Mike Treu's New Laser Game Faq (Part 1)
cal...@sam.neosoft.com
Here is Mike Treu's New Laser Game Faq
Enjoy...
Callan.
3-25-96
ALL THE LASER GAMES I KNOW, AND ALL THE INFO I'VE GATHERED.
-by MIKE TREU
verbal (414)-735-6602
"I am internetless"
When Dragon's Lair was out back in 83, it actually came to the
small
town I grew up in. I played a LOT of video games when I was younger; what
else was there to do. Dragon's Lair was by far, the most addicting,
amazing,
fun, arcade game ever! I can't emphasize enough how much I loved this
game!
If I only had 50 cents for every time my best friend and I had said,
wouldn't it be great to own a Dragon's Lair.
About five years ago, after graduating tech. school for
electronics, I
really thought about it, and hey, it's my own apartment, and cabinets
don't
take up THAT much space. Six months later, and about $100 in phone bills,
I
actually tracked a working one down within a 45 minute drive. They agreed
on
$1000 (which to me now seems a little steep, but I was new in the field).
Two
weeks later, I rented a U-Haul and it was mine (about $80 for the U-Haul;
45
miles - I don't recommend it unless you're desperate). That first day I
had
my Dragon's Lair was the happiest day of my life; by far! No exaggerating
either. About six months later Dragon's Lair II came out. I immediately
started dealing directly with Leland and bought one. Banks wouldn't give
me a
loan for any of it, so I still owe credit cards for them today. But I
have
them!! I'll admit, now that I have a firm grasp of electronics and I
know what makes it tick, it's lost a lot of lustre. But, there's no way
around it, you can't stifle knowledge. Most of my satisfaction now is
wiring kits up and getting them to work; also, other people saying 'Holy
crap, you've got an ACTUAL Dragon's Lair!'; and younger kids who never
had the opportunity to play a game that still kicks ass by todays
standards, and does not have a very close to the original home version
(for a little while longer).
Since that time, I've made it my life's goal is to track down
every
laser game ever made, and get it up and running. All except for new games
(Mad Dog, Drug Wars, etc.) due to price; rare games (Gold Medal, etc.)
also due to price; and gambling machines (Quarter Horse, Laser Shuffle)
which I may get for the hell of it if the price is right. Apartments
force me to keep them down to kits (no cabinets), but they do work. I've
been
offered some killer deals on complete cabinets, but I don't have the room,
or
aren't interested in most of the others to actually get a full cabinet.
I don't consider myself a professional at this hobby, far from
it in fact. I have however talked to a lot of people, gotten a lot of new
friends all across the U.S. (a couple of which I've actually visited
several states away), and learned a lot since that first machine.
At the time of this writing, I've got working...
Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair II
Space Ace '83
Space Ace '91
Badlands
Thayer's Quest
Super Don Quixote
Astron Belt
Galaxy Ranger
Starrider
M.A.C.H. 3
Future projects will be
- Time Traveler.
- Us vs. Them, just need a disc.
- Cobra Command/Bega's Battle need a player.
- Cliffhanger/Goal to Go have a manual, minimal schematics,
also need Goal to Go eproms.
- Cube Quest, will have everything real soon.
- Interstellar, will have everything real soon.
I would love to give credit and recognition to everyone I've
dealt with and keep in touch with, but having done this for a while,
I've met people who are kind of squirrelly about giving out their
names. Initials should be O.K., until I verify it's O.K. to print
your name. The rest, you know who you are. And these are by no means
in order.
DH DS DC JP KVF RW MS VF RP
Callan Hendricks (first and foremost!)
Dave Manthey
Derrick Mungovan
This list is somewhat loosely based on a file I had gotten from
a friend off the internet by Dave Shoemaker.
Addendium. On November 30th, 1995 I actually got to speak with
Rick Dyer. Up until then, I had heard rumors of people speaking with
him; and I really didn't believe them. Well, I tracked him down and
after about 8 phone calls with him not being there, I called in the
morning and bam. No bullshit. He seemed like a really nice guy, and
did answer all my questions. He didn't seem real enthuesed about
someone idolizing him, but I may have sounded a bit mental (being shaken
just in the fact that 'holy shit, I'm talking with Rick Dire!'); and I
may have been a little jostled in my questions. So throughout my file,
you will see sprinkles from that conversation; believe it, it happened!
Can't tell how I tracked his number, he probably would get cheesed. I
know I mention later that I'm not fanatical enough to hunt these
people down, but it really wasn't that tough (I was just floored I got
through his secretary!); and I had some legitimate questions no one has
been able to answer - until now.
PROBLEMS I'VE RAN INTO
----------------------
BADLANDS: This was the first kit I bought. I was trying to wire
the genlock/demodulator into my Dragon's Lair monitor, and I accidentally
hooked the monitor ground directly to a power pin. Poof, magic smoke.
Brought it into work and got real lucky in that one transistor blew up
(pretty easy to see), another one was just blown internally. The one
blown internally was the transistor that directly controlled the reset
line on the micro. Stumbled onto the fact that it was stuck in the
wrong state. Whew, big sigh of relief.
ASTRON BELT: I used to have one of the standard arcade power
supplies that did not have a -12V on it; so to supply -12V, I had to
use a seperate power supply. Well, using mini-alligator clips on an
edge connector is risky, and sure as shit, the -12V accidentally touched
the +12V. Rule of thumb stay away from beers too when doodling at home.
This turned out to be the -12V cap blown, and the only TTL chip
connected to -12V was blown (IC96). After fixing this monkey, the
picture came on, it was double width, showing only the left half of the
screen. It turned out someone before me had soldered a resistor to a
pot on the board which affects this (can't remember the label, but it's
the only pot on the motherboard; and it's in pretty mush the center of
the board). I have no idea why someone would do this, but some of the
goofy shit you see on boards, who knows where some tech's brains are. I
had another board that I must have done the same thing too. This one I
popped the 10K ohm resistor on the output of the right channel on the
amplifier board, and the mother board stopped working after that. I
don't know what I did that cause it, but it smelled kinda icky.
Anyways, symptoms of the motherboard were; at powerup, the screen was
gray, with ascii characters all over the screen, and the disc doesn't
spin up. I've seen this before, but the disc managed to spin up anyways
(then adjust VR3 on the demodulator board). Turns out IC96 was blown
up. So I'm guessing I shorted the +12V again.
Oh, the very first time trying to hook this mother up, had a
bitch of a time. I had the board up and running fine, the intro was
going, and both graphics and the laser picture were up, but I couldn't
get it to accept any input (credits / coins). It turns out one of the
chips that the control outputs (up, down, coin1, start, etc.) go into
has a pull-up resistor pack going to every other pin. The resistor pack
is supposed to be tied to +5v. Well, every other +5v point on the board
is tied together at the edge connector on the motherboard (so you
only need to apply power to one point, rather than the 6 pins the
schematic shows +5v going to); except this one! I should know better
than to assume stuff. I am using this Genlock/Demodulator boards in my
DL with a monitor that doesn't match (the DL I bought had the monitor
completely gone.) This combination works great!
