Buying TGM3

Hi guys,

Thinking of buying TGM3 / playing TGM3 with least input delay - here are my questions:

I'm assuming that TGM3 is like a computer - it has a motherboard (called taito type x) with everything on it, and connects to a hard-drive with the TGM3 data. I'm assumign this motherboard has VGA out, audio out, usb ports

• Can i plug in a usb joystick straight into the taito-type x? Will there be input delay if this is the case? Otherwise, how does input work (i read someting about jvs to jamma i/o, do i need a "jamma" type joystick?)
• Does 230/240V power work? Japan has 110v.
• I assume TGM3 you can just plug in a vga monitor?

Thanks in advance!

 

Ok so:

• Taito Type X has JVS I/O? And the point of a JVS to JAMMA is just so that i can get a JAMMA joystick? Can't i just use a JVS joystick?
• Cabinet - If i get a JVS cabinet with i just need to place the taito type x into the cabinet, correct?
• Cabinet - If i get a JAMMA cabinet, i need a JVS to JAMMA I/O and then connect the taito type x into the cabinet, correct?
• If i got a super gun, i'd need to make/find a joystick?
• Somwehre it said that people don't sell the TGM3 by itself - it comes with TaitoTypeX. So taht means if i buy TGM3 off sophia corp, they'll give me: taitoTypeX, TGM3 Hard drive, Dongle?

 

There isn't really such a thing as a JVS joystick. You can wire a joystick for JAMMA (an arcade cabinet wiring standard) and then connect that to a JVS I/O, but there is no such thing as a natively JVS joystick that you can buy standalone.

Yes, if you get a natively JVS cabinet, then you just connect the I/O etc. to the Type X.

If you get a JAMMA cabinet, you need a JVS I/O to connect the controls, correct.

As for controls with a supergun, you will likely need to make a stick or rig something up, yes. There are some Japanese "control boxes" that have a joystick integrated with all of the JAMMA/supergun parts, but usually if you buy/build your own you'll be wiring controls for a Neo-Geo controller pin-out, which has become the closest thing to a de facto standard when it comes to interfacing controls to superguns.

Sophia Corp has been listing HDD+dongle separately from the TTX hardware as of late. If you look at the prices on Tops Game, it's 51,840 yen for the game software and 23,760 yen for the hardware. When I requested a quote from Sophia Corp, they initially assumed that hardware was needed, but I was able to buy the software individually as I had already purchased a TTX from a fellow arcade collector.

 

If i got a JVS cabinet, that's a JVS joystick... right?

So does that mean I plug in the arcade stick/buttons to a JVS I/O, and then from the JVS I/O into the Type-X?

So these are the options?

• Jamma stick -> Jamma to JVS -> JVS I/O -> Type -x
• JVS stick -> JVS I/O -> type-x

Do JVS cabinets normally come with their joysticks connected to a JVS I/O board (i.e. i don't have to re-wire the joystick to an I/O board)?

 

A JVS cabinet just has a built-in JVS I/O, that's all. There's nothing special about the joystick itself.

If you get a cabinet, all the controls will already be wired to molex connectors or whatever inside the cab. So, yes, the only thing you'll need to do is connect the JVS I/O to the relevant port on the Type X.

You have the general idea more or less understood, I think.

Again, there is no such thing as a JAMMA stick vs. a JVS stick -- JAMMA is an arcade cab wiring standard and JVS is a newer standard which also entails a communications protocol. You're probably not ever going to see an standalone arcade stick (i.e., a fully built product like the ones you plug into consoles via USB or whatever) with a JAMMA edge connector coming off of it (unless it is an incorporated supergun/"control box"), nor a JVS connection (unless you stick the I/O board in there yourself). Moreover, the joystick itself (i.e. the bare part that you put in the controller/cabinet) is just a lever that actuates four microswitches and is connected to whatever connector or PCB by simple wire.

http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Beginners_Guide_To_Candy_Cabs may come in handy.

 

Yup, read that guide, it wasn't quite clear enough to me.

Ahh ok, now i understand - there are parts (stick, buttons) all with ground/live wires and if you have it wired for JVS then all those wires go to a jvs i/o, if you have it wired for jamma then all those wires go to a jamma i/o.

So hypothetically I could get any old cabinet that syncs at 31khz, and then put in my own JVS I/O...

 

Thanks, didn't know that.

Another question:
Are all candy cabinets convertible to two player? I.e. if it only has a control panel with one player centred, you can just get a new one (or make your own panel and drill button sized holes into it), wire up an additional joystick and then your good to go?

Additional Question 2:

just found out that tgm3 requires a dongle? And that everyone's dongles have died? Are you basically screwed if the dongle dies? :/

 

You can buy a new panel for two players and posts to populate the second set of controls.

The game hard drive and USB security plug will come together. If for whatever reason one fails, they are interchangeable but you shouldn't expect the PCB shop to have one on hand — when mine arrived DOA, I was fortunate they were able to locate and send me a replacement. (Shoutouts to Tops Game/Sophia Corp.) If it fails later down the line and you want to keep your kit in legit operation, you'll probably have to return the part to the vendor and pay Taito's service fee (which sounds like it is north of 100USD, ouch). There are alternatives at varying levels of legitimacy to "phoenix" a kit, but the 100% proper setup has proven kind of flaky (at least for Western players so far!).