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Arduino Nano is 2€ from China and 3€ from your local seller.

Still, this is a more compact and tidy solution, although you'll need a PIC programmer which adds to the cost, whereas the Arduino Nano doesn't need anything else.
I already was working myself in a universal, for all games, dipswitch configurable simple Atmega (Arduino) based key flasher. I did a prototype, and it works.

The Arduino has some drawbacks; it is a little overkill for such a simple purpose like that, even the nano it is too big in comparison, it has a bootloader so it takes more time to boot than a bare microcontroller or PIC, it is cheap, but not as cheap as a PIC (0,82€), and that is why i was working with bare Atmega instead of Arduino.

i have 23 CPS2 boards, so there was no way i would spend like 400€ in infinikeys when i am the kind of DIY guy, Atmega prices were much more reasonable, but this PIC method is almost free (well, 23 boards = 21€) and solves it all for me.

Of course i have already a programmer, it is a must for anyone wanting to be a retro-techy-guy. And anybody can buy one + 23 Pics for a third, or less, of the price of 23 infinikeys alone.
 
Can a PIC12F629 be use?
The only difference between 12F675 and 12F629, is that the former has ADC suport. I don't know if it is needed as the source code not available, so the only way to know is trying (they are rewritable PICS), or an aswer from @aje_fr. I would also like to know, as the 12F629 is cheaper, more available, and is the same PIC used to make Modchips for PlayStation, and Sega Genesis, so i have a buch of them around :P
Finally an alternative to the ultra expensive, for what it is, infinikey-cps2. Nice work @aje_fr!
That is what I'm hoping as the 12F629 is cheaper and the one I can get at my local electronic store. The infinikey is great for a nice clean look but I'm a cheap DIYer and don't care to much about looks. Great for those ops that don't do much repair *cough Kyle :) I can't say the same for Voutar stuff (price wise) then again I have never design or manufacture anything.
 
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Arduino Nano is 2€ from China and 3€ from your local seller.

Still, this is a more compact and tidy solution, although you'll need a PIC programmer which adds to the cost, whereas the Arduino Nano doesn't need anything else.
To be fair if you are buying CPS2 hardware whats a few quid on a PIC programmer.

Either way though both good choices, one gets you to dabble with arduino and the other a foray into PIC programming.
 
I shorted the cap just to be more certain that the mod was working and keys weren't residing in memory. :)
Oh, haha, I hadn't thought of that.
i have 23 CPS2 boards, so there was no way i would spend like 400€ in infinikeys when i am the kind of DIY guy, Atmega prices were much more reasonable, but this PIC method is almost free (well, 23 boards = 21€) and solves it all for me.

Of course i have already a programmer, it is a must for anyone wanting to be a retro-techy-guy. And anybody can buy one + 23 Pics for a third, or less, of the price of 23 infinikeys alone.
For clarity, bulk (10+) InfiniKeys directly from me are $10 each, so fixing up your 23 boards would be more like 200€, not 400€ :) The goal for InfiniKey was a most user-proof installation with a target price of $10. If someone is willing to program their own chips and ensure proper wiring of all signals, they've crossed over into an area I can't compete with, cost-wise.

@aje_fr I noticed in your .hex file list, you include Phoenix editions? Why is that?
-ud
 
@RoberMC
I can't let you say that Infinikey is ultra expensive.
Assembly of PCB could be really expensive. The PCB itself is not a cheap one, it has gold finish and castellated holes wich is a bit more expensive.
Infinikey is a great product if you have few boards to revive.

For more, there may have this solution, PIC programmer are really cheap over ebay (5€)

About the PIC12F629, it might work, there is no access to the 12F675 specific register in the code.
Give a try !

@undamned
The table at the end is a copy/paste of the mame source code, I will remove phoenix versions
 
Can a PIC12F629 be use?
The only difference between 12F675 and 12F629, is that the former has ADC suport. I don't know if it is needed as the source code not available, so the only way to know is trying (they are rewritable PICS), or an aswer from @aje_fr. I would also like to know, as the 12F629 is cheaper, more available, and is the same PIC used to make Modchips for PlayStation, and Sega Genesis, so i have a buch of them around :P Finally an alternative to the ultra expensive, for what it is, infinikey-cps2. Nice work @aje_fr!
That is what I'm hoping as the 12F629 is cheaper and the one I can get at my local electronic store. The infinikey is great for a nice clean look but I'm a cheap DIYer and don't care to much about looks. Great for those ops that don't do much repair *cough Kyle :) I can't say the same for Voutar stuff (price wise) then again the designer need to justify their time
I am a collector, an original board with battery will always be the best, rarer day by day, and more valuable, so i am planning to do it easily removable in case i ever want to restore the original battery powered state in before to trade or sell a board.

