Video Game Connectors

Updated Jan 12, 2005

Over 30 years of video games & hundreds of connectors latter there is an awful lot of different wiring connections to be found in games. In this document I'll try to give some helpful hints for dealing with various connectors. Where to buy them, how to make them, how to repair/ replace them.

Note that you cannot click on the e-mail address you must type it in (Spam is horrible now), please also include "PAC-MAN" in your subject line to help me sort the garbage out.

Some parts are available from a single manufactor while others may be marketed by a variety of manufactors with a variety of names, just to keep it interesting.

JAMMA

Japanesse Association of Machine Manufactures Alliance?

JAMMA is a "standard" wiring configuration applied to a 26/52 .156" on center pin card edge connector. The JAMMA connector configuration was designed to make games easily upgradeable / interchangable by merely swapping Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). Most games that are not heavily cabinet specific such as simulators tend to follow the JAMMA configurations.

Jamma Adapters for sale

Mark Spaeth
Bob Roberts

Jamma Adapter parts for sale

http://www.squiggo.com/
Bob Roberts

.084" (2.13mm) MLX Series 42021

Mate-N-Lock (Universal Mate-N-Lok)

Commonly found as power connectors in all types of games. Interconnector on early Midway games in wiring harness, coin door etc. Pins & sockets may be intermixed in housings (plugs or caps).

The receptacle is called a CAP.

# of Circuits Format Amp Part # Digi-Key Part # Molex Part # Digi-Key Part #

2 Plug 350777-1

Monitor Power

2 Cap 340778-1

Monitor Power

3 Plug 1-480700-0 A1451-ND 50-84-1030 WM1244-ND Galaga Power

3 Cap

50-84-2030 WM1245-ND

6 Plug 1-480704-0 A1457-ND 50-84-1060 WM1248-ND Galaga Video

6 Cap

50-84-2060 WM1249-ND

9 Plug 1-480706-0 A1459-ND 50-84-1090 WM1250-ND

9 Cap

50-84-2090 WM1251-ND

12 Plug 1-480708-0 A1461-ND 50-84-1120 WM1252-ND

12 Cap

50-84-2120 WM1253-ND

15 Plug 1-480710-0 A1463-ND 50-84-1150 WM1254-ND

15 Cap

50-84-2150 WM1255-ND

Keying Plug Key 1-640415-1 A14304-ND

Pin 18-24 AWG Pin 350706-1 A1436-ND

Socket 18-24 AWG Socket 350689-1 A1437-ND

Pin 14-20 AWG Pin

02-08-2004 WM1270-ND

Sockets 14-20 AWG Socket

02-08-1002 WM1271-ND

Crimp Tool

Extraction Tool

11-01-0168 WM9921-ND $58.00!

Mini-Fit Jr.

Gottlieb/ Premier pinballs?

Mini Universal Mate-N-Lok

Found on....

Namco Super System 22.

# of Circuits Plug/Recepticle Amp Part # Digi-Key Part #

3 Plug 172166-1 172166-1

4 Plug 172167-1 172167-1

6 Plug 172168-1 A25573-ND

9 Plug 172169-1 A25702-ND

12 Plug 172170-1 172170-1

15 Plug 172171-1 172171-1

Pins

Sockets 22-18AWG
770988-3 A25688-ND

Crimp Tool

Extraction Tool
189727-1

These Connectors are available in a variety of colors.
Black -9
Blue -6
Green -5
Red -2
Natural -1

Extraction Tool 189727-1 (I don't know where to buy this?)

Soft Shell

.062"

Found on Dragon's Lair, Williams wiring harness etc.

# of Circuits	Plug / Recepticle	Material	Molex Part #	Allied Electronics	Philmore


36	Recepticle		03-06-1362			Dragon's Lair PCB
36	Plug		03-06-2361	863-0200		Dragon's Lair Harness

Pins					61-190
Sockets 24-18AWG		Tin	02-06-1103 (loose)	863-0210	61-180
Crimp Tool			W-HT-1921
Extraction Tool			W-HT-2285

.093" (2.36mm)

Molex SERIES 1360 or
AMP SERIES .093" Commercial Pin & Sockets

Available in Free Hanging or Panel Mount formats (above picture is a panel mount, with "ears").

