Candy cab appreciation thread. I want candy!

[Fritz]

22 minutes ago, djsheep said:

Panel on top with the different colours is actually a modern repro licensed from SEGA by Sanwa.

It’s still purchasable at retail from stores like BEEP!, MAK, etc. in Japan and online from Tops: https://www.tops-game.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=5665

Bottom one looks like the legit Panel though. 

Oh wow, thanks for enlightening me. How did you come to know this?

[djsheep]

This Blast City panel was commonly used in later builds of the Boardmaster Supergun which was designed in part by the guy who runs G-Front PCB shop in Japan.

Had the pleasure of conversations with him at the store a couple of times last time I was in Akihabara and he clued me into the repro panels; as Seimitsu had the license to but stopped making the Astro City licensed panels which were use in previous builds of the device.

They were on the shelf at the stores mentioned above, and they’re still listed in the Sanwa catalog. The big giveaway is the “Licensed by SEGA” text at the top of the panel. Here’s a snap from the latest Sanwa catalog:

I have an original panel here and it looks the same as the one on the bottom of your trio. The printing looks horrible on the original too FWIW, that always threw me off and had to ask people who know better.

Easy way to tell if your actual metal panel is original is that the SEGA part number “HOT-200x” will be stamped into the panel. 

This site is an excellent reference too: http://solid-orange.com/1805/comment-page-1

Hope this helps, happy gaming!

Edited May 21 by djsheep

[Fritz]

1 hour ago, djsheep said:

This Blast City panel was commonly used in later builds of the Boardmaster Supergun which was designed in part by the guy who runs G-Front PCB shop in Japan.

Had the pleasure of conversations with him at the store a couple of times last time I was in Akihabara and he clued me into the repro panels; as Seimitsu had the license to but stopped making the Astro City licensed panels which were use in previous builds of the device.

They were on the shelf at the stores mentioned above, and they’re still listed in the Sanwa catalog. The big giveaway is the “Licensed by SEGA” text at the top of the panel. Here’s a snap from the latest Sanwa catalog:

I have an original panel here and it looks the same as the one on the bottom of your trio. The printing looks horrible on the original too FWIW, that always threw me off and had to ask people who know better.

Easy way to tell if your actual metal panel is original is that the SEGA part number “HOT-200x” will be stamped into the panel. 

This site is an excellent reference too: http://solid-orange.com/1805/comment-page-1

Hope this helps, happy gaming!

Very cool, thanks a lot

[Fritz]

Well the control panel is back to its former glory.

Put the final touch on today, the 100 yen sticker (thanks djsheep). Just need to get an instruction insert printed.

Can anyone tell me if the Astro City instruction card is the same size as the Blast City?

https://segamadebaddecisions.wordpress.com/custom-astro-city-instruction-cards/

Because these looks great.

[djsheep]

Panel looks clean. Glad you like the decal.

Blast Instruction Space size is 480mm x 70mm. If you take the art files you need to Officeworks they can print them to size and you can use their guillotine to cut ‘em up.

Some more cool move strips here btw: https://emphatic.se/?p=807

Edited May 22 by djsheep

[Fritz]

Something weird happened. It's finally time to deal with the tube, it was turning on before and working okay.

The people I got it off said the cab was "not working" but it did indeed work for me when it arrived, I'm actually thinking it "fixed" itself during transit because the chassis had fallen off the frame and was dangling by wires in the ether of the cab. I righted the chassis, placed it back on the frame and guess what, now the tube doesn't turn on. Everything else powers on though 😂. Thinking when the chassis was hanging out it was pulling a plug in the right direction but now it's slack and perhaps the plug is faulty, just a theory.

I have worked on consumer CRT sets, not much with arcade. Should I discharge this mother before jiggling connectors?

I also want to set up a test bench so I can power it on outside the cab to do convergence adjustments etc, can someone point me in the right direction for building something like this? I've found a few articles but not really any step by step.

[Gemini2544]

9 minutes ago, Fritz said:

I also want to set up a test bench so I can power it on outside the cab to do convergence adjustments etc, can someone point me in the right direction for building something like this?

I built this years ago as a jamma work station. I'm re-capping this Chassis now as it's long over due.

[namastepat]

1 hour ago, Fritz said:

Something weird happened. It's finally time to deal with the tube, it was turning on before and working okay.

The people I got it off said the cab was "not working" but it did indeed work for me when it arrived, I'm actually thinking it "fixed" itself during transit because the chassis had fallen off the frame and was dangling by wires in the ether of the cab. I righted the chassis, placed it back on the frame and guess what, now the tube doesn't turn on. Everything else powers on though 😂. Thinking when the chassis was hanging out it was pulling a plug in the right direction but now it's slack and perhaps the plug is faulty, just a theory.

I have worked on consumer CRT sets, not much with arcade. Should I discharge this mother before jiggling connectors?

I also want to set up a test bench so I can power it on outside the cab to do convergence adjustments etc, can someone point me in the right direction for building something like this? I've found a few articles but not really any step by step.

You don't need to discharge if all you are doing is reseating connectors on the chassis. You only need to discharge when you are removing the anode cup at the back of the tube. Obviously don't mess with any connectors while the power is on, but when the power is off, it's fine to reseat the connectors on the chassis.

With the chassis dangling in the cab, you are extremely lucky the neck of the tube didn't crack. The entire weight of the chassis would have been supported by the neck board, which could have easily cracked the neck while it was in transit.

Edited May 24 by namastepat

[mR_CaESaR]

What happens when you turn on the machine, do you have an orange neck glow or a blue one? 

I'm scared that the same thing has happened to you as it did to another person I know that got one of the blasts from that Melbourne sale a couple of months back ie. The 2931 necked the tube - which is notoriously known to do (I personally know of 3 people it's happened to) 

[1.21 Gigawatts]

How long between when you last had it working and when you put the chassis back on the frame @Fritz? 

