Troubleshooting Dual Initial D ver 3 with Naomi 2

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Mon May 07, 2012 4:46 pm

Hello everyone. This is my first post here. Hopefully I can get some expertise on the Naomi 2 system and meet some good people.

I recently picked up the dual cab Initial D ver 3 and plan on keeping it forever but I've got to get it working first.

Both sides are getting power, the disc is spinning in the GDRom on both sides and I believe I have everything plugged in correctly but I receive no video on the monitor with the VGA connections.

I've checked the dipswitch settings on the Naomi outside and everything is set to OFF. I've tried the dipswitch 1 in the ON position as well for a diff frequency output as noted in previous threads.

To test the monitors, I plugged in a Dreamcast with VGA output to each monitor and they look just fine so I've ruled out bad monitors.

I've also got 2 connections in the middle of the two cabinets that are attaching each side together. I have not plugged in the coin door areas or card readers as I want to take it one step at a time.

I'm not familar with the system or the wiring of the Naomi 1 or 2 as this is my first set, but I think I might just be missing something small and stupid and I'd rather ask you guys then spend 15 hours tearing shit up and testing the continuity on each wire.

My initial thoughts after testing is that the Naomi 2s are not getting the correct power as the outputting VGA is not recognizing on the screen.

Anyone have any potential ideas for me to test?

Thanks ahead of time

-FrankCastleAZ

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Wed May 16, 2012 10:12 pm

Hi, and welcome!

What you could do next is to connect one of the Naomi motherboards to a standard PC monitor. Set the Naomi to 31khz and see if it yields a picture.

Just to rule out any wiring issues in the cab.

For voltages, check the 5V, 3.3V and 12V levels. They should read about 5.1, 3.32-2.37 and 12.

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Sun May 20, 2012 10:11 am

Cageman wrote:Hi, and welcome!

What you could do next is to connect one of the Naomi motherboards to a standard PC monitor. Set the Naomi to 31khz and see if it yields a picture.

Just to rule out any wiring issues in the cab.

For voltages, check the 5V, 3.3V and 12V levels. They should read about 5.1, 3.32-2.37 and 12.

Thanks Cageman. I was afraid my post was going to be answered well after I had spent 12 hours and fixed the issue. I've lurked for a long time and finally registered now that I got my first Naomi2. Glad to see you took over with the passion to keep things going over here.

I've tried to hook a monitor to both of the Naomi systems and don't get a boot screen. It is a newer LCD monitor capable of 1080p so should I try to use an old CRT monitor instead?

I do not currently have the coin doors/card reader systems plugged in. It shouldn't matter though as I should still receive a boot screen correct?

I'll be testing the voltages within the next two days. I'm not amazing with a multimeter though as previously I've only used it for continuity on wires and such. I assume the system should be powered on and I should have it on the lowest possible setting above the voltage number i'm testing on right?

Thanks again. I would really like to have this working before Thursday (that's when my video gaming crew is running gaming at Phoenix Comicon 2012) but I doubt it will be a quick easy fix.

-FrankCastleAZ

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:04 pm

Do you hear the boot jingle at all to prove the mobos are working? It can take a while to get to the boot screen - up to a minute - so leave cab switched on for at least another 30 seconds or so after you first hear the GD-ROM drive spin.

Have you tried removing the dimm board from the top of the Naomi and unplugging the SCSI cable. Basically just boot the the Naomi with no other hardware attached (except the monitor). A few times I've found the Naomi won't boot to the splash screen if a bad dimm is connected - or not connected properly.

As you hear the drive spinning at some point I'm assuming these cabs haven't been netbooted in the past? I don't think you get to the boot screen if the dimms are not set to install games from GD-ROM.

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:40 pm

Good tips from outrun2. Also, back to basics

: do the Naomi boards make any noise when turned on? They should be quite audible due to fans spinning inside the Naomi motherboard casing.

OldFoo · Post by **OldFoo** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:44 am

Sounds like both Naomi2 aren't booting - remember when Naomi 2's have been in storage for a while, the fans will sieze and then the N2 will no longer boot, till you restart the fans, or replace them - normally restarting them is good enough.

Also remember net boot dimm boards take about 40seconds to display a picture on the screen - but you should hear the gd-rom drive makes it's seeking noise before you get a picture.