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Build Your Own Arcade Game Player and Relive the '80s!

Issue 160

From Issue #160
August 2007

Aug 01, 2007  By Shawn Powers
 in
Save your quarters; you won't need them when you build your vintage arcade player.

Keyboard Hacking

Hacking a keyboard in four easy steps:

  1. Take apart the keyboard, making sure not to damage the PCB.

  2. Find the two sets of connectors on the PCB, and on a chart, label them X and Y.

  3. Trace the very small, fine lines on the flexible plastic sheets to determine the X and Y coordinates for every key. No, really, I'm not kidding.

  4. Solder wires onto each X and Y terminal, and use those wires to connect to the arcade controls.

Obtaining Legal ROMs

MAME ROMs are easily located for download on the Internet, but the legality of using those ROMs are questionable. There are a couple ways to ensure that you have the legal right to your ROMs.

  1. Buy the actual motherboard from the original game. This may sound far fetched, but it's not too difficult to purchase broken arcade boards from either local coin-op vendors or on-line from eBay. Because you're just looking for the legal right to use the downloaded ROM, it doesn't really matter if the board is broken.

  2. You can buy the X-Arcade keyboard, which comes with a handful of classic ROMs.

  3. Check out arcadecontrols.com. There are some free, noncommercial games available for download and some more ideas regarding obtaining legal ROMs. It often is difficult to find whom to buy the rights from, even if you want to spend the cash.

Resources

MAME Arcade Emulator: www.mame.net

WahCade Front End: www.anti-particle.com

Arcade Controls (Cabinet Building Info): www.arcadecontrols.com

Happ Controls: www.happcontrols.com

Hagstrom Electronics: www.hagstromelectronics.com

Ubuntu Linux: www.ubuntulinux.com

AdvanceMAME/AdvanceMENU: advancemame.sf.net

LinCade: www.pc2jamma.org

Shawn Powers is a geeky Technology Director for a small school in northern Michigan. He did manage to find a wife to love him and has three wonderful daughters. His wife even watches Star Trek with him, but he suspects it's just because she loves him. Send him e-mail at shawn@brainofshawn.com.

______________________

Shawn Powers is an Associate Editor for Linux Journal. You might find him chatting on the IRC channel, or Twitter

Comments

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awesome

wadel's picture
Submitted by wadel (not verified) on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 01:02.

Looks like you got the same wiring skills as me. lol

do you know where??

p monkey's picture
Submitted by p monkey (not verified) on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 08:20.

i could get info on how to build a gunshooter mame arcade?? for like lethal enforcers, time crisis and point blank type games??

cool

zeke's picture
Submitted by zeke (not verified) on Sat, 01/16/2010 - 15:31.

cool

MAME home page

Anonymous's picture
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 15:34.

the mame page link doesn't seem to work?

arcade

marc's picture
Submitted by marc (not verified) on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 21:59.

You are Pacman and you get the dots. Once the bar is filled up you can do a super fire punch once you press spacebar. Wouch out the zombies can get dots too the make them faster.To move is the up,down,right, and left. You got to kill all 20 zombies you get past the level.

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