Can I play games that aren't JAMMA?
Building a loom is pretty basic to be fair, but it is time consuming! The good news is that there are relatively few games that have unique looms and most games are easily converted to JAMMA. Here's a quick table with a guide to pinouts: (NOTE! This is by no means a FULL list! And some games have mild differences such as Tehkan - Bomb Jack and Star Force; The coin up and start button are swapped)
Bally SAC |
Goalie Ghost Hat Trick Mini Golf Snake Pit |
Bally Sente |
Gimme a Break Stocker Street Football |
Capcom Classic |
Commando Ghosts 'n Goblins Legendary Wings Section Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Data East Classic |
Express Raider Karate Champ Ring King Shootout |
Data East Cassette |
Bump 'n Jump Burgertime Lock 'n Chase |
Exidy Crossbow |
Cheyenne Crossbow Chiller Top Secret |
Exidy MAX-A-FLEX |
Astro Chase Boulder Dash Bristles Flip Flop |
Exidy Targ |
Fax Spectar Targ Venture |
Falcon |
Crazy Kong Crazy Kong Jr. Ms. Pac-Man [bootleg] Pirhana |
Gottlieb |
Krull Mad Planets Q*bert Reactor |
Irem |
10-Yard Fight Kung-Fu Master Moon Patrol Motorace USA |
Konami Classic |
Amidar Gyruss Scramble Super Cobra Time Pilot |
Midway 8080 |
Sea Wolf Space Encouters Space Invaders |
Midway Flicky |
Flicky Mr. Viking SWAT Up 'n Down |
Midway MCR II |
Domino Man Satan's Hollow Tron Two Tigers |
Midway MCRIII |
Discs of Tron Journey Spy Hunter Tapper |
Midway Mono Board |
Blasted Power Drive Rampage Xenophobe |
Namco Galaxian |
Galaxian Ms. Pac-Man Pac-Man Tank Battalion |
Namco Galaga |
Galaga Gaplus Mappy Metro Cross 1 Sky Kid |
Namco System 246 |
Bloody Roar 3 Ridge Racer V: Arcade Battle |
Nichibutsu |
Mag Max Terra Cresta UFO Robo Dangar |
Nintendo Classic |
Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Jr. Mario Bros. Popeye |
Nintendo PlayChoice |
Castlevania Mike Tyson's Punchout |
Nintendo Vs. |
Dr. Mario Duck Hunt Goonies Super Mario Bros. |
Sega After Burner |
After Burner GP Rider Super Monaco GP Thunder Blade |
Sega G80 System - Raster |
005 Astro Blaster Monster Bash Space Odyssey |
Sega Galaxy Force |
G-LOC Galaxy Force Power Drift Rail Chase |
Sega Model 1 |
Star Wars Arcade |
Sega Model 2 |
Daytona USA Desert Tank Fighting Vipers Gunblade NY |
Sega Model 3 |
Dirt Devils Magical Truck Adventure Sega Bass Fishing |
Sega Naomi Multi |
Airline Pilots Deluxe F355 |
Sega System 8 |
Choplifter My Hero Ninja Pitfall II Wonderboy |
Sega System 16 |
Altered Beast ESWAT Golden Axe Shinobi |
Sega System 24 |
Bonanza Bros. Crack Down Gain Ground Hot Rod |
Sega System 32 |
Arabian Fight Exhaust Note Rad Mobile |
Sega Zaxxon |
Congo Bongo Future Spy Super Zaxxon Zaxxon |
SNK |
ASO Alpha Mission Ikari Warriors TNK III |
Taito Classic |
Arkanoid Bubble Bobble Elevator Action Jungle King |
Taito F2 System |
Dino Rex Metal Black Pu Li Ru La |
Tehkan |
Bomb Jack Mega Force Rygar Star Force |
Universal |
Do! Run Run Ladybug Mr. Do! Mr. Do!'s Castle |
Williams |
Bubbles Defender Joust Robotron Stargate |
If the game you are looking for is not listed try doing a search in KLOV and note the conversion class. If the class is not listed try looking on SPIES in the board pinouts section (also, try looking in the manuals section). If there's no luck there, do a search in Google or finally just ask on one of the lists (UKVAC OR the RGVAC newsgroup). Someone is bound to know!
Making the loom itself is easy! Here is a short guide, else Click Here for a more detailed pictorial guide.
You will need: (For more on these tools see Basic Tools)
- A soldering iron
- Solder
- Wire
- The appropriate edge connector (and/or whatever the game needs for connections)
- A JAMMA fingerboard
- (Optional) Shrink wrap tubing or insulation tape (and a steady hand!)
I find it easier to cut and strip all the wire first, so its ready to used. But its entirely up to you, this section is pretty short for a reason... Here's the guide:
Using the pinouts for the game in question, make a connection from the edge connector to the matching connection on the JAMMA fingerboard. Add shrink wrap tubing or wrap insulation tape (carefully!) around the connections on the edge connector to prevent accidental short circuits (should metal things fall onto the loom! Or to cover up/separate messy soldering which may cause a connection)
That's it!!! I can be of more help by saying that the edge connector will be lettered and numbered usually on the front where it plugs onto the board and these 'should' match up to the pinouts. It is always an idea though to ensure the pinouts aren't upside-down to your board, the last thing you want is to send +12Volts up where it shouldn't go... I say this not because someone may have made a mistake with the pinouts (although that is always possible too) but because who's to say what's the correct way round for the board?? Looking towards the board the edge connector would be completely the opposite way round from having the board on your lap with the edge connector facing away from you! Indeed some people also mark their pinouts with the solder side on top! Just be careful and sensible, its not difficult to make a mistake but then its not difficult to prevent one either. As I've discussed before, check the (wider) power rails on the PCB line up with your pinouts and for a foolproof way, find the pinouts of one of the IC's on the board (use The Chip Directory) and check where the GND and VCC (+5V) go to on the edge connector using a multimeter on the continuity setting.

