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Namco System 246 / 256

Namco's arcade platforms (2001 / 2004), based on the PlayStation 2. Tekken 4/5, Soul Calibur II/III, Time Crisis 3, Taiko no Tatsujin… The game (on DVD or HDD) is paired to a security dongle: no dongle, no boot. That's the hard preservation point — but the scene now has tools to work around it cleanly (dump, the open Proverb bootloader, dongle rebinding).

Identification

Field Value
Manufacturer Namco (Sony PS2 hardware)
Years 246 (2001) · 256 (2004)
Base Sony PlayStation 2
Boards 246: COH-H3xxxx (EE + GS separate) · 256: COH-H4xxxx (EE + GS fused)
Media DVD-ROM and/or HDD (IDE) + a security dongle
I/O JVS (+ a game-specific I/O board: sticks, wheels, guns, drums…)
Region signed by an iLinkID (read by games)

Architecture (≈ PS2)

Block Chip Role
CPU Emotion Engine (MIPS R5900) + VU0/VU1 PlayStation 2 base
GPU Graphics Synthesizer (4 MB eDRAM) rendering; 246 EE+GS separate, 256 fused
Sound SPU2 48 ADPCM voices
Settings on-board SRAM stores operator settings (dumpable/restorable)
Expansion ACRAM (RAM expansion board, System 246) extra RAM for some games

System 246 = a PS2 in an arcade case (COH-H3xxxx boards). The System 256 (2004) is a cost-reduced revision (EE + GS fused, like the PS2 Slim). A shared platform: Namco, but also Capcom, Taito, Arika, Tecmo…

The security dongle (the real topic)

Boot goes through Sony's "PSALM" bootloader (boot.bin) and a hardware dongle paired to the game:

  • The dongle (a small plug-in board) holds a security key / NAND; the game on DVD or HDD is encrypted/signed and boots only with the right dongle.
  • The dongle is game-specific (sometimes revision-specific) → changing game in theory needs both the right media AND the right dongle.
  • The board's SRAM stores settings; the iLinkID acts as a region signature.

This triple lock (media + dongle + region) is what makes preservation hard.

Modern preservation solutions

The arcade PS2 scene (GitHub org PS2Homebrew-arcade, PSX-Place, Arcade-Projects) has produced open-source tools that answer "how do I run other games" directly:

Tool Role
Dongle dumper (PSX-Place) back up the dongle contents (NAND) before it dies
Proverb an alternative bootloader to Sony's PSALM boot.bin → run other games / custom code on the arcade PS2
Dongle-Rebinder batch re-bind the boot.bin to dongle images (used with SD2PSX / MemCard Pro)
biosdrain / sram-dumper dump the BIOS, SRAM (settings) and system specs
System256-Region-Changer change the iLinkID (region)
pcsx2x6 / pcsx2-coh PCSX2 forks dedicated to 246/256 emulation

On top of these are reversible dongle conversions (community services, e.g. Arcade-Projects): back up the dongle NAND, then reprogram it for another game, the operation being fully reversible.

Preserve first, play later

Top priority: dump the dongle and image the HDD/DVD while they still read. Media and dongle age; once saved, the tools above let you play again without wearing out the original.

⚠️ We only describe the method and re-host no BIOS, keys or games. The open-source tools (Proverb, Dongle-Rebinder…), however, are worth preserving.

Notable games

Tekken 4 (2001), Soul Calibur II (2002), Time Crisis 3, Vampire Night, Wangan Midnight, Tekken 5 (2004), Soul Calibur III, Taiko no Tatsujin, The Idolm@ster (256), Fate/Unlimited Codes, Sengoku Basara X…

Faults & repair

PlayStation 2-class hardware → most PS2 repairs apply, plus the dongle:

Symptom Likely cause Lead
Won't boot (dongle) Dead dongle / oxidised contacts Clean the contacts; dump the dongle before it fails; Proverb/rebind routes
Media not read (DVD) Worn PS2 laser (KHS-400 family) Adjust/replace the laser, or switch to HDD/SD
Media not read (HDD) IDE disk at end of life Image the disk, replace with an image (SD2PSX/MemCard Pro depending on setup)
Reboots / crashes Tired PSU electrolytics Recap the power stage
Overheating / GS artefacts Dry thermal paste, GS struggling Clean, re-paste, ventilation; GS reflow as a last resort (like a fat PS2)
Lost settings Config SRAM Dump/restore via sram-dumper
Dead controls JVS I/O board / harness JVS diagnosis, contacts

Modernisation & mods

The common ground for every JAMMA board

Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.

  • Optical storage 🟡: the drive is the number-one wear part. Modern routes: an ODE, netboot, or replacement by flash storage depending on the platform → PCB preservation hub.
  • Scan rate 📺: PC-based hardware — VGA output (31 kHz and above). ⚠️ A 15 kHz chassis is incompatible: you need a VGA/tri-sync monitor or a computer display. (Derived from the platform's PC nature documented above — not measured from MAME.)
  • FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.

Repair (technician)

  • PS2 base (Emotion Engine + GS): PS2-type faults (PSU, recap, GS/RAM, overheating).
  • Media security + dongle: the game (encrypted/signed DVD/HDD) boots with the right media AND the right dongle — without the correct dongle it won't boot (not a hardware fault).
  • DVD-ROM / HDD: mechanism/laser or HDD wear = weak points.
  • Capacitors: recap PSU / board.

→ Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · Traces & vias

Emulation & FPGA

  • Emulation: dedicated PCSX2 forks (pcsx2x6, pcsx2-coh) — still imperfect but improving fast, driven by dongle dumping.
  • FPGA / MiSTer: no core (it's a full PS2, out of FPGA budget).

Lineage

Photos / assets

(To add: 246 (COH-H3) vs 256 (COH-H4) board, the security dongle, drive/HDD, JVS I/O board, ACRAM board.)

Sources & attribution

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.