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Boardmaster Supergun thread

Nimmers

Nimmers

Grand Master
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Hey all,

Anyone out there own one of these monsters?

I brought one home from a recent trip to Japan and am enjoying it.

For anyone in 240V countries who don't want a stepdown transformer you can swap the powersupply to a Meanwell RT-85A. This power supply fits in perfectly and is a straight swap for the 110V only Sanwa SWN-7F. The Sanwa power supply is actually made by Meanwell anyway!

They come with a JP21 cable but anyone wanting to convert that to EuroScart, it uses the same pinout as the Pana Twin here.

I have noticed that the RGB out of it isn't as good as my Vega 9000DX. I have seen hints in other threads from people saying the RGB out of the stock encoder in these isn't that great. Anyone else feel the same?

I have noticed that its noticeably brighter and a bit less sharp than my other supergun: https://imgur.com/eShLOxl
 
Own one, but it’s up for sale. The only thing good going for it is the way it looks and how clean it’s built. The video (RGB, Composite, S-Video) and audio output on it is truly atrocious compared to the Sentinel or a real cab. A costly purchase early into the hobby and have regretted it since. Any takers? Lol.
 
My Pana Custom had pots in it to control brightness on composite. Never had an RGB cable for that - you might want to see if you have those inside the Boardmaster.
 
suverman said:
My Pana Custom had pots in it to control brightness on composite. Never had an RGB cable for that - you might want to see if you have those inside the Boardmaster.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the only adjustable thing mentioned is a "3.579545MHz adjustment trimmer"

https://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/images/5/5a/Boardmaster_EN.pdf

djsheep said:
Own one, but it’s up for sale. The only thing good going for it is the way it looks and how clean it’s built. The video (RGB, Composite, S-Video) and audio output on it is truly atrocious compared to the Sentinel or a real cab. A costly purchase early into the hobby and have regretted it since. Any takers? Lol.
Click to expand...
The controls are pretty awesome though. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to just swap the video encoder with something better if needed or even just wire the Sentinel up inside it. Did you try some pots or anything on the RGB lines to see if it was any better?
 
It’s the encoder in there that is horrible, can’t polish a turd and all that. The controls are just Sanwa JLF and OBS-30/24 which are easy to find. I toyed with the idea to wire in a Sentinel but in the end it would be more expensive than an actual cab :/
 
I have a selection of Japanese Superguns.

2 * Boardmaster,
2 * Pana MP92 Mahjong,
1 * Pana Custom
2 * Sigma Rajin
2 * Sigma Vega 9000DX,
1 * Sigma Vega Jr.
1 * DX-045

Out of all of those the one I use the most is the Pana Custom as it works so much better than all the rest and is the most compact.

The video/Audio output on the DX-045, Sigma's and Boardmasters is terrible. The Sigma Rajin is slightly better (but too bright) and the Pana's are the best as you can adjust RGB, Sync & Volume from pots on the end PCB.

Funnily enough most use the SWN-7E (220/100V switchable) or SWN-7F (100V only) and I've used the Meanwell RT-50A & 85A as replacements (I tried a RT-120 in one of the Boardmasters and had issues).

The DX-045 I gutted and installed a RPI running retropi as it was so terrible. They do a 6 button "Deluxe" version that's a little bit better but I'd still avoid it unless it was really cheap.

There's plenty of room inside the Boardmaster to add a VGA/HDMI encoder to improve matters.
 
djsheep said:
It’s the encoder in there that is horrible, can’t polish a turd and all that. The controls are just Sanwa JLF and OBS-30/24 which are easy to find. I toyed with the idea to wire in a Sentinel but in the end it would be more expensive than an actual cab :/
Click to expand...
I play on a PVM so need to fix up the RGB.

Looking at the pictures it looks like there's a JST connector with the JAMMA RGB in and a JST connector wired to the DIN cable on the back.

Looks pretty straight forward to bypass. Anyone know what the best little board I could get to do this would be?
 
Could you show me a picture of the internals? Specifically the area concerned with video.

I'd happily design a little RGB bypass amp, give me enough details and maybe I can make it completly plug n play by utilising sockets for the JST connectors.
 
Wow, looks pretty well built. Shame they dropped the ball on the video aspect.

I reckon an improved drop in replacement PCB is entirely possible, utilising the same connectors so just a matter of plug n play.

I know djsheep will be happy to have this.
 
Hey @Nimmers - I've got a photo of mine when I cracked it open to save your hassle.

@Frank_fjs -- A drop in replacement would be the mad. I would totally use again if it had Sentinel internals and some upgraded speakers. I'm sure there'd be others willing to drop some loot on a Boardmaster Deluxe Upgrade system too :)

Top connector is for RGB
Second connector is for Composite & Audio
Third connector down is S-Video

boardmaster.jpg
 
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I can make this happen with your help @djsheep

Would you be willing to send me the PCB? This way I can match the connectors and ensure the replacement is of suitable size with matching mounting holes.

I'm guessing the 5 pin connector is RGBS and video ground inputs coming from the jamma harness? The 6 pin connector is the video outputs. One of the two pin connectors being 5V power, the other possibly 12V power?
 
@Frank_fjs -- Mine's listed up on eBay and will be gone as soon as someone buys it (need that Xmas $).

If @Nimmers can't send you his, I'll pull the auction though for the cause! No sweat hombre! Another unique item from the Sentinel...
 
Frank_fjs said:
I can make this happen with your help @djsheep

Would you be willing to send me the PCB? This way I can match the connectors and ensure the replacement is of suitable size with matching mounting holes.

I'm guessing the 5 pin connector is RGBS and video ground inputs coming from the jamma harness? The 6 pin connector is the video outputs. One of the two pin connectors being 5V power, the other possibly 12V power?
Click to expand...
There's a block diagram of it here: wiki.arcadeotaku.com/images/5/5a/Boardmaster_EN.pdf

I could also help, I'm based in Sydney. I was gonna bell it out because I can see RGBS in but not out.
 
If @Nimmers can measure the current PCB and tell me the dimensions and positions of the mounting holes, I should be okay.

One of you will need to buzz everything out with a multimeter too.
 
Seems we will need to keep the original PCB intact to at least preserve the rapid fire feature and possibly horizontal adjustment.

Just need to bypass the 5 and 6 pin connectors for all video related matters.

Audio isn't processed at all it would seem, it just comes straight from the jamma edge to the speakers. Only way to improve this would be to add better speakers. You could incorporate a small amp into the mix but you'd want to utilise a speaker to line level converter.
 
Frank_fjs said:
If @Nimmers can measure the current PCB and tell me the dimensions and positions of the mounting holes, I should be okay.

One of you will need to buzz everything out with a multimeter too.
Click to expand...
For sure, whatever you need. I'll do up a visio diagram tonight. I will probably need 2 made because @sneek will want one too for his.

Am I crazy though or does it look like that encoder doesn't touch the RGB at all?
 
I think that all that PCB is doing is:

RGBS to s-video / composite video conversion

Rapid fire

Sync deflection for horizontal adjustment

It seems to be just passing RGBS, untouched, straight from the jamma edge to the 8 DIN connector. This is perhaps why they have the statement that it's designed for professional monitors and not household televisions. This is really BAD for people hooking these things up to consumer televisions.
 
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