Neo Geo AES US Console - Small Black Pixels

[IntvCruise]

Hello all,

I just got a US AES console and out of the 30 games I have, about 3 are having a small issue. This console is one of the first revisions with the NEO-GEO AES on the board + it has a daughterboard over the memory slot. These games work fine on my main US console, the first one I ever got, no graphical issues at all.

The issue is that there are small black dots that appear sometimes on the screen. The games I have noticed this on are The Super Spy (around the jacket especially), Fatal Fury 2 (I have two copies, one euro version, one dog tag, pretty noticeable on one (in the blue sky), almost invisible on the other copy, and Crossed Swords seems to have some minimal random flicker spots which appear on the sprites, can't really notice them unless you pause the game since they're so tiny.

The dots are very very tiny and hardly affect anything, I only noticed it because originally the neo geo logo on super spy had some random black dots missing on start up, mostly flickering of the black pixels around the edges of the logo. It does not do this on any other game, I've tried about 20.

I have heard something about adjusting the potentiometer next to the video crystal on the main board, but not sure if this will help anything.

My question is, do some of the earliest board revisions have small problems like this? It really doesn't bother me at all, but I'd like it to be functioning 100% correctly if possible. One thing also, and I have no idea if it matters, but someone modded the system to have a light under the reset button. Not sure if that draws alot of power, I can't imagine that it does but funnily enough I had a colecovision that was modded with an LED on start up and I could never get it to display correctly until I removed the LED.

I've included some pictures for everyone!

 

[wyo]

Common issue with early carts. I believe it's power related. Xian Xi replaced the power jack on my console and it fixed the problem. Also had a LED power light installed in the reset button. Everything works fine now.

 

[city41]

I believe it's power related

FWIW, I had the exact same problem with the NeoSD on just about every game. Getting a better power supply fixed it.

 

[IntvCruise]

Yeah so I tried a second power supply I had, cleaned out nearly all but like 1 pixel. The jacket on the wall has no more pixel flickering anymore. Seems like the console might just need more power from the better power supply. The worse power supply works just fine on my other AES so don't mind swapping them. I cleaned the power jack since it was pretty dirty too, seems to have gotten rid of the problem like 99% worth?

 

[Neo Alec]

It has the daughterboard, so it's not a 5v console, right? Those ones are more picky.

 

[IntvCruise]

It has the daughterboard, so it's not a 5v console, right? Those ones are more picky.

Hey Alec. It is a 5v console with the 3amp power supply.

 

[IntvCruise]

It has the daughterboard, so it's not a 5v console, right? Those ones are more picky.

This was the board revision i'm pretty sure.

 

[BIG BEAR]

Replace the capacitors on the daughter board.
BB

 

[Neo Alec]

Hey Alec. It is a 5v console with the 3amp power supply.

Sorry, never mind. Was picturing the power daughter board. That's the video one. Makes sense now.

Replace the capacitors on the daughter board.
BB

Can't you just remove the daughterboard and move the crystal oscillator to the main board?

 

[BIG BEAR]

Sorry, never mind. Was picturing the power daughter board. That's the video one. Makes sense now.


Can't you just remove the daughterboard and move the crystal oscillator to the main board?

I just attempted to do this not too long ago with an AES that has the cap kit with upgraded values and the picture quality took a noticeable dip in quality..noticeable waviness and darker display.
BB

 

[Neo Alec]

I just attempted to do this not too long ago with an AES that has the cap kit with upgraded values and the picture quality took a noticeable dip in quality..noticeable waviness and darker display.
BB

Good info. I don't think everything that daughterboard does is well-known or documented.

 

[BIG BEAR]

You may want to try and reflow your PRO-C0 chip first...
BB

 

[BIG BEAR]

Okay. Replace the barrel jack.
It should resolve your problem.
Do the above 1st!
BB

 

[IntvCruise]

Okay. Replace the barrel jack.
It should resolve your problem.
Do the above 1st!
BB

Hey Big Bear, thanks for the suggesiton, I also read a member who got that fixed by replacing the power jack. Would a model 1 Geneiss Power jack be a good replacement for this?

 

[BIG BEAR]

Hey Big Bear, thanks for the suggesiton, I also read a member who got that fixed by replacing the power jack. Would a model 1 Geneiss Power jack be a good replacement for this?

