No doubt. I do appreciate the genuine advice, including what gum_drops added. I'm just attempting to attune myself to the forum's particular vibe. I knew I'd have fun here once the official forum FAQ told me to just roll with the punches. Heh.
Only other "hands-on" experience is a little bit with an MVS my father owned for a couple of months before gutting it to make a MAME cab; well, he gutted it, gave up after installing Linux, and I finished it up to a technically playable state (arcade monitor burned out, I replaced it with a computer monitor placed on an upside-down kitchen chair). Luckily, it was a shitty JAMMA to MVS conversion in the first place, and I imagine the board and carts (Puzzle Bobble and Street Slam, for the curious) went to a good home.
Terrible, terrible button layout. I could deal with the diamond shape instead of the arch, but they were lopsided and asymmetrical. Not that I can complain about anybody's work that much, considering I just propped a screen on a chair and called it a day.