Crazy Kong

rknucklez

Active member
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
1,817
Reaction score
19
Location
New Jersey
Lookin to get a Crazy Kong up and running.

I am missing half the sounds. high pitch tone instead of jumpman running, coin insterted, etc..

after researching the net I found some repair logs where they say the AY-3-8910 is often a culprit.

does anyone have any insight in Crazy Kong sound repair or even know where the AY-3-8910 sound chip is available?

Thanks in advance

~RK
 
Lookin to get a Crazy Kong up and running.

I am missing half the sounds. high pitch tone instead of jumpman running, coin insterted, etc..

after researching the net I found some repair logs where they say the AY-3-8910 is often a culprit.

does anyone have any insight in Crazy Kong sound repair or even know where the AY-3-8910 sound chip is available?

Thanks in advance

~RK

Same sound chip that used in... well, a lot of stuff. MCRII boards for example.

Bob Roberts has the chips, I believe a few other place have them as well IIRC, but why not give Bob the business, right? RIGHT?! Hell, he even has them on CloseOut for $7 a piece. :)
 
Thanks Scucci,

I dug out an old Tapper sound board I had kickin around and sure enough there are two.

Thanks for the heads up..

sadly after I fired her up and played a lil bit I discovered many graphic glitches as well.

when moving to the left jumpman still faces right (kinda looks like he is doin the moonwalk)

also Kong has missing sprites here and there....

I gotta stop buying 100% working boards on ebay, I can't find the time to figure out and fix them.
 
Thanks Scucci,

I dug out an old Tapper sound board I had kickin around and sure enough there are two.

Thanks for the heads up..

sadly after I fired her up and played a lil bit I discovered many graphic glitches as well.

when moving to the left jumpman still faces right (kinda looks like he is doin the moonwalk)

also Kong has missing sprites here and there....

I gotta stop buying 100% working boards on ebay, I can't find the time to figure out and fix them.


Yeah, I have the same issue with mine, tons of missing sprites and lines through the graphics. At least you can see Jumpman, I'm missing barrels, Kong, Jumpman, hammers, etc etc... I pretty much just see the stage (with lines) and that's about it.

I've tried everything under the sun to get it going here, I'm just going to send the board out for repair. lol

Glad I could help you with those chips though... for everything else, I'm lost.
 
So did you get an actual Crazy Kong cab, or just a board you're putting in an empty cab? (just curious :) ) I've got a Falcon Crazy Kong board with sound issues too. It only plays the music when Kong is climbing, the "How High Can You Try" intro music, and the death music. No running, jumping, or Kong chest beat sounds. It also doesn't make any noise during the attract mode, so it may have other issues too, but I currently don't have a way of hooking it up to a monitor (I'm working on that...this is just testing the audio part :D ) This was a board that was supposed to be working too, but was missing rom #14 when I got it (I had a new one burned years ago.). Just got a 2nd board that's virtually identical (except a couple parts are different, no Falcon logo stenciled on the board, and no dipswitches!). This one audibly works correctly (running sounds, Kong chest beat, music, jump, attract mode sound in the right place, etc). I tried swapping #14 between the two of them, but neither board works (audibly anyway) with them swapped. I'd swap out the AY-3-8910's and test again, but interestingly, one of the differences on the 2 boards, the Falcon one has it soldered, and the other has it socketed.
 
So did you get an actual Crazy Kong cab, or just a board you're putting in an empty cab? (just curious :) ) I've got a Falcon Crazy Kong board with sound issues too. It only plays the music when Kong is climbing, the "How High Can You Try" intro music, and the death music. No running, jumping, or Kong chest beat sounds. It also doesn't make any noise during the attract mode, so it may have other issues too, but I currently don't have a way of hooking it up to a monitor (I'm working on that...this is just testing the audio part :D ) This was a board that was supposed to be working too, but was missing rom #14 when I got it (I had a new one burned years ago.). Just got a 2nd board that's virtually identical (except a couple parts are different, no Falcon logo stenciled on the board, and no dipswitches!). This one audibly works correctly (running sounds, Kong chest beat, music, jump, attract mode sound in the right place, etc). I tried swapping #14 between the two of them, but neither board works (audibly anyway) with them swapped. I'd swap out the AY-3-8910's and test again, but interestingly, one of the differences on the 2 boards, the Falcon one has it soldered, and the other has it socketed.

Yeah, I've got two Crazy Kong boards, one is a Falcon, the other is... I can't remember the company. But they're like yours. They look the same except for some chip difference, different chips for #3 and #4 chips. Ram at V-T6 instead of PROMs (NO idea why that is... but the board doesn't work that has the RAM there, so that's probably why). Also missing chip #13, but when I looked at the ROM information, there doesn't appear to be a chip #13 (or maybe it was #14... no idea). It was sold to me as a Falcon board, it wasn't... but I can't fault the guy because the boards are identical minus the Falcon board has the area around the side connector cut out, and the other board doesn't... and no Falcon logo on the board or chips.