2.1mm barrel jack.I believe Genesis uses them too.
They're very cheap..
Make sure your power plug and the jack make a firm connection.
It should not be loose or have any play in the socket.
Any voltage drop from that 5v will display artifacts in certain and or random areas of the play screen.
I actually need to order me a few...
BB

 

[wyo]

Get a new PSU. The old original ones are likely out of spec at this point.

 

[Neo Alec]

This is the power supply you want:

Triad Magnetics 5v 4A UL Certified Power Supply Transformer for early Neo Geo AES 4000mA

<p>High-quality, <strong>genuinely UL certified</strong> power supplies for 5v input consoles and add-ons.</p> <p><strong>Ratings:<br />Input: </strong>100VAC - 240VAC<br /><strong>Output: 5</strong>v, 4000mA<br /><strong>Plug:</strong> 2.1mm x 5.5mm x 1

console5.com

I keep my originals around too, since they still work. Orignals sell for $100+ now too.

 

[IntvCruise]

Thanks guys, I've orderd the Triad power supply. I love console5, ordered a bunch of stuff from them, never found anyone else cheaper or faster than them. Hopefully the new PSU will do the trick, if not I ordered a replacement power jack to solder in as well.

 

[IntvCruise]

Well the triad power supply sucked, black lines all over the screen now. I did order the barrel jacks to replace the original one, which when I wiggle the original power cord in the back, does make more black dots/thin lines appear. What are the chances that the jack is 100% the problem now?

Thanks for ya'lls input!

 

[IntvCruise]

Here is the result with the Triad PSU, notably worse especially on the Super Spy. It does work just fine on Samurai Showdown, but on this trouble game for me, it's way worse than with the original.

 

[wyo]

Throw it in the gutter, go buy another

 

[IntvCruise]

Throw it in the gutter, go buy another

Well there is some progress, the original power supply which powers up the super spy with super super minor graphics glitching (basically not noticable), has lines on fatal fury 2. But I just tried the Triad PSU and all lines are gone (basically the super spy is unplayable with it). So I'm not sure at this point. I probably will replace the power jack this weekend when I have a few hours to sit down.

 

[maki]

I had similar experiences with 5V AES when it comes to the PSU and 161-in-1 carts, the regulation is relatively "far away" from the console, they can be finicky because of that, if the voltage at the IC drops below 4.8V, funky stuff happens.
The 9V unit have an advantage here, the regulator is inside and thus very close to the ICs, IME that was way more stable.

The lead on the 5V PSU to the console should be short as short as possible, all contacts (power plug, power switch (!) and the slot in the AES) should be as clean as possible to ensure the least possible losses.

On an MVS you'd adjust the voltage (the PSUs usually can be adjusted directly) to be 5.0V on the JAMMA/MVS connector, because its about what arrives at the NeoGeo ICs, not what the voltage in the PSU is (cables length will affect that noticeably).

 

[IntvCruise]

I had similar experiences with 5V AES when it comes to the PSU and 161-in-1 carts, the regulation is relatively "far away" from the console, they can be finicky because of that, if the voltage at the IC drops below 4.8V, funky stuff happens.
The 9V unit have an advantage here, the regulator is inside and thus very close to the ICs, IME that was way more stable.

The lead on the 5V PSU to the console should be short as short as possible, all contacts (power plug, power switch (!) and the slot in the AES) should be as clean as possible to ensure the least possible losses.

On an MVS you'd adjust the voltage (the PSUs usually can be adjusted directly) to be 5.0V on the JAMMA/MVS connector, because its about what arrives at the NeoGeo ICs, not what the voltage in the PSU is (cables length will affect that noticeably).

Yeah thats what seems to be happening, I know on consoles lie colecovisions if the pwoer switch is dirty or the power jack crappy, any slight touch of the console sends the graphics flying. I'll probably just replace those two things then. Is there a place that sells replacement power switches for the AES? I noticed on the small springs that hold the cartridge slot doors, and the memory card door there is a slight bit of rust. It wouldnt suprise me if there is some junk inside of the power switch as well that is not visible from the outside.

 

[Neo Alec]

Perhaps some contact cleaner on the switch and power jack (then insert/switch a few times) is worth a try.