@GTV reviews the Cosmic Fantasy 1-2 Switch collection by Edia, provides examples of the poor English editing/localization work. It's much worse for CF1. Rated "D" for disappointment, finding that TurboGrafx CF2 is better & while CF1's the real draw, Edia screwed it up...
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Messages - LowRes

#1
I just want to share with everybody what kind of people are on this forum.  First off a big thanks to Jelloslug for 3D Printing me a power switch for my Duo-R and a big thanks to Necromancer for lending his switch to be used for 3D printing.  I don't even know the pain in the ass it was to 3D print it, and imagine the pain in the ass it is to take your switch out, ship it out to somebody to let them 3D print it, and then wait for the switch to come back to you in the mail.  Not only did these guys do this for me, but neither of them will even respond to my pms about paying them for their time and effort to do this for me.  It just showed up in the mail yesterday.  I can't even tell you how nice that was for them to do that and it's very appreciated. 

Another big thanks to Keith Courage who noticed I was going to sell my Super CD-ROM2 because I was still having audio issues even after I replaced all the caps.  He contacted me and offered to fix it for $10.  Ten dollars is not even worth the hassle of taking it to the post office and shipping it back to me after the repair.  He fixed it, I got it back, and it works perfectly. 

You guys are awesome.  I hope I can be as helpful to somebody on this forum, as this forum has been so helpful to me. 

#2
QuoteI don't think it's slowed down yet, but I can't wait for the day that posers and retards f*ck off to some other hobby.
lmao good one
#3
Quote from: Beartruck on 02/21/2018, 12:15 AMAlright, I got the unit in. Coregrafx works great, CD-ROM2 unit powers on, i can hear the motor whir, but no cd rotation. Opened it up and, you guessed it, yellowed out middle gear that basically crumbled to dust when i tapped it with my screwdriver. So i guess I just need one of those and I'm good to go.
Ya 99% of the time just replace that gear and you're good.  Console5 has that gear or game doctor HK but you will get it much faster from Console5.

good luck and you might want to get a couple replacement E-clips from console 5 just incase, since the little rubber original one can rip or go flying.
#4
Quote from: guest on 02/16/2018, 03:07 PMWhat's with all the dead lasers?  Cutting corners to keep costs down isn't surprising, but you'd think they'd want at least half to actually work.  They must be selling them to retailers as-is, meaning the retailer has to eat any returned stock and the problem doesn't immediately come home to roost.
It's probably also hard to prove the laser is faulty and can easily be blamed on user error or in-proper installation.  Most people wouldn't know any better.
#5
Buy/Sell/Trade / FS: Super CD-Rom2 System
02/14/2018, 06:05 PM
No longer for sale
#6
Quote from: tknjin on 02/13/2018, 06:23 AMI have been wanting to get some people to do a translation with me.  I would even be willing to help the programmers out by lending them my copies of the pc98 editions and pc engine versions to them.  Although I have no idea how to get a team together to do such a project.
I have no idea how any game get's translated, I'm sure it's very time consuming.  The game is also on the MSX.  The MSX has Snatcher and SD Snatcher Translated which is great, I'm surprised there hasn't been more interest in Dead of the Brain getting translated on MSX too.  Looks to be the same style of game as Snatcher :)
#7
Quote from: guestI'd love to play it in English (it's got neat art), but I think it's sadly been abandoned. :cry:
That's unfortunate.  Really looks like a good game.  I think the PC98 version is translated so maybe I'll have to get into the PC98 too lol
#8
Did a search on here and didn't come up with much recent information.  Seems there was a lot of talk about this game getting worked on for a English translation years ago.  Since it's 2018 now, has any progress been made on this game in English? I'd even be happy with the rumored French Translation lol

The game looks really good, It be nice to understand what's going on but I might try to give it shot regardless.
#9
Quote from: PigInTheMud on 02/11/2018, 10:25 AMI'm having the same problem too. I tried doing what Keith Courage above said, and removed one of the ground wires connecting from the laser  to the motherboard  and that didn't change anything. I also tried a very very slight pot adjustment to pots 102 and 104, but nothing changed so I set them back to their original positions

