Reproduction Card reader kits from the guy that makes the led marquee.

leejsmith

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I am moving my workshop so these things will have to wait a few days, but I did make sure to send all the LED kits today.
 

leejsmith

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I received my order- thanks. Will install the LED marquee tomorrow.

if you look at the led panels, 4 are the same and 2 are different.One of these goes top left and the other top right, then the other 4 go along the bottom and one top middle. It should make sense when you fit them in the cab and you can always look at the install guides, but ignore the 12v parts.
 

Pinball

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Thanks.

Incidentally, the nearest I found to the original EL panels was this:

http://glowhut.com/a6-electro-luminescent-panel-with-leads-and-connector/

I bought a set of 6 (actually 7) a couple of years ago, but they are separate and don't connect to the 2 SNK MV-ELC boards and have no controller, just the power connector. The seller suggested trying a 3-way splitter, but this would be manual I assume?

So until your solution there was no way to get the marquee working properly again... Mine was working but the EL luminescence had dropped to a very low level, so effectively dead. Thus, thanks again!
 
Last edited:

leejsmith

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Thanks.

Incidentally, the nearest I found to the original EL panels was this:

http://glowhut.com/a6-electro-luminescent-panel-with-leads-and-connector/

I bought a set of 6 (actually 7) a couple of years ago, but they are separate and don't connect to the 2 SNK MV-ELC boards and have no controller, just the power connector. The seller suggested trying a 3-way splitter, but this would be manual I assume?

So until your solution there was no way to get the marquee working properly again... Mine was working but the EL luminescence had dropped to a very low level, so effectively dead. Thus, thanks again!


I thought you had to solder the new panels to the old wiring or are they not working on the same voltage ? Also buying 7 is a lot of cash !!!!!!
 

TheSegaDude

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I thought you had to solder the new panels to the old wiring or are they not working on the same voltage ? Also buying 7 is a lot of cash !!!!!!

I installed new EL Panels in my 4-slot, and yes I had to solder the wires directly onto the board where the old ones were. This was in 2015 the new EL panels are are still working great.

The EL Panels are actually too long but since the Neo Geo 4-slot has that metal face plate it masked the excess portions perfectly. I've read it's best to not cut your EL Panels if you can avoid it. It shortens their life span.

This is my big red after I installed new EL panels and some custom mini marquees:

neo-geo-mm-02.jpg


If it wasn't for the black metal frame you'd see the EL panels extending past the bottom of the mini marquee's.
 

Pinball

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I installed new EL Panels in my 4-slot, and yes I had to solder the wires directly onto the board where the old ones were. This was in 2015 the new EL panels are are still working great.

The EL Panels are actually too long but since the Neo Geo 4-slot has that metal face plate it masked the excess portions perfectly. I've read it's best to not cut your EL Panels if you can avoid it. It shortens their life span.

This is my big red after I installed new EL panels and some custom mini marquees:

neo-geo-mm-02.jpg


If it wasn't for the black metal frame you'd see the EL panels extending past the bottom of the mini marquee's.
Is it a hard soldering job? I'm just wondering if I should do this and keep Lee's kit as a backup?
 

TheSegaDude

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Is it a hard soldering job? I'm just wondering if I should do this and keep Lee's kit as a backup?

I'm still an amateur solderer and this was one of the first things I tried and it wasn't hard to do. It's a great place to start.
 

Pinball

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Great. Then I shall do this tomorrow, hopefully outside in the sun :-)
 

leejsmith

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At last I replaced the coin cell on my sram card and was able to test the save game on my card reader PCB, so it does work perfectly. Still trying to add the NVRAM option and made some progress, but still have a few things to work out.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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leejsmith

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Sounds similar to the project I created a few years ago. http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?261268-NeoSaveMasta-VMC-for-Multislots-amp-MV-1-NOW-IN-STOCK-INSTALL-VIDEO-ADDED

I have an updated version that replaces the jumpers with a enable/disable PCB. https://www.neogeofanclub.com/projects/neosavemasta-vmc