I have a Crazy Kong mini here, but it hasn't worked since I got it (Falcon board is the one with the graphics issues). I'd love to get it up and going, but I'm a little low on money right now and it's really not even worth me shipping it out for repair right now. I'll probably get it packed up and sent out after the Holidays.

I can get some pics of the boards if you're interested in the differences, but they're really not much to look at.
 
So did you get an actual Crazy Kong cab, or just a board you're putting in an empty cab? (just curious :) .


Fred,
I was trying to surprise you and have Crazy Kong in our March contest. : )
I have never seen a dedicated Crazy Kong cab. I bought the pcb from the infamous
ebay seller BBu9715965
my bad for getting burned twice by the same seller.
 
Heh, well, I'm almost 100% sure I'm not making your tourney, as I have prior commitments that weekend :( There were some dedicated cabs, I believe Falcon's just had woodgrain sides, but I think they were built as Crazy Kongs, not just a conversion kit. I've also seen some with full art, on both the sides, monitor bezel, etc. I've got a control panel from one of these cabs...wish I could find the cab to go with it (with or without artwork). Here's a pic of the control panel (along with a couple marquees with the same type of art. The side art and bezel area has the same artwork)
 

Attachments

  • crazy-kong-parts.jpg
    crazy-kong-parts.jpg
    94.9 KB · Views: 52
Saw this in another thread, but here's a craigslist ad with the cab I was talking about with the full side art. The game says Donkey Kong on the marquee, but I'd be willing to bet it's a Crazy Kong. Notice the same marquee, other than the game name. Here's the craigslist ad...I like how he says it's a broken light bulb...I'm also including the pics since the ad will eventually expire or deleted:
http://roanoke.craigslist.org/vgm/1512679349.html
I've had a lot of fun with this game over the years, but just don't have room for it any longer. I do want to mention that when we moved into our new house, the movers broke the light bulb for the screen. Should be easy to replace if you know what you are doing to get it working again. I imagine even if you used the cabinet to create an old arcade emulator, it would be worth the price I'm asking. The cabinet is good, but certainly not perfect shape and I've included detailed pictures, but it is solid cabinet and needs a good home. Please let me know if you have any questions
 

Attachments

  • dk-ck-front.jpg
    dk-ck-front.jpg
    7.4 KB · Views: 35
  • dk-ck-side1.jpg
    dk-ck-side1.jpg
    7.6 KB · Views: 31
  • dk-ck-side.jpg
    dk-ck-side.jpg
    7.5 KB · Views: 31
Well, I bought an amp connector so I could hook up to my Gaplus monitor, and wired up a jamma harness (which fits over one of the edge connectors, if you overlap it over one of the corner mounting holes). Interestingly the Falcon board doesn't appear to be the Falcon version. It's got the solid green beams on the first ladder, and is missing one of the ladders on the 2nd row (I saw a guy selling a Congorilla on ebay awhile back that looked identical). That's why it didn't have the music on the attract mode. It also doesn't use that rom #14, as I took it out and it still ran ok. There are some sounds missing though (described in the other thread) and a few graphic glitches, but it's 100% playable. It also only says "Crazy Kong 1981" on the title screen. The other board is running Falcon Crazy Kong Part 2 (the one I was expecting on the other board), even though it has no Falcon logos anywhere on it. This one works 100%, sound is great, graphics are great. Bought this a couple weeks ago listed as 100% working, so I'm pretty happy about it. The only down side, both are upside down on my Gaplus monitor, so I'm gonna have to get a different cab to use them in I guess. I'll include a few screenshots, maybe someone has some ideas about the graphic glitches. If I had a spare AY-3-8910, I'd swap it out (the 100% working board has it soldered :( ) Graphic issues aside, I'm actually kinda glad it's a different version. Assuming that missing ladder isn't a glitch in one of the ROM's, it's a version not even in MAME!
 

Attachments

  • ck-bd1-title.JPG
    ck-bd1-title.JPG
    29.5 KB · Views: 27
  • ck-bd1a.JPG
    ck-bd1a.JPG
    39 KB · Views: 28
  • ck-bd1b.JPG
    ck-bd1b.JPG
    40.5 KB · Views: 27
  • ck-bd1c.JPG
    ck-bd1c.JPG
    34.3 KB · Views: 27
  • ck-bd1d.JPG
    ck-bd1d.JPG
    31.2 KB · Views: 28
Here's a comparison with screenshots from the other board. Note it has the Falcon cage scene on the attract mode, and says Falcon 1981, even though there's no Falcon logos on the board or ROM's (like the other board has). Also including a shot of my Franken-kong test setup, with the power coming from a PC power supply, the Crazy Kong control panel hooked in, and the video cable hooking to my Gaplus cab. Note the display is upside-down (That's the only one I could easily hook up to...also don't look too closely at the Robotron cab next to it :D It was a gutted cab I bought for MAME...note it has Arch Rivals and X-Men artwork on the CP...sides were painted black, although I've stripped some of it off). (The hammer glitch screen isn't a PCB problem, just included it for kicks. On level 2 conveyor, you can drop the bottom hammer and run away, and it'll still smash pies)
 

