Any Neo Geo AES owners?

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

I wonder is there any chance your Supergun fried?

What you really need to do is to drop that MVS board into a cab/other supergun or else try another PCB in your supergun just to figure out exactly which one it is.

That's what I wondered, proof will be when I get the new supergun I guess? I've no other means to test it. Really don't want to lose this board as it has the unibios.

Pyongyang

CathalDublin wrote: »

Does the garbage on screen flicker or is it the same stationary image every time?
When you plug the MVS in without a game inserted is it the same as if a game is in?

The garbage flickers and when plugged direct to my tv it makes a continuous click sound from the speakers. Either with a game in it or not.

Pyongyang

Andrew76 wrote: »

I'd offer my services here although I'm probably a bit far out of your way.

Anyone that can wield a soldering iron is welcome to join Project Kim Jong-Blazing Star!

Andrew76

Pyongyang wrote: »

Anyone that can wield a soldering iron is welcome to join Project Kim Jong-Blazing Star!

Hah I'm afraid I have zero soldering skills. My assistance stretches to having a supergun/pcb to test your mvs & MAK with. Oh and I can use a multimeter too. :pac:

CathalDublin

Sounds like the MV-1 board, would be cheap and handy to start by either testing or replacing those caps first.
If your anywhere near Finglas, you can test it on my cabinet if you want before spending money on postage and what not.

Oh and I've a supergun that works which you could borrow to try, needs an atx psu to power it though

Pyongyang

Lads, all this help is deadly thanks so much.

I'm trying to cost parts and fiddling around troubleshooting against sourcing a new MVS board. Is it worth doing that, because if we're talking replacing board parts that's well out of my league.

CathalDublin

Well testing the capacitors will cost you nothing, replacing them is only cheap too, to test the bios chip you'd really want to remove it and try it in someones board that has a removable bios(mines soldered in)
Trouble shooting the other components would probably be out of my league too

Pyongyang

Sadly when it comes to DIY, this is as good as my skills get:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neKmApQGUhY

Pyongyang

Possibly good news. Yer man Jochen has asked me to send my MVS and MAK to him to have a look at and he's going to see what's up with it.

Sure, if I have to pay for parts and labour on the MVS (if he's willing to fix it) that's brilliant. Works out a lot better than buying a new MVS even with postage surely?

If anything I have to vouch for Jochen as so far his customer service has been awesome.

o1s1n

Fantastic news!

Fingers crossed it's just a cheap component that's gone and he'll have it back to you soon. That Blazing Star needs to be played!

Pyongyang

I know, I'm gutted those carts are sitting in a tub looking lonely and in need of same gaming time. Bird is away the weekend so I planned to lounge in front of the telly in the nip, Al Jazeera sports, inappropriate scratching and belching, sack of chips, assorted fine ales and lots of MVS and RSG action (possibly followed by sniffing my games and laminating my spine cards).

My MVS plans are now in ruins.

If Jochen pulls through though, what a legend. A fixed MVS, trimmed new MAK and I get to keep my Unibios'ed MVS-1A. Fingers crossed.

safetyboy

I have years of soldering skills if you need help, sure I'm only building hearing aids at the moment. I'm hitting the sauce this weekend so it will be during the week if you still need soldering help!

ondafly

I've seen some of the PCBs hes fixed in the past, and he does fantastic work. I've no doubt he sort it all out for you.

Pyongyang

Lads thanks a million for all the offers of help. Seriously appreciate it.

I've spoken with Jochen and he's going to look and see what he can do but said he can't guarantee a repair will be possible. Fair enough but I'll take a chance, at least he'll have my MAK and MVS and can check it all out and see.

Might as well send it back, see what happens. Still cheaper (at the moment) than buying a new MVS surely?

I'll keep you lads in the loop with a progress report but as I said already, fair play to him, his customer service has been top notch. I'd certainly order from him again (although I currently have everything he sells, minus a custom stick and the 15khz yoke).

Pyongyang

Legend. He's going to have a lookie at my MVS and MAK for me. Posting those boys to him today.

Reckon he can fix an MVS 'click of death'?

Andrew76

It's certainly worth the price of postage for him to try, fair play to him for offering as you said. Nothing but praise for the chap from folks here which is nice to hear. Might be ordering a couple of dual strikes from him soon enough.

Pyongyang

The SLG and Sync Strike are fantastic, really pleased with them (minus my electrocution on Wednesday). Definitely recommend buying those. The SLG is amazing, really does enhance the retro gaming experience on modern TV's.

