apple II, and others. In the case of homebrew ROMs, you buy them direct from the developer.  Some developers have made quite good knockoffs of older games!

So where do we Download RetroPie ROMs then?

Well, it’s tricky. And you have to decide what lines your willing to cross and what legal grey areas you’re willing to test.

Free and Legal RetroPie ROMs

Let’s start with the simple and legal way of downloading Retropie ROMs.  MAMEDEV has put together a website where they have an archive of lots of free and legal games that have been released into the freeware realm by the original rights holders, game developers, etc.  You can find their large library of ROMs here: https://www.mamedev.org/roms/

You can also find a list of public domain ROMs for most all platforms here: https://www.zophar.net/pdroms.html and a list of Homebrew ROMs here: https://pdroms.de/

Again, we’re taking their word for it that these are legal. It is up to you to decide.

There are also other sites that claim their ROMs are legal.  You can google for Cool ROM and ROM Hustler for example. But I doubt their claims of legality, hence I am not providing links.

Torrenting RetroPie ROMs

Another way of downloading RetroPie ROMs is to use a Torrent site and a Torrent program. You’ll find many torrents on the web claiming to be free and legal RetroPie ROMs (and some of them are), but the truth is most of them are packed with illegally copied game ROMs. Again, it is ultimately your choice to decide if you want to download them.  We feel like working with game companies to make legal options available is always the best way to go, so that everyone can win.

If you do decide to torrent your ROMs, it is unlikely anyone will hunt you down and take you to jail. It is however possible (and likely) that your ISP will send you a Copyright Infringement Notice. It depends on your ISP how serious that actually is.

RELATED: Buy a pre-loaded RetroPie ROM SD-Card

Building your own RetroPie Arcade

If you’re looking to build an arcade, we have many arcade plans available.  They’re the best plans on the internet. We guarantee it!

Click the image to the right, or choose from one of these awesome designs:

• Original Full-Size arcade plans
• Original Bartop arcade plans
• Cocktail Table Arcade Plans
• Tabletop arcade plans
• Wall-Mount arcade
• Pacade Bartop arcade plans

Additional RetroPie Resources

Now that you know how to download RetroPie ROMs, you should also consider checking out some of our other articles on RetroPie:

• RetroPie Setup Guide
• RetroPie PS4 Controller Setup
• RetroPie XBOX One Controller Setup
• Adding Volume Controls to RetroPie
• RetroPie Commodore 64 Build

The post Where to Download RetroPie ROMs? appeared first on The Geek Pub.

This video will show you the best practices for using these templates. It is always best to use spray adhesive. If you don’t have any you can just use some masking tape, scotch tape, packing tape, or even duck tape. You can also use the push stick glue that many craft stores sell.

Watch the Templates Preview Video

Before drilling the holes, use a center punch to make it easier to align the Forstner bit. You can get the same results from a paddle bit, but the hole is usually not as clean.  As always it is a good idea to use a backer board to prevent blowout and damage to your bits.

The post Using my Templates appeared first on The Geek Pub.

There are many ways to get sound out of the Raspberry Pi for your arcade. If your monitor supports HDMI and has speakers built in, then you might just use those internal speakers.  However, in many cases monitors either don’t have speakers, or the ones they have are so terrible they might as well not have them.  In fact, some users have simply replaced the speakers in their monitors with higher quality speakers if the built in amplifier is decent.

Most builders eventually default to just using the 3.5 mm audio jack on the Pi and set of external speakers.  I really like these USB speakers, because they sound great and they are powered via USB.  This means I don’t need any internal amplifiers, no extra wiring, etc. You just plug and play.  The problem comes in that they don’t have any volume controls. The only way to change the volume is in Retropie’s control center.  For most of my builds this is absolutely fine.  But I recognize for some its not ideal.  I’ll show you how to fix that today!

Installing an Arcade Volume Control

There are a few challenges to installing a volume control into the tabletop arcade.  You’ll need the right kind of potentiometers, a way to connect that potentiometer, and finally a way to mount it into the cabinet.  All of these can be a little confusing, so we’ll walk through each step in this tutorial.

You might think you can just use any potentiometer you’d like, but you can’t.  Normal potentiometers only control a single channel. For a stereo circuit you’ll need a dual gang (or stereo) potentiometer. A dual gang potentiometer is basically two potentiometers sharing a single shaft.

The next thing you need to do is properly size your potentiometer for its intended use. I found that a 500K Ohm potentiometer seemed to be the perfect match for controlling the volume of the Raspberry Pi‘s 3.5mm output jack.

Parts List for this Project

Here’s a handy parts list for this project to get you started:

• 500K Ohm dual gang potentiometer
• 22 awg assorted wire
• 3.5mm stereo plug
• 3.5mm stereo jack
• 1-1/4in Forstner bit
• Volume knob

Wiring the Volume Control

Wiring the volume control is super simple. Just follow this simple wiring diagram.  Ground is connected straight through from the plug to the jack. The left and right channel each get wired to one of the gangs on the dual gang potentiometer. It doesn’t really matter which is which, just pick one to be left and the other will be right.

Watch the Arcade Volume Control Video

Backboring the Arcade Cabinet

I have another video all about backboring for arcade controls. Be sure to check that out for all kinds of detail on how the process works.

The potentiometer’s threaded section is only about 1/4″ long. That’s not going to fit in 3/4″ MDF! To solve this we’ll need to backbore the cabinet to allow the potentiometer to sit below the surface.

This is accomplished using a 1-1/4″ Forstner bit.  First, drill a 1/16″ pilot hole through the arcade cabinet wall. This will give you a reference point on the inside and become the center of the cavity we’re going to bore out.

Then use the Forstner but on the inside of the arcade to drill down 1/2″ deep.

The potentiometer should fit perfectly into the cavity.

Wiring the Volume Control

Now it is time to wire everything up and solder the wires to the potentiometer and the jack/plug.  Start by soldering the wires to the potentiometer. I chose to go with red for left, and blue wire for right.

After soldering the wires, I always add heatshrink tubing to protect things.  Just in case something ever touches the wires it won’t short out.  Always use a heatgun to shrink the tubing, rather than a cigarette lighter.  Using a cigarette lighter will damage the heatshrink making it hard and brittle, reducing its lifespan and increasing the potential for it to crack.

Next up, solder the left and right channels from the potentiometer to the 3.5mm jack and plug.  Again, using heatshrink to protect against shorts.

The volume control wiring is now complete and ready to be installed into the arcade!

Installing the Arcade Volume Control

To install the arcade volume control, all you need to do is mount the potentiometer and plug in the wires.

First, we insert the potentiometer into the cavity and secure it with a 1/4″ nut.  I installed this cool volume knob I found on Amazon (too bad its gone now).

Next, we plug it in!  Unplug your speakers from the Raspberry Pi and plug in the jack from our volume control harness.  Then plug the speakers into the plug on the harness.

Finally, I zip tied all of the wires in place, just to make sure they don’t fall out or get snagged on anything at a later time.

That’s all there is to adding a volume control to your arcade cabinet!

RELATED: RetroPie Setup Guide

The post Adding Arcade Volume Control appeared first on The Geek Pub.