wacca documentation

Info dump related to the hardware/firmware/etc of ワッカ

disclaimer

Some information here is sourced from around the internet, of which I'm not sure if people wish to be credited for. You know who you are, let me know.

Many parts simply have not been extensively documented or are kept in private circles. My hope is that by making all of this information more accessible, someday more people will be able to enjoy this dead game. (asc when?)

service manual

This PDF should be pretty easy to find online, there's also a shitty version that was fed through DEEPL to machine translate into english. This has a plethora of information that I won't directly post here since that's probably asking for a DMCA violation even for a dead game.

Hardware

The anatomy of the cabinet an ALLS desktop connecting to a set of PCBs via two USB ports, two RS232 ports, two 3.5mm audio jacks, and digital video out to a 50 inch LCD (hdmi, displayport are supported WITH audio out).

TODO: Someone should double check this and update with more accurate info, I forgot where everything terminated when it was explained to me:

ALLS desktop RS232 1 --> Left Pentel PCB --> Left half of the touch controller

ALLS desktop RS232 2 --> Right Pentel PCB --> Right half of the touch controller

ALLS desktop USB 1 --> Sega IO

ALLS desktop USB 2 --> LED Data board

The desktop is a

ALLS HX [849-0006]
Motherboard: Gigabyte MDH11BM [837-15384-02]
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500
RAM: 2x SK Hynix HMA851U6AFR6N-UH [4GB, DDR4-2133]
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti [Aetina N1050TI-L9FX]
SSD: TDK GBDisk GS1 120GB [MDA-E0017]
Sound Card: Realtek ALC888S
OS: Windows 10 IoT LTSB 2016
PSU: 400W Seasonic 80 Bronze https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-ss-400et-bronze-400w/p/N82E16817151076 [from ALLX UX, i have 0 motiviation to open this PSU to confirm] 
RS232: 2 port + 1 port [Goes right to COM 1 COM 2 COM 3 on the motherboard]

Sound system

Subwoofer: S02012D0 4OHM 40W ????

Speakers: 2x 
Kitanihon Onkyo Co. S00308D0 
Drive Unit	77mm Paper cone full-range
Rated Impedance	4ohm
Nominal Power	10W
Maximum Power	15W
Frequency Range	200~20kHz
Sound Pressure Level	85dB
Dimensions(WxHxD)	120x90x97.5
Total Mass	605g

I believe these may work as a suitable replacement (at least it does for SDVX) https://www.crutchfield.com/S-nMsSvT4rfnE/p_108R6532EM/Infinity-Reference-REF-6532ex.html?omnews=17719017

PCB Details

TODO: Add specific chip components

Power supplies:

LFA150F-12-J1 150W 12V 50-60Hz 12.5A IN AC100-240V
LFA150F-5-J1Y 150W 5V 50-60Hz 30A IN AC100-240V

These two units supply all the power needed for the PCB components (sound system, LEDs, touch controller etc). My photos will look a little different at the bottom as we had to jerry rig an extension cable to feed power into the unit since I don't have the original cabling for it. Works fine on American power, theoretically works fine in europe without a transformer as well based on some reports. R1 uses a 300VA step down transformer https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/267603668046446603/1045057845999173692/IMG_20221123_112537805_HDR.jpg but that's probably overkill.

Touch Unit Control Board (PSS-7135-L02-01)

The most interesting part of the PCB. Custom part made by Pentel. Two of these exist on the PCB board that process 6 channels each, to get the 2 halves of the touch controller. Each segment of the touch controller has one of these as well, with the addition of the ribbon cable to connect the segments together.

LED Data board (14-1497-R)

This sends the pretty colors to the touch controller and card reader panel?

2.1 channel AMP (14-1466CR)

Handles analog sound routing to subwoofer and tweeters

Headphone AMP (00-1358AR)

Handles audio output to the control panel

I/O Control Board (837-15257-01)

The existence of this board is a bit overkill for what it's used for, likely it had to be used due to Sega producing the cabinets for Marvelous. This is a newer version of the control board that has a USB port on it, almost all sega cabs use this now. Note: Wacca does NOT check for a coin counter, so the resistor trick is not needed to apply credits in game.

Card reader panel "ASSY CTRL PNL"

This giant metal LED lined panel has [4] plugs that connect to

1. Aime card reader (610-0955). There's lots of good solutions to DIY one of these.
2. VFD Display to show IC readout for cash cards. Mine had some burn in. Unused?
3. Headphone amp jack with VOL UP and VOL DOWN buttons
4. All the LED data

The coin entry stuff connected to the cash box is here too.

Touch Controller

There are 12 of these bad boys divided into two halves, set to channel 1-6 on each side that feed back into 2 touch unit control boards. Each one weighs x grams which totals to about 40 LBS. Somehow I never really understood how MASSIVE these units are until I held an individual segment in my hand. 5 LED segments per unit, with 4 segments across the acrylic making 240 "keys".

