How would I power a Namco System 246 board without a cabinet?

I just recieved today a Namco System 246 board with Soul Calibur 2. I know that I can simply output the vga video to my standard pc monitor, the sound can go right into my amplified speakers and the ps2 controller can plug right into the board to play it. The only problem is, I have no clue how to powet the thing. The front of the unit has a strange 6 pin power connecter. I have a JAMMA io board for it which has a 6 pin to 6 pin connector as well as connectors for the video and audio. I remember hearing somewhere that a pc power supply can be used but I really have no clue how that would be done. I do have a 300w atx power supply if that helps. Can anyone help?

 

I believe either arcadeotaku or neo-geo.com had a pinout guide for the System 246. At that point it would be just wiring up the right voltages and such. It's been a while though so I can't recall the exact location or wording of it all, but it is out there!

 

I found some info reguarding the pinout of the 6 pin on the front, its ground, +12v, ground, ground, +5v, +5v. Would it work if I wired the Grounds, +5v's amd 1 +12v from 2 4 pin molex to the six pin?

 

Yes.

 

Few notes

1. You can rewire a PC PSU to run a 246. Just match the pin-out
2. Soul Calibur is not PS2 pad compatible
3. Even if it was, you still need a JVS IO PCB or the game will sit on boot waiting to find the IO. You can just get one and wire it up and be set.
4. PCB Error messages will be in 15khz and not 31khz mode. Most modern monitors don't support 15khz. As well some have issues with the 31khz video feed the 246b gives (some monitors worked on mine and some didn't, yet 246c is more compatible).

Really I think your best solution is get a Jamma Harness, a Namco 246 Jamma board and wire that up to a PC PSU and create a 4 pin plug to use a NeoGeo Stick.

I personally went a similar route but I wired up a JVS IO so I can run any JVS PCB. It's not very hard to do really.

 

I am getting no video or audio. Could there be something wrong with the board or would I get no video (not even out of range) if my monitor doesnt like the video signal? Is there a different jumper setup that would be more compatible with pc monitors? I tried just 3 on, 3 and 4 on, 2, 3 and 4 on yet no changes. You had said no modern monitors support 15khz, would a non modern monitor support it better? I have a rather small vga minitor in my basement that could if thats whats needed.

 

First things first: verify the board has power.

Second, make sure the video output is set to 31khz (640x480 VGA) and that your monitor supports it. Don't bother messing around with 15khz since it sounds like you don't have a monitor that supports it.

Check the dips are correct in this manual: http://www.namco.co.uk/PDF-manuals/namco-manuals/Soul_Calibur2_Kit_Manual.pdf

Do you have a JVS I/O or a JAMMA converter? The board won't boot without one.

 

If you don't have a JVS IO or Jamma IO you're not going to boot the unit. If you hear your system power up you can try getting a converter and plugging it into the line-in port of your pc. You should be able to at least get the Boot/Error dongle sound when the unit turns on. If you don't get either then the unit is not powering properly (or dead). Past that again you won't get anywhere with out an IO board (that must be powered by +5v at minimum). They're pretty easy to wire up.

If you keep an eye on ebay you should be able to get the IO you need for sub $40.

Only reason why a 15khz monitor would matter is the Error messages are in 15khz only on 246. =| (stupid namco).

 

Silly subbie.. you should know SC2 and 3 are PS2 pad compatible!
(not too much else is of course)

 

yeah i know. I checked my list and saw it was but was too lazy to come correct my self (bad me). I'm just getting a bit forgetful on some 246 stuff. I really should get back in gear since i'm on break and i FINALLY have my cab back home again (did it last weekend).

Speaking of witch, god I suck at GvG Next again. This is what I get for stop playing for so long. =/

 

The IO Board I have is marked System246 Jamma (B) PCB. Does the io board need power as well for this to work(I only have that ribbon cable connected to the side of the unit)? If so, where do I connect power to it? If it were a problem with the io board would the system still boot or make some sort of sound?

I had the audio connectors connected to my amplified speakers and do not hear anytyhing, the fan in the back spins, the dvd drive revs quite a bit but the monitor doesnt turn on. If it helps, my monitor displays dreamcast via vga fine and says 31k under its display menu, I figured it would work with this too. Could I be not giving the board enough voltage or something. (I have molex wires wired to an old 6 pin p2 connector, matching the voltages) I checked the motherboard itself and all the traces and connections appear to be fine. I even replaced the cr2032 battery on the bottom. Would I get video if there was a problem with the dvd drive?

Also, what vga resolution is 15khz? I cant seam to find that information anywhere.

 

You need to power the I/O board as it would be in a standard JAMMA cabinet. Refer to this JAMMA diagram: http://www.twobits.com/jampac/jama.gif

+5v/+12 (is this actually needed for this use case? unsure)/GND need to be connected at the very least, I assume. You can solder directly to the JAMMA edge or you could buy a fingerboard + connector and solder to that instead.

