Pandora Box 3 Multi-Game 520-1 PCB

T

taggy

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Got a PB3 a few days ago, I must admit it runs pretty well (I plugged it into a MVS-4 cab with an JNX Atlas 1.1). The picture looks a bit blurry to me, but most of the games run with no real slowdowns (except the CPS-3 game that lag and have frame drops).
I backuped the sdcard and put another image I found on the net, so now it's about 700 games running on it instead of 520 (with like 50 clones). Not too bad for 35 bucks ! :)
 
Xian Xi

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taggy said:
Got a PB3 a few days ago, I must admit it runs pretty well (I plugged it into a MVS-4 cab with an JNX Atlas 1.1). The picture looks a bit blurry to me, but most of the games run with no real slowdowns (except the CPS-3 game that lag and have frame drops).
I backuped the sdcard and put another image I found on the net, so now it's about 700 games running on it instead of 520 (with like 50 clones). Not too bad for 35 bucks ! :)
Click to expand...

How are you converting the mono audio to run correctly on the 4 slot cab?
 
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taggy

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With the Atlas I bought from you :) In this case the sound goes thru the jamma harness and not thru the speakers via the 4-point connector... I'm not sure but maybe with an adapter jack to 4-point we could use the sound that comes directly from the board ? Anyway it sounds OK to me the way it is...
 
Xian Xi

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taggy said:
With the Atlas I bought from you :) In this case the sound goes thru the jamma harness and not thru the speakers via the 4-point connector... I'm not sure but maybe with an adapter jack to 4-point we could use the sound that comes directly from the board ? Anyway it sounds OK to me the way it is...
Click to expand...

You're going to fry the sound amp in the pandora if you are doing a straight through for audio. If you want, I can mod the Atlas to work with the Pandora, shoot me an email.
 
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taggy

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I actually bought the Atlas specifically to plug the pandora in my MVS cabinets, so I'm a bit confused :o
On the product page it says " This is the JNX Atlas. It is both a Voltmeter and Pandora/Blue Elf JAMMA adapter. The pinout can be changed between Pandora/Blue Elf and JAMMA pass through simply by moving two jumpers." So to me it was alright. And it is (so far :))
 
unofficialitguy

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taggy said:
I actually bought the Atlas specifically to plug the pandora in my MVS cabinets, so I'm a bit confused :o
On the product page it says " This is the JNX Atlas. It is both a Voltmeter and Pandora/Blue Elf JAMMA adapter. The pinout can be changed between Pandora/Blue Elf and JAMMA pass through simply by moving two jumpers." So to me it was alright. And it is (so far :))
Click to expand...


Yeah... a standard MVS cab is not wired JAMMA. It has slight changes to the pinout that allow for stereo output and running JAMMA boards on MVS wired cabs.

The Atlas allows you to utilize the kick harnesses found in most cabs instead of creating a custom wired JAMMAesq harness to get your kicks.

The JNX Big Red adapter was designed for playing JAMMA boards on MVS wired cabs.
 
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taggy

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Yes, that's exactly why I got the Atlas and a Big Red cards for :) Because I know that MVS cabinets from the 2-slot ones are wired differently than regular jamma cabinets. And I didn't want to damage my pcbs in my cabinets.
OFF-TOPIC : I'm having a hard time finding new MVS harnesses to renovate my cabinets, any clue people ?
 
Xian Xi

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taggy said:
Yes, that's exactly why I got the Atlas and a Big Red cards for :) Because I know that MVS cabinets from the 2-slot ones are wired differently than regular jamma cabinets. And I didn't want to damage my pcbs in my cabinets.
OFF-TOPIC : I'm having a hard time finding new MVS harnesses to renovate my cabinets, any clue people ?
Click to expand...

Bob Roberts makes nice quality harnesses but he only does check or money order but has many transactions and is a stand up guy.

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/ just shoot him an email (at the bottom).
 
unofficialitguy

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5121fa9785e0c07cd68a17d7dbf52c5f.jpg


e5255b934a8a25b2bbd12800db9a5df8.jpg


Just got this in the mail today. Wired it up and started playing some of the games. The CPS2 titles play good enough for me but the Neo games have something off about them. Only played for a few minutes but will play more this next week.

It's interesting but not a reason to stop tracking down the real deals.
 
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Over the last couple of weeks I have been playing with two models of the Pandora's Box 3. I initially purchased one of the newer 'bootleg' models, had some problems with it and stumbled upon this thread while doing research/troubleshooting. Thanks to this thread I decided to look for the original PS4-styled version and found a cheap deal on eBay.

