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Posts posted by Sonny_Jim
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I know there's a few SS/DMD techs, but does anyone know of a EM tech that does house calls?
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Rotted IDC connector on the CPU is my guess. Also try bypassing the switch by pulling the plugs off and jumpering a wire between them.
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I had a quick chat with Jomac when I first got it to see about getting the existing chassis repaired, but I was on a tight budget and the uni chassis was $70 delivered so I figured it was worth a roll of the dice.
Picture wise, it's not perfect but fine for now. It's lost convergence in the corners and there was no degauss circuit so I ended up having to make a manual one. I'm still waiting for a 5450 GFX card to turn up before I calibrate it again. Once that's done I'll take some better pictures.
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The tube in that cab is actually very good (albeit 16:9), which was pretty much the reason I bought it. Chassis was rooted so got a 'universal' (aka shit) chassis from AliExpress, along with some Sanwa clone joysticks and a $50 PC off marketplace to replace the godawful multiboard that was in there. All up it probably owes me about 350? Yeah it's not a proper candy but it means I can play Galaga, Time Pilot and Raiden properly
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As someone who used to be into pinball but got priced out of it (even the project ones), it's nice to have a project where I don't have to hide the cost from the missus!
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On 06/06/2022 at 8:39 PM, mR_CaESaR said:
Damn! If he sells for that price, that'd be an all time high for an astro 🙂
Hate to be just getting into the hobby with today's current prices - it's mental
I just bought a couple of cabs this year, both for under $300 but mine are
Me: 'Mum I want a candy cab',
Mum: 'We have a candy cab at home'
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Anecdotally all I can say is that the bubble is slowly deflating, but how far it'll go down remains to be seen. My guess is that since people can start travelling again soon, those family holiday funds that got raided for 'it's an investment' COVID pinnies will be spent on holidays this year, rather than man cave toys.
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You can get these things dirt cheap on Aliexpress (~$20 delivered), I needed a JAMMA fingerboard so I'd thought I would roll the dice on it to see what it's like. They come with zero documentation so I figured I'd put down my findings in here so it might help others. What you get for the money is as follows:
1 x TDA2003 mono audio amp with a volume pot and 3.5mm jack. You'll need to supply +12V, either from the PC PSU and bundled cable or from the edge connector
6 x 4021's to take the various inputs from the cab and send them to the PC via the parallel connector (more on this later).
1 x straight VGA -> JAMMA edge connector, no filtering/rescaling/conversion chips or anything like that.
So in terms of what you get, it's not great, not terrible. As mentioned there's no video hardware so if you're going from a MAME PC into a arcade CRT you'll need to send an appropriate signal out of the PC, this board won't do any conversion for you. The onboard audio amp is handy and saves me having to nick the board out of some PC speakers but it's mono and I've just had to replace the 3.5mm jack as it wasn't sending the right hand side channel.
For the price I'm happy with the audio/video quality, but it can be super confusing to get the inputs working. Do not bother with this board unless you have a parallel port or are happy to work out your own way of getting cab inputs into the PC.
Technical stuff
The TL;DR is that it uses the positively ancient Gamecon Linux kernel driver to get the cab inputs into the PC so you'll need to load the module with the appropriate options:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v5.0/input/devices/joystick-parport.html
You'll note the date on that is 2000 😉 The good news is that the driver is still present in most modern day Linux distributions, including GroovyArcade which is what I'm using. The bad news is that it's almost impossible to get a PC with a parallel port nowadays. I've got an old crappy PC with a parallel that I'm testing with at the moment whilst I'm waiting for a PCI-E parallel port card to turn up for my modern system. The other option is to use a Arduino Leonardo/Micro to convert it from parallel to output as a bog standard USB joystick. Although TBF at that point it's probably going to be easier and better to get a board that has USB encoder and a decent video amp. I'm only messing around with it as it's something to do.