Ah well, lets see what happens next, I'm posting my gear out to him today. Worth the return postage and any parts/labour I think.

o1s1n

Those SLGs are going to be priceless in the future when CRTs really start dying out. I may invest in one at some point.

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

Those SLGs are going to be priceless in the future when CRTs really start dying out. I may invest in one at some point.

It's definitely worth it. The best part is the 'hot' adjustment feature with the dial. The version 2 dropped the mass of dips so it's less fiddly to set up as you like it. But yes, the real killer feature is the dial to adjust the scanlines in real time.

Donpachi on the Saturn looks amazing with the SLG and Sync Strike. It's really hard to convey that message on YouTube et al as videos like that really don't do it justice.

safetyboy

Whats this SLG you speak of?

Andrew76

Pyongyang wrote: »

It's definitely worth it. The best part is the 'hot' adjustment feature with the dial. The version 2 dropped the mass of dips so it's less fiddly to set up as you like it. But yes, the real killer feature is the dial to adjust the scanlines in real time.

Donpachi on the Saturn looks amazing with the SLG and Sync Strike. It's really hard to convey that message on YouTube et al as videos like that really don't do it justice.

I'm tempted.

So the SLG is just for adding scanlines and the Sync Strike is to allow SCART in and VGA out? Is it something like scart console -> sync strike -> SLG -> lcd?
I suppose you could do something like xbox 360 -> slg -> lcd too?

Pyongyang

Andrew76 wrote: »

I'm tempted.

So the SLG is just for adding scanlines and the Sync Strike is to allow SCART in and VGA out? Is it something like scart console -> sync strike -> SLG -> lcd?
I suppose you could do something like xbox 360 -> slg -> lcd too?

More or less yes. The beauty of the Sync Strike though is it also 'cleans' everything up so you get virtually no lag, or rather, the lag is so miniscule that in fact there is no lag in actuality (if that makes sense!).

Here's an example setup I use:

Saturn > Sync Strike > VGA Cable > CGA/VGA Scaler > VGA Cable > SLG 3000 > LCD

Works perfectly. Yes, you can use an XBOX 360 with the SLG. No need for the scaler, that's optional for retro consoles and what have you.

Works perfectly fine for me but I am looking to an XRGB-3 in future.

safetyboy

http://wp1114205.wp150.webpack.hosteurope.de/xtcmodified/product_info.php?products_id=29

This the kit? Might build one!

Pyongyang

safetyboy wrote: »

Whats this SLG you speak of?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzPqwkREvKE

Pyongyang

safetyboy wrote: »

http://wp1114205.wp150.webpack.hosteurope.de/xtcmodified/product_info.php?products_id=29

This the kit? Might build one!

That's the kit comprising everything you need. Scaler, SLG and Sync Strike. I bought mine separately as I bought the scaler elsewhere. But for the money, I'd buy the kit from Jochen (plus the customer service of course).

Bear in mind you need a 5v adapter too. He sells them or just nab one at Peats or eBay like I did.

safetyboy

Is it a kit i would build myself, or prebuilt? I would prefare to build it!

Pyongyang

safetyboy wrote: »

Is it a kit i would build myself, or prebuilt? I would prefare to build it!

It's all prebuilt and ready to go, I've not seen them sold in kit form but you could always ask.

o1s1n

Pyongyang wrote: »

More or less yes. The beauty of the Sync Strike though is it also 'cleans' everything up so you get virtually no lag, or rather, the lag is so miniscule that in fact there is no lag in actuality (if that makes sense!).

Here's an example setup I use:

Saturn > Sync Strike > VGA Cable > CGA/VGA Scaler > VGA Cable > SLG 3000 > LCD

Works perfectly. Yes, you can use an XBOX 360 with the SLG. No need for the scaler, that's optional for retro consoles and what have you.

Works perfectly fine for me but I am looking to an XRGB-3 in future.

Woah woah woah there. The reason I was still holding on to my CRT even with the SLG out there was the lag factor.

The Sync Strike gets rid of lag?!

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

The Sync Strike gets rid of lag?!

Most informative video you'll watch on the Sync Strike by the guy who helped develop and test it. Bit of a legend is faginrs500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X2Gszx0Ox4

You'll note my comment on there too looking for some advice.

As for lag, certainly I experienced none at all with the Saturn the other night.

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Woah woah woah there. The reason I was still holding on to my CRT even with the SLG out there was the lag factor.

The Sync Strike gets rid of lag?!