# of Circuits Format Material Molex Part # Amp Part # Digi-Key Part # Jameco

2 Free Hanging
03-09-2022

WG Monitor

2 Panel Mount
03-09-2021

2 Free Hanging
03-09-1022

WG Monitor

2 Panel Mount
03-09-1027

12 Receptacle Nylon 03-09-1126
03-09-1126

15 Receptacle Nylon
770105-1 770105-1

Crimp Tool

Extraction Tool

Extraction Tool Male

131887

Extraction Tool Femal

131879

Molex SERIES 3191r

Note Square Edges on bottom outside corners, unlike the Mate-N-Lok series.

# of Circuits Format Material Molex Part # Digi-Key Part #

2 Receptacle Nylon 19-09-1029
WG Monitor

2 Plug Nylon 19-09-2029
WG Monitor

12 Receptacle Nylon 19-09-1129 WM1612-ND

12 Plug Nylon 19-09-2128 WM1613-ND

Sockets 18-22 AWG
Tin 02-09-1119 WM1103-ND WPC 95

Sockets 14-20 AWG Tn Tin 02-09-2101

Sockets 18-22 AWG
Tin 02-09-1101
Why different?

Pins
Tin 02-09-2101

Crimp Tool

Extraction Tool

W-HT-2038

.156" (3.96mm)

.045" square pins

# of Circuits	Format	Material	Amp Part #	Molex Part #	Digi-Key Part #


12 Straight	Header	Tin			A19875-ND
Crimp Terminals Trifurcon	Crimp Terminals Trifurcon 18-24 AWG	Tin		08-52-0113	WM2313-ND
Crimp Tool				W-HT-1919	WM9903-ND
Extraction Tool				11-03-0016	WM9928-ND

Male to Male connectors as found on pinballs?

MTA-156

MTA are Mass(Machine?) Termination A? These connectors have the wire pushed into the metal socket already contained in the plastic housing. This connector may be found on early Williams games (Defender). I normally replace MTA style connectors with a crimp style .156" format plugs since I don't own MTA tools.

.100" (2.54mm)

.025" (.64mm) Square Pins

Very common connector seen on many video & pinball games over the years for low voltage applications. Header pins available in straight and right angle. Headers may also have latching or keying bodies.

Found on

Bally Solid State pinballs
Williams pinballs (WPC era)
Many video games, slot machines etc.

# of Circuits Format Material Molex Part # Digi-Key part #

12 Housing
22-01-3127 WM2010-ND

Crimp Terminals

08-05-0114 WM2200-ND

Crimp Tool

Pin Extraction tool - Pocket knife, small screwdriver.

Non-Polarized Connector Housings

100765 FCH1 (JAMECO)

C-Grid (Molex) Is this the same as the above?

Common style of connector. Available in single or dual row configurations with a variety of keying and or latching methods applied to the housings.

MT-Connectors .100" Centers

2mm

Header

Ribbon Cable

Ribbon cable is a series of wires that are mated on their sides forming 1 continuious cable of many separate circuits. Ribbon cable is normally terminated by some type of IDC. The commonly found IDC on ribbon cables are DIP, Socket, DB9, DB25 and PCB Solder Tail. Ribbon cable may be multi colored, with each strand having a different color (or a series of repeating colors) or it may be gray with one edge circuit colored red to establish pin 1.

# of Circuits Format Material Digi-Key Part # Jameco Part #

9 DB9

14 DIP

16 DIP

18 DIP

24 DIP

32 DIP

40 DIP

30 Socket

40 Socket

40 4 Row PCB Solder Tails Tin CPC40T-ND
Williams PCBs

50
Tin CPC50T-ND

Card Edge Connectors (.156)

Card Edge Connectors are designed to mate cables or other Printed Circuit Boards to Printed Circuit Boards. The Card Edge Connector slides over the exposed copper traces (fingers) of the PCB. The card edge connector normally has complimentary sets of contacts, one for the front & one for the back. Usually the front & back contacts are electrically separate but not always, some of the early era games will have the front & back wired together. Most Card Edge Connectors are marked with numbers or letters or a combination of the 2. There is some confusion of how to count the connections in this particular connector so it may be wise to specifiy both, example Pac-Man is a 22/44 pin connector. Meaning that it has 22 pair of connectors or 44 total connectors. JAMMA is a 26/52 pin connector, keyed on pin 7.