Here are some scans of a segment that shows the curve profile.

Replacement LED PCBs

Wacca LEDs are notorious for being burnt out, you've likely received your machine in a state where some panels are not getting color data, are dim, or are straight up not lit up. This is partly due to the design of WS2812.

There's two good options for reproducing a better version

1. Isola has a WS2813 design which can be just popped into your touch controller without any issue (it will however, look brighter than the 2812's so consider a full swap) https://github.com/mnm-isola/wacca_ws2813 Note that at the time of writing, the most recent revision's gerbers are actually the previous revision. I would recommend downloading the project from https://github.com/mnm-isola/wacca_ws2813/tree/main/wacca_ws2813_rev20220814 and opening it in kicad and making your own gerber. Detailed instructions below.

2. Speedy labs is selling their revision of the PCB https://www.speedylabs.us/product/wacca-ws2813-led-pcb/ you'll need 60 of them to replace all your touch units. There is a europe equivalent vendor []

As a sidenote, it would be interesting to see someone make a APA102 variant of the LED PCBs on an ASC.

Details on manufacturing your own LED PCBs

1. Clone Isola's repo or download the ZIP from the Code button https://github.com/mnm-isola/wacca_ws2813. wacca_ws2813_rev20221021 is the revision we want (the main difference is that the capacitor at C9 is SMD instead of THT. if you need THT, the previous August revision will do just fine)
2. Download KiCad https://www.kicad.org/download/
3. Open wacca_ws2813.kicab_pcb
4. File --> Fabrication Outputs --> Gerbers (.gbr). Set your output directory appropriately.
5. Click "Generate Drill Files..." and ensure that the drill units are in millimeters. Click "Generate Drill File" and "Generate Map File"
6. Click "Plot"
7. You should now have 13 files. Zip these (select all, right click, send to, compressed zip folder) and goto your favorite PCB manufacturer (i like JLCPCB). You need 60 PCBs to do a full replacement. It should be as simple as uploading the zip, and clicking through and purchasing. I didn't change any of the default options except to make the PCB solder mask white. It took a total 7 days for 200 PCBs to produce, ship, and arrive from China to California. YMMV. About $45 for the PCBs and $47 for shipping.

If someone has a cool wacca related silkscreen, please give. Maybe one of each navigator.

Now that your PCBs are fabricating, it's time to order the parts you'll need. https://www.lcsc.com/ is the recommended shop for these, they ship right out of shenzhen and it's quite quick, considering.

BOM (for use with WS2813B-V5)

Footprint	Parts	Size	Value	LCSC	Remark
C1-C8	Not Needed	N/A	N/A	N/A	WS2813B-V5 do not require decoupling caps
C9	Tantalum Capacitor	7343	220uF	C8024	Optional but adds protection. 10V.
CN1,CN2	JST XA 3 pin			C265055	B03B-XASK-1(LF)(SN)
CN3	JST XA 4 pin			C264994	B04B-XASK-1(LF)(SN)
D1-D8	Worldsemi WS2813B-V5			C965558
R1,R2	0805W8F1000T5E	0805	100R	C17408
U1,U2	MMBD1503A			C242273

So to do the math for you, to replace all of your lights, that's 60 PCBs you need.

60x  C782264 [these ship in multiples of 5]
120x C265055 [these ship in multiples of 10]
60x  C264994 [these ship in multiples of 10]
480x C965558 [these ship in multiples of 5]
120x C17408  [these ship in multiples of 100, you'll have 80 extra]
120x C242273 [these ship in multiples of 5]

The parts at the time of writing were $61.94 with $14.24 slower shipping from China to California

Soldering it all together

If you're reading this, you probably know the basics on soldering and soldering SMD components. If you're totally new to soldering, SMD might be a bit tricky. I'd suggest picking up an interesting keyboard project (like the corne) and studying lots of youtube videos on the matter. Just remember to use solder with flux (kester 63/37 .031 inch leaded solder recommended), and to use a smoke absorber for your safety (Hakko FA400-04 recommended). When in doubt, flux flux flux.

One way to shave a lot of time off mass producing these PCBs is to use solder paste and order a stencil from https://www.oshstencils.com/ Upload the gerber zip, select the side that has all the LEDs as the top stencil (wacca_ws2813_f_paste.gtp), and make frameless stainless steel 5mil. Should cost about $50. Ordering the jig accessory can help as well, but you can just use other PCBs to hold the position of the one you're squeegeeing. Get some solder paste and apply it to the PCB using the stencil (spread over stencil and squeegee. if no stencil, careful syringing), apply the SMD components, put it in a modified oven or on top of a modified clothes iron (or maybe you can use hot air at low flow)

Replacing the board on the touch panel

TODO: post a more detailed guide with photos

But this process is pretty easy, for most of them you dont even have to remove the panel but let's assume you're replacing all 60.