I recently picked up a PC Engine Duo that worked for the most part. Had quiet sound and some issues reading some discs so I decided to do a full cap replacement.
After the full cap replacement the sound is much louder and the visuals are clearer. However now when I turn the system on it says press run to start, but when I press run it just loads and the disc never starts spinning. I took the shell off the see if anything was getting stuck. I have determined the motor is in fact working as the laser resets the position to neutral every time I turn on the system. The laser is also obviously getting power since there is a slight red light noticeable inside of it and 2 times I saw it twitch up and down for a second as if it is trying to focus. This twitching doesn't happen very often though. The laser also twitches everytime I power up or down the console

Is it possible that I burned the laser out when replacing the capacitors? Could one of the capacitors that I put in cause this if they have a bad connection? I don't have a voltmeter so I haven't be able to verify that every connection is 100% but everything seems to be pretty well soldered in and connection.

There's a chance I removed the wrong ground wire though. Can anyone provide an image of the correct wire?
It's possible the caps you replaced in the cd section of the pcb are not soldered in correctly, however I'd say it's also more likely that you just need to adjust the pots now that you have new capacitors installed.  There's a guide on here how to do it by ear and it's very easy to follow.
#10
It ended up being an issue with the region mod switch that came installed by GameDoctorHK.  I ripped out the mod switch and repaired the cut card slot pins with old capacitor legs and everything is working again.

I think I'll order a new mod switch from Gametech USA and install it.  The idea was to use this core grafx II with the matching Super CD-Rom2 I have and be able to play both US & PC Engine hucards.

anyway figured it out, thanks for the replies with suggestions :)
#11
I swapped out the controller ports, and it was working for about 10 min and then it went back to the same problem.

Also the controller port from the core grafx II works in the pc engine no problems.  I don't get why taking out the controller port, and re-stalling it somehow made it work for a bit.
#12
Quote from: MNKyDeth on 02/11/2018, 01:14 AMI would be guessing. I know these don't usually need caps but I have seen caps cause weird issues with the controller. Also, broken traces. Again core 2 usually doesn't suffer from this.

There is always the question of the port itself. If severely worn out possibly a new on is in order to make proper contact.
If you replaced or did any work in the system..... Make sure there are no solder splatters or blobs anywhere that could be shorting something out.


All guess's.... But those would be the first places to look imo if the controller works perfect on other systems.
I'll swap out the port from my PC Engine into the Core Grafx and see if that works.  Then I'll know it's the port and I'll have to find a replacement for the pc engine.  As for caps, I replaced all the caps when I got the system a few months ago but it's been working good all this time till now.  I'll re-check everything today.  Hopefully something obvious stands out
#13
it's 100% nothing to do with the controller.  I have many controllers here and all work on my pc engine, Duo, Duo R.  It's something to do with the core grafx II system.  Also the rest of the controller functions seem to be all doing the wrong function.  for example, button II is actually doing what normally is directional pad UP.
#14
Out of nowhere the controller doesn't want to register the Run button.  It's definitely not the controller since I tested it on my PC Engine.  I re-flowed the Controller port connector on the Core Grafx II and that still didn't do it.  Anybody ever come accross something like this?
#15
Quote from: ginoscope on 01/31/2018, 08:14 AMI recently got a super cd and it did have leaking caps that was affecting the sound on the unit.  After a full recap and cleaning of the board the system is working great.  I do notice that these systems are a little quieter than my duo or turbo cd.

I been pretty happy with it but it was a pain to recap it since it has some clearance issues on some of the caps.
Did you replace all the Surface mount caps and through hole caps?  This unit is unusual since it's the through hole caps that seem to be the problem and not the surface mount caps.  I watched GadgetUK repair a couple and he mentions only the through hole caps gone bad and when I got my unit I had the exact same situation.  Replaced all the through hole caps and left the surface mount caps alone for now.  It's working great now.
#16
Quote from: Beartruck on 02/06/2018, 06:51 PM
Quote from: Keith Courage on 02/06/2018, 12:26 AM
Quote from: Beartruck on 02/05/2018, 09:27 AMHi guys, after months of ebay stalking, I finally managed to find a CD-ROM2 unit for a decent price. As the title implies, I just need to know what kind of AC adapter would work best on it. I am from the United States. I already have an adapter I'm using for my white base pc engine, so I don't know if that would be compatible or not. Sorry if I come off like a newb, but I wanted to ask the experts.