Another quirk with the demodulator; sometimes the disc spins up,
but the screen is dark gray (with no ascii characters). Try adjusting pot
VR3 full clockwise, then back to original position. In actuality,
VR1-VR4 are all dependant on whether you get a picture or not.
Another quirk with the demodulator; This happened with Galaxy
Ranger. The graphic overlay freezes, while the disc plays straight
through (you will see for example the disc playing, with an overlay of
your ship with a shot frozen coming out of it.) Pot VR3 is adjusted too
far. Doodle around with it. Too much the opposite way and the graphics
move normally, but you ship turns into a fuzzy blob.
This list is constantly getting updated every day. Oh, and if
bluntness and/or swearing bother you, don't read this. (beauty
disclaimer, eh...)
STARRIDER: When I first got this guy, it absolutely would not
spin up. I had it sent from Kansas, and the person that sold it to me
assured me it worked when he sent it. I didn't get to doodle with it
for a couple of months, and when I tried it then, it worked. First
off, you have to be patient with this guy. You will see color patterns
go from right to left (about 6 of them), then a 'rug' pattern on the
screen, then the first high score screen. One thing is that the disc
player has to spin up before any of this happens. It will take about
ten seconds before it attempts to spin up the player. My 8210A is a
little flakey, in that it doesn't always spin up the first dozen or so
attempts. If you listen to the player, you will hear the laser trying
to focus (a weak clicking noise) before spinning up. I actually jump
start it once in a while by opening the lid, and twisting the
centerpost (starting the disc spinning); be careful not to push down on
the disc when spinning it (or it will touch the bottom of the player
when spinning and scratch the hell out of the disc). You don't need to
turn it really fast, but then close the lid while the disc is spinning.
I don't know if this method does any good, but I can always get mine to
fire up by doing this.
MACH3: This is one of the quirkiest boards I've hooked up.
Very fussy. I ran into a lot of problems with corroded connectors. The
ferrite bead board is definitely worth mentioning - They used an
extremely cheap part with the small ferrite beads. On one of my boards,
I went out and bought a roll of ?26AWG? wire, and replaced all the wires
in the beads. I have two more that will need the same thing (solder
does not stick to these pieces of shit any more!). So, three out of
three boards makes a majority. Also, make sure you hook the left and
right audio channel from the disc player to what it says in the manual.
They are NOT both audio outputs; one is audio, the other is some kind of
a modem signal that helps control the motherboard. If you swap them you
get major disc errors. I'm currently having disc errors on the
bomber game, when you get to the radiation zone, but I don't know
what's causing it (I only have one disc player, so I can't swap that
monkey). If anyone can help me deceipher this symptom, please let me
know.
Since I didn't have the horkin' transformer, I simply unplugged
the output connectors on the power supply board, and tied my standard
supply (with -12Vdc) into these. I tied +12V and GND across C21 on the
power supply to power up the audio ampifier section on that board, but
that's it. This seems to be causing a little video interference (audio
and video are not mearnt to share the same GND), but I'm sure a ferrite
bead between the two should clear that up. The horizontal sync output
to the monitor needed about to be inverted, but nothing major. My
Dragon's Lair cabinet only has one button on each side, so I also had to
rewire a Genesis flight stick (took out the multiplexer inside) for the
extra buttons. It's kind of a uncomfortable not mounted to the control
panel, but not real bad.
USEFUL GENLOCK/DEMODULATOR INFORMATION
--------------------------------------
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be amazingly careful when doodling with monitors! There are ALWAYS high
voltages on picture tubes (12,000 VDC on some!); even when they are not
on - they do stay charged up; sometimes for years! I have been a
technician for 7 years, and I am still leary about working on the
things! If you don't know electronics, I wouldn't fart around with
them. And I will, by no means, be responsible if you use any of my info
and touch the wrong thing, because IT WILL KILL YOU. 120VAC feels real
ugly, I would not be real anxious to feel 12,000DC. If you're not sure,
don't try!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, keep in mind I've only worked on RGB's for about 3 years now, and
that 95% of the information I've got here I gathered on my own, futzing
around. If any of it is blatantly wrong, please tell me. I wouldn't
want to go on the rest of my life thinking I knew something when in
reality it was utter crap.
First there are three types of signals that TV's/monitors use.
1)NTSC - National Television Standard something; this is what
runs on coax, and goes right to your plain jane TV. PAL is worth a
blurp since people from other countries may read this. PAL is NTSC in
other countries. Different scan rate, when viewed on NTSC, the vertical
hold needs adjusting, or the screen flips top to bottom; and the picture
will be shifted about an inch down and to the right.
2)Composite - This is what plugs into the RCA jacks on your VCR,
and
what comes out of your genesis or nintendo that requires a switchbox to
convert it to NTSC to watch on your TV.
3) RGB - This is what video game monitors use (O.K., all you
video game techs stop snickering and laughing; imagine having to learn
this shit on your own!). These separate the video signal into 5 or 6
seperate wires. RED GREEN BLUE and a SYNC. Sometimes this sync is
horizontal and vertical on one wire; otherwise they will be
separated into two wires. They are backwards compatible in that if
you have a board that uses two seperate sync's, you can twist the two
sync's together and use them on a monitor that uses a combined sync;
but not the other way around. Basically connectors on these monitors
will always have R, G, B, a ground pin, and one or two sync pins.
Okay. The big hassle with laser games comes in when you have a
laser-disc player, it outputs NTSC. This signal has to be converted to
RGB to view on a video game monitor. This calls for a
genlock/demodulator board (we'll call it G/D). Demodulator means it
converts NTSC to RGB. Genlock is a term used in computers for a board
that overlays graphics onto a video siganl. Dragon's Lair, Space Ace,
Time Traveller, and Thayer's Quest are the only four games that I know
of that do not use a genlock (so the video board is really just a
demodulator). All other games need to overlay graphics from the
motherboard with the video output from the laser-disc player. This is not
a big deal, as long as you have the original G/D that went with the
motherboard, and you use the same brand of monitor as what was originally
designed to go with the G/D. Now in the typically rare case you don't
have all original stuff, that's when you run into problems (or at least
extra work).
