Hello chaps, been a while.

As some of you may or may not know I've been beavering away on Project Amber 2.

I've got Epoch running, and am wanting to look at Eclipse.

Eclipse uses a flash card unit that's fairly iregular. Does anyone on here know if it's possible to "dump" the rom from the flash card unit. And if so how?

There is a CF slot on one side of the board and on the back are the Flash Chips. I don't want to just put a blank card in the slot in case it overwrites the current program with the blank card. I have no experience with this tech whatsoever so any manuals / guidance anyone can give will be very much appreciated.

I have Billy The Quid a non running (maybe) real machinem and the manual for it was in the cab. But it says to look at Page 13 to "Update the Flash", and Page 13 is suspiciously devoid of that information as is the rest of the manual.

Hi all,

Does anyone know the difference between the two types of MPU4 test rigs? I have a good set of close up pics from Rich of what I think maybe the earlier version but JPMSTU has posted some vids on Youtube of another variant which has a load more switches and LED's. I'd like to know what function these have as I can't tell from the videos.

Many thanks

Bob

ive just broken up a tatty mk1 italian job(I needed the working m1a board to save another machine),so have all other parts avaliable if anyone needs anything let me know

Hi,

My PC based Rainbow Riches decided to play up yesterday and may be some one will be familiar with the fault. The PC boots with out issue. The top light on the MPU 5 flashes green two or three times, then flashes on and off red. This produes the awful MPU5 "Check it out" alarm. Once the PC has booted it displays "ALARM 34 No reponse from MPU5" or similar. Any ideas appreciated. Thanks.

I started this as a boredom killer when I was having a clear out - Had a couple of these knocking around as spares in a drawer but finding an old post from Canonman about the BD1 displays prompted me to have a play with these.  I got a bit engrossed and obsessed with it after a day of coding and now after 3 days I have a decent demonstration program knocked up and I think I know what most of the controls and features are- The display used is the standard 16 digit 7x5 dot matrix display used in most scorpion 4 fruit machines, well the big smiley cab ones anyway (lol a bit of DOND being made useful for once) .  Im driving it from a PC parralel port using windows XP and the inpout32.dll thats availible online.

Im pretty happy with my demonstration software,  this is perhaps the beginnings of a bigger project and I have a lot of hidden elements in  my program for testing all sorts of ways of using the display- I have only shown the features I think are used in a fruit machine!

The software is a stand alone exe so I could probs easily add a clock routine to the program to show the time and date on the display and then it could sit on my table.  But for the minute, I can type messages and send them over to the alpha, or select the demo mode to show an "attract " message routine.

Have a gander at the video, I will explain more in a while - You can even make up your own character set for these things ...

THE SCORPION 4 ALPHANUMERIC BASIC USER GUIDE:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a very basic guide to making use of one of these displays.  It applies to the chunkier version in scorpion 4 - has two capacitors and a massive resistor on the back , its issue number -

31-821-001 issue 1 (did I get that right????)   And the more recent matrix display found in the later scorpion 5 games.   Its not an official manual, fuck I dont even think they have a manual they probably did the same as me when they ordered the on board ASICs from NEC, who knows.  But it works for me , as you can see, and it should work for you. If you ever want to tinker with one of these that is.  Which you probably wont, but I need something to do.

Not exactly a pro intro to a manual is it? lol thats what happens when you start dreaming things up when on a caffiene rush from rockstar haha!!

Anways I hope you make use of it.  I probably will at somepoint make a proper one and PDF it all up , along with the various other things that will appear out of me in the next few months. If its all bullshit I apologise in advance!!

1)  the pinout -

The display has a 6 pin connector :

1- +12v

2 -clock

4-data

5-reset

6- Ground

So it can be powered from a +12vdc adaptor, or a PC power supply easily .  BFM machines due to a design flaw actually hit it with +13.5v so its got a wee bit of tolerance in it.

