So i've been working on some other sound board recreations alongside the gottlieb sound board that i've been talking about in my other thread.

This is project is to recreate the well known and loved Bally S&T Sound board found in many of Bally's greatest hits from the 80s. The idea is similar to my other hardware projects and is to redesign the board using modern components and improve and simplify where possible

Here is my first pass at the redesign. I am hoping to get some protos made up and test over christmas. Register your interest with me now

I'm not sure on pricing structures yet as I need to identify the likely costs of all the chips and parts, but am aiming for around the £140 mark.

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First proto boards turned up today. Something to get assembled over the christmas holidays i think

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It's Alive!

First part of the board is assembled and tested. I am assembling the digital section in stages, following the diagnostic led sets of parts to check everything is working ok. I have assembled upto both pia chips so far and have a flicker and 3 flashes It was great to see that led start blinking!

Below is a quick video showing the status led blinking at power up. Note that the first flicker is now more like a flash as i am using a reset chip ic.

Next i will be assembling the ay sound generator section, then the speech section and then the op amp, filtering and power amp sections

Update on development. All five flashes are now working with the speech chip section installed. Moved on to the amp side and populated the main amp and speech pre-amp/filtering section. Also added my Elektra roms, tested the jumper dipswitch configs and all working from the test button. Video below:

After christmas and holiday break i will be moving onto the final population of the dac and sound amp section and the data input section.

Sound quality seems very good. Obviously there is a limit to what you can do, as the source isn't as good as modern sound/speech compressions etc! All new high quality parts in use and a higher spec amplifier TDA2003A. I have also included an option for the use of external amplifiers so you could add more modern car power amps and multiple speaker setups.

Back on with assembling the remaining parts on the s&t sound board now christmas is over.

A question for interested people: A friend of mine mentioned the idea of adding into the board the centaur reverb circuitry as an optional extra. The idea here would be to use the holtek guitar effects chip replacement circuit that can be bought separately and add it into the design as an optional population section. The circuitry would be enabled or disabled with dipswitches. This would mean any game could have the echoey sounds

Please let me know what you think

Xenon uses the sound board before s&t, which i may remake after i'm done with this project. Though in theory the s&t board could be used in xenon with correct rom dipswitches set and the addition of the vocaliser header. I removed this as its not needed for s&t games. Also the size of the board would be an issue in xenon i think.

Thanks i'll add it to the list

Update: New video. All sections are now tested and working (sound amp & filtering, dac and data input). The first proto board is now fully assembled and it all went rather well A few things to alter for the next revision, but its time now to try it in a few different games. Very happy with the sound quality so far and am looking at the reverb/echo addition to. I think it's the best i've ever heard these games sound

New video of the board running in my partially complete Elektra restoration here:

The self test now includes the sound effect as well as all the speech calls. I also tried out the mpu to sound board data flow from in game. There are some great 80s sounds that this board can generate

Update: New video. I created a test echo/reverb circuit and connected upto to my proto board. All tested very nicely. Video here of my Elektra with echo! Very cool to hear this! I set the reverb pretty high for testing.

I'm now finalising the changes for the production board and building another proto board to test in a few other games/locations. I'm thinking of creating the echo board as a separate plug on daughter card option for the J2 connector (rhs) instead of additional parts on the main board. This means it can be easily plugged onto boards in the future, require no additional wiring and will keep costs down for the main board. I will be looking to create this daughter board as an optional extra after the first run of standard boards is under way.

I will be opening up pre-ordering for the first batch of 25 boards later today hopefully. Just going over my bom spreadsheet and the costs for everything. I will confirm the price plus shipping later. The aim for the first batch of pre-orders will be to include all ics except roms. This includes the TMS5200 speech ic. Future standard orders may be different.

Yes, if people like that idea then its no problem as an alternative option

Pre-Ordering is now open for the first run of 25. The cost for an assembled and tested standard board will be £149 inc. VAT plus postage to your country. The pre-order process will run like my other board and mod projects with 50% upfront and then the remaining 50% once your board is ready to send. I am aiming to have the boards ready within 2 months, all being well.

Please contact me now if you'd like to get in on the first run. Thanks.

You are also welcome to purchase the blank pcb or a kit from me if you want to assemble it yourself.

The summary of updates for my board are:

- Reduced component count
- Test point pads for common signals and voltages
- Leds for power voltages and diagnostic led
- Improved and simplified reset section
- On board reset button
- Dip switch config for rom settings
- Fully compatible with all stock roms
- Dip switch config for inclusion of sound generator ic
- Expanded J2 connector to allow future plug on daughter cards such as echo/reverb board.
- Option via J2 for external amp hook up and multiple speaker usage
- Higher power amp on board for stock speaker connection
- Socketed ICs
- Plate through design

My compatibility list is as follows:

Beat The Clock
Centaur
Centaur II
Eight Ball Champ
Eight Ball Deluxe
Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition
Elektra
Embryon
Fathom
Fireball II
Flash Gordon
Medusa
Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man
Rapid Fire
Spectrum
Vector

If anyone knows of any other games using the S&T board please let me know and i can update my list and knowledge. Is Midnight Marauders a video game?

Some new videos of additional testing with the proto boards in a friends centaur yesterday. Working really nicely

Sound Board Test

Game Play

All changes done from testing and assembling the proto boards. Final v1.0 design completed and off to the board manufacturers tomorrow.

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Update: The batch 1 pcb blanks arrived today, so assembly can now start

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Assembly pics. Everyone who has pre-ordered a board is now being contacted as your board finishes assembly and testing with the remaining invoice. Once the balance is paid, your the board will ship.

If you would like to order any additional ICs with your order please contact me when you receive your invoice.
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*Game sound roms are not included with the boards as standard.

Batch 1 boards are £149 plus shipping, which converts (currently) to about $220 plus shipping. All invoices are sent in UK Pounds Sterling via paypal which makes the conversions pretty simple.

Yes, Please contact me if you would like a kit instead of a finished board.

Testing the boards with more sound roms. Another favourite of mine - Mr & Mrs Pacman. Love the pac-man voice

'Pac-man Aggressive!!'

Some pics of the first few boards finishing assembly

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Thanks, You can get in on the first run by pre-ordering here on my store page. http://www.mypinballs.com/electronics/store.jsp

I am open to suggestions for new projects, but the next related one i will be doing is the earlier bally cpu controlled sound board (AS-2518-51) which works in games like space invaders and nitro ground shaker. I will also make it compatible for xenon to. This board is basically half the s&t board.

Thanks, always appreciate feedback and suggestions, as this is the first generation of my board. I will continue to make improvements on the design as i go forward for future runs, but this is the best i have for now I did think about using radial caps there, but i was a little concerned about the height of them and clearance to the back of the backbox door / displays. Paralleling them would likely solve that and enable smaller ones to be used.

More boards on their way to new homes. Let there be 80s sound and speech once again. 'Emperor Ming Awaits!'

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