This is my main hobby. I only have one cabinet (Dragon's Lair)
that I patch kits into. Don't worry, this doesn't deface it. I always
use matching connectors, so nothing ever gets 'trashed'. First, I
would like to mention that some G/D boards are interchangeable with
re-wiring, and it really isn't that difficult. Some boards however are
not interchangeable. Example - The monitor usually gets the sync from
the laser-disc player, then matches the motherboard to the player's
sync. Cobra Command and Starrider are two odd-balls. They do just the
opposite, uses the motherboard sync, and match the player to it. This
makes them pretty uncompatible with other stuff. Second, when using
different brands of monitors, the sync's can be different. Some use
inverted signals, some use different timing than what your G/D may
output. What I've learned is, use common sense, trial and error, and
patience. When your sync's are locked correctly, you shouldn't need a
whole lot of adjusting, and the picture should lock on vertically, and
horizontally (no real fine tuning should be necessary). Using a 7404 IC
(inverter), or a 7407 (buffer), you can get them to lock in. If the
sync doesn't lock, hook your 7404 or 7407 up to the +5 on the board,
then run you sync through them. In the case of a buffer, you may need
more than one gate. One tip I've found is, if everything is locked, but
there is a black vertical bar in the center of the screen, with the
right half of the screen on the left side of the bar, and vise-versa;
you need to run the horizontal sync through an inverter. I've made the
mistake of going through about 5 buffer's instead, which brought the
picture in normal, but it warped about an inch of horizontal width about
3/4 up (then I tried one inverter and bam, dolemite, looked jimmi-jam).
Some of this stuff is fairly in depth, but if you're having sync
problems, and this doesn't make sense, verbal me (I will probably be
able to help).
OKAY, NOW THE LISTING!!!
------------------------
ASTRON BELT 83 Midway < Sega
Uses the Hitachi / Sega VIP9500SG disc player. Galaxy Ranger
and this use the same motherboards. Astron Belt came out first, Galaxy
Ranger second. I remember playing Astron Belt in the arcades,
but I never got to play Galaxy Ranger. The sound board is a bit of a
pain. It uses 35Vdc, which it gets off the main transformer through a
full-wave bridge. If you're jimmy-rigging it like me, you don't have
the original transformer. So, I found a chip that can step up DC
voltages. It can actually take the +12V on the board and crank it up to
+35VDC (and it works!). News Flash!!! Use the +5V to crank up to +35V.
The +12V causes some picture interference, but the +5V doesn't (this
dc-dc step-up can actually operate as low as 2.8V! I've tried it! The
spec's say 1.5A too, but I'm sure that's dependant on the input
wattage.). The Hitachi player's interface has the same labels as the
Sony LDP-1450 player used in Dragon's Lair II, but I tried swapping
them and no dice. I'm pretty sure the baud rate doesn't mix. On the
Sony you can actually set this; and I've tried all possible
combinations, did not work. Since I tried that, I've heard the commands
are different for the two players (thus completely incompatible). I've
also got some sound boards that look different from the one's I use.
The manual gives the assy #834-5272 (which is the one I use). The odd
boards have the number #834-5315, and the cut pin 3 on CN3 is actually
there (the amplifier board dosn't fit unless this pin is cut). I tried
bending the pin up just to plug the amplifier board in, and it didn't
work on two of these odd boards. So, I don't know what these things
are. Another wierd thing about this game, it says in one of the
cabinet's parts lists that you need a Hitachi, LDV-1000, or a LDV-1001
player. These do require different motherboards, and I only have the
Hitachi style motherboard. Maybe the other style sound board I have is
for the LDV-1000 motherboard; sure would like to get one of these, just
to see it! One tidbit someone pointed out was the fact that the disc
for this and Galaxy Ranger are pressed on both sides, in case one
scratches.
This game overlays a graphic spaceship onto real life (kinda
cheesy looking) space backgrounds. Kind of neatly done in that you have
to shoot spaceships, tanks, etc. from the real life background. You also
have to avoid shots by the enemies, and make left/right movement
decisions. Some of the scenes in the background are ripped off from Star
Trek:The Motion Picture; Buck Rogers; and some of the planet scenes look
like they are directly from a 1975 Sid & Marty Krofft show, or Mighty
Morphin in todays terms. On easy mode, this game can be finished on about
three credits.
ATOMIC CASTLE 84 LDCS
Never heard of this guy. I think KLOV may have just gotten this
name out of a magazine. If this is the case, Eon & the Time Tunnel is
another title. Would like to know if it is a real game (hopefully not
as rare as gold medal, although KLOV does state there is only one in
existance; who has it!?!?).
BADLANDS 83 Centuri<Konami
Neat game, I like it a lot (a little short though). This is one
of my first kits I jimmy-wired to use my DL monitor. The demodulator
board was a little funky to hook up, but eventually got it (I'm using a
wells/garner with the demodulator set up for Hantrex); the sync was a
little different, but a couple of buffers did the trick. This worked, but
the picture is right from center about an inch. Doesn't take away from
the game though (everything is still visible). Uses the LDV-1000 with an
eprom change inside the player, which is kind of a pain in the butt. A
couple people I talked to suggested cutting a hole in the top of the
player to do this (and deface a working LDV-1000!!!). I instead built an
eprom switcher on a ribbon ribbon cable to avoid this (all it takes are
three sockets, some ribbon cable, and a switch). I don't know what the
difference is between these two chips, but I have them. The
Genlock/demodulator is only used to overlay overlay your score, credits,
and to black out the screen in-between disc jumps. It is playable
without it, but the pauses in the game (high score table and stuff)
leave the player sitting on a frozen picture which is kind of annoying.
Badlands can be described as Dragon's Lair, cowboy style.
Premis is, your wife and kid are murdered by about a dozen baddies. You
run through scenes timing shots to kill animals, villians, monsters, and
anyone else who decides to draw a gun on you. The control is only one
button (shoot). Got some funny death scenes in it. I thought this one
was easy to solve, except for the very end. Animation is actually
fairy decent; not as good as Bluth, but better that Don-Quix. I had
played this one in the arcade also way back when.
BEGA'S BATTLE ?? Data East
I gathered from the Cobra Command manual that this was the
original game in that motherboard. I have never played it before, I
don't have a disc on it, and I don't have an eprom set. Basically, this
is one of those games that I haven't concentrated on tracking down yet.
Too busy with other laser games. This one will probably be next. I
heard it was mostly a genlock game, and it really didn't use the
laserdisc for anything other than background. Shits and grins, the
Japanese version was named Genma Taisen.
Haven't played it yet, but magazines described it as Space
Invaders with funky backgrounds.
CLIFFHANGER 84 Stern
Tracked down a mother board set for $50 at a local distributor.
Got a disc from a faraway distributor (NM for $45, what a steal!). Got
the manual from another distributor. Got partial schemi's at a later
date. I read a STJ that Stern had bought LDV-1100's and PR-8210's
for this game. I don't know if they share the same motherboard, or
what kind of interface is used for which. The manual shows a PR-8210
from MACH3, but the schemi shows a small infra-red board, so maybe the
LDV-1100 is infra-red, and the PR-8210 is hard-wired. Uses
overlay graphics. This disc is pressed on both sides.
Update: John Pierce swears the same board set is used with infra-red
(1100) and hard wired (8210). He also said there were more players
than those that worked with the board (using the infra-red); he thought
a maganavox was one of them. I know someone who has one that uses the
8210, but not the 1100. John also says, he's pretty sure Goal to go was
just a software upgrade. He said he actually had to update one way back
when; so I gotta believe him!
