3 questions about unlocking/upgrading/repairing Pop'n 8

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-15-2007, 01:47 PM

1. Here in San Antonio we have a Pop'n 8 arcade machine in decent condition, though the right yellow button is a bit iffy at times. It was repaired, but was iffy again soon afterward. Originally the buttons were hard to press down lightly - they weren't nearly as "clicky" as the ASC controllers or ASC replicas I've played on before are. I played better when I hit the buttons harder, and "broke in" the buttons, but I think that by doing this I inadvertently damaged the yellow button again, as it occasionally fails. Also, the green button sticks at times. How can these buttons be repaired?

2. I've noticed that Dream - ƒ|ƒbƒvƒ“ƒ~ƒ…[ƒWƒbƒNU—ª‘‡ƒTƒCƒg lists quite a few songs without EX difficulties that are available in CS 8, such as Pyramid and Ska, among others. Does this mean that they are not unlocked or does this mean that they are not available in AC 8? How can I tell if the machine is unlocked?

3. Also, given the limited song list of AC 8 compared to the CS versions (especially compared to the behemoth that is 15 AC, which has a songlist roughly 6.5x the size of 8 AC's), I am interested in seeing what would be involved in upgrading this machine and if the arcade would go for it. Exactly how difficult is upgrading an 8 to a newer version (11, 12, or higher)?

Thanks for your time.

Hortence:The Muleface Mod · 07-15-2007, 05:02 PM

1: Replace the microswitches, if that doesn't work, buy new buttons. That's your best bet.

2: CS and AC songlists are usually very different, although Dream should have unlock codes for the older AC mixes.

3: Can't help you there, although I've heard if you have someone scout Yahoo Auctions Japan you can find upgrade kits for up to Fever for a few hundred bucks.

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-15-2007, 06:16 PM

All right, that settles #2 - the machine is indeed unlocked. I've tried Dream's codes before and they didn't do anything. Thanks Dewgy!

Still have some issues about #1 and #3 though. #1 Primarily because even if I were to buy the microswitches myself, I can't exactly go to the employees and say "hey can I open this machine and do x to it" so I'd have to find a way to tell the employees how to do it themselves, and #3 because I'm not sure if Pop'n 8 can use any upgrade kits from 9 or higher - I've heard that it can't.

*Arbel* · 07-15-2007, 07:28 PM

It can't use any upgrades 9+, but you can buy full PCB's for 9+. I'm sure there is a couple auctions out there on Yahoo Japan, but you need to make sure they are full PCB kits and not just the upgrade.

Slarty · 07-15-2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whytheychangediticantsay

Still have some issues about #1 and #3 though. #1 Primarily because even if I were to buy the microswitches myself, I can't exactly go to the employees and say "hey can I open this machine and do x to it" so I'd have to find a way to tell the employees how to do it themselves, and #3 because I'm not sure if Pop'n 8 can use any upgrade kits from 9 or higher - I've heard that it can't.

You're a customer and they should listen to you. If you want to play pop'n and other people do too and the issues with the pop'n machine will make you not come anymore, then they're a bunch of jerks if they don't listen to you. You can always say that you know how to fix it and have them be there when you're fixing it.

p.s. peoplejustlikeditbetterthatway

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-15-2007, 08:05 PM

Is "Quick Reply" broken? I've made two responses so far with it and both of them have been deleted.

I found a PCB for Pop'n 14: Yahoo!¥ª¡¼¥¯¥·¥ç¥ó - ¥Ý¥Ã¥×¥ó¥ß¥å¡¼¥¸¥Ã¥¯14¥Õ¥£¡¼¥Ð¡¼¡ªPCBÂ¾°ì¼° it's roughly 330 dollars. To me, that seems inexpensive.. a few of the players here could easily pool our money together for it. However, I don't understand Japanese, I've never ordered anything from Japan before, and the only thing I've ordered directly overseas was a PC game from the UK. What is involved in ordering this off of Yahoo Japan?

Also, regarding the microswitches.. I hear cherry microswitches are supposed to be excellent, but I don't know anything about electrical wiring or things that presumably are good to know when fixing a machine. Even if I did order microswitches/new buttons, could I fix the machine without knowing anything about its innerworkings?

Hortence:The Muleface Mod · 07-16-2007, 01:41 AM

As a newly registered user, all of your posts are moderated if they contain URLs. It's part of a spamfilter system. Just give it some time and they'll show up.

MrGains · 07-16-2007, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirSlarty

You're a customer and they should listen to you. If you want to play pop'n and other people do too and the issues with the pop'n machine will make you not come anymore, then they're a bunch of jerks if they don't listen to you. You can always say that you know how to fix it and have them be there when you're fixing it.

p.s. peoplejustlikeditbetterthatway

Coming from a dude who goes to an arcade with really dick management, just make sure you're polite about it when you ask them. Yes, you ARE a customer, and yes there are lots of people who would benefit them upgrading one machine, but it is just one machine no matter how much you look at it. You don't make enough profit for them to give one damn about what you say. But if you're nice about it and willing to give them a hand, then they will probably be agreeable people.

If you live in Chicagoland and have heard of Odyssey Fun World, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

*Arbel* · 07-16-2007, 10:33 AM

Yep that's the sad reality. Most arcade owners are stubborn dicks who won't listen to you no matter what. And make horrendously poor business moves.

But it's always worth a try. Sometimes you get lucky, or you might have a good arcade operator.

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-16-2007, 04:00 PM

Oh wow, a triple post. That was really embarrassing.

Anyway, has anyone here ordered from [edit: Yahoo] Japan before and does anyone know what's involved in doing that?

Slarty · 07-16-2007, 08:01 PM

There are a number of sites that will act as a third party for importing goods from Y!AJ. I've used akibado.com and found them to be quite effecient.

Don't used Rinkya.com

Brett · 07-18-2007, 03:36 PM

I think your problem here is that it's pop'n 8. Pop'n 8 is terrible. I would suggest upgrading to the most recent AC you can get and replacing buttons/micro switches.

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-18-2007, 05:50 PM

Thanks SirSlarty! That site is amazing. If I can get the money and permission to install the PCB I'll definitely use it.

αρχη: Well of course, that's the idea, but it's a lot harder to do that than to say it. Mainly I need to get people to pool their money together, which is difficult, and I also need to get permission from the staff, which takes time. Haha, this would be a lot easier if they went the route of IIDX and released U.S. Pop'n 15/16/later :P

While I'm at it, this brings another issue. Assume everything falls through and I purchase the PCB. How would I install it?

whytheychangediticantsay · 07-19-2007, 12:18 AM

all right, update.

I've looked around Yahoo Japan and noticed that there are no PCB's for Pop'n 15. I'm guessing that this is because the hardware for 15 is new, so unless there's something seriously wrong with it no arcade manager is going to be selling their 15 PCB.

HOWEVER, this could also be advantageous because it means people will be selling their 14 PCBs. Indeed, I've seen consistent amounts of 14 PCBs on Yahoo Japan. If everything goes through, I should be getting that.

This is still a very intimidating process, though, because I need to figure out how to install the PCB itself. Someone's going to have to tell me how to do that because I'm absolutely clueless and it would be pointless to buy a PCB without actually having it installed.

Brazoliange · 07-19-2007, 01:31 AM

Since you're upgrading from Pop'n 8, you need the hardware upgrade that 9th+ had. This won't be that hard to grab, just make sure the one you purchase a PCB and not just a hard drive/plug/marquee.

IM me if you need help installing it. It's as easy as unplugging a few cords, unscrewing the PCB, and putting the new one in/screwing it in.