ARCADE LEGENDS owner thread - Page 3 - AVS Forum

mbott1701 · 08-26-2007, 09:17 AM

I just finished putting transluscent trackballs in my Ultracade. I like the extra lights.

https://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=908104

humanoidx · 08-26-2007, 09:42 PM

Hey, that's cool!

humanoidx · 08-27-2007, 11:57 AM

Guys, there is a formal request on the Twin Galaxies forums: http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/v...ic.php?t=10426 to pursue high scores for Arcade Legends/Ultracade machines. Please go over there and chime in if you can. They seem to want to put this on the back burner b/c of all that's involved, but it would be a great way to legitimize these machines if the high scores were counted the same way as their CPU-board counterparts.

whiskey > work · 08-28-2007, 03:06 PM

yeah I like that cocktail table

mbott1701 · 08-29-2007, 06:37 AM

Thanks.
I just placed my order to have my custom CP overlays printed from mamemarquees.com. I'll post pics once I have them installed.
I'm also swapping out the yellow coin return with a traditional red one.

shamus · 09-19-2007, 09:06 PM

Can you repost those pics???

mbott1701 · 09-20-2007, 06:37 AM

You can check out new pics of my Ultracade in this thread...

https://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=908104

humanoidx · 09-20-2007, 12:56 PM

Those CP overlays are killer! Nice work!

mbott1701 · 09-20-2007, 01:57 PM

Thanks!

Did you buy that Galaga add-on from Jim?

humanoidx · 09-20-2007, 11:59 PM

Yup.

shamus · 10-08-2007, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbott1701

Check with this eBay seller, I think he has galaga individually. I've done business with him before and he is a stand up guy.

http://myworld.*********/socajr/

This is his Email...
[email protected]

He has all the games and at great prices.

humanoidx · 10-08-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamus

This is his Email...
[email protected]

He has all the games and at great prices.

Yes, he is very good. Recommended by me as well.

gregcube · 10-26-2007, 11:04 AM

Hi, I'm a new Arcade Legends owner -- picked one up a couple months ago. There isn't much online concerning the machine -- hacking it and whatnot, glad I came across this owner's thread though. I just, literally two minutes ago, purchased the sports upgrade pack from eBay. And I'm curious, has anyone tried this yet?...

- dd the usb stick (bit-for-bit on a *nix box) before marrying it to the system;
- use the stick, install the games, etc...;
- dd the dumped image back to the stick afterwards.

is it again usable now? I would imagine after using the stick once, it writes something back to it, creating the relationship with that particular machine. Logically it seems like this would work, if you have a fresh virgin copy of the image before hand. Right?

I understand the legality issues behind this, but I'm curious, that's all. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else personally who has a machine. Is someone willing to test with me?

Furthermore, I started poking around by connecting a VGA monitor, keyboard, and booting a KNOPPIX live linux cd. My machine is a Dell Pentium III 930MHz with 128MB ram, and a WD 40GB drive. The file system, if there even is one, obviously isn't recognized by Linux -- it runs some proprietary JoshuaOS operating system. Can't find much documentation on that either... Anyone else playing with the Arcade Legends in this regard?

shamus · 10-26-2007, 11:58 AM

Welcome! Unfortunately, whatever your talking about, is way over my head. Keep us informed!

mockware · 10-27-2007, 09:28 AM

I picked up an Ultimate Arcade 2 recently - which I think is just a repackaging of the Arcade Legends 2 for Costco. I admit looking all over the place for anything on the JoshuaOS and found nothing myself. From what I read, JoshuaOS started out as an Arcade emulation project in college that turned into a the ultracade. I was hoping it might be possible to add ROMs onto the system myself in the future if I was unable to get them from the manufacturer. It looks like everything is proprietary from the boot sector on up and it was written for one purpose to emulate arcade machines. I would definitely be interested in anything you find but it will be a long time before I would risk any attempts to hack the system.

Haviland1970 · 11-12-2007, 12:25 PM

Hi,

I have an Arcade Legends I which I bought about 18 months ago. I have the Neo Geo, Taito, Arcade Treasures, Sports and Casino packs.

My machine is fine, but I do worry a bit about when the inevitable happens and it breaks down. Does anyone have any experience with getting the system repaired if it has broken?

Rich

shamus · 11-12-2007, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haviland1970

Hi,

I have an Arcade Legends I which I bought about 18 months ago. I have the Neo Geo, Taito, Arcade Treasures, Sports and Casino packs.

