b>Installing New Pushbuttons in your Arcade Game Cabinet

Written by Tim Hensel

JammaBoards.com

Installing additional arcade pushbuttons into your current arcade cabinet can be easier than you might think. There are a lot of older arcade game cabinets around that have become nice additions into arcade fans basements, garages, and game rooms. Most of the older cabinets however only have a standard two-player setup with only a single joystick controller and 2 or 3 push buttons per player. Unless the game cabinet is a dedicated setup to one of the famous top 100 games of all time; Pac-Man, Asteroids, Galaxian, and so on, the arcade game player will usually want to upgrade their existing cabinet to another game or even turning the cabinet into a MAME™ computer controlled system. One of the most common games that the avid player wants to upgrade their cabinet game to is one of the 90's 6-button fighter games. Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and all similar games use the standard JAMMA 3 button setup plus the additional JAMMA+ buttons. Games like these would require the installation of additional push buttons into the cabinets control panel.

Installing a new button into the control panel.

Tools Required:

Drill

Hole saw cutter 1-3/16" in size (*)

Protective eyewear

(*)Hole saw type could either be a woodcutter or bi-metal cutter. A bi-metal cutting hole saw has better cutting performance and costs a few more dollars but would be required if your cabinets control panel is metal.

Parts Required:

Arcade Pushbutton w/ micro-switch

Items recommended but may not be required:

Arcade Pushbutton nut wrench/socket (Makes it easier to tighten the nut around the pushbutton.)

Soldering Iron (Soldering the ground loop over to your new buttons.)

Sandpaper (Smooth out the edges of the drilled holes if needed for neater appearance and easier button install.)

Paper dust mask

Step 1: Planning the install.

Plan your layout / pushbutton placement on the control panel. You can check out one of these two sample layout templates for ideas, or use the pushbutton layouts themselves. Make sure that your new buttons are not spaced to far apart or in awkward positions. Likewise, ensure that you hole placements will not be too close which can cause problems when installing the buttons. Minimum spacing between each button should be at least 2.5" measured from the center of each pushbutton placement.

SAMPLE LAYOUT 1: CAPCOM 6 Button Fighter Style Layout

SAMPLE LAYOUT 2: JAPANESE Curved 6 Button Style Layout

SAMPLE LAYOUT 3: Basic CAPCOM 6 Joystick & Button Layout

If you would like to use any of the above samples, just make sure that you print out the graphic to scale so it is accurate. They can be clicked on and downloaded from the original article list on JammaBoards.com (http://www.jammaboards.com/jcenter_installing_pushbuttons.html)

Step 2: Drilling into the panel.

** For Step 2, be sure to wear the protective eyewear / goggles to avoid getting debris from hitting your eye and causing possible injury.

Using the drill with the hole saw cutter attached begin drilling. Be sure to drill straight down, or at a 90-degree right angle from the control panel surface.

TIP: It may be a good idea to practice using the hole saw on a piece of scrap board or metal to get the feel of how the hole saw will cut before making a permanent hole in your control panel.

Once the first hole is drilled out, give it a good visual inspection. If needed, use some sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges around the inside/outer edges of the newly drilled hole.

Continue drilling out the remaining holes and inspecting them as you go along.

Step 3: Installing / Assembling the pushbutton.

Install the pushbutton but inserting it through the top of the hole in the control panel. Once inserted, screw on the pushbutton nut that was included with the pushbutton. While each pushbutton is still slightly loose and can rotate, it is a good idea to make sure that the micro-switch direction faces all in the same direction as the buttons you already have installed. Not only will this give a much better looking appearance when viewing the underside of the control panel, but it will also make it visually easier when attaching the wires to the micro-switch leafs. Now tighten the nuts for each pushbutton and if you have one, use a pushbutton wrench to tighten the nut.

Next install the micro-switch into the bottom of the pushbutton. Depending upon which type of pushbutton you have installed, carefully insert/install the micro-switch.

Step 4: Wiring the Pushbutton micro-switch.

One side of the micro-switch must be connected to the ground loop already going around the control panel. All games use the ground voltage level as the trigger when the pushbutton is depressed.

The easiest and most common way to connect the micro-switches into the ground loop is by directly soldering black wire from one micro-switch to another. Using the other micro-switches already located in the arcade cabinet control panel as a reference, connect the ground loop the same way to your new pushbutton micro-switches.

For the other micro-switch leaf connection, connect up JAMMA+ harness (Street Fighter II Kick Harness, Mortal Kombat Low Punch/Kick Button Harness, etc...whatever arcade game board you are planning to use with the extra buttons that were just installed. If you have installed the ground loop over from the original pushbuttons, then you do not need to connect to ground coming from the JAMMA+ harness if provided.

This article can found in it's full html listing format at JammaBoards.com (http://www.jammaboards.com/jcenter_installing_pushbuttons.html)