(Topic ID: 270782)

Any way to keep accurate date/time in WPC games?

By Paul_from_Gilroy

3 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 6 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by Tuukka
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#1 3 years ago

I've noticed that my WPC games fail to keep accurate date and time even with good, externally mounted batteries. Date/time gets out-of-whack even though settings and high scores are retained just fine. I looked into totally replacing the batteries with an NVRAM module, but apparently that wouldn't help (because, in WPC games, the NVRAM module doesn't update the real-time clock when the machine is powered off).

Is there a solution out there... a way to keep the real time clock accurate in a game like Twilight Zone, where you sorta want an accurate clock?

#2 3 years ago

Yes. You have to turn the game on everyday. Not sure how long you have to leave them on but that's the issue. My games at home don't get turned on and played that often. When I do turn them on they're off by like a month and a day...all of them. The ones on route (on 12 hours a day) are always correct within a few minutes. So it has something to do with them being off for prolonged periods of time. Again, not sure if it's just a few minutes or a few hours they need to be on, but that's what I've noticed.

#3 3 years ago

It kind of sort of works accurately if the machine is on. Off for long periods of time cause the drift, so on=keeps better time

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#4 3 years ago

Interestingly, the time drifts a little, but the date goes way off. I wonder if the code properly handled the new millennium.

#5 3 years ago
Quoted from Paul_from_Gilroy:

Is there a solution out there... a way to keep the real time clock accurate in a game like Twilight Zone, where you sorta want an accurate clock?

Quoted from Paul_from_Gilroy:

Interestingly, the time drifts a little, but the date goes way off. I wonder if the code properly handled the new millennium.

Weird right? The time stays pretty close with batteries alone but it seems like the ASIC cant update the date properly on batteries.

#6 3 years ago

WPC games do not have a proper real time clock chip, but a simple counter inside the wpc asic. When you turn on the game, software reads the counter value and adds that to the time that was saved in RAM when the game was last on. The problem is, the counter can only count for a few weeks until it reaches maximum value, and then the time does not advance anymore, making it look like the clock is running too slow. The only fix indeed is to turn on the game once every week or so.

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