Is my MV1C a boot?

MegaGraffin

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I'm pretty new to Neo Geo and new to the arcade scene in general, so I'm glad I hopefully can gain some clarity on this here. I think this board may be a boot for the following reasons:

-Another site member here said the boards (MV1C) Coinopstore was selling on their website appeared to be boots from the stock photo used. I bought this board from Coinopstore. It's the same in the photo. Owner of store sells bootleg merchandise such as multicarts and has been known to rip people off.

-On my cab I have used a number of other boards with no problem (Naomi setup, MK2, KI). Though, I've used both a legit cart of League Bowling and also a 150 in 1 multicart which have had very similar problems. On League Bowling (only 1p side) and on some of the multicart games, when hitting the A button it's extremely sensitive. Basically registers multiple times from hitting it once. Also some of the games on the multicart don't work. A few other consistent problems on the multicart as well.

I understand the 150 in 1 multicart is no standard to measure anything by, so that aside, considering where I bought it, and that other boards have no problems on my cab except games played on this MV1C, both of these things make me think it's a boot.

I'll be happy to post more pics if needed. Here's a general pic below. Thanks for the help!! Also if it is a boot, what can a person do with these things? Is there a way to "fix" them? Can they be sold for parts? Is there any market for them? I'd prefer not to throw it away, but is there really any option if it's not functioning properly with games? ALSO can using a bootleg 1 slot board hurt my cabinet?
001.jpg
 
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BIG BEAR

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The board is a boot and the multi-carts are just quantity versus quality. I've owned one of the multi-carts and I was not impressed.I noticed sprite, sound glitches and sluggish game play. The one game I often played reset on me quite a bit so I sold the cart at a loss and purchased an original kit.
The way that the multi cart pcb's are set wide will loosen your mvs board's cartridge slot over time causing legit carts to make poor contact.
BB
 

MegaGraffin

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The board is a boot and the multi-carts are just quantity versus quality. I've owned one of the multi-carts and I was not impressed.I noticed sprite, sound glitches and sluggish game play. The one game I often played reset on me quite a bit so I sold the cart at a loss and purchased an original kit.
The way that the multi cart pcb's are set wide will loosen your mvs board's cartridge slot over time causing legit carts to make poor contact.
BB

Damn. That was fast. Thanks for the feedback and info on multicart physical size. The fit in the slot is really tight on this board...But...I do have to ask...How can you tell just from looking at the board (MV1C pictured here) that it's a boot?
 

BIG BEAR

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The components on that board do not match the original's configuration. Most of the components on the authentic MV1C are SMT(Surface Mount Technology) and the Jamma connector of that bootleg is a cheezy looking bad conductor.

PHOTO OF Authentic MV1C
BB

Damn. That was fast. Thanks for the feedback and info on multicart physical size. The fit in the slot is really tight on this board...But...I do have to ask...How can you tell just from looking at the board (MV1C pictured here) that it's a boot?
 

MegaGraffin

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Yeah, that does look different...lol...Well, thanks for answering that. I guess I have one final question then that may be dumb but somewhat legitimate....

What should I do with this board? Can it be sold for parts or is there any market for it? Or is it really just a lesson learned and I basically have to eat the cost because it's not even a bootleg that works 100% correctly?
 

MKL

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the Jamma connector of that bootleg is a cheezy looking bad conductor.

Actually it's the jamma connector on original MV1C that it's crap. SNK always used gold-plated contacts except on the 1B and 1C which are just tinned and get oxydized easily. The jamma connector on that bootleg looks and surely is better.
 

BIG BEAR

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I'm judging off of bootlegged carts that I own,have owned that look similar to that bootlegged board and it's connector. I have to adjust and re-adjust the carts to make a grabled free graphics connection.
In regards to selling the bootlegged MV1C,I'm not sure you can sell it here because you're a new member so you may have to sit on it for a while before you can offer it up.
BB

Actually it's the jamma connector on original MV1C that it's crap. SNK always used gold-plated contacts except on the 1B and 1C which are just tinned and get oxydized easily. The jamma connector on that bootleg looks and surely is better.
 
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ttooddddyy

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The 1C is the worst choice of MVS board (boot or original) imho, you would be better off with one of the earlier PCBs. The only reason I can think of for a 1C is if your application requires vertical cart insertion ? The bios is not socketed, so the unibios is not plug and play as with some other MVS mobos. Just put it down to experience.

http://www.hardmvs.com/html/MV-1C.htm
 

Xian Xi

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The 1C is the worst choice of MVS board (boot or original) imho, you would be better off with one of the earlier PCBs. The only reason I can think of for a 1C is if your application requires vertical cart insertion ? The bios is not socketed, so the unibios is not plug and play as with some other MVS mobos. Just put it down to experience.

http://www.hardmvs.com/html/MV-1C.htm

That really depends on what you are using the PCB for exactly.
 

ckchan

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I guess the bootleg MV-1C is not common but how many people have deal with these kinds of boards?
 