[Fritz]

@mR_CaESaRNo neck glow, I'm trying to figure out if any power is making it to the chassis to begin with. I just did that psu fan modification and hoping it has nothing to do with that.

@1.21 GigawattsI only had it going a few days ago just to test a board was working, which it was.

Can someone tell me what the right hand plug is for? The manual says the left one is for the video signal but doesn't say what the right is. I want to test the power input with multimeter to make sure there's power getting to the CRT board to begin with and wondering if that's the CRT power supply plug.

 

[mR_CaESaR]

First thing I'd be doing is grabbing the multi meter out and probing that red and blue wire to see if you're getting 100v into that connector, if not, then it's a matter of tracing back. If you are, then there's a high chance it's the chassis.

[Fritz]

Yep 🤔

[namastepat]

Remove and test the fuses on the chassis. Not sure how many will be on a 2931, but there will usually be 1-2 on all Nanao chassis. If the fuse is blown, it suggests other issues, and would be the first thing I'd test if the 110V is going into that connector fine.

[Fritz]

27 minutes ago, namastepat said:

Remove and test the fuses on the chassis. Not sure how many will be on a 2931, but there will usually be 1-2 on all Nanao chassis. If the fuse is blown, it suggests other issues, and would be the first thing I'd test if the 110V is going into that connector fine.

Removed and tested both fuses, both fine.

Re seated all cables.

Turned it on and poked around with a wooden rod but jiggling stuff didn't seem to make a connection. Very strange. Looks like I'll have to pull it out and have a closer inspection. The neck looks fine but there's no glow so power not getting there.

[mR_CaESaR]

The chassis might be in protection mode. 

[Gemini2544]

If the chassis was swinging on the cables I'd re-flow all the cable socket headers pins/sockets solder pads. Chances are high the joints have been stressed.

[1.21 Gigawatts]

I only ask @Fritz because when mine sat for a while in the cold it wouldn’t start up. I pointed a fan heater in the front door for ten mins and then it started okay. Also have you tried re-seating the neck board? I doubt it’s that but something else to try. 

[IISKISII]

Hey All, I’m new to arcade ownership however I’m loving my New Astro city and slowly restoring and righting some wrongs from previous owners and I’ve discovered an issue which I assume is poor wiring but hopefully someone here had encountered it before and can direct me to a fix. 
 

I have a 2 player, 6 button panel that I presume has had buttons 5 and 6 wired into the jamma harness. ( Chamma?). Anyway, 1/10 pushes to the right on the left stick will add an extra credit on Neo Geo games or medium kick on Street fighter arcade for example. 
 

Has anyone experienced this and able to direct me where to start?

 

upgraded panel for those who enjoy a clean looking one. 
 

 

[mR_CaESaR]

It's all about how it was wired when you got it and then how you've installed the panel. 

If you take some pics of the under base you it's a starting block. 

Do you have a multi meter to start probing where things are. If not, I suggest going into jaycar asap and get one as it's probably the single best tool you can learn to use in this hobby. 

On the astro city, you'll find a white 12 way connector, a yellow 12 way connector and a white 10 way connector. The 12 way is p1 and P2 and is normally wired for up, down, left, right, start, B1, B2, b3. 

The 10 way is wired for p1 and P2 b4, b5 and b6. The 10 way also acts as a pass through, ie. It's not connected to anywhere else in the cab, when you open the Service door, do you see another 10 way connector about that's a female connector? 

Get some of that info and we can go from there. 

[IISKISII]

2 hours ago, mR_CaESaR said:

It's all about how it was wired when you got it and then how you've installed the panel. 

If you take some pics of the under base you it's a starting block. 

Do you have a multi meter to start probing where things are. If not, I suggest going into jaycar asap and get one as it's probably the single best tool you can learn to use in this hobby. 

On the astro city, you'll find a white 12 way connector, a yellow 12 way connector and a white 10 way connector. The 12 way is p1 and P2 and is normally wired for up, down, left, right, start, B1, B2, b3. 

The 10 way is wired for p1 and P2 b4, b5 and b6. The 10 way also acts as a pass through, ie. It's not connected to anywhere else in the cab, when you open the Service door, do you see another 10 way connector about that's a female connector? 

Get some of that info and we can go from there. 

Amazing info, thank you. 
 

I’m also not comprehending a heap tonight as I’m coming down with something. But I have had a look and taken some pic. I noticed that button 5 has 2 wires in one connecter where as all others only have 1. 
 

took some pics. Apologies if they aren’t great 

[IISKISII]

Alright, so it’s fixed in a way. 
 

So old player 1 stick didn’t have the issue and when I switched for new sticks, p1 had the issue, p2 no issue. Swapped sticks to check that and issue remained. 
 

worked out buttons 5/6 were wired into the jamma and recalled selecting Chamma on the mistercade. Toggled that off and no more issue. So I’m in the process of wiring button 6 in through a kick harness. 
 

However! Prior to the above annoying issue, we would get random credits added through games and upon testing after the fix, the old credit issue popped up with very random button pressing of button 1 and 4. Weird!!

 

I can live with it but it doesn’t make any sense. 
 

thanks again for the earlier help. Hope this helps someone else. 

[mR_CaESaR]

Good stuff! So you have a mistercade installed? Are there button macro's for credit on any ini file or something on the mister? That's the only thing I can think of.

[IISKISII]

Yeah good idea. I didn’t set up an ini file for credit but I should check to see if there is one and maybe it’s corrupt?

[Gemini2544]

Isn't their a wiring error on some Chinese Jamma looms. I remember a few Mame beginners having control issues, had something to do with pins 25,26 (I think) being wired to ground.