Should I avoid a Konami X-Men PCB like the plague?

Shawn1976

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I've heard some horror stories about the sound going bad on Konami X-men PCB's and it costing a small fortune to fix them.
Is this true, or not?
I have a Jamma setup and I was thinking about getting an X-men board.
Any thoughts?
 
Just replace the caps and it should be good for another 8 years ;-). I say go for it.
 
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I agree with deadpool and say go for it! :) It's almost a given that you will need to replace the caps on the custom sound IC, but it's been done by several members here, myself included. If the board is already working I would definitely replace the caps anyway to avoid any problems. Often you can visually tell that the caps are leaking and it's very important to deal with it before it gets worse. My honest opinion is that any board, even if it's working now, will develop the problem at some point. As a huge fan of the game, I can't tell you how awesome it's been to see that a fix was first attempted a few years back by a gentleman from Canada and now more and more people are trying it with success. If you can solder, you've got less than $10 worth of caps to change.
 
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X-Men is probably a $100-120 board (4P version). I don't think it goes much higher than that because it is prone to sound issues. My board in my dedicated 4P cab has no cap leakage and, so far, I've had no sound issues (knock on wood).
 
Does anyone produce a cap kit for the sound chip.
Mine is fine but I'm wondering how long that will last.
 
Here are the ones I used.

Mouser #: 667-ECE-A1CKS470
Mfr. #: ECE-A1CKS470
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 47UF 16V KS RADIAL
RoHS: RoHS Compliant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mouser #: 647-UMA1C4R7MCD2TP
Mfr. #: UMA1C4R7MCD2TP
Manufacturer: Nichicon
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 4.7UF 16V 85c
RoHS: RoHS Compliant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mouser #: 647-UST1C100MDD1TE
Mfr. #: UST1C100MDD1TE
Manufacturer: Nichicon
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 10uF 16V 105c 1.5mm 20%
RoHS: RoHS Compliant

And here is the diagram http://garakuta.homelinux.org/~nosuke/tsubo/files/misc/054544_memo.pdf fixed!!!
 
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Here are the ones I used.

Mouser #: 667-ECE-A1CKS470
Mfr. #: ECE-A1CKS470
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 47UF 16V KS RADIAL
RoHS: RoHS Compliant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mouser #: 647-UMA1C4R7MCD2TP
Mfr. #: UMA1C4R7MCD2TP
Manufacturer: Nichicon
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 4.7UF 16V 85c
RoHS: RoHS Compliant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mouser #: 647-UST1C100MDD1TE
Mfr. #: UST1C100MDD1TE
Manufacturer: Nichicon
Desc.: Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded 10uF 16V 105c 1.5mm 20%
RoHS: RoHS Compliant

And here is the diagram http://garakuta.homelinux.org/~nosuk...54544_memo.pdf.

Add fixed link: http://garakuta.homelinux.org/~nosuke/tsubo/files/misc/054544_memo.pdf
 
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wow the cap list is very common. I probably can find all of these locally at the surplus store and produce a kit myself for this and the Lethal Enforcers sound PCB.

Maybe I'll start selling these as a kit.
 
took a look at my Xmen board

The sound works fine on it but I wanted to inspect it for leaks.

Here it is before I touched it.

Xmen%20bare%202.JPG


I tryed to spray some alcohol on it to neutralize any possible leakage that might eat through the traces and then the paint started to come off. I just kept on at it thinking that I wanted to clean it incase I could cap the hybrid board.

I had pulled the needed caps for this one $1 worth.

After cleaning it looked like this. The paint was flaking off so I get the feeling that things are starting to go on my caps.

Xmen%20cleaned%202.JPG


Anyone's thoughts as to if I should just go ahead and cap this hybrid chip?

My GI Joe looks like it's starting to go also.

GI%20Joe.JPG
 
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I would go ahead and cap it. It's already leaked some and it's not going to get any better. You did the right thing by cleaning it up now while it still works. My 4 player board worked fine for years with no trouble until I took a closer look at it. Last time I had it hooked up to my supergun, I was able to watch the electrolyte leak out from the caps. :(
 
Thanks, yeah it's very odd to me how Konami decided to use this chip.
I'm thinking that taking care of this hybrid chip is as important as watching your Capcom Suicide batteries. It's not as devastating as the suicide but once the hybrid is damaged on the back side, you have dead sound and there is a relatively cheap/straightforward (but ugly) fix for the hybrid.

I went ahead and searched all of my boards for hybrid chips.

Simpsons - no
TMNT - no
Sunset Riders - no
X-men - yes
Metamorphic Force - yes
GI Joe - yes

Other known ones:
Lethal Enforcers

I suspect w/ no confirmation:
Cowboys of Moo Mesa
Bucky O Hare
 
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Thanks, yeah it's very odd to me how Konami decided to use this chip.
I'm thinking that taking care of this hybrid chip is as important as watching your Capcom Suicide batteries. It's not as devastating as the suicide but once the hybrid is damaged on the back side, you have dead sound and there is a relatively cheap/straightforward (but ugly) fix for the hybrid.

I went ahead and searched all of my boards for hybrid chips.

Simpsons - no
TMNT - no
Sunset Riders - no
X-men - yes
Metamorphic Force - yes
GI Joe - yes

Other known ones:
Lethal Enforcers

I suspect w/ no confirmation:
Cowboys of Moo Mesa
Bucky O Hare
Both Run and Gun games also use the chip...2 of them in fact. It's the other version that's also used on lethal enforcers.
 
Since I have two solder irons, I'll use two at once to desolder these surface mount caps.

Yeah I think that everything but Xmen uses the 054986A hybrid chip. I'll see how clean of install I can do. My traces look all clean still. I will test them after I get the caps out of the way.
 
I just recapped mine today, haven't tested the board yet. When desoldering with two irons, watch out for the old caps popping when they get too hot. All of the 47uF's let out a bunch of smoke from burning electrolyte, so be careful your face isn't too close...
 
I just recapped mine today, haven't tested the board yet. When desoldering with two irons, watch out for the old caps popping when they get too hot. All of the 47uF's let out a bunch of smoke from burning electrolyte, so be careful your face isn't too close...

thanks for the tips!!!
 
I removed the caps from the hybrid on my Lethal Enforcers last weekend. Awaiting parts shipment before I can install new ones.

I wasn't able to desolder any of the old surface mount caps. I tried, but ended up pulling them off with pliers, then cleaning up the pad with solder wick. But I was using a regular iron, I don't have any equipment intended for surface mount work... In any case, I got everything off without any apparent damage to the underlying substrate.

I'll post pics of before, during, and after when the job is done (and hopefully a success).

Oh, when I was trying to desolder the caps (and burning the plastic bases, and any leaked electrolyte), I swear it smelled like fish...
 
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