About a year ago i started work on a life long ambition of mine: to build a fully featured pinball control system for early bally and stern games with the goal in being able to produce a board set and software framework for other like minded people to modify and create new games from old playfields. I also wanted to be able to create new rules and sounds for a game i made back in the college days some 25 years ago.

I developed a double board set and had some protos made. 1 controller board and 1 driver board, that are designed to work together, and replace all other bally boards except the power section on the old power driver board.

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I wanted to create a board set that would work together and include additional options on the boards so that people could add extra features to games should they wish, but also be a direct plug in to the games original wiring. The main features of the board set are:

- Control Original Segment Displays, or use low cost serial Led displays
- Control Original Switch Matrix
- Control Original 16 Drivers plus Solenoid expanders
- Control Original 64 non-matrixed lamps
- Additional 16 mosfet drivers for flashers, motors, magnets etc
- Additional RGB Lamp Control for extra lamps
- Large SD card sound/music storage capabilities
- Multiple Channel Sound with background music
- Sound line out for connection to external amps/audio setups

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The hardware is one side of the project, but the software framework is the other. I have been working on creating a pinball library framework which people can use to get their own project off the game in conjunction with this hardware. The framework is made up classes for all the major pinball items, so lamps, switches, drivers, displays and sounds. The game itself then has various other files including feature modes and base modes to make the game playable. I have based my design concepts on the work of other more complex pinball frameworks, such as pyprocgame. This is the framework that i use for my rewrites of Indiana Jones and Whirlwind (see my other blog posts). Without the ideas from this software i wouldn't be here.

The framework is all written using the arduino code language and C++. I am making sure that you can still use the standard arduino ide to modify the files to create your own game from. The framework is very modular and i'm pretty happy with it so far.

Here an example videos of the attract mode with all 64 lamp being controlled along with the displays

Here's a vid of me explaining some of the rules that i am recreating using my framework and api and showing them working on the game

Here's an earlier video of some game play, before i got the 2nd channel (background music/sound) working

Please get in touch if you are interested in creating your own game from an Early Bally or Stern game and would purchase my board set.

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I'm working on pricing it at £199 plus shipping, so that would work out at around $300. That will buy you the full board set and access to all my framework, libraries and game code. I've been developing this system with low cost in mind so getting new game rules, features and sounds on older games doesn't break the bank. Of course there are compromises, but i think i've built up a decent solution and one that doesn't need external computer power/brains.

It is designed for all early Bally and Stern games so there's plenty of great games to rewrite rules for. I also realise that this could be used to replace boards from a dead game so I will continue to expand the software framework and maybe work on other rewrites in the future. One of the best parts if you are wanting to create your own game, or rewrite an old game is you aren't starting from scratch you can use the code i have already written as a starting point and all the basics are taken care of within the software framework.

You only need to replace 2 boards - the mpu and lamp driver. The new controller board handles all game control, displays and sounds. The new driver board handles all lamps and coils. You just leave the old solenoid power driver in there to run the 5v and 12v supplies. The old sound board can be left disconnected.

Fear not, i won't be including any copyrighted names etc. The boards will be populated with the name 'Custom Pinball Controller'. The name you see currently is just for my own prototype testing boards. They work on old Stern games to, so the name should be more generic Also, i should point out that putting in new hardware and running your own game rules, sounds etc probably voids your warranty from 1979

Yes you can and i included an ATX d-type power plug on the controller board (see pics above) for just this type of eventuality. For me personally i like to use as much of the old game as possible and just plug into existing connectors, but this option is certainly another possibility. I forget to mention that on the original thread, so thanks for the question

I have added to you to the 'interested' list

Yes, as mentioned you will need some coding skills for this type of adventure, but as shimoda says I have created a framework with a library which makes things alittle easier and allows you to stay within the arduino code sketch files for writing your game feature logic. Of course you can go deeper should you want to and do whatever you like.

You would also be able to use my high voltage/ future spa game code as a basis for your own game to, so you could use the bonus feature, or the kickback mode code etc etc, or use the extra drives to add a motor, some flashers, or a magnet somewhere.

It is designed to work with all bally/stern games from roughly 1976-1985. All the ones that could use the altek replacement mpu board or the AS-2518 mpu.

Yes, Globetrotters would be a great game to use with my board set.

