Are these kits still being sold? It looks like it has a lot of potential and would be great if others could enhance it as well.

Does anyone know of a site that described the interface and protocol used to talk to these sound boards? Interested in reading up on how the Data East and Williams games tell the sound card what sounds and voices to play.

Is this based on teh project here:

https://pinball-mods.de/2017/01/27/new-pinball-sound-for-de/

It looks like the source used to be here but I didn't see it:

https://gitlab.com/sker65/RasPinSound

It would be nice to get a full kit but I guess I'll wait until things speed up a bit. Could probably just wire up something on a proto board to be compatible but the SW is gone.

So when creating sound sets and music do you need to know the protocol and number of each one? It looks like a simple interface from the data east board where it just sets up the 8 bits for the sound then strobes the STB line. It is a specific number for each sound or is it multiple bytes where one is a command and another data about the sound or music to play? I'd like to learn a bit more about that interface and protocol if possible. Would help with troubleshooting issues with this as well as the original sound boards.

I just picked up a version 2.5c board from one of the other members here. As I've been reading the docs I found this note on the TiltAudio site:

"XSMT on DAC module -- Up to board rev 2.5f there’s a bug with the XSMT connection of the DAC module. XSMT controls the soft mute, if you solder the pin you’re muting the DAC -> no sound. This is fixed in newer releases. Most people anyway solder only L G R G "

It looks like all the pins are soldered on this module already. Should I remove one of the pins? It isn't clear on the TilitAudio site which pin is XSMT. Does anyone have any insight on this?

After looking over this V2.5c board it looks like it should have three .1uf or .01uf decoupling caps added to U2, U3, and U4. I plan on adding a small axial version of those caps on the top of each of those chips directly across the power leads. Earlier in this thread a couple people mentioned that sounds played when they shouldn't. If it is related to decoupling noise on these chips then adding those caps may help. I've always added them on the supply pins for every IC.

Any links to download the latest firmware/software for this? I read there is a new version 1.29 but no links to download.

Can any of the existing Pinsound mixes be ported over to work on this board? I have a Dr Who that I’d like to try this rev 2.5c board in. I saw and early video of it connected to a Dr Who and it sounded like one of the Pinsound mixes being played.

I searched eBay for those DAC modules and one showed the back of it. From the picture it looks like XSMT matches up with pin 3 on the top of the board. If so it looks like that is the pin to remove.

Totally understand that a lot of work went into the Pinsound boards and someday may have one. However....

- I already have one of these TiltAudio boards not installed in a machine that I can experiment with <----
- A lot of work also seems to have gone into this TiltAudio board
- In a YouTube video it seemed that this was capable of running a converted sound board mix on Dr Who.
- The Dr Who mixes that I was considering were put together by users and owners of Dr Who machines and to my knowledge weren't made by the creators of PinSound. As long as the creators of the mix don't care what soundboard it is running on then I wouldn't expect any issues.
- I would prefer to see if I really enjoy using alternate sound sets enough to justify the expense of a Pinsound.

I picked this up for a Data east project machine but won't need it for that anytime soon. In the meantime if I can make it run in Dr Who then I'll try that and see how it goes.

I removed pin 3 on the DAC module and added three .1uf decoupling/bypass caps across the supply leads of the three IC chips on the board as pictured. I’ve always put them at every chip on boards I’ve done and thought it would be good to add them here too.

I’m still reading up on this board but had questions about power. It seems it only needs +12v and has an onboard 5v power derived from that to power 5v on the sound board. With that shouldn’t any 5v supply line going to this board be disconnected? Just want to be completely sure of the connections before trying it out.

Next up is to image an SD card and setup the software.

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I picked up this board second hand and it was already assembled. Just going over everything before I get to the point of installing it in a game. Did a quick bench test with just the 12v line connected and read 5v at the power connector. That is where I stopped since that should only come from one source. I suppose I’ll have to take a look at the layout to ensure it is isolated from the pinball supply.

Is anyone using this with a Raspberry Pi 0 wireless? That would be my preference since I have one here I can use. If it doesn’t work well I can get a 3B+

I ended up using a 3 A+ since it has the faster quad core processor. Having issues with the base image though. I can get to a screen where it hangs asking for a login. This is the 1.25 put on a fresh 16gb card. For the moment just powering up on a wall adapter until it is setup on Wifi with SSH access. Any tricks to get past this?

