PacManPlus

Thank you

Hi guys. PMC 40th always only used TIA or Yamaha; I do a type of auto-detect which crashes on some emulators (notably Pro-System and it's off-shoots). So only (as far as I know) only DragonFly and A7800 can use the Yamaha sound. I don't think that standard MAME/MESS can (yet). I could be wrong about that though. I hope this helps! Bob

It would be cool if you both played the two-player variation of PMC40th where your opponent controls Blinky (chase mode only) I've never been able to play that variation, nor able to watch anyone else do it. "Special Two-Player Mode: In two-player games, setting the right difficulty switch to the right causes the opposite player to control Blinky when he is in Chase Mode (i.e. not blue, or when the monsters are heading to their respective corners). Setting the switch to the left or not touching the joystick defaults Blinky to be controlled by the computer."

If you guys ever find yourselves in SW Florida, give me a call!

Thanks to @-^CrossBow^- for sending Al the case! I hate that blemish on the left above the power button, but I ran out of time (and filament) to do another one... I think if I am to do more like that, I would just do the logo (no 'AtariAge' text), and maybe make that AA logo a little bigger. Thanks for the pictures @ZeroPage Homebrew!

Ok, some updates, fixes and additions: I now have a working game: Left flipper not working - I finally saw that this was actually me. I'm used to momentary buttons which are normally open. The leaf switches by the solenoids that control the flippers are normally closed. For some reason, the left one I lightly bent so it was open, thinking that's how it was supposed to be. It took me this long to see that the left leaf switch was open and the right one was closed. So, I lightly bent back the left set of leaf switches... and Viola! it now works! The 'always on' lights - This was a bad diode. I replaced the diode with a new one and the lights are working fine. Alternate power source for monitor - Got this going as well. I used the 'isolation transformed' power source for the original monitor, and added the correct connector to the two-prong power cable to the original power brick to the monitor. It works like a charm. Cosmetic issues (side art, CP overlay, buttons, T-molding, etc.) - This is still on my list. However, some new things have popped up: The five Drop Targets in the back do not drop all the way when hit. They drop about half way. I can push them down manually, but after they pop back up and are hit again, again the go only halfway down. Two more lights have come up always on: In row 4, the first 'A' in PACMAN and the 'M'. These are on a lamp board like this: So I don't think it's a simple diode swap. I'm getting MCR106s to replace any bad 2N5060/2N5064 there are, so we'll see if that helps. Cosmetic issues (side art, CP overlay, buttons, T-molding, etc.) So that's the new list. But again, I have a playable game now!

Yes, I was trying to bypass it so it would power on with the rest of the unit. There is an outlet on the bottom where the rectifier board is, but it's always on. I think I have a way of getting power, although at this point I think that this is now my order of priority: 1. Left flipper not working 2. The 'always on' lights 3. Alternate power source for monitor 4. Cosmetic issues (side art, CP overlay, buttons, T-molding, etc.) Luckily, the coin door is in great condition for it's age. Thank you!

Had a close call last night. Trying to find an internal power source for the LCD panel (it only uses +12v), so I took a multimeter and went searching. It looked like I found 11 Volts on the new MPU board here: (Please disregard where it reads "+12v" underneath it, as I didn't want to modify the existing connector to get the 12 volts.) I found that the left pin was ground, so I connected the barrel connector wire to this header. To my horror, when I turned the machine on, I heard electrical sizzle and a puff of smoke, to which I quickly turned it back off. For some odd reason, the affected area was the VIDIOT board by the RGB connector: The white box around the resistor is what fried. At this point I'm frantic. I unplugged the monitor, thinking I fried the monitor, the Vidiot board (appropriately named for me at this point), or both. 🤯 I then plugged the monitor's power back into it's separate plug, and turned the machine on. Oddly enough, *everything still worked*. I manually checked every pinball part, roll over, bumper, etc. and the only things that didn't work are what didn't work before (i.e. the left flipper and two stuck 'on' lights). The monitor was fine, I was able to play the game (as much as I can without the left flipper). Suffice to say, I'll be figuring out another way to get 12v to the monitor. Which leads me to another issue: The two 'stuck' on lights, are the green bottom left 'SPOTS CENTER ARROW when lit' light and the 'N' from the 4th column 'PACMAN' lights. According to this document: https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php/Baby_Pac-Man both are controlled by the Q12 SCR. However, I removed the green/black lead that goes to Q12 from the header, and they didn't go out Then I tried unplugging the *entire J1 header* and they still didn't go out (even more ). I'm so confused now, nothing seems to be what I've expected, and I'm not exactly new to electronics. I'm afraid to touch anything. Although I do need to figure out that left flipper issue... Ugh.

LCD Panel installed - the 17" Panel fits PERFECTLY inside the window: Soon I will try to figure out what is wrong with the left flipper, and the 'staying on' lights. After that, it's just the cosmetic stuff. I've already run the glass and the plastic pinball playfield pieces through the dishwasher (air dry, no heat) They look good.