PCB Solder tails
Solder Eyelets
Crimp Connectors

PCB Solder Tails

# of Circuits
18/36
22/44
25/50
26/52
30/60

Solder Eyelets

# of Circuits

Crimp Connectors

# of Circuits





Crimp Tool
Extraction Tool

Card Edge Connectors (mini)

Seen on early 80's games as a test connector (Atari, Bally) & then on recent Namco (PlayStation based) boards.

Centronics Plugs

DB9/ DB25

Dragon's Lair Player plugs

Glossary

AWG - American Wire Gauge.
Card Edge Connector
Chain - Pins or recepticles still attached to a continuious piece of metal. You must cut the parts free before using, designed for machine feed industrial instalations.
Crimper - Tool used to reform new connectors to hold wire and insulation jacket.
DB9 - 9 circuit connector commonly used for RS-232 serial communications.
DB25 - 25 circuit connector used for RS-232 serial communications or parallel communications.
DIP - Dual Inline Package.
Dummy Plug - Unused plug or unused circuit in a connector that is filled with a non mating filler device (see polarizing plug).
Ears - locking devices on the sides of the plastic/ nylon housings. These are designed to hold the housing in place by "locking" the housing in place after insertion thru a custom cut hole in metal/plastic plate. Nickname for the extra locking device on panel mount connectors.
Edge Connector
Female - Recepticale, socket or part that mating part is inserted into.
Free Hanging - connectors are designed to be installed in the middle of a cable run. The connectors are not mounted in a pannel. Some series of connectors may require strain reliefs for free hanging configurations.
Header
IDC - Insulation Displacement Connector, this connector punctures the wire insulation & makes electrical contact during crimping/ instalation of wire, eliminating the need for wire stripping.
Inline - single row of connector (not a Matrix).
Key - unused circuit in a connector often disabled or removed for the purpose of making the connector uniquie (see polarizing plug).
Latch - interlocking method that generally requires a specific action or high force to remove connectors from one another.
Loose - parts that are free, not in chain format. May also refer to wires that are not part of the same plug coupler/ connector on each end.
Male - Plug, pin or part that is inserted into mating part.
Matrix - connector is laid out in a 2 axis fashion rather than a single row. Example would be a 12 circuit connector in a 3 by 4 matrix.
PC Tail - metal pins or recepticles that are designed to be soldered to a Printed Circuit Board instead of crimped to wires.
Polarizing Plug - a device that is added to connector for the purpose of making it unique. A polarizing plug usually (but not always) replaces one circuit with a non mating connector and the mating connector has the corresponding connector removed. Card edge connectors may actually have slots cut in the printed circuit board that mate with keying devices.
SIP - Single Inline Package
Solder Eyelet
Solder Tails - parts designed to be soldered to a Printed Circuit Board.
Strain Relief
Pin Pusher - extraction tool used to remove pins (or sockets) from housing.
Shrink Tubing
TriFurcon - 3 sided connector, this is an upgrade over a common 1 sided connector by Molex.
Wire Strippers - Tool for removing the insulation jacket from the ends of wire cables.

Male / Female
Pin / Recepticle

Neatness counts!
Zip ties
Split loom
Tubing

What to carry in your tool box?

Wire Strippers
Crimp Tools
Extraction Tools
Lighter or heat source for heat shrink tubing
Zip Ties

Allied Electronics (www.alliedelec.com)
Bob Roberts
http://www.squiggo.com/
Jameco (www.Jameco.com)
Digi-Key (www.Digi-key.com)
Mouser (www.Mouser.com)
HappControls
Marco (Pinball oriented)

HOME

All graphics are copyright their respective owners & only placed here for illustrative purposes (and to help you purchase their products!).

# of Circuits	Plug/Recepticle	Amp Part #	Digi-Key Part #
3	Plug	172166-1	172166-1
4	Plug	172167-1	172167-1
6	Plug	172168-1	A25573-ND
9	Plug	172169-1	A25702-ND
12	Plug	172170-1	172170-1
15	Plug	172171-1	172171-1
Pins
Sockets 22-18AWG		770988-3	A25688-ND
Crimp Tool
Extraction Tool		189727-1