Thank You! I thought I would have to manually get it configured and setup on my Wifi ahead of time and that is why I had it powered up connected to an HDMI display and keyboard. Just went back and followed the steps on the site to connect to it directly as a hotspot and that worked.

Now I need to apply the updates and figure out how to load the sounds, etc.

I think those extra parts are needed for a Williams machine. Also I think that 5VDC converter is needed if you only put 12V to the board. If you are using the Data east power plug that should have 5V already on it so you probably don't need that 5VDC converter. If you add that then you should disconnect the 5V line from the power harness.

Any luck? I have a Dr who and would like to hear how that works out.

If those are supposed to be bussed resistors in those locations then that would explain a lot! You'd need a resistor in each location except for the common. All the leads across the opt would be tied together and then go to the common pin

I just have an older version that i was going to put into a DE game. I plan on ordering a new 3.0 version to try in my Dr who.

I'm sure the root cause of the issue you've encountered will be resolved and that this project will continue. Great to see Steve getting time to focus on this project again!

I would say don't give up. Even though the interface seems complex it isn't rocket science. There may be some kinks in the handshaking, etc to work out. Once these issues are identified we will all benefit. What data can we provide to Steve to help get this sorted out?

I'd really like to see this project succeed.

I noticed there is a write up on how to test the tilt audio in WPC mode here:

https://tiltaudio.com/2020/11/13/test-a-tiltaudio-board/

Is there a similar version for testing the Tilt audio board in Data East mode?

I just ordered one of the latest V3.0 kits so I can try that in my Doctor Who.

Can you post hires photos of your sound board? I'd check for solder bridges on the surface mount chips. Get out the magnifying glasses! If you have a solder bridge those are usually easy to remove using a good quality solder wick.

It looks like there could be a solder bridge between two pins on IC2.

I may be mistaken but I think the issue is that the WPC MPU tries to communicate with the sound card and expects some data back before the Raspberry Pi has booted and loaded all the code to be a sound card.

It would be good to ask that in this thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/official-williams-and-bally-software-upgrades/page/9#post-6142023

Maybe have that as an optional parameter that leverages an unused setting to skip the sound check.

I just got my license file for the Data East configuration and want to try this in my Rocky and Bullwinkle. can someone confirm the orientation of the data cable? My board is V2.5c and it looks like pin 1 may be to toward the edge of the board while the original sound card has pin 1 away from the edge. Just want to be sure I connect that properly.

Also connected the the Web UI but when on one of the sound setting screens after saving I hit the reset button in the web interface that I thought would restsrt the TiltAudio. It seemed to but once that happened I lost the WiFi access and not the IP address shows up as 127.0.0.1 and I no longer see the TilitAudio show up on WiFi. I can re-image the card and start over but would like to understand what I may have done wrong. Up until that point I had the license file installed and it found the soundset.

I reloaded the card and it seems to be running in the Rocky and Bullwinkle. I'm using the alt sound set for it. I noticed that a few of the sounds had a small crackle when playing a few sounds. Still probably have some adjustments to do. I think the board I had was setup to do either Data East or WPC. Anything in particular to watch out for on Data East?

I did some more testing and it seems like the crackling noise that I hear happens when the flash lamps go off on the Rocky and Bullwinkle. Probably power related.

If any of you are upgrading to a newer Tilt Audio and want to part with your 2.5c board or newer let me know. Looking for an extra board working or not. I have the latest V3.0 on order to try in my Dr Who but could use another older board.

Robert

I've been making good progress with the Data East Rocky and Bullwinkle using the Alt sound pack. One thing I've noticed is that the Game over sound will continuously play over and over instead of just once and stopping. I assume that is because it is under music and not as a jingle. If it truly should be under music then it maybe the original sound board code knew which music should only be played one time.

If that is the case then can an extra flag be added to the music sounds to specify if the sound should loop or not? That way if it wasn't captured (or can't be captured) from the original ROM then it could be adjusted in the WebUI, saved, and the problem is fixed. After going through this whole thread it seems that is a reoccuring issue. Possibly more related to the sound set than the Tilit Audio board itself. Unless there were additional meta data that the MPU pssses to the sound card on how a sound should be played and when it should stop that haven't been uncovered yet.

