Franco23444
Grand Master
I’m not sure what my 357 A was before I installed Tekken 6 BL with 3.40 firmware. I’m guessing it was a live monitor as it did take a couple of minutes to update and it’s cosmetically in good condition.
Namco system 357 motherboard problems and questions
- Thread starter Franco23444
- Start date
Cereth
Legendary
There's a firmware update on each HDD image, it'll install it automatically if a specific version is expected by the game.
Franco23444
Grand Master
Well, a bit of an update on my Namco system 357 A pcb. It still seems to have some issues as sometimes I get the 3 beeps but after some unplugging and replugging the power cord several times, it boots back on. Just in case, I replaced the rest of the caps but the issue still persists but it happens less frequently. Not sure if the RSX might be having connection issues as I have read that the CELL is less prone to failing compared to the RSX, I can confirm that the CELL does warm up but the RSX takes a while. Probably some electrical connection issues regarding the BGA solder balls? Might it need a reball or have the RSX replaced from a donor pcb? I’ll keep investigating to figure out what the issue is, at least I have the 357C but I would like to keep this system working. I will also give the SYSCON method a try. Anybody know someone or somewhere who can do BGA reball/repair work?
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Franco23444
Grand Master
@tiff_lee, looking at the last link, it gives me a lot of hope that retail motherboards can be converted to arcade pcbs. The guy who wrote the post did everything correctly and got a correct error code (let me explain in a moment) when I was able to “revive” my system, I put in a random blank hard drive and I plugged in a DualShock 3 controller as well. I was messing around with the buttons on the controller and when I pressed the home and start buttons, a menu popped up saying if I would like to format the drive or turn the system off. Of course, I formatted the drive and when it was done, I saw a bit of the XMB followed by the same exact error code the guy got: “an error ocurred during the start operation”. That gives me a bit of hope. If we can somehow get in contact with them and test out this theory, that would be awesome! This could be the key to trying to preserve the real arcade hardware until emulation is possible. I’ll make a short video of what I saw to prove it!
Franco23444
Grand Master
Update 03/04/2022: I’m still doing a bit of more testing on my 357 A PS3 motherboard to determine what underlying issues it might have. I’m 100% certain that my system needs a full reball on both the CELL and RSX chips. Putting a bit of pressure on the CELL and flexing the board a bit seems to bring the system back to life. I did do a reflow but it only works of a while until the system completely cools down. While the NECs seem to bring back the system, the BGA solder balls seem to be the issue, it could also be power distribution issues but I won’t fully know until I try out SYSCON. Messing with the PlayStation 3 is pretty much brand new territory for me. I might buy myself one of those cheap hot tables or Small IR BGA rework stations and practice a bit of BGA soldering. I unfortunately can’t find anyone who can do it for me so I’ll do it myself before all of that though, I’ll see if SYSCON will work, after all, the board (COK-002) is compatible.
before all of that though, I’ll see if SYSCON will work, after all, the board (COK-002) is compatible.Attachments
Franco23444
Grand Master
I have noticed one major thing and I’m not sure if it’s common on a problem but the stock PS3 power supply (APS-226) gets incredibly hot! I mean, I could boil an egg. I will make a thread about this info on PSX-PLACE as they might have more experience with this.
tiff_lee
Grand Master
Not sure how hot they should get but the fat PS3 was notorious for being very inefficient, I guess one of the giveaways there is the massive cooling assembly for how much heat the thing creates.
Do you have a power meter or anything so you can at least check how much AC current its drawing? you could do more in depth analysis but you'll have to separate the PSU and fit jumper wires so you can run it externally and then do some current measurements on the DC side.
Do you have a power meter or anything so you can at least check how much AC current its drawing? you could do more in depth analysis but you'll have to separate the PSU and fit jumper wires so you can run it externally and then do some current measurements on the DC side.
Franco23444
Grand Master
I did do some voltage test but it all seems to check out, even the regulator on the PS3 board has the correct voltages: 5v and 3.3v. 12v is also fine but I’m not sure if the replacement caps could be drawing too much current which would result in the system shutting down? It doesn’t make sense as when the system does want to work, it would stay on without any issues. Had it on for 2 days straight and no single issue at all, the issues occurred once the system cooled down. Pretty weird. Also, this PSU, the APS-226, is apparently the more reliable PSU for the BC PlayStation 3 fats, well, this thing gets pretty hot lol! One thing I can’t test is the amps. I need a different multi meter/device as mine doesn’t measure amperage.
