Brook Retro Board Thread

Tech Talk
11

Well, first, when I compare prices, elitists are the one buying the Brook.

Then, I am astonished that in 2019, someone sell a product which can’t do as much as a 2010 product.

Finally, I went there because I saw a news and thought that it was cool someone finally did something to supersede the UPCB, but in the end, this is a fail and I express my disappointment into the product with arguments.

Which leads me to the most important thing: you are quite aggressive while having no argument to prove I am wrong.

12

The MC Cthulhu supersede the UPCB nine years ago. UPCB was discontinued by Toodles way back.
UPCB was a mess that require alot going on, it was needlessly bulky and there not many people left who even know what you are even talking about.

No, all that means is you are ether Cherry picking to try to prove your point (which your not) or you are a cheap stake.

No, you are just being an Elitist as you have your “Superior” Product that got canceled 9 years ago.

No Sega Master System

You don’t even need an a Encoder for a Sega Master System, its a Atari 2600 controller with one more button. Sega Genesis was dropped as with every product you sometimes had to make sacrifices.
The MC Cthulhu droped Master System in favor of on board Dreamcast Support, something that the UPCB can’t do without piggy backing a Dreamcast PCB.

You just being sore as the Retro board is designed to plug into another board that covers modern systems, and the two covers more than the UPCB.

13

So, I will sum up your words : new car will supersede the old one because we said so. Oh, the new car will only have three wheels because it was enough and you don’t really need the fourth one. And I am bitchy because the new three wheeled car needs to be towed by a truck to work, a truck which allows me to do what my VLX Premium already do, but still without the fourth wheel on the new car. Thank you for your valuable input.

14

What do you mean by “needs to be towed by a truck to work”. The retro board works on its own as a standalone pcb, it can pair with a UFB to have more compatibility. The availability of the UPCB is non existent as in there is no one who mass produces these things to make them available. Brook has done nothing but add support for their boards including nintendo switch and playstation classic support, give it time, they may add genesis later. I was irritated the the MC Cthulhu didnt have genesis or n64 support either, but I didnt go trashing the product and ended up buying the MCC two years ago either way. The UPCB project hasnt been talked about on this forum for years and I surely thought you were talking about an actual product than a open source project. If you can point people in the right direction without being a jerk about it, like idk saying “Personally I think the Brooke line is expensive, I support the UPCB project.” No one will give you lip. Adding the hipstergarden thing is uncalled for. I know we are talking about video gaming peripherals, but we need to start acting a little more civilized when we say things. Information is power on these threads and any given to help people out is great. Lets cut the name calling and belittling and help each other.

Do you have information on this UPCB? Great, make a thread about it. If not, dont belittle the people that do.

15

Don’t even lecture me if you don’t know about the UPCB. That’s common knowledge in the arcade stick scene and there already is an extensive thread here, so, basically, you don’t know jack, don’t even do a simple search, but still lecture me and call me a jerk. That proves the hipstergarten’s joke is more than a joke (it was basically a joke from the start and it was so obvious, but, well, then I read your answer…), but a statement, indeed, and I am very saddened by that. You make look the scene like a poser showoff and calling me a jerk won’t change the fact you are the ones proving me right. :frowning:

TL;DR: I just stated an opinion about a product I was genuinely interested in at first. If you can accept someone’s opinion and are egocentrically enough to take a joke as a personal attack although I named no one), your fault.

16

Obviously not.

17

As I said. I know about the project, its just so old that I figured you were actually talking about something else. I don’t need the information, maybe somebody does.

Call me whatever you like, doesn’t mean anything to me, but to others it may. I know you stated an opinion, im not knocking that down. You can have as many opinions as you like, but you don’t need to go and be hateful about it and start name calling (joke or not, plus it obviously doesn’t convey as one over text). Also you didn’t add a link or so information backing up your claims about a 9+ year old project, yes it’s open source which is cool, yes I can see someone going to OSH Park printing off a board and adding the components to make an awesome stick, but I haven’t seen ANYONE talk about that thing since I first started here in February of 2010, then have the ego to call us a breading ground of hipsters…

If you can’t help people out (which is what I thought this whole forum was for) cool, don’t worry about it. If you can, why not make a thread explaining something about this project you like so much more than a mass produced product? I know enough about the project to know what it is, I dont know enough about it to give information about it (like is said you talking about it now is the first time hearing about it in 9+ years).

IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO HAVE INFORMATION SO EVERYONE CAN REVIEW IT SO EVERYONE CAN MAKE A OPINION ON IT THEMSELVES.

18

I own the combo of a Brook Retro Board and a Brook UFB. I was having problems with the Retro Board [problems were resolved and are thus to be ignored…], but I’m going to give the Retro Board credit for its other benefits.

-=Brook Retro Board=-

EDIT: Issues with the Retro Board were resolved, and are to be ignored as outdated. Unless you have problems with your direct input, x input software, or PC drivers, you won’t have any of these problems I had.