Quick Update: I made a tweak today to the display controller framework to solve a small ghost issue i was having with the displays. The previous digit was ever so slightly visible in the next digit along on the display. This was tracked down to the digit enable lines being turned high before the binary number was latched in to the decoder. Swapped those 2 events around and now the displays are really crisp I've also made improvements to the score methods in the game code and scoring is working really nicely now to.

Thanks, it was to have more room for the shots and orbit higher up and also I wanted an upper playfield. At the time I made it whitewater just came out, so my launch was a nod to that and I had a load of Zacarria games at home to play on which often had an overhead launch

Update: I've been working on a few new items in the framework and game code. Firstly the bonus count up sequences that you get in nearly all early Bally/Stern games. I've added some extra code to the bonus 'mode' game file and the game will now count up the triangles on hv that you have collected at the end of the ball along with multiplying each count by the games multiplier level. The game will also remember when 'panels' of triangles are complete and count them up to after the current 'panel' is finished.

Here's a quick video with some voice over by me explaining how it works so far:

Also, I've done some more work on the display controller and shot a quick video to show the response between switch events and display updates by using the spinner in game. Interestingly i had some debug statements in the update method previously that were causing a slight flicker on the displays as they were updated. I now have debug turned off and the display are smooth and solid during a score update. (Any flickering/pulsing in the video is due to the speed of the camera lens)

Cheers

Something like this perhaps?

I thought i'd change a couple of the sound files on my current setup to show what could be possible with a flash gordon game. I had a few spare mins today I created a quick background music file and a new speech call of 'Gordon's Alive' then copied them and the other sounds to a new sd card, swapped the cards over in my setup and shot the quick video. Just to show a starting point for a FG game really and how a musical bgnd track sounds with sound effects overlaid on it.

Update: Sounds back to normal now Was fun to have a switch calling out 'gordon's alive'. Anyway, Now looking at some fine tuning on some of the framework. First up is adding the flashing display to the active player that is present on Bally games. This will be a tweak to the display controller library which will perform some timed blanking out of the display whose id matches the id of the active player. I may add a setting to that can turn this feature on and off.

Hi, thanks for the comments. Yes, the custom pinball controller board handles all game control, logic and sound creation and delivery

Just to explain my thoughts on reverb and echo. On my other sound board projects for Bally games such as the S&T board, i am producing a new daughter card which plugs onto the J2 output connector to add these effects. I included the same connector on my custom controller board so we will be able to plug this daughter card on here to and add the same effects

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Hi, Thanks for the post and questions. Been a little slow to reply (for obvious reasons) recently, so sorry about that. A very strange week in pinball!

So the idea is that people wanting to create their own game get access to all the code i have written via a github area which includes all the framework and libraries, but also all the game code from my High Voltage/Future Spa rewrite. So you will have more than just the basic shell game. You will have bonus count up modes and kickback modes and spot number/letter modes etc etc. I also aim to keep expanding the code base with more modes and features that can be reused/ used as a starting point for other games. Also, if other people also want to add their own modes etc back into the code base then great. I have created it in a modular way so each item is its own file and the library is very much class driven. I will start to show some examples of how the code works etc soon to

The main concept for this board set and controller was to make a system that can run older 80s games at a low cost that doesn't need a pc type computer to run the software from. This is the primary focus for it. However, there may be ways to expand its use should you wish and i am always open to new ideas and ways to use things. I am not into limiting peoples creativity. I did spend along time creating the driver part end so that it wouldn't be too hard to hook up other systems. For example the driver board connector is compatible (to a point) with the wpc driver setup. There are some changes as the lamp system is not a matrix one on these games, but this could be a starting point for a MPF hook up should you wish.

Update: Been working on sorting out the flashing display for active players. Just about finished this up. Also fixed some issues with multiplayer scoring and am working on the match code to replicate the features seen on games like elektra. New video later today hopefully

Video of a 4 player game and the new feature of flashing the active players score at ball start, just like on original bally games.

The multiplayer logic is now working really nicely. I've almost sorted out the bally match feature to, so will take a video of that aswell. Next on my list after this is ball save

I am using an end of ball and outlane sound from my whirlwind rewrite as temporary placeholders , but all the other sounds are royalty free ones. There are loads about that sound just like the 80s stuff.

I will be posting some examples of the code base soon and you would have access to al the game code from my games plus all the libraries. So you wouldn't be starting form scratch and could amend simple scoring and configure your games 'devices', change scoring, sounds etc to get a basic game going fairly easier i would think.

