Hardware info
San Francisco Rush and San Francisco Rush: The Rock runs on Atari's "Flagstaff" hardware (Copied from MAME's driver):
* 192MHz R5000 main CPU (system clock 48MHz)
* Galileo GT64010 system controller
* National Semiconductor PC87415 IDE controller
* SMC91C94 ethernet controller
* ADC0848 8 x A-to-D converters
* 3dfx FBI with 2MB frame buffer
* 2 x 3dfx TMU with 4MB texture memory
* Midway I/O ASIC
* 8MB DRAM for main CPU
* 512KB boot ROM
* 33MHz TMS32C031 audio CPU
* 8MB ROM space for audio CPU
* 512KB boot ROM
San Francisco Rush 2049 and its revisions run on Atari's "Denver" hardware (Copied from MAME's driver):
CPU board:
Durango - RM7000 or RM5271 @ 250-300MHz, 8-32MB RAM
Sound I/O board:
Denver SIO - ADSP2181 @ 33MHz, no ROM, 4MB RAM
Video board:
Voodoo 3 2000 PCI
This hardware is very different from one another, so San Francisco Rush cannot be upgraded to 2049, and vise versa.
Each version of both games has its own security data stored on a Microchip Technology PIC16C57. Denver hardware has its security PIC located at U27 on the Sound I/O board, and Flagstaff's is at U96. A mismatched or missing/damaged PIC will prevent the game from starting up. On Denver hardware, "IOASIC" will repeat on the seven-segment display if this is the case. Legitimate security PICs are protected with the security bit and are unable to be dumped by conventional means.
Hard Drives
After 20+ years of use, the original drives in these machines might have corrupt data, freeze during gameplay, or not work at all. Both games use a standard IDE 3.5" HDD to store the bulk of the game data.
San Francisco Rush and San Francisco Rush: The Rock
San Francisco Rush and San Francisco Rush: The Rock shipped with a 1.2GB Quantum Fireball drive. These drives are notorious for being unreliable, and a replacement solution should be considered if your machine is still running one.
Compact Flash Card
The recommended solution for this game is to install a Compact Flash card in place of the hard drive. This increases reliability and loading speed, and removes noise and any moving parts.
Just about any CF to IDE adapter will work, the best one is known as the "CF-IDE40". This one plugs directly into the CPU board, sparing the need for an IDE cable. A cable for power is still required, but the original 4 pin Molex power plug to the old hard drive can be used with an adapter.
IDE Hard Drive
An easy solution is to simply replace the hard drive with another one. Manufacturing of IDE hard drives ceased late 2013, however, so any drop-in replacement you find will be close to 10 years old already (as of 2021). If you have a pile of them sitting around though, it won't hurt to put it to use.
San Francisco Rush 2049, TE, SE
Compact Flash Card
The Vegas hardware is very picky about what CF cards are used. Most of them will fail to mount the filesystem on boot. The only CF card found to work is the SanDisk Ultra 30MB/s, usually in 4GB size.
One minor issue that will appear during gameplay is that upon certain actions such as creating/editing Team Rush data or returning from a race back to the attract mode, the game will freeze for a brief moment before continuing. There's no risk of the game freezing when this happens, but the audio stutter ruins the seamless transition from a race to the attract mode. Tests with this CF card setup vs a IDE HDD revealed that the HDD was consistently faster than the CF card on exiting a race and immediately beginning a new game.
Replacement Parts
Despite both games' age, the parts used to build the cabs were either generic parts or are still used in arcade games today (Notably, a significant amount of Raw Thrills games). For each game, the model or part number and vendor, plus a link to purchase, are all listed here. If a part is not listed, it is either no longer manufactured as new (you may be able to find used parts on sites like eBay), or is a bespoke part not used on any other game and hence has no generic replacement.
San Francisco Rush and San Francisco Rush: The Rock
| Component | Part # | Vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | BR2325 | Battery Junction |
| Force Feedback PCB OPAMP | OPA541AP | DigiKey |
| Shifter Microswitches | DB3E-BGAF | eBay OR Suzohapp |
| Steering Wheel Motor Belt | 70 Teeth, 14“ Pitch Length. 3/8” Wide | Belt Palace |
San Francisco Rush 2049 (all editions)
| Header text | Header text | Header text | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery | M4T28-BR12SH1 | STMicroelectronics | |
| Keypad | WMS__20-10592 | Betson Imperial* OR eBay (search for "rush 2049 keypad") | |
| Keypad Wiring Connectors | TE Connectivity 3-640441-8 & 643075-8 | Digikey DigiKey | |
| Keypad Wiring Crimp Tool | TE Application Tooling 59803-1 | DigiKey | |
| Power Supply | 80-0074-00** OR 80-0002-10*** | Suzohapp Suzohapp | |
| Shifter Microswitches | DB3E-BGAF | eBay OR Suzohapp | |
| Steering Wheel | 50-3142-00 | Suzohapp | |
| Steering Wheel Cap | 03-9935** | eBay | |
| Steering Wheel Motor Belt | 70 Teeth, 14“ Pitch Length. 3/8” Wide | Belt Palace |
* Some people have reported Betson cancelling or delaying orders without warning. They can take a long time to ship.
** This SKU is no longer manufactured. You may be able to find used or new old stock (NOS) parts.
*** This SKU requires some modifications to the power cables. You will either need to make an adapter or cut and splice.