What happened to my power?

Let me explain.

My wife was working on one of her projects when *POP*! Broke a circuit. She's already gone through the process of flicking the power switch on, but none but 2 outlets worked.

...

This took out my master bedroom and my office (AKA The Media Room). So, I've been without a computer and internet for a couple of days. I've since relocated my modem and router to a different room and I'm using my backup notebook computer. It's been a while since I typed on this thing...this really feels weird.

So, as it goes, I got the solution via the RGB-Pi Discord. I had to send a pic of my setup with the RGB-Pi JAMMA connected to my RPi and ready to go. This is an important step, as far as I see, for finalizing the OS's setup for the proper BIOS files and games.

I'm now just downloading all the necessary files to finish up the USB stick, then I'm gonna test it again on the Atomiswave. One way or the other, I'm gonna probably update this post with either a success or fail post.

[EDIT] It worked!

The fact that I'm seeing this screen has me ELATED! I just have to wire up button 5 and 6 (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I've been saying that I was gonna do it for a while now), and, as soon as I can figure out my electricity thing for my master bedroom and office, I'll hopefully get a small write-up for the whole process of getting the RGB-Pi JAMMA and OS installed (semi)painlessly.

The main reason for the build...I really love Street Fighter II!

Stay tuned!

RGB-Pi JAMMA IN!...

Not without hiccups though.

See, the disk image (OS) loads up fine and all:

Sound and all works. Controls work, overall working.

I want to load games from USB, so I put one of my drives in there. The OS automatically detected it and formatted it properly. I took that USB drive to my computer to load the BIOS files and the ROM images that I got from my other working Retro Pie card, and just loaded everything to the proper folder.

I took it back to the cab, turned it on, had the OS search the USB for the BIOS files and games, then I was greeted with this:

Some kind of error screen.

...

I uploaded the picture of my error screen to the RGB-Pi Discord. Hopefully I can get answers for what went wrong.

In the meantime, I hopped on my Neo Geo and played a round or 8 of KoF '98. After getting my butt whooped by the computer, I figured, before I go to bed, that I should probably finish up mounting the Atomiswave's marquee holder up.

I swapped out the original fluorescent tube for an LED one...with no marquee in there, the light is just annoyingly bright. I may have a custom one printed later, but for now, the marquee holder is mounted up and locked into place. I'll just unhook the power to it until I get the marquee situation figured out.

Hopefully I get some help from that Discord group, otherwise, I'm gonna have to troubleshoot this all on my own.

Internals of the Neo Geo DONE!

Got the final thing I needed to finish up the Neo Geo mainboard. I installed the new battery and the new BIOS and reinstalled the board back into the Neo cab.

Needless to say, it all worked perfectly! Now, I just have to work on the outside.

Yeah, it's a quick update. I'm just needing a few more parts for the Atomiswave Pi project (just some various hardware things), and getting the wires soldered in for buttons 5 and 6 for both players, and we're rollin!

Drilled holes, no cracking...

So, I've overcome my fear of working with CRT monitors since starting work on the Neo Geo. The other fear I had? Cutting holes for arcade buttons in control panels without cracking the plexiglass protector.

Yeah, it's silly, but I really didn't want to damage the plexiglass...which I guess it doesn't matter since the control panel already had a crack in it...oh well.

I masked out where I wanted to drill the 6th button. I made the center point cross by taking the rough center of the button above and the rough center of the button to the left.

I watched a YouTube video about drilling holes in plexiglass. It was suggested that I use a stepper bit to avoid cracking the plexiglass. I used masking tape to mark how deep I needed to go to get to 1 1/8" diameter. However, as I thought it would drill fine through the wood underneath, it just barely made it through the plexiglass into the wood below

...That was a little frustrating. It was nice seeing ribbons of the plexiglass getting being cut out, though.

So I bit the bullet and used the 1 1/8" spade drill bit to finish up the hole.

Yay! However, I feel that the hole is a little crooked from what I wanted to line up with, but I'm OK with how this turned out...maybe it's just the underlayment that makes the hole look crooked, but whatever.

There's an 80% chance that I'm gonna recut and replace the whole control panel, which gives me the opportunity to redrill the button holes to a little better arrangement.

All that's left is to add 4 more wires to the JAMMA edge for buttons 5 and 6 for both players. I raided an old control panel for some additional buttons for the cab, but I'm also looking at getting replacement buttons to add a Neo Geo color flare to the button layout.

Getting closer to firing up the Pi inside this cab. Stay tuned!

RGB-Pi GET!

Let's just get to it.