Dreamcast Testing
Capcom Vs SNK 2
No issues.
Note: I did try it on my favorite game MvC2 without incident, but that wasn’t done during my testing.

Playstation 4 / PS4 Testing
Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
-PS3/PS4 Brook Super Converter and SFVA3 Legacy Mode
No issues.

PC Testing [ISSUES FOUND]

Ultra Street Fighter 4 [PC]
-Using PS3/PS4 Brook Super Converter
No issues
-Direct Connection to PC
ISSUES: chronic persistent up / up-left input errors.
NOTES: I’m going to have to assume that it’s a problem with Xinput, Dinput, or PC software.

Street Fighter V Arcade Edition [PC]
-Using PS3/PS4 Brook Super Converter
No issues
-Direct Connection to PC
ISSUES: chronic persistent up / up-left input errors.
NOTES: I’m going to have to assume that it’s a problem with Xinput, Dinput, or PC software.

-=Brook Universal Fighting Board=-

=PS4 / Playstation 4 Testing

Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
-Start+Select RJ45 Bridge to UFB
No issues
-Direct USB connection
No issues

PC Testing

Street Fighter V Arcade Edition
-Start+Select RJ45 Bridge to UFB
No issues
-Direct USB connection
ISSUES: Minor problems with the detection of the PCB. Had to frequently force mode. Then again, Street Fighter V for the PC has the worst controller compatibility of any game Capcom has EVER released. There was also a one time constant U/U-L that occurred, but unplugging and replugging it in solved it. It has not recurred.

PC Ultra Street Fighter IV
-Start+Select RJ45 Bridge to UFB
No issues
-Direct USB connection
No issues

-=Ratings for each Board=-

=Brook Retro Board
-Non-PC, 12/10. Compatible with too many other consoles to rate it lower.
-PC: 9/10. NOTE: I had to use a Super Converter [PS3 to PS4] to be able to use it on PC or I pretty much couldn’t use it due to constant on U/UL issues. Those issues disappeared completely when I used the Super Converter.
-Overall, 10/10. Too much value, and controller compatibility with other consoles for any lower of a rating. You might not have the same problems with the PC versions of the games I tested since your PC will have different drivers and direct or x input setups that will work.

=Universal Fighing Board
-PS4, 13/10. No issues in any configuration. Whether I was Start+Select RJ45 Bypassing, or connecting via USB, there were never any problems.
-PC, 9.5/10. Minor issues with auto-detection which are mitigated by Force Modes.
-Overall, 12/10. It isn’t perfect, but again, too much value and compatibility for the money.

-=Brook Universal Fighting Retro Board Combination=-
FINAL RATING; 12/10
There isn’t a person alive that plays fighting games that I cannot recommend this combination for if they have the money. It’s a bit pricey, but considering that you’d have to spend over a grand on fight-sticks, and each one would look or feel different, that’s a problem. With a setup like this, a player could easily use the exact same stick on almost every major console ever released without issue.

Important note: In my setup, I have both an RJ45 and a USB. You should probably only have an RJ45 connection and use Start+Select to access the UFB.
-PLUGGING IN BOTH THE RJ45 AND THE USB SIMULTANEOUSLY CAN IRREPARABLY DAMAGE / FRY BOTH BOARDS!!!

19

In Street Fighter V Arcade Edition and Ultra Street Fighter IV for the PC with the Retro Board, how do you resolve the chronic persistent up/up-left errors I am getting. It makes no sense. I know my wiring scheme is perfect since this is the ONLY situation where I have ANY problems. It works perfectly on Dreamcast. It works perfectly on Playstation 4 [via both the PS3 / PS4 Brook Super Converter and the SFV-AE Legacy mode].

In order to use the Retro Board on the PC, I need to use the Brook Super Converter. Even when the RJ45 cable is the only thing hooked up [meaning I detached the 20 pin ribbon cable and the USB link, this happens. I used the multiplier kit exclusively [Screw terminals aren’t in use].

20

I plan to do [or aid someone in doing] a UFB Retro Stack install to someone’s Mas stick. His version is a Multi-console model. I opened my big mouth and said, “Why don’t we convert both the Dreamcast and Playstation 2 / PS2 cables to Dreamcast to RJ45, and PS2 to RJ45 Cables”? I actually have a Dreamcast to RJ45 cable, so that’s not a problem. Borrow his / use my multimeter, and 2 probes, mimic the Dreamcast port connections, and it’s a wrap.

The issue is that I don’t know how to make the PS2 to RJ45 cable for the Brook Retro Board. HELP!!!

21

I think that the brook retro-board missed the opportunity to be the best board on the market if they had only included the two thumb stick support that the PS4+ Audio has. Without the thumb sticks there are so many games you can’t play. Also it is not called the Retro Fight Board so they should have targeted the other 98% of people who don’t play fight games…sure I like street fighter but I love Halo, Ninja Gaiden, and every other first person game. They should have also added custom solder points on the board to make your own connections to other systems that require more than 8 wires. Please come out with a revision 2 that addresses these concerns.

