Follow-up on Shawn's Strikers from NGF

JMKurtz

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Since this has been a "public" deal, I feel that it's appropriate to post my findings about NGF's Strikers 1945 Plus cart sold to Shawn.

First, and I really hate to say this, but the quality of the conversion is awful! I'm not sure which member of NGF (Dion or Chris) did the soldering, but it looks like it was done with a spatula and a book of matches. I scanned the board and took some pictures.

There are literally globs of solder on many of the pins. I also saw one pin on a chip that never made it into the ringlet, so rather than removing the chip, straightening the pin, and resoldering it, a small piece of metal (looks like a leg off another chips) was soldered through to make contact.

Without checking too much, I see at last one jumper missing for the sound roms, and I also see where one of the surface mount caps was removed and then resoldered back in place -- there was no reason for this to be done.

All in all (and only pointing out a couple issues), there is no way this cart left in working condition.

In order to "correct" the conversion, I'd rather pull off all the chips (because of the lousy solder job) and start it over again... Not to mention that if the work was this sloppy, who knows if the actual roms are fried or not.

So, if Shawn gives me his blessing, I will redo the conversion. This will be the only way to "correct" the NGF work and to actually find out if the roms are still good, or if the Kof99 sac board is fried.

Now I see why they worry about wires falling off.

I'll update this message later with links to the scans & pictures.

Jeff




Originally posted by Shawn:
I will keep the box and all bubble wrap used in the exact condition it was received. $51.05 for shipping? You know, you could have just sent by priority mail with delivery confirmation and insurance, but thanks!

I will be shipping the Strikers cart to Jeff Kurtz in approximately 15 minutes, insured for $1200 with delivery confirmation by priority mail.

Delivery confirmation # 0304 7990 0003 5459 8648
Insurance claim # VV 246 988 246 US
 

Robi15

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Aug 17, 2000
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OH MY GOD! This is a scandal! NGF Reputation has fallen.... I wonder how the Shawn's other carts looklike? Think, they maybe awful inside but in working condition. They may fry he's system in any second!!! GEEEZ!
mad.gif


This is not good at al´.



[This message has been edited by Robi15 (edited September 27, 2000).]
 

Shawn

snkusa.com
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Originally posted by NGF:
It is probably something really small. If you dont want to wait I am willing to pay Jeff to look at it in my absence(my expense) if he wants to. Probably super easy money for him. If the sticker is damaged in the process it will be replaced.
Chris Ray

Thanks for all the work Jeff. Go right ahead with the conversion correction. I suppose you will need another MotW, MS3, or KoF ’99 in addition to another cheaper home cart, in order to redo the conversion. I will be curious to see the scans as well. Don’t forget to send Chris the bill.

I hate to say this, because if I’m to sell them this won’t help the situation. Does the sloppy conversion work have anything to do with most of my unreleased carts not playing very well? I usually have to seesaw the cart back and forth to get it to work. Rarely does the NGF cart just plug in and play in my systems. They all act like “dirty” carts, but cleaning the contacts has no effect on this problem. Chris told me it’s because my systems are old, I need a newer revision board or a high serial # system. So I bought several high serial # systems, and had you mod the newest of the bunch. Unfortunately, the NGF carts still had problems. This didn’t change a thing.

Also, what of the cart sticker? Sounds like it’s impossible to salvage it, scanning, and new boards. I know Chris says he will replace the sticker, but it’s not that simple. They won’t send out stickers, they insist that the games are sent back to them.
 

JMKurtz

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The sticker is still in great shape -- you can't even tell the cart was opened
smile.gif


I'll redo the converion with the parts that are there. If anything additional is needed, I'll let you know.

Keith S. has offered a place for me to upload the scans/pics of the boards. I'll post the links to the scans here in a few.

Jeff
 

Dolphin

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Posts
1,415
Damn, pictures of those Strikers conversion boards should be used as examples of poor soldering work in a "How to Solder" textbook! Even I can make a better solder joint than that.
 

Mouse_Master

Support your local Sheriff, ,
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I have 5 converted carts from Jeff Kurtz so far, and there is only 1 cart I have the occational problem with, and that is Pop 'N Bounce, it works most of the time, but sometimes it is stubborn! But many regular Neo carts are like that!

