Jump to content
Due to a large amount of spamers, accounts will now have to be approved by the Admins so please be patient. ×
IGNORED

My first cab minor restoration project


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for having me as a new user on the forums!

 

Today I picked up a Street Fighter II Champion Edition lowboy cab that needs to cleaning up/repair/restoration. I got a pretty good deal on it so not too fussed about its condition. It's in pretty good shape but I'm going to need a little help in getting the thing sorted. You'll have to forgive my ignorance with some terminology as I'm a complete noob, like the only arcade experience I've got is a MAME cab.

 

Problem list so far:

  • the picture flickers, colours are off and the dimensions need to be tweaked to match the screen
  • some of the graphics are actually missing from the image. For example don't actually appear on the background so all the sounds of fighting are there but the characters can't be seen (see images below)
  • the game pauses with a blue screen and high pitched sound from the speaker then returns to its normal routine

 

I suspect the monitor/chassis may need a tune or possible replacement and I'd love for this to be all that's required, but hope it's nothing too much more technical. I've checked all connectors and they seem to be ok and there are no obviously blown capacitors etc.

 

I'm looking forward to tidying up the cabinet to bring it closer to its former glory but will need the help of the experts in this forum.

 

I've attached a few pictures, hope it's not too many and that they help to a degree!

 

Thanks for the guru guidance,

Nick

 

20190224_181638.thumb.jpg.3dbe7c0712774ac459efb1ced1469d11.jpg20190224_181911.thumb.jpg.bab3a837c72593286013fd41988596ae.jpg20190224_182308.thumb.jpg.5844924b80af35d37c6ada0d17913b35.jpg20190224_182351.thumb.jpg.6f6969636c4fecf9ce060c01c1875ae7.jpg20190224_182403.thumb.jpg.0fab55f65f955318a1a5f8e7dbeee3c4.jpg20190224_182425.thumb.jpg.3a94f851d572b294374a8f4b53ee2d67.jpg20190224_182437.thumb.jpg.2dfe68c81025a6033c37ede994d07463.jpg20190224_182444.thumb.jpg.7996f1d2bc675695ae1805a17103b1a8.jpg20190224_182521.thumb.jpg.9d78d3ae9ebf49c03d594167574e8082.jpg20190224_182847.thumb.jpg.d35f930bb772fe383e0b5fdac684bdd9.jpg20190224_182926.thumb.jpg.44b72e25036b4727f1a097254beaf5f4.jpg20190224_182932.thumb.jpg.ee7f3b6c6c606175cafbed3cdd50fa26.jpg20190224_183035.thumb.jpg.7863c30f4c26909cbf451f30a12082ae.jpg20190224_183051.thumb.jpg.8e572c4f25d7a27473bb9ef59151626c.jpg20190224_183057.thumb.jpg.aacdf8b033f3740ea1f035dc3d3adabc.jpg20190224_183226.thumb.jpg.aba59ee1dbb4a594365fc2edc58df4ec.jpg

Edited by NRB
duplicate image
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to get the monitor fixed, the first step will be to learn how to discharge the tube and remove the chassis. It's not difficult, but it can be very daunting for a newbie. It's best done after you have left the cab switched off for a day or so, then the tube will likely not be holding any charge. Still, it's best practice to discharge anyway, and then after discharging, unplug the chassis connections to the tube.

 

Once the chassis is removed from the cab, you will need to get it repaired. The large majority of us send our chassis to Jomac in Perth, he does excellent work. A chassis service will run you around $95 or so, plus post each way.

 

Now, the missing game sprites means you have a board fault somewhere. I'm not familiar with that SFII board, it might be a bootleg, not sure. It's not the standard CPS1 Capcom boardset. There are people on here who can repair boards, but it can be a costly process and if the board is a bootleg, it's often not worth it. Someone with more experience with SFII boards will be able to tell you if it's a bootleg or original. Maybe @Womble will know, he's the resident board repair expert. All the Capcom stickers everywhere make me think it could be genuine, but it's not the CPS1 version of CE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks namastepat. I'm familiar with discharging monitors and contacted Jomac last week regarding chassis repair/service. I look forward to hearing what Womble may have to contribute to the discussion.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice pickup!