Has anyone tried adjusting the sound set afterwards and move a sound between Music and Jingle?

Since I'm going to use this board in a Data East machine I removed the extra power components for the WPC.

Even though the original Data East power for the sound boards are known to be noisy I would like to try and make this work without adding a dedicated power supply in the cabinet.

Removing the extra WPC power components helped. I installed an LM2577 based DC/DC convertor where the old LM2596 one was and then just had to sever one trace on the 12V in at the Data East power and route that to the fuse. The other side of the fuse goes to the input of the DC/DC convertor so that can help clean up the DC 12V power. There a a lot of people adding these inline to help reduce noise on the original DE sound boards. It seems to have helped a lot the crackling I heard when the flash lamps go off is no longer there. Most of the sounds are really good.

I still have a bit of crackling on some sounds and not sure if it is on the sound board or with the sound set files. Need to do some more testing and may plug in an external supply temporarily for testing. I am also using the remote volume control in case that makes a difference.

Just wanted to share this power mod for anyone else running this board in a Data East to see if it helps improve sound quality.

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Had a chance to look at the CSV file as part of the altsound for R&B and it has a value of 100 for looping. that would explain why it repeats. The real game just plays it once and done. Changing that to 0 may fix that sound.

This is the link I referred to when looking at the CSV sound file:

https://vpinball.com/forums/topic/how-to-create-a-new-altsound-project/

So it looks as though a sound is defined as music if it is on channel 1. Does Tilit Audio honor the loop setting value for music or does it just loop based on the more global setting of loop music? If it does or can honor the loop value then could that be exposed in the WebUI? Seems that would be a good value to show and edit. If we can set that new value in the WebUI and save it then it would make it really easy to clean up and adjust a sound set.

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For my remaining small crackle/tick noises that occur during some sounds can someone verify I have the proper settings for Data East? If the remote POT isn't reliable should I just disable that so it won't be a factor? I'm running a V2.5c board.

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I can but will it still play on the same channel and does it need to? I thought it may be intended to be on that channel to replace any prior music from playing. Maybe not.

How does tilt audio determine what sound type it is from the CSU file? Is it by channel, looping, or something else? I still think that looping value should be presented as an option in the WebUI. There may be occasions where someone may want a value other than 0 or 100. I think that should be available to alter per sound and honored by the tilt audio firmware. May help people sort out a lot of sound set related issues or tweak it the way they want.

I’ll check it out and try moving the sound to the jingle. Even so it would be nice to get confirmation on how the Tilt Audio firmware classifies the sounds from the CSV file. Also if it honors the looping value for each type of sound.

I think with the extra control these cards would be great for people that want to retheme games and want control over the sounds. Still think exposing the looping value should be considered. Looks like the rest of the values already are so why not that last one too?

Moving the game over sound to a jingle made it only play once but introduced a different issue. Since the Jingle plays on a different channel it can no longer replace the prior Music that would normally stop once the game over music plays (once) and as a result after the jingle plays it reverts back to the prior music that should have stopped.

I tried moving it back to music (which seems to be based on Channel 0) but changed the looping value to 0 instead of 100 which should cause it to play once on the Music channel and stop. Ignored that and kept playing even though the CSV file specified 0 repeats. It seems that any music is an all or nothing setting for repeat via a checkbox. There isn't any way I can find to specify in the WebUI or the CSV that a certain sound should only be played on the music channel once.

I'd really suggest a couple things. First make the firmware honor the loop value in the CSV file. That can be done without altering or exposing it in the UI.

Beyond that I would still suggest making a couple updates to the WebUI. First to show the channel it will play on with the number shown. Apparently some are dedicated to specific channels and will start playing in place of teh sound on that channel if currently playing. Others with undefined channels will just play on any free channel. (maybe this is the cause of some of the random issues people see. Maybe a sound plays on an unused channel then gets overwritten by one that specifically called for a channel that one used.

I would show the current loop value if the firmware honors the setting the CSV file and expose it to allow it to be set for 0 (no looping) 100 forever looping, or any specified number of loops (maybe just a couple). Let the user decide. I don't buy that it will make it too complicated. It is just one additional field and it won't be any more complex than what is already there. I really think it's needed.