My machine is fine, but I do worry a bit about when the inevitable happens and it breaks down. Does anyone have any experience with getting the system repaired if it has broken?

Rich

good question....

mockware · 11-12-2007, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haviland1970

Hi,

I have an Arcade Legends I which I bought about 18 months ago. I have the Neo Geo, Taito, Arcade Treasures, Sports and Casino packs.

My machine is fine, but I do worry a bit about when the inevitable happens and it breaks down. Does anyone have any experience with getting the system repaired if it has broken?

Rich

To tell you the truth I haven't looked but when I was researching the the product, it looks like it is basically a computer underneath it all and there is supposed to be a CD that is used to boot it up. I'm guessing most repairs would be the same you would do with a computer.

gregcube · 11-19-2007, 12:15 PM

I finally got my Sports Pack upgrade and tried a few things...

First and foremost, dumping the legit USB stick with 'dd' and rewriting the image to another stick of the same size (256MB) doesn't exactly work. When the copied stick is inserted to the Arcade Legend's machine, it recognizes the stick as a valid game upgrade pack, but then immediately fails before it starts copying any of the licensed roms over. I'm guessing the dudes at Joshua Technology Inc. were smart and did something clever, like checking the USB stick's vendor ID/name. If they don't match, it fails. Perhaps if you can find USB sticks from the same vendor, it will work. More on that later.

Secondly, I dumped the stick before marrying it to my machine. After I installed the roms from the legit stick, I created another dump. So I have two images: a virgin and a married. It becomes married the second you insert the stick--before it copies anything.

The only difference between the virgin and the married image is a 64-bit value starting at 0x295:

virgin: 75 8C 63 5C 23 04 57 7F
married: 1F F5 2B 0A C3 0C 67 93

I can write the virgin image back to the legit stick and it's all cool again. Meaning it can be reused in another machine.

More notes on the Sports Upgrade pack -- courtesy of my good friend:

- the USB flash drive starts with a 'standard' x86 boot sector:
x86 boot sector; partition 4: ID=0x4
starthead 0, startsector 0, 0 sectors, code offset 0x36

- with one partition (#4) containing a WIN98 boot loader, starting at 0x4000:
x86 boot sector, Microsoft Windows 98 Bootloader IO.SYS+MSDOS.SYS
code offset 0x3c, OEM-ID "MSWIN4.1", sectors/cluster 8, root entries 512
Media descriptor 0xf8, sectors/FAT 248, heads 16, hidden sectors 32
sectors 506847 (volumes > 32 MB) , serial number 0xc2f8e4f2
unlabeled, FAT (16 bit)

- despite this being a 'standard' WIN98 partition, the filesystem is not FAT16
as indicated in the partition header. when partition #4 is mounted, you see
248MB but it's all 'empty'. the data within (the SAFF files - see below),
are hidden some how.

- there seems to be 28 unique blocks (or files) found at 32-bit aligned
addresses. seems to have a 128-bit header, beginning with ASCII "SAFF"
and ending with ASCII "JEXE3.86". between these strings is a 32-bit
value, probably the length or two 16-bit values...

(presumably these are the roms)

Code:

2002000: 5341 4646 4898 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFH...JEXE3.86
24c4000: 5341 4646 b96b 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.k..JEXE3.86
2bc5800: 5341 4646 117e 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.~..JEXE3.86
37bd400: 5341 4646 9538 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.8..JEXE3.86
39bc600: 5341 4646 d0b1 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
4002000: 5341 4646 c197 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
44a7600: 5341 4646 f693 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
465f600: 5341 4646 9872 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.r..JEXE3.86
4993a00: 5341 4646 139f 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
4d94000: 5341 4646 039a 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
5310a00: 5341 4646 10ac 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
5ae2600: 5341 4646 68b2 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFh...JEXE3.86
6002000: 5341 4646 fe6c 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.l..JEXE3.86
638cc00: 5341 4646 3498 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF4...JEXE3.86
696a000: 5341 4646 2b9a 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF+...JEXE3.86
6cc5a00: 5341 4646 c45e 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.^..JEXE3.86
73c1a00: 5341 4646 ebaf 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF....JEXE3.86
782fa00: 5341 4646 016e 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.n..JEXE3.86
7d58000: 5341 4646 946f 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.o..JEXE3.86
a121a00: 5341 4646 417c 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFA|..JEXE3.86
ad91000: 5341 4646 1b74 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.t..JEXE3.86
b193e00: 5341 4646 749a 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFt...JEXE3.86
b890c00: 5341 4646 a84e 0600 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.N..JEXE3.86
bceae00: 5341 4646 32f1 0400 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF2...JEXE3.86
c4bb800: 5341 4646 6a27 0600 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFj'..JEXE3.86
cc3f600: 5341 4646 707c 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFp|..JEXE3.86
d437000: 5341 4646 8963 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.c..JEXE3.86
dac4c00: 5341 4646 786d 0a00 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFxm..JEXE3.86