 

If you have the Namco 246 Jamma IO. You need to plug in the Ribbon Cable & Power between it and the 246. Plus supply +5,+12 & GND to the Jamma plug of the IO board. See above link for pinout.

Once you've done that you should be able to run the game.

 

Do I need to connect both grounds and both +5v's or just 1 of each?

Would getting a jamma harness and wiring the power supply directly to it be best?

 

On what part? The Jamma or the 246?

It's best because you can then later wire up input on the Jamma harness so you can play other games that don't support the PS2 pad (it's support is really limited).

Make sure to wire up all the +5, +12 & Gnd on the Jamma harness (best to do it once and right then half ass and it not be enough juice for other systems).

 

Today I recieved the harness, wired +5, +12 and Ground to the harness forks. The only LED to turn on, on the jamma io is the one next to (to the left of) R10 that has LED1 in big print under it, and WARNING in capital letters over it. The LED was solid for most times I turned it on but a few times it would blink. The dvd drive spun up a bit but not nearly as much as when the power supply was directly wired to the front.

The dvd drive in the unit is Samsung branded if that helps. I get no sound and no picture any clue whats going on? Why would the drive spin up less when its connected in this way then when it was connected directly to the front? Please Help.


Edit: After some tinkering, this is where I am. For some reason when I came back later the dvd drive hardly would come on any, so after reading a bit about the warning led I opened the case and connected a 4 pin molex directly to the dvd drive disconnecting the internal one. Now the drive spins up alot like it did before but the Warning LED blinks always. I still get no video or audio. Could the dvd drive be at fault or could more be wrong here?

Also: why are there two vga plugs anyway? Is one different then the other? Would the system just output to the one connected or did a certain one need to be connected?, did some games use more then 1 monitor? (I have tried both)



Another Edit: Tried another DVD drive, disc seek light came on once but thats about it, felt like the disc was still spinning but no light. Not sure if a specific jumper setting is needed (master, slave, cable select). If anyone has any input feel free to help.

 

Check your +5 & +12 voltage. Make sure they are giving normal readings.

The DVD drive not powering up fully or not responding is due to the 246 not booting up fully. You need to check your dongles and make sure they are plugged in properly.

Try plugging up the RCA audio ports to your PC and see if you get any tones when the unit is powered up.

The reason for two VGA is some part of the JVS (AKA Jamma 2) Standard. I think you're best to use the one on the far right. I can't fully remember what the specs for both ports are (if both do 15 & 31khz or if only one does both).

 

They both do whatever output the board is set for, and are 100% identical, and also connected directly together. The reason behind the existance of the second port seems to be linked to "versus" arcade cabinets (single-player cabs with linked control, video, and audio interfaces) , such that an external signal amp is not needed for rgb/vga.

Also note that the board, like any Playstation-based hardware, outputs inverted sync. Some monitors will throw a fit about it (either in 31k via or 15k rgb modes), and to compensate, namco added a hex inverter to the JAMMA board to improve compatibility.
If you connect via JAMMA using this board, sync timing will be correct.

 

After much messing with and testing I have been able to get the dvd drive to spin up every time. I tried switching the memory card slots out with ones with a ps2 and they didnt seam to work at all. I switched back to the originals and the disc spins up as it did before but still no video. I had the front av ports connected to my computer speakers before without luck but I will try booting it again and see if any tones are made.


Edit: I get no sound at all through the speakers, no beeps or anything. Seams like the disc spins up reguardless of the dongle being inserted or not. If I have the system's 4 pin plugged into the disc drive the light on the i/o board flashes, but if I have a 4 pin from the power supply plugged into the dvd drive the light on the i/o board remains solid. It doesnt seam to make a difference if I have the original controller/memory card slots connected or the ones from my old broken scph-30001 ps2. When connected to a ps2 I am able to get memory cards to read off of the 246 ports but not nearly as easily as I do when using the original ps2 controller ports. Could this be the dongle, or maybe the board itself? The board looks fine visually.

 

Not sure if anyone is watching this topic anymore but, I got a new 246 board that came with tekken 4. I have been able to get it to boot up and display the cinnematics off of the discs of both tekken 4 and soul calibur 2 but the problem I am facing now is the system seams to randomly shut down (screen goes black system is still on, no sound (if it was playing sound when it happened)).

Tekken 4 seams to almost always get to the point where gameplay is going to be started (demo mode) and then shut off

Soul Calibur 2 is completely random, most often it shuts off when the yellow loading bar is going, sometimes it gets past the opening movie and like tekken 4 shuts off when gameplay would be shown.

Anyone ever saw this happen with 246? Any clue why?