Also after looking at the CSV files it looks like the TiltAudio changes that file the first time it is used. Comparing it to the original file it appends ,X,,,0, at the end of every line. The # seems to vary which maybe how it classifies sounds but I don't see that documented or if it is I missed it. What are those additional fields for?

This project is way better than when I first looked at it and with a few tweaks I think it will really be fantastic. I'm doing testing in my R&B since I know that game well to work out any bugs. Eventually though this may be used in a re-theme of a different DE game.

Has anyone else dug into the CSV files?

Another feature request if it isn't in already supported is if we define more than one sound for the same value can the firmware randomly pick one to play? With that we could add a variety of sounds for a specific event (where it makes sense) and improve the experience. This would be a great value added feature. Maybe multiple versions of game over, etc.

As an example of having multiple sounds per sound number:

Rocky & Bullwinkle:

0x0088 - You blew it!

It could have additional sounds:

0x0088 - You blew it!
0x0088 - You suck!
0x0088 - Really? So close!
0x0088 - Or some other random taunts.

By having a list for certain sounds you can add some variety that was never there before.

Definitely get the base sound packages sorted out first but once that is done this would let people make some nice enhancements to their games.

I can try it as a single but I still think that the channels should be shown. Also that the firmware ought to be able to honor the values in the CSV file.

Just would like to see this project get better and I think this will help.

Does anyone know what the extra values are for that Tilt Audio appends to each line in the CSV file and how it uses them?

Is the sound set you’re using an alt sound set with the CSV file or the older style with directories?

I think that if a sound is set to looping it will only stop if another sound starts playing on the same channel to overwrite the existing sound or it gets a stop command. Just curious myself if there are multiple stop commands. One as a global stop and another to stop a single channel. Still learning a bit myself.

From all my testing in my Data East some issues seem to be caused by the sound sets but also some in the way Tilt Audio is interpreting them. Need more info on how it deals with the values, how it determines what channel is played, etc. Besides the music type if it displayed what channel and exposed the looping value and honors it no matter the sound type I think a lot of the sound issues would go away.

If you are using the altsound can you look at an original CSV file and compare it with the one you’re running now? Do you also see extra data appended to the end of each line?

So if my understanding is correct in just about all the sound sets the actual audio clips are just assets that I’ve seen in ogg or wav formats and the audio itself isn’t scrambled. Those audio clips seem to play fine from the command line of the Rpi. Maybe there are actual scrambled audio clips but haven’t come across those yet.

In that case is the scrambled portion just the index file as far as what each I’d the sound clip is associated with, what type of sound, and how it should be played?

That's an option but might it cause the same issue I ran into where it could allow a prior piece of Music to play instead? I still think exposing the channel information and looping values could help here too......

I guess we have a difference of opinion on this and that’s fine.

Moving the sounds back and forth between sound types just trades one problem with another. Sure. A sound may just play once but then it allows other prior sounds to play that shouldn’t.

If no one thinks those values should be in the WebUI that’s fine. But unfortunately until there is a way to have control over them at least in the CSV file and have the firmware respect those values my board is back on the shelf for now. Not ready to replace the factory board. However I can power it up on my test jig anytime for testing to see if anything gets sorted out.

Without any changes to the WebUI there are a couple things I would ask for:

- Honor the loop values in the altsound CSV file no matter what sound type. This may take a firmware update. Until that there are scenarios that I don’t see a way to resolve preventing perfect replacement in some machines.

- A quick description of just how Tilt Audio consumes that CSV file and interprets the values inside. How it determines what sounds get mapped to music, jingle, single, etc. Is it by the channel number? Is it because is sees 100 for loop value? Who knows. Can only tell that by looking at the Tilt Audio source. Sort of wish I had asked for at least read only access to the source so at the very least I could figure out how it deals with the CSV file.

I sincerely hope these two asks will be considered.

No one made any assumptions and I never said that Tilt Audio invented that or any format. It is my understanding that Tilt Audio is just using existing formats that were already present. The Directory style and the altsound format. Some of the altsound sets do have quirks and issues. With some editing it should be possible to correct all those. However I have run into roadblocks that just trade one problem for another without an actual solution. I just suggested something that I think would help. It's up to the owners of the Tilt Audio source whether they want to consider it or not.

