JVC X'Eye HEEELLLLLLP!

[zebular]

So I just got a JVC X'Eye off the net with a non working cd rom... So I thought I was smart and the guy was selling it and didn't know about the problem most of them had where the mini switch for the cd lid wasn't being pressed down. Well apparently that wasn't it at all. So apparently the guy was using a damn Genesis 2 power supply which I have already went to Radio Shack and got the right one but here's the problem... so the Genesis side works flawlessly and completely bypasses the cd side which is great BUT without a Genesis game in it all you see is what SHOULD BE a moving bios but instead its just a still picture that says JVC and up in the corner ver 2.0 and nothing happens, no attempt to start a cd and the bios screen doesn't animate! PLEASE, IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME, PLEASE HELP!

[zebular]

So I think I may have found the problem... as I don't know a whole lot about capacitors I'm not sure if it would do what I've described but I did find one that had some white stuff on the board where one is soldered in... pics as follows. Tried to take some detailed pics and if someone can tell me what kind of cap or a link to one for me to buy to solder in I can do it. This is of course if that's actually what the problem is... The cap is 10v 47uF and located at C548.

[XYXZYZ]

Is there any of that white stuff on the capacitor body itself? Are the tops of all the capacitors perfectly flat, or are any of them bulging?

[zebular]

Is there any of that white stuff on the capacitor body itself? Are the tops of all the capacitors perfectly flat, or are any of them bulging?

That's the only one I can see... but again wouldn't that just make it completely not work at all, instead of just hanging at the bios screen and not playing the animation?

P.S. I know its not a good idea to force the gears on the laser assembly and that its not a "pin" but a switch for the cd lid... I just shot this vid really quick for a visual of my problem.

[XYXZYZ]

As I understand it, the X'Eye wants 9.5V/1A, and the Genesis 2 supply delivers 10V/850mA. It doesn't seem like half a volt would make much difference as power supplies and components do have tolerance ranges, but I suppose continuous application of excess 0.5V could damage a cheap chip. Also, that Genesis supply could have been supplying more than 10V. So, given that it had been used with the wrong power supply for who knows how long, I'd guess that you have a fried chip in there somewhere.

Anyone have any better ideas? Also, this should probably be moved to the tech/restoration forum.

[ApolloBoy]

It wouldn't be the extra volt as the voltage regulator would bump it down to 5V regardless. The problem with the Genesis 2 PSU is that it doesn't put out enough amperage for the X'Eye and that may have possibly damaged something.

[zebular]

It wouldn't be the extra volt as the voltage regulator would bump it down to 5V regardless. The problem with the Genesis 2 PSU is that it doesn't put out enough amperage for the X'Eye and that may have possibly damaged something.

Damn so I'm pretty much out of luck then you think? Guessing replacing that capacitor isn't going to do anything... too bad I already ordered it course it only cost me like $2 for 10 of them.

[ifkz]

Damn so I'm pretty much out of luck then you think? Guessing replacing that capacitor isn't going to do anything... too bad I already ordered it course it only cost me like $2 for 10 of them.

It certainly won't hurt to put it in and see what happens. Hey, it might even fix the problem if it's bad enough. I'm pulling for you, I'm running into problems with the Sega version of the x'eye, the Sega CDX in this same repair section. Maybe we'll both get our auction finds working 100%.

[zebular]

Yea not a HUGE loss as there isn't that many sega cd games I really want to play (not to mention load times on emulators are faster anyway) and I won't have to take my 32x off to open the cd tray if it never gets fixed... Its all about silver linings right?

[theclaw]

In that case may as well come out ahead selling it for a Genesis. The price difference could be put to better use than holding onto an X'eye who doesn't play cds.

[APE992]

If you want to sell it I would be interested in purchasing it knowing full well it won't read discs.

[zebular]

Vultures.... No I wanted it in the first place because I try and collect the more rare consoles from back in the day. Usually though they are the worst versions of the consoles IE Genesis 3, SNES mini, Jaguar CD... I would mention the NES top loader but it has its ups and downs. Nice that it's a top loader but sucks as you have to mod around on it for stereo and composite.

[APE992]

Vultures....

Note to self: don't offer zebular any more pointers on fixing anything.

[zebular]

lol, sarcasm never comes through well in text... I was joking but yeah I'm not interested in selling, thanks for the offer though.

[theclaw]

It's more a matter of wasteful than interest. Defeats a large part of the benefit that model offers.
Just be patient for an opportunity you want.

[APE992]

lol, sarcasm never comes through well in text... I was joking but yeah I'm not interested in selling, thanks for the offer though.

No it doesn't. I always offer to purchase such units because people often do something stupid such as throw them in the trash. Money typically wins over the garbage can.

[ifkz]

No it doesn't. I always offer to purchase such units because people often do something stupid such as throw them in the trash. Money typically wins over the garbage can.

Yes, like in the arcade restoration world, we feel like there were only so many of these produced, especially the rare units like the x'eye and cdx. It never hurts to keep them around even if they only play Genesis carts, they still have value. Even if they are dead, it's usually just a matter of a blow fuse on the PCB or a bad cap.

And you never know what the future will hold....no operator in 1981 certainly ever expected a LV 2000 to retrofit all of the WG K6100 color vector monitors to make them....*gasp* reliable.

[zebular]

Yea I feel ya... I actually have a Punch Out machine that was luckily never converted over to a play choice machine. Works great but even if the caps went bad on it I'd def just get it fixed instead of making it into something else, ditto with my Alien vs Predator cabinet. Though I probably should sell them off as my mame cabinet is coming around nicely and the wife isn't exactly real big on me having my 4 cabinets.

[ifkz]

Yea I feel ya... I actually have a Punch Out machine that was luckily never converted over to a play choice machine. Works great but even if the caps went bad on it I'd def just get it fixed instead of making it into something else, ditto with my Alien vs Predator cabinet. Though I probably should sell them off as my mame cabinet is coming around nicely and the wife isn't exactly real big on me having my 4 cabinets.

Well, I went full circle. One of my first three cabs that I ever found became MAME early on. After years of proudly serving as a MAME machine I realized that out of thousands of games, I really only played and enjoyed a small fraction of them. Last year I got the parts together to convert it back to a regular horizontal JAMMA cab. But yes, don't give up on the dedicated Punch Out even if it goes down. Parts can be found and it can be made to work again no matter the issue (even the tubes can be rejuvenated if they're dim after a cap kit).

These small batches of collector consoles aren't so lucky....arcade games were converted into something else, graphics painted over, and parts stored in a box by old operators for resale. Still, at least the shells remained and the parts are around. When a console dies, it often just goes in the trash unless it's in the hands of a collector, IMHO. Thank goodness auctions are allowing these halfway working consoles to get in the proper hands again.

I think a lot of the early CD games are suffering similar fates like the consoles. My Sega CDX good luck charm is a disc copy of Lunar:SS marked as defective. When I got it, after three trips through a resurfacer, I can play it and the audio tracks are almost trouble free. Not worth anything to much other folks, but I'm keeping it for sure. It just barely escaped the trash bin.

[ApolloBoy]

Vultures.... No I wanted it in the first place because I try and collect the more rare consoles from back in the day. Usually though they are the worst versions of the consoles IE Genesis 3, SNES mini, Jaguar CD... I would mention the NES top loader but it has its ups and downs. Nice that it's a top loader but sucks as you have to mod around on it for stereo and composite.

Actually both the top loader and SNES mini kick ass once they're properly modded. The Genesis 3 is OK for what it is.