What's going on?
A while back I was given a MK3 cabinet. When I turn it on it'll play the demo & diagnostic screen but noting else, the speaker is blown & when I ran a diagnostic it said a few of the buttons were dead. My questions are:


Would it be worth finding the problem or is a new Jamma board the way to go?
How do I get to the diagnostic screen (been so long I forgot)?
What size is the speaker?
MK2 cabinet upgraded to MK3, as far as the board, am I limited to MK3, any MK, or any game?
What is a good brand of buttons?
What is the value of a fully functioning cabinet?

Let me know if pictures are needed. All help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:Would it be worth finding the problem or is a new Jamma board the way to go?

It's hard to tell what the problem can be without pictures. It sounds like it might be a lot more troubling fixing the problem than just get a new Jamma board though. You would also want to replace the speakers if they are busted (you could with a pair of cheap car speakers and a small amp).

LegalizeFreedom wrote:How do I get to the diagnostic screen (been so long I forgot)?

I've never owned a MK3, but there's usually a service button.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What size is the speaker?

Try and check the Klov listing for details: http://klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8754

LegalizeFreedom wrote:MK2 cabinet upgraded to MK3, as far as the board, am I limited to MK3, any MK, or any game?

Just replace the Jamma cartridge and you can play any game you want on it.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What is a good brand of buttons?

Happ or Sanwa, depends what you prefer. Happs are a little bit more durable but Sanwa feels a little stiffer.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What is the value of a fully functioning cabinet?

Check eBay.

Sorry I couldn't give you more detailed info, but I have no experience at all with MK cabs. Best of luck though!

I currently own two MKII cabinets (one was converted into an Ultimate MK3) so I can try to help your situation.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:When I turn it on it'll play the demo & diagnostic screen but noting else

What do you mean by "demo" because usually the demo plays only after the board starts up which is after the diag screen. If it is the gameplay demo then it looks like only part of your board is defective. Fortunately there are many ROM chips on a board, so if one or two go out, you only need to replace them and not the whole board. However, to see if that's the case, you'll need to load the startup test. It checks all the ROMs and displays them as green or red depending on whether they're good or bad. But you say that you see the diagnostics screen, so are you already seeing the ROM checks? If so and everything looks green, then you will have to replace the board.

If not, you can load the power up test by opening your cabinet and turning on dip switch number 2 on switch bank number 2. This forces the game to check the ROMs everytime the machine is turned on. If you can access it, you'll also be able to see the ROM check through the service menu. It's a little red button on the inside of the coin door.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:Would it be worth finding the problem or is a new Jamma board the way to go?

If you feel liike buying a new board to save time, then it's worth it. However, based on your findings from above, you may have to anyway.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What size is the speaker?

There are two speakers behind the marquee. One is a 6" woofer and the other is a 2" or 3" tweeter. These can be replaced by using the same size speaker, but they're such basic speakers, you won't want to spend too much money trying to get some high end car stereo speaker. Plus, the sound boards on these old arcades just aren't up to par with today's standards.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:MK2 cabinet upgraded to MK3, as far as the board, am I limited to MK3, any MK, or any game?

The point of a JAMMA connector is to have the ability to switch out JAMMA boards with new games. You can actually put just about any JAMMA game in your cabinet and the only thing that you'd have to worry about are the buttons. Every game is different and therefore some use 2 buttons, 3, 4, etc. The problem with the JAMMA connector is that it only supports 3 buttons, the joystick, coin 1 and start for each player. Other buttons (like the other 3 required for MK3) have to have secondary wireing harnesses. You'll see these harnesses in your cabinet (they're blue). They get connected directly to the game board because JAMMA can't handle them. Sooo, going changing to another MK game would be the easiest, but it's also possible to go to other games as well.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What is a good brand of buttons?

I get all my buttons from Happ Controls, but I don't buy them from their website. I get them all off eBay because there are resellers out there that will sell you packages of buttons that include the microswitches for a lot cheaper than Happ sells them for directly. TornadoTerrys.com is the eBay seller I usually get things from.

LegalizeFreedom wrote:What is the value of a fully functioning cabinet?

Value in arcade games is directly controlled by the buyer. Unfortunately, there's not much public interest in these games, so the market tends to be led by a smaller minority that dictates pricing simply based on how much someone is willing to pay and also where the item is located (shipping these things is expensive). In my example alone, I bought my first machine for $650 and then I found another for $500. The $500 one was closer to my home and in MUCH better shape! This one is my pride and joy because it's all original and looks brand new. So, you never know what you're going to get. I've even seen MK machines sell for as high as $1200. By the way, I found both of mine on eBay.

I hope all this helps in some way. It's nice to see others like me out there who own these old machines.