Megatouch Maxx - Newbie

John I

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A friend of mine brought me his Megatouch Maxx because it wasn't booting. I powered it up and it booted almost all the way then gave a message about an invalid security key. I opened the back of the box and pulled out the security key. I cleaned the key and contacts, put it back in, turned the thing on and it booted right up! Only problem now is there is no sound. I checked the settings and the sound is not off. My friend says he's pretty sure the sound was working before (his wife plays hours a day, but he doesn't ever play it).

What should I look at for the sound problem?

What is this security key? Looks like it has a button battery built in? If I buy a new one, does it have to be exactly the same part number (SA3042-11)?

Thanks for any help!

John
 
what version Maxx is it? I think I have a spare HD with key. Im thinking it was the diamond version.

I'm pretty sure it is a Diamond 2. I was looking online and the revisions go like this:

Maxx
Maxx 2k / Maxx 2k Plus
Diamond / Diamond 2
Emerald / Emerald 2
Ruby / Ruby 2
Sapphire / Sapphire 2
Jade / Jade 2
Crown

The guy who owns this is a close friend. As I mentioned his wife plays it daily. If I could figure out what is wrong with the sound, I would definitely get a new key and hard drive to update and add a bunch of games for them.

The sound is completely gone too. I found what looks like a mini jack speaker output on the mother board. Maybe I should try to hook up a (cheap) pair of heaphones there with the volume way down low?...
 
The sound is completely gone too. I found what looks like a mini jack speaker output on the mother board. Maybe I should try to hook up a (cheap) pair of heaphones there with the volume way down low?...

I will try to do this from memory...there should be a cable that has a headphone male jack that plugs into the left of the motherboard (as you're looking into the back of the machine) and the other end is a 0.156" 4 position molex that plugs into the right side of the I/O board. This cable is for the sound.

Of course there were different versions of motherboards and I/O boards, so YMMV.
 
Thanks for all the help guys! I will look around at the cabling when I get home from work tomorrow and report back. This thing is pretty cramped. I looked for a while and could not even find the speaker!

John
 
If I recall correctly there is a volume control too...I'll check mine today and let you know. Did you happen to go into the setup mode and check the sound there?
 
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If this is the version with the big ISA board that does sound, I/O, and has the key chip on it then clean the contacts on the board with a big pink pencil eraser and plug it back in.

Those things are probably covered with cigarette tar and nicotine along with dust leaving a nasty yellow dirty film over everything.
 
If I recall correctly there is a volume control too...I'll check mine today and let you know. Did you happen to go into the setup mode and check the sound there?
Maxx machines have software volume control. Remove the coin/bill acceptor and you'll see two red buttons. One forces a touchscreen calibration, the other puts you into setup mode. On the sound setup screen you'll be able to adjust volume and run some self-tests. This screen will help you determine if the sound is just turned low/off or if there's a problem.
 
That's the one I was talking about! It's been awhile since I have had anything to do with mine and could not remember where it was.


Maxx machines have software volume control. Remove the coin/bill acceptor and you'll see two red buttons. One forces a touchscreen calibration, the other puts you into setup mode. On the sound setup screen you'll be able to adjust volume and run some self-tests. This screen will help you determine if the sound is just turned low/off or if there's a problem.
 
Update:

I am aware of the software volume and have adjusted it to 55%. I have been looking for a "mute" in software but haven't found one.

The game plays great aside from having no sound. Removing and re-installing the key seems to have at least temporarily fixed the problem with the security key.

I removed the daughter board and cleaned the connectors as suggested. I also removed and reinstalled all of the connectors having to do with the sound. After connecting every thing back up, there is still no sound. The game plays and looks great, just no sound at all in the game or menu.

At this point I am guessing that the sound amplifier or something to do with the sound circuit is blown. :-( Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

John
 
Did you look to make sure a wire didn't pop off the speaker? Or that the wires from it to the PCB were good?
 
Use your multimeter to check the resistance of the speaker. If it's not reading at all then replace it.

If you don't have a multimeter then unhook the speaker wires and use a 9v battery across the speaker terminals. You'll hear the speaker make "click" sounds. If you don't hear the click, replace it.
 
Did you look to make sure a wire didn't pop off the speaker? Or that the wires from it to the PCB were good?

The wires are soldered to the speaker and all the other cables are in the right place. I found a troubleshooting guide and followed all the instructions:

http://www.meritind.com/support_center/MAXX Troubleshooting/MAXX TS Guide.PDF

All the cables were in the right place and look good. I even did the "two-button reset" and it didn't help. Unfortunately it did reset all the scores that my friends had put on it over the last couple of years!

I guess there is one last thing to try and that is to hook up another speaker. I did already connect a set of headphones to the CPU board with no luck.

John
 
I just wanted to come back and close out this thread. This morning I figured out what the problem was with the sound. It was a bad sound cable going from the main board to the daughter board. The cable with the mini jack on one end.

After a week or two of not messing with the game, my friend came over to the house yesterday. I know from fixing his pinball machines that he is the type who will tinker with something, break it and then say "no it just stopped working"! I asked him once again if he had done ANYTHING to troubleshoot the original problem with the security key. Finally he admitted that he had tried to hook up a PS2 mouse. Noticing the mouse is right next to the sound cable, I started manipulating the cable. Then I switched the cable from the top mini jack to the other jack just below it. A little wiggling of the cable and the sound came back.

Thanks for all who tried to help me on this problem. I will make a new cable so this doesn't happen again. Also, will most likely upgrade to Jade which will get a new key into the mix along with a bunch of new games.

John
 
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