- the header seems to be much larger than originally assumed (128-bit).
comparing two SAFF entries, there seems to be 64 bytes of header.
the range 0x10-0x13 is common, 0x14-0x2f differ between records.
the 3rd row, 0x30-0x3f is also common... 0x40-EOF compressed and/or
encrypted data.

Code:

0000000: 5341 4646 4898 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFFH...JEXE3.86
0000010: dc1f b832 b0df ba1b 91ad 6dbd 54c4 b9e9  ...2......m.T...
0000020: ab53 603e 108d b768 ad94 4be7 7969 f90e  .S`>...h..K.yi..
0000030: e1d5 06f1 e290 723e b5c7 54b5 5298 3be1  ......r>..T.R.;.

0000000: 5341 4646 b96b 0500 4a45 5845 332e 3836  SAFF.k..JEXE3.86
0000010: dc1f b832 b0df ba1b 7d72 f97c 602c 8025  ...2....}r.|`,.%
0000020: 14f5 c26c cca0 a93c 424f 5dec 663f a5e0  ...l.....T.R.;.

- common to all records, before actual data begins:

Code:

0000030: e1d5 06f1 e290 723e b5c7 54b5 5298 3be1  ......r>..T.R.;.

I'm still poking around and figuring new things out. I'll provide an update whenever I have the time, or discover something worthwhile. I'm not even sure what my actual goal is or will be--just having some fun right now.

gregcube · 11-19-2007, 12:30 PM

Furthermore, here are some tools and tips to help get you started, if you wanna play around too.

I use 'dd' to dump the image; I'm on a MacBook Pro (Intel). dd is available on many, if not all, *nix based platforms.

when I insert the USB stick it's found as /dev/disk1 (on my Mac).

to dump from stick:

Code:

dd if=/dev/disk1 of=sports.dat bs=512

to write to stick:

Code:

dd if=sports.dat of=/dev/disk1 bs=512

pretty straight forward.

Here is a simple PHP script to scan offsets and dump the 28 unique blocks mentioned in my previous post. Change $dump to 28 if you want them all. This was kindly written by a friend of mine:

Code:

#!/usr/bin/php -q
 0, 1024 => 0, 2048 => 0, 4096 => 0, 8192 => 0);
$state = $_SERVER['argv'][0] . ".state";
$vkey_offset = 0x295;

if (!isset($_SERVER['argv'][1]) || !file_exists($_SERVER['argv'][1])) exit(1);
$fh = fopen($_SERVER['argv'][1], 'r');
if (!is_resource($fh)) exit(1);

if(fseek($fh, $vkey_offset) === false) {
        printf("%s: error seeking to vkey offset: 0x%08x\
",
                $_SERVER['argv'][1], $vkey_offset);
        exit(1);
}
$vkey = array();
echo("vkey: ");
for ($i = 0; $i  $count) {
                        $remainder = ($offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i]) % $size;
                        if ($remainder == 0) {
                                $block_sizes[$size] = ++$count;
                                $length = $offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i];
                                printf("length in %d blocks: 0x%x\
", $size, $length / $size);
                        } else
                        printf("block size: %08x %% %d = %d\
",
                                $offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i], $size, $remainder);
                }
                $filename = sprintf('SAFF-%08x.bin', $offsets[$i]);
                if (file_exists($filename)) {
                        printf("dump file exists, skipping: %s\
", $filename);
                        continue;
                foreach ($block_sizes as $size => $count) {
                        $remainder = ($offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i]) % $size;
                        if ($remainder == 0) {
                                $block_sizes[$size] = ++$count;
                                $length = $offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i];
                                printf("length in %d blocks: 0x%x\
", $size, $length / $size);
                        } else
                        printf("block size: %08x %% %d = %d\
",
                                $offsets[$i + 1] - $offsets[$i], $size, $remainder);
                }
                $filename = sprintf('SAFF-%08x.bin', $offsets[$i]);
                if (file_exists($filename)) {
                        printf("dump file exists, skipping: %s\
", $filename);
                        continue;
                }
                fseek($fh, $offsets[$i]);
                $fh_dump = fopen($filename, 'w');
                for ($length = 0; $length

Run it from command line specifying the dumped image as an argument. You may need to change the path to the PHP command line interpreter--if it's not under /usr/bin.