Having used both now I've been able to draw some comparisons. Interestingly, the PS4 style model runs pretty smoothly with no framerate stuttering on most of the games. However, this model has some nasty screen tearing. On the second model, I noticed very little to no screen tearing whatsoever. However, it seems like every 15 seconds or so the framerate dips. So, it will run at a nice 60fps for a few moments, then it dips, and then it returns to normal. It constantly does this--a few times a minute at least--but it doesn't appear to be related to anything happening on screen (it will occur regardless the amount of action on screen). A friend and I were thinking about it and our best guess is that the second model has some form of forced V-Sync enabled, which eliminates the screen tearing but causes the games to stutter instead. It's a shame there's no way to disable it or tweak the emulator.

One massive advantage the PS4 model has over the later one is that it has a headphone jack. I'm thinking about hooking up a cheap pair of speakers to it so I can easily adjust the volume from game to game. Or, maybe I will run a pair of headphones with external volume control out of the cab. The volume leveling in each of the games is all over the place, so having a headphone jack is a very nice option.

On a side note, my "problem" with the bootleg version was that it didn't play nice with my monitor. After a few minutes of play, I'd get some crazy vertical rolling. It turns out my monitor just needed to be adjusted, despite being perfectly fine with the Final Fight PCB the JAMMA harness was previously connected to. Something to keep in mind for anyone that has screen issues with these.
 
c0nn0r

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Hey guys,

I'm thinking of getting a Pandora's box to supplement my Neo Geo, and my Jamma Saturn setup. I'm wondering if there is a preferred place for me to buy this that is not going to be a bootleg. Also, is the PB4 the best unit to get, or are there advantages to the PB3 still?

I'll be playing this on my New Astro City.
 
Xian Xi

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c0nn0r said:
Hey guys,

I'm thinking of getting a Pandora's box to supplement my Neo Geo, and my Jamma Saturn setup. I'm wondering if there is a preferred place for me to buy this that is not going to be a bootleg. Also, is the PB4 the best unit to get, or are there advantages to the PB3 still?

I'll be playing this on my New Astro City.
Click to expand...

Both have different games so depends which ones you want. Only thing between the 3 and 4, is that on the PB3 you can run CGA and VGA simultaneously where the PB4 can only run one at a time.

Just get one that looks like a mini PS4 and one that DOESN'T say HD version(VGA only) unless that's what you want.
 
NeoGeoFanatic

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I purchased a yellow one just like the one picture above. The only problem was that after playing it for a few days it stopped working...

Once it booted to the logo, it blinked once after a few seconds like it wanted to start up but then went back to the logo and stayed there.

I have since purchased a different one and haven't had any issues. I believe someone in this thread talked about some being blue elfs being passed for Pandora boxes.

The second Pandora Box 4 I purchased was more expensive and I haven't had any issues with it.
 
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Marko

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Hi guys! Thanks for letting me join :) I was looking for this question over 6 months now. I have a crappy Pandora's Box 3 bootleg and i need to know if there are any chances that i can edit some files on sd card so the emulation can be better? The frame drops are really bad :( Thanks!
 
RAZO

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unofficialitguy said:
5121fa9785e0c07cd68a17d7dbf52c5f.jpg


e5255b934a8a25b2bbd12800db9a5df8.jpg


Just got this in the mail today. Wired it up and started playing some of the games. The CPS2 titles play good enough for me but the Neo games have something off about them. Only played for a few minutes but will play more this next week.

It's interesting but not a reason to stop tracking down the real deals.
Click to expand...

The Neo Games have this stupid filter on them. It's a shame because they actually play pretty good but it just messes with your eyes.
 
RAZO

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It's there any way to adjust the geometry on the Pandora4. It always looks off in RGB on my monitor. Hate to keep messing with the monitor settings when I go from the Pandora to something else.
 
Xian Xi

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RAZO said:
It's there any way to adjust the geometry on the Pandora4. It always looks off in RGB on my monitor. Hate to keep messing with the monitor settings when I go from the Pandora to something else.
Click to expand...

Nope, only way is on your monitor itself and it messes up the way normal PCBs look.
 
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Marko

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Austin said:
Over the last couple of weeks I have been playing with two models of the Pandora's Box 3. I initially purchased one of the newer 'bootleg' models, had some problems with it and stumbled upon this thread while doing research/troubleshooting. Thanks to this thread I decided to look for the original PS4-styled version and found a cheap deal on eBay.

