This DIY Adapter Lets You Connect Your JAMMA Arcade Cabinet to a PC

The Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association (JAMMA) was an organization that created standards for video arcade cabinets in the 1980s. Prior to that standardization, arcade owners would scrap outdated arcade cabinets or retrofit them at great expense. JAMMA standards, which included wiring for the controls and video screens, let owners reuse cabinets and swap out games for a reasonable price. If Super Pac-Man wasn't doing well, they could swap it for a Donkey Kong 3 cartridge and wrap the cabinet in new graphics. If you have a JAMMA arcade cabinet, you can use the DIY MONSTERBASH adapter to connect it to a modern PC.

MONSTERBASH is an adapter you can build yourself in order to fit a computer inside of a JAMMA arcade cabinet without much modification. If that computer is running a software emulator, you will be able to enjoy a wide range of classic arcade games. You can even map the control inputs to play new games. For example, you could create a Minecraft arcade cabinet. MONSTERBASH performs two very important functions: it sends control inputs from the arcade cabinet to the PC and it translates the PC's video output into an appropriate signal for the vintage CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) monitor.

This is a DIY project, which means that you will need some technical skill to assemble the MONSTERBASH adapter. It is a shield for the Arduino DUE development board that contains all of the additional hardware that you need for video and audio amplification. The PCB for the MONSTERBASH shield is purchasable through PCBway. Most of the components are through-hole, but there is at least one SMD chip that will take a light hand to solder. The Arduino code is supplied and makes the board appear as a standard USB HID keyboard, mouse, and joystick when connected to a PC. After plugging in the cables, you just have to make sure the controls are properly mapped in your emulator and then you can start playing!