To Support the Multi you need 2 parts:
1. a CPS1 "A-Board" and 2. a CPS1 "C-Board"
I'm going to go through the different versions of the hardware with nice big pictures so that there is no confusion.
BEST A-Board Option:
This board has the higher MHz Clock so that newer 12MHz game run at full speed and older 10MHz games have reduced slow-down. the "Dash" Sticker identifies a 12MHz board but it's best to check the Crystal to be sure as stickers can fall off, and people can put stickers on boards that shouldn't have them.
GOOD A-Board Option:
This board is identical to the "Best" Option except that is has a slower 10MHz Clock. Games will work but they may suffer slow-downs. Some people have "Upgraded" these boards by replacing this 10MHz Crystal with a 12MHz Crystal. The Nuances of this are discussed in other threads such as this one: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...rystal-oscillator-to-upgrade-an-a-board.5721/
BAD (Unsupported) A-Boards:
The Multi does not support Long boards. The older CPS1 games came on the "Long board" identified by it's added length, but also from it's different dip switch and audio amp configuration.
Boards that are missing dip switches and Audio Amp are also not supported. These were the A-Boards used in "CPS Q-Sound" Games, aka "CPS1.5". Obviously the problem here is that you will be missing audio if you use one of these boards.
Some dubious e-Bay sellers have taken some of these boards and added back in the Dip-Switches and low-quailty audio components. These are easily identified by the crappy looking audio amp setup as seen in the photo below:
These may work, however it is not recommended and reports are that the audio quality is quite bad due to the shortcuts taken in rebuilding the audio section.
Use at your own Risk.
BEST C-Board Options:
Unmodified 92641C-1
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
Unmodified 90630C-4
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
Unmodified 90631C-5
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
*Some variations may come with a black cover over the board
These options are the best because they they allow key-re-writing which means that they can support encrypted ROM sets as-well-as decrypted ROM sets, giving you the most flexibility.
GOOD C-Board Options:
Modified 92641C-1
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
Modified 90630C-4
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
Modified 90631C-5
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
92631C-6
These "Good" Options will work, however you will be limited to only using "decrypted" ROM sets.
It's possible that the "Modified" options above can be "un-modified" to return them to their original key-writing function (allowing you to play encrypted ROMs). For more Information see this post: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...e-for-the-cps1-multi.13106/page-7#post-299448
Similarly the 92631C-6 can potentially be modified to support key-writing (allowing you to play encrypted ROMs). For More Information See this thread: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...a-90631c-5-battery-backed-b-21-c-board.13116/
In order to modify a C Board that has been patched to work without battery, you need to do the following:
as you can see in the picture below:
https://github.com/ArcadeHacker/ArcadeHacker_CPS1/blob/master/Programmer Connections.png
Pin 42 in the B21 should go to pin 19 (Dark Green in picture above)
Pin 44 in the B21 should go to pin 20 (Light blue in picture above)
Pin 45 and 46 as explained, should be now connected to GND. Some hacks just cut the track with a Exacto knife, so you may need to run a wire to get those back connected to GND.
Pin 61 and Pin 62 are usually untouched and they would go to Yellow and Red respectively.
BAD (Unsupported) C-Boards:
Any C-Board not listed above
Any C-Board that does not include a "CPS-B-21" labeled chip is not supported by the Multi. The only Official C-Boards that include the B-21 chip are those listed in the "Best" and "Good" Options above.
Some people have made custom C-Boards using "CPS-B-21" chips, these may or may not work, use at your own risk.
What Donors To look for?
Unfortunately A lot of CPS1 games have components mixed and matched with each other, even back in the day Arcade Operators and even Capcom themselves would swap parts to make working sets. Today it's even worse with "De-Suicided" boards and conversions vastly outnumbering original matched board sets. With that Said most conversions used the "CPS-B-21" based C-Board variants found in the "Good" category above, and so long as they're matched with a supported A-Board option it should make a suitable donor. If you do want to try your luck finding original, unmodified, non-conversion CPS1 board sets for the "Best" possible donor (12MHz A-Board, and C-Board Capable of Key-rewriting and encrypted ROMs) then these are the games:
Photo Credits: Many of the great photos in this post were taken from mvs-scans.com, a great resource! Also thank you to xodaraP for the Q-Sound A-Board photo, and Nebula and nem for the 90630C-4 photos. The rest of the photos were found on various forum posts and ebay listings.
1. a CPS1 "A-Board" and 2. a CPS1 "C-Board"
I'm going to go through the different versions of the hardware with nice big pictures so that there is no confusion.
