(Topic ID: 209775)

New Stern Whitestar boards available now (Feb 2018)

By mc300baud

6 years ago


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    #1 6 years ago

    I have been awaiting the fresh batch of late rev Whitestar boards Stern said they were producing. I got fed up with wondering when it might happen and e-mailed Pinball Life to see if they had any info (to help me decide if I was going to send off my badly corroded board for an attempt at resurrection,) and low and behold, I received an e-mail in reply that they had got them in this morning and were now added to the website!

    I see K's Arcade has also added them, though most of the other vendors I checked so far still say out-of-stock.

    When I spoke to Stern a few months ago I did not ask about early version boards for the games which the later rev isn't compatible audio-wise since I wasn't waiting for one of those, but it couldn't hurt if someone who is calls them up and asks about future availability. Maybe bugging them will convince them to produce some more.

    #2 6 years ago

    K's arcade listing indicates it works for all Whitestar, PinballLife says just the modified Stern Whitestar... both are listed as 520-5300-00. Need to figure out who's right.

    Seems 520-5300-00 is the modified Stern version w Atmel, 520-5136-16 is the original. So does the Stern one not work for Segas / original Whitestars? Or what are you referring to by "early version boards"?

    #3 6 years ago

    i have read all kinds of things about differing backwards compatibility: that they all work, some games don't work at all, some work only partially, you need different sized EPROMs, etc. i don't know which is right and i didn't do a huge amount of research since i was looking for the 520-5300-00 Amtel-based board for my Grand Prix.

    i suppose anyone looking at purchasing one for an earlier game can do their own research or contact their distributor directly for answers.

    but anyway, i'm just happy something is finally available for my game.

    #4 6 years ago

    I see what you mean, I've also come across different answers doing some research. But I did find one official-sounding statement, which sounds good to me.

    Games that are only compatible with the BSMT2000 chipset are Roller Coaster Tycoon, South Park, South Park Profanity, Space Jam and Starship Troopers. For all other games you can use the new 520-5300-00 White Star (Atmel) CPU.

    Although not what we're talking about here, going the other way, substituting the original board into a machine that has the Stern Atmel version, may or may not work. It sounds like at some point Stern extended the emulation beyond what the BSMT2000 does or at least requires more memory.

    #5 6 years ago

    oh, going the other way does not work as all Amtel games need the Amtel processor to do sound (i did test my Grand Prix with known-working non-Amtel board and plays fine, just no audio.)

    all the newer Whitestar boards Stern has produced have been Amtel chipset-based, not BSMT2000. too bad they seem to be not interested in doing a run of those boards, but then again, maybe the old chipset is no longer available. the Stern rep did say this run was taking longer than anticipated due to the difficulty sourcing some of the components.

    oh, and when i said early version i did mean the pre-Amtel versions, not an early rev of the 520-5300-00 board, as i guess there are a few of those too.

    #6 6 years ago

    Yes, it does actually work in some instances. In fact, Stern themselves used both versions of the board in T3. Your experience isn't representative of all machines, just as T3 isn't. So as I said, it may or may not work.

    #7 6 years ago

    Is this a limited run or something they're going to carry for a while?

    #9 6 years ago

    Wow, just bought one on PinballLife ($439), but you're right, don't see them now. Sold out already?

    #10 6 years ago
    Quoted from HighVoltage:

    Wow, just bought one on PinballLife ($439), but you're right, don't see them now. Sold out already?

    I wouldn't be surprised. The board has been unavailable for quite some time.

    #11 6 years ago

    Man, I hope that nobody puts AA batteries in one of these new boards. If Stern was smart they would manufacturer the new boards with a lithium coin cell holder.

    #12 6 years ago
    Quoted from stangbat:

    Man, I hope that nobody puts AAA batteries in one of these new boards. If Stern was smart they would manufacturer the new boards with a lithium coin cell holder.

    No reason to use batteries on this board, NVRAM is as simple as popping in a $3 chip. If you can pull a chip, you can upgrade to NVRAM on this board.

    #13 6 years ago
    Quoted from HighVoltage:

    No reason to use batteries on this board, NVRAM is as simple as popping in a $3 chip. If you can pull a chip, you can upgrade to NVRAM on this board.

    I know, that's not my point. You'd be surprised how many people have no clue, I see it every week. Someone will spend >$400 on a new board and stick AA batteries in it. If Stern updated it with a coin cell holder the problem would not exist.

    #14 6 years ago

    Well the sound section on mine LOTR was dead, so I replaced it with a pinsound board because this board was unavailable. It works pretty well, so I don't think I will be buying a replacement board.

    Edit: Ok, I changed my mind.... I would like a backup. I will take acid damaged boards as long as they are salvageable.

    #15 6 years ago

    from what i understand Stern does batches of these boards, though the last batch sold out many months ago and they were rather lax in getting another one made.

    looks like the ones on Pinball Life are already gone (i tried the link PBL sent me yesterday and it's already 404.)

    #16 6 years ago

    Weird they would only make a few.

    #17 6 years ago

    For all of you buying new boards. I still would like to have a backup for my board, and if you have an acid damaged board, I would be willing to purchase it from you.

    1 month later
    #18 6 years ago

    is it possible to modify a 520-5300-00 Board to work with the BSMT2000?

    I have a badly corroded 520-5136-16 , but the chips are ok.

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