My 2 Rush 2049 SE conversions to emulation racing machines (work log)

I got my pc and uffb hooked in my other cabinet today and unfortunately the FFB still isn't working with that one even after replacing the motor driver. It's the same behavior as before where I can feel the motor is on because of the normal resistance compared to when the cabinet is powered off, but just no FFB actions at all.

I'm waiting to hear back from the creator to see what he thinks it could be now and if I should do any other tests for him. I was hoping it was the motor driver issue but well that's not it.
 
I know you said those motor drivers tend to suck.
Is there some meaningful way to test them to see if it's just replacing a component or 2 to make them functional?
Hard to say since they may only fail under load but seems like it should be a fixable problem.
 
I know you said those motor drivers tend to suck.
Is there some meaningful way to test them to see if it's just replacing a component or 2 to make them functional?
Hard to say since they may only fail under load but seems like it should be a fixable problem.
Not that I know of, yet at least.

I talked to Aganyte and he said next step is to get an FTDI which helps trouble shoot the PWM2HAPP. Basically it's an interface into the Arduino Mini Pro that is on the PWM2HAPP (I didn't realize there was another Arduino in the setup until this morning) that lets you see what is going on with it in Arduino IDE. It will allow me to flash the PWM2HAPP again if need be too. So I snagged one from Microcenter today and got it all hooked up, and have my PC recognizing it in the Arduino IDE (after having to install some drivers and luckily finding a mini USB cable that has data) so I'm waiting to hear from him on the next steps, I probably won't hear until tomorrow.

I made some more progress today though with the whole setup. I mounted and wired up the power to the 2 amps. I also hooked in the 12v and replaced my bulbs.

Oh one thing to note - there is NO REASON to have the BIOS turn off USB power when the PC is down. Literally all of those issues I had with the lamps prior was because of the bulbs. Today I hooked up the 12v wire to the terminal from my PC PSU, changed the bulbs, hooked up the 2 JST lamp connectors, and the lamps work.

However the bulbs I got kinda suck. They have a problem in that they are a tad wider than the standard bulbs because they have LEDs on the sides and top. So some of the buttons they don't fit in well without "forcing" it past one of the deep parts of the buttons. I had a few bulbs pop out when I did this, and then I had one bulb completely fall apart when I tried to get it out after being stuck in there. So I contacted Amazon and told them it broke and they refunded me lol, and now I got some that SHOULD be the same exact for factor as the original bulbs. Those arrive tomorrow.

These are the bulbs I got that work fine, however like I said the fit is not ideal:


And these are the NEW ones I have on the way tomorrow, which as you can see from the looks, look the same form factor as OG ones.

 
Still working through some debugging stuff with him for fbb.

I took the pwm2happ off uffb and hooked it to the pc and confirmed that it is booting.

Next step is to attach it back to uffb and run another program that can get the serial output in hexadecimal and see what's going on.

I don't have time today to do it. It hope to to tomorrow and keep progressing.
 
Made a huge break through last night and this morning with what the FFB issue is...

So after doing all of his tests with the FTDI and the Arduino Mega 2560 Pro, I did not get anything on the UFFB with issues.

So I swapped the 2 Mega Pro's I have in both UFFBs... and the behavior was the same! In the one that didn't work, it still didn't work, and in the one that did work, it did work. Now we know the problem isn't the Mega Pro then.

However I still couldn't get any readings in the coolterm application that captures the serial output from it. It got nothing.

I tested continuity from the TX pin on the Mega to the TX pin on the UFFB which is where I was reading from, and there is continuity.

After like 2 hours last night of trying random stuff and I was done trying for the night, I was on the couch and thought about testing the TX pin on the Mega Pro directly and not on the UFFB. I took the Mega Pro out and found the right pin on the back and connected the FTDI to it and then ran the application again. ANd what would you know - I was getting the constant FFB stream.

Now I know the problem was only happening when the Mega Pro was seated on the UFFB. I had inspected the hell out of it and saw nothing out of the ordinary or anything. So I sent Aganyte some messages and waited for his response this morning.

When I got up he was saying that was basically a breakthrough so gives more direction. He had me check for a short on the GND pin from UFFB to the mega TX pin, and nothing there. I then texted the Ohm between the 2 TX pins and it was as expected.

While I was doing the continuity test from the UFFB GND pin to the TX pin on the mega, there is a 5v pin right next to it so I randomly checked for continuity between those. And what would you know - there is continuity between the 5V and the TX pin, which there should not be. I verified that on my working one as well.

When I relayed this news to him I also randomly asked him if the little serial board that is next to this area (that I don't even use) could have gotten blown when I was messing with the lamps, and he said that could exactly be the problem, that the short is coming from that little board.

So I am crossing my fingers this is the issue. I am going to desolder it and it's 6 pins I gotta desolder to remove it. I have to head out soon for a few hours but will try it when I get back and cross my fingers that it is the problem.
 
God damnit it was not that. I removed the serial board and it is still shorted.

I am completely baffled at this point.

I'm waiting to hear back from Agaynte after telling him that. I am hoping he can at least tell me where to check out since he has the schematics for the board.
 
Well I found the damn culprit. It is this god damn chip that was completely out of the circuitry of the serial stuff and is in the MIDI CONVERSION stuff...

