Williams System 6 and System 7 Compatibility

Peale

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I've got a System 7 set of boards (Black Knight) I'm repairing for someone, but don't have the machine to test them with. The machine is three hours away.

A buddy nearby let me know he has a Gorgar machine (System 6) and he's offered to let me test the boards in his machine.

How compatible are the systems between each other?
 
The Black Knight driver board should just plug in, no problem.

The CPU board is a different story though, IIRC it involves jumper changes at the very least. I know that Clay's page goes into some strong detail about interchange on these, but I never dug much into it. It can be done, but it's not a plug-and-play situation like the driver board.

Still at it, huh?

-Hans
 
I've had it "done" for a while now, but I'm loathe to drive two hours to find that I missed something critical. I could always repair on-site - assuming that I had the parts to put in to begin with.
 
That's the one thing that's VERY compatible is the driver boards, you can throw a system 7 driver board into just about anything..... though the reverse isn't always true, due to the switch resistors.

Just make sure to cross-reference to make sure that the solenoid you want to test is actually used in Gorgar. I forget which one it was that you were dealing with.

-Hans
 
I've got a System 7 set of boards (Black Knight) I'm repairing for someone, but don't have the machine to test them with. The machine is three hours away.

A buddy nearby let me know he has a Gorgar machine (System 6) and he's offered to let me test the boards in his machine.

How compatible are the systems between each other?


How are you repairing the boards? With Leon's test ROM? If so you should be able to test both boards pretty exhaustively on the bench. I would still test the boards in the Gorgar if it's close and convenient but there shouldn't be too many problems that would show themselves in the game but not on the bench. Assuming that you actually know what you're doing :)
 
Regretably though I have the know-how, I lack the parts for a test bench here @ Casa del Peale. This was something that just dropped into my lap.
 
Regretably though I have the know-how, I lack the parts for a test bench here @ Casa del Peale. This was something that just dropped into my lap.

All you really need is a power supply and the ability to burn a 2716 EPROM. If you don't have either of those things you'll be stuck troubleshooting in a machine which could be a huge pain depending on the nature of the problem.

What are the symptoms of the problem you're having?

I'm sure you've seen this but I'll link it anyway:
http://www.pinrepair.com/sys37/
 
Its blowing the fuse for the solenoids (F2). Using a 'lightbulb fuse" I was able to pinpoint which solenoids were causing the fuse to blow - but after everything was said and done it was not the solenoids at all. Closer examination of the driver board indicated battery damage. Owner states the machine was in a basement for a number of years before he got it.

Neutralized the corrosion, resoldered the entire section (removed the old solder and resoldered everything). Tested the drivers themselves, and though they SEEM to test okay, that's where the heaviest damage is. I've procured replacement drivers, but not yet replaced them.

Relay was also replaced as the contacts were green with corrosion.
 
That's one of three things that I really need to get hold of, as this hobby sinks it's hooks into me...... a chip burner. Then a 'scope and a logic analyzer, but in no particular order.

Speaking of chips.... what version ROM is on that Black Knight anyway? I'd love to eventually get hold of Rev2 and anything earlier.

-Hans
 
Not sure, I'd have to check what revision.

I've got an EPROM burner. I used it just once to check a Pac-Man PROM to see what revision it was. I've never burned anything with it.
 
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