If not that's fine but I'd enjoy hearing some other suggestions on how to control the way the sound elements are played that resolve some of the problems I've run into. I'm not asking for anyone to drop everything and focus on it but at least give it a little thought and consideration.

So if you want to know more about the altsound format why not just look at the pinmame source or at the source of the altsound editor I linked above like I already told you ? It will tell you how the values are interpreted and everything else what you want to know. Tiltaudio does exactly the same.

Does Tilt Audio embed and use the pinmame source as part of the project to decode the audio? If not then looking at the pinmame source really doesn't help too much other than to understand the pinmame project. I am more interested in how Tilt Audio interprets that and how it implements things.

I'd also like to know why Tilt Audio appended on some additional parameters to each of the lines and what they mean. If someone can point to any references in this thread or online I'll be glad to read up on it.

Maybe I'm missing something but does VPX and PinMame emulate the Tilt Audio board? If so I can see where that can provide some insight.

Even if it does that still only would cover how VPX and PinMame work with the soundsets. The actual implementation could vary and be slightly different in the Tilit Audio firmware.

I deal with this kind of issue all the time. Hitting the same API's and retrieving the same data sets yet iOS and Android developers have their own thoughts on how to parse and process that payload. Everyone thinks they are doing it the same yet there are occasional slight differences to track down and resolve. Too many times have I run into projects and there ends us being a difference in what everything thinks it is doing vs what it is actually doing. Whether is is a mobile app parsing the data or an emulator or firmware it comes down to ensuring everyone handles the same data the same way.

What I am trying to find out is explicitly how the Tilt Audio firmware implements and parse the soundset data from an altsound csv file. Unless I am totally off base it can only come from the Tilt Audio code to verify how it is doing it.

Thanks for the explanations! I was pretty sure about the extra setting for group but you never know. Good to get confirmation.

That is excellent news! If you want to read up on the different 74 series logic families there is a good write up here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7400-series_integrated_circuits

A lot of the differences are in the thresholds for what is considered a logic 0 or logic one and that gets a bit more interesting considering the interfacing of 5V parts on the MPU with the 3.3V logic for the Raspberry Pi. There are also considerations like fanout but I've run into that more often when an IC has to drive multiple inputs of other chips.

I'll have to check on what parts are included on the V3.0 kit when I get it.

For a deeper dive would need to pull down the data sheets for each of those parts and compare them side by side.

Probably because of the different voltage levels 3.3V and 5V and some of the difference manufacturers may tolerate that better. Also, depending on the source of the parts they may not exactly be what is labeled. I've seen remarked parts, etc. If I want to have a better chance of getting parts that are actually what they are supposed to be I'll get them from Digikey or Mouser. I've gotten remarked chips and fakes from other vendors so that is always a possibility.

I think some of it may depend on what games you are going to use them in. If it is a Bally/Williams game then I think the extra bus terminating resistors on the V3.0 board would help. I ordered one of those to try in Dr Who. Older board that I have is being re-worked for use in a Data East.

If we wanted to convert the old style sounds to the new altsound then we should just copy all the sounds in one directory (ensuring names are unique) and then create a new csv file as the index map the sounds and how they should be played?

I thought using the altsound csv file is supposed to offer more control over how sounds are played.

I was planning ahead for my Dr Who. If a sound pack was in the old format and had a scrambled or encoded it would need a new key like the csv file so tilt audio would know how to play them. The sounds seemed to be there. I asked the creator of the 13 doctors mix if he minded if I used that and he said it was fine. I thought if I had to spend time making that index then I may be better to move the sounds and switch to a csv file.

If there are short cuts I can try please let me know.

The problem I am trying to solve is that there are alternative sound sets made by individual authors who don’t mind if they are used on a sound card like Tilt Audio. All the audio assets are there. However whatever index file exists is in binary and not in a format Tilt Audio understands. That needs to be recreated. Can either make one from scratch leaving all the sounds in their folders or just move them all to a common folder and create a csv file instead. That seemed a better since it seems that would ultimately provide more options for tweaking the way sounds are played. At least in my case it isn’t that I need to use the altsound csv format. It’s that I need to create that index and if I have to go through the effort why not use the format that should be superior.

I am interested in using the 13 Doctors mix and had asked the person who created it if it was ok to use. He is very active on the Dr Who thread on Pinside. Unless there is something I missed as long as I ask the person who did all the work on the original sound set it should be fine.