I plan to design a plug for the CN9 connector on the B board with a breadboard, the PIC, and an angled JST connector. Plug and play, detachable by hand whenever I want, and it cannot be cleaner than that... At least on later B board revisions, let's see what i come of for older boards without CN9 connector, but there is not any trully clean design for them.

@undamned I first saw the infinikey at VGP store at 18,45€ each :S , no discount for quantity, and i had no idea they were on sale elsewhere til today. $10 - $8 seems more like a fair price for it, as it is not a difficult or complex design, and the bill of materials should be fairly low, but i cannot agree with the way you made the product; it is based in Eduardo's freely released hard work, and i think the correct way of doing this would have been to release the sources and schematics and then sell the boards for people not wanting to build one themselves. You did not do that and now it seems to me like you are trying to earn money, in part, on some one else's work, even if it were a single dollar, without giving anything back to the community. I respect people with less knowledge about this stuff that only had the option to pay, but i do not need to.

Now i am glad there is an alternative, not really significantly more difficult to install than the infinikey, using a widely available PIC, and no extra hardware needed, as it can be programmed in your local electronics shop for about 1€, if you provide the Hex file in a USB stick, or bought preprogrammed in some online elechtronics shops :D
 
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@undamned

I would still recommend infinity key cps2 soon.
For me it is reliable material and disign long therm.
Too low-cost for me one day or another Kiboutzzzzz

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I plan to design a plug for the CN9 connector on the B board with a breadboard, the PIC, and an angled JST connector. Plug and play, detachable by hand whenever I want, and it cannot be cleaner than that... At least on later B board revisions, let's see what i come of for older boards without CN9 connector, but there is not any trully clean design for them.
Konosuke did this last year (same project idea as @aje_fr, just called CpicS2): https://twitter.com/konosuke/status/1062713814590795777

i cannot agree with the way you made the product; it is based in Eduardo's freely released hard work, and i think the correct way of doing this would have been to release the sources and schematics and then sell the boards for people not wanting to build one themselves. You did not do that and now it seems to me like you are trying to earn money, in part, on some one else's work, even if it were a single dollar, without giving anything back to the community. I respect people with less knowledge about this stuff that only had the option to pay, but i do not need to.
I wrote my own program using the research that Ed made public (the loading mechanism and the keys) and came up with a fairly user-proof universal PCB design. If you see offering a pre-programmed and easy to use solution for $10 as dishonest gain, I don't know what to tell you.

Sorry for derailing your thread, @aje_fr. I do like your solution :D
-ud
 
I can confirm that the PIC12F629 works just fine. Was able to resurrect my Super Gem Fighter Asia with this. Was not able to resurrect it with the Arduino method. The PIC works like a charm. Thanks a lot to @aje_fr for this!
 
I can confirm that the PIC12F629 works just fine. Was able to resurrect my Super Gem Fighter Asia with this. Was not able to resurrect it with the Arduino method. The PIC works like a charm. Thanks a lot to @aje_fr for this!
Nice, I just pick some up today and was going to try tonight on a Giga wing.
 
Thanks for sharing AJE_FR !

Would love to have these for my CPS1.5 boards.. anyone tried to adopt it for the Kabuki and C board? :)
 
So I installed an infinikey on a couple of my boards. Pocket Fighter works flawlessly. However, my Z2 board is giving me hell. I can't get anything but a red screen. I've tried multiple confirmed working A boards and reflowed all of the solder points on the infinikey and I also tried shorting the cap by the battery. Anybody have a guess what the problem is??
 
So I installed an infinikey on a couple of my boards. Pocket Fighter works flawlessly. However, my Z2 board is giving me hell. I can't get anything but a red screen. I've tried multiple confirmed working A boards and reflowed all of the solder points on the infinikey and I also tried shorting the cap by the battery. Anybody have a guess what the problem is??
Can you post a picture of the infinikey install? Might help others diagnose
Nendo! check out the photos in the first post of the InfiniKey CPS2 thread: InfiniKey-CPS2
And probably move discussion over there so this thread can stay focused on aje_fr's solution.
-ud
 
Got around to putting a couple of these 12F675s in a puzzle fighter (pcb 3 rev) and a ssf2t (pcb 6 rev), both worked great. I had previously ordered a couple of arduino nanos to do this, but the PIC solution is much nicer imo.

Although I did have to dig out an old mac laptop to program the PIC since apparently my pickit2 doesn't work on win10.
 
@aje_fr

Thanks for sharing your awesome work! I already installed the mod on a few boards, but couldn't find the HEX file for one game revision I have, so I compiled a list of all revisions missing from the HEX files list and posted it as a bug report on the project's page on github. Please take a look when you have the chance. Hope it helps completing the list of files!

Again, thanks for the project and congratulations for the amazing work!
 
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