Attachments

  • ck-bd2-title.JPG
    ck-bd2-title.JPG
    41.4 KB · Views: 28
  • ck-bd2-falcon-cage.JPG
    ck-bd2-falcon-cage.JPG
    37.2 KB · Views: 28
  • ck-bd2-give-up.JPG
    ck-bd2-give-up.JPG
    30.9 KB · Views: 27
  • ck-bd2-hammer-glitch.JPG
    ck-bd2-hammer-glitch.JPG
    39.1 KB · Views: 28
  • franken-kong.JPG
    franken-kong.JPG
    92.4 KB · Views: 27
I wrote a software hack to flip the screen on Crazy Kong:

http://osborn.tech.officelive.com/Documents/CrazyKongHS.html

Matt

Nice one



I have almost every type of Ck board, CK1, CK2, CK Alca Bootleg, CK Scramble, CK Orca, and 2 types of Monkey Donkey

I had similar graphic issues on Alca once, and it was the voltage at the end on the board was low

Maybe check that, I had to solder a jumper from the start to the end to get it going, and had to beef it up to 5.2 volts, suddenly things jumped into place (Do this at your own risk, I had a voltmeter hooked up and raised it slowly)

I bought a few sound amps too a while ago (But didn't need them), as the alca board had no sound components. I bought an external amp instead and hacked directly out of the sound chip

It worked :)
 
So dezbaz, in your opinion, which version do you think is the one running on my Falcon board (the one with the green barrel level and missing ladder). Do any of your PCB's not have both ladders on the 2nd row on the barrel level?
 
So dezbaz, in your opinion, which version do you think is the one running on my Falcon board (the one with the green barrel level and missing ladder). Do any of your PCB's not have both ladders on the 2nd row on the barrel level?

On the 100m level (Blue Rivets level) can you go behind Kong without dying?

By the way I don't own the congorilla PCB type, have you got a pic?
 
Here's a pic of the one with the green barrel level. It's labeled as a Falcon FCK-01, and all the EPROM's have Falcon logos on the stickers. The other board that's actually running Falcon Crazy Kong Part II looks almost identical, except a couple of components are different, no Falcon logos on the board, and the dipswitch location isn't populated. It also has one more EPROM (which I thought was missing from the one with the Falcon logos, but apparently that version has 1 less EPROM. ROM #14 has no chip in the socket. It has one in #14 in this pic, as I though it was supposed to have one, so I had one burned. This is an old pic from last year before I had a way of testing it) Those are the only 2 boards I have. And yes, on that one with the green barrel level, you can run behind Kong on the rivet level. It also has the normal speed conveyor belts instead of the fast ones (starting at level 2) like on Crazy Kong Part II.
 

Attachments

  • ck-board.jpg
    ck-board.jpg
    96.5 KB · Views: 15
Here's a pic of the one with the green barrel level. It's labeled as a Falcon FCK-01, and all the EPROM's have Falcon logos on the stickers. The other board that's actually running Falcon Crazy Kong Part II looks almost identical, except a couple of components are different, no Falcon logos on the board, and the dipswitch location isn't populated. It also has one more EPROM (which I thought was missing from the one with the Falcon logos, but apparently that version has 1 less EPROM. ROM #14 has no chip in the socket. It has one in #14 in this pic, as I though it was supposed to have one, so I had one burned. This is an old pic from last year before I had a way of testing it) Those are the only 2 boards I have. And yes, on that one with the green barrel level, you can run behind Kong on the rivet level. It also has the normal speed conveyor belts instead of the fast ones (starting at level 2) like on Crazy Kong Part II.

Yes it is an original Falcon CK part 1 then

Sounds like a ROM or Prom, but i'm no expert, sorry
 
Fred,
I was trying to surprise you and have Crazy Kong in our March contest. : )
I have never seen a dedicated Crazy Kong cab. I bought the pcb from the infamous
ebay seller BBu9715965
my bad for getting burned twice by the same seller.

Hmmm...glad I didn't buy any of the CK boards from him then. He had one listed as untested (for parts) and he has one right now listed as tested working. He also had a Funny Mouse board awhile back I thought about buying, but someone else ended up putting in an offer he accepted. It was supposed to be tested working, but I couldn't find any pinout info for it online, so I don't know if he actually tested it or not (maybe he had the right adapter)

So Richie, did that replacement AY-3-8910 chip fix the missing sounds? It sounds like my board is missing the same sounds. Both boards I have, it's soldered to the board, but if it's a bad chip and I replace it, I'll put a socket in first. I know that won't fix the graphical issues. Anyone have any idea on those?
 
Back
Top Bottom