Update squared (3-25-96): I now have the final interface board for hooking
this guy up!! (thanks again Callan!). Since I can not find one to buy,
building one is a viable option. This sucker is more than deftly
important to
get up and running since Goal-to Go is on the way. That's right, for
those of
you I need to stutter for, I have a lead on a Goal-to Go kit, let just
pray to
the mighty electron Buddha (o.k., maybe I've reached a strange transition
right there), that I get this kit. 5 years I have been waiting for one of
these suckers (I think that makes me a worthy recipient).
I had only read about this game in magazines, and it never came to
our area back in '84. The animation was taken from Castle of Cagliostro,
which I got to watch (it was O.K., nothing terrific); the dubbing on the
game is different than the dubbing in the movie. Should be running in no
time!
COBRA COMMAND ?? Data East
This board has been the most confusing to piece info together
for, because of all the versions, and board styles. Ruben seems to be
about the most knowledgeable on this (thanks Ruben, I'm trying
desperately to get on the net to rap with you!) I've got two board sets
for this monkey, both of them different.
O.K., here it goes... from what I've heard, there are all kinds
of versions to this game. First, there was the original cabinet. This
has two DECCO boards both the same size, and kind of large, and stacked
on top of each other. I've heard this uses the LDP-1000 (that's LDP,
NOT LDV; they are NOT the same; LDP-1000 has a SC-OUT, a LOCK-PULSE,
a SYNC-OUT, and a phono jack). I've never heard of any other game
using this player. The demodulator board for this original cabinet
boards ignores the sync from the LDP (and uses the one from the
motherboard), which caused me a lot of headaches trying to figure out
why DL wouldn't work on this demodulator. Then there is another board
set that has a large board and a small board stacked. This set uses the
LDV-1000, or the PR-8210 (Mach 3 player). The large board alone uses
the LDV-1000, the small board is an adapter board to use the PR-8210.
Then there is also a chip set for MACH 3, and one for Dragon's Lair
(with a new demodulator board) that will allow you to play Cobra Command
with these motherboards. There is still another board which goes by the
name of Cobra Command, but is a raster game, and has nothing to do with
the laser version. If someone can tell me if this imposter is Data
East's also, and if they tried using raster to play the laser version,
please let me know. Another little tidbit; someone who spoke to a
represantative at Data East who was working there back when Cobra Com.
was made said they had plans for a Cobra Command 2, but scrapped it
because it was too violent. Doesn't sound like discs were even pressed.
I will attempt to verify this with the person myself.
I remember this one from the arcade (only got to play it about a
half dozen times). You're piloting a helicopter, and using a graphic
overlay of a crosshair, you have to shoot down planes, tanks, bunkers, and
other stuff. You also use the crosshairs to steer once in a while to
avoid obstacles. Animation looks similar to G.I. Joe, fairly decent, but
it's just vehicles. Sega CD is digitized right from the laserdisc, but
for a 16-bit system it's pretty similar (yes, of course the graphics
aren't as good as the actual laser.) The title 'Thunder and Storme' is
printed on the beginning of the disc, but I don't believe it is ever
accessed (maybe in Japan it was called this, but printed in English!?!).
CUBE QUEST 84 Simutek
Just got one of these boards. The player is a modified 7820 (I
think it's a 7820). I heard this is a really rare game, so I'm dying to
get the player. Never played it before.
I heard this was a funky tempest type game that uses funky
computer animated backgrounds (kaleidoscope effect tube), and a tempest
type overlay (or maybe Gyruss - I hope!).
cal...@sam.neosoft.com
Dragon's Lair, well, where do I start? Set the way-back machine
for 1984. A 14 year old kid plays the shit out of one of the most
kick-ass games ever to brandish this big ball of mud we call earth.
I've played a LOT of games in my life, but DL stands to be the greatest,
most origianl, addicting, and plain old phenominal game ever. Kudo's to
Rick Dyer, Don Bluth, everyone at Cenimatronics, and anyone else whom I
haven't heard about who help produce this masterpiece. If any of those
people actually receive this text file, I would give anything to talk to
you. I'm just not fanatical enough to try and contact you (I'm sure
more than enough people have done so already). Anyways, before I get
off the subject, it uses an LDV-1000, or a 7820 player. There are 6
revisions of chip sets (A-F), A-C use a 7820 and include the drawbridge
scene (Recently someone told me A-C do not include the drawbridge,
unlike what I had heard, but they do play all the screens in order -
which would be really strange having never played it that way). D-E use
the LDV-1000. F uses either the 7820 or the LDV-1000. Heard of an old
STJ that mentioned the A-C use a 4MHz xtal, and D-F use a 16MHz. So, it
seems the 7802 uses 4MHz, 1000 uses 16MHz (generally speaking; Rev. F
supposedly plays both, with no hardware modification, so they must have
fixed it with software, kudos!). I'm sure there are more hardware
modifications for each chip set, but for now it's a mystery. I don't
know the playability differences between the chip sets, but I've heard
if you play them, you'll notice. (Thank you Dave H. for all versions!).
There are several modifications to motherboards reguarding this game,
I've never had a problem with the boards I have, so why waste time on
kluges you don't need. The power supply is kind of funky with +25VDC,
but it's just used for the audio beeps (some people would rather play he
game without these). Again, never had to mess with it, but I'm sure you
could tap +12V in there instead; if you had to. Lastly, the Molex on it
is nasty (36 pin I believe). If anyone finds extra male ends for it,
please let me know. Does not use a demodulator board. Heard from
Rick Dyer that there is only one motherboard for the two seperate
players. 'Nuff said.
O.K. like there's anyone out there who hasn't played DL before.
If you like D & D, you'll love this game. You are a knight walking
through
a castle trying to rescue a princess. You have to make moves with the
joystick to lead the character through numerous rooms. Animation is
awesome (Don Bluth), scenes are funny, sound effects are funny.
EON & THE TIME TUNNEL ?? Laser Disc Computer Systems
Just read the name in a magazine. Severely doubt this ever came
out. No description either, just the name.
FIREFOX 83 Atari/Warner Bros.
Haven't tried real hard at getting one of these. The Phillips
22V931 players not easy to get (see note at end of file). I am now
realizing
this and attempting to get one. Did just purchase a board set, and
disc. I've heard this is the only game to use the Phillips player, but
I believe Freedom Fighter also uses it (I hadn't even heard of this game
until recently). Had played Firefox in the arcades, it's a pretty cool
game. I have a manual for this one, and the control panel looks real
strange, so I'm sure this one'll be a blast to hook up. I heard the
disc for this guy flashes pictures every second or so (if you play the
disc on a regular player); and mixes the different missions throughout
the entire disc (ex. one second of mission 1, one sec. of mission 2, 3,
1, 2, 3, etc.).
Got to play this in the arcade (but it's been a long time). Based
on the movie, you pilot the firefox plane, and shoot down enemies and
targets. Uses a graphic overlay of a crosshair (I think, cut me some
slack on this one, it's been a bzillion). Real life backgrounds of plane
footage is used. Enemies are graphic, ground targets are real (I think).
I remember this game as getting quite a bit of my money.
