Finally got a Dreamcast MGCD up and running in my cab.

[HornheaDD]

James from JNX mentioned something like that when the first one I had wasn't working, but he didn't have that information. Im not sure who would be the right person to figure that out, unfortunately.

 

[spacejockey]

Hi there everyone,
I bought a Dreamcast MGCD to put inside my cab.
It runs audio and video when hooked to a DC and plugged into a cab, but the cab controls don't respond.
I have to plug a controller on the dreamcast to be able to play on the cab ... which is not satisfactory.
Can someone tell me if there is a problem with the cab controls.
Also I haven't been able to find the user manual for my specific model (52719 MC MZ / DC-P-GEN 01-24)
If anyone can help me figure out if I miss something or if the thing is malfunctioning, please let me know.
Thank you

 

[HornheaDD]

Hi there everyone,
I bought a Dreamcast MGCD to put inside my cab.
It runs audio and video when hooked to a DC and plugged into a cab, but the cab controls don't respond.
I have to plug a controller on the dreamcast to be able to play on the cab ... which is not satisfactory.
Can someone tell me if there is a problem with the cab controls.
Also I haven't been able to find the user manual for my specific model (52719 MC MZ / DC-P-GEN 01-24)
If anyone can help me figure out if I miss something or if the thing is malfunctioning, please let me know.
Thank you

1 of 3 things is happenin'

1. You need to coin up. The controls wont do squat until it actually has a coin up.

2. You may need a CHAMMA adapter. The MGCD board runs a CHAMMA pinout, and can prevent controls from working.

3. Its borked. - my first MGCD did this. I sent it to JNX and he couldn't get it to work either. I ended up replacing it with one I got on Ebay.

re: #2 - you can do a couple of things. Get a JAMMA to CHAMMA adapter (from JNX, or Arcaniac sells em I think - go JNX). You can also check out this thread: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/wiring-an-mgcd-jamma-dreamcast.282555/

NERDtendo had some tips on making it work, you may need to bridge some grounds or something, as this can help it to work. Fair warning, he did tell me he never got his to work so he sold it.

 

[spacejockey]

@HornheaDD Thanks a lot for all those infos !

Yeah, even coined up it's acting up :/

So I'm contemplating the "borked" scenario.
Is there a way I can check if the pcb is "borked" ?

Wouldn't want to buy a CHAMMA adpt for nothing :/

Thanks

 

[HornheaDD]

That is above my paygrade, unfortunately. Im not sure if a logic probe would help, and even then - I dont know what you would need to check.

One thing I tried (that cemented that mine wasn't working) was I built a JAMMA connector based on this message I got from Nerdtendo:

I cut the connections at the end and soldered them to the beginning grounds. It is the same situation as with the Chinese Pandora Box and Game Elf boards. The MGCD uses the “CHAMMA” standard which is only slightly different than the JAMMA standard. You might even be able to use a JAMMA Nation X Pandora to JAMMA adapter board and get the extra buttons through a kick harness, but I haven’t tested that idea. I just thought of it right now.

That would be the only other way, but I wouldn't recommend hacking up your JAMMA harness. Alternatively you could buy another harness to use as an extender, and hack THAT up so your cab's harness is untouched.

 

[chenke]

hi I have a bare board，This IC is marked wii ‘ghsot square’ I connected it to the Super Nintendo host，Lift pin 27 and 28, and the console still cannot be used。
I try to modify Super Nintendo Controller touch but only one key to work,I think the console is determined by these two IC decisions，
Is it feasible to replace it?
New greetings thank you！