Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: This section will ALWAYS be incomplete, I will add to this bit whenever I think of anything useful to include!

Q: Where can I find information on game XXXXX?
A: Try www.klov.com or www.spies.com/arcade for more technical knowledge (pinouts/dips etc…) Else, post a message to one of the newsgroups mentioned.

Q: What is “JAMMA+”?
A: Certain games are JAMMA but with extra connectors/connections for different things that aren’t used by the JAMMA standard. For instance, if you plug a Street Fighter 2 PCB into a standard JAMMA cabinet, you won’t be able to kick, since there will be no buttons for kicking. Smash TV is another JAMMA+ game, instead of using buttons to fire, it uses another joystick. If you plug a Smash TV PCB into a JAMMA cabinet, you can play, but you’d only be able to fire in three directions, and you could possibly crash the game by telling it to fire in opposite directions at the same time.

Q: Where can I find game playing tips?
A: Try www.gamefaqs.com else just do a search for the game in google or other search engine on the net.

Q: Where can I find ROM’s for MAME?
A: Try www.mame.dk

Glossary

• Pinouts – What each pin does/ needs on the edge connector
• Dips – A bank of small switches (sometimes two banks) on most arcade boards that change settings within the game (lives, difficulty, coin credit settings, etc..)
• Motherboard – Arcade boards that need a ROM cartridge/board plugged into them which houses the game code as they are only ‘brains’ and don’t do anything on their own
• Daughter-board – Any separate board that plugs into/onto the main board, usually either a ROM board or a decryption board for encrypted games
• Satellite board – Like a daughter-board only it doesn’t plug directly into the main board usually its on the end of a ribbon cable like Ms. Pacman
• Marquee – The artwork at the top of the cabinet that displays the games name (usually back-lit by a florescent light) sometimes called a header
• Bezel – The artwork that sits around the monitor or rather glass screen that covers the monitor (usually playing instructions)
• Schematics – The manual for how the game runs, shows circuit diagrams for every part of the board
• Bootleg – A term for an arcade board which is NOT made by the original manufacturers (also copy board).

Common Abbreviations

• PCB – Printed Circuit Board or arcade board to you and me!
• PSU – Power Supply Unit
• SMPSU – Switch mode power supply unit
• RGB – “Red-Green-Blue” as in the type of monitor
• VCC – Power supply (TTL High) Most often +5 volts
• GND – 0 volts - logic ground (TTL Low)
• CPU – Central Processing Unit (The engine that drives the game)
• RAM – Random Access Memory (e.g. video memory)
• ROM – Read-Only Memory (Usually the game code)
• TTL – Transistor-to-Transistor Logic - 74xx series logic chips
• CMOS – Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor - 40xx series logic chips
• PROM – A form of digital memory where the contents can be changed once after manufacture of the device.
• EPROM – Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
• EEPROM – Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
• IC – Integrated Circuit i.e. a microchip/semiconductor
• DIL – Dual In-Line (socket)
• DIP – Dual In-Line Package
• UKVAC – United Kingdom Video Arcade Collectors
• RGVAC – rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (newsgroup)
• CPO – Control Panel Overlay
• AWP – Amusement With Prize (e.g. fruit machine)
• SWP – Skill With Prize (e.g. quiz payout machine)
• DPDT – Double Pole, Double Throw
• SPDT – Single Pole, Double Throw
• EM – Electro-Mechanical
• LED – Light Emitting Diode
• LOPT – Line Output Transformer
• NOS – New Old Stock