There are a few NAOMI games that will only function if the game find a Rotary Encoder I/O board on Node 2 in the JVS I/O chain.
Those games are:
Crackin' DJ
Crackin' DJ 2
Kick '4' Cash
Outtrigger
Shootout Pool
Shootout Pool Prize
Virtua Golf / Dynamic Golf
(if you know of others let me know)
"Rotary Encoder" inputs are used on trackballs, rollers and spinners; most application where an input could move in one direction indefinitely.
Interestingly, despite the fact that that Sega JVS Type-2 I/O features rotary encoder inputs these games wont play because they're on JVS Node 1 instead of Node 2. However a Type 2 I/O can be placed on Node 2 with a different I/O board on Node 1 allowing the game to function.
Having recently acquired a couple of the dedicated Rotary Encoder boards and realizing that one of the large connectors was completely undocumented online I set about figuring out what all the pins are and I discovered that the board actually has digital inputs and outputs in addition to rotary encoder inputs:
CN1 - Digital I/O Connector:
(24-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: +5V
4: +5V
5: P1 Start
6: Service
7: P1 Up
8: P1 Down
9: P1 Left
10: P1 Right
11: P1 SW1
12: P1 SW2
13: Output 0
14: Output 1
15: Output 2
16: Output 3
17: Output 4
18: Output 5
19: Output 6
20: Output 7
21: GND
22: GND
23: GND
24: GND
CN2 - Power Input
(4-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: GND
4: GND
CN3 - JVS Output
(USB B Female)
CN4 - Rotary Encoder Input
(16-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: +5V
4: +5V
5: Encoder 1A (Trackball X-Axis)
6: Encoder 1B (Trackball X-Axis)
7: Encoder 2A (Trackball Y-Axis)
8: Encoder 2B (Trackball Y-Axis)
9: Encoder 3A
10: Encoder 3B
11: Encoder 4A
12: Encoder 4B
13: GND
14: GND
15: GND
16: GND
The 4-pin power connector is identical to the one found on the Type 1,2, and 3 I/O boards as well as the 5V header on the NAOMI filter board.
Interestingly, the JVS Test screen says that this I/O board reports having a "9-bit" input, this despite there only actually being 8 input pins meaning that it's fibbing Another oddity is that there are no coin inputs available or reported, nor are there coin meter outputs available. I'm not sure if there are any games that would let you play without coin inputs but if anything this board is certainly interesting.
Since this board has output pins available I'd be interested to see if any game would allow them to be used to extend the 8 output pins available on something like a Type 1 I/O to improve compatibility. I don't presently have any games that fall into that situation at the moment so it will have to wait to be tested.
EASTER EGG:
I also noticed that there is a cat face masked on the PCB in the top left, using 5V and Ground vias as eyes. (check the attached picture)
Those games are:
Crackin' DJ
Crackin' DJ 2
Kick '4' Cash
Outtrigger
Shootout Pool
Shootout Pool Prize
Virtua Golf / Dynamic Golf
(if you know of others let me know)
"Rotary Encoder" inputs are used on trackballs, rollers and spinners; most application where an input could move in one direction indefinitely.
Interestingly, despite the fact that that Sega JVS Type-2 I/O features rotary encoder inputs these games wont play because they're on JVS Node 1 instead of Node 2. However a Type 2 I/O can be placed on Node 2 with a different I/O board on Node 1 allowing the game to function.
Having recently acquired a couple of the dedicated Rotary Encoder boards and realizing that one of the large connectors was completely undocumented online I set about figuring out what all the pins are and I discovered that the board actually has digital inputs and outputs in addition to rotary encoder inputs:
CN1 - Digital I/O Connector:
(24-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: +5V
4: +5V
5: P1 Start
6: Service
7: P1 Up
8: P1 Down
9: P1 Left
10: P1 Right
11: P1 SW1
12: P1 SW2
13: Output 0
14: Output 1
15: Output 2
16: Output 3
17: Output 4
18: Output 5
19: Output 6
20: Output 7
21: GND
22: GND
23: GND
24: GND
CN2 - Power Input
(4-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: GND
4: GND
CN3 - JVS Output
(USB B Female)
CN4 - Rotary Encoder Input
(16-pin JST NH Connector)
1: +5V
2: +5V
3: +5V
4: +5V
5: Encoder 1A (Trackball X-Axis)
6: Encoder 1B (Trackball X-Axis)
7: Encoder 2A (Trackball Y-Axis)
8: Encoder 2B (Trackball Y-Axis)
9: Encoder 3A
10: Encoder 3B
11: Encoder 4A
12: Encoder 4B
13: GND
14: GND
15: GND
16: GND
The 4-pin power connector is identical to the one found on the Type 1,2, and 3 I/O boards as well as the 5V header on the NAOMI filter board.
Interestingly, the JVS Test screen says that this I/O board reports having a "9-bit" input, this despite there only actually being 8 input pins meaning that it's fibbing Another oddity is that there are no coin inputs available or reported, nor are there coin meter outputs available. I'm not sure if there are any games that would let you play without coin inputs but if anything this board is certainly interesting.
Since this board has output pins available I'd be interested to see if any game would allow them to be used to extend the 8 output pins available on something like a Type 1 I/O to improve compatibility. I don't presently have any games that fall into that situation at the moment so it will have to wait to be tested.
EASTER EGG:
I also noticed that there is a cat face masked on the PCB in the top left, using 5V and Ground vias as eyes. (check the attached picture)
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