Image of item for reference:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/eLEAAOSwW6BaETFq/s-l1600.jpg
Is that picture of the actually item you bought? Looks like it comes with the correct ac adapter needed.
I've heard stories about different voltage requirements between US and Japanese outlets, so I wanted to be doubly safe. Necro's link is handy though, as the seller lost the ac adapter anyway (though I did get a discount in exchange).
I've bought many power adapters from Retrogame Supply and they're great.  Cord length could be a little longer but otherwise perfect.
#17
Quote from: Koa Zo on 01/29/2018, 11:37 PMWhoa, Yamatoku done with auctions??
all buy it now now?
hmmm.... You might be right.  If so, that sucks cause I've won a few auctions for very cheap in the past from them lol.  If they don't do auctions anymore, then I'd probably rather buy from a different seller if I have to do buy it now.
#18
Quote from: SuperDeadite on 01/19/2018, 07:01 AMBesides the extra juice to run a few more games, the big advantage of a 2+ over a 2 is that 2+ units have the FM Music chip internally.  On an MSX2 you will need an FM cart for the huge number of games that use FM (MSX Music)

AFAIK GR8NET is only sold by the guy that makes them via the MSX group on Facebook.  There is also Carnivore and a few others.  I personally use the older MegaFlashRomSCC+ in conjunction with an SD HDD interface as it suits my uses better.

Metal Gear 1 is the real Metal Gear, much better then the NES version.  But Metal Gear 2 is simply amazing.  Metal Gear Solid is basically a soft-reboot of Metal Gear 2, new story, location, and names, but about 80% of the stuff that happens in Solid happened in 2.
I ended up pulling the trigger on a Panasonic FS-A1F (MSX2 with floppy drive), there was a nice one in good condition with new belt on ebay for $250 shipped.  I know the MSX2+ is way better with the built in FM, but I cheaped out a little to get started lol

I think I'm gonna go with the MegaFlashRom SCC+ 512k RAM, and maybe get one of those FM carts.  Atleast I got a floppy drive for when I get some disk games or when I want to easily save game progress to a user disk :)

First games I'm gonna play are Metal Gear 1 & 2, and SD Snatcher.  All 3 of those games have english translations which is awesome
#19
Quote from: guest on 01/18/2018, 06:44 PMI toy with getting one like once a year, but always thankfully talk myself out of it. It's a badass machine that can play Tatsujin-Oh, and man I want to play that Marty port.

Listen to SuperDeadite, he's the JP CPU man.
I thought I was the only one that does that, guess I'm not alone lol
#20
Quote from: SuperDeadite on 01/18/2018, 06:25 PMAs long as you get a fully working MSX2+ you can run 95% of the library.  I have a Turbo-R myself, but they have become way to expensive, and not a good choice for a first-time owner.  A lot of people swear that the Sony units have better audio circuitry then the Panasonic models and sound nicer if you have a decent amp.  Flash cart wise there are a lot of options.  If you get a G8NET cart, you can plug straight into the internet and stream games directly.

I highly recommend Metal Gear 2, Aleste 2, and Undeadline.  Absolute must plays.
I'm not finding many options for flash carts, I can't even find the G8NET you mentioned.  I only really see the MegaFlashRom cart pop up but I'll look into that more. 