1. Remove the screws holding the panel in the frame, remove panel
2. Remove the ribbon from the pentel touch pcb and unscrew and remove the pcb
3. Unscrew each PCB and pull them out
4. Place in the new PCB and screw everything back together

Tip: You can "grip" the ribbon to feed it back through the hole to get it back into the pcb by using painter's tape. Be gentle here though, broken ribbons are no fun.

Other hardware

50 inch LED

I tried with a 55 inch and the circle size is not quite right. If you're using original hw, you'll need to be exactly 50 inch or get a TV with good overscan controls. I got a TCL 50S455 open box for $299.99 at bb.

Network Router For connecting to a private server you'll want

• GL.iNet GL-AR750 (Creta)
• GL.iNet GL-AR750S (Slate)
• GL.iNet GL-MT300N-V2 (Mango)

or any router that supports OpenWrt 22.03

If you need wifi, Slate is the recommended one to go with. however, you can make mango's perform adequately with wifi on dedicated APs.

The routers can be powered via usb, so you might be tempted to plug it into the ALLS. However, ALLS USB ports aren't always live, so startup will be a race condition between the game's network check & error and your router's boot/connection. It's best to plug it into wall power instead.

Total Power plugs needed: 4

ALLS, TV, PCB I/O, Network Router

Working inside the ALLS

You can get away with using a phillips screwdriver but you really do risk stripping the screws used here. Notice how each of the screws look like phillips but have a dot? These are JIS screws! You'll want to purchase JIS screwdrivers to use.

The main interest in opening the ALLS is getting to the solid state drive that's inside. It's a bit of a pain but you don't have to disassemble too much of it to be able to get it out (I was able to strain the ATX connector a bit to unscrew the drive without tampering any cable ties).

To make this process much easier the second time around, it's recommended to either get a long SATA cable and plug your drive somewhere more accessible or to get an enclosure that fits in the open PCI slot on the ALLS, this is the one people have used https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-2-5in-Removable-Drive-Expansion/dp/B002MWDRD6

Imaging your ALLS drive

ALLS uses various tamper protections such as bitlocker, tpm, etc. that are provisioned from the factory. As such, you can't just stick in any drive and expect it to work, even with keychip. It's a very good idea to image your drive, so you can restore it and have it work, or to just have a 2nd drive handy.

Boot Linux through a USB drive (i recommend using Linux Mint and Rufus to create the bootable USB. plenty of guides on this)

Plug in an external drive if your boot USB drive isn't large enough to contain a 120gb image

Plug in your wacca drive via usb sata enclosure device

Use DD to image the drive https://linuxhint.com/make-disk-images-dd-command-linux/

tl;dr

sudo apt install lsscsi

lsscsi

lists all the drives plugged in, look for your wacca drive (if you have some kind of complex setup, do the command prior to plugging in the drive and then after to discover which one)

sudo fdisk /dev/sd<wacca-drive>

we want to access the wacca drive. replace /dev/sd<wacca-drive> with whatever you saw in the previous step

p

This will list all the partitions on the drive and the exact sector count. Important to note them.

q

quits out of fdisk

sudo dd if=/dev/sd<wacca-drive> of=/pathtostorage/wacca.img bs=100M conv=noerror

Creates a clone image of the specified input if to the specified destination of

ls -lh wacca.img

Checks permission of the drive, should match the original

fdisk -; wacca.img

To compare the sector count, should match the original

then restore using

sudo dd if=<wacca.img> of=<newdrive> bs=100M conv=noerror

There will be no problems with base functionality from imaging this on a larger drive.

UNKNOWN: expand the existing partition possible? would be good for the future of wacca+ / omnimix etc.

Other

USB capture cards can be used to stream Wacca.

This will also show additional song stats on the parts of the screen that are otherwise not visible from the cab. This is the recommended one to use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJ6XLK45 but anything 1080p60 is good, there's no EDID fuckery.

Burrito has a neat Wacca Lily R stream overlay, and a Reverse version is in the works with some nice move transitions.

Gooseneck Phone mount thing

There's a little bracket on the top right of your machine that is designed for you to clamp a gooseneck phone mount onto to record gameplay. TODO: Update this with a recommended mount that has appropriate length etc.

Gloves.

You will want to wear gloves to play the game because you will burn the skin on your fingertips from doing slides on the acrylic. Any cotton gloves are recommended, lots of people like the white gloves available at Daiso. Thick or thin gloves depending on your preference, I like thin but people want to feel less friction from the touch segments and so they go thick. If you wanna go full Wacca, the custom gloves made by marv are OEM these https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/B0767CMNDQ/ https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/B07DJ2KJ1S/ (these are thin, and won't last long). I have a vector trace of the wacca gloves

Custom charts.

A charter exists here: https://github.com/Goatgarien/BAKKA-Editor/ and custom song injection is fully working. Join their discord for more information.