Lag as in LCD Ghosting? I don't see how, as that's determined by how fast the pixels can clear/change colour/refresh. Nothing outside of the tv set can determine that.

I do see the point of it for shmups on rotated 16:9 displays...but for retro games are never going to look right on a 16:9 (shmups accepted). You have to either stretch them to fill the screen, or your left with two borders each side.

Pyongyang

EnterNow wrote: »

Lag as in LCD Ghosting?

<addtechiehat>Nope, I meant to say control lag. I agree with your points on the display issues though. </removetechiehat>

Myrddin

Pyongyang wrote: »

<addtechiehat>Nope, I meant to say control lag. I agree with your points on the display issues though. </removetechiehat>

Ah I see my bad so

Looks like a great piece of kit, & as o1s1n says when good crt's get harder & harder to find..I can see these taking the role on nicely.

Pyongyang

Definitely check out as many videos by faginrs500 as you can. People dub him 'the Godfather of the scanline' and rightly so. Very informative videos, plus the guy has a collection of 'stuff' that would make even the Sultan Of Brunei's eyes water.

Well worth checking out if you want to learn more.

o1s1n

Wait I'm confused now. I thought LCD lag/control lag was the same thing?

In that what is displayed on your LCD monitor is a fraction behind what's happening in the console.

Your inputs are governed by your reaction to what you see on the screen. Therefore if there's lag on the screen, what you input with the controller won't be the same as what's on the console. If that makes sense?

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Wait I'm confused now. I thought LCD lag/control lag was the same thing?

In that what is displayed on your LCD monitor is a fraction behind what's happening in the console.

Your inputs are governed by your reaction to what you see on the screen. Therefore if there's lag on the screen, what you input with the controller won't be the same as what's on the console. If that makes sense?

I think the above setup has little or no lag from the console, through all the components, until it gets to your tv. From there, the only noticeable lag will be the usual lcd ghosting (refresh speed) of the pixels. This is inherent to lcd/plasma technology though...but generally the better quality sets will have lower pixel response times.

o1s1n

Ah right! I get ya. I didn't think of the signal lag going through all those devices.

The Trinitron will be casting it's big black monolithic shadow over my sitting room for some time to come so

Would still like to get one of these for my Dreamcast/rotated LCD combo though.

o1s1n

Pyongyang wrote: »

Most informative video you'll watch on the Sync Strike by the guy who helped develop and test it. Bit of a legend is faginrs500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X2Gszx0Ox4

You'll note my comment on there too looking for some advice.

As for lag, certainly I experienced none at all with the Saturn the other night.

Just finished watching that. The guy sure knows his stuff. Really good video. Makes me want a Sync Strike even more now :pac:

Pyongyang

Small update. I done some legwork on the MVS boxes and also mailed off the MAK and MVS to Jochen tonight so hopefully he'll have those next week.

Regarding the boxes, a lot of places I enquired at won't touch short runs at all. Minimum order would be 1000 boxes. That's before you even look at custom plate costs which run in to a small fortune.

I turned my attention to cardboard dye cut boxes. Similar to kit boxes but made to fit the exact dimensions of an MVS cart. Similar story on custom short runs but there is a silver lining of sorts. I found two sources, one a UK box maker that has pre-fabbed boxes made within a cm or two of the actual overall MVS cart dimensions and it's a dye cut box! Price? £35 + shipping from UK for 25 of them, which is actually reasonable.

That said, I've found a guy in Italy making dye cut 'kit boxes' made to fit the exact size of the cart and complete with pro printed spine labels for each game. Not sure if he's still making them but I contacted him anyway. He's doing them at 20 for €30 plus shipping from Italy.

Additional sticker spine labels at 50c each plus shipping. The guy works in a box factory so knows what he's doing. Prices seem really reasonable but shipping could be crazy.

I'll see what he comes back to me with and naturally spill the beans when this happens.

If anyone is interested in group buy off this guy let me know and maybe we can strike up a deal with him?

Let me know if you're Roy Keane.

o1s1n

That's a steal for those boxes. I'd be in for a group order.

Have some already and they work great along with a bubble wrap bag. Bit more authentic too.

Found pics of some of my carts before they were stored away. You can see the boxes in the back. I think the big one on the left is a real kit box (it has Japanese kanji hand written on it..it has to be real!) while the others are what you're talking about. (Which I've beautifully written across in a big marker as I was sick of not knowing what was in each one!)



Another pic here. God I miss having a games room!

