Modernising a cabinet (video, PSU, JVS, PC-in-cab)¶

Cabinet modernisation techniques are common to almost every cab (Sega/Taito candy cabs, deluxe, western). This page centralises the options; each cabinet page links here. We describe the method, never ROMs/BIOS.

See also the JAMMA wiring, JVS wiring, control panels, power supply and the Supergun (playing an isolated PCB).

Video — the crux¶

CRT chassis = high voltage

Any work on a cab CRT chassis involves lingering high voltage (flyback/anode) even when off. Discharge the tube and follow the rules → CRT safety.

Candy cabs already output clean analog RGB (15 kHz, sometimes 24/31 kHz). Options:

Keep the CRT 🟡 (best look): ideal for 15/24 kHz PCBs. Service → monitor chassis.
Tri-sync / 31 kHz 🟠 (Naomi, VGA, 31 kHz games): a tri-sync chassis swap (Wei-Ya, Makvision, Kortek) → recent tri-sync chassis. Otherwise the PCB stays locked to 15/24 kHz on an MS8/MS9.
Upscale to a modern display 🟢: OSSC (via a JAMMA→SCART/RGB extractor), RetroTINK 2X/4K, or GBS-Control (open firmware on a GBS-8200/8241 board, the budget option).
LCD conversion 🟡: LCD screen kits for candy cabs (lighter/brighter, at the cost of latency and the CRT look) — a trade-off choice.

Power supply¶

A modern Mean Well supply 🟢 (RS/LRS/RQ series) replacing the drifting old candy/Sega bricks → set the +5 V measured at the JAMMA edge (0.1 V matters: aim for ~5.0-5.1 V under load, as close to the board as possible). See Sega PSU repair and power supply.
Separate +5 V logic / +12 V amp / dedicated +5 V per load (logic +5 V must not sag when the amp draws current).

Multi-game & testing¶

Supergun: take a PCB out of the cab to test/play it on a display → Supergun page.
Multi-JAMMA switch: swap several PCBs on one harness (mind the pinout/kick harness).
JAMMA extractor: cleanly taps RGB+sync+audio to an upscaler without touching the harness.

JAMMA ↔ JVS¶

Recent cabs (Naomi, Lindbergh, Vewlix) are JVS (USB + separate power), not JAMMA:

Running a JAMMA PCB in a JVS cab (or vice-versa) 🟡: goes through a JVS I/O board → JVS I/O boards.
Driving JVS from a PC/Pi 🟢: OpenJVS (Raspberry Pi as JVS I/O) or commercial I/O boards; on the control side, Brook / Undamned UD-USB convert arcade controls to USB.

Control panel & encoders¶

Sticks 🟢: Sanwa JLF, Seimitsu LS-32/LS-56 (modern, available); buttons Sanwa OBSF-30 / Seimitsu (screw/clip mount, 110 faston).
Encoder → USB (PC/Pi) 🟢: I-PAC / J-PAC (Ultimarc) — the J-PAC has a JAMMA edge to plug a PC straight into the harness; Brook, Undamned UD-USB. Details → control panels.

PC / FPGA in the cab (consolizing)¶

GroovyMAME + CRT Emudriver: drive the real CRT at native 15 kHz from a PC (supported ATI cards) → authentic arcade look, VGA → JAMMA output.
Raspberry Pi 15 kHz (Pi2SCART / VGA666) or MiSTer FPGA + an analog video board → 15 kHz output compatible with the cab CRT.
JVS: pair with OpenJVS to reuse a JVS cab's I/O and controls.

Audio¶

A modern amp (mono/stereo per cab) replacing the tired original amp; respect the speaker impedance. Many candy cabs are stereo (see the cabinet's page).

Sources & attribution¶

Established community documentation (OSSC/VideoGamePerfection, GBS-Control, RetroRGB, Ultimarc, OpenJVS, GroovyMAME) — synthesis, no invented URL.
Mean Well = the standard industrial PSU maker used across the arcade scene.

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.