There are a bunch of options for Dr Who. I know of a couple that were already setup as alt sound packs. However there is a new 13 doctors mix that is supposed to be really cool. There are also at least 3 or 4 different other mixes. If the 13 doctors works then I will ask the author of the others if he minds if his sounds are used in this application.

Understand that and the permission refers more to the index and what sounds in the pack are played for what code the MPU in the machine asks for. That is one piece the author of that pack spent quite a bit of time on.

I don't believe there is an easy way to do so or a short cut. You need to play each sound file to hear what it is. On the 13 doctors mix the sounds are named what each one are for. Those are also all WAV files. May need to convert those to ogg files. Then create the altsound csv manually.

I'm not sure what everyone is referring to as scrambled. I thought the audio files were still playable as is. Is the audio itself scrambled? Or is is just the names and the file that explains what sound files are associated with each sound command?

Sorry to hear that. You shouldn’t be on the hook for postal delays as that is out of your hands. Unfortunately there are people that don’t understand that. With COVID there have been delays and people need to be more patient. They also need to factor in where things come from and flow through. An example is parts that were coming out of Texas during their recent power outages.

Glad I got my order in before that. Is the new PayPal block just for kits? Can we still use PayPal if we need to order a license file?

That really sucks! Are you tracking it? If it shows delivered I would take that up with PayPal for sure and talk to whatever pinsider did this. Not cool if there is already a delivery in progress. If PayPal closes it and the kit is delivered then perhaps they will go ahead and send you the funds to cover it. Or at least have the courtesy of them contacting PayPal to sort it out.

I read in another group that someone did the same thing over a $15 mouse pad because of shipping delays. He stopped PayPal too. Screws it up for everyone else. There are legitimate reasons for claims but with everything going on slow shipping shouldn't be one of them.

steve45 FYI the latest kit I ordered from you just arrived today and all is good. Once I get it together will be ordering a Williams license to try this on Dr Who.

On the latest v3.1 board does the pin still have to be removed from the small module at U5? On earlier boards like v2.5 the pin 3 fir XSMT needed to be pulled. That piece is the last one I need to install and wanted to see if that was still needed or leave all in place.

That is what is printed on the silkscreen. Just got it together except for the last module since I wasn’t sure if all pins should be installed or not.

Hardware only orders? Still going to be ok to use PayPal for licenses as needed?

On the boards V2.5c through V2.5d and V2.6a did the values of R1, R2, and R3 change? On the V2.6a board R1 is 1K and R2/R3 are 10K. Should the earlier boards also have those values? If so it looks like someone messed up the used V2.5c board that I bought and put in the wrong resistors. I can easily swap them out but want to confirm what values are best on that board.

Thank you. Who ever built the one board had installed 1.8K resistors in all spots. I just changed them out so now all the boards are the same.

Nope. It was an earlier board that I got from someone else. I noticed those values were different when working on the newer boards.

Used the two boards I got from you and rebuilt one really nice board using the latest matching chips for the I/O. Tests good on the bench and just need to try it in a game.

I've got enough boards now to cover all the machined I'd want to use them in.

As long as you have clear assembly instructions with pictures then the missing silkscreen items shouldn't be a problem. Silk screen is a really nice to have but not a requirement.

Is anyone else running the latest version 1.34 with a Data East machine? The new version doesn't seem to be working for me. Running it on a version 2.5 board. After it is booted I seem a hear a very faint ticking or other sound fragments at rest. When sounds do play they break up in the middle of the sounds. I have the alt sound pack for Rocky and Bullwinkle. This is running on the bench at the moment and I can log into the WebUI to play the sounds. If I revert back to version 1.32 all the sounds play smoothly and I don't hear that faint ticking noise. In regards to that ticking noise it is not the dots as the sound set is loading. Just hints of random sound fragments when it should be silent.

Maybe the new version runs ok for WPC but I've been unable to get it to act as I'd expect for the Data East setup. Is there anything extra or special that needs to be done for Data East?

That ticking sound is a nice addition. However this is way after that and it isn't just ticks but other sound fragments. Also the normal sounds breakup as they play so something odd is going on. I have the license file, sounds, etc in the exact same locations as I did with v1.32 If I go back to the v1.32 image it all works ok. So just wondering if something new needs to be set or if there are any issues with Data East.

