[FIXED: Supergun Settings Issue] PGM Motherboard Failure to Boot

[dillingerradio]

[--EDIT--]

Original post below. If you're a HAS v5 owner with an IGS PGM that doesn't appear to be providing any signal on power up, then enabling the following settings may provide the output you're seeking (they did for me): TTL Csync Level; Raw Csync. My specific setup is a HAS v5 out to an OSSC Pro.

[--END--]

Hey folks!

I picked up a PGM motherboard off eBay not too long ago for a relatively decent price. Unfortunately, although they claimed it worked, it has arrived DoA.

Before I go packing it up and sending it back, though, I figured I'd ask around in case there was something I might not know that could resolve the situation- which is as follows:

IGS PGM Power On > No signal.

Pretty simple. Cart in or cart out, the motherboard sends nothing when power is applied. I tried resetting the RAM utilizing the switch on the front, but that has done nothing and the machine still fails to power up. Is there another area that is a well known problem, or could prohibit the machine from booting that I can easily check?

Thanks for having a look, and any information you can provide!

 

[XtraSmiley]

They are notorious for cart connection issues so start with a clean there, but take the red plastic off and post a pic of it. Is there battery leakage damage in corner?

Also, is your cart working? Like can you test it on another PGM?

 

[dillingerradio]

Carts are from a seller here, actually! They were functional when they left the seller. I don't have another PGM to check, unfortunately (I grabbed the PGM then picked up the conversion carts, so they arrived roughly the same time).

Images as requested. Battery area looks good. As mentioned, there appears to be zero response to power on, whether or not a cart is in. I didn't test the coin cell for charge, is that necessary to boot? Is a cart necessary to boot (I presumed it would at least have some rudimentary "Put in a cart" screen)?

The residue visible on the edge connector is DeoxIT.

 

[XtraSmiley]

You should have gotten it from our own Sheep Nova here, that one looks a little worn...

That being said, it's a v14, so no leaky battery problem, b/c it's a coin cell, but pull it just in case, you don't need it. Look under it and around it for leaks.

If you have the magic Deoxit, put it on the cart connectors, both on the mobo and on the right angle part. Plug and unplug all the parts a few times.

Obviously, you'll need a multi-meter to see if you're getting a clean 5v on the PCB. If so, move it up to 5.1, my PGMs eat the juice.

 

[XtraSmiley]

and I mean, you can pull off the part in the back that says FOXCONN, just gently pull it off. Deoxit the shit out of it.

 

[dillingerradio]

I am using a HAS v5 from RGB's Lab, with a JAMMA extension harness to interface.

The harness has a voltmeter at the JAMMA edge which indicates good power. Double checking with a multimeter confirms 5 and 12 V rails on the PCB are sufficiently energized.

There's no corrosion around the battery that I saw. I'm happy to go through and reclean the connectors, but I feel like I need to stress here that there is zero response from this board. I'm not getting a splash screen or any BIOS or output indications. None. Power goes on, nothing happens. I don't know what impact cleaning the connectors will have on that, since it's not even reaching a state where it can complain about them (as far as I can tell).

If there's no real easy "if it's not booting, like at all, check this problematic part" solution, then I'm happy to chuck this back in a box and send it back, and reach out to Sheep Nova instead.

 

[XtraSmiley]

Yeah you will probably have to send back, but what does the HAS say/show? Is the HAS working with other PCBs? It's not in MVS mode right?

Where are you measuring 5v on the PCB? Don't check at the JAMMA edge, check on the PCB itself. You can try removing and Deoxiting that chip too.

 

[dillingerradio]

Aha.

I checked 5 V at the JAMMA edge and on the MX27C1024, both were properly energized.

That bothered me, because it should be working as far as I could tell.

With that in the back of my mind, your suggestion about the HAS being in MVS mode forced me to take another look through the HAS settings.

I'm only aware of an MVS specific audio toggle within the HAS settings. That said, there are several video output options. I had initially tried each one individually, and they didn't work. While checking the settings again, I decided to go ahead and see what would happen if I turned them all on. That seems to have done it- the machine is outputting properly.

For those with a HAS v5, if you are to interfacing with an IGS PGM, and you find you don't have video out, try enabling the following video settings and see what happens:

• TTL Csync Level
• Raw Csync

Thanks a bunch, @XtraSmiley, for the suggestions which lead to the fix.

 

[XtraSmiley]

I'm glad it was an easy fix! I'll have to try and remember this for other people who have a HAS and PGM. I think running mine like that all the time so I never even question the settings anymore!

 

[dillingerradio]

Yeah I'm glad you brought it up. I'm the exact opposite, I haven't thought about them because it hasn't been an issue until now!

 

[shelcoof]

Aha.

I checked 5 V at the JAMMA edge and on the MX27C1024, both were properly energized.

That bothered me, because it should be working as far as I could tell.

With that in the back of my mind, your suggestion about the HAS being in MVS mode forced me to take another look through the HAS settings.

I'm only aware of an MVS specific audio toggle within the HAS settings. That said, there are several video output options. I had initially tried each one individually, and they didn't work. While checking the settings again, I decided to go ahead and see what would happen if I turned them all on. That seems to have done it- the machine is outputting properly.

For those with a HAS v5, if you want to interface with an IGS PGM, you'll want to enable the following video settings:

TTL Csync Level - Enabled
Raw Csync - Enabled
Video LPF - Enabled

I'm not sure if all three have to be on, but with all of them on it works (so I haven't bothered switching them about).

Thanks a bunch, @XtraSmiley, for the suggestions which lead to the fix.

Maybe @RGB can confirm?

 

[RGB]

Multiple PGM boards were tested and all of them worked on the default HAS settings (buffered CSync, 75R impedance, LPF off). I know a few of other guys who never had to change anything for the PGM.

Perhaps yours is a different hardware rev? This or something's going on with that board.

As for the voltage and current - the PGM with the HAS connected requires around 1.2A on the +5V line, and around 100mA on the +12V.

 

[1RegretBeetle]

Can chime in that the PGM worked with my HAS v5 out of the box with no tinkering.

 

[dillingerradio]

Multiple PGM boards were tested and all of them worked on the default HAS settings (buffered CSync, 75R impedance, LPF off). I know a few of other guys who never had to change anything for the PGM.

Perhaps yours is a different hardware rev? This or something's going on with that board.

As for the voltage and current - the PGM with the HAS connected requires around 1.2A on the +5V line, and around 100mA on the +12V.

Huh. Well, I have no idea then. As identified, I wasn't receiving any output to the OSSC Pro at all before the changes.

As far as I know this is a stock IGS PGM unit - same sorta deal as Sheep I reckon: one of many, pulled from working units and then sold in bulk.

I'm happy to post detailed shots of the board or take measurements of specific things (you'll have to identify what you want) if this is of interest. I've gone ahead and went through tweaking the settings to see what, if any, actually needs to be on: TTL Csync and Raw Csync must be enabled for me to see video output from my unit. Video LPF can be disabled and it still appears to output correctly.

If I disable either of those two, OSSC Pro begins to get intermittent signals (nothing visual, though, just scrolling numbers on the unit itself as it tries to lock one down). If I disable them both, OSSC Pro indicates no signals.

With them both on, all appears to function well and without issue.

With the HAS unit in general, I've tested it on about 20 other arcade PCBs and they've all worked a treat without any modifications. Just the IGS PGM has required me to fiddle with it.

 

[shelcoof]

Now that I think about it
I do recall my HAS V working out of the box with my PGMs
At that time I just received the HAS V
Confirmed it was working properly then went back to using my HAS 4 lol