Ethaniel Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 As title says, i'm looking for the pc-503 game cartridge Tank Battle I live in Greece, I have paypal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Bump? Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted November 7, 2016 Author Share Posted November 7, 2016 bumpity bump still no reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 great scott this is hard to get buuuuuump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 What the heck is a PC-503? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwantgames:) Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 ^^^ what he said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwantgames:) Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 http://www.pong-story.com/pc-50x.htm Ahh, I found it. Listed as very rare! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 That would explain why the OP isn't having any luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 Yeah I don't know if its rare but i cant find it. These consoles had infested europe, it should be easier to get one :/ i hope it will come up someday. I already have the rest. Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 ugh... still nothing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Hi Ethaniel, I just recently got a second copy of this game, I originally bought a boxed copy in german which I'm keeping for myself but while hunting for a compatible 'console' to play it on I managed to grab an extra, german language labelled copy of Tank Battle unboxed. The issue is that it doesn't fit in the same machines as the one you have labelled, you will need one of the 'Palladium' styled machines, I'll see if I can attach an image of what the cartridges look like... here we go (this is just from the net, I can get an actual photo of mine if you are interested) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethaniel Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Hi Ethaniel, I just recently got a second copy of this game, I originally bought a boxed copy in german which I'm keeping for myself but while hunting for a compatible 'console' to play it on I managed to grab an extra, german language labelled copy of Tank Battle unboxed. The issue is that it doesn't fit in the same machines as the one you have labelled, you will need one of the 'Palladium' styled machines, I'll see if I can attach an image of what the cartridges look like... here we go (this is just from the net, I can get an actual photo of mine if you are interested) I pmed you Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Have any of you actually managed to find this PC-503 Tank Battle game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikebloke Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Dbug said: Have any of you actually managed to find this PC-503 Tank Battle game? Not very common, wasn't common before. Even less common now. I have an acetronic copy in a bigger than normal box with the controller ports in the cartridge. I've owned something like 3 or 4 copies now, all completely different looking but the exact same coded game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Quote Not very common, wasn't common before. Even less common now I really wonder why this cartridge is so rare, it looks like it's one of the best games in terms of playability, I would have expected it to be quite desirable at the time. I know there are many variants of this game, all with the GI AY-3-8710 chip inside, what I'm not sure is if the various cartridges are actually pin compatible: Can you put a "Hanimex PC-503" in a "Radofin Tele Sport", can you play a "Palladium Tele-Cassette 710" on a "Grandstand SD-070", is the "Radofin 1005" compatible as well? Quote I have an acetronic copy in a bigger than normal box with the controller ports in the cartridge. So I guess that one is definitely not compatible with the other "slot in cartridge" systems. Never heard of that one before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 15 hours ago, Dbug said: I know there are many variants of this game I believe there may have been at least one more variant in Denmark, see the reference to "super-sport". Still virtually nothing is known about either of the machines mentioned in that thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 By the way, does anyone know if there are articles, interviews, etc... regarding how these games were made? On the microprocessor based machines, it was easy to test, and it was easy to fix stuff if you used eproms for the game logic, but all these pong games are actual chips with all the video and audio generation, input handling, collisions, score management, etc... that must have been quite challenging to develop any kind of game, not sure if they had some simulators, some big electronic boards with wires everywhere... etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigs Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Not sure what is worse: to want a PC-503 cartridge (the coolest tank battle)? Or to own one that does no longer work? I recently revived my 1978 Akur SD-050 (like Hanimex, German market, TV channel 2 at 55MHz, PAL color output). Amazingly the console ist still operational, all joysticks, buttons, also 2 of the 3 cartdridges. Who would have expected that after all these years, slumbering in a cabinet? From day one I loved the tank battle more than the other rather crude Pong and car racing games. I do recall that the programmers (accidentally?) allowed the fired bullets to be controlled after they were shot by the tank. You could steer them to hit targets BEHIND the obstacles this way. The coolest shooting game back then, I always won my tank battles with these cruise control rockets! So my disappointment was huge when realizing that just this PC-503 is no longer recognized when inserting the cassette. I opened it to study its innards: not much action there (compared to the screen action when it was working..). About 20 diodes, 20 resistors, just three ICs and a handful of capacitors. The latter I suspect to have dried up? By changing the three 4,7mF caps I will start my debugging. If anyone in this forum knows how to check/repair these old PC-50x cartdridges, please advise! Thanks! Attached a few photos of my old Akur SD-050 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 It's quite hard to diagnose these things, specially considering each of the cartridges are custom made with different chips and connectivity. Quote About 20 diodes, 20 resistors, just three ICs and a handful of capacitors That seems to be more components than most of the cartridges I've seen so far! Could you take some nice good photos of the circuit board where it's possible to see the connections, solders and tracks? