MCR HIgh Score save

[rknucklez]

I really enjoy my MCR games, Spyhunter, Tapper, Journey, Satan's Hollow etc.. but not being able to save high scores is a bummer. I am assuming that a highscore save kit for this series of games is nearly impossible? You would think with the popularity of Tron alone, if it were possible it would have been done. I am sure Spaeth could provide an educated answer but I have not been able to reach him.
I really want whatever chips he said he had for my Pole Position high score save... ahem

 

[OregonPacman]

You don't need a high score save kit assuming you have the original power supply and the battery charging circuit works. All you need to do is solder in a cordless phone battery (3.7V DC, I think) in place of the original NiCd battery. I did that on the Tron I used to have, works like a charm.

 

[rknucklez]

did not know that about Tron. I sold mine awhile back (was not a fan) so that was a bad example. What about Tapper and Spy Hunter? I just had my Tapper pcb out and did not see any Nicad

 

[p1899m]

I don't know about tapper but spy hunter should be able to save high scores. I'm guessing that any bally midway game that uses the mcr power supply board can save high scores. You know the board, the one where the battery corrodes and leaks all over the board. I'm pretty sure the battery is there for saving the high scores. Since a lot of folks don't replace the battery after it leaks on the board, it no longer saves high scores.

 

[mspaeth]

If everything else is working and you have a battery on the board, you don't need a high score score save kit... the battery does that for you.

The timing is sloopy on MCRs and Simteks are too fast to work in place of the 61L16 on the CPU board, so if you don't want to put a battery on it, a MK48Z02 should work in place of the 6116.

 

[p1899m]

Could you dumb that down a bit Mark? Are you saying that if we remove the MK48Z02 (and honestly I don't know what a MK48Z02 is) and replace it with a 6116 (which I also do not know what that is) that the game will be able to save high scores and you will no longer need a battery on the power supply board?

 

[mspaeth]

61L16 is what's on the board now... it's a low power 2kx8 SRAM.

MK48Z02 is a 2kx8 battery backed SRAM with on-board battery, which should drops in in place of the 6116, and use its built-in battery to save scores in place of 6116 + battery.

I tried a Simtek STK25c48 and it didn't work, most likely because it was too fast, and timing glitches triggered spurious read/writes... I assume the same would be the case with Ramtron parts, since they also have must faster access times than the original 6116s.

 

[rknucklez]

Mark! diggin the avatar btw
can I purchase a few a MK48Z02's from you in addittion to whatever I need to save my Pole Position high scores as well?

richie at richie knucklez dot com

 

[mspaeth]

I don't have any M48Z02s... I stopped buytnig them when I had to order $3k worth of simteks =-P

jdrmicrodevices had some last time I checked... jameco might have some too.

 

[rknucklez]

OK, I will try over there. what were the Pole Position chips
needed for the mod again?

Thanks

 

[mrpeepers]

So can this mysterious little chip replace a chip on a tron board and keep the scores even with the battery removed from the power supply?

 

[demogo]

Easiest path for saving games on Spy Hunter is to remove the NiCd battery from the power board and solder two wires in its place. Then run it over to a cordless phone battery (3.6v NiCd), put it in a sandwich bag to protect against leaks, secure it in the cabinet so it doesn't move around, and replace it once a year.

This is what I did and it works like a champ.

I happen to still have a cordless phone (not used anymore) that charges these same batteries so I charged it fully before putting it in the SH game and all is well. High scores are saved, game configuration is saved, etc.

I even got fancy and found the proper molex connector to solder onto the bare wires from the power board so now I literaly just plug a new battery into the connector and I'm done for a year. (And I think the year is pretty darned conservative).

Even if you don't decide to go this route, you absolutely need to unsolder the dead NiCd battery that's on your power board ASAP or it will leak and eat your board up.

Good luck!

