Controller Ports on an MV1FZ

Not sure if this is really a technical question so sorry if this does not belong in this forum.

I am in the process of consolizing an MV1FZ and am only using the plastic shell it comes with this time around. I have everything working great except I am trying to find a way to wire up the controller ports without them looking like complete ass.

I am tapping everything from underneath the PCB and had planned to run it back around and under the riser card however even when using small ribbon cable wire there still is not enough space to do it that way. I am trying to do this in a way where the wires are hidden or barely visible however I cant seem to find any pictures of finished MV1FZ CMVS projects that give any hint to how their creators hid everything. Is there anyone that may have any ideas on how to wire up the controller ports and still have the wires somewhat hidden?

Oh and BTW Broken thank you for posting where to tap the R, G, B, Sync, and controller points awhile back. Not having to follow traces or use a multimeter to find everything saved a lot of time with this project so far.

Skips said:

I am in the process of consolizing an MV1FZ and am only using the plastic shell it comes with this time around. I have everything working great except I am trying to find a way to wire up the controller ports without them looking like complete ass.

I am tapping everything from underneath the PCB and had planned to run it back around and under the riser card however even when using small ribbon cable wire there still is not enough space to do it that way. I am trying to do this in a way where the wires are hidden or barely visible however I cant seem to find any pictures of finished MV1FZ CMVS projects that give any hint to how their creators hid everything. Is there anyone that may have any ideas on how to wire up the controller ports and still have the wires somewhat hidden?

Click to expand...

A possible option is to drill holes in the motherboard next to where you plan the controller ports through which you can thread the wires coming in from the underside of the board.
Another option I can think of is to mount the ports to the underside of the board - this would provide straight forward access to the cables, only thing is you would have to turn your controller plug the other way when plugging it in.

MtothaJ said:

A possible option is to drill holes in the motherboard next to where you plan the controller ports through which you can thread the wires coming in from the underside of the board.
Another option I can think of is to mount the ports to the underside of the board - this would provide straight forward access to the cables, only thing is you would have to turn your controller plug the other way when plugging it in.

Click to expand...

I was considering drilling through the PCB but am kind of nervous of drilling through something that is needed. When building MV1F CMVS units its easy to do that because everything is spaced out and there is unused space however the MV1FZ has very little space that is unused on both sides of the PCB. If anyone knows of any points that they are 100% certain are safe to drill through I would go that route.

I figured it out. I ended up running the ribbon cables up over the riser card and then back down. Worked out well and looks really clean.

You can also cut off the back right corner of the board.

I'll keep that in mind next time i build a CMVS based off the MV1FZ, thanks. I figured I would post this here instead of starting a whole new thread. Shes an ugly bitch but she gets the job done and at less than half the size of my two slot. I will be adding an opaque black colored plexiglass base with rubber feet when I get the funds so shes not quite done yet. And no the hot glue is simply holding wires, theres none of that ghetto ass hot glued solder joints going on in anything I build. That shit drives me nuts. I built this CMVS for about $142.

*edit* Also forgot to add a big thank you to Jamma Nation X for providing all the tutorials and to Broken for providing pictures of the tap points for everything. Made this project a lot smoother and quicker.

I'm gonna try right-angle PCB mounting controller ports on my MV-1AX, in a similar place to where you mounted yours skips. I thought of doing a side mount, but there's just not enough plastic there.

IMO this looks pretty good.
One suggestion I would have is to perhaps think about placing your two controller ports further apart from one another. On my supergun for instance they are pretty close and it turned out I needed to cut of some plastic from the DB15 gameport extender cables plugs for both the Player 1 and Player 2 cables so that these could fit next to each other when plugged into the supergun. I am talking about the PC style plugs with the screws, which are obviously wider than the offical Neo Geo cables.
Just out of interest
- have you changed the rechareable lithium battery on your board?
- have you got a picture of the black plexi glass board with rubber feet you intend to add on?

MtothaJ said:

IMO this looks pretty good.
One suggestion I would have is to perhaps think about placing your two controller ports further apart from one another. On my supergun for instance they are pretty close and it turned out I needed to cut of some plastic from the DB15 gameport extender cables plugs for both the Player 1 and Player 2 cables so that these could fit next to each other when plugged into the supergun. I am talking about the PC style plugs with the screws, which are obviously wider than the offical Neo Geo cables.
Just out of interest
- have you changed the rechareable lithium battery on your board?
- have you got a picture of the black plexi glass board with rubber feet you intend to add on?

Click to expand...

Yup the battery was replaced. I do it on all the CMVS units I build.

The style of Plexiglas I will be using will be like this. The opaque Plexiglas will match the shell well and will hide the wiring underneath.

The rubber feet will be the same ones as on this CMVS

Skips said:

Yup the battery was replaced. I do it on all the CMVS units I build.

Click to expand...

Any tips / hints on how to remove that sticky pad from under the battery area without damaging anything?
Any ideas what is the role that this pad is supposed to serve in the first place?

I used a hair dryer on full heat.

Get the pad good and hot peel as much if it off as you can whole. They do go brittle over time.

Then with the remainder I use alcohol it softens the sponge and disolves the glue.

MtothaJ said:

Any tips / hints on how to remove that sticky pad from under the battery area without damaging anything?
Any ideas what is the role that this pad is supposed to serve in the first place?

Click to expand...

I ripped that fucker off like a scab. The leftovers came off pretty easily. Like VaNDAL_UK said, you can remove the residual pieces with rubbing alcohol.

Thanks for this guys, still waiting for my replacement battery to arrive, once it does I will need to get this done.
At one point I was thinking whether its possible to replace the battery without removing this pad i.e. just soldering on the top part of the board but I guess that not necessary if it comes of without too much drama.