Can a supergun ruin pcbs?

zlk · Post by **zlk** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:26 pm

I have what seems to be a mas systems based supergun. I didn't buy it directly from mas systems, but it is the same model they sell. When it arrived the sound didn't work on any of my pcbs. I had a friend rewire the jamma connector and then the sound worked perfectly.

I have used the supergun to play the older cave games nonstop. I have never had any problems playing them. Mushihimesama, ibara, and espg2 are based on the same hardware, and I haven't had any problems playing mushi. Unfortunately after a brief period of playing Ibara, the sound on my pcb suddenly died. I was offered a replacement pcb, but haven't played it since I packed away my supergun. Today ESPG2 arrived, I unpacked my supergun and the pcb is freezing up and crashing. Could my supergun ruin my pcbs? For those who own ESPG2, does your pcb randomly crash? Strangely enough my ibara pcb would crash from time to time as well before the sound died (usually when I would hit insert coin at certain times).

parodius · Post by **parodius** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:12 pm

Did you check the voltage on your supergun ?
If it's too far from the expected values, it can damage some electronic components.

oxtsu · Post by **oxtsu** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:18 pm

As parodius said, yes, a bad powersupply or one that is improperly adjusted can ruin a PCB (as can bad wiring). Sometimes it will cause the PCB to run flaky, or kill it outright (quick or slow, depending).

btw...MAS is quite possibly the worst quality supergun ever released. For the love of all that is holy, ditch that thing and get something proper. The thought of someone plugging a MAS up to some $2k+ PCBs is gut wrenching..and slightly amusing in itself.

zlk · Post by **zlk** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:39 pm

I do not have room in my apartment for a cab. Who makes better superguns that are reliable and available for sale?

parodius · Post by **parodius** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 9:00 pm

Buy a japanese supergun : Vega 9000, Vega Junior, Pana Twin, Combo AV, Sigma Raijin, Sigma X000...

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:21 am

Or bought an Acrade monitor. There are smaller 21" model avaliable, if you don't have the space.

The reminding jamma connector, wiring and acrade cab power supply won't cost you more than $70.

I attempted to build a supergun myself months ago, I end up with a Astro City monitor in my room for all PCBs and console gaming. One day I realized a divice connecting PCBs to an acrade monitor couldnot be called a suergun. My supergun project failed.

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:55 am

oxtsu wrote:The thought of someone plugging a MAS up to some $2k+ PCBs is gut wrenching..and slightly amusing in itself.

Aw man, I'd go insane if i toasted a $2,000 PCB. o_0

Post by **Dave_K.** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:55 am

Honestly, I only think the voltage could damage a board if it was reading too high (or spiking) above +5, otherwise I don't see how it could do any harm if its too low (it just won't boot).

Given your past issue I'd be more concerned with the sound wiring of the supergun, as the jamma standard requires an audio amp be on the PCB. The sound amp is supposed to mate with a standard jamma cab's speaker of 8ohms. If your supergun doesn't supply a matching impedance for the PCB's audio amp, it will definately shorten the life of the amp. If you open up the supergun, you should be able to identify if they use a dummy load (large white square ceramic resistor).