Bust a Move MVS sound effect issues

[ballzdeepx]

I just received a legit Bust a Move MVS cart today. The person had it in their 2 slot that sat for over 10 years.

I opened the cart to verify and compare it against the scans page to ensure it was authentic and the good news is it was. The bad news is that while the sound is fine on the title screen, as soon as you start a game any sound effects sound so bad, and crackled out, it almost blows out my speakers.

I cleaned the connectors and they werent even that bad in the first place, I also cleaned up some grime/flux around the chips on the front and back of the boards with 91% iso, so I'm not sure what the issue is.

I have a 2 slot, and this is the only game that does it. I have also tried the game in both slots, where it is the only game in the motherboard.

Any ideas on this? I hope one of the sounds chips aren't going bad. I just don't want to reach out to the person I purchased from unless I confirm whats happening.

*Edit, so there are also graphical issues as well. The logo etc have corrupted sprites, pretty bummed out.

Thanks in advance

 

[Pope Sazae]

Get some DeoxIt and use that to clean the cart up really good. BAM can be finicky at times

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ballzdeepx]

Thanks Pope.
Ok now I feel a bit better, inserting the cart and giving it kind of a vigerous side to side before powering it on cleared up all graphical issues I had.
The sound issue still persists. It like a low bass sound that palpitates whenever I try to launch a bubble, and the fallout of the bubbles popping.

Could this be a bad solder point? I didn't really see any bridging upon inspection.

 

[GadgetUK]

Thanks Pope.
Ok now I feel a bit better, inserting the cart and giving it kind of a vigerous side to side before powering it on cleared up all graphical issues I had.
The sound issue still persists. It like a low bass sound that palpitates whenever I try to launch a bubble, and the fallout of the bubbles popping.

Could this be a bad solder point? I didn't really see any bridging upon inspection.

I would be tempted to check for dry joints and make sure you've cleaned the connectors up properly with alchohol, and then an eraser. If it's still playing up after that its possible you've got a corrupt sound ROM. They should be mask roms which means you will need to get a suitable EPROM or PROM and program with the relevant ROM info - easy to get from the net.

 

[GadgetUK]

It's probably worth trying to work out which are the sound roms on there and resolder the points anyway. I've seen carts where they look OK but the dry joint is on the other side of the PCB etc, and only soldering them brings them back to life.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Yeah I suppose it cant hurt to try that. I do see on one of the legs on the v2 chip is bent up over the solder and actually touching a trace. It's the only one on the board to do this, I'll try to fix that, but otherwise the joints don't look too dry, certainly no cracking.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Just an update,

I re-cleaned all the edge connectors again, and also heated up all points, added some solder on a few and fixed the bent leg. Still exact same behavior. This happens if I change to any region/mode in the unibios and also happens in the jukebox.
At this point I really don't know what else can be done, I feel like the sound chip that houses the sound effects is corrupt or faulty as all the music seems to be ok. It's strictly the voices, and sound effects.

I've also inserted just the PCBs into the slots on the motherboard to rule out a shell/case issue.

 

[Xian Xi]

Usually crackling is a bad connection from a dirty slot or edge connector on the cart. Clean the edge with a pink eraser or art eraser to get any film build up off of it. Then use Deoxit-D5 to promote the connection.

If after that you still have the problem then it could be something with the cart itself like a bad PCM, IC, mask-rom, trace, solder joint etc.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Thanks for the advice.
Right now I have these connectors polished up like mirrors, but I plan to find some deoxit this weekend. I dunno, it just seems so odd that everything else is clear as a bell except the sounds.

 

[psychobear85]

This is a common problem with this cart. I had a total of 4 Bust-A-Move and they all did this. What MVS board are you using.

 

[psychobear85]

Here the one I made a while back.

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?242667-Bust-A-Move-sounds-issue&highlight=

 

[ballzdeepx]

This is a common problem with this cart. I had a total of 4 Bust-A-Move and they all did this. What MVS board are you using.

I'm using an mv2f

 

[ballzdeepx]

Here the one I made a while back.

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?242667-Bust-A-Move-sounds-issue&highlight=

Yeah I saw that thread actually, the thing is my sound never works for a while then cuts out. I just have the issues with the sound effects right out of the gate.

