MVS and XRGB - what to look out for ?

[Fudoh]

I want to consolize a MVS to run on a XRGB. Obviously some people did this successfully, while others had problems.

A few questions to those:

CrackLtd and Artemio, your setups are working with the proper AFC settings. Which MVS mainboards are you using ? How's the picture quality with adjusted AFC settings, does it get very shaky ?

Konsolkongen, your MVS is loosing sync regularly ? Which mainboard model are you using ?

em0ti0n, your MVS setup wasn't working at all ? Again, which mainboard (if you remember) ?

A few more general questions:

- how much power do I really need ? I read that the official MVS specs rate the +5V line at 5-7A depending on the MB. Something I can hardly imagine. Even 100W+ arcade PSUs only deliver 2.5A on the +5V line. How important are adjustable voltage controls ? I would like to use a +5/+12V switching power supply, small if possible.

- Do the Stereo-enabled MVS mainboards have line audio levels available from some connector or are all MVS audio signals amplified signals ? Or, when using a 1B mobo with a Stereo mod, are the results line level or again amplified ?

- I would like to mod a HRAP to use on the MVS, so I probably need one with a common ground stick in it. Which HRAPs can I use and which are to be avoided ?

[Ed Oscuro]

Is that 7A for one of the four or six slot models? I've heard (third-hand I suppose) of reliability issues with those. I wouldn't expect a one- or two-slotter shouldn't draw nearly as much. Good luck with the project!

[MKL]

.

[em0ti0n]

my MVS (1-slot motherboard) worked fine in B0 while in B1 mode it had heavy sync problems, I never managed to get stable picture regardless of used settings (AFC,V-sync etc.)
I still do have some pictures from the guy who built consolised MVS for me, if you know what to look for, I will send them though email if you like

[Fudoh]

still do have some pictures from the guy who built consolised MVS for me, if you know what to look for, I will send them though email if you like

maybe you could check on http://www.hardmvs.com/html/PCBcompare.htm to see which actual 1-slot mobo you had. You can click on the board names on top to see pictures.

Actually the MV-1FZ is rated at 5V@7A according the the hardmvs site.

[Fudoh]

A few tidbits from surfing around a tremendous amount of NG-related information on the net...

- The 1B seems to be a good choice for a 1-slot MVS with a horizontal slot (right?).
- Stereo sound is available from it using Jeff Kurtz's easy mod with a few capacitors and resistors (right?).
- A lot of misleading information on wether the audio lines on the back side of the board have to be cut for the stereo mod to work or not (can anyone confirm this, MKL maybe?).
- 12V is just powering the audio amp, so it's not needed for a consolized MVS with stereo line level mod (right?).
- the 1B uses a 1:1 pin connection for the Bios, so a UniBios can easily be installed (right?).

And another question: it seems overkill to go for a new/unused MV-1B board. If I take a used onem I guess the cartridge slot is essentially the only thing to wear down. Can the cartridge slot (aka the riser card) be replaced without changing the actual mainboard (just in case I work on a mobo and need to replace the riser card later on) ??

[em0ti0n]

still do have some pictures from the guy who built consolised MVS for me, if you know what to look for, I will send them though email if you like

maybe you could check on http://www.hardmvs.com/html/PCBcompare.htm to see which actual 1-slot mobo you had. You can click on the board names on top to see pictures.

Actually the MV-1FZ is rated at 5V@7A according the the hardmvs site.

according to the hardmvs site my consolised mvs was based on MV-1A PCB

[mesmer]

1B and 1C are surface mount, while the unibios is DIP.
See this sequence of pictures to get an idea:
http://unibios.free.fr/soldered/

[Fudoh]

1B and 1C are surface mount

yeah I know, but at least the 1B is a direct swap while the 1C involves tons of rerouting the pins.

[Strider77]

I used a 1C and had no issues and great picture on a XRG2, 2+ and 3.

You can see pics of the mod here: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 77+aes+mvs

I had the chip harness soldered into place via wired leads from the PCB (for the multi bios). Not as easy as having the socket to start with but it worked out best for me and what I was wanting to do. It only required 5 volts to power and has stereo sound, had to do that simple mod for the stereo like you noted.

But I have had zero issues with any of the XRGBs and no need to fiddle with the AFC settings, I've only had to do that for my PC Engine. It's gives a great RGB signal on my setup, strong and clear.

[Fudoh]

that's one nice consolized MVS !

What's your target display again ? With the MVS RGB output being slightly off the NTSC standard (59,15 vs. 59,94Hz) I start wondering if it's actually the displays that are incompatible and not the XRGB units.

[Pocket_Man]

i never had any problems using my consolized 2slot and my 1slot via supergun
on my xrgb 2+ or xrgb 3. on some monitors the picture is too bright.

[Strider77]

It's going to a Sony KD-34XS955, a CRT HD TV.

[gundamalpha]

Remember I posted I had probolems running MVS through XRGB2/3 and Videon Omega fudoh?

I now have them running fine after switching to other displays. Apparently none of the LCDs I have sync the MVS correctly, although some other boards can run fine.

[cools]

Even 100W+ arcade PSUs only deliver 2.5A on the +5V line.

Every one I own does 5V/15A, 12V/2.5A, -5V/1A

[RGB32E]

Remember I posted I had probolems running MVS through XRGB2/3 and Videon Omega fudoh?

I now have them running fine after switching to other displays. Apparently none of the LCDs I have sync the MVS correctly, although some other boards can run fine.

Yeah, I haven't been able to get my MVS stable in B1 mode on my RGB LED.... good thing I prefer B0 mode!

[Kiel]

I have a MV1B and all i have to do is set AFC to 4 and its great (B0 mode though since my TV doesnt work at all with B1)