LAI lowboys are very kool units as thay stand out and dont take much room.

For its age most likely the chassis is due for a Service. Jomac is the guy I use for this.

Looking at The Pictures you have posted the last picture with the hardness joiner looks as its not plug in all the way!

This maybe the reason for some problems?

Turn the cabinets power off befor trying adjusting this plug! It looks as the lidt side needs pushing in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I'm leaning towards it being a bootleg, it certainly isn't a CPS1 board that you'd expect for a SFII CE. I suspect those Capcom stickers may be home-made, or done by an Op at some stage to make it look more official.

 

As for the fault, that palm size mark is an old water mark, may be related to the fault but the board looks pretty clean, even in that area. It's probably the a RAM/ROM/glue logic fault, one that has shut down the output of certain gfx elements. I'd need to poke the oscilloscope at it to make a call on it.

 

Was this from the Bartronica sale? I nearly went, had to force myself not to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I'm leaning towards it being a bootleg

Damn, here I was thinking it was a legit cab. I'm not too concerned though as it was pretty cheap.

 

I'd need to poke the oscilloscope at it to make a call on it.

Wish I had the tools and knowledge to do that myself...

 

Was this from the Bartronica sale? I nearly went, had to force myself not to.

Not from Bartronica sale, picked it up on Gumtree.

 

Looks as a chip was replace there! Would think that be ok.

I would of check the 5v befor thinking its a fault.

I've got a multimeter, so this I CAN do. As stated I'm a complete noob, so where abouts should I be testing the 5V?

 

Thanks guys, this community's already proving to be fantastic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 5V will need to be tested at the edge connector of the board. Problem is, it's running through a harness adaptor and may not be JAMMA standard. A JAMMA pinout looks like this.

 

jamma_pinout.gif.3950592899aeaa442d24923b9fb13d45.gif

 

Looking at the harness that connects to your edge connector, the two red wires at the top would be your 5V. I assume the adaptor harness could be to convert LAI pinout to JAMMA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeh, it looks like this cabinet is wired as old school LAI, with the extra buttons for the kick harness, and the main wiring goes into an LAI to JAMMA adaptor harness to convert to the board.

 

As Pat said above, measure at the game board rather than the PSU, although I doubt your issues are related to low voltage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like you'll be up for another game board at least

 

Generally the cost to get someone to look at a game board and repair it, wouldnt be worth investing toward a bootleg board of street fighter

 

That money would be better spent putting toward an original working CPS1 SF2 Champion Edition in working condition. Whilst ebay prices are high, there have been a couple of hyper fighting boards come up in the for sale section for around 200-250 mark recently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for having me as a new user on the forums!

 

Welcome to the forums Nick.

 

Without delving into specifics of your repair (many more qualified people in this forum than me), I do want to suggest the following:

 

* Understand how dangerous it is! - It is no good taking up a new hobby and getting killed.

 

You should really contemplate safety every time you open the back of the machine. Not just for you, but for the person who next owns / uses the machine.

 

Safety is not just about how you work, but what changes or fixes you make. I have seen some abhorrent "fixes" made to machines that were just ridiculously wrong and unsafe.

 

 

* Take your time

 

We've all made a repair at some stage and then realised that we have made things worse. Its not a good feeling.

 

The beauty of modern (Internet supported) repair is that you can take your time and research widely. Try not to cut corners to speed things up. Ask if a path of action is a good path.

 

 

* Don't be afraid

 

When the above items have been resolved. Go for it! Enjoy the process!

 

 

Enjoy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't necessarily go looking for the major problem when it may be quite easy to fix after all, you are getting a picture sometimes.

