So I got my blue B board with an A board it seems to be married to. Can't seem to let go of one of the four connectors, which prevented me from testing the game with another A board I had lying around.
The problem is that anything that can move flickers madly. Seems like it's being shown half or 1/3 of the time it should be. Looks awful and of course the game is unplayable as it is. Should I try messing with V-hold or A-hold? I've only messed with V-size to make the picture fit, which it does quite nicely now.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Problems with Progear - flickering all over the place!
Problems with Progear - flickering all over the place!
Last edited by Naiera on Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
So I got a suggestion from Queenie at Cosmic:
I can see there's a suggestion to lower the voltage (which I can't do), but I don't see what connection this has to a change of battery (which is nice in any case).
Uhm, yeahCan you please try lower voltage on it because supplier change battery himself.
I can see there's a suggestion to lower the voltage (which I can't do), but I don't see what connection this has to a change of battery (which is nice in any case).-
thegreathopper
- Posts: 212
- Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 6:15 pm
- Location: London England
cps 2
I would try it with another motherboard first..
sounds like a bad connection between the boards..
You should be able to seperate the boards by wedging a screwdriver between the boards and care fully lever them apart..
sounds like a bad connection between the boards..
You should be able to seperate the boards by wedging a screwdriver between the boards and care fully lever them apart..
could you make a picture of the mess? It´s a little hard to imagine. Comments in general:
- some CPS2 boards have the problem of loose contacts, to remedy which those metal holders are put on the sides, but apparently for some boards this doesn´t suffice. The "marriage" you describe could have been a way to ensure a connection.
- One way to stabilize contacts between A and B board is pulling them out of their cases and connect them that way. The plastic holds them apart a little, which can be the tiny width that is needed to close contacts.
- Why can´t you adjust the voltage? Don´t have a PSU with that feature? Then I suppose you get one. Just yesterday I had a problem with my new Flying Shark PCB, and the only way to get it working was turning the voltage up for a while. Seems like the rusted contacts had aquired a resistance causing the board to draw more power, but after it heated up
I could turn the voltage down again. Of course, voltage is a sensitive issue, but in some cases you just need the adjustment option. Even though the probability for your Progear board lies on the contacts, it could still be related to the voltage as well. Flickering sprites are often caused by voltage problems.
- The changed battery isn´t related to your problems. I´d still change it again, just to make sure. It´s just not worth the risk running the board on an unknown battery, if it dies in 3 years, who says Cosmic Co. is still in business?
Concerning the separation issue, can´t you put a screwdriver between the B board and the connector? How can you tell the connector is "married" to it, are there traces of glue? Solder? It might just be rust.
- some CPS2 boards have the problem of loose contacts, to remedy which those metal holders are put on the sides, but apparently for some boards this doesn´t suffice. The "marriage" you describe could have been a way to ensure a connection.
- One way to stabilize contacts between A and B board is pulling them out of their cases and connect them that way. The plastic holds them apart a little, which can be the tiny width that is needed to close contacts.
- Why can´t you adjust the voltage? Don´t have a PSU with that feature? Then I suppose you get one. Just yesterday I had a problem with my new Flying Shark PCB, and the only way to get it working was turning the voltage up for a while. Seems like the rusted contacts had aquired a resistance causing the board to draw more power, but after it heated up
I could turn the voltage down again. Of course, voltage is a sensitive issue, but in some cases you just need the adjustment option. Even though the probability for your Progear board lies on the contacts, it could still be related to the voltage as well. Flickering sprites are often caused by voltage problems.
- The changed battery isn´t related to your problems. I´d still change it again, just to make sure. It´s just not worth the risk running the board on an unknown battery, if it dies in 3 years, who says Cosmic Co. is still in business?
Concerning the separation issue, can´t you put a screwdriver between the B board and the connector? How can you tell the connector is "married" to it, are there traces of glue? Solder? It might just be rust.
It's pretty easy to see that the boards have been opened and the connectors have been re-arranged. Picture. If anything I think this is just a contributing factor to it not working. I can't do anything about this without opening the casings and I really don't feel like doing that. In any case, Cosmic should have sold me something that would work WITHOUT having to take everything apart.
And BTW, it doesn't work at all now, after I had the two boards seperated to see if the connectors were alright and so on. Fan doesn't run or anything. No picture, "no nothing".
I didn't make this setup so I don't know about the power thing. All I have ever used to make it work with different games is the usual V-size, v-hold and so on adjustments.