Let me download the latest version and give that a shot. At the moment the board isn't in the game. I have it sitting out on the bench with the volume control pot, speakers, and a switching power supply. Everything I am running into is a normal power up and using the WebUI. Just noticed the different behavior and want to get that sorted out before putting it in the game.

If the issue is still there after the 1.35 then I'll see if anything is logged and post it.

Are the tests with LW3 done with your latest V3.5 board? If not then maybe something odd with the older boards.

Is the V1.35 just available as an update? The regular firmware download still shows V1.34

steve45 A couple suggestions for the next revision of the TilitAudio board:

- Move the push button away from the optional display another .25" to .5" so it will make it easier to push that button without hitting the display.

- Add a duplicate set of pads for the display turned 90 degrees (near the current location of the switch. That will allow the display to be placed in portrait or landscape orientation. That way people using the board in a Data East game can have the display orientated the right way for viewing.

Both of these should be able to be done without altering the rest of the board and I think would improve it.

I still need to see if I can apply the update file to see if that helps with the Data East configuration. I may not have anything to do with Data East. I am running this on a Rpi 3A+ so maybe it has more to do with the 3A+ than it does set to Data East.

Robert

I have made a lot of different boards in the past and have a couple current projects I'm working but have an older layout tool. I need to upgrade and pick a new board toolset and learn it. Just not familiar with the toolset that you used so it will take time before I'd feel comfortable altering boards in that tool. I'll get there.

That is also a question I had in mind. Can we split off a copy, edit it, and then post along with it as an alternate version? Or can we send the updates to Steve for review and approval since Steve did the design?

I did some more testing and the latest V1.34 seems to run ok on a Rpi 3B+ board set to Data East mode. However the audio breaks up when I try it on a 3A+ board. If I go to version 1.32 on the 3A+ then that runs fine too.

Have you tried the latest V1.34 on a 3A+ as part of your testing?

Is this only available as an update? The link to the latest firmware still points to V1.34

Any idea when the latest V1.36 will be available as a download for the full base image? It looks like the link still points to V1.34

I can try that to see if it helps, At the moment I can run up to v1.32

The V1.34 version doesn't work for me on a Rpi 3A+ for Data East. I can put the update on that to see if if fixes it or not. I can also try to put the update on the V1.32 that currently works to see if that will update and still work.

I tried copying the update zip file to the update directory but it didn't seem to apply it. However the update did work if I uploaded it through the web interface and applied if from there.

It looks like v1.36 runs fine on the Rpi 3A+ on the board I have setup with Williams for the Dr Who. This is on a V3.1 board. It has a license file.

Unfortunately I haven't had any success with v1.34 ot v1.36 on a Rpi 3A+ setup for Data East. Seems to either lockup or any sounds that play are spotty or cut off. I have three boards setup for Data East. Versions 2.5c, 2.5d, and 2.6a If I back the main image down to v1.32 it boots and seem ok.

For the Data East I have one sound set loaded for Rocky and Bullwinkle. It also has the license file so that shouldn't be an issue. Same license and sound set that work ok under v1.32

Any suggestions on what to check to get the newer versions to work?

I found the issue that I was having with the Data East setup. When preloading the audio set it would reboot and start the cycle over and over.

Tried a different 3A+ board and it seems to be fine. Looks like I have a bad 3A+ board. I'm glad I was able to pinpoint the issue but it really sucks since I had purchased a license for that bad board. If I had to guess it is probably bad RAM on that Pi that was never used until the preloading of the audio sets so it didn't show up before with the earlier versions.

Looks like I need to buy a new license to keep going.

Just ordered a new license for the replacement 3A+ board. Hopefully that will take care of the issues I had with the old one.

Can you post a picture? There were multiple board versions. For the 3B+ is the 40-pin connector flush against the board or raised up a bit? I used a 3A+ since they are smaller.

After comparing the specs the Pi0 or Pi0w doesn’t seem to be a good choice for this board. The 3A+ seems to work well.

There are several different versions of the board. Can you provide some extra details?

- What version of the board? 3.5 or earlier?

- What version of the software did you download?

- What model Raspberry Pi are you running?

- What sound set are you using? One of the altsound packs?

