SOLVED: ArPiCade and Jamma Switcher - Weird Problem

[ScoobyDoo]

Hi.

I have a modern reproduction of a Defender cabinet with a 19-in-1 PCB to which I'm adding an ArPiCade. I plan to use both the 19-in-1 PCB and ArPiCade via a 2-in-1 JAMMA Switcher since the control layout for my cabinet works for most games on the ArPiCade but is FUBAR for Defender. I'm using the standard 2-in-1 JAMMA Switcher you see on the internet (GBS 8118). The switcher has JAMMA input and VGA input slots for Card 1, JAMMA input and VGA input slots for Card 2, and JAMMA output and VGA output to the cabinet.

Here is what's interesting:

• Hooking up only the ArPiCade directly to my cabinet via the cabinet JAMMA Harness and Monitor (without the switcher), the ArPiCade works.

• Hooking up only the 19-in-1 directly to my cabinet via the cabinet JAMMA Harness and Monitor (without the switcher), the 19-in-1 works.

• Adding the switcher and hooking up the ArPiCade to the Card 1 JAMMA and VGA slots with the 19-in-1 to the Card 2 JAMMA and VGA slots results in everything working except the video for the ArPiCade. That is, I can hear the ArPiCade over the speakers but the screen states NO VIDEO SIGNAL; however, I can both hear and see the 19-in-1 if I switch to that card.

• Moving the ArPiCade to the Card 2 slots and the 19-in-1 to the Card 1 slots has the same result.

• When the 19-in-1 card runs through the switcher, games with a light background (e.g., certain levels of Super Mario Bros) are blown out (e.g., overwhelmingly bright white rather than light blue). Also, I can disconnect the VGA cord from the 19-in-1 card and the 19-in-1 video still displays on the screen via the switcher.

Thus, the ArPiCade video works when directly connected to the cabinet but, regardless of which slot in the switcher I use, the ArPiCade video won't go through when I introduce the switcher. Also, the 19-in-1 card works whether or not the VGA cord is plugged in. My suspicion is that the VGA input/output isn't working on the switcher and that the 19-in-1 is feeding its video over the JAMMA wires but, for this to be true, the ArPiCade must not be feeding its video over the JAMMA wires or else both cards would display.

Does anyone know if it is true that the ArPiCade doesn't feed video over the JAMMA wires or have any other explanation for my issue?

[dee2eR]

If you have a VGA cable plugged into the RaspberryJAMMA DAC then there will be no video on the JAMMA edge. If the DAC is plugged into the RaspberryJAMMA you will have video on the JAMMA edge. It may be worth trying the DAC into the RaspberryJAMMA to see if having the video on the JAMMA edge works with the 2 in1 switcher.
I have a 2 in 1 switcher somewhere but never got to trying it out...

If the original Defender controls don't suit your cab it may be worth trying running Defender in MAME 0.037 (MAME4all) I'm pretty sure the controls were setup wrong to play easily on a regular control panel in the earliest versions of MAME. It may match the control setup on the 19 in 1, I'm not sure about that though.

[ScoobyDoo]

So it turns out that the presence of JAMMA wires for video prevents the video from passing through the switcher via the VGA cables. I was using JAMMA extenders between the ArPiCade and the switcher as well as between the 19-in-1 and the switcher - by cutting the video wires on the JAMMA extenders, everything started working as it should. I figure I'm never going to run video over the JAMMA wires so no harm done.