Kangipede

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I found an old kangaroo cabinet that somebody converted into a centipede cabinet. However, I'm trying to identify whether or not this harness was the original or a transplanted Centipede harness.

My first thought is that kangaroo never used an AR-II board or this power brick setup. I believe they had a sun electronics specific power brick but i'm not sure what that looks like so I can't confirm that notion.

I was going to convert this into a Dig Dug but now I've decided to just preserve the Kangaroo as best I can (since the sideart is still perfectly intact) and pass it onto someone who might value that game but I'm trying to understand which parts are original or not.
 

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Good on ya for taking the most admirable approach to that machine.
Kangaroo appears to have a unique arrangement.
Once you dig into them, you will be amazed at how much info is located on any game page on the other part of the main site.
Kangaroo museum entry
The manuals and pinouts are there.

I've never had one myself, but there are a decent number of members here with a Kangaroo that can give you first hand experience to help out.
 
FYI, Atari Kangaroo uses the same power brick as Centipede, Dig Dug, Millipede, etc. It uses an AR2-06, the same as Arabian.

Scott C.
 
Not necessarily. I had an 02 in mine, and it ran well.
Agreed.

The difference is the audio amplification, not voltages, since Arabian and Kangaroo have on board audio amplification. Sun manufactured those bosrdsets, not Atari.

Scott C.
 
I read somewhere that Kangaroo only used an AR-2 board as a conversion kit. Could that be right?

Probably not as the manual clearly defines the use of an ARII-06 in a dedicated cab.
That said, since the Roo system power requirement only needs +5V, +12V and -5V, then any cabinet (conversion or not) with a standard switcher would work.


Also,, as noted, the only difference between a -02 and -06 is the audio.

Regulator/Audio II Comparison
Dash #
+5V
+12V
+22V
-22V
-5V
Audio
-01
X​
X​
-02
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
-03
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
-04
X​
X​
X​
X​
-05
X​
X​
-06
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​

 
Probably not as the manual clearly defines the use of an ARII-06 in a dedicated cab.
That said, since the Roo system power requirement only needs +5V, +12V and -5V, then any cabinet (conversion or not) with a standard switcher would work.


Also,, as noted, the only difference between a -02 and -06 is the audio.

Regulator/Audio II Comparison
Dash #
+5V
+12V
+22V
-22V
-5V
Audio
-01
X​
X​
-02
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
-03
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​
-04
X​
X​
X​
X​
-05
X​
X​
-06
X​
X​
X​
X​
X​

But aren't the wiring harnesses different since the pinouts are different? I'm not even sure Kangaroo utilized a big blue psu system.
 
Please review the Kangaroo manual I linked to. It is obvious it uses a power brick and AR2.
Unless you're saying the manual is incorrect? :unsure:

Centipede uses 44pin and 24pin edge connectors. They are inline on a single logic board.
Kangaroo uses 44pin and 20pin edge connectors. They are located on two separate PCBs.
>> therefore, though the wiring harnesses could be repinned, it should be straight forward to identify the harness in the cabinet and whether wires were added/cut/re-arranged etc.

Centipede pinout:

Kangaroo pinout:
 
Hey look. I used the KLOV SEARCH (advanced) and found this Kangaroo restoration thread.
It even includes interior pics. And what do we see? LOL

screenshot_20210306-100759_facebook_resized-jpg.507397


 
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