 

[tec9]

I kind of like the idea of replacing the original 6116 RAM on the PCB, with a M48Z02. What sucks with the original design of having the battery on the power supply, is that anytime you disconnect the PCB from the power supply or vice versa, all saved data is lost.
Going back to Richie's question-
The battery for saving the all high score data, is located on the power supply. You can simply replace it with a 3.6v rechargable battery. (cordless phone). You can also install a lithium battery (they don't leak or need charging). If you install a litium, you need to disable the charging circuit on the power supply. It's a simple mod of replacing a resistor, with a diode on the power supply. If the game does not save the scores with a new battery installed, you could have a problem on the MCR CPU. As mentioned before, this battery backs up a 6116 RAM. I know on Spy Hunter it is located at 5E. on the CPU. (middle board in the MCR stack) I once had a Spy Hunter PCB set that would not save the scores, turned out to be a jumper setting on the CPU PCB.
Hope that helps-
Mark L.

 

[OregonPacman]

Easiest path for saving games on Spy Hunter is to remove the NiCd battery from the power board and solder two wires in its place. Then run it over to a cordless phone battery (3.6v NiCd), put it in a sandwich bag to protect against leaks, secure it in the cabinet so it doesn't move around, and replace it once a year.

This is what I did and it works like a champ.

I happen to still have a cordless phone (not used anymore) that charges these same batteries so I charged it fully before putting it in the SH game and all is well. High scores are saved, game configuration is saved, etc.

I even got fancy and found the proper molex connector to solder onto the bare wires from the power board so now I literaly just plug a new battery into the connector and I'm done for a year. (And I think the year is pretty darned conservative).

Even if you don't decide to go this route, you absolutely need to unsolder the dead NiCd battery that's on your power board ASAP or it will leak and eat your board up.

Good luck!

That is exactly what I did with my Tron and it worked great. No reason it shouldn't work just as well with any other MCR game that saves scores (assuming they all use the same high score save circuits). After the mod, I owned my Tron for close to two years and never changed the battery (which was used in my phone for several years prior to that). There was never a problem with high score loss when powered off for a long time, even for 3 weeks. All in all, a great fix and easy, too. I don't like the idea of having a chip with a battery in it, that just seems like a bad idea. With a phone battery, it can easily be mounted in a safe location, especially if you use molex on the wiring, as mentioned above.

 

[mspaeth]

Easiest path for saving games on Spy Hunter is to remove the NiCd battery from the power board and solder two wires in its place. Then run it over to a cordless phone battery (3.6v NiCd), put it in a sandwich bag to protect against leaks, secure it in the cabinet so it doesn't move around, and replace it once a year.

...except for the fact that as soon as you unplug the harness from the boards your scores are gone... hence the suggestion if using a battery-backed RAM instead sticking with the battery on the power supply to power the existing RAM.

 

[Steverd]

You don't need a high score save kit assuming you have the original power supply and the battery charging circuit works. All you need to do is solder in a cordless phone battery (3.7V DC, I think) in place of the original NiCd battery. I did that on the Tron I used to have, works like a charm.

That's what I did to mine also.
Bob Roberts sells the kit and it takes just a few minutes to install. Just remove the old battery and solder in the new battery holder. His kit includes the battery also I believe.

Steve

 

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Easiest path for saving games on Spy Hunter is to remove the NiCd battery from the power board and solder two wires in its place.

I did the same thing. Followed Bob Roberts's instructions here. Had to replace one thing with a diode (which Bob sends you in his little kit).

 

[digdoug2]

I know it is not MCR but what about Gorf?
does that game have battery backup or a way to save high scores?

 

[mspaeth]

It has all the same ridiculous extra hardware to 'protect' an area of the SRAM from spurious writes as Robby Roto, but doesn't actually have a battery to backup the ram, and the code overwrites that RAM area on startup anyway.

 

[channelmanic]

The Ramtron parts are edge triggered instead of level triggered devices. That alone can cause strange glitching. If you want to use them in a device I would suggest checking all the logic signals to make sure the timing is right for them.

What are the Simtek parts going for around here?