Been at a pinball show today chatting to folk about projects and stuff, but found a few minutes later on to write the first pass at ball save logic for this system, so all early ballys and sterns can now be ball save friendly. Settings built in allow it to be enabled/disabled and the time set

Hoping to get the v1.0 board sets ready within a couple of months. I have a list of updates to make from the proto boards which are almost done in eagle, then they can go to the manufacturer. Also would like to get a couple of other items added to the software frameworks. I am hoping to test my ball save add ons later this week all being well.

Yes, this is one of the main goals for it. See the vids of my High Voltage. I have been recreating this game to the original rules (future spa spec with new sounds), but also plan to add on to it. (I have some ball save logic to try out shortly.) The plan long term will be to expand the range of code in the framework that can be used to recreate other games and also make custom ones. Most of the base code for Bally/Stern games is similar. i.e bonus centred. So any game that uses the AS-2518 board set should be 're-creatable'

I think what i have created so far in terms of software should get most people started on a custom or game recreation though. I am in the process of creating a github area for the software framework and libraries. Access to all the resources will be included as part of buying a board set etc.

Here's a quick pic of the latest driver board revision. I've been working on updating the board with the changes noted form the proto rev. Also i've been adding connections and control for the aux lamps connectors on later ballys. So the max lamp control will be 96 up from 64.

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The board set is for any game using the AS-2518 board set (1976-1985 ish) not the later 6803 bally games, though they may work. Bally games like 8 ball deluxe and others used an aux lamp driver to add more lamps and drive options passed the standard 60 limit of the original lamp driver.

New video of testing the ball save additions.

Still tweaking a few things on this, as it is more complex than you might think on older games, especially with the arrangement of switches that they have. i.e very simple ball trough and no shooter lane switch in many cases! Working nicely though

One of the nice things that i've added to the framework is that you can easily enable or disable the full feature by setting 1 variable. i.e

ball_save_enabled = true;

and then the timer is also adjustable by setting:

ball_save_time = 12;

Update: I have now setup a private github repository for keeping track of the software framework and the updates i am making to it. I also have a dropbox link which i can give to people wanting to see the framework and example code who are interested in starting on their own projects using my system. Please contact me directly for access.

I am also opening up the preordering process now. A new item has been added to my web store. You can access it here - http://mypinballs.co.uk/electronics/store.jsp . The pre-order 50% price is £100. Remainder plus shipping and any extras once the hardware board sets are ready, which i am aiming for a few months time. The kit will include both the controller board and the driver board.

Yes, after leaving Zidware i've spent the last year developing my own range of hardware and mods. Everything that i'm making is to assist fellow pinheads keep games running and also improve them. I've got loads of ideas from a lifetime of pinball collecting/restoring/modding and from working in the software field for many years. As its just me developing everything though i am working through my ideas lists 1 project of a time. Should be keeping me busy for the foreseeable!

Also i aim to build up a large range of additional code that can be used as a resource for most pinball features present in Bally games of this era. I would also like to recreate more games and add those to the resource base, but it is one step at a time.

Update: Finishing up the first version of the supporting documentation for the controller board and software. First step for people who are pre-ordering and waiting for the hardware is to look over the provided software frameworks and start to amend the setup for their own playfield of choice using this guide and the bally game manual.

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Update: First pass at the documentation is done. Came in at 15 pages. Will be being shared with all pre-order folks shortly. Thanks again for the support.

Update: First run of final boards are with the manufacturer Some pics here. Looking forward to seeing what people make with them

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No problem, happy to answer any questions Would probably best to drop me an email direct so i can help answer things more easily, but to answer the things above.

The 3 arduinos are included in the total cost. There may be a 'barebones' version later where you supply your own controllers.

No

Not for a standard config. You would only need to add an additional storage array if using the 4th set of drivers (coils 25-32)

I have created the board sets to match the Bally specification and layout, so coil 1 is the first output from the original solenoid driver board, coil 2 is output 2 etc etc The data stores are in sets of 8, so coils 1 to 8 belong to datastore0, 9 to 16 belong to datastore1 etc etc

Hope this helps. Get in touch direct if you have more questions

Cheers

Thanks for the post. Currently all people pre-ordering get access to everything i have written, which includes all source, library, frameworks, the high voltage game and all mode files. The code given can be used to get your game playable. Items such as basic game and ball management, scoring, flippers, jets, kickback, drops, saucers etc are all included along with the specifics for bonus on high voltage/future spa etc These games all share a lot of common elements, as that was the way when games were simpler.