This is the thing I was waiting for in the mail. It came all the way from Spain. I'll have to say that it was a bit...sketch...of an ordering process. But, seeing that there were a few people who already have gotten theirs and offered a quick review of it, I just went for it.

So here it is, just about 2 weeks from Barcelona to Oregon, USA. It came nicely sealed in this package in a padded envelope.

I'll have more, in-depth installation and review in the near future. I still have to install 4 more wires (button 5 and 6) to the JAMMA harness, as well as drill a 6th hole on the Atomiswave control panel. I may try drilling the holes tomorrow.

I also ordered a small fan and some heatsinks for the Pi. It's going on this thing that I printed.

Stay tuned!

As I wait for parts...

I sit in pain.I think I hurt my back trying to help move that Nintendo VS cab out of my friend's van. It's been off and on, and stressing it at work isn't helping at all.

I've been resting and massaging my back, but how much help it's doing. It's still a little strained.

Anyway, I'm pressing on with getting part for future projects, such as:

- A cap kit for a Turbo Express, which included a fuse in the kit.
- Backlight and bivert mod for a Gameboy Pocket. I was orginally thinking the OG GB, but opted for the pocket instead.
- Bartop style arcade cab. I have a 60 in 1 board and an old arcade panel. I'll probably raid the parts from the arcade panel and make my own cab. I'll probably need a power supply to do that as well.

I'll also have a possibly long write-up for this next thing I'm planning on doing with the Atomiswave cab. It involves using a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and a device that I got call the RGB-Pi. To prepare for it, I'm copying all the games I have on my current Pi to my computer, so when it comes time to get the RGB-Pi set up, it'll be easy.

I also have to order additional buttons for the Atomiswave, but I'm gonna hold off on that for now. I'm gonna use the buttons from the old arcade panel to get this project going. I may attempt to 3D print a button or 3, but I'm not really sure how good it will hold up...heck, I might as well test it out.

Atomiswave panels back in...

...and I don't know how I feel about them.

First of, the monitor flashing (or whatever you call the plastic shell that goes around the monitor).

I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, I could just leave it off and just go with an industrial, bare metal looking thing, but with the high voltage of the monitor and the kiddos playing it, I'll have to have it on there...maybe 3D print a piece? I dunno.

With that small instruction panel in, it makes this whole thing look complete.

There was one more panel to install in the back; it was a panel that blocks hands from messing around behind the cabinet with high voltage and other wiring. That one involved contorting my body between the back of the Atomiswave and the Nintendo VS cab (that light blue cab in the pic, you can see it better in the first pic) to get that panel on. Of course, I had to remove the Atomiswave shelf that sits right behind that small instruction panel, shove the longer, "protection" panel screwed into place, then reinstall that panel.

I did notice that I am missing a panel for the rear. It's the panel that covers up the power supply. I'm not really too worried about it, but I'm sure I could easily make one in the future.

All that's really left is installing the heavy marquee and drill out holes in the control panel to make it a 6 button layout ala Street Fighter II and cosmetically, this cab is done!..ish...

I also managed to order the part that I needed to shove a Raspberry Pi in there...I know, I know. Emulation, blah, blah, blah. But I really don't want to spend a lot to play an obscure arcade game for a few minutes before shelving it and playing it several times months later or not at all anymore, not to mention swapping games out every single time. This will be a great treat, and another amazing adventure.

Excited for what's coming up!

Atomisave finally WORKING!

I received the control board for the monitor. It, amazingly, didn't take too long to arrive.

This thing was the only thing standing in the way of having the monitor work. I understand now the importance of this thing, since it controls majority of the monitor stuff.

I installed the board when I got home from my friend's place. I didn't try it right after installing because it was late when I got home. I did manage to prep all the power wiring prior to turning in for the night.

So, in the morning, I put the JAMMA game in and double checked all the connections before turning it on for testing.

Oh yeah! Finally a stable image and sound!

I let my son have a go at playing Power Instinct for a bit. He helped out testing the 2nd player controls. There's an issue with the down direction with initial testing, but that was sorted out pretty easy.

I unplugged it and now I'm gonna wait a while until everything is discharged before taking the monitor out and finalizing putting the rest of the Atomiswave's panels together.

I think it's time to order the one part that will fully finalize this arcade build. Stay tuned!

Wiring up while waiting for parts...

As I wait for the monitor control board to arrive, I went ahead and wired up the Atomiswave control panel.

P1 and P2, wired up and ready. Until I drill out the holes for button 6, I made the standard 4 button configuration similar to a Neo Geo control panel. The only JAMMA game I have uses 4 buttons, so this will make it perfect.

