Midway NFL Blitz Question about different versions

[Red]

Did the original Midway NFL Blitz (NOT 99 or 2000) PCB's come with a hard drive?

I ask because I bought a 100% working PCB on eBay recently and it did not come with a hard drive, but I saw this recent auction below and the seller has a hard drive with his original Midway NFL Blitz PCB.

Did I get ripped off or did the hard drive for the original Midway NFL Blitz games come out later to update the version/rosters etc...?  Thanks.

Last pic- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200145279528&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010

[Malenko]

If he sold you what he advertised you didn't get ripped off, a lot of people buy the PCBs without HDs. Look online/on eBay for the compact flash HD upgrade, comes with a CF Card and a new u8 rom.

[Crowquill]

Sucks you don't have the HD. If you even had a bad Blitz HD, you could re-image a new HD with the disk image that MAME uses and CHDMAN. I think some people are doing this to re-image a compact flash card as well (through an IDE adapter).

In the world of eBay game PCBs it helps to know EVERYTHING that is part of the game. It's very common to see MK or NBA Jam PCBs that are "100% working" but missing the sound board.

[Malenko]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NFL-Blitz-Hard-Drive-NEW-NR-FREE-S-H_W0QQitemZ280148491971

$25 shipped, sounds like a good deal to me. Theres actually quite a few Blitz HDs on eBay right now.

[Red]

All versions of Blitz use a hard drive.

If you had bothered to boot your board up, you would have figured this out very quickly.  The IDE and power connector should have been a tip off, too.

I'm new to this hobby and don't have my cabinet set up yet, but I bought a few boards ahead of time.

Thanks guys.

Red

[Red]

Heh, I did the same thing.  Had a stack of JAMMA boards and no cabinet.  Ended up finding a local guy with one and we've been friends for 6 or 7 years now.

It's fairly easy to convert any old IDE harddrive to work with Blitz.  You got shanked on that auction, though, as that board will not boot up without a hard drive.

Yeah, I kinda put the cart before the horse on that one.  I'm still looking for a JAMMA cabinet to swap various boards in, not a dedicated cabinet, hence me getting a board(s) that were not complete since I currently have no way to test them. 

Speaking of which, why would someone advertise a board as 100% working if it won't boot up?  To me, that's not 100% working, but being new to this, there's probably language and terms about the hobby I need to find out about.

And as Crowquill said "It's very common to see MK or NBA Jam PCBs that are "100% working" but missing the sound board."  Again, to me, that's not 100% working.

Is there a site out there that will list what exactly should come with the PCB (Hard Drive, Sound Board etc...) that is essential to play the game 100% when you are just looking for the PCB's themselves and not a dedicated cabinet?

Do you have a tutorial handy to convert any old IDE harddrive to work with Blitz or a tutorial for the compact flash HD upgrade that Malenko mentioned?

In the auction that Malenko mentioned, the auction is just for the Hard Drive, no cables.  I take it I need a standard IDE cable and power connector (What kind?) to interface with the PCB, right?  Can these be bought at Comp USA or any other computer parts store?

One last question, do you guys recommend picking up the manuals of the PCB's I want?  I see a few Blitz ones on eBay and was thinking about getting them in case I have a problem down the road.

Again, thanks guys for answering this Newbie's questions.

Red

[Angry_Radish]

I can't answer all your questions, but here's what I have :-)
If you want to go the hard drive route, you can't just use any old IDE drive. Most midway HD games require a specific size drive, and won't work otherwise. I got my various drives off eBay, and haven't had a problem yet. Cable-wise, you would just need a standard IDE cable, and a HD power connector which you can wire to the PS.

If you are looking for manuals, check the WIKI here for sites to DLoad them.
Here's a few to get you started though:
http://www.crazykong.com/manuals/
http://arcarc.xmission.com/
http://www.arcadehelp.com/manual/

[Red]

Cable-wise, you would just need a standard IDE cable, and a HD power connector which you can wire to the PS.

Great.  Thanks Angry_Radish. 

With that HD power connector wired to the Power Supply, can it be a Molex type, where I can just swap Hard Drives everytime I swap different Blitz Boards?

And, I take it that the PCB itself with the Hard Drive attached will not adequately power the Hard Drive, hence the need to wire the HD power connector to the Power Supply?

Red.   

[Crowquill]

Here's the manual you wil need. Being instructions for converting a cabinet it'll pretty much go step-by-step. According to page 13, step 4, the hard drive power comes from the game PCB.

Do you plan on just using 8-way joysticks with it? I'm guessing so since you were talking about swapping JAMMA games out. Just make sure you flip the dip switch to use 8-ways.

As far as how to copy the disk image back to a hard drive, READ THIS.  I used a similar process to replace my damaged CD for Simpson's Bowling.

I re-read the original auction. Technically, it does state that it's just the PCB, but to show it fully working and then give you part of it is a bit shady. He states the cabinet isn't included but forgot to mention the hard drive? Unfortunately it's a fairly common practice.