GALAXY RANGER ?? Sega / Midway
Same board set as Astron Belt. Nobody seems to give two shits
about Astron Belt, or this game. At any rate, I believe the Japanese
version was called Starblazer (I thought I even saw it on the disk), a
magazine I read said Starblazer was coming as a replacement disc for
Astron Belt; therefore I'm guessing this was it. Pretty much the same as
Astron Belt. Different ships, a few different special effect (o.k., not
so special effects!).
One major difference is that you cannot continue with this game.
It could be a dip switch setting, but I've only got the Astron Belt's
manual, and it doesn't say anything about it. Tried using the same
mother-board (just changing eprom board) and the game allows continues
with Astron Belt; but still doesn't allow continues with Galaxy Ranger,
so I'm guessing you simply can't continue.
GOAL TO GO 83 Stern
Good old Goal to Go. I played this game religiously in the
arcade. Loved it! I heard it is a kit to Cliffhanger. If anyone can
help me with a chip set, PLEASE!!! contact me. In fact, if anyone
has the game period; please contact me!!! The teams are bland, but it's
still a DL type football game. I don't know if this game used a
demodulator. Considering Cliffhanger does, this one must too. This
disc is pressed on both sides. I've got some STJ info that they
(STJ) got from some laserdisc magazine, which printed the quantity of
players different companies bought and for what games. Anyways, for
Stern, they label it like this (see the end of the ad, I threw this stuff
all
together - for all games listed):
Uses actual footage from some generic scrimmage. You play whoever
has the ball. Just like DL, if you see a way the player needs to go, move
that way. Used a joystick and only one button (pass/kick), I think.
GOLD MEDAL (WITH BRUCE JENNER) 84 Stern
John Pierce at C&P is the only source for any information on
this guy. He says there were only two made, both were proto's, and C&P
has both of them (at the time of this writing 11/2/95). Someone else
told me they don't work either. In 1991 they wanted $10,000 for each of
them; in 1995 he said they would probably want closer to $20,000. I
asked how many discs were pressed and he said as far as he knows, the
two in the machines were the only two made (I don't believe this). He
also said the motherboard is a Cliffhanger! (oh yeah, Stern 84!
Duh?!?!). I'm attempting to get the chip set copied from John (hey,
that would be half way there to getting a gold medal). I'm working on
chips and a manual from John (he doesn't believe they had manuals
either, since they were proto's).
GP WORLD ??? Sega
I know someone who says they have one of these up and running,
and I have a disc for it (which is pretty boring; drivers view of about
five racetracks). Uses two monitors, and it sounds like it's got a pretty
complex board set. Disc is pressed on both sides (even though it says
program material is recorded on one side only).
Pole position type racing game that uses car overlays on real
video tracks.
INTERSTELLAR LASER FANTASY ?? Funai
Had never seen this one, but just got a motherboard. Uses a
plain jane LDV-1000. Can't wait to hook this one up!
INTERSTELLAR 2 84 Funai
I've seen this in an '83 magazine as a to-be-released game.
Doesn't mean it came out however. Described it as similar to the first
Interstellar. Picture showed a still of a cavern made out of vectors.
Didn't look laser-disc-ish. The cavern was the only thing displayed.
LASER GRAND PRIX 83 Taito
I've also seen this in an 83' magazines. Someone told me
they know someone who has this game. I've never seen one. One of the
track is Fuji International Speedway (from Pole Position).
LASER SHUFFLE, THE ?? Status Games
Gambling machine. I really don't count them as laser games. I've
only read this title in magazines, never seen one (doubt if I ever will).
I have a disc for Quarterhorse, which is a horseracing game (disc is just
live horse races... boring!!!). I called on a place that supposedly
still makes, and sells them, but they wanted just outrageous prices for
boards, even broken ones (I believe he wanted about $600 for a broken
board).
M.A.C.H. III 83 Mylstar
Played this one quite a bit in the arcade also. Very cool game.
Uses the 8210 player with a serial jack (looks like a small microphone
jack.)
You are piloting a plane and must shoot down enemy
installations, planes, helicopters, and oncoming missiles. You have the
option of air fighting (view is from the back with a graphic overlay of
the back of a plane), or bombing (view is from the top looking at the
ground, with the top view of a plane.) Real life background shots from
a bomb bay of a plane, and the cockpit of a plane. Ground targets are
real, with a graphic box of what targets to hit, then graphic smoke and
points appear when the targets are blown up (thus blotting them out).
Enemy planes are gaphics. There are also missles that come from the
ground targets you have to shoot or avoid, flak during the bombing
mission, planes that leave trails of smoke to avoid during the flying
mission, etc. Very tough game, even set on the easiest level. Also
does not have a setting for $.25.
NFL FOOTBALL 84 Midway
This is actually a video-disc game (Looks like a brown record
inside of a white plastic sleeve). I heard these were junk because of the
video-disc format. Imagine reading video with a needle! There were two
discs released, NFL(white sleeve) and NFL Dallas disc (blue sleeve). I
have desperately been looking for a player for this game for a couple of
years now. It's an RCA SJT-400 video-disc player (IEEE interfaced
player); I got the schemi's for it through SAM's, and I just got a player
(thank you Callan!). According to Callan, I am missing an interface board
that goes between the player and the monitor (NOT a G/D board however); oh
yes, I am also missing the G/D board.
From what I've gathered; so far, you play coach and select plays with
real NFL teams. The control panel has two sets of 6 buttons (one for each
player), that ues little half football dividers, so the other player
cannot see your decisions; and there is a star button (throws a
star-player in the game). That's all I know.
PITCHMAN 83 Laserdisc Computer Systems
"Reported to be only *one* in existance. Features a magician
named Mr Slye." I've never heard of it, or anything about it.
ROAD BLASTER
"Laserdisc game similar to the laserdisc Cobra Command. If this
is Road Fighter, please let me know... but I don't think so." - from KLOV
Never heard or seen this one either.
SPACE ACE 83 Cinematronics
Follow-up to DL. Also a very truely awesome game. In my opinion,
not as good as DL, but I like Dungeons & Dragons a lot. I like the random
screens in DL also. Just pop new eproms in your DL, slap in a new disc,
and viola (never had to spell that word before!). Two chip sets exist, I
don't know the difference between the two. Only the first chip is
different between the two. Uses a couple of small boards for minor
stuff (for game difficulty selection), but can be ran without them.
This game came out in original cabinets, and as kits to Dragon's Lair.
The original cabinet is definitely different, in that the marquee is
printed upside down from the Dragon's Lair marquee (still the odd hex
shape, but fits in cabinet upside down). I've heard the original
cabinets are rare, but I had one and traded it for a starrider (before I
discovered what I had).
You are this geeky little Don Bluthly animated dude who's
girlfriend (Kimmy) is snagged at the beginning of the game. Plays
exactly like DL, except, a space setting, and screens are not random.
If you die on a scene, you must keep trying it until you get past it.