What is the actual version number of each? Is the sound board the latest version with the extra processor inline with the RPi? Also is your Raspberry Pi a 3B or 3B+. The more details you can provide the easier it is to help.

Also on DE make sure the orientation of the cable is correct. I'm not sure if it changed on the newer boards but on the older ones it was reversed from the DE sound board.

If they are already both licensed don’t you just include it with the Pi? What transfer is needed?

Supposedly if the AV board is dead you can use a WPC DMD driver board and then a separate sound card like the Pinsound or Tilt Audio.

Excellent notes about the details on the AV board and it would be best to just keep it but if the board dies they aren't as easy to get as other boards so just mentioned one option that I read about. I never said it was a combination that was meant to work in all cases but according to this thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/williams-wpc95-audio-visual-board

quite a few people that had dead WPC AV boards swapped out with the combination of the older DMD and one of the replacement sound boards with good results. So if you have a dead AV board it is certainly an option to try. Even if everything doesn't work it is probably better than nothing working.

That is a good point about the network play and serial printer but many people just have a single machine and I don't think I have ever seen the serial printer option or know of anyone that used it so that one I don't think would affect anyone.

I'm starting to do some spring cleaning and have a pair of TIlit Audio boards that I no longer need. Was going to use them in a custom re-theme of a Data East game but decided to pass on that project. Both boards were built for Data East so they aren't setup for a WPC game unless more parts were added so I wouln't recommend these for a WPC game. Both include a Raspberry Pi 3A+ and MicroSD card. I had purchased license files for each of these and that is included on the MicroSD cards as those licenses stay with the RPi they were purchased for.

It's been a while since I looked at these so I would recommend saving off the license files and starting fresh with a current build and then put the license back on the new image.

I was looking to get $120 shipped for the V2.5d board and $135 shipped for the V2.6a board. If someone wants both then $220 shipped for the pair.

Since Raspberry Pi are so hard to get these days I'd consider selling the boards without them and just reuse the 3A+ boards for a different project.

Please send a PM if interested.

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The V2.6a board is gone but the V2.5d board is still available.

The V2.5d board including the RPi 3A+, MicroSD card, and Tilt Audio License is now $100 shipped. Board is setup for Data East machines. Spring cleaning and moving things on to new homes.... PM if interested.

Has anyone seen Steve on any of the forums? Is he ok? Hope he is just busy and that nothing happened to him.

While the PCB design is open source and any of us could modify and update, unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case with the software to make it work.

Does anyone here have the source files for the RPi software and for that Microcontroller interface used on newer boards? If the project is going to get abandoned it would be awesome if those other files are found so that others could pickup the project and keep it going. It at least helps those with an investment in the boards.

Thanks for letting everyone know Steve is ok. I think that was the main concern.

I hope that you or someone else can act as a backup in case anything ever did happen to Steve so the project can continue.

Selling a set of three older Tilt Audio boards. They each have RPi 3 Model A+ boards installed and each one had a license key purchased from Tilt Audio. Besides the three boards there are a bunch of spare parts (amps, power modules, chips, etc). It has been a while since I have messed with these so for anyone getting them I would recommend saving off the license files and then start over with the latest code. Each of the RPi should have a Sandisk 16GB card installed.

V2.5c board - Setup for Data East machines. Has different power module installed. Recommend going back to the original style (which is included) or just bypass that and use the normal DE power.

V2.5d board - Setup for Data East machines. Not sure of the status of this one. Would need to start from the beginning and check everything.

V3.1 board - Setup for Bally/Williams WPC type machines. Was going to use in Dr Who but decided to just keep the original audio board in that and not deal with rewiring it for Stereo.

Looking to get $225 shipped (within the US) for everything. Consider these project boards to experiment on. Send a PM if interested.

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Thanks for posting what worked for you. It will help others.

Thanks for posting what worked for you. It will help others.

If you are referring to any code that enables the use of Pinsound sound sets then I believe the answer is going to be no. You need to use the Altsound sets that are often used on the Virtual pins. You should be able to get base packages for a lot of pins. If there are alternative versions then you can try those. Or use the base packages and customize from there.

If there is a particular sound set done for Pinsound that the author has given permission to use then they need to send you the raw assets like WAV files, etc which you'd have to use to make a altsound version of it.