2a)  Resetting :

To reset the display you need to supply it with a +5v logic level for a minimum of 30ms.  I actually think you should hold it for a second or so because sometimes you can reset the display and its still in the mode it was before.

2b) Clock speeds:

I am afraid you will need to experiment as every computer is different ! I am pulsing the clock on the display at about 30-40ms.

3) Connecting the display to the computer :

You will need an older motherboard, or a laptop with a parralel port . If you are using a laptop be aware that the levels output by it are sometimes lower than 5v which can cause the display to misbehave,  in that case you will need to hook it up via a 74ls244 buffer .  Theres a bit about that later.

On a PC motherboard tho its simply a case of connecting data, clock and reset to pins 3,2 and 8 of the parralel connector.  If you want to try out the driver written for it that is.

Once you have your display hooked up you will also need to download inpout32.dll from logik4u.net as it needs this library to allow the port to run in windows XP which normally does not support direct port addressing.

4) Using the display :

 4a) Character and command codes.

The display accepts an 8 bit serial transmission with no start or stop bits.  I was not sure how to configure a com port which is why I chose to use the parralel port.  The bits are arranged as follows :

 bit7 - control bit

 bit6 - unused in character mode,  bit6 in command mode

 bit5 - character bit 5

 bit4-  character bit 4

 bit3-  character bit 3

 bit2-  character bit 2

 bit1-  character bit 1

 bit0-  character bit 0

Bit 7 determines weather you are sending it a command or character code.  Note that when you are sending a character and not a command it ignores bit 6, but you still have to send it otherwise your data stream is not in sync.  To send the bits out you place the relevant bit value on pin 2 of the port and then provide it a LO clock pulse . That is a HI-LO.  I actually tried it both ways round pulsing it low seems to work best.  If you use a logic probe to check the clock and data pins on the display with no activity from the computer they are being pulled hi by resistors on the display.

If Bit7 is 0, then you are sending a character, if it is 1 , then you are sending it a command.  In command mode bit6 becomes part of the 8 bit command code.

4b) Sending the data :-

Obviously you can't just put the data value on the port . We have to break it up into its revelant bits first.  Its easy enough tho with some bitwise maths.  You simply AND your value with the individual binary values for each bit. For example to find the correct value for bit 4 you AND your data value with 16.  If bit 4 of your number is 1 your result will be 16. If its 0 your result will be 0.  The software provided does this for all 8 bits of a given number and any values that are not 0 it converts them to logic 1. 

Once the value to be transmitted to the display is broken up into its relevant bits it is then sent out to the display , bit 0 first, bit 7 last. It is important to get that the right way round, because if you do it the wrong way round , ie bit 7 FIRST, like I did for hours,  then you are sending command codes not characters and it can result in lets say, some funny or downright annoying behaviour in the display . Normally you will put it into an unknown state, and unless you know how to get it back out of it you will have to reset it to get back to buisness.

So remember , break the value up into its bits by ANDing with 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128 , and then clock it over sending it in the order of least significant bit first , most significant last (or for the layman, bit 1 first and bit 7 last.)

4c)  Sending character codes :

It couldnt be simplier, it accepts standard ascii codes for all the letters, numbers and symbols. it has 64 characters in its memory. Seems to be upper case only but that doesnt matter- your letters, numbers , and grammatic and mathematic symbols are all there and easy to use.  Sending it a value from 0- 64 will cause the right character to appear on the display. For example sending it ascii value 2 will cause the letter B to appear.  Now if you refer to datasheets etc online you will notice that the ascii codes for uppercase letters and symbols are actually in the range from 64-127, not 0-64 , but this doesn't matter to the display as it is ignoring bit 6 in character mode so it is still accepting values from 0-64. 

4d) Special characters and slight differences:

The display has a couple of built in special characters.  Ascii code 36 is a dollar sign for example. But send code 37 instead , and the character previously displayed will flash. Note the display has to be set up to do this, more later.    Also the asii code for a £ sign causes a direction change in the displays printing. So to show £ on the display , send it the code for ! instead.

