Arcade Collecting > Restorations & repair
CHICKEN RESTORE LIKE A ROBOT (Berzerk) *IT LIVES*
ChadTower:
Okay, finally have the chance to update with actual progress. I have an old PIII motherboard running dosMAME and glaunch with just Berzerk and Frenzy. Took me a while to get the sound to work - or so I thought - even though MAME would run just fine. Same issue with both games so I assumed it was a soundcard config issue even though I'm using a real SB16. Turned out that I didn't know both Berzerk and Frenzy require samples, and even more obscure, Frenzy uses Berzerk's samples. So when I finally dropped in some Berzerk samples both games started playing with sound. :)
At first I was going to use FreeDOS, but in that sound card confusion, I switched over to SpyStyle's boot install CD. That worked pretty well, though looking back, I probably had it working with FreeDOS and the samples were the problem. FreeDOS is pretty cool, though, as it has networking, tons of UNIX type utils, mp3/media players, etc. Lots of modern capabilities in a real DOS environment including a GUI if you want it.
Video is an ATI Rage 3D I had lying around - I'll use Arcmon to drop it to 15khz once I'm ready to put it in the cab. I hacked up my own VGA breakout cable. Probably chose one that is harder than it had to be as this one looked like it was isolated 15 different ways. Here's hoping I didn't short half the contacts with wandering strands.
<placeholder for breakout cable pic>
Thanks to Peale for software advice and Gehrig for supplying me a bunch of SB16s and the keyboard I'm hacking.
As for the keyboard hack... this keyboard isn't matrixed. There is actually a separate set of contacts for every key on the keyboard. I figure that at least removes the need to map the matrix and I can create keystrokes by shorting the two contacts on the backside of the PCB so no problems there. I have all essential game functions mapped in MAME - up, down, right, left, fire, p1, p2. (P1 + P2) is escape to front end and coinup will be wired to the coin mech. The only tweak needed in glaunch was changing the enter game key to fire.
ChadTower:
So, here's one wiring point I haven't quite figured out yet. I want the keyboard hack to be a drop in replacement - no changes to the CP wiring other than changing the molex housing (I don't have an exact match for the old one). The easiest way, if I didn't want a drop in, would be to wire up each button separately to the keyboard. Can't do that as a drop in, though. Looking at the CP wiring diagram I see the CP is using a common ground:
CP side connector is J7
What I am still trying to figure out is the best wiring method, here. I assume that since each key has its own contacts, one of those two is ground. Is it safe to assume that I could connect all of those grounds to pin 12? I'm thinking a barrier block glued to the keyboard PCB, each separate ground wired to the same terminal (or two shorted ones if there are too many for one screw), and then that common ground connected to pin 12 in a matching molex. Then a separate connection for the other side of each of the CP switches in the barrier and run from there to the appropriate pin in the molex (pin 7 for right, pin 6 for left, etc).
It's extra trouble but this way but it maintains as much originality as possible and allows me to drop repaired boards right back in with minimial disruption.
jfunk:
Crazy. My dad apparently has a Berzerk cabinet that's been converted to a Silk Worm. Has the stenciled sideart MINUS the "Berzerk" at the top..
I don't know that he'll be doing a resto on it anytime soon, though. Silk Worm is alright.. It just starts repeating a level once you get far enough.. :P
somunny:
Great game! Looking forward to watching the progress. :cheers:
ChadTower:
Poking around some more tonight... I don't think this keyboard is going to work. Even though the PCB is the size of the keyboard and every key has its own dedicated switch there does seem to be some sort of matrix going on here. It's all laid out on the PCB in traces going everywhere, though, and I don't think I'm going to spend the time mapping this sucker out. I'll find another keyboard that is a little easier.
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