And BTW, it doesn't work at all now, after I had the two boards seperated to see if the connectors were alright and so on. Fan doesn't run or anything. No picture, "no nothing".
I didn't make this setup so I don't know about the power thing. All I have ever used to make it work with different games is the usual V-size, v-hold and so on adjustments.
the picture shows the plug on the left site extending too far from the case, which probably means it´s gotten loose from the PCB. With 3 rows of pins, this will be a PITA to fix. I´d ask Cosmic Co. about sending it back for a refund.
If they refuse and you don´t want to battle it out, meaning if you´re stuck with the thing, I can just tell you you have no chance of fixing it without opening the cases. It´s not THAT complicated, though, you have to find a torx screwdriver to open them, and inside each you will just find a PCB mounted to the case by additional screws. It´s pretty easy to take them out and plug them together outside the case. But if the plug has gotten loose, that´s where the painful work starts. If you´re not familiar with soldering, don´t even bother and find someone to do it for you.
Basically, what you need to do is replace the whole plug-and-socket setup with wires, building a permanent connection between A- and B-board in the process. Be sure to keep the boards apart by something non-metallic afterwards.
Oh, and let us know how Cosmic Co. responds. Comparing the quality of customer service is always of public interest.
If they refuse and you don´t want to battle it out, meaning if you´re stuck with the thing, I can just tell you you have no chance of fixing it without opening the cases. It´s not THAT complicated, though, you have to find a torx screwdriver to open them, and inside each you will just find a PCB mounted to the case by additional screws. It´s pretty easy to take them out and plug them together outside the case. But if the plug has gotten loose, that´s where the painful work starts. If you´re not familiar with soldering, don´t even bother and find someone to do it for you.
Basically, what you need to do is replace the whole plug-and-socket setup with wires, building a permanent connection between A- and B-board in the process. Be sure to keep the boards apart by something non-metallic afterwards.
Oh, and let us know how Cosmic Co. responds. Comparing the quality of customer service is always of public interest.
No, as I said this is the re-arranging of the connectors that makes the boards "married" to each other. Notice the connector on the A board being lower than usual.raiden wrote:the picture shows the plug on the left site extending too far from the case, which probably means it´s gotten loose from the PCB. With 3 rows of pins, this will be a PITA to fix. I´d ask Cosmic Co. about sending it back for a refund.
Is the b board grey, and the a board with grey buttons?
I think your set up is good- the US/JAP region boards (green or blue) have all the male connectors on one side and female on the other. The asia region boards have them split like yours (so yours is how it's supposed to be). I assume that that's the only reason the US/JAP B's and A's aren't compatible with Asia B's and A's.
So your set up seems fine- you'd just need another Asia A board if you wanted to troubleshoot.
If you got the boards apart without breaking anything (they're usually hard to get apart but don't break) than you could try a few things.
1. Put them all the way together and then apart a few times -that may clean the contacts
2. Make sure the JAMMA edge is clean (pencil eraser works good).
if nothings happening, I'd guess it's either a bad A board (which would be unfortunate since the Asia A boards seem a little more rare by themselves) or more likely a dirty JAMMA connection or perhaps even a bad power supply? The fan should be going even if the b board is detached.
As for the flickering, it could be anything from loose chips on the a or b board, to broken chips (less likely), to a bad connection between the boards (most likely).
So try pushing them together and apart a few times (I take them apart by aplying leverage to the crack on the FRONT of the boards until they snap a bit, the ease them apart.), and check for a clean JAMMA connection (on the plug, too), you can do that the same way, by connecting and disconnecting to clean it
I think your set up is good- the US/JAP region boards (green or blue) have all the male connectors on one side and female on the other. The asia region boards have them split like yours (so yours is how it's supposed to be). I assume that that's the only reason the US/JAP B's and A's aren't compatible with Asia B's and A's.
So your set up seems fine- you'd just need another Asia A board if you wanted to troubleshoot.
If you got the boards apart without breaking anything (they're usually hard to get apart but don't break) than you could try a few things.
1. Put them all the way together and then apart a few times -that may clean the contacts
2. Make sure the JAMMA edge is clean (pencil eraser works good).
if nothings happening, I'd guess it's either a bad A board (which would be unfortunate since the Asia A boards seem a little more rare by themselves) or more likely a dirty JAMMA connection or perhaps even a bad power supply? The fan should be going even if the b board is detached.
As for the flickering, it could be anything from loose chips on the a or b board, to broken chips (less likely), to a bad connection between the boards (most likely).
