New MVS owner, questions...

I just got an MVS four slot. You wouldn't believe how excited I am about it, but I don't have an arcade cabinet yet, and don't have a super gun yet.

I have some friends with cabinets, but I don't have any MVS cartridges and money is tight right now. If I plug the MVS board into a friends' cab with no game, will it display anything? I need to test the board because it was given to me for free, and the guy was pretty sure it worked fine, but not absolutely sure (Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?)

Also I've seen those small block type superguns that plug into 1 slots... do those also work on 4-slot boards? Or, what is the cheapest supergun I could buy that would work on my four slot?

Thanks a lot in advance guys!

Congrats with the MVS

Airthrow said:

If I plug the MVS board into a friends' cab with no game, will it display anything?

Click to expand...

The board will display the 'cross hatch' test screen. Using the controller you can then also select other test screens, like:
- Color bars
- Memory card
- Reset memory (probably not on yours...?)

Grats on getting the board!

Airthrow said:

Also I've seen those small block type superguns that plug into 1 slots... do those also work on 4-slot boards? Or, what is the cheapest supergun I could buy that would work on my four slot?

Click to expand...

It's not so much the supergun itself that will determine if it will work, but the power supply. As long as the supergun has big enough gauge wire between its power connector and the edge connector and the power supply can supply enough current, it will work. If I had to guess, I'd say a supergun w/ video encoder, one controller, and a good enough power supply should cost $300-$450. That's completely a ballpark estimate off the top of my head, though.

neobitz-s+atx psu+jamma connector is no where near 100 bucks. controller 45-100 bucks.

prices are an estimate if he knows how to solder. a super gun just to run neogeo is rather cheap.

get a cab superguns are dumb

id kill for a fixmeup cab right now

superguns

superguns arent that dumb. Of course i prefer the arcade experience myself, that is why i have two projects. I have a homebuilt cabinet that is going to house an Mv-6f board as soon as i fix the board, and i also have a mv-2f board that works perfectly.

im putting that into an old desktop computer case.

it uses neo controllers with the exception that i used the jamma harness to wire the select button up to change games. (i didnt use the standard Aes controller ports on the Mv-2f, i added new ones using the jamma harness.)

i am also going to solder 2 wires between the dip switch for the bios so i can hit a pushbutton on the unit instead of opening the case and messing with the dip.

im using a regular atx power supply to suck out the heat, and modified with a toggle switch to turn it on without a computer. take pin 14 on the main atx connector (green wire) and a ground and put a switch between them.

and finally, a cherry masters rgb to tv converter for the video.

and if i ever get my cabinet done instead of constantly changing the damn thing, mabeye Ill enjoy that someday.

the nice benefit of a supergun is being able to play your extra mvs carts on a console without crawling in the back of your cabinet or to test new games out that you just got. Besides who really wants to pull out metal slug or aero fighters 2 just to play a few games of ninja combat?

I have basic soldering knowlege, I have ripped the PCB out of my Streetfighter Anniversary stick and put it in my Agetec Dreamcast stick for example...how hard is it to make your own?

Also I'm really worried about buying the wrong parts when trying to make my own, and then not knowing what's wrong...

DegenerateSkate said:

get a cab superguns are dumb

Click to expand...

I agree cabs> supergun but in my small apartment where i'm not even on the lease, a big honkin' cab is not an option.

Here's what you'll need:

- One jamma connector
- One power supply
- one video converter
- Joysticks and buttons
- (2) 10 pin male connectors
- (2) 10 pin female connectors
- black electrical tape

And this website:
hardmvs.com
There are many other sites, but this is the one that had everything I need to make my supergun.

My supergun is a mess but it works. You shouldn't have any problem wiring it up. If you need any help, a lot of us here have gone through this project.

DegenerateSkate said:

get a cab superguns are dumb

Click to expand...

Yes.

A cab would be much more fun to play on...

Thanks for the help guys. I really don't wanna damage this PCB since I would feel horrible limiting the supply of SNK hardware out there. My MVS is pretty dirty though, so how do I clean it properly? A can of compressed air, and a sponge with some alcohol on it?

Also, to clean it is it okay to remove the RF shield? How important is the RF shield during operation? Also when the board is disconnected from any cab or power source, how careful do I have to be of static? Can I leave it on an open wooded shelf in my closet okay?

And I found out it works by putting it in my friend's cab today, I'm super happy!

There's nothing wrong with Superguns. They have their advantages and can suit your needs nearly as well as having an arcade cabinet. If you think badly of Superguns you must have based that assumption on a bad Supergun. If you build your own and do it right, it's an excellent way to play your arcade games without taking up the amount of space a cabinet does and it's much easier to move around and not hard to maintain.

To make a fairly nice Supergun you just need some basic wood working and wiring skills. Buy some wood like a 8x4 foot sheet of MDF to make the Supergun case and Arcade style sticks. A new or used good condition spare PC PowerSupply. A wired JAMMA harness. A RGB video encoder. Some wire and connectors. That's really all there is to it. You could make a Supergun extremely cheap but you get what you pay for.

If you can spend about 200$ to 250$ on parts, you could build a nice Supergun. The wood would cost you maybe 20$, the harness another 20$, the encoder is pricey say 70$ to 85$, you'll need to get a PC powersupply if you don't have one which could be about 40$, joystick and buttons seem to run around 50$ for a set for 2 players. The misc connectors wiring and cables will vary. So don't be surprised if you kept track and ended up spending 300$ or more.

Just remember Arcade gaming is not a cheap hobby like collecting NES cartridges or something like that.

The RF sheild is probably just to generally protect the board or possibly so the FCC wouldn't complain. You can remove it to clean the board if you want. Be careful not to stress any components. If it's not horribly dirty I wouldn't recommend bothering to clean it. Make use some compressed air to blowaway dust.