Test, service, and the coin connections ready to go. The harness I got was wired specifically for those 60 in 1 game boards, which I do have, but I wasn't gonna use in this cab. That's another project for another time.

Speaker connections done. The wire coming off of the harness is long enough, so I don't think I need to extend the wires at all. Right now, I only have one speaker connected, strictly for testing. That will change possibly when I work on part 2 of this.

I think I may have figured out my monitor problem...

So, I think I figured out my Atomiswave issue.

I recall when I was finalizing the monitor chassis on the Neo Geo, I forgot to reinstall a cable that connects from the chassis to a control PCB that control the brightness, contrast, etc. It gave me the same rolling, non-synced image that I'm seeing when I turn the Atomiswave on.

So, I'm trying to see if anyone has one available, if not, then I have to try making my own using schematics online.

I really hope someone has one to sell...but if this doesn't work, then I don't know what to do.

[EDIT] After the initial post, I contacted my friend to see if he still had contact information with the original seller. Turns out that original seller did have the control board and we should get it sometime this weekend. Kinda glad I waited before ordering parts to make my own.

More updates...

Still trying to figure out why the Atomiswave monitor isn't working.

I did manage figure out why the monitor didn't have neck glow. It was the cable missing from the neckboard to the chassis mainboard that didn't allow the monitor to glow. I used an IDE cable that I had lying around to test it, then used some jumper cables to make a ribbon connector that will work.

However, I'm still having an issue. There is an image, but it's scrolling like there's no sync. After a few minutes, the monitor will shut off.

Google searching tells me that the monitor chassis is going into HV shutdown to protect the monitor. In order to fix that, I have to test and adjust the B+ voltage, which has me going in, while the monitor is on, and adjust a potientiometer that is deep in high voltage territory. Not only that, I have to break some epoxy that's stuck on there in order to adjust said B+ voltage.

...

Anyway, pics...

 I finally got a proper connector for RGBS installed, and you can see that rainbow colored ribbon cable there. It's just female to female jumpers that works fine. I thought there was something wrong with the JAMMA game that I was using, but I tested it with my Neo Geo monitor, and it worked fine.

The Atomiswave may need new caps, but I'm not too sure. I'll have to do the tests on it first before I dive into another recap.

In the meantime...

 A new project approaches! A really cheap, and worked, Nintendo VS cab.

Like, really worked...This is a back burner project for the time being, since I have to strip the whole thing apart, test it all, repair the cab, reinstall the parts...here we go again...

An update...

Just a few things that I've done since the last post the other day.

 I soldered in the coin cell battery holder in. I just have to get the battery then it'll go back into the Neo Geo.

 For the Atomiswave, I soldered the marquee wires and covered them with heat shrink tubing.

 This thing that I found at a thrift shop works wonders with heat shrink tubing. My wife had these that were used for fingernail sticker application. It puts off enough heat the shrink the tubes. I used it to also warm up adhesives in a DualShock 4 controller to transfer the touchpad PCB to a new, colored touchpad cover.

 I don't think that I mentioned it before, but I sold my Everdrive v1.1 at PRGE, and I felt that I didn't need a replacement anytime soon. Well, there was a sale...I had to pick one up.

And it's the latest version! It took about 10 days for it to come from overseas. I took it for a quick test play, and it works perfectly. I have to try out some of the games that the 1.1 couldn't play.

Revisiting the monitor issue, I have a feeling that I'm missing some cables that go from the chassis to the neckboard, and I think that it's CRITICAL for the operation of the monitor. I'm gonna try and rig it with some cabling that I have and see if that solves it. Otherwise, the worst case scenario is that I have to replace the flyback on the chassis or totally replace the chassis and neckboard. We'll have to see.

Speedbumps hit with both arcades...

Let's start off with the Atomiswave.

 I was more worried about getting power to the JAMMA connector. I was planning on using some old Molex male connectors, strip the wires on the harness, and just wrap, solder, and heat shrink the connectors, and insert them into a similar Molex connector and call it good. I realized, though, that I had a project fall on the wayside that I was planning on using Molex connectors with. After some digging, I manage to find those connector and was able to use those.

 The next thing was the RGBS connector. I didn't have anything (I thought, anyway) that would work with it. But again, I had some connectors that would kinda work.

These connectors were the wrong pitch for the project, but for the time being, for testing, these worked fine.

...or so I thought.

