Nintendo Red Tent - one side keeps freezing up

Raikus

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So I finally got my Red Tent. Nice shape, super excited, finally got Vs Goonies in the mail today and plugged it into my Vs PCB along with Golf.

Well, Vs Goonies fires right up and plays just fine. Golf, however, comes up but freezes about 30 seconds into it. Music stops, video stays where it is, completely unresponsive. If I power it down and turn it back on I get a flash of white screen then it goes to black. It's like Golf doesn't even boot. If I let the machine sit dead for about an hour or so I can get Golf to come back up and freeze 30 seconds or so into game again. If I try to power on before that I get nothing but dead screen.

Any advice?

If it matters, Golf is loaded on the 2nd side of the Vs PCB and plays on the PCB insert side of the Red Tent. I don't think that would matter but I'm trying to supply as much info as possible for a diagnosis. Again, the Goonies side plays perfect every time.

Thanks!
 
I'm guessing it could be two things.

1. You need to reseat the Golf chips as sometimes the pins don't make a solid connection. I had to do this once with an old Golf chip set I had. It would boot with broken sprites, blinking screen, etc.

2. Your PCB is damaged or the pin sockets are worn (hence problem #1). I've owned about 2-3 bad or damaged boards due to sound chips going out, battery acid damage, rust, etc.

So your best bet would be to check the PCB for any damage or impurities and try reseating your chips making sure the pins are straight going in.

And let me know if you want to be added to the registry. Welcome! :D
 
That's what I thought at first as well. Problem is, I've switched the PCB and the chipset out already and it still has the same issue. Originally Golf was on the included Vs PCB that came with the Red Tent. After getting a new PCB I changed out the chips and it's the same thing.

I guess that means the Golf game chips are bad? Here's a picture of what it did this morning after about 30-40 seconds after being turned on.

vsgolf.jpg


As for the registry, yes! I bought it off a current registry entry -- Matt W. from Pike Road, AL (Serial #07257) if you want to update it. You can list it as Rob M. from Tallahassee, FL.

Current Games: Vs. Golf, Vs. The Goonies, Vs. Super Mario Bros., Vs. Hogan's Alley.

Wanted Games: Vs. Castlevania, Vs. Star Luster (03B PPU), Vs. Excite Bike (0004 PPU), Vs. Tetris (03B PPU).
 
Yeah, that could always be a possibility. The good news is you can have John (lilman573) burn a new set of chips for you for a decent price. He does great work.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=131239

Games you can get with the PPU you have:
RP2C04-0002 6 Vs. Ladies Golf (MDS-LG)
RP2C04-0002 6 Vs. Mach Rider (Endurance Course) (MDS-MR)
RP2C04-0002 7 Vs. Raid on Bungeling Bay (Japan) (MDS-RB) ($26)
RP2C04-0002 5 Vs. Slalom (MDS-SL)($17)
RP2C04-0002 6 Vs. Golf (MDS-GF)
RP2C04-0002 12 Vs. Wrecking Crew (MDS-WC)
 
Check to make sure the INSIDE of the legs on the PPU and ROMs are clean.

Pesky single wipe sockets only make contact on the inside of the legs.

RJ
 
Reviving this thread with more problems. Was never able to fix the previous problem. Got a new chipset in and the same freezing occurred (even on the other side). Just got Wrecking Crew in and plugged them into an extra board and... nothing. One side has a green screen and the other is blank. I'm using two Golf PPUs for the board (same group).

Sigh.

Goonies has been the only game that's worked so far. I've tried 3 PCBs and swapped CPU chips in and out and up and down. Can't figure it out and any help would be majorly appreciated.
 
hmmm. Alright, lets start at the beginning. I know the chipsets i sent you are all working. I test and play each game before it goes out. Its actually the first time i have burned star luster!! pretty cool game, don't know how it would earn money on the tent though... lol

Anyway, the thing with wrecking crew is that both sides of the board need to be healthy. If one side has problems, then both sides won't work. On the board that goonies works on, can you remove it, put chips in that side and have the game work? Can you swap goonies to other side and still have it working? I am thinking maybe you have a socket problem...

Are all three of the boards you have confirmed to have been working? Lets start there and see where it gets us.
 
