Custom Chip Fabrication: Possible now?

kestep

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After reading many threads and some private messages about problems obtaining custom chips (in my case for a Gorf), the thought occurred that there should be a way to produce new version of these custom chips.

So I did the right thing. I searched the forums.

About two years ago, there was a similar discussion. Here is one comment

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showpost.php?p=1390419&postcount=10

Chip replacements - Some parts may well become hard to source. However, there are two ways forward: You can try to get the original chips re-spun somehow (given the level of fabrication technology that is available these days, it's not hard to imagine that in 10 or 20 years, a desktop chip fab might well be in the 10-15K range). Or, you can go ahead and use the original board's schematic as input to an FPGA and re-create the whole blasted thing in a single part. This has the added advantage that once you get it working correctly, it's pretty easy to move it forward to newer, bigger, better, cheaper replacement parts.

In this discussion, people were talking about the possibilities 10-20 years from now. Unfortunately for some platforms (Astrocade comes to mind), 10-20 years seems to be here now or just around the corner.

So the question isn't a theoretical "can it be done?", but is there any way to do this NOW?

Given that MAME and other emulators are able to, well, emulate these parts, pinouts are known, and there are still working boards that can be used to test designs, can these custom chips be replaced by FPGAs or other reproductions?

I am not inferring that this is an easy task; on the contrary. I'm betting it isn't.

I, like many people, would prefer to have the original game running. Yes, we can use MAME, but it isn't quite the same.

Is there anyone out there that would be interested in taking something like this on? Maybe a kickstarter project or some other method to fund the cost, if it were possible.

What do you think?
 
Unfortunately a lot of the drivers in MAME are not accurate enough to be able to reproduce things like custom chips from. Of course it is possible if the necessary information is available, or if someone is willing to figure out how the chip works by using a logic analyser.

I would certainly be interested in taking something like this on if there was enough information available to do it, and if a board was lent or supplied to me for testing purposes.
 
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A number of the Namco customs have been reverse-engineered and replacements designed by JROK. Go to mikesarcade.com and search "jrok," I see 8 different Namco custom replacments available for $30 ea. Right now, it's probably still cheaper to buy an old original, but that may change over time.

Oh, I just did a little googling, and it appears that Spaeth has a few of the Namco custom replacements (00, 07 & 08) for sale for $20.

The Atari AVG (137179-001) is another custom that has had various replacements available for some time.
 
It's not only customs that will need to be replaced with modern equivalents.

There are lots of other chip types that will need to either be reproduced or adapters made to allow more modern parts to take their place.

The ADC for Vectors is probably going to be up there on the list. You can still find them, but the price on them is going up to the point where it might be cheaper to build an adapter that would allow for a more modern ADC to be used.

The question is, is at what point does it become more economical to use a more modern part?
 
I think the AD561 are at that point. The cost of them when you can find them is about the same as an adapter pcb with modern replacement would cost.
 
For the Astrocade customs (Gorf, WoW, etc), I'd be willing to put my money where my mouth is if there is a reasonable chance of success in implementing these chips.

I'm in the process of getting a boardset repaired. That one I'll keep.

If I can get a second boardset together and working, I'd be willing to work with someone to try to make this happen.

I gotta believe other Gorf (and WoW, and other non-Astrocade board) owners want to see the availability of custom chips. If someone who could pull this off, I'd bet there is money to be made.

Am I crazy?

Do I just buy an Arcade SD and drop it my Gorf cabinet?
 
Gorf

I agree it would be nice to have GORF remade so I didn't have to deal with my card rack that I still can't get working. :(

I would love to just buy a board and plug it in. I would assume it would tiny like a phone to pull off one game.

Someone start making stuff! I'm suprised the big companies aren't just making small boards with single / multiple games. I could also see a lot of Atari arcade games being successful...those things like to break.

I suppose MAMEish boards are the alternative, but bleh...it's not the same as knowing it's real.
Of course now i'm considering MAMEing my GORF with just one game loaded: GORF....

I just want to play it! WAH WAH WAH!
 
yeah, i need a 68040 40mhz and the only clowns that have them are in the HK/CN and im sure they are just the 33mhz versions restamped.
 
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