Think I've fried a SEGA Model 1 Virtua Fighter

[daplino]

Hi everybody,

I came accross a Virtua Fighter Cabinet with everything in a junk yard and I picked it up. aaaaaah ......My first arcade machine .....

After I got documented I replaced the switching PSU with my computer's ATX one just to check and I got the game working...with no picture( but could hear the sound).
Since I looked closer to the monitor, but I still cannot make it work. In the meantime, without changing anything, the sound disappeared. and it seems to me some diodes on the CPU were not lighting anymore (4 diodes located on the two ranges of red/green diodes)

Now the worst : I bought a new ATX specially for the cabinet and when I connected it I mixed accidentally the +12v with the +5v (ATX's +12v is yellow just like the +5v wires in the cabinet). I put this foolish setup ON for about five minutes and noticed the yellow wire was getting hot.

I've checked all the boards and none has burn traces, each board has at least a diode which is lighting but the two ranges red/green diodes on the CPU board don't lght at all.

Do you think I can do something to repair??
How can I check what is still good and what is only good for trash??

Thanks


P.S.: sorry for my english

[ChadTower]

ZZZZZZT.  Sorry man, you probably did fry it.  I'd start by checking the voltage regulators on the board, as well as any fuses.  Hopefully those things went out before anything more important.

[daplino]

OK I'll check these (but first I'll check how to check them > NOOB).
Thanks for reply.


If someone else has an idea/knows the VF hardware please answer.

BTW does somoene know the meaning of the two ranges red/green leds on the CPU Board.

[ChadTower]

First thing is first... get a proper power supply.  If you keep powering it up with that one you're only going to make things worse.

Why did you replace the switching PSU?  Those are usually rock solid.

[daplino]

The original PSU wasn't working, I checked it with a multimeter. And I first readed on many places around the net that it wasn't worth to repair.

So I put my computers ATX (couldn't use my computer), checked it with a multimeter, set it up properly in the cabinet, got the game working (sound but no image, I managed to do a "Ring Out" ).
But then I bought a "dedicated" ATX for my cabinet, checked the voltages, wired it improperly and banged my head to the walls when I realised what I had done.

I'm not used to such crappy things, it was an accident.

I really like to learn and if there's a way to get the game work again then I'll try, even if it takes me years replacing any single EPROM.

What is difficult with this cabinet is that I didn't receive it as "working" it was in a junk yard, many "problems" showed up in the same time, I try to get organised but it's just like if I was doomed with electronics.

[ChadTower]

Now you know why you found it in a junkyard.   

Good job, though, rescuing it and being dedicated to bringing it back. 

Go here and read as much as you can handle.  The content will include all of the info you need to get this thing working again.  I would heartily recommend his vids, too, if you're inclined to buy any of them.

[daplino]

Thanks !

[RayB]

The original PSU wasn't working, I checked it with a multimeter. And I first readed on many places around the net that it wasn't worth to repair.

You know, a switching power supply will give readings of 0v if there is a short....

[88mph]

Well, if you fried the board, I would check fuses, voltage regs, etc and see if it is repairable.  If it is extra crispy  I would probably just pick up another boardset on Ebay.  That was a pretty common game, and many of them have long been convertered.  I just did a search on ebay and found a virtua fighter 2 boardset and a virtua fighter model 1 sound board and amplifier.  One auction was at about $20 and the other was about $5.  Otherwise, check rgvam on dejanews.. I'm sure there are a bunch of guys on there who would be willing to sell you a working boardset for cheap.  What I'm trying to say is this--it would probably be cheaper (and less time intensive) for you to buy another boardset than to shotgun repair the board you have (unless the problem is something minor like has been mentioned above). 

When you first start out in the arcade hobby, it's pretty common to get excited about bringing something back to life, get a little careless with a hookup and fry something.  Consider it a right of passage.. I've certainly fried my share of components in my day!  No matter how hard I have tried, I have never gotten the magic black smoke that makes an IC work back into the chip.  You'll be more careful the next time.   

Good luck,

88mph

[AlanS17]

Virtua Fighter boards are pretty cheap, but if the cab is in good condition, I bet you could find a better use than putting Virtua Fighter back in there. It really wasn't a very good game. The best part about it was the big monitor. The cabinet has so much more potential than just a simple Virtua Fighter.

[daplino]

Pretty active forum!!

Really Nice to see so much people trying to help out.

I understand your point of view, I also thought at first it wasn't worth to get it repaired but... let me explain my point of view.
 
when I first found the virtua Cab I wasn't expecting much of it, it was a cheap way to get introduced to arcade games and electronics in general.
There where so many Board, cables, components,etc... I thought I would never be able to get it work at all.
Today I fell like It would have been not so fun in long term to get everything working at once.
So when I "fixed" the PSU problem (just bought one and wired it properly, at least the first time ), after documenting and understanding how every component was interrelated from the Power suplly point (hope it's clear enough), after that I felt like I had learned something. I will never see any electronic stuff the same way. I feel really good about learning, it's worth a hundred "Lindberg" cabinets (for example).

Now maybe I will in fact not be able to repair it but I'll try, I've read lot since yesterday on Randy Fromm site. I feel nearly able to test the components on the boards I've fried.
You guys go on giving people hope in what they're doing...

BTW I have another problem, even if I want to get another board or to Mame my cab (shurely I will) : the monitor don't seem to turn ON, I'll have to check it also.
I'll do it when I will get more confident in what I'm doing, cause I could fry much more than a plastic board.

I won't hesitate to post questions when I  get some more precise than "what if I have no image with my Nanao MS8-26SU"

Thanks all you're great

[ChadTower]

Seriously, I got into this hobby because I wanted to build a cab.  A year later I haven't built one but I have learned so much that I don't want to build one, I want to keep getting old machines and bringing them back to life instead.  This hobby is a tremendous learning tool in so many directions, from carpentry, to electrical engineering, to art, to software engineering.

[RayB]

Seriously, I got into this hobby because I wanted to build a cab.

[88mph]

BTW I have another problem, even if I want to get another board or to Mame my cab (shurely I will) : the monitor don't seem to turn ON, I'll have to check it also.
I'll do it when I will get more confident in what I'm doing, cause I could fry much more than a plastic board.

A monitor can be dead due to a number of reasons, the simplest being a blown fuse somewhere (on the fuse block in the cab, or on the monitor board itself) ranging up to more difficult problems like a blown flyback or a cracked crt (cathode ray tube).  You should definitely read up on monitor repair a LOT before you start tinkering around with it.  A monitor can store a large amount of charge, and this charge can be lethal.   Here is a good place to start, if you have not already:

http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_monitors.shtml

If you are observing safe practices, monitors can be rather straightforward to repair.  Most arcade monitors use single sided circuit boards, and repair/get well kits are availalbe from several reputable vendors.  There are also some nice troubleshooting flowcharts available online.

Good luck,

88mph

[Wade]

There is a row of about 5 red and 5 green LED's on the main CPU board.  When power is there and correct one of each color should light up.  Then, if the game starts working, the other 4 of each color will flash quickly.

You might have damaged the boards, but I don't know about repairing them.  I do have tested working spares I can sell you if it comes to that.  You can email me directly at wadelanham @ hotmail.com.

Good luck!  Be careful with those voltages next time.

Wade