AV5x3Ii.jpg

After talking more with Aganyte, and I guess after he looked at the schematics more, he said try removing that chip and this other smaller one, both in the MIDI CONVERSION section of the PCB. And I removed that one first, and what would you know, the TX and 5V were no longer shorted. So I tested it out again with the FTDI thing, and BAM I was getting the serial stream of data from the Arduino that we were expecting!

So I don't think I need to even replace that since it's for the midi conversion stuff which is probably for other hardware, but I think I am going to replace it just to have everything stock.

I believe that chip got fried at some point when I was trying to figure out the lamp situations because I kept trying different 12v/5v stuff, and FFB was working before I started working on the lamps but not after. I am just glad I could track it down though.

I put the serial board back on (which I also didn't have to since I don't need it) as well as the ORIGINAL motor driver board on the pwm2happ, and I'm going to test it all out tonight and it should work hopefully. And I will be able to return the replacement motor driver boards I got too since the original most likely is fine, at least I hope it is lol. I won't know for sure until I test it all out tonight, but the fact I'm getting the FFB serial stream as expected makes me hopeful that the only issue was that fried chip.
 
I've occasionally wondered if it would be possible to set my 4 player VR with emulators, and be able to play multiple games. From this thread, it looks like it may be possible, but it would be a very large investment of both time and money.

I don't think I'll attempt it. It's fully working and has the 5th "Live Monitor" display, so I'll leave well enough alone. No one ever complains about the game or lack of choices… and it's plenty fun to have 4 players competing!
 
I've occasionally wondered if it would be possible to set my 4 player VR with emulators, and be able to play multiple games. From this thread, it looks like it may be possible, but it would be a very large investment of both time and money.

I don't think I'll attempt it. It's fully working and has the 5th "Live Monitor" display, so I'll leave well enough alone. No one ever complains about the game or lack of choices… and it's plenty fun to have 4 players competing!
These boards were initially made for Sega cabinets too. I don't know which one though lol.

I know my buddy has Daytona 2 cabinets and he doesn't need any add on boards - all of the original harnesses plug directly into the UFFB.
 
These boards were initially made for Sega cabinets too. I don't know which one though lol.

I know my buddy has Daytona 2 cabinets and he doesn't need any add on boards - all of the original harnesses plug directly into the UFFB.
If it were earlier in my ownership, I might do it. But I've owned it for 20+ years and expect to let it go in the next year or two as we prepare to downsize!
 
Wrapped up the wiring for cabinet 2 and this is about as clean as it's going to get. I wish I didn't have to have all of the OG wiring in there but I like the fact that it still is "stock" in that sense and I'm not removing any of that stuff I'm not using.

One difference on this one is that the marquee light had an actual plug (the orange one) unlike the other one that had one of those "PC extension cable" ends on it that just plugged into the top of the arcade power supply.

wf1ltTH.jpg

And I also just flashed the Arduino Mega Pro 2560 with the additions of the keypad, and that is also working like a charm now.

 
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I also just ordered a pair of these for exhaust fans:


I plan on mounting them right behind the vent at the top of the cabinets and have them blowing out, get some of that hot air out of the cabinet. I don't know if it's necessary or not but figure it won't hurt because I don't plan on having my back door off.

The hole is like 310mm x 80mm or so, so the fans will not be fully in the space, but I believe it will be better than nothing.
 
Heat is the enemy so this is a good plan of course!
Good to hear that you got your board weirdness sorted out.
 
Maybe I might do this to both my 2049s AND my two Rush the Rocks... then I could link all 4 cabs. I'm aware the RTRs might not quite be plug n play... but I would have 4 linkable. I'd planned to sell the RTRs and get another 2049 or two... hmmm....

I'm not sure if you already mentioned it or not... excluding the cost of the monitors, can you give a ballpark idea of the incurred costs for the pair you converted... and did you get your package from Europe before the De Minimus was revoked?

TIA,
Dylan
 
Maybe I might do this to both my 2049s AND my two Rush the Rocks... then I could link all 4 cabs. I'm aware the RTRs might not quite be plug n play... but I would have 4 linkable. I'd planned to sell the RTRs and get another 2049 or two... hmmm....

I'm not sure if you already mentioned it or not... excluding the cost of the monitors, can you give a ballpark idea of the incurred costs for the pair you converted... and did you get your package from Europe before the De Minimus was revoked?

TIA,
Dylan
I had this little text file which is kind of funky format, but here's a screen shot of it...


SZnRcv5.png

The left was my estimate, and then on the right was the actual cost.

However on the right, it doesn't include the UFFB, pwm2happ, 2049 add on board, or SSD.

I did get my package from Europe before all that crap happened I think. I received it in mid August. It cost me $101 to have it shipped, and he had told me 2 months prior all the tariff stuff, it would have cost me $60.

I'd probably toss another like $100or so maybe, per setup in more misc expenses that I had to get since I last updated that document, like USB cables, audio cables, the audio amps, surge protectors, wires, etc.

Also, the RTR should be just as plug and play as this was for me. If he hasn't made any RTR add on boards, you may run into some hiccups like I did though.
 
Thank you IMMENSELY for blazing this trail Drew!
Can't wait to get mine.
I'll need to pester you about the particulars of your pc builds so I can amass those parts in a timely fashion.
 
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