Questions concerning the Vewlix and/or Vewlix clones.

[evitagen]

Hey guys... Lurker here who is seriously considering purchasing a Vewlix cab or a Vewlix clone(depending on my funds). I know there are a thousand topics about these cabs, but my question is more of a n00b question. I've never actually owned a "real" arcade cabinet. I've built an arcade cabinet for myself, but I'm honestly not familiar with a true cab(especially one like the Vewlix).

My one concern is the ability to hook up my consoles(PS3/360) and a PC to the cab. I realize this is blasphemy for some to think of doing this, but it's what I dig. I'm primarily a fighting game enthusiast but I also dig shmups. A Vewlix clone, for example... Would I be able to hook up a console and a PC to this and switch back and forth between them some kind of way? And if so, how would I go about doing this? Obviously these monitors don't have HDMI ports on them, do they?

I'm sorry for the stupid question, but I generally am ignorant when it comes to this at the moment. Also my budget, if at all possible, would be $2K shipped. Hopefully I can manage that.

Thanks for all of your help. Love the forums.

[pubjoe]

Yes. The vewlix (+clones I expect) is a pretty easy cab to hook consoles or a PC up to. In fact, as they were built with modern arcade hardware in mind, they are basically already designed to run a PC. The lcd has a vga input and the speakers/amp have a (headphone type) phono input. You only need to worry about wiring the controls up. You can hook up a PC and a PS3 straight to the JVS connectors by using the excellent jvs-pac - which is created by invzim, who can be contacted on these boards. It costs around $50-$60 I think. I don't think the jvs-pac does the xbox360 though (?) ...In which case you would need to do a pad hack (get a soldering iron to a cheapo madkatz joypad), or purchase a (no soldering required) cttulhu for $50 from toodles here.

As for your choice of cab. I think it's extremely unlikely that you'll ever find a genuine vewlix for $2000. Maybe if you could up your budget to around $3000 you could find a good condition second hand one after a lot of hunting and patience. You'll also need a bit of luck. As this is still an uncommon cab to find second hand, there are only a few used vewli' that have moved hands. There is no second hand market value established really and the pricing entirely depends on the seller's own need to sell. Considering many people paid over $6500 for one in the first place, if they don't want to sell it for less than $4500 or more, they are not wrong to do so. Also, if your lucky enough to find someone who 'needs' to get rid of one and is prepared to take $2500, they're not wrong either. Anyone who tries to tell you exactly what a second hand vewlix is "worth" is only giving you a personal opinion really. There are only a few home users looking for one and, fortunately for you, that means they can sometimes be sold for well below what they "should" be worth ....and also, unfortunately for you, it means that people often pay well above what they "should" be worth due to them being so hard to find. This is why you'll need luck and patience if you specifically want a vewlix.

But anyway, just so you know, for comparison's sake, the current price for a brand new vewlix F (which has recently been discounted from 500k apparently) is 360,000 yen I believe (4,131.24 USD). But due to shipping and currency conversion, they are still considered to be worth around $5,000 to anyone outside of Japan. ...Even so, maybe you can use "$4,150 brand new" as a haggling point for a second hand one.

In case you haven't already - a search for "vewlix" right here will give you a lot of information. Be sure to read up on the differences between the vewlix L and F models. The prices discussed here will be a little out of date though, so bear that in mind.

As for the clones, I hope someone else can advise you on this. But I have heard that some of the clones are apparently VERY good (structure-wise) and can be found for around $1500-$2000. On the other hand, some clones are likely garbage. So try to get as much information as you can and don't just buy the first one that comes along. Hopefully some people who have actually seen/used/owned any of the various clones can add some input here for you.

Good luck.

[Wisepass]

I am/was in pretty much the same position as you except I didn't need to consider the money issues. No idea about the clones, but Vewlix's themselves are easy to hook up to consoles or PC's see:-

http://forum.arcadeotaku.com/viewtopic. ... 0&start=60

I have a Vewlix-F and it has DVI (hooked up to PS3 via HDMI-->DVI) and also a VGA (hooked up to PC [acer revo]) and it auto detects. I have 2 JVS-Pac's (which are awesome and seriously recommend! Works perfectly, easy and does exactly what they says on the tin, I used to only have one PS3 flashed one which in real terms did the job fine, but I like my coin slot to work..lol) in the cab and a KVM/USB module which I use to switch between the 2 setups easily. 360 is much more difficult to put in the Vewlix at present [need to padhack as far as I know] but can still be done if you really want to.