I had a JAMMA game that I could test it out with. I got power and video wired up from the fresh connectors. Powered everything up...nothing. I heard the snap and crackle from the monitor and a slight hum, but no image on the screen. I know that the chassis and monitor was getting power; the screen crackled when I put my finger on the screen, and when I was removing the RGBS connections, I got shocked from a nearby cap.

I'm not sure if the JAMMA game was bad, because I dropped it while it was in the box while I was transferring things to my car at PRGE. I'm hoping that's not the case.

There is also the chance that the pin I put sync on was incorrect or not making the proper connection. In the meantime, I ordered the proper connector for the RGBS connections. I should get them in a few days.

This is the power supply from Atomiswave. When I initially tested it, it made a really loud noise. I was worried that I had to swap out the fan again and be greeted with the same grottyness that the Neo Geo gave me. Amazingly enough, it was relatively clean. It just needed a quick blow out with a can of compressed air.

Since I have to wait for the connector to come in, I moved back to the Neo Geo. I needed to remove the main board, clean it up a bit, and prep it to receive some new parts, also check on the battery for leaking.

I'm kinda glad I checked on that battery...because it was starting to leak out.

 Sorry, I was kinda too focused on getting work done, I forgot to snap some pics. Anyway, you can see the speckling in that circle where the battery was. The bottom of the battery was showing corrosion, whereas the top of the battery was fine. I also removed the resistor marked "470", as it's not needed since I'm replacing it with a coin cell battery holder. I've done the same mod to my CMVS. I'm gonna wait to install the coin cell battery holder until I can get a final part ordered.

 The bottom board of the MV4.

I've done pretty much all I can do at this point. It's all a waiting game for parts now.

Starting on the Atomiswave...

I'm waiting for just one more thing to finally be able to close up the Neo Geo for good...until I have to do all the external stuff.

So, to keep my motivation going, I decided to start on the Atomiswave cabinet.

 I started off by rearranging a few things in the garage (mainly moving my friend's old computer stuff) and rotated the cabinet around so it's facing the same way the Neo is. The first step was to see how the monitor chassis looked like. I thought it would be easy like the Neo, where I could just remove the little back panel and work from there. But alas...

 There was no screws to be found.
???

 I took a peek inside, and it seems that its screwed in from the inside...design flaw or genius? I had to find a way to work on the chassis, to get the RGBSG from the JAMMA connector.

I took a minute to look at the cabinet and noticed that there are 4 bolts holding the monitor and chassis into the cab. I just took those 4 bolts off and took the monitor and chassis out.

 Here's the monitor freed from the cabinet. It does look like it's in great shape.

Another shot.

I took some time to check all the wiring. The I was greeted with this.

 Wiring to the speakers of the cabinet. I don't understand why they were cut. I'll have to figure out a quick connect solution for this.

This is the AC power going to the marquee's florescent light. I'm planning on getting rid of the fluorescent tube and throw an LED tube instead. Anyway, this set of wires got cut going into the marquee. Easy enough fix, but ugh.

I got some of the panels that were taken out back in place, with the exception with the back panels. I plan on possibly modifying that one panel behind the monitor so I can easily access the chassis without needing to remove the monitor.

I pretty much stopped here. The JAMMA harness I got doesn't have the proper connector for the monitor, and I need to get a Molex connector for power to the JAMMA harness to connector to the arcade power supply.

Neo Geo internals DONE!...almost...

Just need to a battery removal and UniBIOS installation remain then I can totally close up the cabinet and worry about the external things.

As it goes, I finally had time to finish up the control panel. I stopped by the hardware store to get new carriage bolts to hold the overlay to the control panel. I was gonna try and just remove the rust from the stock (or what I assumed were stock) carriage bolts and just paint the tops of them black. But after soaking them in vinegar to remove the rust (it worked perfect, BTW), I decided just to go get new hardware. Luckily, there were some carriage bolts that were already colored black.

 

Hmm, maybe I should've focused in on the mounting hardware I bought...oh well. Overlay installed and fastened into place, buttons and joysticks installed and locked in. I swapped the joysticks from the other cabinet I had with the lightly rusted ones that were in the Neo. I forgot to snap a pic of the switches that I changed out. I reused the buttons (cleaned, of course) and used some switches from Amazon for the joysticks and buttons on the board.

 I was concerned about this wave that I had after installing the overlay. I tried my best to get it to lay flat, but in the end, the overlay won. I may revisit this and get a brand new overlay to replace this one.

 Here it is, back at its home. All reconnected and working fine. You can see the new carriage bolts that I got for it here, as well as seeing the new paint job.

