Awesome!!!! Any option for just upgrading the controller board? The ColorDMD in my SM was purchased last year (2015) and I don't have another game to put it in at this time as all my other games already have one.
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I watched just a little bit of the Texas Pinball Twitch tonight and was blown away by what I saw! I'm guessing it will be even better in person but my expectations were limited because of how bad some of those clips look on the DMD and even the Sigma ColorDMD. I have my 64M chip ordered and I'm really looking forward to the ROM release, great work and thank you Eric!!
Quoted from PinballManiac40:bobukcat, what ColorDMD board revision do you have that you are planning on using in SM?
It's version 1.3, purchased last year and it's already in SM in Sigma mode.
Quoted from PinballManiac40:You can change this part without any problem?
Well, as was stated previously it is an SMD DIP package so you have to be comfortable working with these and have the right tools and skills. The same applies to almost any board work though. It also appears that there will be at least on more step as DMOD pointed out with copying the product key. I'll get the chip later this week and then checkout the website for full instructions. Makes me wish I still had access to kick-ass enterprise grade reflow equipment but I'm sure I can handle this one with what tools I have.
Quoted from Ed_in_Texas:In case you missed it
https://www.twitch.tv/texas_pinball/v/71162094
Thanks for that, I only caught about 10 minutes towards the 35 minute mark but it was great seeing the colorized screens I did.
Quoted from epthegeek:I was really worried what people would think, because some of the source dots are so grainy/bleh. I did my best, and I'm glad you think it turned out well.
The shots with JJJ and Robby in the Bugle offices were particularly impressive, I've seen the movies more times than I can count (well, the first two anyway) and I could not make out what the scenes are even with Sigma mode but in the Twitch video it was perfectly conveyed.
Quoted from PinballManiac40:I personally can replace most surface mount parts just using a solder iron. Though I need to use magnifying glasses since I can't see up close to see solder shorts. I found many different technics removing surface mount parts over the years working with different people. Rarely do I need to use a hot air station, but I do have access to one at work.
My question was just probing to see what your comfort level was for changing the part.
I was going to offer my service.
Same here, my first real job was working on double sided fine pitch SMD assemblies (quite rare at the time) at a local manufacturer so I'm perfectly comfortable with it. Thanks for the offer though!
Quoted from flashinstinct:The fact that ColorDMD offers the actual solution to an upgrade instead of pushing a new sales speaks to the integrity and business ethics that theses folks have.
I agree completely, was even telling my wife (who mostly doesn't really care a whole lot but indulges me) the same thing at dinner last night. They could have said tough luck, buy a new one but instead showed some actual support for their customers knowing this is a do-it-yourself kind of hobby for most people anyway.
Installed the new 64Mb chip and have it running Sigma again, impatiently waiting for the ROM release! I'm guessing anyone who is going to change the chip out themselves knows this but as a reminder make sure you have the ROM on an USB stick to load post memory expansion.
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Did you change it out yourself? Was it it difficult? Do you mean we have to have the sigma ROM on the USB or are you talking about the product key?
Yes, changed it myself and it was very easy but I do have years of soldering experience. With the size of the I.C. you can just build a nice solder bridges between all the pins on each side and move your iron quickly between them until it just pops right off. Clean up the pads with wick or a sucker then place the new chip. You have to load a ROM first before you can enter your product key which you also need to record prior to the swap. Instructions for loading both are on the ColorDMD website.
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Can you explain how to build a solder bridge? Otherwise I would just try to heat each soldering pad and suck it up until each leg from the IC chip is free from the surface pads?
Either way will work but if done properly the solder bridge is less likely to lift a pad. Just add enough solder to make it bridge all four legs on each side then move the iron back and forth between the sides quickly until all 8 legs are loose and the chip comes right off.
I think the only solution is an early release of the ROM so we can see it in person and judge for ourselves! pretty please!
Installed it first thing this morning and I was correct, it's even better in person that the video preview or the TX stream. I'm really impressed with how good many of the nearly undecipherable video scenes now look. Thank you again Eric for all your hard work on this, the game and it's fans sorely needed this!!
Still haven't decided if I prefer Dots, XL or HiRes yet, don't normally like Scan so I haven't even tried that one yet. I use HiRes is all my other games.
Quoted from Butterflygirl24:I'm pretty much opposite of you BobUKcat...I have been playing around with the different settings, and so far I have mine on Scan...but that is pretty much what I prefer on all my other ColorDMDs.I haven't really tried Hi Res yet...I've been busy watching/ I mean playing Spidey with the colorDMD... The DOTs and Dots XL don't do much for me... If I wanted dots I could go back to the plain old orange ones. (or in Spidey's case red)
Phoebe
All of my scores have been terrible because I keep looking at the DMD too much! I need a really good player to come over and put it through it's paces while I watch the display. In my limited testing this evening I'm back to liking HiRes again, but I turn my backlight down more because I think it looks better that way - in fact I think I learned that from your AFM a couple years ago!
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Is there a wrong way to install the upgraded memory IC chip to the board? The chip has 4 legs in each side so how do you know which side goes to which pads or does it matter?
Yes, it most certainly matters! Pin #1 is marked with a circle indented in the chip, match that to where the old one is as well as where the board is marked ( I think) for pin #1.
Quoted from PeterG:Question, i have three stern machines and two Bally/Williams. Do all of these use the same display? And can you add the new led display in any machine or just the CV? I have an IJ, SM, Tron, POTC and CFTBL dying for some color.
Can I just order any LED or LCD screen to fit any of my machines?
I think the mounting kit and power cable is different for different manufacturers but the actual electronics are the same. Also the ROMs for LCD are different then the ones for LED (Chroma) and they are keeping the number of releases for LED low for the time being to avoid support issues while the hardware is still new and being worked out. So, theoretically you could put the LED version in some of those other games but it would only run Sigma (single color) mode.
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