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Author Topic: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to  (Read 3480 times)

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greven grevs

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Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« on: May 07, 2005, 02:02:48 am »
I decided to hack one of these Ms Pacman games so that I can eventually put it into a bartop for a friend. Seeing as how there was not any sites showing a step by step , I decided to document my process. You can see it at ...
www.thegrevengroup.com

just click on projects.


dabone

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2005, 08:32:04 am »
Just a word of advice.

Measure the voltage from the power supply AFTER you put a load on it.


(You can check for polarity without a load, then double check your voltage after the game is connected)

Without a load, the power supply will read much higher that it actually is.



Later,
adbone

RandyT

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2005, 10:26:27 am »
Just a word of advice.

Measure the voltage from the power supply AFTER you put a load on it.


(You can check for polarity without a load, then double check your voltage after the game is connected)

Without a load, the power supply will read much higher that it actually is.

Sorry, but this is not good advice.  Most power supplies, especially non-regulated ones, are designed with a particular load in mind.  This means that the supply expects the device to pretty much immediately draw so much current, that the voltage will drop to the expected level.

The problem is that the load created by one of these little game systems is probably nowhere near the load of an answering machine, portable TV, battery charger, etc.  This means that the voltage will never drop to what is stated on the label of the power supply, and will subsequently kill your game.

The answer is to use a regulated supply.  But failing that, the method used in the tutorial is indeed the best way to approach this problem.

RandyT

greven grevs

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2005, 04:14:43 am »
hey dabone ,
advice taken. reading up more on the subject.

as for the game unit , it ran for about 2-3 straight today with out a problem.  ;D

crashwg

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2005, 06:31:17 am »
Quote
!!!WARNING: MAKE SURE THAT THE WIRES ARE SECURED AND THAT NO ONE IS TOUCHING THE BARE WIRES BEFORE GOING ON!!!!!

Seriously?  I've put much more voltage than that on my tongue before with no ill effects...

Disclaimers are getting a bit out of controll in this day and age.  Pretty soon we'll have disclaimers on our doors urging us to make sure our shoes are tied or we may trip and injure ourselves, others or property!

BTW, I'm not trying to be a dink.  I'm merely pointing out the humor of it all!  ;)

PS, before it get's mentioned (because I know it will) I do realize that amperage plays an equal part in the danger of electricity and you shouldn't go out and say "hey a car batery is only 12v, that's only 3v higher than a 9v, what could it hurt?"  I have yet to come across a "wal-wart" that was capable of giving more than a barely noticable tingle to the skin.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2005, 06:35:55 am by crashwg »
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greven grevs

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2005, 12:58:51 pm »
no offense taken crashwg, i just dont want to get an email from joe bagodonuts telling me how he nearly fried himself cause he decided to cut an old extension cord in half and held the bare wire to the probes using both hands while plugging the socket in with his butt cheeks   ;D

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2005, 05:11:19 pm »

Seriously?  I've put much more voltage than that on my tongue before with no ill effects...


* DrewKaree thinks that explains a lot of things to an awful lot of folks here

Well, at least you can say YOU didn't notice any effects.....which is actually an effect of it right there, but look who I'm trying to explain that to!  The guy who's touching electrical components with his tongue! ;D
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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2005, 07:40:19 am »
I took the full high voltage out of a running monitor once, and it actually wasn't painful at all. It WAS incredibly intense and it froze me for a second, but I never felt a bit of pain.
Acceptance of Zen philosophy is marred slightly by the nagging thought that if all things are interconnected, then all things must be in some way involved with Pauly Shore.

daywane

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2005, 09:08:43 am »
I grabbed a old timing light.
man did that thing put a hurt on me.

My younger brother just kept cranking the motor and my arm was about to pop.

I mean DAG GUM that hurt!!!!