5) Sending command codes:

The display has quite a range of instructions you can send it.  I am sure I havent found them all, and there are one or two I have found that I still have not fully figured out, but here are the ones I think you can use. As you set the display to command mode by setting bit7 to 1  the command codes appear as ascii codes 128-255.  Note some command codes will then require one or more values to be sent after them to work , it is advisable to use the display blanking command to switch it off while you carry out these commands.

COMMAND CODE -  OPERATION -

128                             Display blanking -  simply switches the display glass off. Doesnt clear the memory characters will be restored when blanking is turned off.

129                             Display blanking off .

130 and 131               Same as previous two codes, except action is performed on "window areas" if you have set a window up at some point

132 + 1 value              Set brightness level.  Brightness value can be 1- 6. 1 being brightest , and 6 darkest.  Value has to be sent as an ascii code, so to set

                                    Brightness 1 , you send it command code 132, and then character code 1.

133                              Enable user defined character mode (also turns flash mode off)

144-151                       Set start address (send a number from 144-151 to select which of the 16 digits to start showing characters from

160                              Display prints to right  (You characters are printed from left - right and will wrap around back to left if you print more than 16 characters)

161                              Display prints to left    (wraps around to right)

162                              Display scrolls to right

163                              Display scrolls to left (can cause decimal point, full stop or commas to be displayed in wrong place, ie before letter instead of after it.)

168 + 7 values            Reprogram character to user defined graphic.  A bit tricky to use I will put a seperate section up for it. Also the 7 numbers after the

                                    Command code are not ascii values but are true 8 bit numbers. 

172                              Multiplexer test -  the display goes through a test pattern to ensure the glass and driving row and coloumn multiplexers are working.

177                              CLS /Clear screen . Does exactly what it says on the tin. Doesnt reset the character address tho so if your last character was shown

                                    At position 7 when you start printing fresh characters you will still be at position 8

184 +1 value               Unknown - Tried it every which way doesn't seem to have an effect on characters or display.

188                              Reset character set -  Gets rid of any user definitions you made to the character set.

200                              Flash mode on.  Only works if command 133 has not been sent. Use this code to allow the flash character (ascii 37) to work.

220 +2 values              Unknown- Sometimes causes display reset so mabye something to do with factory testing

225 -241                       Inhibit clear screen for specified area  . You can select how many digits do not get cleared  by code 177.  227 stops you clearing the

                                     first 3 locations on the display glass.

245-249                        Control of window areas,  I havent experimented with them yet.

254/255                         Reset window areas.

Note there are a couple in the set I specify as unknown. They do SOMETHING, but atm I am not sure what.   I will in time figure out what they are for.

Also note that some commands cause others not to work.  You have to reset the display to reverse the effects of this.

Section on user defined characters to follow.

Edited by MAGIK, Yesterday, 11:57 pm.

Thats why they call me magik!

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would make a new topic from this thread: http://www.fruitemu.co.uk/ib/index.php?/topic/16181-video-jpm-goldrun-mps2-1986/

This fruitmachine started to trip the RCD after 6 months of working ok. Suspecting the PSU and maybe the MPU I recently had these revised. I now have 2 revised mpu's and 2 revised PSU's. All of these were tested in 2 different fruitmachines for 6 hours and even longer, and everything works 100% No problems or RCD tripping!

In the Gold Run I have tested the following:

- 4 seperate tests with each psu and mpu combination possible (2 x 2 = 4 seperate tests)

- tested with the TL lighting disconnected.

- tested with the earth wire from the mechanical coin validator disconnected from the PSU.