22
23

hey thank. now i can make my custom snes and gamecube cables with a neon green cable sleeve

25

Thank you, that really helped.

26

Hey guys, I’m trying to use the Brook Retro on a Wii via an RJ45 to Gamecube cable, but it doesn’t work at all, the console doesn’t detect it, I tried it using a Gamecube Game, Wii VC titles and Retroarch (Which is where I wanted to use it) but unfortunately no luck.

The board and cable does work on a Gamecube, so I don’t think that it’s hardware related.
Any help?

1 Like
27

I’m thinking about connecting the Brook Retro board to a Kaimana J2, and I was wondering if anyone knows the safe power draw limits of the various retro consoles? As far as I know, the LEDs on this thing are ws2812 units, and at 2 LEDs per and 8 buttons total, that’s a power draw limit of around 4w. (50mA x 8 buttons x 2 LEDs @ 5v = 4w)

I think the Dreamcast controller fuse is rated to 2w 0.5w across all four ports, but are any of the other old consoles power-limited? Is there any way to augment the power available to the Retro so it doesn’t need to draw as much from the controller port?

edit: holy crap is the Dreamcast fuse weak

28

Can I get some help updating the firmware? I’m pressing Start+1K and connecting USB but the Brooks updater doesn’t give me a chance to update.

29

Check this link:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0748/3745/files/RetroFightingBoard_V10_201807_BETA.zip?404

30

man there’s some silly things being said here.

anyway this board is bloody amazing. I trie dto dual mod with a wfb: Brook Wireless Fighting Board & Retro Board Dual mod

31

WARNING: LONG POST ALERT

This is a copy of an email I sent to Arcadeshock. This is the story of me modding a MAS stick. It’s really long, and shows how I installed Please enjoy…

As a recommended product, It’d be nice if you had a …187" compatible quick connect harness that could be bought from your site. This way people trying to mod an American style stick like the MAS stick [in my case] doesn’t have to cut the .110" connectors and crimp .187" disconnects onto them, or make .110" male to .187" female adapters. Also, it appears that Jasenscustoms website is gone, If that’s the case, can you import the Retro Board and UFB Stack models, and maybe the Panzer Fight Sticks to your site?

Anyways, Here’s the full story of his MAS stick.

When I first got it, it was stock and unmodified. The down position was very bad, and all the connections were soldered to the micro-switches. I decided to install the Cthulhu Multi-console PCB.

Day 1

I soldered the Ethernet cables onto the 2 Cthulhu PCBs I have. Unfortunately, I damaged one of the 2 while soldering prohibiting it’s use.

I took all the soldered micro-switches off except 2, and those 2, I removed all the solder so that I can make the .187" harness and wire it up.

Day 2

I made the ground harness, and the signal wires.

Day 3

I wired everything into the Cthulhu PCB and tested it.

Day 4

I retested it, fixed whatever was wired incorrectly, and was done.

Now for the star of the show, the Retro Board Mod

The owner of the stick asked if there was a way to make the Toodles Cthulhu work with the Universal Fighting Board. I told him that there is a way, but I’m too lazy to try to figure it out, and risk damaging another PCB, so I decided to buy the Retro Board like I had originally planned to do anyways. The only reason I used the Cthulhu was because ParadiseArcade duplicated my order making me purchase 2 instead of one, so I decided to use it.

Day 1

I first cut off the top 2/3 of every .110" female connection on the 20 pin harness, pulled off all the protective sleeves, replaced them with .187" sleeves, and crimped over them with .187" female connects. I kept the .110" sleeves since I knew at some point they’d come in handy.

Day 2

I used the modified harness to connect everything. Unfortunately, the lk and lp were too far apart while hooking up the grounds, and I couldn’t rotate the buttons well enough to compensate [no wrench…,] so. I skipped it while wiring, and made the .187" male to .187" female adapter to compensate for the skip. Also, there was a need for a .110 connection for the home button, and it was too far away, so I made an adapter to accomplish that. I popped opened my Hitbox that had both the Retro Board and the UFB, and copied what I saw making the new wiring job easier.Everything was hooked up via the ribbon Cables, the multiplier kit, and the harness

Day 2 [continued]

I hooked up the Mas Stick to the PS4, and was wondering why it didn’t work. Then I felt like an idiot. I quickly grabbed a Brook PS3/PS4 to PS3/PS4 Super converter and Street Fighter 5. I noticed that the Up and Down were inverted. I inverted them correcting the mistake, and everything I tested worked.

Now, whenever he gets his Retro Board we can pop it onto the Ribbon cable, bridge the USB connections, and it’s done. I’ll probably jumper the board so that the Brook UFB is the default later.

What took me days creating my own wiring harness and hooking it all up properly with the Cthulhu took hours when I used the items purchased from ArcadeShock.

All in all, I’m greatly satisfied with my purchases.

==============================================================================

I plan to reuse the Cthulhu and wiring in another friend’s stick.