Metal Gear 2, Aleste 2, and Undeadline added to the list :)
#21
I'm now deciding between the Panasonic FS-A1F or the Sony HB- F1XD since they both have a floppy drive but if the MegaFlashROM cart can do everything the floppy drive normally does including saving game progress... then I'd be happy with a Panasonic FS-A1.  Can anybody confirm game saves on the megaflashrom?
#22
Thanks to SuperDeadite I changed my mind once I started researching the MSX and stumbled accross SD Snatcher! I never knew about the MSX, now I spent all night researching and learning all about it.  I've been missing out
#23
Quote from: SuperDeadite on 01/17/2018, 07:36 PMI have 3 machines.  Fresh, UX20, Car Marty.
Generally speaking I do not recommend getting into Towns without extensive research.
The amount of good exclusive games is very low, but hey Rayxanber is rather awesome. 
The Marty is basically a barebones gimped PC, so it has the smallest library.  A lot of the stuff
online is flat-out false.  Splatterhouse for example is an excellent port for its time, but it is not "arcade
perfect" like most websites will claim.

If you want to get into Japanese computers, I'd say the X68000 has the best game library, but the hardware startup costs are high.  MSX is also a better deal the Towns imo, and probably the cheapest if you are happy with a flash-cart.
I understand the marty is a stripped down version of the FM Towns computer but I'm alright with that.  I'd love to get a UX20 like you have but I'm thinking shipping a PC from Japan would be killer lol, I'll look into the X68000 some more though.
#24
Wondering if anybody here has one and how they like it?

I don't see many pop up on ebay, and doesn't look like parts or replacement lasers are available, but I'm thinking about getting into the FM Towns stuff.  I know it's expensive and games are expensive, but there's just something about it.  Anybody else into this obscure system or the FM Towns, FM Towns II?
#25
Quote from: Koa Zo on 01/15/2018, 11:34 PMIs there a readily available replacement for SuperGrafx AC adapter?
https://en.retrogamesupply.com/collections/pc-engine

2 options for the supergrafx here.  I use the all in one and its great
#26
There's a sticky in this section with a excellent guide on how to adjust the pots by ear on a duo.  Follow the guide and hopefully you will get discs to spin again.  If you marked the pots before adjusting, I'd return the pots back to your mark and start from there.  Either way the guide should get you running again.

also I'd make sure the gears and rails are clean and lubricated
#27
Quote from: that1crzywhtguy on 01/15/2018, 01:32 PMAdmittedly, I didn't test it before doing the mod, just last time I used it before I put it away. As far as doing the RGB mod, it's pretty simple, and doesn't require any lifting of pins. As you can see in the pic linked below, it just get's added in right on top. I've quadruple checked for solder blobs or other little issues, and there are none to be found. As I said, this has been repaired before, but I checked and even re-did those repairs.

le sigh

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YqZYrCf0pfXQHsABee069DEPJvM5Gwu5/view?usp=sharing
I see, ya the RGB mod doesn't look like a very invasive mod.  Pretty straight forward and easily reversable.  It could literally be anything now since you don't know if it was working before the RGB mod.  If it was me, I'd now suspect the region mod even though it was working at some point.  I trust the 6260, 6270, 6280, or ram to not fail for no reason.

some guys on here are really good with repairs, if you can't figure it out hopefully somebody on here can take a crack at it.
#28
Quote from: that1crzywhtguy on 01/14/2018, 06:31 PMTested both suggestions, and the symptoms are identical with the stock cable, and stock cable without mod.
So you know now it's not the RGB mod pcb itself, was the duo working before you installed the mod? If it was, then you gotta really check and re-check everything you did during install.  However, if it was in storage for a while and you didn't happen to check before you did the install, then that's a whole other story. 

most likely its something you did during install, could be as simple as a drop of solder flicked onto the board somewhere or a pin on the 6260 not making enough contact.  I'm not very familliar with the RGB mod so not sure if pins get lifted, or what's involved.  Hope you figure it out!
#29
I'd start by replacing the left voltage regulator that seems to be getting very hot. 

Good luck! that was quite the write up with pics lol hopefully an easy fix

#30
I would remove the RGB mod and see if the system works.  It only stopped working after the RGB install so pretty sure nothing is wrong with the system but most likely something went wrong with the installation.
#31
It turns out its the Motorolla MC74HC163 chip located at IC702.  I believe this chip controls the turbo switches and was preventing the buttons from working.

