(Topic ID: 217116)

myPinballs Sega Magnet Processor Board Remake/Redesign

By applejuice

5 years ago


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  • 183 posts
  • 60 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 14 days ago by applejuice
  • Topic is favorited by 24 Pinsiders

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There are 183 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 4.
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#1 5 years ago

As mentioned in my Twister rewrite journey thread here - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twister-software-rewrite-the-journey during the restoration of my own game i came to the conclusion that i should really make a new magnet processor board for this game and goldeneye. The one i have is hacked up to death and even though it works i'm not sure for how long.

So i've created my own version of the board with some improvements (mosfets drivers, reset switch, reset and power leds etc) and simplifications like i have done with my other pcbs products over the last few years.

Here are some pics of the prototype design.

IMG_1780 (resized).JPGIMG_1780 (resized).JPGIMG_1781 (resized).JPGIMG_1781 (resized).JPG

If you are interested in this project and would like one once they are available then please let me know in this thread. I am aiming for a price point of around £100 plus shipping though this isn't set yet.

#2 5 years ago

I'm in the process of repairing my magnet board. Last night I replaced a bad resistor hoping that was the final repair to get it working. Not yet.

#3 5 years ago

Please put me on the list for Goldeneye. Thanks for taking on this project.

#4 5 years ago
Quoted from MJW:

Please put me on the list for Goldeneye. Thanks for taking on this project.

No problem. Added to the list

#5 5 years ago

Does Lost in Space use the same magnet board?

#6 5 years ago

Prototypes of my new magnet processor board have now been ordered I will soon have 5 test boards to mess about with and refine the design, make any tweaks etc.

#7 5 years ago

Put me down for a Twister magnet board!

Thanks a million!

#8 5 years ago
Quoted from PoMC:

Does Lost in Space use the same magnet board?

I think its just twister and goldeneye

#9 5 years ago

Would the pic chip be eliminated, or a different version be used.?

#10 5 years ago

Great project. I’d probably be interested in one even though I don’t have either game in my collection. I hear all sorts of issues with this board, and very few resources seem to be available to repair it.

This is something that would be nice to have in a drawer someplace “just in case.”

1 week later
#11 5 years ago

I've tried 6 month to get my board running from day one when Goldeneye has enter my Pinball collection.
Then I spent further 4 month the finde someone who can fix it, finally board is disappeared caused by DHL on the way back to me, I give up now
Put me down for a board!

You are my hero

Alex

#12 5 years ago

I'd be interested in a board and could also test anything with Twister if needed.

#13 5 years ago

Hi, Great work. I was thinking of doing this but you have saved me the effort and your price is very fair. You dont fancy putting another microcontroller on there and recoding so avoiding the need for the PIC??? (Joke)

I have both machines and after mag board repairs they work perfectly in play (do not trust the test functions for the mag boards) and, despite the manual stating otherwise, I have never seen MAG1/2 LED illuminate, so they may not be needed on your design.

Cheers

#14 5 years ago

I assume this board would also work with Lost in Space ?

#15 5 years ago

Interested for sure

#16 5 years ago

Thanks for all the replies and interest. Anyone who expresses interest here will be at the top of the order list

I am hoping to have the first prototypes board blanks here in a few weeks, so i will start to test and post updates here.

Regarding Lost in Space specifically, i don't think this game uses this board even though it has a similar/same spinning disc mechanism. This board is mostly about the ability to detect a ball crossing the magnet as well as having the power switch circuitry. I think on Lost in Space they just controlled the magna disc in a more traditional way from the main driver board and used timing for detect. If theres anymore info on this game though it would be interesting to know.

#17 5 years ago

I’ll take a mag board for twister.

Added over 6 years ago:

Super pumped you’re doing this. A huge help to the community.

#18 5 years ago

I have a working Goldeneye but I enjoy supporting projects like this and can always use back up. Thanks.

#19 5 years ago
Quoted from ypurchn:

I’ll take a mag board for twister.

Added yesterday: Super pumped you’re doing this. A huge help to the community.

Bump to keep support up and grab more attention.

#20 5 years ago

Latest updates on receiving the first prototype blanks is 14th/15th June

Will keep everyone interested here up to date

#21 5 years ago
Quoted from applejuice:

As mentioned in my Twister rewrite journey thread here - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twister-software-rewrite-the-journey during the restoration of my own game i came to the conclusion that i should really make a new magnet processor board for this game and goldeneye. The one i have is hacked up to death and even though it works i'm not sure for how long.
So i've created my own version of the board with some improvements (mosfets drivers, reset switch, reset and power leds etc) and simplifications like i have done with my other pcbs products over the last few years.
Here are some pics of the prototype design.

If you are interested in this project and would like one once they are available then please let me know in this thread. I am aiming for a price point of around £100 plus shipping though this isn't set yet.

TAKE MY MONEY!!!! I would like one for Sega Twister

#22 5 years ago

Mine still works without issue on twister, but doesn't hurt to have spare parts as long as you ship to the states.

#23 5 years ago

Were you able to eliminate the pic chip? Or use a different way. It seems that chip is susceptible to quick failure.

