Missile Command main board and cocktail cabs

Solder

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Can someone remind me if a revision 02 Missile Command board will work 100% in a cocktail/tabletop cab please. I have a vague memory of the requirement for a revision 04 board for cocktails, but I may be mis-remembering ..........


Thanks
 
Revs 1&2 use ROM set 1, and are considered to be unsuitable for the cocktail/cabaret.
Revs 3&4 use ROM set 2, and are considered to be suitable.

Afaik, you can convert Revs 1/2 to 3/4 buy simply replacing the ROMs.

There is really only one MC PCB. The revs refer to the fact that 1&3 were populated with more ROM chips. Revs 2&4 are the same as 1&3, but with the later ROM set.

If that makes any sense!

Anyway, I know you like to get these things bang on, but I have used a Rev 2 board in a cocktail and it was fine. Depends who you talk to. The only real difference is trak-ball speed, but on the Rev 2 board I used I thought it was fine.
 
Thanks. I knew about the software revs, but had a feeling there was some hardware reason that the rev 1 and 2 boards wouldn't work in cocktail mode ........... maybe I'm going mad (just spent a nightmare day with a Missile Command board that kept failing with new faults on old chips (ie repair one fault, test, a few minutes another chip fails. Rinse and repeat. It must have had a bad life ..............).
 
i thought the boards detected the trackballs,cp's so it switchs to flip/2p mode automaticaly.
:)
 
Yeah. There's a pin on the player 2 controls edge connector. If it detects the 2nd set of controls it flips the screen for player 2. That feature is present on all board revs.
 
That's right, was aware of that, but I could swear there was a hardware limitation on rev 1 and 2 boards that prevented full cocktail use compared to later board revs ..........
 
Can't think what that limitation would be. I have definately used a Rev 2 in a cocktail.

Might be wrong, but Revs 1&2 used ROM set 1. ROM set one identified as only 5 places on the high score table.

Here's my old MC cocktail. Ran with no problems:

d2450d17.jpg
 
Just to add a foot note.

Atari advice was that Revs 1&2 should not be used in the cabaret cabs either. The cabaret manual makes no mention of this, but shortly after the cabaret cab was released, Atari issued a correction notice.

The notice said that Revs 1&2 were not to be used in the cabaret, and that Dip4 @ R8 (trak-ball speed) must be set to ON. Together with the correction notice were 5 pages that were reprints of some of the cabaret manual pages - but with corrections (ops were supposed to replace the pages in the manual, but I doubt that many ever did).

One of those pages lists the ROM chips and says clearly that only Revs 3&4 can be used in a cabaret. I know this because I have a full original set of those replacement pages .....

Anyway, the point is that whatever the issue is, it doesn't relate solely to the cocktail. It relates to the trak-ball.
 
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That does ring some bells, thanks for the reminded.

BTW, the board is already repaired (it's just one of my spares - I have a rev 2 and a rev 4). :)
 
My only surprise is that you don't also have Revs 1&3 !

Anyway, I'll chuck you a rev 4 in the post next week for a repair. Finally replaced edge connector, so worth a punt!

f755ba05.jpg
 
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