I had 220 toss me across a kitchen once. I will take that any day over what that timing light did to me,

I would have peed if I thought it would help. :)

KenToad

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2005, 09:20:43 am »
no offense taken crashwg, i just dont want to get an email from joe bagodonuts telling me how he nearly fried himself cause he decided to cut an old extension cord in half and held the bare wire to the probes using both hands while plugging the socket in with his butt cheeks ;D

I took the full high voltage out of a running monitor once, and it actually wasn't painful at all. It WAS incredibly intense and it froze me for a second, but I never felt a bit of pain.

I'm still laughing about this thread.  That freezing effect is incredible.  Stick a 9v battery on your tongue for a cheap thrill.  Also, about Paigeoliver explaining that he didn't feel pain, I've always been curious what pain really is intended to indicate.  For example, I think pain is there to explain and motivate the healing process.  So, feeling pain afterward would make more sense.  Also, my fiancee studies brain functions and explained yesterday that violent seizures are thought to destroy neurons in the brain because they are uninhibited electrical impulses that actually fry bits of your brain.  Those things don't heal, so no pain, theoretically, at least. 

That said, don't play around with high voltage, although I have a friend who can hang onto high voltage devices and not feel anything but a pulsation, but if he reaches out and touches you, you will get the shock. 

Anyway, just wanted to thank greven grevs for taking the time to explain the power supply hack.  Now, if Jakks would just put a stupid memory chip in that system to store high scores, I might think about buying one for hacking.

Cheers,

KenToad

*Edit -- I see DayWayne felt the pain.  So much for theories.  I must now put down the philosopher's hat and revel in the hilarity.

jer2665

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2005, 09:31:40 am »
here's some low voltage fun

http://www.shockingfun.com/product/DUALVOLTREACTION

I bought that thing, great party game, not the worst shock, i mean it's like 2 or 3 aa batteries, so you can't expect much, it's funny because it doesn't hurt much but it does make a lot of people drop the handle, and if you're not expecting it, it is quite a shock.  now someone should hook that up to 220 and have you tough guys who don't feel anything play a game.  :P

MinerAl

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2005, 10:41:10 am »
Great article!

A few notes:

7.7 - 4.5 = 3.2 not 2.7 :)

I've done this hack on 3 different Ms. Pac-TV games (because I was dumb and ruined the first 2) and the wire colors (and even the main boards) are not consistent.  Make sure you are using the labels on the boards to identify the wires and not the colors! (Not that you said to use the colors, but people trying it might...)

Very nice work.  Keep it up!

missioncontrol

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2005, 01:38:53 pm »
When I was an electrician in the navy I was zaped with 440 volts....... It threw me back a few feet and left a burn on my thumb and foot..........


gust0208

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2005, 02:11:51 pm »
Hello,

I recently ordered one of these Namco 5-in-1's to do the small bar top hack and I wanted to say thank you for the picture tutorial, it was very helpful for us new to this area of modding.  Maybe next you will take on wiring some arcade controls to replace the original ones for use in a bar top! *wink wink nudge nudge*

Thanks again for the work,
Tom
-----------------------------
4-player Visio CP templates: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gust0208/visio/

greven grevs

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2005, 02:14:01 pm »
MinerAl - went ahead and fixed my math  ;)  and also added that the wire color may vary

gust0208 - i plan to in the very near future. just waiting on my little tv to show up. should be here this week.

nostrebor

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2005, 03:52:25 pm »
When I was an electrician in the navy I was zaped with 440 volts....... It threw me back a few feet and left a burn on my thumb and foot..........



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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #16 on: May 09, 2005, 06:14:50 pm »
I got zapped once by "The Chicken Machine"- you know, that vending machine with a plactic chicken that swaps quarters for cheap plastic eggs with even cheaper plastic prizes inside.  My buddies all watched and laughed as I did the shuck'n'jive for a second, and to this day, they still tease me about it whenever we see one.

I hate that damn chicken.

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Re: Hack Namco 5in1 power supply - Simple how to
« Reply #17 on: May 09, 2005, 07:33:49 pm »

BOCK! BOCK! BOCK!!

NO MORE!!