You might have observed that I don’t share many repairs right here on the weblog. Though helpful (and I’m glad folks do share their information) I believe they’re fairly dry to learn and I don’t are likely to sort out repairs – and once I do, they aren’t at all times profitable! My arcade technical experience is quite restricted – I can analysis an issue, observe directions and solder and swap issues out, however diagnosing a difficulty with a board from scratch isn’t one thing I’m superb at.
That stated, I assumed this was an fascinating course of price sharing.
I picked up a pleasant Tremendous Pang Jamma PCB just a few months again and it’s been mendacity round for some time. I pulled it out final week to see if it labored in my cupboard, however it displayed nothing greater than a purple display screen. I acquired digging on the internet and went down a rabbit gap as to why it is perhaps lifeless.
Designed by Toshihiko Uda and Futoshi Kuwahara, Tremendous Pang was launched in 1990 by Mitchell Company and launched in arcades by Capcom, utilizing their {hardware}. It’s the observe as much as the massively profitable Pang launched a few years earlier.
In an effort to thwart pirates who have been cloning PCBs round that point, Capcom developed a safety system that held among the sport’s code in reminiscence backed up by an on board battery.
This code is in actual fact encryption keys required to run the sport. On begin up, the PCB checks that the encryption code is current then runs the sport’s code utilizing the encryption keys. The a part of the board that does all this intelligent stuff is inside a chip nicknamed ‘Kabuki’. If this chip is faraway from the board, it’s disconnected from the battery, which wipes the encryption code. And naturally, this makes that a part of the sport’s code very arduous to repeat.
All effectively and good, however we’re 30+ years down the road now, and the batteries used on the PCBs to save lots of this code are lengthy lifeless – which additionally means the code is wiped!
Its arduous to say if Capcom knew this could occur, however then once more, the shelf lifetime of most arcade video games was months, or at most a few years – I assume it wasn’t one thing they deliberate for.
Many Capcom video games use an identical setup (in addition to different producers), however it does imply that in case you discover one in all these boards utilizing this expertise, they’re almost certainly ‘suicided’ as a result of battery failing.
So, I figured, that is what has occurred to my Super Pang PCB. However what’s the reply? Can these boards be ‘de-suicided’? The reply it seems, is a particular sure!
Over time, folks far cleverer than me, have labored on this downside, ensuing within the latest growth of a bit of equipment known as an Infinikey. Hobbyists have refined the design, and have give you Infinikeys really easy to make use of than even an fool like me can determine tips on how to use them to carry these previous Capcom boards again to life!
So let’s check out my board:
First job is to take away the lifeless battery.
Subsequent, change the previous battery with a brand new one:
Again to the Infinikey – on the again is an inventory of video games suitable with it. My ROMs are labelled SPE (Tremendous Pang Europe), so wanting on the listing, I can see that I must set the dip switches to OFF, ON, ON, OFF, OFF.
As soon as the DIPs are set accurately, I can take away the Kabuki chip from the PCB and change it with the Infinikey:
And now, re-mount the Kabuki chip in order that it piggy backs the Infinikey on the PCB:
So. We are able to plug the Jamma board again into our Jamma suitable cupboard. What occurs now’s the encryption keys that have been deleted when the unique battery died are re-injected into the Kabuki chip and the sport works!
At this level, we may go away the Inifinikey as a everlasting new element of the PCB. However I wasn’t happy with this, as I wished to probably reuse the Infinikey with one other board and get Tremendous Pang again to its authentic manufacturing unit state. So how can we get the Infinikey out, with out wiping the encryption code once more? Keep in mind, eradicating the Infinikey now, means the Kabuki chip goes to come back off with it – which can disconnect the connection to the battery! It will take us again to sq. one.
It’s actually a puzzle. However there’s a manner round this. It’s fairly fiddly, however right here goes:
Then, we fastidiously carry the Kabuki chip and Infinikey chip from the PCB, and detach the Infinikey:
Then place the Kabuki again onto the PCB with out the Infinikey. All of the whereas the second battery is connected, holding the code within the chip. When the Kabuki is again on the PCB, the opposite battery additionally engages with the chip.
As soon as again on the PCB and socketed, I can take away the 2 clips, which can disconnect the second battery and permit the unique battery to take over the duties of holding the code:
Now assuming the whole lot has gone easily, we must always have a working sport, again to the way it got here from the Capcom manufacturing unit in 1990:
Confession time – it took 4 makes an attempt to take away the clips with out screwing up! I believe once I was eradicating the clips, I used to be shorting the 2 pins collectively. The entire course of appears very sturdy, so even shorting the battery didn’t completely destroy something. I simply needed to repeat the method, till I acquired it proper.
If you end up in the identical boat, have a hunt round on collector boards, there are just a few guys who make and promote Infinikeys. Or I noticed you should buy them over at Arcade Paradise Store.
I ought to thank collector wigsplitta on the Arcade Otaku boards for the information he shared on tips on how to sort out this.
Facet observe, Tremendous Pang is a fairly enjoyable puzzle/motion sport – test it out in case you can.
So there you go, one thing a little bit completely different this week. Hope that is of use to somebody on the market.
Thanks as at all times for studying!
Tony