The coin LCDs should be showing 00, but it's been showing 80 pretty much since I got it. Again, something to either revisit or just let go.

Now that the control panel is done and tested and working, I decided to work on the test and service switches. They did work, but the switches were disconnected or gone. I also had hopes and aspirations of changing the power switch from a bat style toggle switch to a nicer, illuminated toggle on the panel. I bought the switches just thinking that it's a standard SPST toggle switch, but it wasn't. It looked like the switch is a DPST toggle. So I just left it as is...not happy about it, but it is what it is.

I removed the panel from the cabinet, and changed out the test and service buttons. To my surprise, the fuse holder was not in there properly. It was missing the nut on the back of the holder to keep it in place. I may just order a replacement one while also seeking out a DPST toggle switch for power. 

...I think I should paint this thing as well, but since it's on the inside, I really didn't care. Again, something I may revisit in the future, but for now, if it works, it's done. I loosely reinstalled it back into the cab and it tested out fine.

I'm at the point with the Neo Geo that most of the internals are done, again, other than the actual main board itself. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the exterior yet, maybe reapply vinyl or just paint the sides. I know we're planning on getting a Cricut, so I'm planning on using that to get the side art of the cabinet made.

Anyway, I'm moving along with the next project: The Atomiswave. Stay tuned!

Control Panel painting DONE!

I just felt that I needed to get it done over this weekend. I didn't want to be lazy.

So, actually starting on Halloween, I went and bought a paint stripping disc, paint, and some other supplies from Home Depot. I got a pack of  filter masks, drop cloths, and microfiber towels from a dollar store.

I did a quick test on the control panel with the bit when I got home.

This is the disc I got from Home Depot.
I though it was made of some soft material, but it was a hard, coarse material.

This is after taking it for a test run for a few minutes. I didn't have a cloth to wipe it with, but it did take it down to bare metal in no time.

So, on Saturday, after going to the kids' last soccer games for the season and having lunch, I went straight to work on the control panel. I had an elaborate plan to set up a canopy, drape plastic drop cloths around it, then going to work, but I opted not to do it. Instead, I just covered our patio table with paper, got my tools out and the control panel, and went to work.

This is after about 5 minutes of work. Took it down to bare metal in no time. It took some practice to figure out the best way to use the stripping disc.

Here's the top fully stripped down. No paint and, more importantly, no rust!

This was the hardest part to strip down. I had to finesse the curves of the panel to get all the rust off from the edges. The inner curves were even more difficult to finish. What was annoying was all the left over adhesive in the center there, where the headphone jacks and the memory card slot is. That orange one is just a notice that mentions that the money is taken out of the machine every night. That one was easy to remove with the disc. As soon as I stated on the center portion, the old adhesive gummed up the stripping disc! I had just that last bottom bit to do and it clogged up! I had to really lay into the panel while running the disc to get all of the adhesive and paint from the center part.

After about 2 hours or so of work, I finally got it stripped down to bare metal. I took my rotary tool and used a wire brush (note to self: get a new wire brush) to brush out all the rust under the control panel.

I was planning on doing the painting tomorrow, but I was worried about getting surface rust on the bare metal the next day. So, I cleaned up my work area, grabbed a few plastic drop cloths and set up the table on my patio for painting. I covered mainly my window and the table with the drop cloths to protect from over spray.

I cleaned up the panel with 91% alcohol and also took a tack cloth to the surface.

This is the paint I used. It was a 2 in 1 paint (primer and paint), so it saved me a step for painting.

It's been a while since I spray painted anything, so I tried to go slowly, doing light coats several inches away. There was several passes where I got a bit too close and was heavy on the nozzle, so I did end up with some runs. I'm not gonna obsess over it, so I'm gonna let it be.

This is the finished product. Good coverage, even coating, some runs. I'm overall happy with how it turned out. However, one thing I would do differently is use a separate primer (an etching primer) and hammered look black paint to it. Taking my phone's flashlight out, I checked my paint job and noticed there was some swirl marks left in there from the disc. Not too worried about it, though, since it'll be covered by the overlay anyway.

I did hit the underside of the panel as well, mainly hitting the areas that were covered with rust that I removed with my rotary tool.

 Here's a before and after. So much nicer looking!

I let it sit out after painting for about 30 minutes before carrying it from the patio to the garage. I'm letting it sit to dry and out gas for a day or 2. If it's sunny tomorrow, I might take it out and let it sit outside to dry again.

I gotta get used to the formatting here. Excuse the massive spacing between the pics. I'll have it fine tuned by the next post.