Unmame MVS-4-25 (ver. 3) restoration

MidnightMonkey

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Good job, man! Glad you got all that mess sorted out! I'm jealous of the time you had to get it all set up. Both my cabs are still waiting :( Buy coin mechs and start saving those quarters!
 

DaveyDarko

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This is awesome.. I am glad you got it up and running..
I almost bought that exact one from that post but wound up passing because the guy said that it couldn't be converted back to a Neo Geo.

Aww man! Well I hope you are closer to Orlando than I am. They seem to pop up in that area all the time!

About the seller saying it could not be converted back to a Neo Geo. He probably said that because ALL of the original wiring was gone and the cable running from the monitor chassis had been cut, moved around in the molex connector, a wire had been soldered to one of the ground pins (still need to clean this up with a solder sucker) and it was all connected to a VGA cable on the other end.

Thank goodness whomever did the mod left his notes inside of the cab so I could easily see how he did this:

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According to that first pic, this mod was done in 2001. I can understand putting a dreamcast into an arcade cabinet like a poor man's naomi, but why did he choose a Neo Geo cabinet? They were still releasing games in 2001!
Its actually kinda good for me because that means this cab was taken out of circulation after less than 10 years, and kept in a smoke free climate conditioned space for the majority of the time it was stored.

Also I REALLY lucked out by finding an auction on ebay that included all of the guts from a 4 slot cab just like mine that had been junked.
I sent the seller a message, and he let me leave out the heavy things I did not need like the 1 amp transformer and the coin box.
The auction included an original neo geo wiring harness with all the proper molex connectors already on it, a power supply, the coin box panel, the wiring for the speakers, the wiring for the back lights, and thank GOD the cable that runs from the Neo Geo wiring harness to the monitor chassis.

Good job, man! Glad you got all that mess sorted out! I'm jealous of the time you had to get it all set up. Both my cabs are still waiting :( Buy coin mechs and start saving those quarters!

You were a huge help! And honestly I had NO idea I was going to have it actually running and playable this soon! All the the parts I needed just happened to pop up for sale and all of the people I have come into contact have been EXTREMELY helpful and friendly!

Im very thankful because this is my first time ever restoring an arcade machine and I was really expecting a rough experience.
 
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DaveyDarko

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Thanks guys!

I adjusted the H-Hold and it got rid of the squiggle at the top of the screen! (Thank you Xian Xi!)
The picture is still a little bit jumpy, but I think this may be due to the H-Size because when I adjust the H-Pos I can see that the picture is stretched past the screen.
I need a special plastic tool to adjust the coil, so I'm going to hold off on that for now.

I'm guessing the previous owner adjusted the screen size to accommodate the Sega Dreamcast's screen resolution.

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DaveyDarko

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Put in my order for the Unibios chip today!
I wanted to be sure to get my order in before next month because the site said they are shipping the next batch of chips on June 3rd :D
Once it gets here I'm going to purchase the 161 in 1 cart next! Dont get me wrong my friends and I are having a blast with the three games that I have, but I need more!!

After I get the multicart I will continue restoring the cab.
As I said before, I am far from finished!

Edit:
Got the unibios in the mail today! Only took 10 days to get here!
The installation is simple so I did not bother taking any pictures, but it arrived packed in a box of matches which I thought was rather neat! :D
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DaveyDarko

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I have not disappeared! I just started slacking on the restoration process ever since I got my 161 in 1 multi cart. My friends and I have been playing the hell out of the cab and loving it!

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One of my New Years Resolutions is to finish this project up this year! I lucked out and scored some more parts today!

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Cant wait till it gets here and I can finish up the top of the cab! Now all I need is the MV-IC board, fabricate some cables to connect the credit displays, and cut a piece of wood to close up the back of the cab!

More updates and games coming in the near future! Oh, and I got a way better camera lol

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MidnightMonkey

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I'll try to find some time this weekend to dig through my boxes in the garage. I might have that MV-IC and the credit cables.
 

DaveyDarko

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Still waiting on parts in the mail, but I thought I would share a quick update.
I found a copy of Shock Troopers for a decent price! :D

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More updates coming soon!
 
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Electric Grave

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The cab is looking great...but in all honesty your 35 posts versus your 11 feedbacks seems pretty leechy...hopefully you'll participate more, keep up the good work.
 

DaveyDarko

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thanks for sharing i wish i had more time to restore more cabs.

I wish I could find more cabs to restore! Ive emailed people on craigslist 12 hours after they post them, but its too late! ;-;
Missed out on an original Mortal Kombat II for $250. Just needed some monitor work

The cab is looking great...but in all honesty your 35 posts versus your 11 feedbacks seems pretty leechy...hopefully you'll participate more, keep up the good work.

That's 35 posts and 11 blog entries.
I only purchased my 4 slot board, Super Dodgeball boot, and a plastic piece for my marquee from the market place. Everything else has been from risks taken on ebay.
And speaking of risks taken on ebay, the parts for the mini marquee have not shown up yet and I noticed the seller has 4 bad feedbacks from the past few months.
Just gotta cross my fingers and hope for the best for now. I know I can get the money back through paypal easily but damnit I want parts not money! ;-;

Nice work! I saw that one a couple times on CL and am really glad to see it up and running! Would love to see this at http://wp.freeplayflorida.com/ this year :)

Thanks alot! I've thought about bringing it to a few local gatherings here in my city. Ill have to think about it once I get the cab completely finished!
 
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Electric Grave

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What a brain fart...thanks for setting me straight professor...
 

DaveyDarko

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Another quick update!
Still waiting on the parts to light the mini marquee, but I broke down and bought Windjammers. I was surprised when it arrived with the original box!

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Electric Grave

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Try to tune the monitor, it's not that hard, access on the back and on the side of the cab on a daughter board.
 

DaveyDarko

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Try to tune the monitor, it's not that hard, access on the back and on the side of the cab on a daughter board.

The H-Size is set too wide. I need a special plastic tool to adjust the coil, its not just a knob :(
If I adjust the V-Size to fill up the rest of the screen, I get alot of flashing and scrolling. I have read that the coil can be adjusted with a metal tool as long as the power is off and the monitor is discharged, but you wouldnt be able to see if it was in line or not with the power off. They sell the tools at happ but it says I have to make a purchase of at least $100

I'm guessing the previous owner set the H Size that way for the dreamcast that was inside it.
 
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Electric Grave

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Looks more like the V-size by looking at the pic...yes be very carefull with them H-size coils, just let it be until you get the tool. I bet ebay has them cheap, if not try Happs.
 

DaveyDarko

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Looks more like the V-size by looking at the pic...yes be very carefull with them H-size coils, just let it be until you get the tool. I bet ebay has them cheap, if not try Happs.

Purchased the tool kit today! I used a silly gift card I received from a mail in rebate on my PC Power Supply xD
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Since I still had some money left over on it, I went ahead and ordered the proper cables to hook up the credit displays!
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They have already been tested and confirmed that they fit and work by another cab owner from a facebook group

more updates coming soon! :D
 

DaveyDarko

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I think my power supply finally died :(
The Neo Geo started resetting when the air conditioning kicked on today, and then tonight when I went to play a bit it would not power up. Only some lines on the screen and the coin door lights dont light up.
I went ahead an ordered a replacement that's like the original. The seller is from my state so hopefully it will not take too long to get here!
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DaveyDarko

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New power supply arrived in the mail today!

out with the old
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in with the new!
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Back in action! I can sleep better at night now! xD
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