Having used both now I've been able to draw some comparisons. Interestingly, the PS4 style model runs pretty smoothly with no framerate stuttering on most of the games. However, this model has some nasty screen tearing. On the second model, I noticed very little to no screen tearing whatsoever. However, it seems like every 15 seconds or so the framerate dips. So, it will run at a nice 60fps for a few moments, then it dips, and then it returns to normal. It constantly does this--a few times a minute at least--but it doesn't appear to be related to anything happening on screen (it will occur regardless the amount of action on screen). A friend and I were thinking about it and our best guess is that the second model has some form of forced V-Sync enabled, which eliminates the screen tearing but causes the games to stutter instead. It's a shame there's no way to disable it or tweak the emulator.

One massive advantage the PS4 model has over the later one is that it has a headphone jack. I'm thinking about hooking up a cheap pair of speakers to it so I can easily adjust the volume from game to game. Or, maybe I will run a pair of headphones with external volume control out of the cab. The volume leveling in each of the games is all over the place, so having a headphone jack is a very nice option.

On a side note, my "problem" with the bootleg version was that it didn't play nice with my monitor. After a few minutes of play, I'd get some crazy vertical rolling. It turns out my monitor just needed to be adjusted, despite being perfectly fine with the Final Fight PCB the JAMMA harness was previously connected to. Something to keep in mind for anyone that has screen issues with these.
Click to expand...

Having exactly the same problem! :crying: I don't mind screen tearing, this frame drop is just a game breaker for me. I will trow it in a trash ffs.. Are you 100% sure that there is no way that someone can edit some file on Linux so we can have unlocked frame?
 
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Did anyone buy the PB4 from Holland Computers?

Found them here. It's a little bit more expensive than what I was seeing them go for before shipping, but it's a US seller so I guess I can't complain.

Can someone post a screen of the filter they put on the games? I want to see if it's as bad as I think it is, or if it's something I can live with. Google is not helping me.
 
RAZO

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FilthyRear said:
Did anyone buy the PB4 from Holland Computers?

Found them here. It's a little bit more expensive than what I was seeing them go for before shipping, but it's a US seller so I guess I can't complain.

Can someone post a screen of the filter they put on the games? I want to see if it's as bad as I think it is, or if it's something I can live with. Google is not helping me.
Click to expand...

It depends. Having played Neo Games in rgb for the longest and playing Neo Games with that bad filter just doesn't work for me. If you have no other way to play them, then it might not bother you so much. Cps2 Games seem to play great with just minor screen tearing and slight fps issues. I got the Pandora mainly for beat'em ups. I really wanted to play Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and Punisher on my cab and they work fine with minor issues.

Games like Tengai aka Sengoku Blade and Mystic Warriors have the shit filter on them. Violent Storm has really bad frame issues, to me is unplayable. Many Shtmups have either sound issues or frame tearing. Games like R-type Leo play ok but sound isn't great. Some games will sound really loud and you'll have to adjust the volume knob on the pandora.

The Pandora isn't great but for some games it might be worth getting. If your looking to buy this for shtmups, I would avoid.

The 161 cart is a much better choice if your just looking to play neo games.
 
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FilthyRear

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RAZO said:
The Pandora isn't great but for some games it might be worth getting. If your looking to buy this for shtmups, I would avoid.
Click to expand...

I have a CMVS and a multi cart, so I have Neo covered.

The Pandora would be a short-term solution mostly - it will hold me over until I get a MAME PC or JAMMA Pi in there.

I would be getting it for the CPS fighters (!), beat-em-ups, some of the odd-ball arcade titles, and a few of the shooters.

I just want to see if the filter is something I can live with for the short term or not. Unfortunately I won't know until I actually see it, and that will tell me if I should bother trying to find the PB3 instead.
 
RAZO

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FilthyRear said:
I have a CMVS and a multi cart, so I have Neo covered.

The Pandora would be a short-term solution mostly - it will hold me over until I get a MAME PC or JAMMA Pi in there.

I would be getting it for the CPS fighters (!), beat-em-ups, some of the odd-ball arcade titles, and a few of the shooters.

I just want to see if the filter is something I can live with for the short term or not. Unfortunately I won't know until I actually see it, and that will tell me if I should bother trying to find the PB3 instead.
Click to expand...

I think the filter will bother you since you play your shit on real hardware. The Cps1-2 games I tested seem to play and look good so it might workout for you as a temporary solution.

I think taking a picture or showing a video won't help you with making your decision on the filter. It's one of those things that you have to see with your own eyes. The best way I could explain it is plaYing a Standard Snes or SFC in rgb. The Non-1 chip models. You get a colorful picture but zero sharpness.
 
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