Thank you! Quick update: The monitor ended up being more quirky / wavy than originally found. So I replaced it with a 17" LCD capable of Standard Definition (it takes RGBSync as input). I'm currently 3D printing the bracket to mount it with. 13" *working* tubes are becoming VERY difficult to obtain. I tried the same trick with a 13" TV that I did with the Pac-Man cabaret that I rebuilt (those used a 13" monitor also), but for some reason the picture looked absolutely horrible on it. So, LCD it is. It isn't perfect, but the picture is still much better than it was. I'm in the middle of replacing all bulbs with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQB8JFQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Picked up 80 (8 packages) of them. Once I have them all in, I'll work on the 'some lights permanently *on*' issue. Haven't looked into whatever I did to the left flipper to make is stop working, but at this point I don't believe it's a fuse issue. I've looked them all over and they all seem to be ok. I bought replacement fuses just in case. Bob

@imstarryeyed Thank you! I was wondering when you'd show up I'm home now, and we actually have electricity! (Came on last night) Work will resume on this soon.

Thanks, guys! ...and thank you @-^CrossBow^- for posting the images. It looks better in your pictures than it did in mine. The plan is to make these cases available soon (I should have a few with me at Free Play Florida), with the backside being the only thing customizable (other than the colors).

Thanks, Trebor- The equipment is fine, not much water got in the garage, and most of it was by the garage door... So we're good. Side note, I'm finding ways to use old tube TVs as R,G,B arcade monitors (Standard Resolution). I've done a couple already and they look incredible. If I get my hands on another 13" CRT that has composite input (you need that only for the V+H Sync signal) I may just replace the Baby Pac monitor with that.

Oh yeah - forgot about that, and I even *have* it for the Vectrex!

Hey: Completed. Yes, in the arcades - made by Cinematronics in 1980. It was a vector-based game.

Hey Guys! Thank you so much for checking in on me - that really means a lot! I'm about 3 hours south of Orlando. Cape Coral / Fort Myers was hit hard from this hurricane (it basically made landfall here). I still have to power or internet at home. I'm at my sister's house who has a generator and using my cell phone for internet. We just got water back. Sanibel Island is completely cut off (the only road in/out was destroyed), a lot of damage to buildings, etc. The gated community here has a lot of mobile homes destroyed. We got lucky though; only minimal damage (screens ripped, outside lights broken, back roll cage won't open). We stayed even though we were told to leave. I know, stupid, but wanted to make sure the house was ok. I was concerned about the Storm Surge, but luckily the canals didn't overflow on my street. LCEC is saying it could be from 1 to 3 weeks before we get power back. I hope everyone else here from Florida did ok too! Thanks, guys Bob

Thank you - and you do so too, please.

Oh wow, I feel stupid - my apologies to @PAC-MAN-RED - post fixed. Thank you!

There actually is a small bug in Bentley Bear that lets you scroll the entire level... But it puts the player out of bounds, so you can't get back in. Once you get to the end of the level you basically have to wait for the timer to run out and you die before restarting the level (assuming you have any lives left). No way I'm saying how to trigger it.

Ugh. Two steps forward, one step back. I accidentally lowered the pinball field (while on) on to the control panel locking bar. I saw a spark and now the left flipper no longer does anything. I hate myself sometimes. Assuming I fried the solenoid. Will eventually pick up another one. Right now I have it up on wood blocks on the side of my garage because Ian is pretty much heading right for us.

This is one on my list of games to do... Thanks to @PAC-MAN-RED

Completed.

Thanks! I think the VIDIOT! board is ok, as it was thoroughly tested before it came back to me. HOWEVER!!!! Update: I started up Baby Pac-Man in PINMAME, and went into the button/joystick self-test. I found that '15' should *not* be stuck on, and is the 'ball tilt' switch (found inside the game cabinet behind the coin door on the left side). I'm guessing it's used to detect if the machine was tilted backward. Anyway, that was stuck on. So I 'unstuck' that switch, and got a playable game!!!! The drop-down, and lighting issues still exist, but I tested all of the rollovers, flippers, and ball-exiters (not sure what they are called), and they all work. For those, I will start with this: Thank you for the idea! I'll go check to see if the new MPU board does the self test flash like the old one, and update this post. UPDATE: Yes, it does the 7 flashes THANK YOU!

Hello all! ...So, I got the VIDIOT! board repaired from John at eldoradogames.com - he was VERY helpful, and got rid of all of the battery acid from the board. I highly recommend him! Just to be safe, I also ordered a replacement MPU board from nvram.weebly.com and I powered it on. I've made a list (and video documented) of the remaining issues with the game: - Joystick doesn't do anything, although in the self-test it works - Monitor doesn't look great, but may be passable - and is affected by sound volume - Two of the five drop down targets don't drop - A few of the lights are stuck 'On', some don't light at all (those may be burnt out bulbs) Here's video documentation of the issues: I'm going to be doing some more research, but if anyone knows what some (any) of these are, please let me know. Thanks guys! Bob

That darn 'R' key keeps moving I'm actually not sure; like I said it's been a while since I've used it. I guess it's possible that it could be Windows-related, although I think you would be getting errors about DLLs missing if that were the case.