Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: Belike on June 02, 2012, 09:59:27 AM
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As most of you know, Scorpion was the most wanted Zacc for me in the past few years, I had some non-working boards, but never saw a dedicated cab for sale.
This story started with a post on jamma+ with this pic:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZEB9u9ui4k4/T8YomERB1DI/AAAAAAAAGC4/s_NZ6Tzl0sg/s640/zach1.jpg)
I started some negotiations with the owner for the cp, marquee and pcb and after almost half a year, we could made a deal. :D
The parts arrived after a "while", unfortunately the marquee was cracked, but it is not so bad.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o0RUzjy0FRo/T8YkF9R0yWI/AAAAAAAAGAo/wp_gkgAL764/s800/WP_000217.jpg)
All of the parts were extremly dirty, I had to clean everything very carefully
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CJ9rfcoCko4/T8YkAtOhL7I/AAAAAAAAGAE/qBURrzwqpt4/s800/WP_000207.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A-_rUqBEtYw/T8YkLQkeypI/AAAAAAAAGBU/h51KVi_y6YU/s800/WP_000228.jpg)
There was also a 10 p coin insert glued to the top of the cpo
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3FOV4hBH9xM/T8YkBngZPII/AAAAAAAAGAU/6KOVlc8_NsE/s640/WP_000211.jpg)
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(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x0XpUQc8sAA/T8YkCYr1hUI/AAAAAAAAGAY/jmf6cxMWGWI/s800/WP_000212.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Zg48wq1JeiA/T8YkEmtsFSI/AAAAAAAAGAk/QvsK6BPFu5s/s800/WP_000214.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tcTwBxjBP8/T8YkI9U0yBI/AAAAAAAAGBE/g1bITn5y0Pg/s800/WP_000225.jpg)
Meanwhile I also gave a try to the pcb with a Konami to jamma adapter ;D
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dlId53Or33E/T8YkAdP0i6I/AAAAAAAAGAA/0XL9MzjrPHc/s800/WP_000210.jpg)
Yeah, it is working, but no sounds. :-\
It was time to do the second half of the job, I have a second Space Station cab with a Scramble pcb and a Starsplash marquee, the plan is to translpant the parts to this.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0LaPz51UKrw/T8YjtbssEyI/AAAAAAAAF9E/GJ8uVfwZWzQ/s640/K%25C3%25A9p%2520001.jpg)
As you can see, the sides have some scratches, but I can live with those
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WNwYF7rfoPQ/T8YjspWpnII/AAAAAAAAF88/Vau1GsqctrE/s640/K%25C3%25A9p%2520002.jpg)
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After removing all the stuff from the cab, I realized, that the tube holder is completely missing from this one
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z6yDthbpUHU/T8YjsqaaYPI/AAAAAAAAF9A/DM_wJDXlB2o/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520004.jpg)
Fortunately I had some spare holders, just they were a bit narrow for Zacc cabinets.
My first thought was to glue some wood to each sides, but at the end I found a really funny solution with some metal stuff. ;D
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Hv5n4Y42mfw/T8Yjt_2nKwI/AAAAAAAAF9Q/xnNYdtwVxUg/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520005.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rDQVAWnpMdk/T8YjvkTd4fI/AAAAAAAAF9o/Gw68nQGihRE/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520006.jpg)
Installed a plug from a broken hairdryer
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vpEj3jA-7s0/T8YjvLnhUgI/AAAAAAAAF9c/-vqvuF9bF5E/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520007.jpg)
And fired it up :D
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lbIdk1LdYdA/T8YjvoBQZ_I/AAAAAAAAF9g/a7ZuCMefjBw/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520008.jpg)
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Then came the horror, the plug was too big for the Zacc connector :'(
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lTIEEP2GJ_E/T8YjxJig4aI/AAAAAAAAF90/QVaj_GwzcPU/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520009.jpg)
Fortunately I found a smaller plug and installed it, it worked great.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6jkYOb3Xivs/T8YjxT-X8zI/AAAAAAAAF94/VM3zC4xlPmI/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520010.jpg)
Installed the cp and the working pcb from Thomas (Love) and I thought the time has come to play Scorpion, but I only saw this :-\
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0uHmkr90SJI/T8YkOeqy1CI/AAAAAAAAGBw/LQX15sxh1-o/s800/WP_000252.jpg)
Inspired by Etienne's nice tutorial, removed the psu and measured the rusty 7805 +5V regulator, there was only 4.5 V and I also realized that CN1 female connector is missing, the wires were soldered directly to the pcb.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e9p4uen1L-k/T8YjzrIiEbI/AAAAAAAAF-M/pLfKYIBZGzc/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520013.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h7ax5-mHpxw/T8YjzYZ0kMI/AAAAAAAAF-I/jFoxgMSwgB4/s912/K%25C3%25A9p%2520012.jpg)
I started to look after a 8 pin connector, but finally there was only a 6 pin one from a broken tube and as this psu only uses 6 wires, I hacked that. ;D
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A_Z_skSdS2A/T8nOT-8gheI/AAAAAAAAGDc/EX_4C-wE44o/s640/WP_000321.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QZ8-UKCZG_I/T8nOUOcqDBI/AAAAAAAAGDg/mfmiKhy-CZw/s800/WP_000324.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jNG-oX7kz7c/T8nOU-JNNqI/AAAAAAAAGDs/rklg4A9GvSU/s640/WP_000325.jpg)
