FS: Williams NVRAM adapters

delroy666

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Since the prototype I wired up for my Joust has been working so nicely (yay, no more high scores lost!), I had a small batch of PCBs manufactured and built some proper Williams NVRAM adapters. I put one in my own machine and have a few extra in case anyone here needs one.

Details:

  • I used the usual ST M48Z02-150 NVRAM chip. It's proven to work well with switched mode power supplies and according to the datasheet, the internal lithium battery should retain the memory for > 10 years. It also eliminates the need to use the original AA battery holder on the game PCB.
  • It should work in Robotron, Sinistar, Joust, Stargate, Splat - basically any game which uses the 5114, 5514, or 6514 type CMOS chips. (not Defender)
  • The 2-pin header is for a jumper which can be used to switch between the lower and upper 1K of memory, so two sets of high scores and settings can be stored and accessed on the same chip. For example, install the jumper and set the game for "tournament" settings; remove the jumper and set the game for "marathon" settings – you can then use the jumper (or wire up a toggle switch) to easily switch between the two modes and the high scores associated with each.
  • The 4 extra pads on the adapter are routed to data bits D4-D7 of the NVRAM, so this adapter could be used on a Bubbles board if you wire these pads to the corresponding data pins of the second CMOS RAM socket on the game PCB.

$35 shipped to the U.S. or Canada. This includes the adapter, NVRAM chip, a jumper and an 18-DIP dual wipe socket to replace the original CMOS chip on the game PCB.
 

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$35 shipped to the U.S. or Canada. This includes the adapter, NVRAM chip, a jumper and an 18-DIP dual wipe socket to replace the original CMOS chip on the game PCB.

What a surprise... same price as mine, except mine use a real NVRAM instead of a battery backed RAM, and have been around for 5-6 years.
 
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What a surprise... same price as mine, except mine use a real NVRAM instead of a battery backed RAM, and have been around for 5-6 years.

I'm not quite sure how to interpret this. Does this mean you have some currently available to sell? If so, that's good news - a bunch of members have been looking for these and I only have a few left. Which memory device did you use?
 
I'm not quite sure how to interpret this. Does this mean you have some currently available to sell? If so, that's good news - a bunch of members have been looking for these and I only have a few left. Which memory device did you use?

Whoever has one, I want one. I asked around a few months ago and noone had anything.

-Ken
 
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I'm not quite sure how to interpret this. Does this mean you have some currently available to sell? If so, that's good news - a bunch of members have been looking for these and I only have a few left. Which memory device did you use?

Of course I do...
I had them in stock when you first asked about them (and I PM'ed you)
I had them in stock when you were first taking about making them...
I had them in stock when you made your proto...
and I have them in stock now.

...and mine are made to work on a bunch of other games, not just williams games.

(and I have 5101 adapters for defender and pins)
 
Of course I do...
I had them in stock when you first asked about them (and I PM'ed you)
I had them in stock when you were first taking about making them...
I had them in stock when you made your proto...
and I have them in stock now.

...and mine are made to work on a bunch of other games, not just williams games.

(and I have 5101 adapters for defender and pins)

Just FYI.. You PM'd me too and did not mention having them. You said....

"I've been seeing these for 8 years... long before and long after that useless site 'sold out' of them."

I suppose 'seeing' should have been 'selling'.

-Ken
 
Of course I do...
I had them in stock when you first asked about them (and I PM'ed you)

I just went through all my old PMs and couldn't find anything from you. :confused: If I had known anyone had these available for sale, I would have just bought one instead. Although making the board was a fun hobby project for me, it did take a lot of effort that I could have spent on other projects. You should have created a 'for sale' post in this forum to let everyone know you have them, and so it will show up in searches. I can almost understand why you'd hijack my thread if you thought I was trying to compete with you for business, but that's definitely not my intention. I was just making a board for myself and thought a few others could use them as well.
 
HudsonArcade

And exactly where do you buy these?

You may be doing yourself a HUGE dis-service by not posting your site, etc. I know that I knew nothing about these and I'm on these boards fairly regularly.
 
Of course I do...
I had them in stock when you first asked about them (and I PM'ed you)
I had them in stock when you were first taking about making them...
I had them in stock when you made your proto...
and I have them in stock now.

...and mine are made to work on a bunch of other games, not just williams games.

(and I have 5101 adapters for defender and pins)

so how do i go about buying one from you for a williams defender cpu ?
 
Hudsonarcade - pretty sure I've seen your site or stuff for sale, but can you post a link? I may be interested in buying for some WMS projects
 
Adapters

I just went through all my old PMs and couldn't find anything from you. :confused: If I had known anyone had these available for sale, I would have just bought one instead. Although making the board was a fun hobby project for me, it did take a lot of effort that I could have spent on other projects. You should have created a 'for sale' post in this forum to let everyone know you have them, and so it will show up in searches. I can almost understand why you'd hijack my thread if you thought I was trying to compete with you for business, but that's definitely not my intention. I was just making a board for myself and thought a few others could use them as well.


Anyone on this or other forums who spends the time and money to make ANY game enhancement for ANY game has every right to do so. No one has exclusive rights
no matter how many years ago they made them, nor how many they have in stock
at this time or at any time in the future. PERIOD
 
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