STARRIDER 83 Williams
Played this one quite a bit too. Just bought one recently. Very
fussy board set. The controls on this monkey are un-real. It uses
opto-couplers to steer, and throttle. The machine I bought was missing a
little metal plate for controlling the opto's on the throttle, so the
throttle is assumed full bore all the time. It is impossible to get past
later screens with the throttle like this. If anyone can help me
duplicate this metal plate, it would be much appreciated. Disc is
pressed on both sides also.
Motorcycles in space! This game is funky. You drive a motorcyle
(back view), on a track. It uses the laserdisc for backgrounds (computer
generated), but it shift the horzontal position of the raster on the
monitor when you steer towards the edge of the track (controlled in the
demodulator board I believe). You race against four other opponents.
Sit down version of this game was awesome. Mine is standup, but I
almost got a sitdown (ask me about it sometime).
SUPER DON QUIX-OTE ?? Universal
Some Kit Doctor place was selling this kit. Called them a
couple of years ago to get a spare, and they were out of them.
Everybody I've talked to who has this game had bought it from these
guys. Not a real good game. Uses cheesy Japanese Animation (definitely
not Akira), and even worse sound dubbing. I managed to wire one up to a
Wells-Garner, which the genlock/demodulator board was not meant to go
on. Eh, I got it to work, some day maybe I'll even play it. Uses the
LDV-1000.
It's an alright game. You are a warrior. Somewhat of a
uniform, and a sword. A witch steals your girlfriend and you have to
rescue her. Similar to DL, you go through odd rooms, and outside scenes
(all animated) to get to and kill the witch. They show the scene of
the witch dying, in the attract mode of the game; which is kinda goofy.
THAYER'S QUEST 84 RDI
Played this a couple of times in the arcade. Choose your own
adventure type game. Directly plugs into DL with the 36 pin molex. Has
a funky membrane keypad which was notorious for wearing out. If you
have a NM panel from this game, hang onto it! The eprom for this game
is on a seperate board the plugs in, giving it the appearance of a
cartridge. Don't know of any other games for this motherboard however.
Does not use a demodulator.
You are Thayer, trying to find 7 pieces of an amulet (I haven't
played this one a whole lot). Choose-your-own-adventure through different
towns, forest, desert, etc. Gameplay stops and throws up your options as
to which way you want to go, or if you want to use an object (you have to
use correct spells, or trade correct objects to get through the game).
Uses synthesized voice which seems neat for 1984 technology (even says
your name when you type it in).
THAYER'S QUEST 2 ?? ?????
On the end of the Thayer's Quest disc, it has a message to look
for Thayer's Quest 2. However, is rumored to never have come out, but all
laser people I know are guessing there is at least a disc floating around
out there somewhere. Phillips CDI is supposed to be releasing a KINGDOM 2
which, from pictures, has the same look as the first one (Thayer's Quest);
so I'm willing to bet, they got their hands on a disc somewhere; or
perhaps just the art on another format. I've heard that Rick Dyer did
not want to be associated with the flop name Thayer's Quest, so they
renamed it Kingdom for the CDI. Also, there are going to be two
sequels, but both are going to be completely original (animation is
brand new, supposedly going to be better than the first one). So,
according to someone who spoke to someone who spoke to Rick Dyer,
Thayer's Quest 2 never got as far as animation (maybe a storyboard, but
that's it). I asked Mr. Dyer this question myself. No, a disc was
never pressed. In fact, Kingdom 2 which is in play testing right now
(11/30/95) has nothing to do with past attempts at Thayer's Quest 2. It
is made from scratch. Pisser.
Update: 9/14/95 A friend of mine told me Phillips abandoned the CDI.
To my knowledge Kingdom 2 never came out. Pisser!
US VS. THEM ?? Mylstar
Mach 3 chip set. Slick game. Also an arcade favorite of mine.
The comedy in-betweens are kind of funny, playability I have to give it
two
thumbs up. Just got a chip set for this monkey, sent my disc off to get
destroyed in the mail, I should have another one coming soon.
This is probably the most original (next to DL being the first) of
laser games. It runs a live action story about aliens attacking the
world. There is a central command room with cheesy looking computers, and
even worse actors; who control ??5?? pilots, and sends them to various
places where the aliens are attacking the world (Chicago, desert, forest,
and eventually... I won't give the ending away). The game shows
different views of the starship you're piloting (you sit in for each of
the five pilots), so every scene is a really different game. Sidescroll
view; backview shooting computer enemies, and avoiding real video trees;
backview with walls which you have to tilt you ship to get through; etc.
Interrupts between screens for humorous little joke scenes (which relate
to the area you're fighting in.)
DRAGON'S LAIR II 91 Leland
I read bits about DLII in a 1983 magazine; it sounded to me like
they were almost finished with it back then (so probably '84). It's too
bad it didn't do real good in the arcade. I really gotta believe it
could have been done better. I severely doubt Don Bluth will animate
any more of them (I don't think he made a whole lot out of the
second one). But I have this idea that with Don Bluth animation,
perhaps a new character, new plot (haunted house perhaps, with MK blood
and gore). Prices on disc players are pretty low now. You could have
an RS-232; double-sided disc player (twice as many screens!); make them
random screens (it worked for DL). You could have a pretty kick-ass
game! It makes me sick to see all the DLII converted to Mad Dog's, but
who cares, I got mine. If you have one, hang onto it! With all the
American laser games, original DLII should be pretty rare (with the
Space Ace conversion.)
SPACE ACE 91 Leland
Kit for DLII. Change eprom and disc, bam. Heard directly from
someone at Leland that only 1,000 were made; very rare! Hang on to
these if you got them. The old space ace disc, and this one, are not
compatable. Also in the kit were two red blank fire buttons (with
stickers to be put over sword that said 'fire/energize'); a control
panel overlay, and a paper marquee (like DLII). Someone told me this
paper marquee was actually too big for the DL plexiglass, and had to be
cut down to fit in plexi (sounds kinda' half-assed).
MAD DOG MCREE, DRUG WARS, MD2, DW2, blah, blah 91 Betson / Icat
< American Games
Who cares, too expensive for collectors. Nothing against them if
you can afford them. $1300 for a motherboard, gun and disc (no player)!
Prices may have dropped since I last looked, but I doubt if it's dropped
that much. Someone mentioned they are now $600 for the disc and a board
(no gun). Still too rich for my blood. GALLAGHER - A rare ALG. Shoot
stuff he splats at you.
TIME TRAVELLER 91 Sega
Another of Rick Dyer's creations (the king, the main man,
GOD!!!) in partnership with Sega. A strange holographic game. Uses a
normal 19" monitor (not even RGB since output is a laser disc player),
facing toward the back, and projects it into a half bubble reflective
black plexiglss onto a horizontal clear glass table to produce 3-D
holographic looking figures. Anything you put into this bubble looks
3-D, but black backgrounds seem to work the best (to produce single
objects). The disc shows the picture upside down which gets flipped
because of the bubble (the disc is also double sided). The motherboard
is very tiny (only about 4"x7"), with a very large eprom on it (Intel
27C0202 / 256k x 8). Does not use a demodulator, and uses the Sony
LDP-1450. Holoseum, a karate game kit for this, does not use a disc
player. I didn't like it at all. I could not get any 3-D effect out of
this game (and the playability of the game itself wasn't real
impressive); but hey, if you got a time traveller, pick this one up.
