Master controller for Nikkodo / BMB CD-i karaoke systems. It is similar to the Philips CDI 181 MultiMedia Controller (JNMS). The mainboards of these units were made by Kyocera. They all lack optical disc drives and require additional units (e.g. CDI 180 for JNMS and CDI-A1500 for BMB).
So far, three different hardware generations have been found, and there may be more. The hardware has evolved from being very similar to JNMS to something that hasn’t been seen in other CD-i players. To identify different mainboards/generations, I use the first character of the serial number:
As it took longer and longer to finish my articles due to too many projects, I have now decided to introduce the WIP Pages. These pages contain photos of the disassembly and all the information I have found out so far about a particular device or project. For example, components, markings and pinouts.
In addition, the structure of the main menu has not been revised for 13 years. To make it easier to find certain static pages and information without having to use the search or tag cloud, the first menu is now called Information. In this menu you will find
Modification and Repair – a grouped overview of everything I have disassembled, repaired and/or modified
WIP pages with disassembly and detail photos, and all the information I have found so far about a particular unit or project. For example components, markings and pinouts. Basically all the work I have done over the years that has not been published in a proper article due to lack of time.
I bought a Sega Titan Video (ST-V) mainboard and a Darksoft multi-cart along with a CPS2 in 2018 for use at home. I’ve rarely used it, and everything I’ve done with it hasn’t been documented here. This is about to change as it seems I have opened Pandora’s box after testing a SuperGun with it.
Introduction
The Sega Titan Video, more commonly known as Sega ST-V or STV is an arcade system based on the Sega Saturn. Not only based on, but actually having the same specifications, which makes it a low-cost arcade system (Nicole Express commented on this here). A lot of information about this system can be found in the usual places, such as Sega Retro, System 16, Arcade Otaku Wiki and most importantly the Arcade-Project Forums which turned out to be an invaluable source over the years to get this thing running. You will find many links to threads of this forum in this article.
The aim of this article is to compile a comprehensive documentation of all known power supply units for Philips CD-i players. It is a work in progress and will be updated with new information at regular intervals. I welcome feedback, especially if you discover an error or can contribute additional information.
Frequently asked questions concern the operational safety of a model in different countries and the location of fuses. To answer these questions accurately, you need to know the specific built-in or external power supply associated with the model, version and revision of the player. The grouping by mainboard/hardware generation provides a clear overview, as already shown in the article Modifications for Philips CD-i players.
The documentation of the fuses in the Mono III and IV generations began years ago with the article Philips CD-i Mono III / IV Fuses, and it was always the plan to summarise it in a more comprehensive article covering all generations.
This article now follows that approach and presents specifications, information on fuses, compatibility and possible modifications. It summarises all relevant data from the previously mentioned articles.
The Philips FW380i Mini System landed unexpectedly on my repair table last August. I never intended to get one of these models because the CD-i part is at the lowest end of CD-i hardware (very similar to the Roboco mainboard of CDI450 etc.) and also the build quality of FW mini system is not something I would have bought or used in the 90s. However, this particular CD-i mainboard was only used for this model and has some very unique features such as a separated servo board, a connector for communication with the FW part and even some unused connectors for a disc changer – which unfortunately never saw the light of day. Long story short: this model was never properly analysed, which is why it piqued my interest.
In this article I will show you how I carried out the disassembly and basic cleaning last year. I will follow up about diagnosis, repair and possibly modifications at a later point. The exact model/version I’m taking apart here is an FW380i/20 – which means that a 22ER9956/20 DVC mini cartridge was installed at the factory.
A collection of technical information to assist in troubleshooting and the repair of Pippin Atmark consoles. You can use it side by side with the disassembly guide in my Pippin Atmark PA-82001-S Monitoring Unit article from 2019.
You will find details about the FFC of the control buttons, the Matsushita CR-504-L optical disc drive and the VOLTEK SPEC7188B power supply unit. The information applies to both “monitoring” and retail units.
Control buttons FFC
These are the control buttons on the top of the Pippin and what they look like on the back. When you open the case of a Pippin, pay special attention to the FFC (flexible flat cable). Otherwise you could damage the control buttons, the FFC or even the ZIF connector on the mainboard.
This is a follow-up on the Terraonion MegaSD Cartridge article from 2019. In the past two years, I managed to find an MSDEXP adapter and a clamshell case for my MegaSD cartridge.
MSDEXP
Thanks to Mobius Strip Tech, I was able to source an MSDEXP. I can now finally play Mega-CD 32X games with the MegaSD.
The housing from Retro Frog is a high-quality print with a matte look. Inside there are two connectors, some passive components and a lot of tracks:
A spontaneous article about the NEC PC-FXGA: The PC-FX Game Accelerator Board for PC-98 and DOS/V. It emerged from the search for a replacement breakout box for the PC-FXGA DOS/V card in the PC-FX Fan Club Discord server. The details of the breakout box are in the second half of the article, and before that some information and photos.
There are already many resources about PC-FX(GA) (see list at the end of this article), so I won’t go into too much detail here. Basically, it’s a PC-FX on a card for your PC, with a special feature. Game Accelerator means that it also contains the 3D chip Huc6273 (Aurora) that is not present in the normal PC-FX. There are two versions of these cards: PC-FXGA, a C-Bus card for use with NEC PC-9800 series computers and PC-FXGA DOS/V, an ISA card for use with IBM PC-compatible computers running DOS/V.