So try pushing them together and apart a few times (I take them apart by aplying leverage to the crack on the FRONT of the boards until they snap a bit, the ease them apart.), and check for a clean JAMMA connection (on the plug, too), you can do that the same way, by connecting and disconnecting to clean it
I've tried removing the boards from each other several times and putting them together very carefully just as many times. The jamma connections are clean.
It's a Euro/US/english A board and a very much blue B board. It's a good match, and as mentioned, the game did run, somewhat well, earlier. It's only one of the four connectors that is like this.
It's a Euro/US/english A board and a very much blue B board. It's a good match, and as mentioned, the game did run, somewhat well, earlier. It's only one of the four connectors that is like this.
Last edited by Naiera on Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
(looking at the pic again) To be more clear, It's not a swap between the male and female connectors, it's just that the Asia region boards have high and low ones like that. It's supposed to be that way.
Some other boards keep their region versions different with similar physical blocks.
Kind of like how the genesis and megadrive carts are physically incompatible, but on a larger scale.
Some other boards keep their region versions different with similar physical blocks.
Kind of like how the genesis and megadrive carts are physically incompatible, but on a larger scale.
Hey, then what you've got is an Asia board in a US case. Which is not significant in any way (since I believe that the Asia roms usually match US roms- am I right on that, anyone?) except that it's incompatible with all your other US stuff.
The boards will fit in any color case- the only difference is how those connectors connect, which explains your confusion about it.
So try and send it back for the US version (which I thought was more rare and worth more- looks like you got tricked with a blue case and hope you didn't pay more for it).
That not working out, if you'd still like to try and fix it, I would first take the boards out of their cases (with the special screwdriver bit- which can be had on ebay- don't try to take it apart without it- also there's a metal security pin between the boards that need to be removed, too, perhaps there's just a hole there now
. it's in the corner near the back of the board), and then check them out- make sure all the chips are tight- put them together and see if it works, just mechanical stuff.
Anyways, it's obviously been taken apart and rearanged before, so something may be loose.
The boards will fit in any color case- the only difference is how those connectors connect, which explains your confusion about it.
So try and send it back for the US version (which I thought was more rare and worth more- looks like you got tricked with a blue case and hope you didn't pay more for it).
That not working out, if you'd still like to try and fix it, I would first take the boards out of their cases (with the special screwdriver bit- which can be had on ebay- don't try to take it apart without it- also there's a metal security pin between the boards that need to be removed, too, perhaps there's just a hole there now
. it's in the corner near the back of the board), and then check them out- make sure all the chips are tight- put them together and see if it works, just mechanical stuff.Anyways, it's obviously been taken apart and rearanged before, so something may be loose.
oops. Sorry, I wasn´t aware of this. Still, it is most probably a problem with the contacts, especially since the board was working before. Some people just put pressure (e.g. a book) on their B board to keep connections tight. Maybe this will work already.it's just that the Asia region boards have high and low ones like that. It's supposed to be that way.
It's only one of the four connectors that is like this. If the boards were incomplatible then I don't see why anyone would make them fit each other like this.
I got this set from Cosmic. I didn't pay much more than the usual price for it, but this is what I got from Cosmic and you'd think they knew how to make the right A and B board match.
I got this set from Cosmic. I didn't pay much more than the usual price for it, but this is what I got from Cosmic and you'd think they knew how to make the right A and B board match.
(just went to check my asia board) Yeah, it's just that one -just like in your picture.
You've got an asia A and B in blue cases- perhaps even in original progear cases unless it's a new sticker (not like it would matter).
I can imagine that the original motivation for the swap would be to charge more for a US version.
So, again, both of those will fit with grey asia A and B's just like their supposed to, but not with any US/JAP green or blue A or B's
So, in the end your set up is fine, although a little unusual (just the case color), and still just suffering from a bad connection (although possibly broken of course- but the fact that it got worse the more you messed with it hints that it's a mechanical problem, rather than an electronic one).
If the together/apart method didn't help, try pressing them together tighter like raiden said? If that didn't work, I would take the naked board out and do the same thing with them them- also checking for loose chips (you just pres on them with your thumb and they'll noticeably settle if they're loose). And don't forget to balance this with the option of just returning it for a better working board. You could say that you were expecting US boards, rather than asia boards in a blue case.
You know, it still could be broken and have degenerated right before your eyes, but I've had boards that I thought were broken, but just had bad connections along those lines. One of them required being connected almost, but not ,quite, all the way. So I had to put a fold-up of paper between the connectors just to allow the millimeter it needed to make proper contact.