Essentially it's converting the JAMMA cab inputs into a SNES compatible format via the 4021's, which are then squirted to the PC via the parallel port. In theory it wouldn't be too hard to wire it up to a real SNES (maybe this board started off life as a SNES -> JAMMA convertor). It gets a bit weird when you start looking at the extra buttons on the PCB, They essentially work the same way as the cab buttons and seem to be hardwired for a specific version of DOS MAME, this document lists them as 'SYSTEM ENTER', 'SYSTEM SERVICE' etc.
https://www.hollandcomputers.com/data/Images_Additional/arcade game parts/pc-2-jamma manual.pdf
So basically what they've done is repurposed SLAM/TILT and TEST on the JAMMA edge connector to be P1 and P2 Button 6, then moved those functions to the onboard PCB buttons. This means if I want 6 buttons on my cabinet I'll have to make my JAMMA connector 'non standard', but to be fair, anything with 6 buttons is non standard anyway.
The way this all gets presented to the PC/parallel port is in the form of 3 x SNES joysticks, 1 for the PCB buttons and the other 2 for P1/P2. This was super confusing to me to start with as the Gamecon driver only seemed to work when set to 3 x joysticks, I now understand why.
To enable the gamecon driver, you'll need to load it with the right mapping options:
sudo modprobe gamecon map=0,1,0,1,1
To automate this on boot with GroovyArcade I made a file with the name /etc/modules-load.d/gamecon.conf with the contents:
gamecon
Then I appended the kernel boot line that lives at /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg with 'gamecon.map=0,1,0,1,1' so it reads:
default arch timeout 0 prompt 0 #UI vesamenu.c32 menu title Groovy Arcade Linux menu background splash.png label arch menu label GroovyArcade linux /vmlinuz-linux-15khz append root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/$DISK_ID rw quiet rd.udev.log-priority=3 splash mitigations=off audit=0 monitor=generic_15 video=VGA-1:1280x480iSe gamecon.map=0,1,0,1,1 initrd /initramfs-linux-15khz.img
With this mapping:
/dev/input/js0 = P1 controls
/dev/input/js1 = PCB buttons
/dev/input/js2 = P2 controls
I'm going to keep on poking around with it and once my new parallel port turns up I'll post some more info. For now I just wanted to share what I'd found out about these strange little boards.
This board should also work on Windows XP (and maybe even Win 10?) when using the PSXPAD driver or any of the SNES Pad -> parallel port windows drivers:
https://github.com/elitak/PPJoy/releases
EDIT1: Manually buzzed out the 4021's to the edge connector:
4021 Input IC1 IC2 IC3 IC4 IC5 IC6 P1 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P1 Right / 21 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P2 Right / Y P2 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P1 Left / 20 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P2 Left / X P3 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P1 Down / 19 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P2 Down / W P4 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P1 Up / 18 Tied to VCC Tied to VCC P2 Up / V P5 Tied to VCC N/C? P1 Start /17 P1 Button 1 / 22 P2 Button 1 / Z P2 Start / U P6 Tied to VCC PCB Button 1 Coin A / 16 P1 Button 2 / 23 P2 Button 2 / a Service / R P7 PCB Button 4 PCB Button 2 P1 Button 5 / 26 P1 Button 3 / 24 P2 Button 3 / b P2 Button 5 / d P8 PCB Button 5 PCB Button 3 Test / 15 P1 Button 4 / 25 P2 Button 4 / c Tilt / S The way the operate is exactly the same as the SNES ones, where two 4021's are stacked on top of each other to provide 16-bits of data to be clocked out, with the last 4 bits tied high. They work in pairs so IC1 and IC2 handle one joysticks worth of data, IC3 and IC4 the second and so on. You can see it matches up with the SNES controller protocol, starting at 8 through to 1, then 16 through to 9:
Clock Cycle Button Reported
=========== ===============
1 B
2 Y
3 Select
4 Start
5 Up on joypad
6 Down on joypad
7 Left on joypad
8 Right on joypad
9 A
10 X
11 L
12 R
13 none (always high)
14 none (always high)
15 none (always high)
16 none (always high)Technically you could add more inputs by rewriting the kernel driver and repurposing bits 13-16, but they are used by the SNES (and more than likely the Gamecon driver as well) to ensure there is actually a device attached to the port. A much easier approach to more buttons would be to disconnect the PCB buttons and use the inputs on IC1 and IC2, giving you another 12 inputs.