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Advised by my old friend, replaced the 7805 regulator with an LM323K and fired up the cab again. ;D(please turn up the volume)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atHxHtuPlx8
Yeeeeeahhhhhhhhhhh baby, I have a working Scorpion!! ;D
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5qc3s_EbQNo/T8YkNKiiinI/AAAAAAAAGBo/6LK6JxGDZbE/s640/WP_000241.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pht4esdeT1Q/T8YkNeXUkiI/AAAAAAAAGBk/UF6_eYEMFV0/s640/WP_000250.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HPFkX3KlwkA/T8Yj5DEutdI/AAAAAAAAF_A/C_AC1PYU588/s640/K%25C3%25A9p%2520020.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ycU7V5_a_Q8/T8Yj4dubVyI/AAAAAAAAF-4/JF1xz2xKI58/s640/K%25C3%25A9p%2520019.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ThSKwDlSfzA/T8Yj71N3PzI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/YhsTecjQzFA/s640/K%25C3%25A9p%2520021.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uHlYG-_O6Wo/T8Yj7LMmEVI/AAAAAAAAF_c/aXQr1C298uk/s800/K%25C3%25A9p%2520022.jpg)
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Pics also uploaded to Klov, let's hope Muerto make them published. ;D
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Yeah congrats! What a nice catch! Have fun playing (and learning :)) the game.
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Yeah congrats! What a nice catch! Have fun playing (and learning :)) the game.
Try it out with hand. :D
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GREAT !!!!
That socket is typical Italian, middle pin is earth and the pins will only accept the smaller flat plugs. Don't forget to hook up the earth of the metal to a ground somewhere for your safety.
Love the voice, sounds very clear, it sounds like a Speak & Spell so I guess it's a TI voice synth.
Game looks very interesting and challenging !!
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WOW a working scorpion 8)
Do you sale the scramble cp ?
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I totally love it !
Very creative on the PS connector and the Marquee light ;D
Love MacGyver style solutions !
Is there no dedicated bezel for scorpion ?
I am off to give it a try in mame, it looks like a nice space shooter !
Eurocade Material ?? ;) ;D ::)
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Very nice Bela! good job in getting it working!!!!! :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
As for pictures on KLOV i gave up hope some time ago, and started something else... ::) 8)
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Looks like you need to swap the bezel for a spacestation model...
Pic on klov:
(http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/110/1102548370.jpg)
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AWESOME!
I finally have the name of that game : SCORPION!
I had memories of that game I used to play in Italy long long long time ago.
That game was located in the only pub of the small village 'Poggio Picenze' (L'Aquila).
Almost every day, most of the the villagers were in this pub for watching TV together, player cards games, eating ice cream (Italian ones are the best in the world, no doubt about it), ... and of course they was a video game. Guess what I was doing at this pub all the day during my holiday there? mhhhu ::) :P
I had memories about a ship, flying in the middle of spider webs... but also mountains. So since them, I though my memories about this games was wrong... I was just playing Super Cobra, or Scramble, or a boot ... but NO! It was SCORPION!!! 100% sure... SCORPION!
Thanks Thanks Thanks Bela!!! You make my day! :-*
:spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
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Great Bela, I'm very happy for you. And the game looks cool too, but you need to practice a bit more :)
I love the voice, is that done by a special speech syntheziser chip?
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Awesome job Bela !!! Congratulations !!!
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Nice to see it running :)
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Erik, games needed dedicated voice synthesizers in those days to keep memory usage to the bare minimum and also not load the pocesssor(s).
Of corse some damn clever speech got done on Atari 8 bit and C64s later..
I just found this about the voice synth:
http://wn.com/Scorpion_arcade_pcb_by_Zaccaria
Site says:
This is a rare arcade game by Zaccaria released in 1982. It runs on an hardware similar to Scramble by Konami , it even uses the Konami pinout! Interesting note is that it uses a Digitalker MM54104 speech synthesizer by National Semiconductor and to my knowledge it's the only arcade game to use this chip.
Be really careful with that voice synth chip Béla !!! I bet they are rare. Must say it has a very clear speech.
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Erik, games needed dedicated voice synthesizers in those days to keep memory usage to the bare minimum and also not load the pocesssor(s).
Of corse some damn clever speech got done on Atari 8 bit and C64s later..
I just found this about the voice synth:
http://wn.com/Scorpion_arcade_pcb_by_Zaccaria
Site says:
This is a rare arcade game by Zaccaria released in 1982. It runs on an hardware similar to Scramble by Konami , it even uses the Konami pinout! Interesting note is that it uses a Digitalker MM54104 speech synthesizer by National Semiconductor and to my knowledge it's the only arcade game to use this chip.
Be really careful with that voice synth chip Béla !!! I bet they are rare. Must say it has a very clear speech.
