Original Red DK PCB

[thefader]

Hey guys, I'm restoring my red dk cabinet, is this the exact board that would have been in it? Thanks.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Nintendo-Donkey...054?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563f7de286

 

[Ghostlyguy]

I thought the 4 board set was the right one.. has to say 'nintendo of america' on the title screen. I'm not to sure though, my DK knowledge's a little fussy.

 

[thefader]

I remember hearing there where 2 different versions of the 4 board set?

 

[keithsarcade]

I could be wrong, but the earliest board set I know of is the 4-PCB with "1981 Nintendo" on the title screen. The later revisions are "1981 Nintendo of America", and thats also what's on my 2-PCB version.

Sure fire way to tell is to climb half way up a ladder on the first stage. In the first versions, you can stay there the whole stage (until time runs out) and the barrels will never come down the same ladder you are on. This was fixed in later revisions.

 

[bitburn]

The Red DK cabs were originally Radar Scope. They were factory converted to Donkey Kongs when Radar Scope flopped in the US.

The 4 board sets are what you want.

Radarscope boards are labeled as follows. The Red DKs should have these to be original.
TRS-01-CPU
TRS-01-CLK
TRS-01-SND
TRS-01-VIDEO

Donkey Kong 4 boards are labeled with a TDK prefix I believe. These were used early on, then the 2 board sets came out. I believe you can also convert a DK 4board to Radarscope as well.

 

[jimkirk]

Sure fire way to tell is to climb half way up a ladder on the first stage. In the first versions, you can stay there the whole stage (until time runs out) and the barrels will never come down the same ladder you are on. This was fixed in later revisions.

The boards after the TRS series are TKG.
The 4 board sets are TKG3 and the 2 board sets are TKG4.
The best way to tell if the board set has the ladder cheat is the title screen.
If it says Nintendo 1981 then it has the cheat.
If it says Nintendo Of America 1981 then it doesn't have the cheat.
Some early board sets had the roms changed by ops to eliminate the cheat.
Here is neat little memo sent out on this rom change.

 

[ballytablewiz]

To further clarify;
2 board sets are the last revisions, upright only.
4 board sets are cocktail/cabaret and early revisions.
But there are many subsets of revisions in each type.

The earliest actually being 4 boards labeled TRS2-02-***, Radarscope boardsets converted to DK.
Then came 4 board TKG2-*, the first dedicated Donkey Kong boards.

The above 2 would be correct for a Red cabinet. Possibly also the next revision, TKG3's, but my experience has shown those to only be cocktail boards. The "cheat" was shipped on every board up to and including TKG3-06-*** boardsets, and my experience has shown the change occurring at the factory level on TKG3-07-***. TKG4's I believe were only made as a 2 board, and is the last and most common board, with revision numbers on it going to at least TKG4-14-*

To answer the OP's question : Probably not. They are most likely TKG3-07's. You could always call or email QuarterArcade and ask if they have some working TKG2's or earlier, populated with "cheat" roms - plus it's $5 cheaper on their site.

 

[JamBurglar]

Just to further, further clarify, since there's lots of misinformation out there, here's the time line.

The very first Donkey Kongs to come out had TKG2 4-board sets. These were converted Radar Scope Boards. They have TKG2 stickers over the factory TRS boardsets. The cabinets for these Donkey Kongs were red Radar Scope cabinets that were converted to Donkey Kongs.

Next, (unbeknownst to many) Nintendo made red Donkey Kong machines at the factory. These machines started life as Donkey Kongs and were never intended to be Radar Scopes! The model is TKG3-UP. These machines had TKG3 4-board sets in them. At some point during the time when Nintendo was producing the TKG3 upright Donkey Kongs it switched to blue cabinets. Like ballytablewiz said, Nintendo also used the TKG3 board sets in cocktail tables. After Nintendo stopped using the TKG3 4-board sets in the uprights (they started using the common 2-board sets labled TKG4), Nintendo continued to use the TKG3 boardsets in the cocktails.

Both the TKG2 boards and the early TKG3 boards (labeled TKG3-06 and earlier) came from the factory with the ladder "cheat". The later TKG3 boards, which were used in the cocktails (and labeled TKG3-07 and later) came from the factory with the ladder cheat fixed. None of the TKG4 2-board sets have the ladder cheat.

ALSO, many operators modified the TKG2 and TKG3 boards to fix the ladder "cheat". They bought new EPROMS from Nintendo and installed them in the older boards. So, sometimes you see a TKG2 board or and early TKG3 board and when you fire it up it does not have the ladder cheat. This is because an op swapped out the EPROMS back in the day so that the game would make more money.

So, anyway, it's possible that the board you linked to on eBay is a TKG3 board that originally came in an early upright TKG3 Donkey Kong. You'd have to e-mail Anthony at Quatercaid to confirm whether it has the ladder cheat. I'm pretty sure he'd do this for you.

If you have a TKG2 model Donkey Kong and you're trying to keep it uber-authentic, then you'll be needing a TKG2 board. Look for the stickers. That's the easiest way to tell.

 

[CrazyKongFan]

Why would they change the Z80? I think it was just the 4 EPROM's mentioned in the flyer.

 

[JamBurglar]

Why would they change the Z80? I think it was just the 4 EPROM's mentioned in the flyer.

You're right, its the EPROMs not the Z80. I should have re-read the flyer before posting.

 

[ballytablewiz]

Thank you for simply rephrasing everything I said, LOL.