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tiff_lee
Grand Master
Heating and cooling is going to exacerbate BGA issues for sure.
Just to be clear i'm talking about measuring current not voltages, the board my be drawing the correct current but the PSU may be faulty or whatever drawing excess hence it generating so much heat.
Just to be clear i'm talking about measuring current not voltages, the board my be drawing the correct current but the PSU may be faulty or whatever drawing excess hence it generating so much heat.
Franco23444
Grand Master
I’ll check the PSU separately, I might get a replacement PSU just in case and to see if the replacement also heats up. I mean, these PSUs are getting pretty old now and these have been in arcades, most likely the PSU is getting weaker. Weaker/ older power supplies do get hot as they work more excessively.
tiff_lee
Grand Master
Exactly and as a result of that inefficient operation they consume more power or should I say waste more (heat)
Franco23444
Grand Master
I’ll buy another PSU and see what happens. I’ll keep making update post
thank you for your kind help @tiff_lee 
tiff_lee
Grand Master
No need to thank me mate, you're doing all the hard work here. I should thank you for your crisis zone thread for motivating me to do something 
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Franco23444
Grand Master
I did make a bit more progress on the IR guns, will make update posts soon! Thank you for the kind words!No need to thank me mate, you're doing all the hard work here. I should thank you for your time crisis zone thread for motivating me to do something
Franco23444
Grand Master
Decided to play around with my 357C I found and made a hard drive with tekken 6 BL installed. Pretty cool that it works on this system but I can see some differences with this specific system which bugs me a bit. The VGA port doesn’t display any video, and no audio comes out through the HDMI port which is a huge bummer! The RCA and optical digital audio ports work fine though. Sucks for recording captured video through HDMI as no audio, only video! I didn’t have any flash drives left and I decided to use my original usb dongle to see what would happen, works fine! I still need to make a Tekken Tag Tournament 2 unlimited HDD as that was my original plan with this hardware otherwise, this is still extremely awesome!!!
otherwise, this is still extremely awesome!!!Attachments
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PascalP
Legendary
Great to follow your progress! Have a 369 myself with TTT2U that I haven’t booted in a long time… might need to check it out
Franco23444
Grand Master
I’ve noticed that the 357C is exactly the same thing as the 369, although with a different usb hub. It should be fine and extremely reliable as this system used the later models of the slim which got rid of the NEC/Tokin caps, replacing them with 470uf 2.5v low ESR tantalum caps.Great to follow your progress! Have a 369 myself with TTT2U that I haven’t booted in a long time… might need to check it out
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Franco23444
Grand Master
Interesting little discovery I made, like I said before,since the PlayStation 3 can’t do RGB any higher than 480p, the Namco board converts the component YPBPR video signal to RGBHV or VGA for short. Interestingly enough, when I plug in component cables, I get an image. Not sure what the Namco board isn’t converting the signal to VGA, this seems to be an issue with all the 357C and 369 systems that run Tekken 6 BL, not an issue on the older systems or Tekken Tag Tournament 2. I can confirm that VGA did work with the Gundam game it came with.
Update: tried hooking up my OSSC to see if the vga port would sync up, well, this is what I get.
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Franco23444
Grand Master
Franco23444
Grand Master
Here are some short videos of the hacked images working on my 357C, pretty awesome!
I’m still working on my 357A, in the meantime, I sent it to someone who knows more about PlayStation 3 hardware than I do, hopefully they can tell me what’s wrong with my board. I also figured out a simple way to record T6BL 357C audio without issues as well, at least I can record some gameplay with flawless audio.
View: https://youtu.be/1uhQ1_Z0kR4
View: https://youtu.be/3OEBKoUXfRU
I’m still working on my 357A, in the meantime, I sent it to someone who knows more about PlayStation 3 hardware than I do, hopefully they can tell me what’s wrong with my board. I also figured out a simple way to record T6BL 357C audio without issues as well, at least I can record some gameplay with flawless audio.