The chips are perfect, no doubt about that. This was a problem I had before the new roms.

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to switch out the Goonies board. It's seated on the 6/8 side and has worked 100% since I got it (hence my not wanting to mess with it). I haven't been able to get other games to work on the 1/2 side. Same goes for both of the other PCBs. I also only have 3 CPU chips that I've been switching out depending on active boards.

I found it unlikely that both PCBs would be bad with the same problems. At first I thought it was a bad game chipset but now I know I have good sets and it still isn't working.

So it's either both PCBs and half of another that are bad, 2 of the 3 CPU chips or something outside of the PCB. I'll start tracing it down like you suggested Lilman and go from there.
 
The sockets are highly suspect. I have a vs pcb that the ppu and CPU on both sides need to be angled up on one side to make contact. I think the daughter cards ream the sockets. Once you install a daughter card don't plan on game changes to non carded games. Better yet buy extra boards so no chip or cards have to be changed just whole boards.
 
The daughter cards streach out the pins in the PPU/CPU sockets. Put a set of 40-pin machine pin sockets into the PPU/CPU sockets. Then install the CPU and PPU and see if that helps.
 
Ok, I popped Tetris into the board that had Goonies aaaaaand...

Worked for 30-40 seconds and then I heard an audible click and it went to green screen. Now it keeps going to either green or red when I fire it up. Seems like this is the exact same problem I had originally. If I give it an hour or two of rest it will turn on, play for under a minute and then freeze.

So it's not the main PCBs (all three do the same thing) or the chipsets (the only game I've gotten to work is the one on daughtercard).

So is it a faulty CPU chip (remember, I have 3 total and one I've left on the daughtercard -- the rest I've switched in or out depending on the board I'm using)? It could be stretched sockets like GTZ and slots suggested, but on all three boards?

I'll look at ordering those 40 pin sockets next week. I'll probably go ahead and order one or two CPU chips from Mike's. Still, the click bothers me. It sounds like it's coming from the power supply area and switch side, so all this other stuff might be for naught.
 
Ok, I popped Tetris into the board that had Goonies aaaaaand...

Worked for 30-40 seconds and then I heard an audible click and it went to green screen. Now it keeps going to either green or red when I fire it up. Seems like this is the exact same problem I had originally. If I give it an hour or two of rest it will turn on, play for under a minute and then freeze.

So it's not the main PCBs (all three do the same thing) or the chipsets (the only game I've gotten to work is the one on daughtercard).

So is it a faulty CPU chip (remember, I have 3 total and one I've left on the daughtercard -- the rest I've switched in or out depending on the board I'm using)? It could be stretched sockets like GTZ and slots suggested, but on all three boards?

I'll look at ordering those 40 pin sockets next week. I'll probably go ahead and order one or two CPU chips from Mike's. Still, the click bothers me. It sounds like it's coming from the power supply area and switch side, so all this other stuff might be for naught.

Yeah, the click is most likely either the power supply after the reset or the play counter behind the coin boxes.

It sounds like it could be the CPU or a power supply issue. I would try the goonies CPU in the tetris side.
 
Man, I can't believe I didn't do that already. I guess I just didn't want to mess with the one game that worked (heh). Took off the Goonies CPU, popped it in the Tetris side and now it plays. Guess the problem was that the 2 CPUs were bad. Go figure.

Well, half the battle and all that. Now to order some more CPUs. Thanks for the help!
 
Mikes CPU is an rp2a03h. Some people have had the 'H' version not work. At 25 bucks each it's a spendy chance. Go to your local pawn shop and buy an NES and desolder the rp2ao3 they only cost 15 bucks here in Portland.
 
Awesome to here Raik! I don't blame you. Why mess with the game that works right? .. Except, you know that one works. So it is a good starting place. It sounded like a bad CPU. You are lucky they worked for 30 seconds! All the bad CPUs I have don't turn the board on at all!

Not sure what I would do about getting more CPUs. I have heard the same about Mike's CPUs. Actually, I traded with a guy who sent me a CPU. He said he bought the ones off Mikes and they didn't work and then he found another source. Maybe you can ask him.. I will shoot that over to you shortly.
 
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