Pyongyang

What's the red cart you have there? And why is your Blazing Star label in English?

Anywho, these boxes I'm looking at look absolutely smashing, so do the spine stickers. I'll ask for some super size photos and see what happens. The ones from Italy are better because of the fact they have been designed especially for MVS carts. The stock boxes are, well, stock boxes.

Leave it with me and I'll see what I can do. If a group order is on the cards though I need to start getting ideas of who wants in and exactly how many you want. We'll leave that for now though until I can get more concrete information.

In the meantime does anyone else have any information on shock boxes or MVS stock boxes?

o1s1n

Pyongyang wrote: »

What's the red cart you have there? And why is your Blazing Star label in English?

The red cart is a PGM game. I think we were talking about the IGS PGM a while back? It's very like the MVS motherboard.

There's a label on the side so it must be Knights of Valour as my Demon Front unfortunately has no label.

I think my Blazing Star label is a reprint The boards and the case are legit though, I swearz!

Pyongyang wrote: »

Anywho, these boxes I'm looking at look absolutely smashing, so do the spine stickers. I'll ask for some super size photos and see what happens. The ones from Italy are better because of the fact they have been designed especially for MVS carts. The stock boxes are, well, stock boxes.

Leave it with me and I'll see what I can do. If a group order is on the cards though I need to start getting ideas of who wants in and exactly how many you want. We'll leave that for now though until I can get more concrete information.

In the meantime does anyone else have any information on shock boxes or MVS stock boxes?

I take it these cardboard boxes will be coming flat pack? If so I'd be interested in about 30 (If I can afford it of course!). If they're pre assembled I'd have to go far less as I'd have nowhere to store that many assembled boxes at the moment.

Pyongyang

I reckon those boys will be flat packed. I'm probably looking at 30 too. Just for future sake really. I only need 16 or so right now.

I'll check on the stickers too of course.

I haven't looked inside my Blazing Star cart yet, or Last Resort. I shall check the boards soon enough and hope I didn't get ripped off. The Last Resort label is in bits though, that much is certain.

Andrew76

I might put my name down for 10 boxes/stickers depending on the total price.

Pyongyang

Groovy. I think 10 is €20 plus shipping if you did it that way. Price decreases as you buy more obviously. These are prices I have going on individual orders though. Of course it's all hypothetical as yer man might not even be flogging these any more.

Andrew76

No probs dude thanks for looking into it. It's the "plus shipping" part I'm interested in. If that turns out to be more than the boxes then fug that. :pac:

Pyongyang

Andrew76 wrote: »

No probs dude thanks for looking into it. It's the "plus shipping" part I'm interested in. If that turns out to be more than the boxes then fug that. :pac:

Aye but if it's looked at as a group buy we should be able to share the blame spread the cost. :pac:

CathalDublin

I'd be interested in 15-20 boxes too

Pyongyang

OK I have some feedback from our man in Italy. It's not the best news but has a silver lining.

I got a quote for a personal order of 20 boxes with 14 spine labels for €75 shipped. Far too expensive.

However, I'm checking for a quote of 100 boxes with 100 labels, just to test the waters. Reason being that postage is a flat €25 for anything up to 10kg apparently, according to yer man. So I think the best bet is to see if a larger order (a group purchase) warrants a bulk order discount and to make use of the pricey postage and spread the cost between ourselves.

I've also contacted a fantastic UK-based company that really caters for short runs and custom boxes (bear in mind due to the insane costs involved we're definitely looking at mini cardboard 'kit' boxes made to fit, shock boxes are out the window now). I'm waiting for a quote back from them and another company based in New Zealand. What this means is if the boxes work out cheap enough, a separate order could be put in for spine labels either as a group order or on your own.

One bonus with our man in Italy is he accepts Paypal so it saves me collecting cash or what have you and we can all send our portion of the payment to him individually. How does that sound?

Once I've rounded up all the figures and facts, I'll post them here (or start a new thread?) and start taking confirmed orders if everyone interested is happy with that?

CathalDublin

Sounds good, is you man in italys boxes the exact same size as originals or are they going to look different sitting beside originals on the shelves?
I need 15 exactly

Pyongyang

Yep it's basically a white, die-cut box that is the exact size of an MVS cart. Fits snug so the cart doesn't roll around loose inside.

Waiting for a response from the guy to see what costs a bulk order would comprise. I certainly think spreading the postage cost will ease the hurt. Failing that I'm trying go it alone solutions with another company.

We'll see, it's early days as yet.