I've got an AID 1 test board. Don't remember where I got it and have never attempted to use it. Just a piece of history to me I guess.

I have a set of Joel's Pinball Lizard LizAid rigs. They're better than the originals (I have both boards) and still can't fix #%^$@#$ MPU boards!

Do any schematics for these boards exist?

That would be just as useful really.

A quick search pulled this up: http://home.scarlet.be/~nb010944/aid1/eaid1.htm

And some photos of AID1: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.736108526442098.1073742106.135533669832923&type=1

I have a set. Might even be the "updated" AID 1A and AID 2A version.

See all those asterisks on the schems? Those are AID test points.

what are those used for? I have something similar for Gen 1 zaccaria, except it's loaded up with manual switches.

Those boards look pretty simple.. wouldn't be hard to draw up a PCB layout and make some new ones..

I have the Liz Aid boards and the manual.

I can throw together some Gerber files for OSHParo, but need to know what that connector is on the top edge of the board is..

That connector plugs into J5 at the top of Bally/Stern MPUs. You can reference a Bally MPU schematic for the pinout.

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Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

I don't have one of these Ganges (yet!), I was just meaning the pin spacing - .100 or other?

.100 / 2.54mm spacing -- Molex KK connectors

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

Ah, easy enough then. If I hear enough interest, I'll jump on this tonight, and hopefully have files ready by tomorrow.

2015-02-23 16.24.42.jpg

2015-02-23 16.24.18.jpg

No added functions that I'm aware of. The form is a little different and is supposed to "fit" in a game better. Also, they added a switch that makes it easier to select +5 or ground. No schematic, unfortunately.

Another test fixture that plugs into J5:

http://www.twobits.com/fixit/

hahahaha those are my boards / pics... i have them here if it helps

Damn, coyote, good timing and good grab on this project.
If you pass on it, I'll give it a go, but will give you first crack at them.

-Hans

Yes, with the chip there. Would be great. If I knew the values I'd perfboard it.

for you yes. it might take a day.. pm me if it seems i forgot.

I considered stripping it and scanning the pcb but i hadnt got over the hurdle of finding a burner to read the old rom yet.

Frankly I'm surprised there's much interest in these AID boards. A while back I thought about recreating them and offering some up for sale since the Lizard ones aren't available any more, but after some searching on RGP it appeared like most people thought these AID boards were of limited use. I guess between the MPU led flashes, general troubleshooting steps of Classic Bally/Sterns and 6800 architecture and Leon's test ROM.. there were other ways at getting through the issues these would help solve. Maybe under certain circumstances it makes troubleshooting quicker. Maybe someone that has used them more extensively can comment on their usefulness.

Leon has a write-up and schematic of the AID2 here: http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Leon_Borre_Bally_AID2_Test_Board

AID1 test ROM here: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=287952

Also don't know of the legality of using the AID1 ROM in something made into a product. Obviously *someone* has done it before, but the code came from Bally -- so, who knows where all of that falls. If it's an issue, then making the design available via a shared Oshpark project (ie. free for all) could be a workaround.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

they exist .. and someone ( through lack of supply) basically told a bunch of evil geniuses . "you cant have one" .: interest

Maybe Mr. Personality will offer them for only $995.00 with 25% down pre-order and final payment two weeks-ish prior to shipment. A distributor (no names) might force payment in full six months prior to shipment though.

knock it off .. i dont care if you love him or hate him ( i never met the man myself) but personal attacks and vendor bashing dont help anyone get anywhere.

I guess this is where I got the idea these modules were of limited use..

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.games.pinball/0BYrbSh3tRk/s7GPUYA1960J

Several people including Tom Callahan (of "The Repair Connection" / Pin-Logic) had indicated they weren't that helpful. Some other people seem to disagree on other threads. So, it's probably like any test equipment where it would be helpful in specific circumstances but somewhat useless in others.

I might have to build my own out sometime just to play around with. Personally, I think something like this would be a great "free design" to share with the community like I did with the "Gottlieb Universal Tester" (uses Leon's ROM) that wasn't my own design. Then any licensing concerns (if there are any) over the ROM for the AID1 would be a non-issue. Back in the 90s there wasn't a place like Oshpark you could just share a design like this & small-volume pcb runs were much more costly. Nowadays there's lots of cheaper pcb options, including ways for people to just buy the bare boards themselves. With the schematics, these boards could be knocked out in a few hours or less. To me, something like this that's an existing design that no one has exclusive rights to..it's just as easy to offer as a free design as a way to "give back" to the hobby and then not have an investment in bulk materials or other costs involved in offering it as a for-sale product. Some people may disagree with me on this, but even if someone does this as a for-sale product, I don't think it should be a problem for anyone else to recreate the design(s) and offer them in other ways including free via a shared Oshpark project.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines

Callahan was repairing boards at the time so people fixing their own boards would have affected his business adversely.

