NBA Jam – 4 Player JAMMA Cabinet Conversion

STATUS: Playable in the Arcade

From time to time I will be copying in some of the old history and content from my old site. This post contains the general information This game was converted/built by jeffsgames in 1998

Description of game:

This is a home built four player JAMMA cabinet I built so I can play a few JAMMA PCB’s since I did not have full uprights for each. It was easy to do, didn’t take much more than a few common tools and a soldering iron, and is one of the favorite games for visitors to my arcade. I’ll publish a post a bit later detailing the work that I did.

Different games that this cabinet plays:

This cabinet can play basically any horizontal display JAMMA game that uses one or more joysticks for controls. Currently I play Smash TV, Street Fighter 2, TMNT, and NBA Jam. This game is a home-made conversion from an old Stern cabinet (probably Tutankham). The cab was already ruined, so I don’t feel too bad. The control panel was made from an old Kangaroo cab (also already ruined). I built it so the left and right pairs of P1-4 joysticks would be aligned horizontally with each other. The outside stations (P1 & P4) have 3 buttons each, and the inside stations (P2 & P3) have 6 each for Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, or whatever JAMMA+ game I want. My goal was to get a Smash TV board and can play it with my control panel. The cab has a really cool door at the bottom front that allows me to swap pcb’s without moving the game away from the wall.

How I got it

Picked both cabinets up with some other games in a small bulk buy. The Tut cabinet had Exerion installed in it, and was not working. It was also a poorly done conversion, with no original parts left on it. Even the metal marquee brackets were replaced with cheap plastic ones. The Kangaroo cabinet was even worse. It had Super Basketball in it. However, the structure of the cabinet was so severely damaged that I planned to cut it up and throw it out. Seemed a shame to waste the side panels at the time, so I made the control panel for this conversion out of them. Sold both PCB’s from them and stripped the cabinets for this project.

Repairs Made:

After the initial build, I did a few minor repairs to it. I changed the plugs for each joystick to db15 connectors so I can swap them around for different control configurations (see 3rd pic on the left). At the same time, I wired a couple of extra harnesses to go to Players 3 and 4 so I can have all four stations active in NBA Jam. I added some t-molding. In June 1998, the monitor went out on me. I just recapped it and replaced some transistors and it worked fine. Thanks to Bob Roberts for the parts.

What it still needs:

– NBA TE Kit or PCB (to match the graphics)
– Make Better Bezel
– Repaint the Coin Door
– Plex to cover Marquee
– Wire the Coin Door (including lights)

– New control panel (something better looking and more usable in the gameroom)

Final Thoughts:

Great cab to play all of those games that don’t deserve their own dedicated cab! I sometimes feel guilty for liking some of the more “modern” games, but oh well. A 4 -layer game of NBA Jam is great!

Links:

KLOV NBA Jam
KLOV Smash TV
KLOV Street Fighter II – Champion Edition
KLOV Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Screen Shots: