Breakers homecart

[andsuchisdeath]

I'll eventually get around to opening all of my "rarer" titles, but before I start, how commonly converted was Breakers?

I bought the cart in early 2009, and from a reputable seller. Was this ever a historically converted cart?

EDIT: By "historically", I mean on the early frontier of conversions. I would imagine it's frequently converted today, amongst other titles which "historically" were not.

[mjmjr25]

Your assessment is spot on. If you've had since 09' you should be pretty golden.

I started AES in early 2011 and it wasn't mentioned as a commonly converted game (Kizuna, Metal Slug 1 / 2, Ninja Masters, etc).

Around late 2012 is when I started noticing them popping up and it made its way into the conversations of carts to be more weary of.

[StevenK]

You can really see the difference between fakes that were really not that long ago and fakes now. A 2009 fake would normally be visible just to look at unless it was done extremely professionally, and the kind of equipment needed to make a fake of that standard even 6/7 years ago would be reserved for the big ticket games like slug 1 etc.

I know you didn't ask this, but if you're thinking about opening up your carts pick out an old shitty cart you've got that's not worth so much and practice again and again on that first. You can open any cart with nothing more than your fingernails once you've got the knack of it.

[andsuchisdeath]

Thanks for the replies.










Here is the only oddity I can spot. There are a couple of solder points near the upper right part of the top board that are weird. They look factory, but are kind of..brown. It appears as if there is some transluecent-brownish liquid stuff that's hardened around them

[StevenK]

Looks good to me. I've seen that brown shit on a couple of my carts too, almost like a dried grease. I never found out what it was but I can't really see how it would have a place in making conversions so I kind of ignored it in the end.

Edit - actually, just looking again how come some of the soldering has the usual raised peaks and there's a line with flat solder? (Though it still looks very uniform)

[andsuchisdeath]

Edit - actually, just looking again how come some of the soldering has the usual raised peaks and there's a line with flat solder? (Though it still looks very uniform)

I'm an ignoramus so I don't know. I never thought it was indicative of anything sketchy.

EDIT: Also, is that clearish brown stuff "flux"?

[totoro]

It looks good tbh...

What made you decide to open your carts?

[CMS]

It looks good tbh...

I agree. Toshiba chips with the right NGH number 230 that are machine soldered is a good sign.

[andsuchisdeath]

It looks good tbh...

What made you decide to open your carts?

Paranoia.

It's something I've been meaning to do for awhile. I've opened a couple others in the past.

I agree. Toshiba chips with the right NGH number 230 that are machine soldered is a good sign.

Good. I don't know the origin or level of credibility for this website, but I made some comparisons with the board pics there.

http://www.arcade-collector.com/breakers-neogeo-16

[andsuchisdeath]

More comments/feedback would be appreciated.

[MCF 76]

It looks 100% legit to me ASID all the tosh chips and soldering look 100% factory. Man I wish I had the confidence to open AES carts. The guide James has looks simple but, getting the tabs to release seems so damn hard feels like its going to shatter the shell.

[massimiliano]

More comments/feedback would be appreciated.

Is that the one you showed me at your place? I clearly recall the insert as genuine, enjoy your game!

[LWK]

That brown stuff is called flux. If it bothers you, you can remove it with isopropyl.

[andsuchisdeath]

@Massimiliano, yes it's the same cart.

@LWK, yeah I asked if it was flux. I don't know what flux is though. I think I'll look it up.

Thanks.

[T. J.ï½´s shanty]

factory soldering and correct chips: Looks legit to me, too. I opened up a Blazing Star homecart a couple of years ago and I still have nightmares: THE HORROR!!!

[andsuchisdeath]

Everyone says "looks legit to me". No one has said, "it is legit". Where's the caveat?



Anyways, thanks everyone.

[MCF 76]

Everyone says "looks legit to me". No one has said, "it is legit". Where's the caveat?



Anyways, thanks everyone.

"ASID this cart is indeed legit and needs to be sent to me immediately to enjoy". I need to open several of mine btw. : /

[SNKorSWM]

Everyone says "looks legit to me". No one has said, "it is legit". Where's the caveat?



