Easy solution to CPS2 suicide problem

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/nassivera/cps2battery1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/nassivera/cps2battery2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/nassivera/1944b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/nassivera/1944c.jpg

It's well-known that CPS2 B-boards that committed "suicide" (i.e. their battery died out) can be revived by Razoola with his Phoenix edition patched roms. However for those who consider this a last resort and would rather keep their boards in their original form there is a very simple solution which however is hardly ever mentioned. This simple mod is based on the fact that CPS2 B-boards can stay without battery for a fairly long period of time (even several hours according to Razoola) before dying out. This means that the 5 seconds that it takes to remove the battery from the holder and put a new one in its place cannot possibly cause the board to die. It should be mentioned that the mounting holes need to be widened a little (with a dremel) to fit the battery holder terminals, no big deal...

The one I have used is made by Keystone electronics:
http://www.keyelco.com/kec/standpro/prodcopy/prod40.htm

it can be ordered from Mouser (part # 534-108). A snap-on cover is also available.

That is cool.

Too bad I'm too stupid to do that.

Nice work there MKL! I thought about that myself, but couldn't find any real nice holders like the one you've got there, very tidy little unit!!

Thanks for the sources man!

for the ignorant, what does this mod accomplish? just make the battery change easier?

i've been interested in cps2 for a while now, but haven't bought anything for fear of having a dead board on my hands down the road.

yes

kafuin_gaira said:

for the ignorant, what does this mod accomplish? just make the battery change easier?

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Yes that is all...so in 2010 you will not need to solder a new battery ..you can just slot a new one in....

Many people interested in CPS2 are turned off by the suicide battery issue because they can't solder/desolder. Once the boards are fitted with a battery-holder even the least tech-savvy people can replace the battery themselves, easily and quickly.

pretty cool idea! I would do that to my boards, but the drilling of the actual board seems kinda risky to me. Is it a difficult task? as far as risk on screwing up your board's battery connection holes or whatever...?

MKL, your are the unbelievable One, good job!

Yup I have though about this also but went against it when someone else fitted a holder to discover some time later that the battery had fallen out and thus killed the board anyways...

If your going to start a mod like this MKL it would think it very cool if you did something like follows if possible.

Update the current holder so that there is also a second battery attached to it that will only start being used when the first battery is dead. You could then fit a small led to the game that would start flashing when the 2nd battery is used at which point the game owner will know to remove the first battery from the holder to replace with a new one. (I sopose you could even have a sound alarm system).

If your intrested the reason a game dosent die when the battery is dead instantly is because EXC1 double cap maintains a charge (and others also). If you were to short that double cap the game would die instantly.

Its just an idea but I myself would prefer to use a suicide free fix where I knew I never had to worry about the battery again.

Raz

Razoola said:

Yup I have though about this also but went against it when someone else fitted a holder to discover some time later that the battery had fallen out and thus killed the board anyways...

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This wouldn't have happened if the battery holder had the snap-on retainer cover:


Mouser #534-108A

NGT said:

the drilling of the actual board seems kinda risky to me. Is it a difficult task? as far as risk on screwing up your board's battery connection holes or whatever...?

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You have to remove all the solder from the holes and then use the appropriate drilling tool with a set of very small bits, to see which one works better. You have to be careful of course but I wouldn't say it's difficult.

As an alternative, you can replace the batteries with full AA size.... they will last twice as long. I also like the battery holder idea but you still have to service the boards every four or five years (sorry i"m having kb problems)> it"s really up to you

the solution I considered was similar, using AA batteries and mounting the battery holder so that it could be accessed from outside the PCB, then you don't have to open it to replace the battery. A good solution for me when I have games that sit for YEARS without being played. Every three years I could just swap new batteries in the whole CPS2 pile. =D

I have read a tons of thread about the CPS2 suicide battery problem and, even if the solutions some members gave seems to be good, I can't help myself thinking "screwing or drilling to play video games, no way!!!'