 

First thing, no special tools required. Turn it off and remove the edge connector going to the edge of the board. Thumb and finger clamp one end of the connector surfaces that contact the removed connector on the board and drag your thumb/ finger along the surfaces. This cleans the board edges that need a good connection and just one speck of dust can prevent this. Take it as that connector is now cleaned. Go to the next connector where it joins the biscuit...(Biscuit is the part with lines on it that looks like the board surface), and do the same as you did with the board itself. Keep going till all these style connectors are done. Try booting it up now.

 

If you are still loosing colours, graphics turn the machine off, remove the board and start prying the socketed chips up both ends, ( don't remove them, just lift them a couple of mill and then push it firmly back in the socket and proceed to the next one till they are all done.

 

Try booting up the machine....

 

If you still have graphics issues, you probably have a board problem. A colour problem, starting to look like a monitor problem..

 

Machine runs fine but gets to a point and stops....The 5volt is set to low and requires adjusting.

 

These are the exact same things I do when faced with a video machine with similar problems I can see from your pictures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again for the advice and support, it's always great to find a bunch of like-minded individuals who are generous with their knowledge.

 

I've removed and replaced all socketed chips and cleaned all connections at the board and biscuit, but that had no effect.

 

I've run the multimeter over the JAMMA harness and found the following:

 

Pin 3 +5.75v

Pin 4 +5.75v

Pin 5 -4.51v

Pin 6 +13.61v

 

Looks like I'm up for a new board which is what I suspected all along. Is it wishful thinking to hope now that that the picture issues stem more from the game board than the monitor itself? I'm tipping I need a new PCB AND some assistance by Jomac, LOL.//

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are best to connect the PCB board and test voltages from that end , so its tested with load. Ideally youd want 5v, even 5.1 is fine at the game board.

 

In any case, I wouldnt think voltage would cause just character sprites to disappear from a game, but nothing would surprise me.

Youre likely up for a PCB replacement based on the sprites missing.

 

That being said, you will still need to adjust your monitor and if other issues unrelated to game sprites continue with your display, id be suspecting a chassis refurb from Jomac

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are best to connect the PCB board and test voltages from that end , so its tested with load. Ideally youd want 5v, even 5.1 is fine at the game board.

 

Tested under load:

Pin 3/4 +5.1v

Pin 5 -5.8v

Pin 6 +14.4v

 

 

In any case, I wouldnt think voltage would cause just character sprites to disappear from a game, but nothing would surprise me.

Youre likely up for a PCB replacement based on the sprites missing.

 

I agree with you, everything points to this. I guess my next move is to buy a replacement PCB and see what the monitor's doing with a good board, eh?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5.1 is good with load

 

Once you get a good board, the good thing about Street Fighter 2 PCBs, if you go into the service menu, there is also a colour palette. You can use it to adjust brightness, R G B, contrast etc.

Also adjust your sizes etc.

 

Id also go over the tube with a degaussing wand whilst at it.

 

Once you do all that, if youre still getting display issues, let us know what they are for an opinion, though likely will be a chassis repair job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just for completeness I thought I'd film the behaviour of the machine on start-up for anyone else who may be troubleshooting theirs in the future. My misery could help others assess a machine better prior to purchase!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, you have major chassis issues there. Far more likely to be related to the chassis and not the gameboard. The gameboard clearly has issues, but I'd be getting the chassis sorted first and then hooking up a working gameboard to test the monitor after the chassis has been serviced.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

id chuck in another board, and if shaky, try a minor adjustment on horizontal hold on the monitor chassis. if still craphouse, Jomac time.

 

Edit- guys what would cause the bottom to flare out. Looks like Pincushion distortion

Edited by mrjamma
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What does cause that pincushioning?

 

On another note, what sort of fluorescent tube fitting was used in these LAI cabs? The photo below shows two clips with no housing and four individual wire connectors. Was it a naked tube with two connectors fitted to each end?

 

20190224_181911.thumb.jpeg.daf59137bf72fde3484f09a4c8a451fb.jpeg

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Aussie Arcade mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Power supply issue to the flyback, mb. Would probably drive a lamp fine :)

 

The fluoro would have been a 15W T8, not too hard to get. Tube can go in either way round, and either connector can go on either pin, as long as you don't mix the wires up between ends.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...