#24 5 years ago
Quoted from chad:

Were you able to eliminate the pic chip? Or use a different way. It seems that chip is susceptible to quick failure.

I got a different pic chip from astill and it still doesn't work. It blows the fuse in F20 and awards the skill shot before shooting, and auto-plunges at that. I'm not an electrician but mine has to be a diode/component issue.

If I knew what to do I would love to fix it myself!

#25 5 years ago
Quoted from yamahayz26:

Mine still works without issue on twister, but doesn't hurt to have spare parts as long as you ship to the states.

I ship anywhere in the world, no problem. Most of my products go to the USA along with Australia, Canada, France, Germany

#26 5 years ago
Quoted from chad:

Were you able to eliminate the pic chip? Or use a different way. It seems that chip is susceptible to quick failure.

The pic chip is still part of the design, though the pic chips will be brand new latest mircochip parts, not 25 year old parts. I have improved other areas of the design such as the driver section, but the pic chip holds the logic for the board and is integral to the sega design.

#27 5 years ago

I would also be very interested in getting my hands on one of these.

#28 5 years ago

Prototype blanks should be arriving here today (11th june). Out for delivery

#29 5 years ago

Prototypes arrived

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#30 5 years ago

I am working on A Lost in Space. Ill see what the magnet board looks like and post a pic

#31 5 years ago
Quoted from billsfanmd:

I am working on A Lost in Space. Ill see what the magnet board looks like and post a pic

Lost In Space doesn't use a magnet board.

#32 5 years ago
Quoted from Evilive69:

Lost In Space doesn't use a magnet board.

Ok thx....Ill need to look at the spinning disc board under pf then....I thought there was a board that controls the magnet spinning disc that was hard to find.

either way I def will be adding a twister and will order one of these.

#33 5 years ago

I'm pretty sure the magnet board was only used in Twister and GoldenEye. The disk and magnet in Lost In Space is controlled by the driver board.

#34 5 years ago
Quoted from Evilive69:

I'm pretty sure the magnet board was only used in Twister and GoldenEye. The disk and magnet in Lost In Space is controlled by the driver board.

yeah i just looked. it was a relay board i had trouble with that controls the spinning magnet

anyway free bump for a great new product

#35 5 years ago
Quoted from Evilive69:

I'm pretty sure the magnet board was only used in Twister and GoldenEye. The disk and magnet in Lost In Space is controlled by the driver board.

Yes after Applejuice mentioned that I went & looked these games up , I had always just assumed that Twister & Lost in space came out around the same time but No Twister release date was April 1996 & Goldeneye one month previously in March but Lost in space release was May 1998 a good 2 years later so they must have engineered a better way to control it via the driver board instead of this somewhat problematic seperate board

#36 5 years ago

I interested in this. Need one for sure.

#37 5 years ago

Part way through the first pcbs prototype assembly. I am assembling the processor section and the disc magnet drive and control section first. Then after this is tested i will assemble the diverter section. Theres a few things i learnt today to about how the diverter section is controlled which i'll talk about later.

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#38 5 years ago

Finished the first part of the assembly now

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Here's a video on my instagram page of the first board test.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj73csIFvWE/?taken-by=mypinballs

Notice that there are now more leds to help you understand what the board is doing. Red led for 5v. Green led below that which tell you when the board is enabled and out of reset. And then the mag2 led which is more like a status led and blinks 3 times when the board is enabled. Previously though it was hard to know whether the board was enabled or idle as the mag2 led flashes then goes off. Now its easy to see.

#39 5 years ago
Quoted from TecumsehPlissken:

Yes after Applejuice mentioned that I went & looked these games up , I had always just assumed that Twister & Lost in space came out around the same time but No Twister release date was April 1996 & Goldeneye one month previously in March but Lost in space release was May 1998 a good 2 years later so they must have engineered a better way to control it via the driver board instead of this somewhat problematic seperate board

I dont think they engineered a better way. This boards design is the ultimate in detection in my view. I think they just made the games cheaper and simpler using timing.

#40 5 years ago
Quoted from applejuice:

I dont think they engineered a better way. This boards design is the ultimate in detection in my view. I think they just made the games cheaper and simpler using timing.

Right on & I acknowledge you are far more knowledgeable than myself here , so I retract that "better" comment but I did own one of these & even bought a replacement board from Marco but always still had glitches with the spinning magnet mech. & thus was one of the contributing reasons as to why I let her go
... edit there was a service bulletin for the orig. board as well

#41 5 years ago

applejuice I think quite a few of us Twister owners would like to hear your thoughts on why many of the magnet boards have failed over time. What have you found to be the most common cause of failure? And finally, could you explain the service bulletin updates and what those modifications resolved - such as removing the neon bulb and adding another diode in parallel with an existing one.

http://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/Stern%20Service%20Bulletins/sb/sb91.pdf

Great work you're doing and thanks for sharing your progress and your process.

