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MotoChris

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I'm really new to arcade boards, I been collecting MVS and this Tekken 2 board is my first dip into a massive ocean....
And first board I get has sound issues :( the music sounds muddled and some of the fx is really distorted, do I need to re cap?
What ones do I need to replace if so (ie where on the board) ....
And wheres best to buy from (preferably in Britain) ?

As I said I'm new to this and very keen to learn.

Thanks for any help.
 
So the bad news is that audio takes some effort to diagnose properly, and some more bad news is that Tekken 2 and its generation use SMD caps, which aren't as easy to start with if you're replacing caps. The good news is Tekken 2 is pretty inexpensive and plentiful, so you could get another one if you screw it up. It also comes in 3 parts, all of which go bad, so you can hang onto the spare pieces and have backups.

The bottom-most board has all the sound caps, chips, etc. It could be anything in the sound chain... bad sound rom data, bad audio custom, bad d/a converter, bad op-amp, bad amp, bad caps, bad potentiometers, etc. I had fuzzy audio on a similar board, and it was caused by a bridged pin on the audio custom -- looked like from the factory too! It honestly could be a fine pcb, and the wiring, cables, etc. in your cabinet could have issues instead. Is it a cab? Supergun?

Hell, it could be your pcb's audio settings. This pcb does stereo and mono, and the pinout is in the manual. If you're just using a jamma harness, make sure the board is set to mono in the test menu.


I usually check everything that doesn't require taking off components, first. So check the mono/stereo settings, check your wiring, check supergun audio attenuation settings if you're supergunning it. If none of that helps, sure you can recap it. Just recap everything, you might as well, there aren't that many. Smokemonster replaces them with through-hole caps, so you could do that if you wanted to avoid SMD ones.
 
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To echo what Ekorz said.

First thing I'd do is set your PCB to mono, IIRC there is a physical switch AND a test mode setting. and if there is a mis match between those and your cab/supergun you'll get bad audio.

those PS1 based arcade PCBs (like Tekken 1) are terrible to work on, Tekken 2 is cheap enough I'd just replace the PCB before I spent much time on it.
 
I'm using a supergun, yes of the first thing I did was change to mono, then unplugged all 3 boards to make sure the contacts are clean.
It sounds like I just keep it as is.... Other then the sound it works fine, and if I come across a cheap t2 board I can pick up another and keep this on as spares.
Thanks for the help.
 
One person said "IIRC there is a physical switch" I can see the dip switch above the kick harness is that the one?
Also here are the pics
Thank you so much for all the help, I'm hoping to get a cab soon and knowing there's a good community out here to help is making me feel much better.
 
Photos
 

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it looks like the physical stereo switch wasn't added until Tekken 3/ system 12

I'd definitely get rid of all those wires soldered to the edge connector though. Get yourself a JNX Namco to CPS2 kick adapter.
 
Coincidentally, I've had a Tekken 2 board with sound issues. It would help if you posted a video, so that we could have a listen. Muffled sound might be caused by a fault in the audio circuit, but if at least some sounds play correctly, it might also be an issue with the sample ROM. My issues sounded like this: https://youtu.be/GmqTWXurtXQ

I did not do a proper repair write-up, bit I did post some pictures on Twitter. Here's a part of that thread: https://twitter.com/M0RD3N/status/1084428398464851968

As you can see, in my case, it was a failed attempt to repair a broken pin. I'd disconnect the CPU board and take a closer look at the adapter and chip residing at "WAVE" on the A board. Take it out, clean the contacts and pins and put it back in. If there are no broken pins, see if every pin is making a connection to the chip, etc.

Edit - I'd also remove any and all modifications made to the boards, not because it will help in any way, but because it's the right thing to do. People can't be bothered with adapters, so many Sys 11 and 12 boards have their kicks rewired to the JAMMA edge, which works fine until you het a Tekken Tag, which uses five buttons, so yeah. Just get the JNX Namco to CPS Kick.

Also, I'm not sure what that DIP does, but it shouldn't be for stereo. Mono and stereo can be set in the service menu. Plus, the JAMMA edge will always output mono, so a separate dip for that is redundant. Might be a DIP used in other games using special hardware, like Point Blank 2. I'm not really sure.
 
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Sorry I should of done this in the first place


Heres a link to my video of the sound issue
 
Also wheres the best place to get a JNX Namco to CPS2 kick adapter / kick harness.

The only place online for a kick harness I could find was in Australia and it would cost me a boom to ship over.

I live in the UK.
 
If you can't sort the sound out i have good bottom board you can have
The GPU boards <top boards> are the main problem on this hardware, a sound fault will be isolated to the bottom board.
 
If you can't sort the sound out i have good bottom board you can have
The GPU boards <top boards> are the main problem on this hardware, a sound fault will be isolated to the bottom board.
That's fantastic thank you, I'm working on a holder for pcb boards... Basically some perspex on top and bottom with spacers in the middle, I could send you one to say thanks for the board? Once I've done one I will post a photo.
 
When i come across them again i will send you a message, no worries we will sort something!
 
Yeah, I'd check that wave ROM. I'm assuming the sound is equally bad both from the JAMMA edge and through RCA? If it's a busted trace, broken pin or whatever on that ROM, the issue will persist even with a new A board.
 
Yeah, I'd check that wave ROM. I'm assuming the sound is equally bad both from the JAMMA edge and through RCA? If it's a busted trace, broken pin or whatever on that ROM, the issue will persist even with a new A board.
No it won't because he gets the roms along with it...

the sound rom can be replaced with a eprom anyway, that's a regular mask rom socket.
 
No it won't because he gets the roms along with it...
the sound rom can be replaced with a eprom anyway, that's a regular mask rom socket.
That's another story, then. Your earlier reply didn't specify it was the TK2 board along with the ROM. The way it sounds, though, it can be a minor fault, like that broken pin on my board. I'm not even sure how you can break a pin on that thing, because it's "protected" by the B board, but my TK2 is a proof that, apparently, you can.

Hopefully, an investigation of that ROM and its adapter board will reveal something easy to fix. I'd try burning a new ROM as well.
 
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