Help! Raiden Fighters 2 Spi Graphical issues

[Theflinn]

I picked up a revision 2 Spi board with Raiden fighters 2 and upon hooking it to my cab noticed some odd graphical issues, mostly related to miscolored background tiles, However text displayed on screen flickers as well and the triangular Operation Hell dive graphic is in the title is completely black.

Besides these issues the game works perfectly.

I have cleaned the contacts on the RF2 daughter board and didn't seem to help. I have not reseated the roms but i have a feeling the issues is in the background roms which i think are surface mounted.

I am trying to figure out if this is a problem with the game roms and if so which ones, or if it is a Board problem as i have read Spi boards can be really finicky.

Any help on diagnosing the issue would be appreciated. Thanks!



an example of background discoloration



Title Screen issue note the missing graphic



Example of flickering distortion on text note the flickering red on the bottom.



might be had to make this out but the white line underneath the crater here has red flickering, in fact most transparency effects such as the smoke behind tanks has red flickering in it as well.

Not the greatest video but shows the flickering issue on the title as sprites move underneath as well as the black missing graphic and the very discolored background graphics.

Once and any help in figuring out the cause of these problems or at least a place to start, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Theflinn]

Also if you haven't noticed I've been lurking for about two years, while im at it how do I join the neo candy club do I just post a photo?

 

[Kid Panda]

have the game on and push on the roms one at a time and see if anything clears up...

 

[68k]

The SPI boards have a wealth of large QFPs that can develop cracked solder joints.

In troubleshooting, apply pressure to the two large graphics chips. They might be tricky to access with the cart installed, but do the best you can. See if the problem clears up.

The revision 2 boards, while the games work fine, are thinner and cheaper PCBs than the original versions.

 

[Xian Xi]

Yup, reflow the QFPs and make sure each leg is soldered down good by using a 40x or higher mag glass using a pin to slightly push the pin to the left or right.

The main one like mentioned above is between the cart connectors.

 

[Theflinn]

Thanks guys,

I applied Pressure to the roms on the RF2 Daughter board, but no noticeable change.

I wasnt sure which QFPs were the graphic chips so i pushed down on all larger Siebu chips, the one above the amd chip, the one on the other side, and used a pen to push down on the larger siebu chip in the middle underneath the daughterboard.

No immediate changes noticed by pressing down on the chips, but after pushing on all three in succession it seems like the flickering got slightly worse. I also noticed the flickering worsens in areas where multiple sprites overlay each other on screen.

The background discoloration remains without change.

Does this seem like a Board problem or a rom issue or a combination of each. I am assuming its more board related as the flickering can be seen eve in the service menus monitor color test.

Is Reflowing the QFPs my only option here, and if so which chips should i go after?

 

[Theflinn]

Didnt see your post before I replied Xian Xi, So the main graphics chip is the one in the middle then. And when you say all Qfps does that include the flash chip and everything or just the seibu chips.

 

[68k]

You need to reflow all of the large Seibu QFPs (on the motherboard, not the cart) except for the Yamaha chip near the audio amp.

 

[Theflinn]

Thanks for the Advice guys! I'll reflow those three QFPs and see if that improves the situation.

 

[Xian Xi]

Thanks for the Advice guys! I'll reflow those three QFPs and see if that improves the situation.

If you have no experience reflowing QFPs I would suggest sending it to someone else. You can easily bend the legs to the point you might have to desolder the entire chip to straighten them out and then resolder it back onto the board.