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigs Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) Here the requested photos of PC-503, front and back. I will start by swapping the 3 electrolytic caps. Some have weird 'goo' that may be a sign of leakage, or just glue o affix them on the sloppily soldered board. Is BKY4000 an oscillator? I could not find any info about this electronic part so far. Not being an electronic wiz my hope for success is limited. My ultimate goal: playing PC-503 on a wall size projector screen in my home cinema. Wish me luck! Any advice is appreciated! Edited November 8, 2023 by Craigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Hmm, very hard to say on the photos, but what I can say is that all my cartridges are heavily coated in thick layer of flux, and most solders looks like they were made with a blow torch or a machine gun, definitely not "fine art". One thing you could try, is to use some isopropyl alcohol to clean all the tracks and specially the connector. I'm not sure what the small component at the bottom right is (the white/gray one), but it looks like it has been munched? What's sure, is that there are way more components on that one than on most cartridges (I attached a PC-501 cartridge as an example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigs Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) Thanks for the reply, I appreciate your thoughts and recommendations! The object on the lower right is just a weird solder 'blob' for all I can say. BUT: on its backside there are two soldered pins sticking into it, and on the frónt there are tiny holes in the blob, as if something had been sticking out of them? The blob creates a wire bridge , so no active element could ever have worked in this position. Do other photos exist of this PCB, for comparison? What is the 'function' of the outmost contact where this bridge blob is located?? It could be a sort of rework, a fix they applied to these ECBs when producing them? Even weirder: the line ONLY leads to one of the UNUSED three pins of the main IC socket (seen on the slightly blurry backside shot in the top area). Several pins are simply not connected on this IC.. Yes, I am amazed how simple the PC-501 looks if compared to 'my' tank battle cartridge. Sort of makes sense, as the entire tank battle was more sophisticated than the rather simple Pong and car racing routines. How complex where PC-504 ff. ? On YT a repair guy demonstrated the wax stuff inside the earlier version of a Hanimex console (no cartridges yet). That it had been used inside the HF modulator box and had been washed out by excessive heat over time. I did NOT open my working base yet, in fact the video signal is getting better every day by itself now, when testing the other cassettes. I do see some 'stuff' around the three caps on the left of PC-503; could be leaked electroyte OR the forementioned wax... I will do a cleanup (although all contacts are shiny), will try to resolder all the mediocre HongKong solder artistry. And also replace the three 4.7mF caps. As absolutely NOTHING is happening at this moment I really have a bad feeling about this precious thing. I can insert the ECB without the case, so I could measure around the components in this state, but what to expect, where to measure, e.g. the power lines, ground etc.? Checking all diodes may be possible. If there is really an oscillator (SKY4000 is still a mystery to me) then it is very likely a potential root cause for dysfunctionality, as in many old quartz watches. Re-inserting the 'brain' IC in its socket would be nice, yet I am afraid that it baked into the contact reels, may do more damage than needed when prying it out of its seat. Had one of my other cartridges died I would leave all alone. It was the TANK BATTLE I was interested in, after 40+ years of slumber.. My sort of luck, as so often.. Thanks for hanging in with me! Edited November 9, 2023 by Craigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbug Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 If you fetch the Gimini 1978 pdf (one can be find here http://pong-story.com/GIMINI1978.pdf) on page 38 you have the entire AY-3-8710 pinout, including a system diagram on how it can be used in a complete system. Check that you have the proper voltate on the VSS (pin 1) and if you have a scope, check on pin 19 that you have a working 4.09 mhz input. If that can help, I attached a photo of some tracing I did of where the various locations on the cartridge connector go (like the various option buttons, reset, etc...) You idea of resoldering is probably good, at the very least, could just "reflow" it (like you warm it so it melts and that would fix any weak contact), possibly use some contact spray (the type that does not leave residue) on the pins and sockets of the AY chip and connector. In term of diagnostic, well, the entire chip is the actual game, including signal generation, sound, etc... so at the very least you should have some pulses on the video output/sync, etc... Btw, if you end up giving up, I'm willing to buy it! 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigs Posted November 11, 2023 Share Posted November 11, 2023 (edited) "Game over" may be the proper conclusion? None of the forementioned steps (cleaning with iso, changing 3 caps, resoldering, reseating IC) has changed anything. I checked all diodes, solder points and connector lines by resistance tests, all seems to be OK. The cartridge remains entirely dead upon insertion into the console. The socket of the main IC "AY-3-8710" (containing the 'brain' logic of the entire game) was slightly baked into its socket, but could be fairly easily removed and carefully reseated. I still suspect the problem around the ominous 'SKY 4000'. The name 'SKY' indicates that it is indeed an oscillator, most likely running at 4MHz, based on your latest clocking info. If I can find a replacement I will try a swap, my last remedy before running out of options and interest. Will ANY oscillator with 4MHz (modern ones come in all shapes and sized) suffice? I do have one or two oscilloscopes from my late father somewhere, but haven't used them since my diploma time back in 1984. After all I am an autistic physicist from Germany, no electronic whiz kid.. Thank you for you detailed replies, highly appreciated! Edited November 11, 2023 by Craigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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