When the Gold Run is cold, it takes about 2 hours to trip the RCD, when the Gold Run is warm, but turned off for 15 minutes, it trips the RCD within 20 minutes. I assume I can safely say the PSU's or MPU's don't trip the RCD, otherwise it is not possible to run them for 6+ hours in 2 different fruitmachines. It should be something in the cabinet. Does any of you have had the same issue ever? Does anybody has a good tip to check? I know earth leaks causing the RCD to trip are a pain in the ass!!

The inside of the Gold Run. (this was how I got it, before cleaning and my new reel deck)

I have a dedicated current group for my fruity's, 3 seperate groups with each a dedicated RCD: (my other 29 fruity's never cause any RCD trips)

Thanks for any input guys!!!

Bye,

Rogier

Hi all,

Has anyone got a spare MPS2 power supply they want to sell, or know anyone who fixes them ?

This one has a strange fault, when £1 coins are put through the mech, the machine restarts, very odd, definitely the PSU, as swapped out several times and fault moves to other machine.

It would also randomly restart, or not boot

Opened it up, three largeish capacitors loose in the bottom looked alright, guess it might be a smoothing issue,

So, does anyone have a spare for sale, or know anyone who can fix them

This isn't for me, but someone I am trying to help,

He also has a faulty MPS2 board, no battery damage, but doesn't boot (but doesn't appear to be in reset - as that LED goes out) so someone who may want to fix that too.

Cheers, Paul

hello i recently found these in a box of jamma boards but i dont think they have anything todo with jamma arcade stuff

can anyone identify them please? 

seem to be made by martinelli ? 

thanks in advance

richard

Hi All

bit of a long shot, does anyone have a manual on the mars service alpha 200 coin mech programmer? any bit of information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Never seen one before but look wicked. I'm behind the times

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIGITAL-ARCADE-PINBALL-MACHINE-182-TABLES-ARCADE-MACHINE-/252388910099?hash=item3ac38d2413:g:Ss4AAOSwSgJXNhuQ

Hi there, I would love to play these two machines. I only have the "classic" layouts, does anyone know where I could find them? Many thanks. :-) 

hi guys i have brought this issue up before afew years ago

only now i know its aboard fault from all the swapping of boards and trying in different machines and changing coin mechs etc 

basically aworking m1a i've bought looks good clean too , but has aproblem i've had before takes coins in play but not in refil mode 

does anyone know firstly where on the m1 board would i need to be looking and 2 what to look look for broken track etc ???

cheers dave

ps its not abig issue i can manage without it working it just bugs me i like things as they should be the same as alot of others i bet

Hi Guys,

For lack of a better title this is the "Amber full size Cab" not sure if this topic belongs here otherwise: admin please move.

So i have my normal fruity "Sinbad" up and running and i want more ! But here's the thing.....no more space, i maybe can

get away with one slender cabinet but that's it, my gameroom is getting full. Now to get more i need to emulate, as with pinball

i'm going to build an Emu Fruity in a dedicated cab, with a television screen and real buttons. Had this idea for the longest time,

software was always a problem, it had to be fullscreen and on a 270 degree angle , just like my virtual pinball.

Just recently i stumbled on the excellent Project Amber, Guitar and others did an epic job, it scale's, it uses HW rendering and AA, its perfect

for a lcd on it's side ! I already have a lot of parts, but i'm saving up for a curved lcd, that would just be so cool for a cab.

I originally had two separate screens in mind but with different resolution and aspect ratios it would look odd, besides the screens

looked too small, did not like it and replaced with a 37" (sadly only 720p) but that curved lcd will be in there soon enough.

Just a pic for where i am now:

Also started cabinet design in sketchup, and sourcing other parts like buttons, sound and such....

Great fun !

hi all,     been up to my storage to  move things around to fit yet another machine in were picking up in the week trivial pursuit 

this is what i have so far they dont have boards in i have 2 working boards for 2 of them i have another working one coming soon and 3 

sent off for repair which are going to be awhile , but these are hopefully going in our new house with games room one day 

and of course the 2 i have at home now 

what do we think?   and no i won't be using ahammer