I plan to add additional mode files for other types of features, bonuses, devices and modes as i get further along, which i will share in the same manner. I also hope that other people who start to write things will share them back for other users to.

My other plan is to recreate some other specific games from the 80/81 era ballys, but that will be further along the project road to

Update: Just a quick update on board manufacture progress. I am hoping to have the boards back here in the UK mid August around 20th. Assembly and testing of them can then start before getting them shipped out to folks.

Also, in terms of support, help and getting going, technical questions etc etc. I have been working on ideas for setting up a forum on my website for more in depth discussion on areas of this system. It does take time though to work it all out along with moving everything forward.

In the short term would people like another thread here on pinside for discussing setup and getting going etc, as this thread i aim to keep as a standard update and progress news feed type thing!

I will look to add extra comments for the mode files in the example game. The game is future spa though which has a lot of common rules like the kickback, where every time the ball goes in it advances the point value up to a maximum, the same for the saucer to. I have a few videos on here to of me explaining more complex rule sets such as the bonus feature, so be sure to watch all those on my you tube channel.

High Voltage is single ball as future spa was, but i may add a multiball into it as there is a saucer. Multiball on these earlier game is mostly about getting multiple balls playing as per games like Elektra so the additional logic to control them isn't too hard to add. Things like ball save are already included.

There are extra drives available for adding new devices. A servo may need extra 3rd party control boards to. I would have to look at that in more detail.

Basic game adjustments as per the old dip switches are available through the game code as constants and variables. This is covered in the setup documentation

Yes, there are 2 test buttons included for use from the main controller board or externally and a test mode is also included in game code

Update: Working on adding a little more commenting to the codes game mode files and a summary of the rules in the support and setup guide for my high voltage (future spa) game recreation.

It would be interesting to see if a 6803 game could be connected to my new board set. In theory the playfield will work as the playfields are not wired any differently, but i would need to check the connector pinouts from the 6803 boards to see how much recabling would be needed.

My driver board has capability to drive the aux lamp board. This was added as an option for the rev 1 boards (currently being manufactured), so the max number of lamp drivers is 96. My proto driver board was just controlling the main lamp board for High Voltage.

The board set is designed to run original displays (hv or led) or serial segment displays not DMD displays. If you want to drive a DMD display then you would need a more powerful system such as the p-roc board and regular computer system or similar.

Currently the controller board is plug and play to existing early Bally/Stern segment games only, but there may be ways in the future to add on extra modules such as my alphanumeric display board i built last year (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1070905543/jims-retro-pinball-display-for-arduino?ref=email)

Also, the setup guide has been updated on the dropbox share for pre-order folk. It now has a section covering the game rules for High Voltage.

Update: Final V1 board blanks are back from the manufacturer.

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I have now started the assembly and testing of the first run of boards. Here are some pics of the first V1 controller board being assembled for testing.

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Here's one of the board being tested in my High Voltage game.

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I am working through my BOM files and assembly of the first run of driver boards will also start soon. On the software side there is an update to the frameworks and examples that will be uploaded in the next day or so, so keep checking for updates on the dropbox link.

I am also thinking about adding a 'lane change' mode for High Voltage on the top 4 rollovers so hope to work on that this week to.

MOSFETs anyone? First order of transistors received for the driver boards

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Mark's previous comment on this sums it up pretty well it think, but i will cover a few extra things as people often misunderstand the differences between a cpu chip and a microcomputer.

Firstly, a standard microcomputer is made up of various chips not just a cpu so you can't really compare 1 arduino to 1 6800 cpu. A microcomputer needs a cpu, ram, rom and i/o controllers to be useful. The original bally system had 2 microcomputers 1 on the cpu board and 1 on the sound board. The cpu microcomputer had 1 cpu, 2-6 roms, 2 rams and 2 i/o chips. The most advanced sound board (s&t) had 1 cpu, 2-4 roms, 1 ram, 2 i/o chips and 3 sound processing chips. So for direct comparison, seeing as each arduino chip is a self contained microcomputer you should only compare microcomputer to microcomputer, not a cpu to microcomputer.

My design is a 'master and slave' one as Mark said, and i have designed the full system with expandability in mind so there are lots of areas where you can add extra devices to your game. I have also added as much additional control for linking up external 3rd party devices to future proof it all as far as i can.

