Kickman NO Sound .

VertexGuy

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Ok i got the switcher in today, and another Z80.

put the switcher kit in and game came right back to life,, played fine.

Still no sound.. there seems to be sound coming through speakers like if you
were to rub your hand on a microphone when its on.
I think the amp is working.

I do a sound test (all) not one peep.

Then when i reset outta sound test,, i get a "Sound board interface error"
i checked all the plugs they are in right, i checked the voltages too.

Board looks like at one point it got water on it , i see alittle mildew and stains.

I put the new z80 in with no change.
 
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Also if anybody knows how to get ahold of CDJump or somebody good at repairing
mcr sound boards pm me.
 
Lots of things can cause SBIEs. Most notable are bad Z80 or 6116 RAM. I just repaired a TRON SSIO (I'm not sure if Kick's SSIO is different) that was giving that error. It had a busted crystal, bad Z80 & RAM, a couple bad 74 ICs and the socket for the A8 ROM was bad. The bad socket was the last thing I found and after that was replaced the error was gone. Since you already changed the Z80, try the RAM next. From there you can verify the ROMs and check continuity between the pins. After that it's a bit more work.
 
I fixed an SSIO in a Kickman today. It had a bad socket.

But, when I got it working it didnt like the single switching supply idea AT ALL. Super loud buzzing in the speakers. I had to power the A GND and +12 with a separate power supply to get it to quiet down.
 
I fixed an SSIO in a Kickman today. It had a bad socket.

But, when I got it working it didnt like the single switching supply idea AT ALL. Super loud buzzing in the speakers. I had to power the A GND and +12 with a separate power supply to get it to quiet down.



Could you elaborate on that? I have this same issue with the adaptor and switcher. Works great, but the hum is awful I tried the filter cap trick and it does nothing
 
Could you elaborate on that? I have this same issue with the adaptor and switcher. Works great, but the hum is awful I tried the filter cap trick and it does nothing

I think the problem shows when you use the same ground for both the analog audio and the digital logic. Something in the Analog section just doesnt like that and it picks up all kinds of noise. I'm sure some one like Mark, Clay or CDjump (sorry dont know your name) knows why and can explain it though.

What I did was I went and grabbed one of my 12 volt 2 amp walworts (the things that plug into the wall and usually connect to electronic devices) and ran the A GND and +12 into it. Noise was gone. Make sure that A GND and Logic GND are not connected to each other!

If I were you I'd stick to the factory supply. Or use the switcher and leave the A GND and +12 on the factory supply.
 
I think the problem shows when you use the same ground for both the analog audio and the digital logic. Something in the Analog section just doesnt like that and it picks up all kinds of noise. I'm sure some one like Mark, Clay or CDjump (sorry dont know your name) knows why and can explain it though.

What I did was I went and grabbed one of my 12 volt 2 amp walworts (the things that plug into the wall and usually connect to electronic devices) and ran the A GND and +12 into it. Noise was gone. Make sure that A GND and Logic GND are not connected to each other!

If I were you I'd stick to the factory supply. Or use the switcher and leave the A GND and +12 on the factory supply.



Hey Matt, I'm going to try and do this to my kickman soon, and is there anyway you would have free time to guide me threw this abit?

What I gather is we want to separate the 12 volt off to its own using a 12 volt walwart.

So can I wire this in off the 110 legs of the switcher and run its 12 volt positive and ground to the audio amp?

Is that the 2 place lead that plugs into the adapter from arcade shop.

Thing is I get this thump noise every time the kick lights flash, and when you coin up you get that back ground hum like you say, and it's kinda annoying. If you can throw some pics or if I can take pics of my stuff and post them, I can make a new thread but I figure this is good as any..

I'd like to get this done, I kinda get what your saying I'm just curious how you tied everything in together and what was separated.

My harness is stock and I just used the arcade shop adapter, which works great but it's definitely flawed with this sound issue
 
Hey Matt, I'm going to try and do this to my kickman soon, and is there anyway you would have free time to guide me threw this abit?

What I gather is we want to separate the 12 volt off to its own using a 12 volt walwart.

So can I wire this in off the 110 legs of the switcher and run its 12 volt positive and ground to the audio amp?

Is that the 2 place lead that plugs into the adapter from arcade shop.

Thing is I get this thump noise every time the kick lights flash, and when you coin up you get that back ground hum like you say, and it's kinda annoying. If you can throw some pics or if I can take pics of my stuff and post them, I can make a new thread but I figure this is good as any..

I'd like to get this done, I kinda get what your saying I'm just curious how you tied everything in together and what was separated.

My harness is stock and I just used the arcade shop adapter, which works great but it's definitely flawed with this sound issue

I dont have any pics, well I might but have no idea where they are. :)

But yeah, the walwarts output would be wired to AGND and the +12 thats supplied to the CPU board. The idea is to isolate the circuits, at least thats what it looked like to me. More on this below and I was wrong BTW.