I think it is also encrypted with a battery pack
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Holysh......be careful * 10 !
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sound chip
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Bela, does it play the rest of Ride of the Valkyries if you keep playing without dying?
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Thanks for your kind words. :D
@Etienne:I think that klov pic is not from a 100% original Scorpion, afaik there is also a dedicated bezel for it.Paul?
Seems like I won't be able to take it to EC12, more news soon in the dedicated section.
@André:I don't know too much about this sound chip, do you think if the battery dies the sound will totally go?
Is there any solution to avoid this?
@Robin:I have another project with that Scramble cp, I'm not planning to sell it atm.. :-\
@Bruno:I'M really happy that I could bring back those memories with this game, I have the same feelings with some of my favourites in the past few years. ;)
@Paul:Yeah it plays the whole Valkyre from Wagner on later levels. :D
@Erik:The fire button is too far from the shooting and rocket ones, so it is unplayable with one hand, but I will ask Zita to assist me for a better video. ;)
You really scared me with this voice synth stuff, any advises would be great to avoid later sound collapse.
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sound chip
Sound chip or voice synth ?
I wonder why they would protect the sound or voice chip so much ?
@Bela: I can hardly believe it is a killer chip like those used later on f.i. Sega boards. They were not very common in those early days. Also, it would be -very- unlikely for a 30 year old battery to still provide power....
BUT (!!!!!) I know nothing about this board and I think Robin worke on them....
Also....if that black cover would be a piracy protection, why is there a screw on it ?? Maybe to tempt them ?
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I will take a closer look of these on the spare boards, more news and pics soon. ;)
The sound was totally gone on the 2nd board, made the "finger test" on the sound amp, seems like it is working.
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Before freaking out too much, why do we think the protection device has a battery in it and why do we think this is the speech chip? The MAME driver shows protection applied, attached to an 8255, so I'm wondering of the blob is just an 8255 with the protection attached to it, wrapped in epoxy, that was common at the time.
Paul.
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Ok, the sound chips are:
The usual Konami AY....
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YMscU-CxEFg/T8u6akzKRRI/AAAAAAAAGFI/cQ5w7yXcI2w/s912/Christian%2520001.jpg)
TDA 1010A sound amp
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5B1BH0iImkw/T8tap7ZqX2I/AAAAAAAAGE0/jJeA4853q4c/s912/Christian%2520009.jpg)
LM348N
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rq8gjqViX7w/T8tamTw9aLI/AAAAAAAAGEI/vW8cusFjfT0/s912/Christian%2520002.jpg)
Suspected voice synth, all of the datas was erased from the top on all of my 5 sound boards, I guess it was factory made
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WJG059Y5xwo/T8tao5GiaoI/AAAAAAAAGEk/3IAENQ4ZkqM/s912/Christian%2520008.jpg)
Comparing with a stock pic:
(http://parts.nowcomponents.com/photos_wm/0dee3cfeffa1d979/0B/0B4E7AC92BD746EC9F273B808A072547.jpg)
And seems like Paul was right again, this was under that metal stuff soldered to the board in an epoxy bath
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9UvAL9gbh6w/T8talocRkvI/AAAAAAAAGEA/6U5MXY-wx7E/s912/Christian%2520003.jpg)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jv__KL_E1Qw/T8tanzEqUtI/AAAAAAAAGEc/M4zGA0hT-I8/s912/Christian%2520007.jpg)
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And if you have patience, you can see some gameplay and hear the Valkyre on the second video ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMQ7AiP9yv0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ToS8gJJujo
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Yeah scraping away chip markings is a well known try to delay/mislead pirates.
So it's what I thought, not the voice synth or sound chip protected.
So what is that protection chip ?
But uhm....it's running in MAME right, so they cracked the protection right ?
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Yeah, the software equivalent of the protection circuit is coded up in mame so it's cracked. It's trivial protection.
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Awesome...another example for Zaccaria's great artwork :)
Congrats on that find!! :)
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Thanks Thorsten. ;)
I also scanned the cpo for the future in 600dpi, it is available on request in origanal resolution. ;)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ZjoGEJSa7Y/T9YB9WtH5zI/AAAAAAAAGHo/qnt_B5jc17A/s912/Scorpion2.JPG)
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congratulations, bela, your most wanted game finally in your possession. while i still think the zaccaria cabinets look like **** and the artwork is over the top, i have to admit that the scorpion marquee kicks ass - totally dig the design. and the game itself looks like a lot of fun as well, that speech is amazing! ALRIGHT!!! ;D
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Great cab! I am happy I was able to help with the board to make it complete!
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Back on this, I bought a "fully working" pcb a few weeks back, but it has no sound. :-\
I tried the usual "finger test" on the sound amp, but there was absolutely no sound.
Is there any method to test the sound amp without desoldering it?It is a tda 1010a.
(I have a multimeter, but no scope or logic probe.)
Thanks for all the tips in advance. ;)
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You can if you have a separate amplifier like FI some PC speakers. Somehow you'll have to connect that to the input of the TDA.
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Wow really great!