BEST A-Board Option:
This board has the higher MHz Clock so that newer 12MHz game run at full speed and older 10MHz games have reduced slow-down. the "Dash" Sticker identifies a 12MHz board but it's best to check the Crystal to be sure as stickers can fall off, and people can put stickers on boards that shouldn't have them.
GOOD A-Board Option:
This board is identical to the "Best" Option except that is has a slower 10MHz Clock. Games will work but they may suffer slow-downs. Some people have "Upgraded" these boards by replacing this 10MHz Crystal with a 12MHz Crystal. The Nuances of this are discussed in other threads such as this one: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...rystal-oscillator-to-upgrade-an-a-board.5721/
BAD (Unsupported) A-Boards:
The Multi does not support Long boards. The older CPS1 games came on the "Long board" identified by it's added length, but also from it's different dip switch and audio amp configuration.
Boards that are missing dip switches and Audio Amp are also not supported. These were the A-Boards used in "CPS Q-Sound" Games, aka "CPS1.5". Obviously the problem here is that you will be missing audio if you use one of these boards.
Some dubious e-Bay sellers have taken some of these boards and added back in the Dip-Switches and low-quailty audio components. These are easily identified by the crappy looking audio amp setup as seen in the photo below:
These may work, however it is not recommended and reports are that the audio quality is quite bad due to the shortcuts taken in rebuilding the audio section.
Use at your own Risk.
BEST C-Board Options:
Unmodified 92641C-1
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
Unmodified 90630C-4
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
Unmodified 90631C-5
*note that this has a battery and that there are no solder jumps, cut traces, or bodge wires indicating a modification
*Some variations may come with a black cover over the board
These options are the best because they they allow key-re-writing which means that they can support encrypted ROM sets as-well-as decrypted ROM sets, giving you the most flexibility.
GOOD C-Board Options:
Modified 92641C-1
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
Modified 90630C-4
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
Modified 90631C-5
*note the lack of battery and the bodge wire connected to the CPS-B-21 Chip, as well as Cut Traces and Jumped Pins
92631C-6
These "Good" Options will work, however you will be limited to only using "decrypted" ROM sets.
It's possible that the "Modified" options above can be "un-modified" to return them to their original key-writing function (allowing you to play encrypted ROMs). For more Information see this post: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...e-for-the-cps1-multi.13106/page-7#post-299448
Similarly the 92631C-6 can potentially be modified to support key-writing (allowing you to play encrypted ROMs). For More Information See this thread: https://www.arcade-projects.com/thr...a-90631c-5-battery-backed-b-21-c-board.13116/
In order to modify a C Board that has been patched to work without battery, you need to do the following:
as you can see in the picture below:
https://github.com/ArcadeHacker/ArcadeHacker_CPS1/blob/master/Programmer Connections.png
Pin 42 in the B21 should go to pin 19 (Dark Green in picture above)
Pin 44 in the B21 should go to pin 20 (Light blue in picture above)
Pin 45 and 46 as explained, should be now connected to GND. Some hacks just cut the track with a Exacto knife, so you may need to run a wire to get those back connected to GND.
Pin 61 and Pin 62 are usually untouched and they would go to Yellow and Red respectively.
BAD (Unsupported) C-Boards:
Any C-Board not listed above
Any C-Board that does not include a "CPS-B-21" labeled chip is not supported by the Multi. The only Official C-Boards that include the B-21 chip are those listed in the "Best" and "Good" Options above.
Some people have made custom C-Boards using "CPS-B-21" chips, these may or may not work, use at your own risk.
What Donors To look for?
Unfortunately A lot of CPS1 games have components mixed and matched with each other, even back in the day Arcade Operators and even Capcom themselves would swap parts to make working sets. Today it's even worse with "De-Suicided" boards and conversions vastly outnumbering original matched board sets. With that Said most conversions used the "CPS-B-21" based C-Board variants found in the "Good" category above, and so long as they're matched with a supported A-Board option it should make a suitable donor. If you do want to try your luck finding original, unmodified, non-conversion CPS1 board sets for the "Best" possible donor (12MHz A-Board, and C-Board Capable of Key-rewriting and encrypted ROMs) then these are the games:
- Capcom World 2: Adventure Quiz
- Captain Commando
- Knights of the Round
- Quiz and Dragons: Capcom Quiz Game
- The King of Dragons
- Three Wonders
- Varth: Operation Thunderstorm (Japanese Version)
Photo Credits: Many of the great photos in this post were taken from mvs-scans.com, a great resource! Also thank you to xodaraP for the Q-Sound A-Board photo, and Nebula and nem for the 90630C-4 photos. The rest of the photos were found on various forum posts and ebay listings.
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