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I've got a decent tube here that I saved from the skip I'd like to do something with, but unfortunately it's minus a chassis. In the past I used to just take pics and get Jomac to sort out, but I'm not sure if he's still doing that sort of thing.
Also, anybody taken a punt on these 'universal chassis' you can get off Aliexpress? How good/bad are they?
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Only ever had the chance to meet him the once but he was such a lovely chap. He'll live on forever via the spirit he infused into Pincade. It really is one of the greatest pinball meets in the world.
RIP
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So I'm literally the only person out of 21 who prefers incandescents to LEDs on GI. Feature lamps, sure they work great when LED'd, but I've seen too many clown puke/all blue Whitewaters that has completely put me off GI LEDs.
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I'm in Melbourne (East) and have been working on my first resto for several months. A Volcano (Gottlieb System 80).
I am loving it, but I don't mind admitting that I get stuck from time to time. Something isn't or stops working and I'm lost to Pinside for days despairingly trying to figure it out!
It happens, that's pinball
I wonder if there's anyone out there that might run a course (paid of course) for repairing and troubleshooting SS games? Reading and using schematics, how to work backwards from an issue. That sort of thing.
Having a broader electronic knowledge definitely helps, but you've got to stick with it and move away from a cargo cult mentality of 'If X stops working, do Y' and move toward 'Y isn't working, Y needs these specific things to work. I need to check each of those things individually'. For example I've seen way too many people replacing WPC power filter caps 'because the game was resetting' without checking the multitude of other reasons why a machine might reset.
WRT schematics, it's really just a map but you need to know what the symbols mean and to do that, you need to read, apply your knowledge, read again etc until it sticks. Big Clive has done a video on component identification that might help you get started:
If it sounds like a lot of work, that's because it is. But if you want to move away from 'it's broken and I need to wait for pinside to tell me how to fix it' to 'why is it doing that? Where's the schematics' you'll need to start from scratch. Pick a small project, like one of those clock kits you can build and work from there.
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Never really met the guy, just bought a few parts but only ever heard good things about him, which is seemingly rare nowadays. A real loss to pinball.
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Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. From memory, they sent out an email requested payment, turns out they had used the wrong bank details, then quickly sent out another email saying 'Don't pay into that, we got hacked'.
How much of that was true or an arse covering exercise is anyones guess though. If anyone has the original email I'd be very interested to see it.
EDIT: Ah here it was, from 7 months ago:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alien-pinball-official-game-thread/page/160#post-3390821
i everyone,
I have a question to current pre-order customers.
At the weekend, Aimee sent an email with payment details for the next installment.
Over the weekend her email was hacked and an additional email was sent to at least one customer with bank details supposedly from us. These bank details are incorrect and somebody is trying to get our customers to make payments to a fraudulent account.
If you received an email with all payment details in the body of the email, and the Alien Pinball game flyer as an attachment - then this is correct.
If you then received a subsequent email with bank details as an attachment - then this was fraud.
We are emailing all of our customers about this tonight. However, if you received such an email, could you please either PM me here, or email me at andrew@heighwaypinball.com please?
Thanks in advance.
Andrew
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Oh and it looks like a price increase is on the way, at least that is what they are telling people who are trying to get refunds:
We would like to speak to you and ask why you have asked for a refund for Alien. We are straightforward about this and are obviously very interested to know if there is anything that could make you change your mind now that things finally start to get exciting? We do have a solid plan moving forwards which we will share with you on the phone. We sincerely hope you are willing to let us explain our thoughts for the way forward.
Due to increased production cost of Alien since the game was initially announced we want you to know there is a price increase planned in the near future – however, as a pre-order customer you are still entitled to the price you got when placing your pre-order.
We will give you a call in the next few days and are looking forward to a really nice pinball conversation!