The controller board with the 3 arduinos on replaces the original games cpu board and sound board. The driver board replaces the lamp driver board, auxiliary lamp driver board (if parts populated) and power driver boards solenoid section.

I will add some of this comparison to the setup guide also for future reference.

Update: Pic of first assembled v1.0 driver board

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Update: Assembly of the first batch of boards continues. Here's a quick piccy of Mark's (snux) kit of parts ready for shipping out last week. He's going the self assembly route I still included the assembled cables though

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On standby Mark, in case of further questions needed. If all goes well the included lamp attract pattern code should slot straight in and we should see super speedy strobing lamps all over - like on my HV game

Thanks for the message. You don't need any extra sound boards, the controller board replaces the original games cpu and sound boards. The driver replaces the solenoid control section of the power driver board and the lamp driver, so its just 2 boards for the full replacement system. I make replacement sound boards for bally games to, but these are for drop in replacements of original boards, not related to this project.

My system is a 2 board setup with a newly designed driver board as well as a new controller board. My system aims to add various improvements and additional options for peoples custom games and rewrites over what was available originally. The controller board is a multiple controller setup with the following differences over a single control setup.

- Dedicated lamp controller
- Dedicated 2 channel sound controller cable of background music and sound effects/speech
- RGB Led control
- Serial Display control
- Line Out for external amps
- Sound Effects board compatible via sound output connector
- Auxiliary connector/port for additional 3rd party board hookup/ future expansion

The driver board replaces both the original lamp and solenoid driver section of the solenoid power board and uses more modern technology to allow multiple devices to be controlled at the same time, faster/ more snappy response to existing devices as well as offering fliptronic control of the flippers and additional drive option for new toys, motors, flashers, magnets etc. Main driver board output options are:

- Max 32 High Current Drivers (24 included as standard)
- Max 96 Low Current Drivers (Lamp Drivers) (64 included as standard)

The original games output options were max 20 high current drives and max 60 low current drives.

The software framework that i have developed aims to keep the game rules written in the arduino ide, without the need to get too deep into C++ programming unless you want to. The included libraries allow all the basics of a pinball game to be easily defined and you can concentrate on writing rules, changing scores, adding sounds etc.

Update: First mini batch of Controller Boards assembled and waiting for arduinos to be installed then tested. Also a couple of controller board kits are now bagged up to.

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Update: Some more pics of assembly progress (this time driver boards) and getting boxing up started. Also been making cables

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Update: The driver boards pictured a few days ago are now finished and ready to be boxed up. Sealed in nice anti-static bags. The next mini batch of driver and controller board assembly will start soon.

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Also, wanted to mention that every control and driver board is being individually tested in my High Voltage game before being bagged and boxed. This is the process i use for all my other boards to like my s&t sound boards and my 80b cpu boards. Nothing beats a good test in a real game after a bench test.

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Also, another barebones kit left today and is headed state side

Looking forward to people getting things plugged in and seeing new games come to life /game rewrites get under way.

Also, i got to chat with the 'this flippin podcast' guys last night on their show and had a great time talking about my pinball history and projects such as this that i've been working on. Coming soon to iTunes

Just checking the orders list. You are in the second mini batch which is under way. I'm building them in small batches of 4. So 8 boards at a time, 4 sets etc. Waiting on arduino controllers to arrive to complete the first mini batch then they can ship. All self assembly kit orders have shipped.

Update: Just added a new file to the dropbox share detailing the connectors on the controller board. Now working on the corresponding document for the driver board. If you have pre-ordered the file should be synced shortly.

Update: Driver board pinouts guide now added to the dropbox share

Quick update for pre-order folk. Please check you email inboxes as final invoices are now going out and shipping is getting under way for the first few assembled systems.

Update for pre-order folk. More invoices will be going out shortly for kits ready to send. Also, there is a new password for access to the software downloads and documentation. I will contact you all with the new details, or please feel free to get in touch. Thanks

Glad they arrived safely. Looking forward to seeing progress along with the other games taking shape Exciting times ahead

Quick update on a feature update that i've been looking into, which was suggested by Mark (snux). A new library will be added called PinballStatus which will add the option of connecting a 'Health' LED to pins 16 and 6 of the aux connector via a resistor. This will then flash the LED repeatedly whilst the main code and specifically the main code loop is running. Therefore helping identify any bad coding decisions, crashes or lock ups etc.

There may also be additional methods and functionality added to this library as we move forward.

update: PinballStatus Library is now live and added to the repository for all customers. You can download it and examples of how to implement it via the usual dropbox link.

