Disassembling a Hu Card

[xcrement5x]

So I've got a copy of Wonder Momo that doesn't seem to work no matter how many times I clean it and I was going to try and take it apart, but from what I've heard the actual ROM is under the black mat with the contacts at the front of the hu card. 

Has anyone ever removed this portion before?  Any ideas on how to remove it without making the card look messed up?

[MotherGunner]

You are better off buying a super cheap copy on Ebay. =)

[sirhcman]

So I've got a copy of Wonder Momo that doesn't seem to work no matter how many times I clean it and I was going to try and take it apart, but from what I've heard the actual ROM is under the black mat with the contacts at the front of the hu card. 

Has anyone ever removed this portion before?  Any ideas on how to remove it without making the card look messed up?

This may be a stupid question and you probably have already tried it but have you inserted the game and tried pulling it back out just ever so slightly to see if will boot? I have a few games that are a little begrudging to boot and this seems to fix the issue

[xcrement5x]

I have tried doing the partial insert as well but it doesn't seem to work either. 

I'm not actually trying to fix it, I just want to try and disassemble it in a way that doesn't damage the card and the pad so that both of them are just junk.  I don't know if the pad is held in place with glue or what. 

I considered trying to heat up that area and see if it comes loose but I was just wondering if anyone else had taken a hucard apart like this before, and if so was wondering what they did.

[Game-Tech.US]

Yeah I took a keith courage apart, can't remember if it wasn't working or not, but i'm sure i was super curious, its glued down and its just a glop top on the bottom side of the black 'mat' that is prolly just a flex circuit with a coating...

[thesteve]

its glued in (double sided tape really)
the black area is a thin board painted black.
the rom is a glop top (non repairable/replaceable)

[FiftyQuid]

I'm still interested in seeing it taken apart.  Please post photos if you decide to go ahead with this.  I may even take apart one of my copies of KC just to see the inner workings.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I may even take apart one of my copies of KC just to see the inner workings.

Noooo!  Unless it's dead already, no huey deserves dismemberment. 

[xcrement5x]

Thanks for the info steve, the actual white plastic part doesn't come apart does it?  If it's just glue/tape that hold it down then I think a little low heat should loosen everything up to get it apart.

@Fifty, I'll make sure to take some pictures

@Necro, this Momo has thrown her last hoop to be sure so I don't feel bad sacrificing it.

[TurboXray]

I may even take apart one of my copies of KC just to see the inner workings.

Yeah-yeah-yeah do it! I've taken apart a handful of hucards over the years. SF2, Arcade Card Pro, some US ones.

[xcrement5x]

So how did you take them apart Bonknuts?

[KnightWarrior]

How??

It's not like taking a Genesis or a SNES Game apart

[soop]

As far as I can see, it might be worth freezing it before inserting a sharp knife and getting the board off.  The glue appears (from all the photos I've seen) to be that gummy brown stuff, freezing it would make it brittle enough for a clean break.

My $0.2.

[thesteve]

its not the gummy brown stuff, its tape
just use a knife and work around the edges

[tggodfrey]

pry in one spot even and it will pop up.  Its just tape!

[fraggore]

for god sake rip the thing off the suspense is killing me lol.

if it don't happen soon i am gonna have to rip my broken space invads apart.

[DildoKKKobold]

for god sake rip the thing off the suspense is killing me lol.

if it don't happen soon i am gonna have to rip my broken space invads apart.

Its actually been done before -

http://www.videogameden.com/article.htm?hu

I'm curious on a lot of things about the standard HuCard, mainly for reproduction purposes. For example, what is the thickness of the PCB? I'm guessing it is thinner than a standard PCB, by quite a bit. Break out the calipers! What kind of ROM chip did hudson use, and is there a flash/eeprom replacement that can be bought? Is the PCB one sided or two sided? (My guess is that it is two sided, and the chips face down, based on the images.) What kind of material was used for the to black protective layer?

I doubt I would ever have the time to take up the cause of huey reproductions, but having this sort of info in one place would allow for someone to easily take up the cause.

[thesteve]

the black is a simple enamel
the board is double sided and quite thin
the chips are bare crystal with epoxy covering on the underside of board

[esteban]

for god sake rip the thing off the suspense is killing me lol.

if it don't happen soon i am gonna have to rip my broken space invads apart.

Its actually been done before -

http://www.videogameden.com/article.htm?hu

I'm curious on a lot of things about the standard HuCard, mainly for reproduction purposes. For example, what is the thickness of the PCB? I'm guessing it is thinner than a standard PCB, by quite a bit. Break out the calipers! What kind of ROM chip did hudson use, and is there a flash/eeprom replacement that can be bought? Is the PCB one sided or two sided? (My guess is that it is two sided, and the chips face down, based on the images.) What kind of material was used for the to black protective layer?

I doubt I would ever have the time to take up the cause of huey reproductions, but having this sort of info in one place would allow for someone to easily take up the cause.

And I think digi.k (and another 1-2 folks here) dissected a HuCard and posted pics here.

THE DISSECTION I REMEMBER WAS... POPULOUS!

I'd love to see those pictures again... did anyone save them?

Thanks in advance

[DildoKKKobold]

for god sake rip the thing off the suspense is killing me lol.

if it don't happen soon i am gonna have to rip my broken space invads apart.

Its actually been done before -

http://www.videogameden.com/article.htm?hu

I'm curious on a lot of things about the standard HuCard, mainly for reproduction purposes. For example, what is the thickness of the PCB? I'm guessing it is thinner than a standard PCB, by quite a bit. Break out the calipers! What kind of ROM chip did hudson use, and is there a flash/eeprom replacement that can be bought? Is the PCB one sided or two sided? (My guess is that it is two sided, and the chips face down, based on the images.) What kind of material was used for the to black protective layer?

I doubt I would ever have the time to take up the cause of huey reproductions, but having this sort of info in one place would allow for someone to easily take up the cause.

And I think digi.k (and another 1-2 folks here) dissected a HuCard and posted pics here.

THE DISSECTION I REMEMBER WAS... POPULOUS!

I'd love to see those pictures again... did anyone save them?

Thanks in advance

Here is SF2

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=4076.15

Weird there is a hump that has nothing under it.

[esteban]

for god sake rip the thing off the suspense is killing me lol.

if it don't happen soon i am gonna have to rip my broken space invads apart.

Its actually been done before -

http://www.videogameden.com/article.htm?hu

I'm curious on a lot of things about the standard HuCard, mainly for reproduction purposes. For example, what is the thickness of the PCB? I'm guessing it is thinner than a standard PCB, by quite a bit. Break out the calipers! What kind of ROM chip did hudson use, and is there a flash/eeprom replacement that can be bought? Is the PCB one sided or two sided? (My guess is that it is two sided, and the chips face down, based on the images.) What kind of material was used for the to black protective layer?

I doubt I would ever have the time to take up the cause of huey reproductions, but having this sort of info in one place would allow for someone to easily take up the cause.

And I think digi.k (and another 1-2 folks here) dissected a HuCard and posted pics here.

THE DISSECTION I REMEMBER WAS... POPULOUS!

I'd love to see those pictures again... did anyone save them?

Thanks in advance

Here is SF2

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=4076.15

Weird there is a hump that has nothing under it.

Thanks. The same hump is found on Populous. I thought there was a battery in it, but I was confused about what ROM RAM was.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

The hump was just for more label space, I guess, though the pcb didn't eat up all that much real estate anyway.

[JohnnyPhantom]

I've been curious about this too, was thinking of taking a T Bank import card,opening it to replace battery as well as re wire it so its USA compatible. Someday...someday..