Hewitson

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Demand your money back from the assholes. Carts are one thing, but the previous owner of this board knew it was a bootlegged piece of shit.
 

MegaGraffin

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I wish I could. I guess you could say I already received some money back. It was part of a large order from Coinopstore which included a New Astro City, the MV1C, and a 150 in 1 multicart..My initial concerns were about the cabinet, which I have since fixed..At the time, not knowing what I know now, I thought the multicart was to blame for screwed up gameplay...I basically got half of my money back in the end through paypal...

My new MV1C is arriving later this week so I'm excited to try out my multicart on it as my assumption is it will work fine where as before on the bootleg board it didn't...If it's working fine, I plan to sell the multicart as it's helped me learn what games I want to buy and what I don't..
 

Xian Xi

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One thing to check too is the bios. Put in a known working one or a unibios. It's a possibility you have some off region.
 

MegaGraffin

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One thing to check too is the bios. Put in a known working one or a unibios. It's a possibility you have some off region.

The new MV1C is coming with unibios 3.0....The bootleg MV1C had some sort of bios in it that let me change the language and turn blood on and off...I'm not sure if that was standard...
 

Xian Xi

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Hmmm. Can you boot it up and take pics or video of it? I'm guessing it doesn't say unibios or anything.
 

MegaGraffin

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Hmmm. Can you boot it up and take pics or video of it? I'm guessing it doesn't say unibios or anything.

No I can't...Not at this time as I sold it to someone interested in cataloguing bootleg boards....But it definitely did not say unibios or acknowledge it being a certain version of any specific bios...
 

ack

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No I can't...Not at this time as I sold it to someone interested in cataloguing bootleg boards....But it definitely did not say unibios or acknowledge it being a certain version of any specific bios...

The board arrived today. I also had a mv-1a/mv-1fz bootleg show up a few weeks ago. I will try to take bios pics of both tonight.

-ack
 

ack

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The board arrived today. I also had a mv-1a/mv-1fz bootleg show up a few weeks ago. I will try to take bios pics of both tonight.

Its not even worth taking pics. Both just have a standard US bios with the number 5 in the upper right corner.

-ack
 

Xian Xi

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They've been around for a while now. I'm guessing around the time Metal Slug 2 came out which is why MSX has a protection chip in the cart.
 

Nightmare Tony

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They make bootleg Neo-Geo SYSTEMS now? When did this start, and what's the quality like?


1. LOVE your handle as I dig number stations.

2. We had the bootleg main board issues for a while. I think I first seen one to dissect the 2nd year I worked at SNK. The funniest story was on board, nice custom chipset. We went into the customs with an electron microscope and got the manufacture and lot ID. Guess what? The boot chips were made by a famous chip company. I won't say the name but it rhymes with xetas linn drumset.

When confronted, they searched their records. The boot companyt claimed tjhat the chips were controllers for offshore oil rigs.

End cool story bro
 

2D_mastur

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Bootleg MBs? MS2 with bootleg MB protection chips ?! Any other carts with bootleg protection chips? Can anybody point out what these chips look like?

Woah, you learn something new everyday!


BTW: Now I won't be able to look at my ol' TI86 without thinking of bootleg Neo-Geo mobos.
 
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2. We had the bootleg main board issues for a while. I think I first seen one to dissect the 2nd year I worked at SNK. The funniest story was on board, nice custom chipset. We went into the customs with an electron microscope and got the manufacture and lot ID. Guess what? The boot chips were made by a famous chip company. I won't say the name but it rhymes with xetas linn drumset.

When confronted, they searched their records. The boot companyt claimed tjhat the chips were controllers for offshore oil rigs.

End cool story bro

What's odd is that they went to the trouble of passing their clone off as the real deal. They copied the plastics and the logos, but the board layout is plainly visible on both systems and plainly different on the clone, which totally defeats the whole effort.
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
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What's odd is that they went to the trouble of passing their clone off as the real deal. They copied the plastics and the logos, but the board layout is plainly visible on both systems and plainly different on the clone, which totally defeats the whole effort.

To the unknowing consumer it looks legit because of the SNK stamp on the plastic.
 
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