So, I would think that you should not have a problem with your carts at all.

Keith

[This message has been edited by Mouse_Master (edited September 27, 2000).]
 

Gambit

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I like how Dion wrote his name with Magic Marker over the SNK logo. I guess he really does think he is SNK. What a fool.
 

Shawn

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Good observation Gambit, I was going to point out the same thing.

This is bad news for me. This means my unreleased carts could go out at anytime, or a slight bump could cause the wiring to rupture. Thanks for the detailed pics Jeff. Looks like this project is going to keep you very busy. I just hope the chips are not fried.
 

Dreamh2o

Sub-human sack of shit.
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478
So any chimp with a $3.98 radioshack soldering iron can mod these carts huh??
 

SmokeYa

Crossed Swords Squire
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Aug 16, 2000
Posts
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Don't worry Shawn, at least it is something that is fixable. You could probably just send all your carts to Jeff for reconditioning. If this is too expensive, I'm sure you could probably just fix them yourself. You can get all the stuff you need at Radio Shack for under $25. Here are some tips:

1. Good solder joints look shiney and silver. Bad solder joints or "cold" joints look kinda greyish. Cold solder joints do not conduct properly and can cause intermitent problems like you were talking about. Look around your boards for bad solder joints that look grey or cracked.
2. Add a little flux on the bad joint and reheat it with a soldering iron (touching both pad and chip pin). You should only need to apply heat for a few seconds (anymore could damage the chip). When the soldering iron is removed, the solder should look like it's silver and shiney.
3. When fixing many solder joints on a single chip, try not to solder the pins in order. Instead jump around to different pins on different sides of the chip. This prevents building up heat in one area of the chip.
4. Clean off excess flux with some rubbing alcohol.

Radio Shack may have little books on how to solder properly. If you have never soldered before, I recommend reading one before attempting to solder for the first time.


[This message has been edited by SmokeYa (edited September 27, 2000).]
 

lump505

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Aug 18, 2000
Posts
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That is really some pathetic work. Yeah I cant beleive he wrote his name over the SNK logo. What a loser! He rights his stupid name on anything that he makes. Shawn you should check the back of your inserts for his dumb name written in big black marker.
 
B

boejob

Guest
For all of Dion's ballyhooing about wire-jobs, wasn't the Shock Troopers cart Adol got from him a big time wire-job?
 

!Arcade!

Rugal's Thug
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Aug 30, 2000
Posts
94
"Like going from Bentley to a Ford. Nothing wrong with either car"

Seems to us that when purchasing a Bentley, one would demand that it would at least start. Not to worry though, is that a "Lexus" that we see on the horizion?

When this new dealership opens, you can expect a very rapid decline in the re-sale value of your "Bently".

We wish you happy driving, assumming your car/t starts.
 

Gambit

B. Jenet's Firstmate
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Sep 6, 2000
Posts
402
Hey I would take a cheaper car that actually runs, then a expensive car that can't even get put together right. That guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing. That thing looked like he just threw a wrench in there and said ok I'm done then shipped it off.
 

JMKurtz

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UPDATE:

After examining the Strikers cart, I decided that it would be best to send the cart to Chris (of NGF) to do the repairs himself since closer examination revealed too much damage in the original conversion process. The cost would be prohibitive for me to fix it.

Shawn, I really wish you the best in getting this cart fixed, and I really hope Chris doesn't go back on his words to satisfy you.

Now, on a side note... If Dion and Chris sell off their personal carts, doesn't that lead you to believe that they no longer have complete cart collections? Sure, replacing them is not a problem, but that avenue is open to everyone -- it's safe to say that Dion and Chris no longer have complete collections. That's too bad. I guess Shawn (publically) now has the most complete collection of JAP & US carts, minus the Strikers.

Jeff

[This message has been edited by JMKurtz (edited October 09, 2000).]
 

vincewy

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Jeff, why would Chris and Dion sell their collection? As far as I can tell, they're the most dedicated Neo-Geo Freaks, I've visited Chris' house, he had everything.
 
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