Quick update

Back from the play expo event here in the uk where I had HV on demo with a custom board set running all weekend. Was on for along time over those 2 days.

Now working on:

- more board assembly
- lane change code update
- forum setup on website
- slave display controller update

Quick update on a new feature i've been trying out, which i built into the board design.

Reverb/Echo board for post filtering of your new sound effects. Note that the sound output connector is the same pinout as my Squawk & Talk & bally computer sound board, so you can add an effects board here to, to change how the output of the sounds will be passed to the amplifier.

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As the effects board is a universal design for all sound boards, and to make sure there is no conflict with any of the oem bally connector headers, in this configuration there is some overlap with the bottom rhs of the sound arduino, so the effects board needs to be spaced off a little further than normal, or some insulation added between the overlap area.

A cool way to add some extra effects to the sounds without the need to change the original sound effect files etc.

Great project with great new art. Looking forward to seeing this one move forward and the new rules & sounds come alive

Next set of boards shipping out today (for 'The Cave' project)

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Quick update on some software dev and things. Been looking at tweaking the settings on the debouce timings for the switch reading and also adding some extra methods for use of a switch hold function (a preset time after the switch is pressed before anything happens).

Originally the switch debounce settings were left very fast to show the raw speed and power of arduinos in this deployment, the thought being that additional logic could be written to detect the first press of a switch only. However after some more thought it makes more sense to adjust the default debounce timings a little now the tech is proven and therefore save on code storage space and complexity of logic.

Also, i am still working on the display updates and some more changes to the lane change code after testing the first pass of it.

And finally the forum is still coming! I have the install files and am going though the docs on how to get installed on my servers. As i'm sure you can appreciate, things like this can take a little time as i have to balance web site improvements alongside code development, product help and assistance, board developments and assembly. I'm hoping to have more news on the forum towards the end of the year and after christmas

Hope everyone's projects are moving forward. Post your latest pics of progress when you get chance

Anyone who is interested in creating a project with my hardware can get code snippets by contacting me directly, as has been the case for many already. I can send you examples of the type of code you would be using, for example a mode file showing how a kickback device operates on my hv game etc. I will look to include some of these examples on the forum once setup.

Let me send you the welcome email again. This was sent when you first ordered, but i guess it got misplaced or forgotten about. The link in there has access to the full documentation, software, libraries and frameworks. There are also pinout documents that tell you what each connector is.

The board hardware comes with the High Voltage game that i wrote for my Future Spa remake and you have access to all the software source code. The first task to get a new game up and running in a 'basic' fashion is to alter the 3 config files for the switches, lamps and coils. This is documented in the getting started guide. If you need help or would like these creating for you as additional help then please get in touch. I am thinking of offering additional services to help at this point.

With these files amended to suit your game you will be able to play a basic game with score and utilise any common features from the High Voltage game such as pops, saucers, kickbacks etc. This is where you begin to customise the game and add your own rules and sounds etc or recreate the original game. The system will in time offer more 'template' files for games to work from, but primarily it is a development system which i hope i have been clear about

My board set contains both controller board and driver board, so as long as you don't mind making connector adapters, you have a switch matrix and direct driven lamps on the playfield (not matrixed) then i believe it could work with them. It is the playfield wiring itself that is the main thing to check. Old boards are not that important.

Almost time for the christmas holidays. I'll be shutting up shop from 19th December til the 4th Jan 2016 and want to wish everyone who has got involved with my board sets a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I have a small Christmas gift for you all which is access to a new discussion and info sharing site run via 'slack'. The web address is:

http://mypinballs.slack.com.

Everyone who has bought a board set will be sent an email shortly with details on how to access. Myself and Mark (snux) are already there and look forward to seeing you to. I'll be back on the case 4th Jan 2016, but may be on slack at various points over the christmas hols to. Next year should be a fun year, and more templates for games will be built along with lots of other extras and updates.

Cheers for now

Next batch of boards is being finalised at the moment. I have some updates to complete based on a few things we've learnt form the first batch and a few features that i want to build in, such as a health led pulse, power on detection etc.

I had a big update of software features and bug fixes to get done based on feedback, suggestions and what we've learnt so far which has just gone live and been synced to the dropbox shares along with thew github repro so wanted to get this finished first before moving to the hardware.