Very Best Regards,
The new management of Heighway Pinball
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Crowdfunding is worse, at least with HP/DP/SkitB you are in a contract to purchase something. With crowdfunding you are investing in a company to produce a product or even just an idea. Often to sweeten the deal they might offer a product as a perk but it's in no way guaranteed to be delivered to you, even if the crowdfunding is successful:
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You have to remember it was the best part of 5 years ago when I worked there, so my 'stories' may be a little stale by now. Anyone who met me after I had a few beers at Pincade the other year heard them first hand. Re-reading these with todays knowledge is enlightening:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.games.pinball/dLymIc1UHB8/wsGLo5SDBgAJ
Also, you have to remember Andy is just about to have a lot of free time on his hands and maybe a golden handshake from the investors, for which he could stand to lose a few thousand sending out baseless nasty-grams. As I said before, this is GOOD news for HP customers and I genuinely hope they do well.
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I may be not fully informed about what has transpired here, but am I the only one that thinks this "poor Andrew" or "Andrew is a hero" mentality is a joke!?!
Martin tries to remain as neutral as possible when it comes to these things, as he should as a journalist. Have a look at his Predator coverage for an example. Also another thing to bear in mind is that both Andy and Martin hail from the UK which doesn't exactly have a huge pinball scene. If Martin started calling him a liar, charlatan for taking peoples money etc it wouldn't go down too well. Plus Andy likes to use the threat of legal action to silence people (I've had several thrown at me over the years) so really isn't in anyones interest to do a hack job on him.
For what it's worth, I agree with you. Having first hand experience of how he runs a business, I wouldn't trust him to put the bins out, let alone handle millions of dollars that isn't his own.
I really hope everyone gets their machines or money back.
From what I gather, even with the extremely bad looking financials they just posted, the investors are more than capable of refunding those who have put money in.
I don't _think_ they are about to go tits up, wouldn't make sense to remove Andy, then fold up shop. Considering Andys complete lack of experience and business sense, if they wanted to shut up shop and 'do a runner' the investors could have quite easily pinned the blame on him and walked away scott free.
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And it's official, Pinballnews reports it so it must be true ;)
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So I'm looking at that financial report and it says ~500k GBP intangible assets, 80k tangible (if I'm reading that right, I ain't an accountant). Two things strike me:
1. There's no way in hell that they have half a mill in IP/trademark/designs etc
2. Those machines that Andy loved to point out that they 'owned', I'm pretty sure they are worth far in excess of 80k. So HP doesn't own them or are being very creative on their submissions to companies house
EDIT: Oh and if they just bought all of those shiny machines and presumably they would come under assets. how come that figure is down 60k from the previous year??
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I dunno, I wouldn't say the company is flat broke, looking at their most recent submission to Companies house. The problem being is that how much of that is true and how much of the money is sitting in Hydrofoils UK and how much is just simply 'gone'
EDIT: It appears I don't know how to read properly. Oh dear.
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It's 100% NOT new investors. I'm speculating, but they didn't step in till now because Andy hid just how bad the situation was from them.
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That's the worrying part. If they have been involved already. And if they are successful businessmen.... Then how the hell did it get this far?
The only thing Andy does well is bullshit people. My feeling is that he had managed to hide all the negativity from his investors up to a point and they realised they needed to boot him out. Bear in mind that this will take a while due to the legal bits and bobs, but you can see that they are clearly trying to draw a line in the sand financially with this submission to companies house:
Am I happy? In the sense that people like Aurich and the rest of the guys on the team are actually going to get paid for the work they've done and that people are much more likely to get machines now that Andy is no longer running the show.
Really hard for me to not just stand here and say 'I told you so' as I've taken a *lot* of stick over the years for bashing Andy. My name is dirt in the UK due to the lies Andy has been spreading about me. So I'm happy in that regard as well that my views are being validated.
So I dunno, I didn't think I was the sort of person to hold a grudge until I met Andy and I'm glad I can finally put all that in the distant past where it belongs.
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Two distributors have this week dropped out, Cointaker removed Alien from their store and Gamesroom LLC put out a message saying that they are no longer distributors, although they may reapproach in the future.
EM repair Melbourne?
in Pinball Technical and Repair Questions
Posted
I'm a tech myself, it's for someone in the Melbourne Pinball Tournaments group that needs an EM tech to look at his playmatic. I've tried troubleshooting with him but you know what it's like when they never even lifted a playfield