Code:

chmod +x offsets.php
./offsets.php sports.dat

I'd be interested to see the results from other upgrade packs.

gregcube · 11-19-2007, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haviland1970

Hi,

I have an Arcade Legends I which I bought about 18 months ago. I have the Neo Geo, Taito, Arcade Treasures, Sports and Casino packs.

My machine is fine, but I do worry a bit about when the inevitable happens and it breaks down. Does anyone have any experience with getting the system repaired if it has broken?

Rich

It's a PC inside. Mine is actually a Dell.

You can repair it yourself, if you understand the inner-workings of a PC and whatnot.

You should have the installation software on a CD too--should you need to replace the hard drive or something of that nature. It's nicely built and isn't overly difficult to unmount. They did a nice job in my opinion.

Otherwise, any local PC shop could probably fix it--in the event something does go wrong. Lets hope it doesn't.

shamus · 11-19-2007, 01:15 PM

Thanks for all the great info Greg!

mockware · 11-26-2007, 06:21 AM

gregcube, I second the thanks for the information. One more question though. What does the display look like? Is is proprietary or a standard display mounted in the cabinet?

gregcube · 11-26-2007, 09:46 AM

looks to be a standard tube -- the innards of one.

vibri2001 · 12-05-2007, 11:19 AM

Is there a dedicated forum for the Arcade Legends/Ultimate Arcade systems? I have tried Google and couldn't find any useful results other than this forum. I am having issues with my control panel and was wondering if it is a common issue. My warranty will be up soon and was wondering what to do once it expires. I will be calling the tech support number today but in six months or a year from now I would like to have a place to fall back on for support.

shamus · 12-05-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vibri2001

Is there a dedicated forum for the Arcade Legends/Ultimate Arcade systems? I have tried Google and couldn't find any useful results other than this forum. I am having issues with my control panel and was wondering if it is a common issue. My warranty will be up soon and was wondering what to do once it expires. I will be calling the tech support number today but in six months or a year from now I would like to have a place to fall back on for support.

I searched too and couldn't come up with anything and is why I made this thread.
There appears to be a few tech savvy people following this so maybe they can help you....

mbott1701 · 12-11-2007, 09:32 AM

What's wrong with your control panel?
The controls are from Happ, so it should be pretty easy to get replacements if need be.

Hsstie · 12-16-2007, 11:48 PM

Nice info on the usb sticks gregcube. I know that you did the dump using linux, but im running vista on my windows machine. I wonder since the ultracade uses the joshus os, if there would be any problems doing some dumps of the usb sticks with windoze. Use any special programs or just normal os copy? I have a game pack stick on the way, would like to make the right choice first go around. I suppose i could install linux and jump on the learning curve if need be, sure would be easier if i didnt HAVE to.......

gregcube · 12-17-2007, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hsstie

Nice info on the usb sticks gregcube. I know that you did the dump using linux, but im running vista on my windows machine. I wonder since the ultracade uses the joshus os, if there would be any problems doing some dumps of the usb sticks with windoze. Use any special programs or just normal os copy? I have a game pack stick on the way, would like to make the right choice first go around. I suppose i could install linux and jump on the learning curve if need be, sure would be easier if i didnt HAVE to.......

I actually dumped the stick on my Mac. You can always try dumping the stick on Windows using Cygwin. You need to use dd -- it's a byte-for-byte dump.

See here: http://www.cygwin.com/

vibri2001 · 12-17-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbott1701

What's wrong with your control panel?
The controls are from Happ, so it should be pretty easy to get replacements if need be.

None of the controls worked as well as no sound. After a number of converations with Robert (tech support for Chicago Gaming Co). I was able to fix it. There was a loose wire in one of the power harness connections going into the interface board. Very odd because the unit has not been moved since it found a home in our living room, and this issue just started within the last few weeks. Anyway, anyone having issues with their Arcade Legend 1 or Ultimate Arcade 1 units definately give them a call. Robert was very helpful and gave me lots of information about the unit while describing how to troubleshoot it.

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