Understand the JAMMA PCB and the edge connector pinout

First, here is a little story behind the meaning of the acronym, JAMMA.

In the dark days of the Golden Age of arcade video games (1984 and earlier), game makers operated in small exclusive domains where they designed game components in the way that best served their own interests.

Consequently, they each had their own circuit cards, power supplies, and wiring harnesses. There was essentially no interchangeability of components between a manufacturer’s gaming cabinet and a gaming cabinet made by someone else.

Thanks to the Japanese, around 1985, all that exclusivity was put to rest. The Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association (JAMMA) created some industry standards, particularly for the design of gaming printed circuit boards (PCBs). And things changed forever.

The most important and influential of these new standards was the PCB standard pinout. Any gaming PCB that meets that pinout standard is what we now call a JAMMA board. You can see the JAMMA logo stamped near the pinout section of a JAMMA plate. Almost all JAMMA boards sport that logo.

The wiring that connects the game components (monitor, power supply, control panel, speaker, etc.) to the PCB is called the JAMMA wiring harness. The 56-pin edge connector wiring harness sits on the pin fingers of the PCB.

There are many JAMMA terms that we have heard and used frequently: JAMMA board, JAMMA harness, JAMMA edge connector, JAMMA cabinet, etc. The root of its meaning is nothing more than the concept of interchangeability of PCBs between cabinets of different manufacturers.

And it’s the JAMMA standard PCB pinout (shown below) that has made this possible.

The following JAMMA pin distribution board is basically a map of the JAMMA wiring harness, 56 pin edge connector. When properly seated on the PCB, the connectors on the edge connector will line up with the fingers of the PCB, and your game will be played.

When you get tired of a game, you can plug and play the JAMMA PCB for your next favorite game. Plug-and-play simply means disconnecting the edge connector from one PCB and plugging it into another PCB.

And that plug-and-play process can go on and on, because there are now 1,000 of JAMMA gaming PCBs that you can play in your JAMMA cabinet. Thank you Japan

PINOUT JAMMA TABLE

Solder side – Alpha characters – 28-pin – A-Z, a-f

The solder side is the bottom side of the PCB. It is the side where the welded connections of the parts are exposed to view. Few, if any, are found on the weld side. The pinout on the weld side is identified by alphabetic characters.

Parts side – Numeric characters – 28 pins – 1-28

The parts side is the top side of the PCB. It is the side where the parts meet. The side pinout of the parts is identified with numeric characters.

Usually the PCB is printed and the edge connector is engraved with the alphabetic and numeric characters.

EARTH – A, 1

EARTH – B, 2

+ 5VDC – C, 3

+ 5VDC – D, 4

-5VDC – E, 5

+ 12VDC – F, 6

KEY SLOT – H, 7

COIN COUNTER # 2 – J

COIN COUNTER # 1 – 8

COIL LOCK # 2 – K

COIL LOCK # 1 – 9

SPEAKER (-) – L

SPEAKER (+) – 10

N / C – M

N / C – 11

GREEN VIDEO – N

RED VIDEO – 12

SINC VIDEO – P

BLUE VIDEO – 13

SERVICE SWITCH – R

VIDEO LAND – 14

TILT SWITCH (SLAM) – S

TEST SWITCH – 15

CURRENCY SWITCH # 2 – T

CURRENCY SWITCH # 1 – 16

PLAYER 2 – START – U

PLAYER 1 – START – 17

PLAYER 2 – UP – V

PLAYER 1 – UP – 18

PLAYER 2 – BELOW – W

PLAYER 1 – BELOW – 19

PLAYER 2 – LEFT – X

PLAYER 1 – LEFT – 20

PLAYER 2 – RIGHT – Y

PLAYER 1 – RIGHT – 21

PLAYER 2 – BUTTON 1 – Z

PLAYER 1 – BUTTON 1 – 22

PLAYER 2 – BUTTON 2 – a

PLAYER 1 – BUTTON 2 – 23

PLAYER 2 – BUTTON 3 – b

PLAYER 1 – BUTTON 3 – 24

N / C – c

N / C – 25

N / C – d

N / C – 26

EARTH – e

EARTH – 27

EARTH -f

EARTH – 28

Understanding the JAMMA pinout table:

NORTH CAROLINA – Without connection.

Key slot – A keyed slot that aligns with a missing one in the pin section of the PCB.

This safety feature is provided to ensure that the Power Section sits at the correct end of the pin section. If the edge connector is reversed, and the power section sits on the opposite or wrong end, irreparable damage to the PCB can occur.

If the key has been removed from the edge connector, mark the connector on the “parts side” to help ensure proper seating.

Power section – Pins A-F, 1-6, e, f, 27, 28

Video section – Pins N, P, 13-15

Coin section – Pins J, K, T, 8, 9, 16

Controller section (Joystick) – Pins V-Y, 18-21

Button switch section – Z-B pins, 22-24

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