Yes you could remove/forget about those if you were using a switched mode 48 v dc supply for the coil power. Some people are do this exact thing for custom projects with my board sets where they don't have the original cabinet and boards at all.

Bally coils are 50v rated so run fine at 48vdc and actually are a little more snappy with the small increase. That was just an example anyway. You can use any switched mode supply you like. For example if you need 35vdc use something like this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Ship-DC-350W-36V9-7A-Switching-Power-Supply-220V-to-Stepper-Motor-3D-Printer-/142016593645?hash=item2110d93eed:g:RpwAAOSwXSJXPBq6

Of course you need one that is compatible for your countries input voltage. This is just an example of what i would use here in the UK.

If you want to run original displays then you still need the original sdb and rectifier board. You can use led remake displays though that run from 5v instead

There isn't a common place for this yet so best to check out the individual projects on the go as detailed above. I will be undertaking some new game rewrites myself with the production of the batch 2 boards so will update on those as I get started

Working on adding support to use original Bally sound boards via the aux connector on the controller board sets. I have been working on anew library called PinballSoundDecoder which allows hook up to original sound hardware. Will work with original game wiring and also can be driven directly form the aux connector. Will update again when i have an early release for testing

Working on adding support for upgrading the flipper assemblies on games. The idea being that you can upgrade to use WMS wpc flipper mechs and then either use WMS parallel coils and/or Stern PWM coils. The pwm approach will be direct drop in with no wiring changes needed. The parallel coil option will require wiring additions for the extra drive transistor requirements. No EOS switches will be needed.

Started to rough in some of the config files and setup stuff for Star Trek today. Looking to get a populated playfield that i can drop into my cabinet to for working on new rules. We shall see what turns up

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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

As soon as possible really. The board blanks are currently shipping to the UK at present. Once they arrive i will post updates here and on the discussion area and start assembly for all pre-order customers on batch 2. The bom for pre-orders is here and waiting having already been purchased. The 6 weeks was a best guess at the time but has taken longer, as i added a few extra options into the designs for future upgrades as mentioned above.

The remaining 50% cost for pre-orders with shipping will not be charged until your order is complete and ready to ship. You should be able to get on with writing code and setting up the appropriate config files for use with your chosen game whilst waiting, as access to all resources is granted from pre-order date. How is that going?

Yes there is a serial RGB lamp connector designed for use with WS2812 rgb leds/boards. This is separate to the control of the main 64 led feature lamps and the auxiliary 32 led feature lamps

I'm still trying to find time to write the extra details pages on my site. Need more hours in the day!

Added an aux driver board to my HV game today to allow control of the GI in conjunction with the new cabinet based transformer panel i've added

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batch 2 board blanks have arrive so assembly will now start

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video of me testing the first batch 2 controller with built in green health led

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNOnr3gA3A1/

I will send you some more info on how to solve this when I get a minute but yes you don’t have the flipper section connected correctly. It’s the weekend here and mother’s day this weekend in the uk so I’m alittle tied up with the family

Hi

Got 5 minutes spare so here's a little more info on the flipper setup.

If you have a look at the pinout guides that are in the dropbox share then this will explain the Flipper connections.

Controller Board J12 pins 1 & 3 to Driver Board Connector J2 pins 1 & 2 using the provided 2 pin connector. (This connects the flipper switch inputs to the controller)

The J1 connector (top left) from the old driver board should be connected to the JD1 connector on the new driver board. (This connects the flipper drives)

The flipper control on the new board set is transistor driven (i.e. fliptronic esque) so both these connections need to be made. The JD1 connector also has other solenoids drives on it like the outhole coil drive (iirc on bally games)

Regards

Jim

mypinballs.co.uk

Send me the log when you press the right flipper button

Normally on the 2 flipper same side design the power ground to the upper flipper is joined by that extra switch on the lower flipper. Maybe we need to refine some framework stuff for this, or look at the noise suppression side in more detail.

Yes, i still make boards for people to order. Which links are broken? There should be links to this thread and example videos from my youtube channel as well as a brief overview of the system. There is also full documentation in pdf format available privately.

Yeah i should finish the more details pages, but i've been head down for 4 years and counting making hardware!

If you drop me your email address privately then i'll send you over the documentation

Got your message. I'm away at the mo, but i'll reply to you once i get back

.

All my emails work afaik and I’ve replied to your pms. You didn’t reply to one of my earlier pms for over a year though so earlier preorders went to other people

I am sorting a set out for you as we speak though now we are back in touch