Some issues with homecarts.

[TikTekTak]

Hey guys!

Today I took a closer look at all my homecarts. Not just sticking them in and playing them but really looking for kind nuances when using them.

First i have to say. We are not talking about high profile carts here. No Slugs, no Pulstar, etc.

Some things I saw.

All carts run fine after the sometimes needed cleaning of contacts.

On two games though I saw sth strange. I had a bit of trouble inserting them in my Neo and took a closer look. When I looked in where the pcbs come out of the case I noticed that it looked like the front side of the cart shell was bulging a bit. As if the two plastic cones which go through the two pcbs didn't go the whole way in their respective holes. I opened one of the games up and tried to fix this issue. After much anger and trial and error I managed to at least make it less bulge but it still isn't perfect. As if the two pcbs holes for the cones didn't line up perfectly.
Does anyone know what the f**k this is about? I mean for a high profile gaming system I want perfectly built carts.

The second thing I saw was that on my Crossed Sword cart I have problems with a bit garbled music and sprites. Especially when creatures come from the backwards of a screen towards me. When they are in front though the sprites look perfect. Maybe the cart has an issue?

The last thing I kind of heard for the first time is that the sound effects on the Neo seem pretty distorted. You know music sounds nice but kicks, explosions or screams and speech seem to sound a bit harsh. With a bit of cracking noises in them. Is that normal? Maybe I just turned the volume of my TV up too much.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TikTekTak]

So did I make any kind of sense or was I lost in translation?

 

[Joneo]

I mean for a high profile gaming system I want perfectly built carts.

Yeah...
20 years ago, the price you paid was for cutting edge tech., not premium quality materials. Today you don't get either, so you kind of have to be a fan of the artwork or go MVS.

On the harsh sound effects... which games? I've noticed quite a few with badly recorded voice or effects.
* Ninja Combat voice actors sound like they're too close to the mic.
* Samurai Shodown narrator is very harsh & sibilant-sounding.
etc..

Also dialing back the volume slider (if you're taking audio out of the headphone jack) could help.

Garbled music & sprites in just one game may point to bad solder connection(s) on game board(s).

Hopefully there's something helpful among what I wrote there...

 

[TikTekTak]

Thanks for the reply!

I think on my crossed sword there is sth wrong with the boards. Will buy another one and test if the error occurs again.

Harsh sounds were mainly on Fighters, The kicks, punches and sounds like that. On King of monsters the explosions of buildings. Maybe I just had the volume on my TV turned up too much. I take audio from the multiout by the way.

I'm still a bit pissed that some of the carts look less than perfect manufacturing wise. Shells which don't fit perfectly together (kind of like the front is higher up than the back). Bulding carts which only fit inside my Neo with a bit of pushing cause they are too wide to fit the slot. *sigh*

Opening those carts is a horror anyway. Especially if you don't want to leave too big marks. How someone manages to open carts with just their bare hands is a miracle to me.

 

[MCF 76]

I've seen lots of AES carts with this buldging you are talking about. Almost every Slug 3 AES I've seen is like this. I have several games in my collection that are like this. Ninja Combat has some shitty things like this with every copy I've played also.

 

[Xian Xi]

Usually when a cart is bulging it means someone opened the cart and put the PCB guide in the wrong way when putting it back together.

 

[TikTekTak]

Usually when a cart is bulging it means someone opened the cart and put the PCB guide in the wrong way when putting it back together.

With the PCB guide you mean the plastic where the contacts of the pcb go through right?

Would it even be possible to close it when this is the wrong way around?

I opened my KoF'00 up by the way and tried everything (turning this plastic thing around, tried to fit the cones perfectly in the hole when closing the cart). Still the bulding is there but a bit less at least.

I have the same problem with my Capcom vs. SNK cart but this game looks so pristine I really don't want to open it up.

 

[grips03]

With the PCB guide you mean the plastic where the contacts of the pcb go through right?

Would it even be possible to close it when this is the wrong way around?

I opened my KoF'00 up by the way and tried everything (turning this plastic thing around, tried to fit the cones perfectly in the hole when closing the cart). Still the bulding is there but a bit less at least.

I have the same problem with my Capcom vs. SNK cart but this game looks so pristine I really don't want to open it up.

yes, bottom part of cart that pcbs go through, thicker end goes down towards the back of the cart