I removed the chip and added the jumper wires to J701 & J702, and removed the jumper wires from J707 & J710, also removed the C703 Capacitor so it matches what a normal PC Engine controller looks like, and its working normally without the turbo function.  I'll have to find some replacement chips to restore the turbo switches.
#32
I have 2 Junk controllers with buttons I & II not working on both of them.  Cleaned the pcb contacts with Alcohol, tried new silicon button pads, tested with a known working controller cord, replaced the 10uF 16v capacitor, and reflowed everything on the pcb. 

anybody got any ideas or anybody ran into similar problem? Everything else on the controller is working normally.
#33
Got it, thanks guys.
#34
PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Red Alert
01/11/2018, 06:41 PM
Can anybody tell me how to save in this game? Does it not auto save progress after each level? When you die I only have the option to continue or give up

maybe I have to free up some space on the duo?
#35
Koa gave me a great deal on Kaze Kiri and shipped fast :) Thanks again
#36
Quote from: Pfloydguy2 on 01/08/2018, 08:24 PMThanks!  I do have a Turbo Everdrive, and I tried last night to get it to work as a system card, but the games showed up glitchy.  I might not have the right system card files.  But as I understand it, if a game needs the extra ram of a legit system card, then using the Turbo Everdrive as your system card will not work.  Is that correct?  Is there a game you could recommend to test this?

Also, a dying converter does make sense.  I bought it new and have barely used it though, so I'd hope that wasn't it.
I've never used a everdrive myself so hopefully somebody who does can help you out.  Maybe it's an issue with your model or firmware?  I know guys use them as system cards instead of having to purchase the US super system card which is expensive.
#37
I would suspect the converter aswell

Since you already have the cd-rom2 unit, I'd ask Keith Courage on here to sell you a IFU briefcase unit and maybe a region modded pc engine.  I see him post good deals on that kind of setup.  Or just get a turbo everdrive and use that as your system card.  Many people I think go that route
#38
If nobody on here has one for you, check out Game Doctor HK.  That's where I got my Core Grafx II from and it was a good deal.

I also recently purchased a super cd-rom2 console from Japan but it's been stuck in what looks like customs for the past 15 days.  Hoping it shows up but not looking good!  Got the cap kit on my desk ready to go... Good luck with your setup :)
#39
I had a similar issue but much worse.  I'd be looking at the two 20256 ram chips or the HuC6270 chip.  Look for broken traces related to those 3 chips

I'm sure guys on here will have some better advice for you, but that's where I would start.
#40
Quote from: ginoscope on 12/29/2017, 11:51 AMYeah that is odd that the cap is missing that is a big 470uf cap by the av out from what I remember.  I just recently capped a coregrafx 1 and I did add the cap.  Does the av out work fine with composite?

Wouldn't hurt to try and put it back in.
Ya it's the biggest cap on the board, works fine composite out the AV connector, and works fine in a IFU Unit.  Just wanted to hear from some guys that might know if that cap is removed for any other reason besides just to make room for the region switch.  I'm gonna go ahead and fit a new cap back in there.  Was just curious if others have seen this before. 

*Edit*
With the long legs of a new capacitor I was able to lay it down behind the AV connector and install the cap.  No problems with case fitment, and everything is working fine.  I guess He removed it just to fit the switch and didn't want to deal with getting a new cap in there.  Anyway, for anybody else that may come across this, there's room for a new cap.
#41
Hey guys,

I bought a Core Grafx II off Game Doctor HK and he region modded it for free.  Got it yesterday and when I re-capped it last night I noticed C162 was removed and replaced with a jumper wire.  Looks like it was done in order to fit the long switch he uses for the region mod.  Everything works perfectly fine without C162 but I was just wondering what this cap was for?

If I have to, I could probably get a new cap in there working around his switch.  Unless there's another reason this cap was removed?