 

[psychobear85]

Yeah my issue was always random, sometimes it would be from the start, sometimes 20-30 minutes into the game. I just gave up and just put the sound down when this starts. The only other solution was to buy a BAM again.

 

[RabbitTroop]

Even if your pins look clean, there could be a film of corrosion on them. This is why either inserting over and over again or using an eraser to buff the pins can help, as it just wears away the corrosion. The right way to do this, and the safer way so you don't damage anything, is to get some DeOxit and give the pins a good cleaning. I had a Zedblade cart that I'd have to reseat a dozen or so times, even after cleaning it with art gums and alcohol until my fingers ached, just to get the sound and graphics right. Changed up my methods, used DeOxit on it last year, and the damn thing plays first or second insert every time now. DeOxit is pretty amazing stuff.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Well I got something similar to deoxit , I also used an eraser, these contacts look perfect. I still have the issue.

Is it possible I have a bad LS139 chip that is connected to the V chips?
I saw this thread and I have the exact same issue as this person.

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?242238-Nam-MVS-cart-with-sound-issues

 

[RabbitTroop]

Well, of course it's possible. It could be any number of things. Just curious, what did you use to clean the pins that was like DeOxit?

 

[ballzdeepx]

It's called Noalox, a supposed Anti-oxidant/ground promoter.

every other cart I have has much dirtier connectors than this too. I am waiting to get some deoxit though, just figured I could find it locally but radio shack stopped carrying it.

I'm going to get out the magnifying glass next and look around the PCM chip. Maybe it's possible I have a dry joint or something around there.

 

[RabbitTroop]

It's called Noalox, a supposed Anti-oxidant/ground promoter.

every other cart I have has much dirtier connectors than this too. I am waiting to get some deoxit though, just figured I could find it locally but radio shack stopped carrying it.

I'm going to get out the magnifying glass next and look around the PCM chip. Maybe it's possible I have a dry joint or something around there.

Cool, thanks. Always good to have some choices when working with these carts. I've had good luck with DeOxit, but it can be a little pricey. I'll look into Noalox.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Cool, thanks. Always good to have some choices when working with these carts. I've had good luck with DeOxit, but it can be a little pricey. I'll look into Noalox.

Its more of a paste so you'll want to make sure to wipe it off well. In the past I always just used brasso (a metal polish) and cleaned off any residue with alcohol. That method works for me 99% of the time with all other carts I own for multiple systems.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Ah well, I think I've reached my technical limit with this, I don't really know where to go from here, I have no logic probe or any idea how to use that and it will probably cost way too much to get it fixed.
From some past history on this game it really seems like BAM is a fluke of a cart and people should buy it knowing there could be issues, even if you get a legit one.

 

[psychobear85]

Ah well, I think I've reached my technical limit with this, I don't really know where to go from here, I have no logic probe or any idea how to use that and it will probably cost way too much to get it fixed.
From some past history on this game it really seems like BAM is a fluke of a cart and people should buy it knowing there could be issues, even if you get a legit one.

Yeah like I stated before I ended up with 3 before I gave up and just turn the music volume down, just get BAM 2.

 

[ballzdeepx]

Yeah like I stated before I ended up with 3 before I gave up and just turn the music volume down, just get BAM 2.

Yeah, one day I'll look at picking it up. Thanks to you and everyone else who offered up support though, I really appreciate everyone's time.

 

[Asure]

Can only chime in with similar issues, the 'fire' and 'pop' sounds would crackle on several carts i had, it took some time to get a good copy (which was not a bootleg) from the seller back in the day.
I had
- A bootleg which was perfect (but boot)
- A bootleg with pop/crackle in the fire/bubble pop
- An original cart which had pop/crackle
- A good original with no issues.

It could be as simple as a broken V rom or bad V rom (from the factory). Some friends had versions (originals) which had perfect sound on JAP MVS settings, but were bad on USA/EUR bios.
I guess we cannot know for sure unless someone desolders and dumps the roms from a bad version, to see what's up with them.

 

[Xian Xi]

Could even be bit rot on the M1 since most copies have an exposed window. But I think it might even be bad EXTRA V roms. The two that aren't used could be a problem if they are still connected, you can try snipping the control legs (11 & 13) on V1 and V2 as BAM uses V3 and V4. If it clears up then we will know that it's the extra roms.