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Before buying a PGM Motherboard.....

GC8TECH

GC8TECH

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When buying a IGS PGM Motherboard.....

Buy one that has the Capacitor in the Position as marked in the image below. This will give you a newer Hardware revision (V9 or better). Which is LESS likely to have battery corrosion damage present on the tracks around it.. OR in the future !!

The cap is easy to see in most ebay etc listings.... Its a lot easier than asking the seller which revision the PCB is....


A Video i have done on the topic....


Second video with more Revisions....


T.
 

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That cap is notorious to be missing from any revisions of the motherboard as it’s easily ripped off when not taking care and removing the motherboard from a tight Jamma connector.
 
I just bought a PGM board, and thankfully according to the picture, it has that cap on it.

Good looking out! :)
 
Just to be clear.. This picture is the one NOT TO BUY!!! Notice the cap is moved to the left side....

If the cap has been ripped off... you should still be able to see its position of were it should be.

T.
 

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What are the benefits of the newer motherboard? Does it play better or have any features in the menu that the older ones don’t? I never bothered checking, but assume you would know :)

You can’t really go on age / revision to determine leaking batteries. I have had a new revision motherboard leak in a matter of weeks after arriving to me in what looked to be perfect condition.

The safest, and pro way to go about it is to ask the seller for photos of the front and back of the motherboard and battery area.

I know @sheep_nova is really good about this.
 
My newest revisions don't have that shitty leaking battery, they have a coin cell. That's probably the one in the first picture, no need to worry about the battery if its a coin!

Sheep Nova has always sold me the coin cell ones, he's a great seller!
 
Pretty sure @sheep_nova only sells motherboards with coin cells. Some of them are Varta battery motherboards which have simply (and cleanly) been converted to coin cell.

You can check by looking at the outline in the area where the battery is and seeing if it matches the size of the coin cell holder :)
 
djsheep said:
Pretty sure @sheep_nova only sells motherboards with coin cells. Some of them are Varta battery motherboards which have simply (and cleanly) been converted to coin cell.

You can check by looking at the outline in the area where the battery is and seeing if it matches the size of the coin cell holder :)
Click to expand...
Just removing the Leaking battery.. and replacing it with a coin cell holder is no good either. IF you don't add a diode in there. The MoBo WILL keep trying to recharge the coin cell!! Which is bad! and can cause the coin cell to leak!

YES there is a factory installed coin cell version. BUT the circuit has been changed so it doesn't try to re-charge the battery anymore.... I have pictures of the different versions of motherboard pcbs if you want to have a look. There also is a thread on here with some too...

V14 has a factory coin cell

V12 does NOT!! So there are only 2 or 3 revisions that ARE coin cell from the factory.

T.
 
djsheep said:
What are the benefits of the newer motherboard? Does it play better or have any features in the menu that the older ones don’t? I never bothered checking, but assume you would know :)


You can’t really go on age / revision to determine leaking batteries. I have had a new revision motherboard leak in a matter of weeks after arriving to me in what looked to be perfect condition.


The safest, and pro way to go about it is to ask the seller for photos of the front and back of the motherboard and battery area.

I know @sheep_nova is really good about this.
Click to expand...
Newer mobo don't have leaking battery, They have better cart slot connectors... They have a dual wipe contact instead of the older single wipe. This makes better connection to the cart. So thats very helpfull.

Older PCBs have caps that leak out more than the latter revisions... I still recommend to replace all caps on the pcb.

You can use age and PCB revisions to tell if it has a leaky battery.. The older boards do.. Latter ones don't. Its covered in my post above....

Its doesn't need a battery for the games to run. Why risk it??

T.
 
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I got 2 motherboards from sheep_nova, the first one arrived and it was a coin cell in holder replacement - and didn't work.

He immediately shipped me out another one which was a factory coin cell board (silkscreen is in the shape of the coin cell, not the shape of a rechargeable battery) and it works perfectly

So he does have both types (I imagine he just has his people ship whatever is in stock) but I would imagine you can ask for factory coin cell :)

FWIW he is also more than happy to provide images of whatever board he is sending you working before you buy it. And fixes any issues immediately. Definitely recommended
 
Just double checked. Apparently mine has the cap right behind the JAMMA connector like in the first picture. So hopefully it should have the coin cell battery.
 
djsheep said:
That cap is notorious to be missing from any revisions of the motherboard as it’s easily ripped off when not taking care and removing the motherboard from a tight Jamma connector.
Click to expand...
Just checked and yes, mine is missing.

What's the cap value again please? and / or is it really needed if it's that notoriously missing?

Thanks!
 
Dope.
I've been eyeing the PGM for a while now so I can add it to my family of hungry PCBs.
This will be useful.
Thank you for the video.
 
It’s the worst place they could have placed the cap. So easy to rip out when the carts are jammed in there tight. I take extra precaution knowing now... I’m unsure what the cap does? Power filtering?
 
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