Something just to throw in might be any notable differences between the 2a03 and 2a04 CPU. I know that the 2a04 is meant for Vs. Super Mario Bros. but I've seen it work with the 2a03. From what I have read places it has to do something with having/not having a game on the other side of the board when running dual system, I'm not entirely sure though. I'm just curious if having a different CPU would potentially affect game play or anything else.

Hello everyone,

I recently finished restoring my Vs. Unisystem conversion. I wish I could find pictures of the machine when I got it, this thing was in pretty rough shape and missing parts!

This project took me quite some time because it was my first restore. I have to say that I feel I did a great job for a first restore; the reproduction site art is stunning, the recap and rejuvenation of the monitor came out great, the rewiring/rebuilding of the internals was fun (The harness was completely hacked up and duck taped everywhere).

Some pics:

I really hope someone designs a killer game for this, that would be great! I'm good with programming but don't have any creative game ideas at the moment.

[Introducing the Uzebox JAMMA!]

I'm trying to spread the word about this...

Introducing the Uzebox JAMMA!



The Uzebox JAMMA is an open source retro-minimalist 8-bit arcade development board based on the Uzebox Project (http://Uzebox.org). Driven by the ATmega644 AVR microcontroller by Atmel, this device can be easily programmed in the C programming language. Video generation, tile generation, and music mixing are done in real time by the ATmega's interrupt routine.

The goal of the Uzebox JAMMA was to make homebrew arcade game development as simple as possible with good enough graphics and sound capabilities for creative games. With the use of SD card storage, games can be shared amongst users and easily loaded onto the Uzebox JAMMA.

Specs:

-64KB program space
-4KB RAM
-2KB EEPROM space (High score saving and "virtual DIP switches")
-SD card support
-Audio amplifier
-ISP interface
-Expansion header
-Running at 28.63636 MHz
-256 simultaneous colors
-4 channel sound engine

Pricing:

Assembled: $80 USD
Kit: $65 USD

Visit the blog (http://BasementHobbies.wordpress.com) for news about the project.
View the Uzebox JAMMA thread for other information about the project as well.

Also on KLOV: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=203393

My supplies are on the low side right now, have a few left. Will re-stock.
Maybe some of you would are interested in game development?

A video with what exists for the Uzebox home console already:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da3OIHtX8d8&feature=player_embedded#!

I have never seen a blue red tent before. More like a blue tent

No problem!

No replacement PPU's exist. The only PPU's that exist are what's left in the world. There are several other games that use a PPU similar to Hogan's Alley. John, the creator of this forum and his website, has a list comparing the Vs. games and PPU that will work (http://www.johnsarcade.com/nintendo_vs_ppu_info.php)
You can use the PPU on the Dr. Mario board, but the colors won't work right.

Now, when you remove the game, which chips do you remove?
Technically speaking, a GAME consists of just ROMs, the 2A03 CPU and Whatever PPU you are using are part of the system. To create a black screen, leave the CPU and PPU inside the sockets, just no ROMs.

I will post some pictures when I get the chance of what everything should look like

On my motherboards, the games are installed on the RIGHT SIDE viewing that the EDGE CONNECTORS are ON TOP. Also, just so you know, Castlevania does start off in a grey screen for a few seconds, the game is performing it's ROM check. Try booting the game up and leave it on for at least 20 seconds. After a while it should say "ROM OK" or something like that and continue with the game, if it doesn't, something may be wrong (or as you mentioned, the game is on the wrong side)
It is fine to remove the daughtercard and install a game in the empty slots. Make sure that the CPU and PPU are in the right slots correctly and that all 6 ROMs are in the correct slots in the correct order. You can also try putting the game on the other side if you want to verify that the problem is due to the game being on the wrong side.

One thing to note, I don't remember my motherboards indicating copyright relative to "Western hemisphere". You may have a slightly newer Vs. board, though I'm not sure.

And speaker hum is common due to interference from the CRT and everything else.

Removing the daughter cards on Vs. Systems are a bit tricky, the boards are put in there pretty tight! If you can get a few underneath the card, there should be pins going into two sockets. Remove the card by pulling VERTICALLY or wiggling slowly side-to-side (I say vertically because if you pull at an angle with lots of force it may ruin your pins)

As for the missing caps, don't worry that is normal. The only reason capacitors were removed is to allow the Vs. Gun to work with the shooting games. The removal of those capacitors does not harm game play or the operation of the board in any way.

Now, the gray screen. You said that you got no game sound? Is the audio cable plugged in? Volume turned up? speaker plugged into audio board on CRT? The gray(or any solid color) screen usually indicates that there are no game ROMs installed on the motherboard or something is wrong with either the ROMs themselves or the CPU. Which game is installed on the board anyway? (would just like to know) Is the CPU installed in the right place? Is the PPU installed in the right place?

It would be advisable to remove the entire CRT from the cabinet, so it is simpler to remove the boards and work on them. There should be screws attaching the monitor to a bracket on the inside, try removing the screw from the bracket and see if you can pull it out. Be careful when trying to remove the CRT though, those things are a bit heavy.

You can take out the boards from the inside, but it will be challenging. I have never done it like that before, just as a note.

Search craigslist, that's where I got several of mine.

From just my knowledge, it seems as if the NES version was released first before the the Vs. Unisytem version. If you note the copyright dates on the games, NES is 1985, Vs. System is 1986. Also, the Vs. System Mario Bros. has slightly enhanced text, the only thing I notice is a shadowed font. I feel that this may either have been added to the arcade version for better looks, or if the game went form arcade to console, might have been removed due to the lesser amount of RAM inside of the NES (though I doubt change in text style effects RAM usage). But I'm not quite sure, this is what I think seems reasonable enough.

ALSO, I should clarify, I am talking PC-10!!!!!

Ah, right!
Try swapping cards if you have a duplicate!
And don't forget about covering those UV windows on the EPROMS.

This could be what you call bit rot. But not on all of the ROMs.
The CHR ROM which holds the image data may be corrupted in some areas (Most often the case I've seen). Also, try different motherboards with the games, the RAM might be bad (just a possibility). And whenever possible to prevent corruption of data on some of these ROMs, cover the UV windows on the chips. It is known that some fluorescent lights produce small amounts of UV light, which could screw up some bits.