arcade discussions

[phreak97]

one of my hobbies (and my job!) is working on arcade machines.. and i was wondering first, if anyone knows of an established arcade tech community (like this one, but for arcade games), or second, if anyone thinks it would be worthwhile adding a a section to gamesx to cover it.

i'm working on my second arcade cab now, and it's not far off finished.. be nice to talk to someone about it:)

[NFG]

This forum's seen a definite increase in traffic of late and I think it could stand an arcade section... 

[phreak97]

i really hope it gets some traffic, i cant be the only one crazy enough to buy ancient arcade games that dont work..

[viletim]

There are quite a lot of web forums and newsgroups dedicated to arcade stuff. There's even an aussie one, though the're kind of exclusive because they don't allow non-members to read posts.

[ken_cinder]

KLOV's forums are by and far the largest you will find on the net. They are dedicated to arcade hardware and nothing else. I however think that in general, they don't have the "electronics knowhow" you will find here, but a handful of experts when it comes to repair of arcade hardware.

http://www.klov.com/

Not sure if we really need an arcade section here, I think it will just devalue the other sections, as EVERY aspect of arcade hardware can be covered in the other sections and would be better off there.

ie; A video question/project that involves arcade hardware, is just as well off in the video section.......it CAN provide valuable information relating to other problems/questions/projects that may be overlooked by someone that may pass an "Arcade" forum by.

[phreak97]

i had already found klov, but i havnt looked much into it yet.
you might be right about an arcade section.. but then so far nobody's posted much in the way of arcade stuff, and i think that's mainly because it doesnt look like the forums cover it.

[ken_cinder]

Or the fact there is a limited number of us that own arcade hardware?
And most of us that do, know a fair bit about how it works and ask limited questions?

I'm not totally against it, but what would it encompass that couldn't be covered in all other sections? Most posts regarding arcade hardware here, tend to be supergun et al related, and are something specific like AV issues, which those respective forums encompass in general.

I guess I just wouldn't want to see a post in an arcade section with valuable information that could pertain to something non-arcade, go unnoticed because the user isn't interested in arcade machines. We all do some off the wall stuff here, that tends to yield useful information to the uninformed.
Just take a look at my first half a dozen posts or so and you'd probably get an idea of what I mean. My posts would probably have been overlooked by the more inclined users here that gave me some ideas, that aren't necessarily interested in arcade stuff. My posts being generally AV related, I got helpful generalized answers that I could apply to something besides my arcade hardware if I needed to.

[Akir]

Oh, come on, we soooooo definately need an arcade section.

Of course this is because I am an arcade fanatic.

And Phreak, I would buy old arcade hardware that doesn't work If I had any money. I saw someone who was selling a (working) R360 not too long ago.

[NFG]

Poll added!  14 days to make your voice heard.

[viletim]

Nah, cause this place is divided up too much already. And IJTF_Cinder makes a good point that most arcade related topics that come up here fit well enough in the existing structure.

[l_oliveira]

If you come to add a arcade section it could be focused on the supergun/consolized solutions, just to keep par with the console nature of the site ...

[RGB32E]

Here's a doozy...

I picked up a lot of arcade boards the other day and have noticed a similar issue regarding the RGB output on early 90s Midway boards.  The video output when connected to my Sony PVM-2030 is really dark with the following games: NBA Jam, Total Carnage, and Primal Rage. 

The cable I normally use to connect the RGBS output from the jamma harness has ~160 ohm resistors in series to reduce the video voltage level on the RGB lines (way too bright otherwise).  I built another cable without resistors, and the image did not appear to be much brighter, if at all.  I then tried connecting series capacitors on the RGB lines (220uf - negative end towards PVM) and the picture brightened significantly.  Can anyone explain with what is going on here?

Also, does this kind of question belong in the RGB section, or would it be more appropriate in a new Arcade section of this forum???   

[kendrick]

RGB32E, there's two days left in the poll. If you'd like to start a conversation now, please post a new thread in the RGB forum. If an Arcade section is created, Lawrence or I will move the topic as necessary.

[Mr-Megalo]

I think an arcade section would go down well on here, simply because you guys are so damn clever with so many things !

[RGB32E]

RGB32E, there's two days left in the poll. If you'd like to start a conversation now, please post a new thread in the RGB forum. If an Arcade section is created, Lawrence or I will move the topic as necessary.

Done...  But the main thing I'd like to hear (subject of the voting thread) is if this kind of question would be more appropriately created in an arcade section.  I've read the "as necessary", but am curious to get peoples take on this.

