Are There 2 Version Of The F-200

[cranker]

I heard this and was wondering and if so what are the differences ?

 

[Manjuu]

I heard this and was wondering and if so what are the differences ?

Yes, there are indeed two versions of the F-200. The "old" and "new" F-200.

The difference is the LCD; GPH quietly changed it in the newer batches of F-200. The default factory firmware was also updated to FW 4.0.2 (as shown on the splash screen, or 4.0.1 as shown in the Info screen). With these changes, it caused problems to the touchscreen and to some of the emulators and apps, which only resulted in black screen. Downgrading it to FW 4.0.0 only resulted in permanently bricking it. FW 4.1.x fixed the black screen problem, but the homebrew touchscreen games are still broken (but notaz has a fix for this though).

There are some who refer to the "new" F-200s as F-200(B ) due to what is written on the sticker at the back of unit, but this is actually a misnomer; The "old" F-200s are actually also labeled as F-200(B ) on those stickers. So this is an incorrect way of differentiating them.

You can tell them apart by the default factory firmware that came with them, but if it was already been updated to a newer one, the date written in the Info screen would also differentiate them. However, I don't know what date when the newer ones started coming out. Of course, you can also try to tell by the LCD or by opening it up to look for the changes in the circuit board.

 

[cranker]

I am buying a used f-200............Is the screen much better on the new one ? So which one is better ? I guess I just take a chance and hope............The screen is important to me though....any other advice ?

 

[Manjuu]

I don't know, since I only have an "old" F-200.

Here is a quote from EvilDragon about the subject matter:

Well, just compared two F200 - the new ones have a much brighter LCD with less scanlines than the old one.

So I guess the old firmware won't work because of LCD drivers.

Gonna open them up and check it out.

EDIT: Old F200 have a different Testing-Points layout on the PCB than new F200. Definately a hardware change.

EDIT2: Yep, as suspected, the new F200 have a completely different LCD!
The old one is the same as the F100 MK2 (just with a touchscreen foil in front of it) and the new one is a LG Philips LCD LB035Q02 - V0.3. Completely different layout on the frontside of the PCB.

 

[Orange Pumpkin]

Never mind

 

[cranker]

So, I am buying one on ebay...any questions I can ask to know if it's a new one ? and do they both run the same emulators ? thx


This is info about the system from the seller: I don't know about the screen version but if it helps, this unit was purchased 5/14/2008. Also, on boot up, the system displays a firmware version of v4.0.2.

Is this good or bad ???????????

 

[Manjuu]

So, I am buying one on ebay...any questions I can ask to know if it's a new one ? and do they both run the same emulators ? thx

This is info about the system from the seller: I don't know about the screen version but if it helps, this unit was purchased 5/14/2008. Also, on boot up, the system displays a firmware version of v4.0.2.

Is this good or bad ???????????


I already answered these above.

It's the "new" F-200. At that default firmware, some emulators like MAME and RACE! won't work; they'll just result in a black screen. To solution is to update the firmware to FW 4.1.x. Do NOT downgrade to FW 4.0.0; that will just brick the unit.