(it's a little riskier, but you might want to try a somewhat loose connection as well as a tight connection- it's like when your trying to get your nintendo to work and you've got to find the 'sweet spot')
You've got an asia A and B in blue cases- perhaps even in original progear cases unless it's a new sticker (not like it would matter).
I can imagine that the original motivation for the swap would be to charge more for a US version.
So, again, both of those will fit with grey asia A and B's just like their supposed to, but not with any US/JAP green or blue A or B's
So, in the end your set up is fine, although a little unusual (just the case color), and still just suffering from a bad connection (although possibly broken of course- but the fact that it got worse the more you messed with it hints that it's a mechanical problem, rather than an electronic one).
If the together/apart method didn't help, try pressing them together tighter like raiden said? If that didn't work, I would take the naked board out and do the same thing with them them- also checking for loose chips (you just pres on them with your thumb and they'll noticeably settle if they're loose). And don't forget to balance this with the option of just returning it for a better working board. You could say that you were expecting US boards, rather than asia boards in a blue case.
You know, it still could be broken and have degenerated right before your eyes, but I've had boards that I thought were broken, but just had bad connections along those lines. One of them required being connected almost, but not ,quite, all the way. So I had to put a fold-up of paper between the connectors just to allow the millimeter it needed to make proper contact.
(it's a little riskier, but you might want to try a somewhat loose connection as well as a tight connection- it's like when your trying to get your nintendo to work and you've got to find the 'sweet spot')
As for the sticker- it just came with the blue case.Naiera wrote:I just remembered that the game itself said it was US. Says that it's only for use in North America, Canada and Mexico when it boots up.
The A board has a "Europe" sticker on it that looks exactly like the one on the other A board I borrowed.
As for the actual game, it must have also actually had US roms installed (which would support the idea of loose chips and other meddlings with the naked boards). You must really have a fancy mod job for all of that.
As for the connector, I still think that it is a mod job to an Asian boardset. That seems much more likely to me than any other explaination. Even if Capcom ran out of US boards, I don't think they'd sub with Asia boards, defeating their own regional compatibility (which is one of the purposes of the medium).
*Also, those connectors aren't changeable or mod-able. They're a solid, physical part of the boards construction.
Seems like an explanation. Seems like the only explanation to this farce.
I'm gonna see if I can get this shit replaced. Too much meddling. I would seriously prefer something that hadn't been messed with this much. A battery change would be nice, but not anything else than that please.
Initial impressions of Cosmic: Not too good it seems.
I'm gonna see if I can get this shit replaced. Too much meddling. I would seriously prefer something that hadn't been messed with this much. A battery change would be nice, but not anything else than that please.
Initial impressions of Cosmic: Not too good it seems.
Yeah, I'd definitely look into that. Funny, it's like a bootleg on original hardware. Oh, and duh! it surely is- I don't know why this didn't occur to me- the real motivation to meddle with the board is so you can take an aliens vs. predator board and swap with progear roms. So you can go ahead and consider yours a boot.
On the bright side, it's a perfect boot, and essentially an exact replica. If it worked better, it wouldn't even be a bad thing really. I would love to have a bootleg progear of that quality (not for vintage price )
And, on that note, still try out some connector squishing while your waiting on them.
I think a sure way to tell just how booty it was would to take it apart and see if the chips are original or burned (burned usually, if not always, have a window on top- other techies here could help more)
On the bright side, it's a perfect boot, and essentially an exact replica. If it worked better, it wouldn't even be a bad thing really. I would love to have a bootleg progear of that quality (not for vintage price
)And, on that note, still try out some connector squishing while your waiting on them.
I think a sure way to tell just how booty it was would to take it apart and see if the chips are original or burned (burned usually, if not always, have a window on top- other techies here could help more)
shouldn´t this be impossible because of the encryption tying roms to the board they came with? Afaik, Razoola is still the only person able to re-encrypt different roms to work with a certain CPS2 B board (as each one has a different code it works with). Could it be one of his phoenix mods maybe? This would explain somehow what Cosmic said about the "battery change".I don't know why this didn't occur to me- the real motivation to meddle with the board is so you can take an aliens vs. predator board and swap with progear roms.
LOL. This is a joke. I took some pictures of my euro A board, the "blue" B board and the supposed euro A board.
All three
The "Euro" B board
The "Euro" A board
A real fucking european A board!
All three
The "Euro" B board
The "Euro" A board
A real fucking european A board!