Yes it would do the same, but I think I will just stick to having it part of my reproduction MV-1C as a plug in option to the sram card. Such shame they split the cd1 and cd2 on the cn6. So are you doing another run with the updated version ? if yes I will def stick to just the MV-1C, no point trying to reproduce something that is already established.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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Yes it would do the same, but I think I will just stick to having it part of my reproduction MV-1C as a plug in option to the sram card. Such shame they split the cd1 and cd2 on the cn6. So are you doing another run with the updated version ? if yes I will def stick to just the MV-1C, no point trying to reproduce something that is already established.

Yeah I misplaced my box of 60pin connectors and am waiting for more to arrive. I should have these in stock always once the parts get here.

Glad you're making the MV-IC replacement. Originals are definitely hard to find for a decent price.
 

leejsmith

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Yeah I misplaced my box of 60pin connectors and am waiting for more to arrive. I should have these in stock always once the parts get here.

Glad you're making the MV-IC replacement. Originals are definitely hard to find for a decent price.

I am concerned using the flat ribbon as a replacement could pickup RF interference, I have not seen the original cable does it have any shielding or are they just rapped to protect.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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I am concerned using the flat ribbon as a replacement could pickup RF interference, I have not seen the original cable does it have any shielding or are they just rapped to protect.

If I remember correctly (I think I do), the cable is just wrapped with no shielding inside. I briefly sold a mini version of the MV-IC with flat ribbon cables, no interference issues popped up.
 

leejsmith

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If I remember correctly (I think I do), the cable is just wrapped with no shielding inside. I briefly sold a mini version of the MV-IC with flat ribbon cables, no interference issues popped up.

Do you think a Dallas DS1225AB nvram would work, I was going for a 28 pin dip socket so it could be brought by the user if they wanted, I have to admit it could be a bit beyond my skill level, but going to keep working on it.
 

NeoTurfMasta

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Do you think a Dallas DS1225AB nvram would work, I was going for a 28 pin dip socket so it could be brought by the user if they wanted, I have to admit it could be a bit beyond my skill level, but going to keep working on it.

Yeah it will probably work just fine. I made a 1MB memory card using a Dallas chip for testing once and the Neo recognized it. There was a debug bios that was supposed to format a 1MB memory card, but I don't remember the results.
 

leejsmith

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Yeah it will probably work just fine. I made a 1MB memory card using a Dallas chip for testing once and the Neo recognized it. There was a debug bios that was supposed to format a 1MB memory card, but I don't remember the results.

Ok, I am having trouble getting the MVS to accept it, but this gives me hope.
 

leejsmith

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Yeah it will probably work just fine. I made a 1MB memory card using a Dallas chip for testing once and the Neo recognized it. There was a debug bios that was supposed to format a 1MB memory card, but I don't remember the results.

could I ask for some guidance from the Master ?
 

Pinball

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I would like to purchase an NVRAM option from either of you two (genuine, no sarcasm) geniuses :-) Please let me/us know when it's available...
 

leejsmith

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I am still quite a way from a NVRAM solution, but the MV-1C is working perfectly. Just waiting for some new PCB to arrive to do more testing as my wire bodge attempt was causing to much noise on the signals.
If you want a cheaper option I think the Neosavemaster would work out cheaper as it plugs into the MVS direct, mine needs leads as well.
 

leejsmith

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Ok, I am a few steps closer to adding a NVRAM to my repro MV-1C. I worked out all the problems I was having and found a NVRAM that can be dropped into a normal IC socket by the end user so I will do more testing and report back, but initial testing looks good.
 

leejsmith

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I have dumped the contents of the NVRAM used on my card reader to my pc and wrote a simple VB app to read it. The cards only store the level saved of the games so it's not that interesting. This does mean I have a easy way to backup saved games if you have a eprom programmer.

save game.PNG
Capturevb.PNG
 

DuffCon

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Checking in, I’d be interested in just a repro MV-IC board, I have the cables.


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