His region mod is pretty clean, and very good price for a core grafx II.  Definitely would buy stuff from them again, just wondering other's thoughts on this C162 being removed
#42
Interrested in Kaze Kiri, sending PM...
#43
Off-Topic / Re: Merry Christmas!
12/25/2017, 04:04 PM
Merry Christmas everybody, I hope you all got some cool stuff! I got Gate of Thunder & Winds of Thunder from the wife :)

enjoy the holidays everybody!
#44
Got outbid on the ebay auction yesterday for the loose non working Supergrafx, so If anybody on here has one they're willing to part with please let me know.  loose, or non working doesn't matter :)

and merry Christmas to everybody :)
#45
Hopefully somebody on here may have a deal for you.  They're not very common and price is getting up there.
#46
So I like buying junk from Japan and I've started to really like ebay seller Yamatoku-Classic since everything I've bought from them has been in really good condition and doesn't look like they attempt to repair anything.  It's like they do a quick test and if something isn't working properly it's Junk and put it back in the box.  I like that.

The problem is their shipping is high no matter what the item is.  They do offer combined shipping and offer to wait 14 days from the first winning auction for payment.  Has anybody combined shipping with them and it worked out well?  Before I started buying pc engine stuff I bought a couple famicom disk system games off them and the combined shipping invoice they sent me didn't work when I went to pay.  I ended up paying the high shipping twice and they were not willing to refund me any shipping.  So I'm curious what experiences you guys have had with them.

Now I only bid on large items from them or systems in the box to make it worth the shipping cost and I've got a few good deals that way. 
#47
Quote from: Popinadam on 12/11/2017, 03:03 AMAlrighty, so I had some success! I started off with Vimtoman's photo which got me back to disc's spinning but not reading. Got the "Please set Disc!" error...

   Then I followed up with the guide LowRes posted. I used an audio disc, removed the cdrom2 from the briefcase and plugged in power and headphones directly, flipped it upside down and started making some minor tweaks to the pots until the audio wasn't garbled anymore. Tested the skips and everything seemed to be operational. Popped in a disc of Dungeon Explorer II and sure enough it fired up.

   The biggest improvements came from the 102 pot. I could literally hear the audio clearing up in real time while I tweaked it. I can't tell if it's 100% perfect because I don't have any other experience with pc engine disc games to compare but this was leaps and bounds better than staring at an error screen and having a non spinning drive.

   I had to search for "calibration" to find Vimtoman's photo of the potentiometers in case that helps anyone in the future. Maybe someone can add it to the calibration guide or sticky it somewhere. It's a great starting point. Thanks for everyone's help!
so you flipped the unit upside down while playing an audio cd and you were able to adjust the pots live listening by ear? very cool.  I didn't think you could do this kind of method with the original cd-rom2 but now I learned something new :)

for further tweaking down the road if you have issues with certain games not working, I've had better compatibility after tweaking my pots while playing the last track of a audio cd.  I think I read that tip on here somewhere probably in the duo/duo-R guide.

I'm glad you're up and running!
#48
The super SD system 3 looks awesome and looks like it's going to be a quality product.  Perfect for somebody starting out that just wants to play the games or somebody who doesn't like to deal with repairs or replacing capacitors.  The price is high though, I rather spend that kind of money to get something I'm missing like the super cd-rom2 system, or a supergrafx.  I actually like fixing Japan junk :)
#49
Quote from: Popinadam on 12/07/2017, 05:34 PMHowdy folks,

  Picked up a faulty CD-ROM2 drive. Need some reference images of the potentiometers so I can get a baseline of where I should start. The one I received had them all turned to one side. I've played a little bit around with it myself and have gotten it to spin up at one time but never could get it to read the disc.

   If anyone can post up a quick photo of their working units POTS I'd be super grateful. Thank you! Might help some other people in similar situations.
https://console5.com/wiki/Turbo_Grafx_CD-ROM_Drive#CD_Adjustments

give this a read, if I get a chance I'll take mine apart tomorrow and take a pic of the pots for ya.  Adjusting the pots on the Duo and Duo-R was much easier for me since you can do it live and adjust it by ear following the guide on here.
#50
I went ahead and ordered the pc engine version and a pc engine multitap off Hit-Japan for $30 :)

I'll refer to a guide like suggested if we get stuck.  To be honest I had to check a guide a couple times with the first game even though it was english lol