Rick Dyer had nothing to do with Holoseum (he told me), Sega
released it on their own. I also heard they only released them to
Alladin's Castles (and they were a limited release.); which is where I
had seen the game. Someone told me they had extra time traveller
cabinets that they couldn't sell, so they packed this game in it. Just
got a board for this guy. Still need a disc.
Seems like this game just came out. Didn't play it a whole lot,
but it was pretty cool. Didn't play it because I figured I'd have one
someday. You are this cowboy dude and you go through different time
periods shooting people and things while jumping and ducking other
things. Live action video. Easter Egg from Rick Dyer - Press the one
player button, and the two player button at the same time, and pull down
on the stick; it shows a picture of Mr. Dyer and his son.
HOME SYSTEMS
------------
HALCYON
This was an attempted home system for laser games. It had three
components to it. The base computer, a seperate disc player, and a
headset that only had a microphone. There are supposed to be seven
games for it, but I don't know all seven. I have a friend who has a
broken one, and he is attempting to get it to run. He has Thayer's
Quest, and is working on getting two more. NFL and Thayer's Quest
are the only two discs pressed for it (according to Rick Dyer himself);
which is really cool condidering NFL was originally a video-disc game!
This unit was only released in limited quantity in certain cities, so
you'd have better luck finding an honest politician than one of these
today. The Ghost of Whitier Manor and The Charger's vs. the Raider's (a
football game) are two games I've heard rumored for it, but like I
said, Mr. Dyer verbally told me TQ and NFL were the only two. The base
unit for the main component is a Thayer's Quest board with lots of extra
stuffed parts. The audio board, and the power board are completely
different however.
PHILLIPS CDI
Phillips CDI home system is worth mentioning. I have played
Dragon's Lair, DL Time Warp, Space Ace, etc. for various systems.
Commodore 64, Nintendo, 3DO, Amiga, and Phillips CDI. In my opinion, the
only one even worth mentioning is the Phillips CDI. 3DO came close, but
they conserve disc space by freezing the animation on sequences which
repeate the same picture. Basically, the grainy-ness freezes, making it
blatently obvious, and irritating. Of course, the 3DO is using one
microprocessor for everything; instead of CDI's separate card with a
second microprocessor and ram (especially designed for uncrunching -
to the tune of an extra $300). 3DO is supposed to have an M-PEG type
module release real soon, thus making it comparable to the CDI version.
The CDI version is terrific. Of course, like I stated, base unit $300;
M-PEG card $300 - totalling $600.
Phillips CDI has released Thayer's Quest under the name KINGDOM.
I have not gotten to play it, but I'm sure it's as good as the other 3
laser games I've seen on this machine! Mr. Dyer said Kingdom 2 is in
beta stages right now (11/31/95); so they are probably pushing for
x-mas.
Update: 9/14/95 As stated earlier, the Phillips CDI has been
discontinued. If you want a home version of D.L., S.A., D.L.2, & T.Q.
buy one now!
Update2: 9/25/95 Someone else told me it wasn't true. My other
friend tells me they are actually pulling software now. Who's right!?!
UNKNOWN GAMES
-------------
Heard rumors of some games, but no verification as to whether
they exist. If anyone can further me on these monkies, please let me
know...
ASTRO BLASTERS (D. Shoemaker got from KLOV) - Never heard anything
about it.
Some ninja game, don't know the name of it (Callan heard from Ruben,
Ruben has seen it) - Never heard anything about it.
FREEDOM FIGHTER - Had two people verify the existence of this game. One
guy wasn't even into collecting, he remembers it from playing it back in
83 (84?). Someone told me it uses the player from Firefox.
DISC-PLAYER INFO
----------------
Pioneer 7820: Used in the original Dragon's Lair. I've never had
one, but I heard when used with A-C,F software, plays screens in order,
including the drawbridge scene. Trying to keep my collection slimmed
down, and I am not curious enough to get one just to try the differences.
As far as I know, the original DL is the only machine to use this.
Pioneer LDV-1000/1001: A newer player for Dragon's Lair.
Black, with no clear windows for viewing disc. IEEE interface (24 pin
centronics connector). Does not have front controls, and will NOT
play CLV discs. Uses rev D and F of the chip sets. I was told another
nifty little rumor about the LDV-1001. I had been informed that a
LDV-1001 was a Japanese LDV-1000, and runs on 100VAC. It will work
with 120VAC, but it runs hotter and should not last as long. I do have
a 1001 that has a sticker on it that said it was was converted to
120VAC (should be a power supply change only), but who knows if it was.
I heard from another comrade that the 1001 was simply a software
update to the 1000; he said he heard this from Pioneer directly.
Looking at the eprom in my current 1000, I found It was labelled 1001.
It's supposedly faster at finding screens. So now, the quest is for a
1000 chip (if it exists) just to see how different it really is! I've
Interstellar uses this player also.
Dimensions: 20 1/2"x 15"x4 1/2". Two small smoke color windows on
front (5 1/2"x2 3/4").
Color: Black.
Buttons: Power, Eject.
Other: Does NOT play CLV discs.
Outputs: 24 pin Centronics, BNC video out, two RCA audio out.
Pioneer LDV-1100: Looks like an LDV-1000 with a different control
panel (has controls on the front). This one does play CLV. Does not
have a physical interface on it. Has to be an infra-red interface. I
have only seen STJ mention it goes to Cliffhanger. Got it from a
distributor, so it has to go to a game.
Pioneer 8210: There are two versions of this. One is used
for MACH III/Us vs. Them, another is used for Starrider. Beige color,
has front controls, will play CLV discs, no window, about the same size
as an LDV-1000. MACH III/Us vs. Them version has a single jack (looks
like a small earphone jack - 1/8") which I've been told it's a serial
interface. The Starrider version has a 24 pin IEEE centronics connector
on it. My specific player for Starrider has an 'A' hand written with
marker after the 8210. I don't know if the IEEE version is
officially considered an 8210A or not.
Hitachi / Sega VIP9500SG: Used for Astron Belt/Galaxy Ranger
only.
Silverish color, with a small section of clear window to view spinning
disc, about 3/4 the size of LDV 1000. Does play CLV. Uses parallel RS232
interface (25 pin RS232 connector). Has front controls (Power, Play,
Eject).
Dimensions: 17"x 16"x4". Small clear window on lid to view
disc (9 3/4"x3")
Color: Silver/Gray.
Buttons: Power, Eject.
Other:
Outputs: 25 pin RS232, BNC video out, two RCA audio out, BNC C. Sync,
BNC SC, switch int/ext.
Phillips 22V931: Used in Firefox. Don't have one, never seen
one.
