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Darksoft CPS2 Trouble in New Zealand

jared mills

Student
Joined
Oct 17, 2022
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new zealand
Hi everyone my names Jared i recently decided to take the plunge and buy a Darksoft cps2 multi. It seemed easy to setup i had someone experienced to solder the key writing wires as it was a bit small for me to attempt. But i cant seem to get it to work i just get a black screen no sound. Everything seems plugged in good and the game selector flashes the game i select, Ive got no clue what to do hoping there is something easy im missing i know the arcade cabs good i tested other games on it.

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Any help would be great i really want to get this badboy working
 
Can you check your 5v and 12v readings?

Can you also check the interconnect board and make sure the pins are all the way down on the multi and sub-PCB, and the pins on the sub PCB are all the way down on the CPS-2 board.

It's worth trying Decrypted ROMs.

Do you have another CPS-2 board to test in your cab? What does the brightness your LCD selector look like?
 
Yep 5v 12v tested ok. The multi boards seem to all the way down firm should i maybe remove and re seat the multi boards?
The lcd selector is nice and bright i can scroll though games and says flashing then says all done.
Ill try the decrypted roms and see if that works. I have tested another cps2 game and i worked fine
 
Yep 5v 12v tested ok. The multi boards seem to all the way down firm should i maybe remove and re seat the multi boards?
The lcd selector is nice and bright i can scroll though games and says flashing then says all done.
Ill try the decrypted roms and see if that works. I have tested another cps2 game and i worked fine
What’s the exact readings on your 5v and 12v.

Yes, please carefully remove the multi. Taking care with the pins. Be gentle and even in your lifting and all should be fine. Make sure everything is then replaced flush and all the way down. Take care with the interconnect and sub boards and make sure they are all the way in (up and down) at each respective point.
 
Alright done a bit of testing. Power supply was 5.10v and 12.14 i also tested another cps2 board and it worked fine.
I disconnected all the boards. One of the boards had some white marking on the back of the solder not sure if thats a problem.
I reconected the boards they all seem tight and all the way down but its hard to see the small conections in the middle of the board,
Turned it on and still no change just black screen. I also tryed a couple of different rom packs.
 
Voltages seem fine.

Try removing the resistor to be sure.

Also could you try the multi on another motherboard to rule that out?

Finally check the pins and connectors on your boards to make sure they’re all intact. Try cleaning the pins perhaps with some isopropyl.
 
I'm confused, did the key wiring not go to a socket on the game board? Or is this if you have older boards? How does the legs of the different darksoft boards look? Nothing bent by accident?
 
I'm confused, did the key wiring not go to a socket on the game board? Or is this if you have older boards? How does the legs of the different darksoft boards look? Nothing bent by accident?
Some CPS-2 motherboards have a JST connector and you can use a key writing wire directly from the multi.

Others, such as the one in this install, you have to solder directly to the CN connector.

It's worth beeping with a multimeter between the motherboard and multi to make sure continuity is strong.
 
Ok thanks guys i will try cut one side of the resistor off and clean all pins and try again. Will also check for continuity with multi meter
Also what rom pack should i be using?
 
Ok thanks guys i will try cut one side of the resistor off and clean all pins and try again. Will also check for continuity with multi meter
Also what rom pack should i be using?
If I were you, I’d just try using the decrypted rom pack for now. Just get something going.

Once you know it’s running, replace with the encrypted roms. If you have an issue at that point, you know the write wires are the issue.

Side-thought: are you preparing your SD card on a MacOS system?
 
If I were you, I’d just try using the decrypted rom pack for now. Just get something going.

Once you know it’s running, replace with the encrypted roms. If you have an issue at that point, you know the write wires are the issue.

Side-thought: are you preparing your SD card on a MacOS system?
ok thanks
no preparing sd card on my pc
 
Also. Are you just getting a black screen? No colours whatsoever? Can you try it outside of your cab on a Supergun or another cab perhaps?

What messages are shown on the LCD screen?
 
yip just black screen ive tryed it on 2 different cabs and same result. Ill leave trying it on another board as a last result id have to cut the key writing wire off and my other board is working and has battery conected
 
yip just black screen ive tryed it on 2 different cabs and same result. Ill leave trying it on another board as a last result id have to cut the key writing wire off and my other board is working and has battery conected
Try another motherboard if you can. That would help rule out a few things.

And yep, Don’t install the multi on another donor until we’ve exhausted all troubleshooting options.

Sorry for this mate. Will hopefully get you up and running ASAP.
 
Alright definitely made some progress not sure i like what i see though. I tested continuity and all boards seem connected good i connected it to another motherboard and i got this
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I tried disconnecting the boards and jamma harness a couple of times. I also left the resistor alone since its loading up games now. Any ideas?
 
Clean the pins on the boards.

Does pressing down on the multi to the cps-2 motherboard fix the issue?
 
No pushing down does not change anything. i will try cleaning the pins should i disconnect the darksoft boards and clean there pins aswell?
 
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