How to tell a bootleg Galaga board from the real thing?

Madaracs

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How to tell a bootleg Galaga board from the real thing?

I know this was briefly mentioned in another thread, but I wanted to get some clarification in identifying just what makes a Galaga board set a bootleg.

I have two Galaga board sets. (Actually 3 but one is dead.) Both are clean both are working. One is apparently a bootleg. The one that is an apparent bootleg does have noticeable lack of sound quality. That is to say it sounds "fuzzy" and not as clear as my non-bootleg. Also the bootleg has a part number on it that looks nearly identical to the original except that it has a dash 2 (-2) on it. I also noticed that on the second board that 6J, 6K, 6L, 6M etc are not populated on the bootleg...

  • Is the defining factor that it doesn't have the trademark on it?
  • Are there other obvious signs as well? (Sound?)
  • Are the dip-switch settings the same on a bootleg?
  • Are the EPROMs interchangeable?
  • Can anyone give a brief history of how/why the bootlegs came to be? I assume it was a great money maker and someone decided they wanted a piece of the action... but I'd be interested in knowing more.

I've included pictures of what my boards look like: (They are large so I apologize but I wanted to make sure the detail was there.)

Non-Bootleg:

IMG_0646.png
IMG_0647.png


Possible Bootleg:

IMG_0644.png
IMG_0645.png
 
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Both boardsets are Original.

Galaga Bootlegs don't use the Namco Customs. The sound could be other issues like capacitors, etc. The parts that aren't populated are just using a different ram configuration.
 
Both boardsets are Original.

Galaga Bootlegs don't use the Namco Customs. The sound could be other issues like capacitors, etc. The parts that aren't populated are just using a different ram configuration.

The parts that aren't populated on the CPU board are for Bosconian. It uses an additional latch, SRAM, 51xx, and 54xx IC.

The parts that aren't populated on the video board are for alternate RAM configurations... It either has 2 x 2148 or 8 x 2147 RAM chips.

RJ
 
The parts that aren't populated on the CPU board are for Bosconian. It uses an additional latch, SRAM, 51xx, and 54xx IC.

The parts that aren't populated on the video board are for alternate RAM configurations... It either has 2 x 2148 or 8 x 2147 RAM chips.

RJ

Good point. I thought he only mentioned different parts on the video board in his post so I didn't even look at the parts on the CPU board.
 
Mine is definitely a bootleg, no doubt about it. I couldn't pull the machine out to access it at the moment, but do have a couple photos of it installed. http://www.siegecraft.us/galaga4.htm

The biggest way to clue off of a bootleg is that the bootleg boards do not use any of the custom midway chips, and substitute a 4th Z80 processor circuit to emulate them. It's physically larger, with the CPU board a different size than the video board. All the ones I've seen also have that small daughter board on them, but I'm sure there are variations out there without it.

The reasons for these bootleg boards is simple..... vids made insane amounts of money back then. So people made knockoff boards to get their own little piece of the action. Galaga always was a big money maker, so it got its fair share of bootleg action. They generally ARE compatible with the original eproms, but shipped with slightly modified code. Most of the Galaga bootlegs (if they have their original chips in them) will have the name "GALLAG" or "Nebulous Bee" instead of Galaga. The colors will be tweaked a bit differently, and there will be no namco/midway copyright text. In most cases, you can swap in the genuine ROM code if you want. The dip switch settings and pinout for the wiring harness are different too I've noticed.

Heck, even the cabinet for mine is a bootleg, which happens to be a VERY annoying 1/2" narrower than genuine. It's made things tricky when trying to restore it.

-Hans
 
In most cases, you can swap in the genuine ROM code if you want. The dip switch settings and pinout for the wiring harness are different too I've noticed.

-Hans

My dips are all the exact same. It looks like the bootleg boards are different sizes from even themselves too... So this is fascinating, I actually have 3 real Galaga board sets! Now I just need to get one working perfectly. :)
 
Hopefully someone can explain to me if this is a bootleg.
 

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