Updates

I will be putting up some pictures and details of a new tiny encoder which will be comming soon, measuring just 2"x1.5" it is a small size lower cost encoder.

New board pictures of the production model  !!

History

A while back I was asked by a friend to help in a project to connect an arcade board to a large screen TV. After some experimentation a board was designed and built which took the RGB  & sync outputs from a normal JAMMA game ( and non-JAMMA games too ) and encoded it into a video signal to connect the board to a TV.

I'm now offering this to other 'Arcade Hobbyists' who might find the idea of connecting games to a TV fun or useful.


What does it do ?

This unit will convert the Red, Green and Blue video signals coming out of a video game and convert it into the composite NTSC video, or S-Video, output.

It allows you to plug a Video arcade game board into a regular TV receiver that accepts video, or S-Video input, in the NTSC encoding format.

This board ONLY works with standard resolution boardsets ( 15kHz horizontal line frequency ) it is NOT designed for medium resolution games or for VGA cards.

Who is it for ?

This board is aimed at the arcade hobbyist and home enthusiast, it is NOT designed for commercial, automotive, medical or any use outside the home as a tool for other arcade hardware fanatics.

I also do not recommend this board to anyone who is inexperienced with the hook up and wiring of arcade games. It's extremely easy to make mis-connections and destroy the arcade board, the converter, the TV and the power supply.

This sounds like something for me ?

The board is now available please mail me for exact details.

Please Note: The board is only available for shipping in the USA and Canada
Circuit diagrams/Schematics and parts lists are NOT available.
Click to E -Mail Jrok for details 

Inputs

RGB ( Red Green and Blue )  1V peak-to-peak signal,  3 adjustments are provided to match input levels from the game board to the converter.

Composite Sync  - Negative composite sync.

5V DC  - regulated power supply.  it can be powered from the same supply as the game board.

Output

NTSC composite Video
S-Video compatible 

Note: this is video output NOT modulated VHF/UHF,  a TV needs to have  a composite video or S-video input connector.

Controls

RGB level control, to adjust games which have a very high voltage level on the RGB ouput, three controls are provided to adjust the levels

Dimensions

2.5 inches square, mounting holes are 2.1  inches spacing, 0.2 inch from the board edges.

Compatibility

Because this converter 'cleans' up the incoming video signals and synchronization, to meets the exacting tolerances required for display on  a normal NTSC television receiver, the unit will work with almost every video game that gives out a composite sync and RGB signals.

This includes games which use very wide screens, also known as overscan.

A brief list of tested games

Atari
Xevious, Centipede/Millipede, Dig Dig, Food Fight

Capcom 
 CPS 1/2, Street Fighter II, Buster Bros, Commando, 1943

Midway 
 Galaxian, Moon Cresta, Gaplus, Galaga, Bosconian, Rally-X, Jr.Pacman, Ms.Pacman

Namco
 Mappy, Motor, Pacman, Air Busters, Kunckleheads, Pacland, Skykid, 
 Rolling Thunder, Metrocross, Motos

Nichibitsu
 Terra Cresta, Moon Cresta, Legion, Mag Max, Terra Force, Crazy Climber 2

Nintendo
 Popeye, VS, Mario Bros **

Tecmo 
 V-Ball

Tekhan
 Bombjack

Universal
 Mr.Do, Wild Ride, Castle

Williams/Midway
 Mortal Kombat, Smash TV, NB JAM *

Williams
 Defender***/Robotron***/Joust***

NOTE: 
*  may have vertical sync problems with Sony Wega TV sets
** required additional video invertor
*** requires board adjustment for video sync inversion