Sony LDP-1450: Used in Dragon's Lair II, Mad Dog (and all other
ALG games). Grey, square, pretty small. No front controls, but plays
disc automatically when inserted. Does play CLV. RS232 controlled (25
pin RS232). I've heard this is a heavy duty industrial player. Mine
hasn't broke yet.
Dimensions: 17"x 16"x4". Front load drawer.
Color: Gray.
Buttons: Power, Open/Close.
Other:
Outputs: 25 pin RS232, BNC video out, two RCA audio out, dip-switches
for baud rate, and minor optional functions.
RCA SJT400: Serial iterfaced video disc player for NFL. Video
disc, NOT laser disc. I just received one, have yet to doodle with it.
Seems
pretty fussy on skipping.
Just a little FYI I received (what the hell, it's only a file, I got room;
- "Grab a beer, don't cost nothin." )...
STJ - NOV./DEC. 1984
"According to the Nov., 1984 issue of the Videodisc Monitor, a newsletter
for
the videodisc industry, the following chart identifies the locations and
amounts of Industrial Videodisc Players used in the arcade business.
cal...@sam.neosoft.com
-----------------------------------------------
Irata
Firefox 750 NA Phillips 832
Bally/Sega
Astron Belt 2000 Hitachi 9500
NFL Football 1200 RCA 400
Inventory 2000 Hitachi 9500
Cinematronics
DLair/Space Ace 12000 Pioneer 7820, V1000
Inventory 3000 Pioneer 7820, V1000
Data East
Bega's Battle 350 Sony 1000
Electro-Sport
Quarterhorse 1550 Pioneer 8210
Inventory 250 Pioneer 1000
Funai
Interstellar 1000 Pioneer 8210
Mylstar
M.A.C.H. 3 5600 Pioneer 8210
Inventory 1400 Pioneer 8210
Stern
Cliff Hanger 1200 Pioneer 1100,8210
Goal to Go 100 Pioneer 1100
Williams
Star Rider 2500 Pioneer 8210
To finish this sucker off, I would like to include that I will buy
just about anything having to do with laser games, with the exception of
full cabinets (and I do not want to break up any cabinets!!! Do not
strip them down to sell them, PLEASE!). I have an apartment, and don't
have the space. I know everyone says they don't have enough space, but
I REALLY don't have the space. I would love to get a cabinet for each
game, but I simply cannot. I prefer kits instead. Working or not, it
doesn't matter. Marquees, power supplies, control panels, boards,
discs, players, manuals, schematics, demodulator boards, anything!
Boards do not need harnesses, I don't care! I have never taken money in
on any of my games, and I never will. I am simply a collector. I also
do not sell to distributors, only collectors. Laser's are not meant to
make money anymore, they are only for collecting. On the same tolken,
if you have a bad board and want it fixed, please do not toss it. I buy
broken stuff; I can probably fix it; or I know where you can get it
fixed. Dumpster Dive is an evil, vulgar word (practiced only by
distributors)! Nothing against distributors, but they are on a
different level - to make money. Best power to them, and all they do
(they got me through my video-junkie childhood!); but they are different
from me.
Well, that's about it for me, thanks for reading. If you need
any info on stuff, give me a call; e-mail is a pain in the butt for me
since I have to go through someone else. Or if you just want to B.S.
about what you got, that's cool too. I'm always looking for a good
contact.
!!! WARNING !!! A lot of people were e-mailing me with questions, and
I really have no easy way to respond (since I am not on the net). I
love answering any questions with laser stuff, and finding new people
interested in laser. I have to ask that you call my verbal number; or
Please leave me a verbal number and when to call (including what state
you live in for time zone stuff), or if possible, verbal me 3:00-9:00
central time (414)-735-6602 (my phone bills are outrageous as is). I
will attempt to e-mail people who do not leave numbers, but no guarantee
on a time frame. It does not mean I'm ignoring you, or spacing you, I
just have a hard time posting things. So please, call me, or leave a
number! TANX.
...Dragon's Lair RULES!!!
Zonn
> That first day I had my Dragon's Lair was the happiest day of my life;
by far! No > exaggerating either.
Wow. I hope your not married, or have never had children. Not that I'm
disagreeing with you or anything, but... ummm... just don't let your
wife / girlfriend / children read this. Trust me.
-Zonn
Rodger Boots
> M.A.C.H. III 83 Mylstar
> Played this one quite a bit in the arcade also. Very cool game.
> Uses the 8210 player with a serial jack (looks like a small microphone
> jack.)
They were sending the player the serial bit stream that would have come
from the remote control! Kludgy, but easiest way to do it if you don't
have players that were really designed for game use.
> NFL FOOTBALL 84 Midway
> This is actually a video-disc game (Looks like a brown record
> inside of a white plastic sleeve). I heard these were junk because of the
> video-disc format. Imagine reading video with a needle! There were two
> discs released, NFL(white sleeve) and NFL Dallas disc (blue sleeve). I
> have desperately been looking for a player for this game for a couple of
> years now. It's an RCA SJT-400 video-disc player (IEEE interfaced
> player); I got the schemi's for it through SAM's, and I just got a player
> (thank you Callan!). According to Callan, I am missing an interface board
> that goes between the player and the monitor (NOT a G/D board however); oh
> yes, I am also missing the G/D board.
Used the RCA Selectavision player, no laser, used needle-in-a-groove playing
technique. Is obsolete and justifyable so! A great demonstation of how
NOT to design a game.
> ROAD BLASTER
> "Laserdisc game similar to the laserdisc Cobra Command. If this
> is Road Fighter, please let me know... but I don't think so." - from KLOV
Probably is Road Fighter, Road Blaster isn't disk.
AlenSmithe
near me had this but I never played it. I collect CEDs now though just
because it's such a ridiculous technology. Anyone got one they wanna part
with?
--------------------
AlenS...@aol.com <---Yes, I know AOL sucks; I'm working on getting rid
of it!
--------------------
There's nothing we wanna watch on TV tonight, but we're still gonna watch
something great- with our RCA VideoDisc player and VideoDiscs! Just flip a
switch, and on OUR TV we see Airplane or The Pink Panther, The Godfather
or Grease, Muppets, monsters, Mickey, MASH and 100 more, starting as low
as $15! And the player costs less than 500! Put it this way; we're
watching a GREAT MOVIE! And you're watching- us.
BRING THE MAGIC HOME ON RCA!
Rodger Boots
> There's nothing we wanna watch on TV tonight, but we're still gonna watch
> something great- with our RCA VideoDisc player and VideoDiscs! Just flip a
> switch, and on OUR TV we see Airplane or The Pink Panther, The Godfather
> or Grease, Muppets, monsters, Mickey, MASH and 100 more, starting as low
> as $15! And the player costs less than 500! Put it this way; we're
> watching a GREAT MOVIE! And you're watching- us.
> BRING THE MAGIC HOME ON RCA!
Oh, Gawd!!!! You can sell anything if you promote it right.