[Video Game Esoterica] loves a 1990s video game called Operation Tiger. Apparently, there are only a few of these known to exist in 2023, and he managed to find one of them. Well, it is really just a module so he has to figure out how to give it enough input and output to be actually playable. You can see several videos of his work with the Taito game below.
The board has a lot of ICs and a Power PC to handle the 3D graphics. The graphics seem clunky today, but they were impressive for the time. According to the video, the CPU board was only used for this game. The ROM that holds the software is separate with a mix of mask-programmed memory and EPROMs.
The machine is meant to live in an arcade box. So wiring things like coin selectors, video, speakers, and controllers is a non-trivial exercise. The wiring paid off, though, as the board started up but with no buttons, it wasn’t able to start in the first video. The controls go through a 60-pin connector and he tackles that project in part two.
The next step is to actually update the game software, which is hard but possible. Of course, you can run many of these old games with MAME or, if you prefer, use it to score that primo engineering workstation you used to covet.
Nice! Looks like good action!
Love stories like this. More please!
Was that the top-down vertical scroller helicopter one?
A 3D shoot up like Doom but takes place in what looks like Vietnam with the jungle scene in some scenes
PowerPC was so nice. It is a shame everyone went to ARM.
you know they make IDE breakout boards. Why with all the soldering and stripping??
https://www.winford.com/products/brkg2x25.php#:~:text=Each%20pin%20is%20also%20brought%20to%20solder,addition%20of%20pin%20headers%20or%20other%20components.
Agree, and also – what’s with the complaints that it’s “impossible” to DMM probe an IDC connector?
Sure, just gouging the fat probes into the socket holes obviously won’t work, gee professor Obvious.
Apart from using a Dupont wire like he suggested, you could also get some needle type probe tips.
Or what about just inserting an IDC male throughole connector? Or a bog standard 0.1″ dual-row pin header? Then probe the protruding pins.
Anyway, nit picking aside – cool videos non the less! I do love seeing complex electronic boards from this particular era. Lovely PLCC sockets and phat 208/240-ish pins QFPs.