This project has been a long time coming, but it's finally starting to come together. It's not quite ready for prime time yet, but if I could get a tester with a Capcom machine, I have a kit ready. First, here's some video of it in action.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here's what the new board looks like.

ledocdcapcom.jpg

There are a few caveats for any potential testers:

1. I have already modified the design slightly so that it mounts in the backbox more nicely. This one, you should be able to mount one of the holes using a screw into the standoffs in the backbox. The final version will line up with more screws, so it will mount more solidly.

2. This one, I have built by hand, so it's not quite as clean as a machine built board.

3. I don't have enough Z-connectors, and the place I buy them is out of stock. I do, however, have a bunch of leftover pieces that should be enough to put a set together. They won't look as nice as a production kit, though. The cables are production quality, however.

4. It is possible that there could be bugs in the firmware that would cause some incorrect blinking. If so, it would require shipping back to me to update with any fixes.

I would offer this kit at a discount, but I'd still like to get $200 for it. Production kits will probably be closer to $300. If it turns out to not work as expected, I will fully refund the purchase.

I would also ask that you report any issues you find. It would be great if you could get some pictures and video as well, but not strictly necessary.

I think I have a volunteer now. Thanks.

Actually, not yet. This one is for the Capcom machines with two matrices, which does not include Breakshot. Once I get this under control, I'll work with him to see what we can do.

Yeah, with the Sys11 cables.

I really don't know since I haven't seen it in person. That's part of the reason I need a tester.

I think I have a volunteer now. Thanks.

For anyone who volunteered, but doesn't get contacted, please don't feel slighted. I tried to pick someone who is comfortable mucking around in a machine and debugging issues. I think this is past that point, but it's still development. Hopefully, the final version will be ready for the rest of you soon.

Here's video of it with incandescents. I will agree that in the video, there is more fading evident with the incandescents, but remember, LED OCD allows you to set the speed of the fading as well as the shape of the brightness ramp of every lamp, and it may simply need tweaked to fade faster. That's one of the downsides to not having a machine myself to develop this in; I haven't been able to try this stuff myself, nor see it with my own eyes.

It's not my video. I am simply sharing the video that was sent to me by one of the original testers.

Since I've had a couple of PMs about progress, here's an update:

The prototype has been sent to a tester. He hasn't told me whether he has installed it or when he plans to. Once I get results from him, I will decide whether to move forward. Since I am not confident about how much demand there will really be for these, I will likely have a small batch of boards made and hand build cables to reduce risk. If I have the cables outsourced, they actually cost more than the board.

If anyone is willing to take a couple of measurements, it would be helpful to confirm the standoff spacing. I have had one person measure them for me, but if possible, I'd really like to get a second set just to make sure before I order a bunch of boards. On the left side of the driver board, there are standoffs stamped into the metal. I need to know the horizontal and vertical spacing of those, along with the thread size.

Some really good news has come from the prototype testing.

The combined board design seems to be working properly. He reports that everything is smooth, and he would like one for his other game. I really wish I could nitpick it in person, be this seems to be a decent compromise.

For installation in Pinball Magic, the extension cables weren't needed, so I'll be able to leave those out of the kits (for that game at least) and drop the price. This hopefully applies to Airborne as well. BBB will almost certainly need at least some of the extensions, though.

Jgaltr56 confirmed the measurements for me. Thanks.

My plans are to order boards some time next week.

Things have been busy, so I haven't ordered them yet. I'm planning to on Monday. That should mean they'll be ready early January.

Boards are coming in tomorrow, and the cable kits are all packaged and ready to go. There are three beta kits in people's machines, and two of them appear to be completely happy. One of those is having a few lamps that occasionally blink when they shouldn't. I'm forced to choose between holding these until I can work through the remaining bugs or to offer them for sale with the understanding that I would provide updates to anyone who had issues like the "blinking" board. Do any potential buyers have opinions on this? Getting more into people's machines would likely help me since I'd have more information about how they're working.

I do have a bit of a long shot request. I am coming to the conclusion that the long distance software development isn't going to get this to 100%. As it is now, I have to make changes to the firmware, mail chips to a tester, then rely on them to report back any issues. Since some of these issues are so minor that only I would notice them, I don't think they're all getting caught. That, plus the turnaround time is just too long.

I need direct access to a machine. If anyone local has a Pinball Magic, an Airborne, or a Big Bang Bar and is willing to let me spend a day with their game, putting the final touches on the firmware, I'll offer a kit for half price. If anyone is willing to park one of these games in my gameroom or garage for about a month, I'll offer a kit for free.

I might also consider a temporary game trade if anyone's interested.

Yeah, about 30 minutes west of DC.

I've been there once, before I knew the arrangement, and I actually ended up leaving without playing anything. How realistic would it be to install a board and LEDs, change settings using a laptop, maybe some minor firmware changes on the spot, possibly even hooking up an oscilloscope to take some measurements? That sounds like it would be a bit beyond what we'd want to do there.

