Namco Cyber Lead

As it says on the side panel, the Cyber Lead is "Artistic Works by Namco"; this means that it is one of the best looking cabs you can buy. There are a number of things to note about the Cyber Lead that elevate it above the norm, such as it being JVS/JAMMA2 and its fabulous 29" Nanao monitor. The Cyber Lead has been described as a “posh cabinet” and I appreciate why. If you fancy some Naomi action, you don’t need to go for all that extra stuff like IO boards, amps or power supplies; it’s all in the cabinet already. It’s also sweet for things like Namco System 246/256 etc. Changing back to JAMMA is very simple, so just connect up the converter and plug in your JAMMA board.

From top to bottom on the cabinet, we have the LED display. The display can apparently be programmed (to something other than Pac-Man), and can also use data supplied by certain Namco games; either way, it’s a nice feature instead of the standard marquee holder. You connect to it using the IO board (see below), and it has a number of pre-set display options.

Next up is the Nanao 29” CRT, the one in my Cyber Lead has a Toshiba tube, so you can guess just how nice the picture is. The monitor is fixed horizontally, rendering this cabinet no use for your vertical shooters; it also has no protective glass for the screen; so check the surface is okay before purchasing (if you can). The monitor on a Standard Cyber Lead is dual-resolution (15 & 24Khz), so it’s Model1, 2 and 3 ready; so to change resolution, there is a small jumper on the monitor board. Unfortunately you must remove the back of the machine to access this; it’s fairly straight forward but you will need a small ‘star’ headed screwdriver to get the rear cover off.

The cabinet is wired for stereo and features two Sanyo 8 Ohm 10 Watt speakers side mounted next to the monitor (sort of). Sound quality is very nice, and you can really notice it on CPS2 and Naomi games.

Below the monitor are two spaces for move lists. These simply clip in, so are easy to remove (and you may want to replace the plastic as it could be a bit hard-up, I fitted new glass).

The control panel is fixed (you cannot buy off the shelf replacements as you can for a number of other Japanese cabinets), it features the standard two start buttons and six buttons per player. I’m not sure what the standard items are on a Cyber Lead; but mine has Sanwa snap in buttons and Sanwa Flash sticks. These parts are easily replaced, so you can fit whatever your preference is. The panel is held in place by two locks on the underside, once these are released, you simply pull the panel towards you, it should then flip up to reveal the wiring and the I/O LED - I/O PCB and the PA PCB (all made by Namco).
The I/O LED - I/O PCB has the Test and Service buttons, plus a few other things, and the PA PCB has the volume control and stereo inputs.

Removing the front of the cabinet is a matter of opening two locks and dropping it towards you. Inside there is only a little space, you should be able to fit your Naomi or CPSII setup, but little else (certainly not a six-slot MVS). There is also the JVS Conversion PCB which allows you to connect up your huge collection of JAMMA boards; with the added advantage of being able to use the two stereo phono plugs on this like CPS boards to allow full stereo sound, it also has a CPSI & CPSII kick harness. The PSU is also located here, this cabinet has a Sanwa Denshi MVS power supply (SWN-JVS).

This isn't the inside of mine; but you can see there is very little space (and no JVS > JAMMA convertor)

Finally, at the bottom rear of the cabinet is the S-Video and stereo out sockets, inside the cab it has the Namco NTSC A PCB.

Dimensions: H172 x W76 x D95 cm. This is quite a short, wide cabinet. I had to remove my front door in order to get it in my house.

Weight: 120kgs, and the cabinet has two wheels on the rear base in order to help move it around.

In summary, seXXXay.