This is a little guide where I’ve documented the most notable parts of the Epolis upgrade I did for my IIDX cabinet, may anyone find it useful.
Feel free to DM me in Discord if you have questions: @elmiamiman
Further documentation
You can also follow this guide by @epixyl as it may be more comprehensive:
Big shout out the Rhythm Game Cabs Discord server which is where I’ve gathered most of this info
Regarding cabinet
This was done on a beatmania IIDX Tricoro cabinet
Step 1: Swap BIO2
Swap I/O board from CCJ for the BIO2 inside the IIDX PCB (assuming it is a CB PCB)
Regarding I/O board
CCJ BIO2 has BI2X firmware already flashed, it is not compatible for legacy IIDX, but it could be used for a 120hz upgrade
Step 2: Take important cables
Unplug CN15 and COM (CN7 in BIO2) cables from IIDX PCB, has to be plugged into the BIO2 inside the CCJ
- Cables look like this:
Picture taken from the IIDX LDJ DIY Upgrade Kit Installation guide
Step 3: Get the audio card
Buy a Asus XONAR AE audio card and insert it to any PCIe slot, line signal will go into the FRONT jack port from the card.
Keep in mind
You will have to cut open a hole on the PCB case at the same spot where your XONAR will be, otherwise you won’t be able to plug anything into the card. How you want to cut it is totally up to you depending on what you want or need.
Step 4: Place CCJ PCB inside the cab
Since the CCJ PCB is pretty large, as it cannot or it is very difficult to put inside the cabinet vertically, what I did is to place it horizontally, using the transformer inside and whatever you can use that is robust enough and the same height as said transformer as support, along with the wooden tray used for the IIDX PCB, which should be attached to it at the beginning (pictures shown at the end). A cleaner (and of course less crazy) solution would be building a tray or some kind of platform so it stays above the transformer.
Step 5: Readers
For the readers, the most seamless solution is to build a RS232 DB9 male connector to plug the reader serial cable and to plug into the CCJ’s COM1 port, which is a JST connector
Step 5.1: Building the COM1 cable
Bill Of Materials
If any link stops working, just try to searching for the piece in specific for the time being, you’ll probably find it.
COM:
- JST XMP-04:
- Connector: https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJzqbCA
- Terminals (SXA-001T-P0.6): https://a.aliexpress.com/_EzkgZqi
Serial
- Male connector: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005687483372.html
Wire
- I bought this because it has the colours I wanted to use but use anything that works for you https://aliexpress.com/item/1005008439816483.html
You can do two versions for the same solution:
1. Plugging Dupont cables following the next diagram when connecting:
Following the same color codes, the result should look something like this:
COM1 connector inside CCJ PCB
RS232 connector wired with Duponts into COM1
Since this only for serial data transfer, the fourth pin on the COM1 connector in the CCJ, which corresponds to +12V, goes unused, therefore the only pins needed will be, in order, TX, RX and GND.
The resulting pinout would be:
| DB9 | to | JST |
|---|---|---|
| RX (pin 2) | → | TX (pin 2) |
| TX (pin 3) | → | RX (pin 1) |
| GND (pin 5) | → | GND (pin 3) |
Be sure to keep the metal part of the Dupont side up and try to push it inside as far as you can without too much force. This just works™ but Dupont cables are pretty frail and can unplug at any time if you need to move the cabinet
2. Build a JST connector:
This takes a bit of extra effort but results in a more clean and resilient solution. Only materials needed are the JST plugs and terminals attached at the beginning of the section, and of course a crimper.
Wired RS232 with a JST
RS232 connected to serial connector and COM1
Result inside cab