AGND comes from J4 pin 4 and shares a connection with two other pins but they dont look like they are used. +12 comes from J4 pin 12. AGND does seem to be tied to logic GND at the transformer though. That would dispute my earlier thoughts that the GNDs needed to be isolated from each other. Hmm...

Back to the subject at hand, I dont think doing this will get rid of the thump and noise you are hearing. I needed to do it on my bench to get the board to stop screaming at me. :)

in looking at the schematics Midway used the same +12 rectifier to supply the lamps and the audio amplifier, I think THATS where the pops and thumps are coming from. The lamps are supplied right off of the positive output of the rectifier while the amps supply is passed through a diode and then filtered across a 4700mf cap. All this is on the original power supply and is where that 2 wire 3 pin connector is connected (it supplies this circuit).

I'm going to assume that the adapter some what mimics the above described circuit in that it still uses the same +12 to provide the lamps and the audio amp from that 2 wire 3 pin connector. If you look at your adapter you will see 4 good sized diodes near a cap or two, thats the circuit being duplicated.

So maybe this might work. Either supply the amp (J5 pin 13) or the lamps (J5 pin 9) with the +12 from the walwart. Before you do though please check the two pins for +12. You will need to remove the pin from the connector or cut the wire. I'd try supplying the lamps with the walwart because if something is backwards nothing "should" blow up. :)

hmm.. Looking again at the schematics. AGND gets tied to logic GND on the power supply board via JW4. Even if its not there the GNDs get tied together when the cables are plugged into the audio amplifier.

Anyone else want to chime in, feel free. My thoughts on this are all messed up now.
 
I have another idea I'm messing with but I dont have an MCR board to test this theory on.

I want to be able to use ONE switching power supply to power these boards. But, in some cases the boards scream bloody murder when everything is tied together. I dont know why but some boards are cool with it and others are not. Seems to me that Spy Hunter and Tron were the pickiest of the bunch.

My idea is to put the AC inputs of a small rectifier on the +12 and GND outputs of my switcher and then use the outputs of the rectifier to supply the +12 going to the logic board. I think this will effectively create that same circuit that Midway put on their board and the one thats on the AS adapter.

But like I said, I dont have an MCR board to test this "theory" on.
 
I'll have to pull the back door and take pics and then I'll take video.

When ever that thump happens, the lights on the kick buttons flash.

I know that the lights to those buttons are powered at all times, and then go off when that thump/pop sound happens. Let me go take video and I'll post it up
 

In your video you ask if you can power that grey/purple with a walwart. The short answer is yes although it wont do you any good. I really think you need to power either the lights or the amplifier by itself/themselves. The pop is being produced because the lamps (in the buttons) and the amp are on the same +12.

I have another thought. Do you have any 12 volt wedge LEDs? Try those in the bulb sockets. Also, make sure you have 161's or 194's in those buttons. If they are 555's they will burn hotter and draw more current which could be an issue as well.
 
Usually, powering the amp by itself from a seperate power supply seems to work best. The +12v to the pcb is regulated, while the 12v to the amp is unregulated.
The mb3730s were common in car stereos, and they seem to tolerate a poorer power supply than the preamps on the pcb.
 
Usually, powering the amp by itself from a seperate power supply seems to work best. The +12v to the pcb is regulated, while the 12v to the amp is unregulated.
The mb3730s were common in car stereos, and they seem to tolerate a poorer power supply than the preamps on the pcb.

I imagine theres a pretty good sized spike on the +12 when those bulbs turn off and on. I'm curious to see if LED's stress it out less.
 
I imagine theres a pretty good sized spike on the +12 when those bulbs turn off and on. I'm curious to see if LED's stress it out less.



What if I just take them out? And see what happens, for fun, I think I may have some wedge leds some place but I can also just pull them right?
 
What if I just take them out? And see what happens, for fun, I think I may have some wedge leds some place but I can also just pull them right?

If you took the bulbs out of the kick buttons you wont get that on/off pop anymore. Thats one way to fix it. :)
 
Oh, you probably will still get the strange white noise/hum after its coined up though.

I think the outputs are muted until the game is coined up at which time they pass audio but its messy audio.
 
Oh, you probably will still get the strange white noise/hum after its coined up though.

I think the outputs are muted until the game is coined up at which time they pass audio but its messy audio.



So where do I go from there? buy an original power supply, or is there an easy way to fix that coin up, white noise that's real obvious. Not so much once you hit player 1 start, cause the music starts, but before that, and while putting in your initials for a high score save it's real obvious
 
If you took the bulbs out of the kick buttons you wont get that on/off pop anymore. Thats one way to fix it. :)



It is kinda lame, but you could power those lights from the coin door lights right? No more flash attraction thou.

Really all this can be avoided with the original power supply right?

This perfect solution of an adapter and switching power supply kinda seems like it's more trouble than it's worth..

Starting to feel that way. I have one in my elevator action and space invaders and they work perfectly, but MCR stuff...

I'd say it kinda sucks.... works, but audio feedback is a mess!
 
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