#42 5 years ago

Super stoked to get this. My board is a hot mess E33228CB-7ED2-4CF7-873E-6AB200549718 (resized).jpegE33228CB-7ED2-4CF7-873E-6AB200549718 (resized).jpeg

#43 5 years ago
Quoted from PoMC:

applejuice I think quite a few of us Twister owners would like to hear your thoughts on why many of the magnet boards have failed over time. What have you found to be the most common cause of failure? And finally, could you explain the service bulletin updates and what those modifications resolved - such as removing the neon bulb and adding another diode in parallel with an existing one.
http://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/Stern%20Service%20Bulletins/sb/sb91.pdf
Great work you're doing and thanks for sharing your progress and your process.

No problem i will go through a few things and explain the designs once i get further along, as well as other things that i have learnt regarding how the boards work in twister (and golden eye). I should point out that my design does include all the service bulletin updates as well as my own improvements.

I have also been experimenting with what likely failure points there are and what happens if certain components fail or are missing etc.

As a quick reply though , i believe there are a few causes of pic failure., Firstly the age of the chip as it is much more complex internally than just a std logic ic. Microchip have improved the production of the chips over time, being flash ram based now, but most complex ics (processors, ram, i/o ics) are borderline when plus 20 years old. Roll all of them into 1 single ic and you have multiple failure points.

Secondly the pic ic is reset repeatedly during the game cycle (at every ball start) this is so the board can reconfigure itself and keep an accurate picture of the magnets/core for detection. The design of this circuit was improved in the service bulletin as if the chip doesn't come out of reset reliably then the board is disabled. This is another reason why i've included a reset led on board. The reset line on all cpu type chips is a key area.

#44 5 years ago

Some good progress today. The board is fully working. Both magnets work in game and i was able to test the diverter magnet in test to. (Something that did not work with my original board). Not without a lot of head scratching during the day though and plenty of swearing!, but my design is now proven

Pic of the fully assembled board

IMG_1951 (resized).JPGIMG_1951 (resized).JPG

Some videos of testing on my instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-W9MWlZvO/?taken-by=mypinballs

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-Y9Vhl4qY/?taken-by=mypinballs

I've also learnt a few more things today on what needs to be functional and installed for the board to work at all. Even though the board has 2 mirrored sections, one section is more important than the other and must be functional before the other will work etc. I believe this is because only 1 section is used to create the references after the board comes out of reset. If this initialisation doesn't not pass then the board will do nothing.

I have a question for owners of original boards. How many pins is the j1 connector on your game. 14 pins or 15 pins? The schematic says 14, but the original board i have has 15, but my connector only has 14. Possibly pin15 should be another +5v (same as pin14) Let me know what you board and connector is like. Also send pic of how your board mounts to your playfield underside.

#45 5 years ago

I just took these pics for you since I had the magnet board removed. Please let me know if you need any other specific pics.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Yq91yvzUHApFEGpc9

#46 5 years ago
Quoted from applejuice:

Some good progress today. The board is fully working. Both magnets work in game and i was able to test the diverter magnet in test to. (Something that did not work with my original board). Not without a lot of head scratching during the day though and plenty of swearing!, but my design is now proven
Pic of the fully assembled board

Some videos of testing on my instagram page
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-W9MWlZvO/?taken-by=mypinballs
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-Y9Vhl4qY/?taken-by=mypinballs
I've also learnt a few more things today on what needs to be functional and installed for the board to work at all. Even though the board has 2 mirrored sections, one section is more important than the other and must be functional before the other will work etc. I believe this is because only 1 section is used to create the references after the board comes out of reset. If this initialisation doesn't not pass then the board will do nothing.
I have a question for owners of original boards. How many pins is the j1 connector on your game. 14 pins or 15 pins? The schematic says 14, but the original board i have has 15, but my connector only has 14. Possibly pin15 should be another +5v (same as pin14) Let me know what you board and connector is like. Also send pic of how your board mounts to your playfield underside.

Does this help?
D62FC01C-6BF0-4F3C-A155-3AC2E5681F97 (resized).jpegD62FC01C-6BF0-4F3C-A155-3AC2E5681F97 (resized).jpegD630B688-475F-4A99-8AC0-D10F91523565 (resized).jpegD630B688-475F-4A99-8AC0-D10F91523565 (resized).jpeg

#47 5 years ago

Thanks. Looks like the connector is 15 pins but pin 15 itself isn't populated on the connector even though the board has 5v at pin 15.

Anyone got a goldeneye with board that they can take some pics of, so i can see how that board is connected and mounted?

More tests done today and the sense and grab is super responsive with the new board. Much better than my old tired board.

#48 5 years ago

Here's my Goldeneye board. Let me know if you need anything else.

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#49 5 years ago

applejuice you are my personal hero, and Bill Paxton would be proud. I can't wait till I can get my hands on one of these.

#50 5 years ago
Quoted from Mr68:

Here's my Goldeneye board. Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks for the pics. Interesting that the board is mounted the opposite way round on golden eye with the connectors at the bottom. I've seen alot of twister boards where the disc magnet connector cable is stretched over to connect at the lhs (mag2)

https://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=3976&picno=30443

Working through my updates for the first run of the boards. Initial run will be 25 i think. Have a few parts to move into better positions and also add a 50v led. I am also play testing the board in my game.

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