jbrochu1985
Member
Hi everyone, I'm looking for some help diagnosing a compatibility issue with Nintendo arcade boards on my cabinet setup.
I have two Nintendo PCBs — Donkey Kong (2-board stack) and Mario Bros — both using the PCB Junkie Nintendo-to-JAMMA adapter.
I own both a Jammafier v1 and a Jammafier v2 (the one with the integrated tri-sync support).
All my other JAMMA and JVS PCBs work flawlessly, including ones using PCB Junkie adapters (Galaga, System 16, Nibbler).
I also have a Nintendo Vs. System PCB, and that one has never given me any issues on the same setup.
Here are the voltage measurements I took. I checked the Jammafier with no load, then with Mario Bros connected, and I also compared it to my HAS Supergun with the same board.
Jammafier (no load):
Jammafier (with Mario Bros connected):
HAS Supergun (with Mario Bros):
I have two Nintendo PCBs — Donkey Kong (2-board stack) and Mario Bros — both using the PCB Junkie Nintendo-to-JAMMA adapter.
I own both a Jammafier v1 and a Jammafier v2 (the one with the integrated tri-sync support).
Symptoms
- Donkey Kong: no boot at all on the Windy II (no video, no startup signs).
- Mario Bros: boots but shows severe graphical glitches (see picture).
- Both boards work perfectly on a HAS Supergun → Retrotink 5X → consumer TV.
All my other JAMMA and JVS PCBs work flawlessly, including ones using PCB Junkie adapters (Galaga, System 16, Nibbler).
I also have a Nintendo Vs. System PCB, and that one has never given me any issues on the same setup.
Power Measurements
Measured at the JAMMA edge with nothing connected (pre-load values):- +5V = 5.5V
- +12V = 12.2V
Questions / Possible Causes
- Could Donkey Kong / Mario Bros be sensitive to overvoltage at boot, especially through the Jammafier?
- Sync level mismatch? Nintendo's early hardware uses oddball composite sync, and the HAS might be more forgiving than the Jammafier.
- RGB inversion / attenuation differences between the HAS and the Jammafier?
- Could the Windy II's Toshiba chassis be less tolerant to early Nintendo sync levels or polarity?
- Grounding or edge connector alignment issue specific to the 2-board stack design?
- a Jammafier quirk,
- a Windy II compatibility issue,
- or something inherent to early Nintendo PCBs.
Here are the voltage measurements I took. I checked the Jammafier with no load, then with Mario Bros connected, and I also compared it to my HAS Supergun with the same board.
Jammafier (no load):
- +5V: 5.499V
- –5V: –5.441V
- +12V: 12.31V
Jammafier (with Mario Bros connected):
- +5V: 5.2V
- +5V (2nd test point): 5.2V
- +12V: 12.20V
- –5V: –3.3V
HAS Supergun (with Mario Bros):
- +5V: 5.034V
- +5V (2nd test point): 5.0V
- +12V: 14.52V
- –5V: –4.62V