Choplifter PCB?

[SavannahLion]

After a lot of careful searching on my mystery PCB. I think I finally figured out what it is.

Based on what information I can find from KLOV, pictures from System 16, manuals from Krazy Kong, and a bit of technical information from MAWS, I believe what I have before me is a Choplifter PCB. So I got a Hang-On cab and Choplifter PCB in that deal... I think.

But I've got a couple of hangups.

The PCB picture from MAWS doesn't look like the board I have.

The System 16 pictures show I'm missing a daughter board, but there are no provisions to accept a daugter board on my PCB.

The manual makes no mention of a daughter board and the game ID number matches.

If I obtain a the proper System 2 wiring harness or construct my own, what are the chances of destroying something? With the exception of the controls (ie joystick vs light gun) what are the chances of getting a System 2 44-pin wiring harness and have it be the wrong one?

[Fozzy The Bear]

If I obtain a the proper System 2 wiring harness or construct my own, what are the chances of destroying something? With the exception of the controls (ie joystick vs light gun) what are the chances of getting a System 2 44-pin wiring harness and have it be the wrong one?

Quite high..... I don't think that you identified the board well enough to be absolutely correct. System 16 and System 2 harnesses are actually different on a per game basis. That's to say that the games are effectively dedicated and do not follow the same wiring scheme, even though they run the same hardware OS.

Just to give you an example.... I recently picked up a complete but stripped SEGA Virtua Striker Upright manufactured in 1996. 

I've spent the last few weeks putting it back together. The Main Board and the Rom Board, came with the machine as did the shield case and filter board that they live in.  BUT! the manual I had, didn't match the board configuration at all.  It said that there were 3 boards that should be in the case. A main board, a rom board AND a video/media board. the odd part is that the main board has got the plug in connector for the media board to go on to.

I phoned SEGA and they tell me that I should have a media board and that it'll fry the main board if it's not connected when the power is supplied!!! 

So... I phoned SUZO (Happ UK) because they were SEGA dealers at the time this machine was sold. They tell me no it shouldn't have a media board, just plug it in it'll work fine.

Then I check the wiring schematic for the cab....  The loom doesn't match the manual configuration.  It took me a week to trace all the connections in the cab and on the main board. Just to confirm that the loom was safe to connect.

I especially paid attention to the main board..... traced all the connections to see what they went to.

Luckily!!! the loom matched up and when I applied the power the game fired up and ran first time! NO MEDIA BOARD!! Thats how much SEGA knows about their own damned product.

The moral of the story is..... DON'T believe everything the manufacturer or the circuit diagrams or the manuals tell you and certainly don't base your identification on photographs of other boards that you yourself admit don't match.

If you want to know if it's safe to connect your loom, check the power rails on the board, and trace where they go to confirm which ones are the positive and negative. Figure out which ones are 5V and which ones are 12V. Figure out where the RGB output and sync lines feed to and figure out if all this matches your loom. The same thing applies to the audio! if the board has an on board amp, then check where the speaker lines feed to. Confirm all of this matches up with the loom BEFORE you connect the power.

If you don't, then you may not be as lucky as I was and you DO risk frying your board in one way or another. There's a lot of variation in System 16 Looms.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[SavannahLion]

Quite high..... I don't think that you identified the board well enough to be absolutely correct. System 16 and System 2 harnesses are actually different on a per game basis. That's to say that the games are effectively dedicated and do not follow the same wiring scheme, even though they run the same hardware OS.

What? No, not a System 16 PCB. System16.com. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

I was looking at MAWS again and realized there's a A and B set. The EPR IC numbers from set B match. I'm not sure what the PR numbers represent.

Unfortunately, MAWS uses the same stock PCB image for both A & B. Go figure.

On a whim, I checked eBay. VOILA! There are (as of this writing) two choplifter PCB's up and they look identical to mine. Even the missing IC's, the funky 20MHz crystal, and the funky inverted IC-sized PCB is there.

I have a Choplifter 44-pin out diagram but it's from the pdf manual from Crazy Kong. It shows a simplified diagram that matches basic placements of what's on the PCB. The PCB ID number from the manual is 834-5795 whereas mine is 834-5795-3. I suspect -3 is possibly some kind of revision number since the ebay auction also sports the same ID number. I'll still search for more information in order not to miss anything.

I'm reasonably certain that, based on the images from system16.com and the ebay auctions, I'm looking at a System 2 board. I'm a little less certain that I'm really looking at a Choplifter board however. I'd like to see more examples of System 2 boards for other games and cross reference pin outs, IC's and ID numbers. Just to be certain I'm not missing anything.

It just occured to me that asking if all System 2 wiring harnesses are equal is kind of a moot point anyways. Whatever harness I get, I'm going to have to verify wiring when I install it. Duh

[modessitt]

Have you checked a Choplifter Manual to see if the PCB picture is the same?  If it isn't, post a pic of the board (top & bottom) and some of our detectives will start searching for the answer.

[RayB]

You could always test it with only 5v. Less likely to damage parts if the 12v isn't hooked up and you're not 100% sure which pins are for power...