As far as figuring out what SHOULD be included in a fully working game it's all about research. Crazy Kong's pictures of PCBs can be helpful, but still may not show all the parts. If there's a particular game you're interested in, look at other eBay auctions to see what's included and try to download the manual from one of the sites Angry Radish listed. Pretty much all manuals include a parts list that will state all of the boards and cabling that come with it originally. Right now I have an NBA Jam PCB and the sound board that goes with it. I don't have the power cable that connects them so I still have no sound. At least in your case all the wiring is standard computer cables.

Despite all of this concern for complete PCBs and parts, most JAMMA boards are a single self-contained board or a board with attached daughter boards.

[u_rebelscum]

...Speaking of which, why would someone advertise a board as 100% working if it won't boot up?  To me, that's not 100% working, but being new to this, there's probably language and terms about the hobby I need to find out about....

I don't think it's local to this hobby, but applies to all with sales of parts.

For example, you want to BYO car.  If you bought an engine that "100% works", you know it doesn't come with the body or wheels (think engine=PCB/body=cabinet/wheels=monitor/car=game).  But it also didn't come with the belts, water pump, gear box, transmission, oil, gas, transmission fluid, battery, etc.  Even though you need all of these to drive.  Still, the engine really is in 100% working condition.  And if all you were doing was replacing the engine, you'd have all the other parts for the car to run.

As you found out, it's a good idea to know what parts the game needs to run before you buy, but $45 total isn't too bad for a 100% working Blitz PCB.  (However, not the best deal either ) 

As far as terms go in this hobby, you should assume "PCB" means just the main PCB, unless noted otherwise.  An "Upgrade Kit" usually includes all needed PCBs, HDs, a marque, maybe a template and other non-standard parts, and might or might not have standard parts such as joysticks and buttons.  And than there are "small" parts such as harnesses (wires) that you need in addition to the more obvious PCB, monitor, CP, etc.  The "small" parts can be pretty pricy, too; $45 (including shipping) for a harness is also a "not bad" price.

Good luck, and above all, have fun!

[Red]

Guys,

Thanks for all the advice, info. and tips.  Very much appreciated. 

What do you think about this auction below?  How much should my maximum bid be?  And do you guys think the problem described is truly the hard drive and not the board?  Thanks.

Red

http://cgi.ebay.com/NFL-Blitz-2000-Gold-Edition-Hard-Drive-and-Jamma-Board_W0QQitemZ190149893777QQihZ009QQcategoryZ13718QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem 

[Crowquill]

It sounds like he's swapped out the parts and narrowed down the problem. That would still leave you with a broken HD, but I think we've already covered the options for that.

Blitz 2000 also might be better to have if you're a die-hard fan of the series.

[Red]

Do you plan on just using 8-way joysticks with it?

Yes, unless you think I need 49-way joysticks. 

I was thinking about getting a pair of 8-way joysticks with the ability to switch to 4- way. 

Do you have any recommendation on which 8-way/4-way joysticks that are the best and EASIEST to switch, without always going into the CP when you want to play a different game?  Thanks.

Red

[tommy]

You really shouldn't buy a bunch or boards before you get a jamma setup ready to test them with incase you need to return them or file a complaint for a broken board. After you collected a bunch or boards and finally get to trying them too much time may have passed and you cannot do anything with them at that point.

[Red]

You really shouldn't buy a bunch or boards before you get a jamma setup ready to test them with incase you need to return them or file a complaint for a broken board. After you collected a bunch or boards and finally get to trying them too much time may have passed and you cannot do anything with them at that point.

Yeah, I know.  I'm getting anxious I guess as I want to be all set when I do get my cabinet.

Do any of you know what's the difference between NFL Blitz boot ROM 1.1 and 1.2?

blitz | "NFL Blitz (boot ROM 1.2)"
blitz11 | "NFL Blitz (boot ROM 1.1)"

Also, did Midway make a stand alone NFL Blitz 2000 Non-Gold Edition? 

I ask because I haven't been able to locate one.  The only NFL Blitz 2000 Non-Gold Edition's I've heard about are in a Blitz 2000/NBA Showtime combo I think.

And, is there a NFL Blitz 2000 Non-Gold Edition in MAME?  Does it have a different roster set than NFL Blitz 2000 Gold Edition?

Thanks.
 

[Kevin Mullins]

Last pic- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200145279528&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010

Was this the auction you bought your bordset from?
I realize he does say "This auction is for the PCB only" but I would feel that is merely pointing out that the cabinet was not included.
On a further note it clearly shows it working..... and clearly shows the hardrive and cables connected to the bordset. And not while connected to the cabinet I might add which to me is showing what he is selling.
I'm an idiot.... I just re-read your original post and realized that was an example of another auction.... duh.
Did you at least contact the seller and ask HIM about this?
(maybe he just mis-packed it)

[Red]

No problem, I tend to not clearly read the originals either for some reason. 

I was planning on bidding on that auction, but the seller ended the auction very early.  Maybe he sold it locally.