From there I can play loadsa beat em ups online via my PS3 which is awesome. Having not had to buy a Vewlix, myself I'm not sure its worth the cost but the screen on the Vewlix-F is utterly awesome, I've honestly not ever seen a better close-up LCD screen on anything [remember you'll be sitting just half a meter away] I have seen a few Vewlix-L's in Japan, which also look good too, but I've not took the time to look side by side, I don't know what video inputs the Vewlix-L has however, I remember reading about some peeps using them with HDFury add-on's dunno if they can be hooked up to PS3 directly like with the Vewlix-F?. I'd think the most likely thing clones would skimp on would be the LCD screen? But then I've not seen any myself.

Anyway any questions about the Vewlix itself I'd be happy to help.

Wisepass

[evitagen]

You guys have been extremely helpful, thank you. It would appear that I would just use a VGA cord to hook up my PS3 and PC to the monitor. Is there a way to change the inputs somehow without having to unhook one and reconnecting the other? Can I have both my PS3 AND PC in this cab? One of you mentioned you use a USB switcher to do the trick. I guess that'd work... Just have to figure it all out once I got the cab.

I'll be honest, I won't be playing true arcade games on the cab... I want it for mostly fighting games, and I have most of them on PS3 already as it is. What are the controls wired to when I get it? Would I simply unwire the buttons/sticks and just rewire them into a Cthulu or something?

Sorry for the novice questions lol. I really want this to be a nice All-in-One kind of cabinet for my house and I want to clear EVERYTHING up before I spend any cash on this.

I'm going to do some research on these JVS-pacs you guys are suggesting to me. Not really sure what they do.

Thanks again.

[pogfanatic]

the usb dongle mentioned earlier plugs into the ps3/pc and into the usb (i think this is the jvs) chord inside the machine and like mentioned before in this thread try searhing a little bit as all this is mentioned in a vewlix thread from earlier.

here are a couple of them.

http://forum.arcadeotaku.com/viewtopic. ... lit=vewlix"

http://forum.arcadeotaku.com/viewtopic. ... ix#p147696"

[evitagen]

I've been doing some reading and I have a few specific questions about the JVS-pac...

It essentially negates the need to have a Cthulu or hacked pad in the cabinet, correct?

Does it also work on PC say, for example, MAME? Does MAME just recognize the joysticks/buttons as a gamepad by using the JVS-pac as well? 2-player too just like on PS3?

Sounds like this will be fairly simple to be honest.

To fix the "home" issue on the PS3 can you just have an extra controller turned on in slot 3 or something?

Thanks again. And thanks for the links!

[FrancoB]

Hi evitagen, nice to see you over here.

Welcome to the dark side

That is all

[evitagen]

Franco! I still have those dustwashers! Thank you again for those.

I also stockpiled on a bunch of Dragonjoysticks if you ever want some. I have all different colors. They're aircraft aluminum happ replacement shafts, in case you didn't know. Just let me know!

[FrancoB]

Your most welcome chap

I think I'll be ok for Happ shafts. Thanks for the offer though

How come you stock piled them? If you want to get rid I'm sure they would shift fast in BST at byoac, I'm sure not many people know about them over there.

[pubjoe]

evitagen, jvs-pac works for PS3 and PC.

It translates a JVS* machine's controller signals to a usb joysick. (* jvs is the name of the wiring standard that the vewlix uses)

That's all all you need, yes. But I think you would need a chtulhu (however you spell it??) or create your own pad hack if you want to connect an xbox360.

Basically. All this will seem a LOT simpler once you have the cabinet. Don't worry about too much yet. As long as you have a jvs-pac and also an audio cable (3mm male > 3mm male phono lead). You will be able to play PC and PS3 on your vewlix (or clone) as soon as it arrives. It's fairly simple to set up.