[Drakon]

I have a hard enough time finding communities in interest of superguns.  So real arcade stuff....spleh

[ken_cinder]

I have a hard enough time finding communities in interest of superguns.  So real arcade stuff....spleh

You're not looking very hard lol

Want a list?

[Drakon]

I have a hard enough time finding communities in interest of superguns.  So real arcade stuff....spleh

You're not looking very hard lol

Want a list?

sure.  Nobody seemed very interested in my supergun project log thread though.

[undamned]

Here are the places I discuss arcade hardware:

Shmups Hardware Forum

Arcade Otaku

And once in a while I hit this place:
http://www.sega-naomi.com/forum/index.php

-ud

[kendrick]

If you're more than a contributing member to any forums or groups that you link to here on GamesX, please exercise full disclosure and let us know about it. I personally appreciate that courtesy so that I know if people with a vested interest are promoting a site, so if you happen to own the page or function as an administrator or moderator please say so.

[NFG]

Certainly it makes sense to mention you run the place, but I think anyone who moderates a community is more likely to be a valued member than someone with a 'vested interest'.

I can certainly vouch for shmups, I know the guy who runs that one well.

[phreak97]

the "build your own arcade controls" forums are great for most things (google it), www.aussiearcade.com.au is pretty good too.

[undamned]

If you're more than a contributing member to any forums or groups that you link to here on GamesX, please exercise full disclosure and let us know about it. I personally appreciate that courtesy so that I know if people with a vested interest are promoting a site, so if you happen to own the page or function as an administrator or moderator please say so.

1. Lighten up.

2. My links were a direct answer to the original post:

i was wondering first, if anyone knows of an established arcade tech community (like this one, but for arcade games)

3. Did you even look in the Shmups hardware section?  Did you happen to notice that our dear viletim has a nice 2 page arcade hardware related thread going there?

4. Quit taking yourself so seriously.

-ud

[NFG]

Kendrick mods these forums with an iron but loving hand.  It's not a problem, it's a calling.  

So yeah.  He may be tightly wound, but his points are valid.  He wasn't rude or unreasonable in asking that sites mentioned are properly disclosed.  No fight is being started here.

Note too that undamned is my #1 favourite forum denizen at this time, and for the forseeable future.  You rock.

[kendrick]

Kendrick mods these forums with an iron but loving hand.  It's not a problem, it's a calling.

That's fantastic, you make me sound like Goebbels.

If you're interested in the background, we had a lot of posts back in 2006 that were intended to bring clickthrough traffic for someone else's advertising. Over time, posts that had nothing else but a line that said "Hey, click over here" and a URL came to generate only suspicion. It's part of why there's moderation now. I'm not saying that the current part of the thread is like that, only that I have to apply equal standards to all moderation. I'm the bad cop, which lets Lawrence (as the forum owner) be the good cop.

Like all web forums, communication here is text-only and lacks the context of physical communication. Also, you can't count on new readers or content aggregators knowing anything about your posting history. I'm familiar with all the sites that have been, er, cited recently in the thread, but that doesn't mean anybody else is. An extra line or two of prose to fill in that context is easy to do, and adds credibility with very little extra effort.

[RobIvy64]

+1 here for an arcade tech section. It has been the direction my interest has ventured for a few years now, and I own a few machines and PCBs.

[NFG]

I think the forum is already spread very thin.  There's not much traffic here, and there are already a lot of arcade forums that handle the topic better than we ever could.

Don't get me wrong, I love the arcades and I love to talk about them, but I don't know if it's a good idea to do it here.  I mean, only seven people cared enough about the topic to vote on it, and it was basically 50/50.

Go on, convince me.  =)

[RobIvy64]

I say convert the PC hackery forum.

Oh yeah.

Spice it up!

[phreak97]

thats a point.. how much traffic does that get? I know I voted to say that it was a good idea, but I'll admit I'm sometimes wrong:P

[RobIvy64]

When I first posted that as a suggestion, the last post was from May 13th. Lawrence has since replied to that post. Defending it maybe?  

I would like to start an "arcade PCB pictures" thread. Why? Because we are all nerds, and looking at PCBs is cool. Damnit.

[phreak97]

no harm in starting that thread in general discussions, i have a few to post.

[NFG]

Arcade board created.  Get postin'!

[RobIvy64]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbadbxN8HeA

[phreak97]

hey lawrence, wheres our video integration?

[NFG]

That's gotta be one of the first videos ever posted here! 

I'll install it later tonight.

[NFG]

Update: Video embedding is now enabled.