Anyways, thanks everyone.

The catch is if you're looking for a certificate of authenticity...

[FinalbossNYC]

@Massimiliano, yes it's the same cart.

@LWK, yeah I asked if it was flux. I don't know what flux is though. I think I'll look it up.

Thanks.

its totally flux which is a bonding agent used in soldering. If it turns brown its usually from dirt or air that was trapped at the time of soldering. it can be buffed but shouldn't cause issues.

Thanks for the view of the MVS cart guts !!!

[ReplicaX]

its totally flux which is a bonding agent used in soldering. If it turns brown its usually from dirt or air that was trapped at the time of soldering. it can be buffed but shouldn't cause issues.

It's not a bonding agent, technically its a wetting agent and reduces the resulting oxidation that occurs in soft soldering. You do not buff it, some Solder fluxes are actually corrosive and need to be cleaned off.

[andsuchisdeath]

It's not a bonding agent, technically its a wetting agent and reduces the resulting oxidation that occurs in soft soldering. You do not buff it, some Solder fluxes are actually corrosive and need to be cleaned off.

Would it be worth cleaning off in this instance?

[xsq]

no.

[ReplicaX]

Would it be worth cleaning off in this instance?

Nope, its just Rosin flux and its not harmful to the board.

[andsuchisdeath]

Hey everyone. So it's been over 5 years since I posted board pics of my Breakers homecart, and after receiving some responses here, I pretty much stopped worrying about it's potential of inauthenticity.

BUT, I've been surfing eBay here and there lately, and I was looking at this cart that's listed as a conversion.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Neo-Geo-AES...AAAOSwj~5fCLfr


fakers.jpg


fakers2.jpg


fakers3.jpg

Comparing the boards and soldering job to my own boards...they look pretty much identical. The only glaring difference is that the contacts/edges of the board are almost white in color, and have a different (pin?) arrangement.

Now, I don't have a keen eye for soldering proficiency so maybe there are some "give aways" I'm not seeing (of course the cart label is a give away with the 1996 year printed instead of 1997).

My ultimate question is this : Can the appearance of a cart's contacts serve as an important indicator of authenticity today when makers of conversions are doing soldering jobs that look factory level?

Also, I've observed is that the contacts for my cart are a darker green than the picture of the Breakers cart listed here on the neo-geo.com cart pics gallery (though the arrangement of pins seems to be identical). I'm not sure whether or not this should be a cause for concern. I don't know how much variation (if any at all) exists within the realm of contacts among various carts.


(Here is the cart from the gallery)

neoforumsbreakers.jpg



(The picture below is my cart).

breakerz.jpg





I removed the imgur a while back that listed the board pics of my cart, but I can definitely reupload these pics if anyone thinks they would be helpful in determining...well, anything.

[Digmac]

My ultimate question is this : Can the appearance of a cart's contacts serve as an important indicator of authenticity today when makers of conversions are doing soldering jobs that look factory level?

Also, I've observed is that the contacts for my cart are a darker green than the picture of the Breakers cart listed here on the neo-geo.com cart pics gallery (though the arrangement of pins seems to be identical). I'm not sure whether or not this should be a cause for concern. I don't know how much variation (if any at all) exists within the realm of contacts among various carts.

The answer is yes. Looking at the cart contacts and board color, which boards the game is using can be gleaned. Every AES title only had one combo of boards from the factory, so if the board color and pin arrangement don't match the original, it's obviously a bootleg/conversion. The boards being used for that Breakers conversion listed on eBay are the early revision of the PROGBK1Y and CHA256RY which had the white contact area. These boards with the white contact area were only used in early to mid 1995 titles such as Fatal Fury 3, Pulstar, and Sonic Wings 3. Breakers does run on PROGBK1Y and CHA256RY boards, however, it was a later revision with the normal green contact area and the PROGBK1Y having a different pin layout.

The appearance of your boards being darker is just the lighting in the photo. No big deal there. They're identical.

Knowing what boards go with what game can be a good factor in determining authenticity without opening the cart. It can be a dead giveaway to a bootleg. This isn't the only factor to consider when authenticating home carts, but it is an important one IMO.