SD2SNES June 2016 re-stock PCB revision?

[Hanafuda]

My understanding is that it's only for MSU-1 stuff.  That's why I haven't done the mod on mine; no sense risking borking a $200 device for a feature I rarely use.

Exactly. I mean, I think I could handle it. I've done S-vid and RGB mods on my Super Fami Jr., RGB mod on my N64, installed a XenoGC in my Gamecube, etc. But if this doesn't have any effect on regular game audio, then I'm not concerned.

[CZroe]

I have a Rev H but I recently got a Rev E1b for my nephew's Christmas present. After adding the capacitor and ferrite bead to update to Rev F, I went ahead and prepped three of Borti's boards, installing one. It didn't work. Audio was almost inaudible, even with boosted MSU audio enabled.

It was very tough to remove without hot air but I managed and installed a second board. No change. I'm confident that both boards were assembled correctly and, yes, the chip was oriented correctly. The same ROM from the same SD card works fine on my original Rev H. Actually, it seems a bit TOO loud but that may be the specific ROM. It says "MSU old" in the file structure; is that boosted? Either way, if the mod was successful it should sound the same on both, but it doesn't. I checked all connections with a continuity meter. Everything is connected, nothing is shorted.

Does this mean I have a clone on my hands?

Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/iQmAS


I noticed JP401 was shorted on Borti's instructions but he didn't mention it and that seems to be a 0-ohm jumper on mine anyway.

I shorted JP341 per the Rev E1b advice in this thread (same place as FB342) though it seemed to be a 0 ohm jumper resistor in the first place. My original Rev H has a zero ohm resistor there even though it's labeled as a ferrite bead/inductor (FB342).

[ikari_01]

Did you test MSU audio on the E1b before doing the Rev.H mod? It should be sort of quiet, but well audible.
After doing the mod, it should be exactly as loud as a "stock" Rev.H.
Another thing to check is whether FB341 is conductive (it should be). It is responsible for the power supply of the DAC and op-amp. You should get around 3.3V on the left end terminal of FB341.
Does it get hot?

If it doesn't you may short it out with a solder blob or piece of wire for testing. It won't do any damage but you might get some more audible interference from the digital domain.

If FB341 does get hot there is probably some short circuit in the DAC/opamp area.

[CZroe]

Thanks. I'm checking the same things on both to note discrepancies. So far, both show continuity across FB341. Both measure nearly 3v between the left side and ground (a little lower). Neither feel hot.

Unfortunately, I did not test MSU-1 audio first. I didn't have the SD card handy from my other SD2SNES and I knew that the MSU-1 audio was less than ideal on E1b so I didn't bother to load any onto the SD card during my original testing. I ordered the stuff for the mod thinking I had plenty of time before Christmas to fully test and mod, but then my brother (nephew's father) paid a surprise visit from several states away. This pressured me to finish while he was still visiting so that I could avoid the need to ship the gift to my nephew. As a result, I was removing components while an MSU-1 pack was still downloading/extracting on my computer. Everything else worked so I assumed MSU-1 was working as well as any other E1b. Really regret that assumption now since it's pretty darn relevant!

MSU-1 sounds extremely quiet, but audible after completing the mod. I've never heard the lower volume of earlier revisions but I imagine that they would have to be louder than this. I have to crank the volume to even tell that there is music playing and by that point the sound effects are ear-piercing. I'm pretty sure now that "Old" MSU files are already boosted so it would be nearly (if not completely) inaudible at a proper volume for the sound effects if the MSU-1 files weren't already boosted. Because RetroRGB said he had no MSU-1 audio with his clone, I wonder if we are both looking at clones? The vias do look like they are made slightly different. My Rev H was purchased from Krikzz here but the E1b was used from someone on NintendoAge. The previous owner paid for a Stone Age Gamer label to put on his modified SFC shell so I assumed he bought it PCB-only from SAG.

Should I restore it to Rev F to do more testing? What are the values of the components I removed? Doubt I can dig them out of my solder blobs.

[CZroe]

Good news! More than 24 hours later, it works for no good reason.

I'm pretty sure it was just 99.9% pure electronics cleaning grade alcohol hiding under one of the chips or something. Though the pics show that I obviously didn't clean back up after installing the second board (was still troubleshooting), I recall loading my swab with isopropyl the first time and having a bit more get on the board directly from my dispenser. The puddle was right where I wanted it anyway though obviously a bit more than I intended to use. I figured it was just going to dilute the flux even more and quickly dried it off. Of course, there was no alcohol remaining on/under the mod board after desoldering and adding another so it had to be hiding out somewhere else too.

To get it working I simply heated the board with a heat gun on a low setting from both sides, waited for it to cool, and it works flawlessly now. Now I'm scared to clean up my flux!

[CZroe]

If anyone wants to to update to Rev H, I fully assembled the other two of Borti's mod boards and I'm offering them on eBay for about what it cost me. I can also include the inductor and capacitor for updating Rev E to F. Heck, I can even install it for you if you want to send the board or meet locally (Atlanta OTP South region).

[leonquest]

Hi everyone.

I see that most everyone in the thread knows what they're talking about. I have no clue of any of it since I'm not technically skilled in electronics.

I bought the borti board today,  as I'm planning to take it to a local technician to install it,  I'm upgrading from revF to H,  but I need 2 things in order to do this:

1. does anyone have a noob guide,  where its detailed step by step how to install the board?

2. Do I need to buy anything else at console5.com in order to install the board correctly?

Thank you in advance.

[Arnold101]

My understanding is that it's only for MSU-1 stuff.  That's why I haven't done the mod on mine; no sense risking borking a $200 device for a feature I rarely use.

Exactly. I mean, I think I could handle it. I've done S-vid and RGB mods on my Super Fami Jr., RGB mod on my N64, installed a XenoGC in my Gamecube, etc. But if this doesn't have any effect on regular game audio, then I'm not concerned.

LOL, so you buy a 200$ cart and not use it's main feature of msu1 audio? buy a super everdrive and its the same result..

Good news! More than 24 hours later, it works for no good reason.

I'm pretty sure it was just 99.9% pure electronics cleaning grade alcohol hiding under one of the chips or something. Though the pics show that I obviously didn't clean back up after installing the second board (was still troubleshooting), I recall loading my swab with isopropyl the first time and having a bit more get on the board directly from my dispenser. The puddle was right where I wanted it anyway though obviously a bit more than I intended to use. I figured it was just going to dilute the flux even more and quickly dried it off. Of course, there was no alcohol remaining on/under the mod board after desoldering and adding another so it had to be hiding out somewhere else too.

To get it working I simply heated the board with a heat gun on a low setting from both sides, waited for it to cool, and it works flawlessly now. Now I'm scared to clean up my flux!

you have an incredible lucky ass.. 

today mod done working fine