P4 Position Install and troubleshooting

[TastyBoogerz]

2. Sound. Still is not amplified on P4. Old boards work, and volume pots adjust as expected. On P4 with volume pots cranked to maximum I get very faint sound through both speakers. This is a real head scratcher.

Whelp, I've narrowed down the sound issue to both of my AR's! I had an new Alan-1 unit on my shelf, so I swapped it in for one of the original AR's, and I got sound to the top speaker. I then swapped AR cables, and now sound is on the bottom speaker. So looks like both of my original AR's have issues.

Really odd that the OG AR's work on the OG boards, but obviously something must be out of spec. I'll need to research the audio path on those and see what I should fix/replace.

 

[ArcadeJason]

Whelp, I've narrowed down the sound issue to both of my AR's! I had an new Alan-1 unit on my shelf, so I swapped it in for one of the original AR's, and I got sound to the top speaker. I then swapped AR cables, and now sound is on the bottom speaker. So looks like both of my original AR's have issues.

Really odd that the OG AR's work on the OG boards, but obviously something must be out of spec. I'll need to research the audio path on those and see what I should fix/replace.

this reminds me of an interesting story. years ago someone could not get sound from their piposition but they could with an original pcb. i sent him a new piposition with the same results. i ended up driving to his house to see if i could fix it. it turned out he bought a deluxe ar2 rebuild kit and the instructions told him to put a capacitor? or resistor? in the wrong place. i just gave him some working ar2s i had with me and he was back in business

 

[ArcadeJason]

Got mine last week and ran into an issue where turning the wheel left or right would only steer the car to the right. Replacing the opto sensor solved that problem.

I also had to solder the 200ohm resistor between PIN1 of the edge connector and IC1 to get the brake working again (PP Cockpit). Using a Matsushita monitor here - the picture looks great with the latest update.

Is there any plan or option to allow loading additional driving games, similar to the PiPosition setup?

despite what the schematics show some pole positions came with an opto board with a built in Schmitt trigger with a bias that did not fully reach 0v while others had an opto board that was similar to tempest. (0v-3v ish) and to make matters worse over time the original opto interrupters get weak (0v-2vish) this is dangerously close to the 1.7v threshold in which the trigger changes state. even the original pcb dances a fine line. so to be safe i include a brand new opto pcb. as an after thought i could have made a self biasing circuit (like found in centipede and others) but i would have still included an opto anyways to cover all ground.
by the way i have found that the opto i make can be moved on the pcb by the installer. this could put the quadrature signal out of step. so from now on i will put a drop of resin between them to hold them in place. if anyone has a steering issue with the new optos check to see if there is a 3mm gap between them

 

[Glitch]

What about getting additional games loaded?

 

[ArcadeJason]

What about getting additional games loaded?

It will be done. Any suggestions?

 

[spoonelli]

obvious one would be gran premio f1 for the updated circuits!

It will be done. Any suggestions?

 

[ArcadeJason]

obvious one would be gran premio f1 for the updated circuits!

i didn't know this existed!!
a couple red flags. i noticed a mame video on youtube has several missing sounds and 1 or 2? additional sounds. this may be a difference in hardware so to make this happen we need schematics

 

[spoonelli]

i didn't know this existed!!
a couple red flags. i noticed a mame video on youtube has several missing sounds and 1 or 2? additional sounds. this may be a difference in hardware so to make this happen we need schematics

I've been wanting to dig into it for a while - most notably because it might be a good base to update PP with modern circuits. DB says there's 3 versions that are clones off the polepos2 JPN set.

 

[spoonelli]

i didn't know this existed!!
a couple red flags. i noticed a mame video on youtube has several missing sounds and 1 or 2? additional sounds. this may be a difference in hardware so to make this happen we need schematics

The gran rally boot manual is here: https://media.recreativas.org/manuales/201807/gran-rally-niemer-manual.pdf

 

[Glitch]

It will be done. Any suggestions?

Here's a list of 360 Wheel games from this thread:

American Speedway (set 1)
APB - All Points Bulletin (rev 7)
Bad Lands
Buggy Boy/Speed Buggy (cockpit)
Buggy Challenge
Change Lanes
Chase H.Q. (World)
Championship Sprint (rev 3)
Double Axle (US)
Demolition Derby
Drag Race
Fire Truck
Grand Champion
Grudge Match (prototype)
Hot Rod (World, 3 Players, Turbo set 1, Floppy Based)
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat
Konami GT
Monte Carlo
Night Driver
Night Stocker
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road
Ironman Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road Track-Pak
Pole Position
Pole Position II
Redline Racer (2 players)
Road Blasters
S.C.I. Special Criminal Investigation
Sprint 1
Sprint 4 (set 1)
Sprint 8
Super Sprint (rev 4)
Stocker (3/19/85)
Street Heat
Subs
Super Bug
Top Secret
TX-1
Wheels Runner

On a different note, ever consider a Sprint2 (B&W) Multiboard? I'd be interested in having one for as backup and HSS.

Sprint2 Multi Quicklist could be any of the following:

• Sprint 1/4/8
• Sprint 2 (alternate tracks)
• Gran Trak 10
• Le Mans
• Indy 4/800
• Subs
• Death Race
• Destruction Derby
• 280 Zzzzap
• Monte Carlo

 

[ArcadeJason]

any votes for a poleposition cabinet compatible game from this list?

 

[Yotsuya]

Night Driver!

 

[TastyBoogerz]

I just can't seem to get my throttle dialed in. I've rewound the cable over the pulley at least a dozen times, adjusted the P4 gas pedal settings two dozen times (anywhere from 85 to max of 115) yet the highest I can get my Accel to register is 8A.





@ArcadeJason , any reason the code couldn't be modified to allow more steps on the high side settings? Or any other suggestions?

 

[journeymandt]

@ArcadeJason

It seems the P4 is also having similar issues with the throttle pot as did the PiPosition...

It there really a huge variation in what the OG boards can accommodate and still be functional? It seems like this shouldn't be overly complicated enough to cause widespread problems... it's an analog signal with an allowed range.

Is there something I'm missing?

Dylan

 

[sfspanky]

I just can't seem to get my throttle dialed in. I've rewound the cable over the pulley at least a dozen times

Did you follow the directions for rewinding in the manual to a T?

 

[TastyBoogerz]

Did you follow the directions for rewinding in the manual to a T?

View attachment 855938View attachment 855939

Yep! Multiple times.


Also tried it without the double loop on the cap screw, tried adjusting the "home location" of the pot, even tried a different cable and the original spring.

 

[sfspanky]

All lubrication points addressed?

 

[TastyBoogerz]

All lubrication points addressed?

I think so. Though I can still force the pedal up a bit and it rotates the pot back a few steps. In Jason's P4 video his also does the same, but perhaps that is contributing to the issue.

 

[sfspanky]

I think so. Though I can still force the pedal up a bit and it rotates the pot back a few steps. In Jason's P4 video his also does the same, but perhaps that is contributing to the issue.

Mine does the same (pedal can be forced up a bit). I was only getting to 92 in the pedal test. I pulled the entire pedal unit apart and cleaned everything and lubricated upon assembly. Now I get to 9A-9B. Important to lube the shaft on the potentiometer.

 

[ArcadeJason]

we measured several pedals and averaged the data i am sure we have a good representation of how the pedal works. if you have the latest update there is a sensitivity adjustment in the menu. but this sensitivity adjustment is really a bandaid for pedals out of spec. could it be possible the outer wires on the pot are mixed up? does your pot turn approximately 180 degrees?