That's great to hear that you're still happy with it. That makes me a good bit more confident that it's worth getting a few more of these out there. If the one with issues is an isolated problem, I would hate to hold all the others back because of it.

Estimated pricing is on the website here.
http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=21

I still need to go though my purchases to figure out how much I spent on them to be able to set actual pricing, but if anything the actual would be lower than the $249 estimate. IMO, it seems high, but since Capcom uses two lamp matrices (no separate GI), it covers everything except the flashers.

I did the math last night, and if this first batch sells out, I will almost be back in the black on the project. Unfortunately, it is going to end up costing me even more time. I received the boards yesterday, and they work fine (in bench tests) other than the indicator LEDs being installed backward. I'll either have to flip them all by hand (and they're small surface mount parts in tight spaces), or offer a discount to anyone who doesn't care if the indicator LEDs don't work.

I really do appreciate the sentiment, even though it doesn't logistically work for us. Thanks.

I'm shipping a few of these today, including yours, and I'll be anxiously looking for feedback. If these install and work without issues, I'll feel comfortable enough to make the rest of them available. The Engineer in me wants to hold them until I know they're perfect, but who knows when that will be? Just remember to be kind if any issues do arise.

The best way to make sure I don't miss you is to sign up for notifications via my website. When I'm ready to post the rest of them, I will send an email to everyone on the notification list so that everyone has a fair shot at them.

On the page linked below, click on the green check mark.

http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=21

Thanks for posting feedback.

So the good news is that it apparently installed OK, the board fit, the cables reached, etc.

The "ghosting" lamps are bothersome, and not knowing whether that might happen is part of the reason I've held the other boards and not sold them yet. I would not recommend installing non-ghosting bulbs. They will not help. Once you get to the point that you can change settings, send me a PM, and I'll recommend some things to try that will help me narrow down what is causing it.

Wow, that is one WILD attract mode. It's hard to pick up on anything in that, but it seems like there's a few things in there that don't look right to me. The 'O' in SHOW, in particular, blinks out of sequence with others a few times. What does it look like in game?

It really is quite hard to tell what it's supposed to be doing. The two slings, don't look like the kind of thing the OCD would cause. It has very limited ability to delay things that long. I might be wrong, though. I'll look up where each of those are on the matrices. If they're on different ones, it would be a little more likely.

That leads into your question. It can slow how fast the bulbs turn on and off, but the overall pattern it's a slave to the game.

I'm going to have a tough time believing that 'O' insert is working as expected, though. Maybe there's a lamp matrix issue causing it.

Maybe it IS worth a trip up there sometime if you're OK with it.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I think these are finally finished, and I do have some remaining on the website now. I'm still working on an issue with one game, trying to figure out whether the LED OCD is at fault, or if the game has an underlying issue, but other than that, all of them seem to be working well at this point.

This first batch of boards does have the indicator LEDs (the ones on the board itself) installed backward as mentioned earlier in the thread. The only drawback is that they don't light to show the board status. All other operation of the board is unaffected. Rather than spending a bunch of time flipping all of these by hand, I've decided to offer a $20 discount on them. Later batches of boards will not have this issue or discount. In order to receive this discount, use the coupon code CAPCOMNOLEDS when ordering.

Not at the moment. I've looked into it a bit, but it's not high priority.

Anyone who has had any difficulty with the board or screws not fitting correctly in BBB, please let me know. I have had a few people say theirs didn't fit right, and I'm trying to track down the issue.

Thanks. Pictures would be great. If any additional parts would be helpful, like some male-female standoffs or something, I'd like to add them to the kits.

Yes.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-ocd-for-capcom/page/2#post-2955323

I just sold out yesterday, and I'm in no hurry to make more. They're not in high demand, and they're too expensive to have them sitting on shelves at my house. Maybe around October once I sell some of the stuff I just bought.

Actually, you were the second, and I spent even more time with him than with you. It was unbelievable how much more difficult this was than the Williams and Stern kits.

Actually, 8, and it's pretty obvious if you've ever looked at the software.

That, I honestly can't say for sure, but I do know that they refresh the lamps at 250 Hz. They are being controlled digitally since they have no voltage control on them, just the ability to pulse them. To get 16 levels, they would have to chop the 250 Hz to about 15 Hz for the low brightness levels. At that rate, you would see even incandescent bulbs strobe. That said, I would bet that they do not have 16 different levels, though if someone can prove it, I'll eat crow.

LED OCD is not perfect, but until you see it in person, don't knock it. I'll refrain from commenting on playfield restoration since you're the expert on that.

He also did a great job on my TZ back when there was no repro playfield.

Would one of the guys who owns a Capcom LED OCD be interested in testing a new build of code? I have tested the same changes on my WPC and Stern games, and it is a very slight improvement, but I don't have a Capcom game (or even a Capcom LED OCD) to test.

The changes are minor enough that I don't think it's even worth pushing the update to all current owners (unless they specifically ask for it), but I would like to use it next time I build boards. It needs to go through a test cycle first, though.

Sure, but you don't even know what the update is.