Worry about everything else later.

[evitagen]

Thank you guys for your help... I think I pretty much get it now.

Glad to know it's such a simple process. Now I have to find the cheapest way possible to get one of these cabs sent to me lol. If I do go with the clone, though, I will post pictures of it in detail... because I haven't really seen any detailed pictures of any. If you guys have any links to some pictures of a clone someone bought, i'd love to check them out.

Franco: I stockpiled them because I just wanted 2 of every color lol. Now I'm kind of getting more into the Sanwa controls believe it or not and I wouldn't mind giving someone a deal on a few of them if they wanted. I may take up your suggestion.

[pogfanatic]

If your in the u.s alot of the golflands have the clones and or vewlix cabs. Not sure if golfland is every where or a westcoast thing either lol but they have em.

[evitagen]

I wish we had golfland around here. I live in Mississippi... If I imported one of these I'm pretty sure I would have the only one in the entire state lol.

How's the shipping go for these things anyway? Where do they usually get shipped when they get sent from China? Also, for those who have ordered one before, living in Mississippi what would be my best way of actually getting this thing to me without having to travel across the country to pick it up?

Thanks again.

[cools]

Shipped via air.

But for $2k all in, not a hope. Half of that is going to be shipping.

[evitagen]

Even for a clone? I'm willing to go slightly higher if needed.

Anyone have a place to recommend for importing a clone? I'm talking to highway ent. and coinopexpress at the moment. Coinopexpress is difficult to communicate with.

[pubjoe]

Even for a clone? I'm willing to go slightly higher if needed.

Anyone have a place to recommend for importing a clone? I'm talking to highway ent. and coinopexpress at the moment. Coinopexpress is difficult to communicate with.

I've heard of clones going at around the $1500 - $2000 price, but that's before shipping. So I suppose you'd have to be lucky enough to find one fairly close if you want to avoid a gigantic shipping price.

I'm sorry I can't be of help with anything else. Come to think of it, I don't even know anyone who has ever bought a vewlix clone... If I did, I'd tell you to contact them.

I reckon you have the following options.

• Ship a single machine for around $700-$1000 (??? total guess on price - I have no actual idea of shipping prices to your location - you'd have to shop around).
• Wait for a "close by" one to turn up.
• Check at "local" arcades (if there are any), or anywhere at all that might have contact with suppliers for these things and speak to the owner.

[arcadefighter]

Hi guys another noob, here. I am in the process of purchasing this NAMCO Clone from coinopexpress.com

http://www.coinopexpress.com/products/m ... _8110.html"

I've had really good communication with them they reply to me emails between 12am-3am PST (maybe cause they are in HK) but besides that everything is going great. I sent the wire transfer on Tuesday and on Wednesday they sent me an email to confirm they received the funds. The total price including shipping to California was $1350 which I think is a good deal.

What do you guys think about that cab? also what website would you guys recommend to buy a JVS-PAC? I've never heard of them but from reading this thread sounds easy enough and I might wanna use a PS3 sometimes. But this cab is maily going to be for a TAITO TYPE X2 that I have.

I hope it's ok for me to post on this thread since I thought it would be redundant to make another one since you guys are talking about clones.

[evitagen]

I've been emailing with Coinopexpress and Highway entertainment... Both seem to never answer me in great detail, though.

I live in Mississippi and are trying my damndest to see how much it is going to cost to at the very least get the cab shipped to my STATE. Coinopexpress's Vewlix clone is cheaper than HE's... but the communication I'm having with them is rough.

Glad to hear you're having a good experience with them, though. I've NEVER ordered anything like this and had to wire money... Do I have to use my bank account to wire money to them, or can I use one of my credit cards? I have one stick sitting at 0% APR and I certainly wouldn't mind using that to purchase this.

[FrancoB]

also what website would you guys recommend to buy a JVS-PAC?

There is only one place to buy a new JVS-PAC and thats http://jvspac.kirurg.org/"

Highly reccomended

[pogfanatic]

I believe that dude is on vacation though atm I was gunna try to order one a few days ago but site says he on summer break.