And while the LizAID1 can't display or say "AD4 stuck low at U## pin #" it takes ALL logic Address and Data lines HI or LO so you can quickly probe all the A and D destinations and see if they are toggling HI/LO with the switch and quickly find a stuck line on the buss.

Having said that, I have at least three MPUs with a locked ON diag LED that I tried to fix with help from the LizAID1 rig and failed miserably. I am beginning to suspect the problem is the user.

Well -
I just about have the schematics done for the AID1 board. However, some questions, if anyone can answer, since I can't see these clearly in the pictures above..
- Anyone know the type of IC for U2? (The smaller one.)
- It *appears* if pins 29 and 30 are joined at the plug, but I can't tell 100%.. are they?
- What is Q1?
- Resistor values for R2 and R3 - I can't tell if the second band is Green, Blue, or Black. Third band is orange in all of them.
- Diode types for CR1 & 2. They look like ziener, but I haven't seen ones with a blue interior like that before, huh.
- Specs for C1. C2 (the top one) is easy to see.

And again - I may just stop here, since everyone seems to be discussing whether they're even useful or not.. Won't work on them since if I do, it'll likely be decided that they're not worth it, and I wasted my time.

U2 - MC14011
29/30 - cant tell in the other pic i have either - its 2am here and its at work .. ill look tommorow.
Q1 - an MPS-A13
R1-brown green yellow gold i think .. tomorrow
R2/3 ..brown black orange gold i think - tommorow
Cr1/2/c1 ill look at tommorow

big pic .. http://www.legbolt.com/tmp/aid1-big.jpg

what antique gadget do i need to read the code off that masked rom.?

A quick color correction, which may help with the resistor bands:

365964-color-correction.jpgaid1-big-color-correction.jpg

thanks that was a clever idea. - the warehouse lights do make everything yellow.

tomorrow i'll check the board properly to be sure

Thanks guys!

Okay, yeah, R2/R3 look like it's brown/black.

Interestingly, they only use 3 of the 4 gates in the MC14011. One pin on the third gate is connected - but because that was the only way they could get the trace to a pin on another gate. Wow.

Considering this board (pictured) is only four months younger than I, I'm impressed!

PROM DatasheetD3624.pdf

Popularity will all depend on pricing. Look at what happened with the $39 Vs $16/$15 NVRam.

Here's the link: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=287952

I tried re-posting the zip file here, but the forums don't seem to like zip files.

I think I've been the only one on this thread to question if these modules are truly useful, just based on some discussion on RGP over the last 20 years. I don't mind being wrong It seems some people do think these would be useful. So there's definitely still merit for someone to throw the design together to help out the community.

My comments on this being best offered as a shared/free Oshpark design are based on my own feelings toward public domain designs. We all need to be reasonable here. Anyone with the ability to use CAD software has the right at any time to create their own version of a design that is essentially public domain or otherwise something that someone put out there free for anyone to use. Just because someone jumps on it first because they see some demand and wants to make a few bucks, doesn't give them exclusive rights to make it. Locking a public domain design to a specific vendor is what I'd imagine created some of the annoyance on this particular equipment in the first place... high price, unobtainable, etc. It's understandable why this happened 15-20 years ago with pcb costs as I mentioned, but in recent years pcb service options have changed a lot. Prototyping small boards on Oshpark is relatively inexpensive. A design like this is simple enough to throw into CAD software and hammer out in a few hours if you have a component list and schematic.

Not saying any of that to discourage anyone from building these modules for profit (or any other design that was posted publicly for free use). Just saying lets be reasonable with expectations on these kind of boards. They are up for grabs to anyone with the capability to create them at the "worth-it-to-them" price.. or to even post as free designs if they want. I like these kind of quickie public domain boards, they are a good way to give back to the pinball community in something that doesn't take a huge amount of effort & also help spread the word of other products I'm selling. By making the designs available at a very fair price or sharing them on Oshpark, you are forcing yourself to not be dependent on stuff that other people created.. and instead focus on being innovative and creative in your own designs that you're selling. It also means you don't adopt the design as your own [in your mind] and get bent out of shape when someone else creates their own version of a design that was never yours to begin with.

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http://www.pinitech.com - "Pinball Inspired Technology"
Kits, upgrades and test equipment for pinball machines