October isn't THAT far away. I just need a bit of break from building them, and I'd like to get some testing hours on the Capcom ones before I make more.

Thanks, guys. I only have enough programming tools to send to one person at a time, but I'll make sure they make the rounds.

I doubt that most people would be able to see the difference, but it's technically better, and my wife was able to pick out the new code in a blind test. She's really picky, though.

DMC,

The game looks great, and I'd love to see it in person. Thanks for the videos. I'll look at them as soon as I can.

Coincidentally, I'm working on another build of these, and I have a question.

I had a couple reports of not having enough space between the OCD board and the back of the fluorescent lamp bracket. I believe that this was only in BBB. I haven't been able to get a good answer to how much additional space is needed, though.

Anyone who had issues with clearance, please let me know.

Does either Airborne or PM have a fluorescent lamp, or is it only BBB? DMC says he sent me pictures of Airborne (which has a lamp board), but I will have to wait until later to look at them since I don't have Dropbox access at the moment.

Could someone take a measurement of the minimum clearance between the back of the fluorescent lamp bracket and the metal back of the backbox? Maybe a picture that shows it?

Thanks

Thanks, guys. That confirms what I thought.

Now, in BBB, that's where I had reports of it either not fitting behind the lamp bracket or it being very tight. I want to include a standoff to adjust the clearance, but I need a bit more info to choose what to include.

Yes, I do have your pictures, but I couldn't think where I stashed them. Thank you for sharing them.

I think I'm convinced on PM and AB now, just BBB left. I have some BBB pictures, but I don't think there is anything the clearly shows how much clearance there is, and I certainly don't have a measurement.

Here's one of the videos DMC sent me of this machine. The left side is without LED OCD, the right side is with. He also sent comparisons of incandescent vs LEDs with LED OCD if anyone is interested in seeing those.

Incandescent vs LED OCD

Incandescent vs LED OCD (half speed)

If It's something you think might be useful for others, feel free to post here. Otherwise, it might be easier to email or PM. Either is fine.

They are in process now. That's why I'm asking about the clearance between the lamp bracket and the back of the backbox. I want to include a standoff in the upcoming kits, but I don't know how long it needs to be. Anyone?

There's not really a waiting list, but there is a notification list. Just click on the green check mark on the product page to be notified when they're ready. I'm shooting for October 1.

The thanks for the videos should go to DMC. He did all the work. All I did was post them.

Whoever installed that one was creative. It should be fine like that, but I had intended it to be shifted up another few inches.

It looks like the ballast would interfere if it was moved up. There should be a screw holding the left end of the lamp bracket. That is where I think others used a standoff to make space. Could you see if that would work? Maybe estimate how much it would need to be lifted?

Thanks so much for the help.

As for the flashers, they are not controlled by LED OCD at all. They are still being directly controlled by the game.

I finally got around to calculating the stack of stuff (PCB standoff, PCB, and connector stack), and it needs a minimum of 1.2" clearance from the back of the backbox to the low spot on the ballast. If anyone is willing to measure the distance in their Big Bang Bar, I'd greatly appreciate it. It's the last I need to get all of the parts on order.

Awesome. I'd love to have been able to see it myself. I haven't played Pinball Magic in a LONG time, and I don't think I've ever played Airborne. I have yet to see LED OCD Capcom in person other than on the testbench.

I will have more LED OCD Capcom in the next couple of weeks. As for ColorDMD, I think I've seen someone install a Sigma display (single color) in one.

Why not post yours and we can review it?

Like all OCD kits, it will work out of the box. Software is only needed if you choose to adjust settings.

First, I'd recommend getting the standoffs installed across the left side. If the board gets pressed on, they will prevent it shorting against the metal plate.

Second, I can't really see the power and ground connections all that well.

It sounds like one of the fuses may be blown. Can you check them?

They're in stock, available from my website.

http://ledocd.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=21

I've been considering what to do with these. I don't sell many, and a batch sits on the shelves, tying up money. If I buy a smaller batch, my cost rises sharply. I also don't have much free time to test and to package the cables. I don't want to permanently discontinue them, but I don't have a good plan for them, either.

Don't get your hopes too high for Breakshot. The existing board might actually work, but half of it would remain completely unused. It would not be cost efficient. I don't have a Breakshot to test in, and I'm really not motivated to develop for what is essentially a new system that includes just one game.

I just wanted to let you Capcom owners know that you talked me into building some more, and they're on the website now. Still nothing for Breakshot, though. Sorry.

I responded via email. In short, a blown fuse either means a problem with the game, installation, or possibly the bulbs. The choice of bulbs can sometimes legitimately add up to over 4A if you use really bright ones. Non-ghosting are not recommended. More tests are needed to determine if matrix B now has either column or row transistors that have been damaged.

The fuse, LED, incandescent thing depends on the total of the installed bulbs. If the LEDs are lower current ones, you can likely get away with having some incandescent installed. I've seen a few cases where especially power hungry LEDs have been too much for the default fuse, even with no incandescent installed. When people start installing LED strips, all bets are off.