Need a Taito F3 expert (GunLock - Rayforce)

[Dampfwalze]

I bought a GunLock PCB (not a conversion but the real deal) on eBay and on first sight, it basically was O.K., so I already gave him positive feedback.
But after extensive testing I have some doubts.
First and foremost problem: is it normal that if I am in Sound Test menu and change the balance to the left, the sound goes mute? I think the F3 cartdridge motherboards do have a Dip switch for Mono/Stereo but I can't find one on the Gunlock PCB.
Does someone own a Gunlock or Rayforce and can confirm if this is OK or a failure?

Second problem: when there are bright graphics before black background (for example in the service menu the green letters) the colors are kind of bleeding (green color fades into the black background). This looks a little bit like the opening credits of Total Recall (the Schwartzenegger version).
I guess this is some old capacitor in the RGB circuit. Somebody knows what little bastard may cause this problems?

Thank you very much for your help!

[robivy64]

I cant speak on the sound issue, but the colors "smearing" has been present in the Rayforce and Gunlock PCBs I have owned.

I've always had to adjust the monitor's brightness just a little with this game. I think this is normal, at least with Nanao MS8/9 monitors.

[Dampfwalze]

Thank you for clarification. Very strange that Taito brings out a PCB that has problems with the video signal right from the start, but everything is possible.

It would be very cool if you could check about this sound problem I have before you sell your Gun Lock. It's very easy to check. Enter the service menu, choose sound test (or the menu with "sound" in the name) and there you can change the balance of the soundoutput. If I change the slider to the right, the music becomes a bit louder but if I change the slider to the left, the music is almost mute.

Oh and to return the favor I checked my board and it does have the same wirings on the back as your board and I know of one other Gun Lock on eBay that has also the exact wirings on the back. So either 3 boards do have the exact same problem an repair, or it is kind of a revision wiring made by Taito. I think the later possibility is the more plausible one.

[robivy64]

Cool! Thanks for the pic of the wires on the bottom. It matched mine perfectly. I think we can rest assured that this was a factory repair.

As for the sound, the volume of the music when adjusting the balance stays the same on my PCB. It is not mute when configured to the left or right channels. You may want to ensure that stereo is not enabled.

[Dampfwalze]

Thank you again for testing the sound.
Do you know where to change between Mono and Stero? It's not possible in the service menu, but I did not find any dip switches on the pcb.

[system11]

Thanks for posting about the colour bleed - I was just about to try hunting for faults on a Gunlock I just repaired.

[killingbeans]

Riiiiise from your grave!

Second problem: when there are bright graphics before black background (for example in the service menu the green letters) the colors are kind of bleeding (green color fades into the black background). This looks a little bit like the opening credits of Total Recall (the Schwartzenegger version).
I guess this is some old capacitor in the RGB circuit. Somebody knows what little bastard may cause this problems?

I cant speak on the sound issue, but the colors "smearing" has been present in the Rayforce and Gunlock PCBs I have owned.

I've always had to adjust the monitor's brightness just a little with this game. I think this is normal, at least with Nanao MS8/9 monitors.

I have the same color "problem" with Gunlock on my Egret II. I guess it's just a design flaw on the PCB, but can it be fixed somehow?

[system11]

Probably best left alone.

It would be interesting to know if anyone who has a supergun with RGB potentiometers is able to eliminate it by turning the pots down. If so it would suggest the RGB level is simply too high.

[Dampfwalze]

A repair guy told me that "slow graphic eproms" would be the reason for this problem.
But I never heard of this kinda problem before.

My sound problem seems to be real, though. Guess I have to find someone to check the sound-mixing circuit for the jamma-mono output.

[system11]

Yes I can verify too - balance shouldn't affect the L/R.

Are there any cut tracks underneath? I've seen people deliberately break this sort of thing before to make things work with cab wiring.

[Dampfwalze]

Thanks for the hint.
I will check it after I got my glasses on friday (at the moment I am nearly blind at short distances).

[Nebula]

Firstly, sorry for the necro-bump!

But I have great news about this topic!:

I was able to repair the annoying "color bleeding" effect in Taito F3. In particular, it is only present in pcbs that have the "Expand PCB" like Gunlock and Light Bringer.

Now I have sharp and colorful image in my Gunlock pcb.

More info and details here: https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/ ... D-problem/

I also uploaded a Youtube video explaining the repair process (only in Spanish, sorry ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF0dC3QtX3I

[Dampfwalze]

Thank you very much Sergio!
You are awesome. Now I just have to send my board over to Caius and I may have a perfect Gunlock board after all!
Kind regards,
Juergen