Reproduction Cinematronics Control Panel Distribution PCB
Now Available!

May 15, 2022

The Cinematronics Control Panel Distribution PCB connects the CPU board to the game's buttons, joysticks and coin switches. It is normally installed on the underside of the game's control panel and has a ribbon cable soldered to it.

This reproduction includes a number of improvements over the original PCB including replacing the attached cable with a standard 26-pin ribbon cable socket. I currently have a small quality available from the initial run of boards. Click here for more information.

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Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB Back in Stock

April 5, 2022

The Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB is back in stock. This small board adds the reset LED functionality to older Cinematronics and Vectorbeam CPUs.

Click here for more information.

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Exidy Spectar Test ROM

February 7, 2022

I have modified the Exidy Targ Test ROM code to build a version that will work with Spectar as well. It includes tests of the game's RAMs, ROMs (Version 3 and 1), sound board, video adapter board, control panel and DIP switches.

For more information and to download it click here.

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Outerworld Arcade Website Updates

January 30, 2022

I am in the process of working on some updates to the Outerworld Arcade website. I've moved to a new web host and the site now has a website security certificate and is accessed with HTTPS.

On my previous web host the site was stored in an arcade sub-directory on the server. This sub-directory has been removed to shorten URLs a bit. I have added redirection on the error page, so old links and bookmarks should be redirected to the correct page in its new location.

I'm also updating pages to be valid HTML5. Some pages were originally created sixteen years ago on Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver, which produced some messy HTML which is not compliant with HTML5. I'm back to using a text editor and cleaning out lots of old code.

As part of this update I'm also working to clean up the site's CSS coding. The page formatting should eventually be more consistent throughout the site. If you browse to a page that the formatting looks completely wrong you can try forcing the page to reload the CSS. For example with Firefox, hold the shift key while reloading the page.

I also plan to replace Flash Videos with MP4 videos. Some videos were originally shot in HD so as part of this process I will be able to upgrade them to higher resolution versions.

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New Space Invaders Test ROM Modification

January 19, 2022

Phil Murray has modified the original Space Invaders Test ROM code to ease in troubleshooting the game's audio PCB. Individual sounds can be selected with the left and right buttons. The selected sound can then be played by pressing the fire button.

He has given me permission to distribute this modification and it can be downloaded from the Space Invaders Test ROM page.

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War of the Worlds: Modification to Use Star Castle Audio PCB

December 1, 2019

Cinematronics War of the Worlds uses a modified Star Castle audio board to generate sounds. I recently learned that the hardware changes to convert a Star Castle audio board to War of the Worlds were all I/O and polarity. There were no changes to the sound circuits themselves. With a bit of work, I was able to remap the sounds in the game code to work with an unmodified board.

The video below shows modified War of the Worlds code running in an Armor Attack cabinet with an original Star Castle audio board attached:

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Outerworld Arcade Is Moving

November 30, 2019

I am currently in the process of moving and most of the arcade has been placed into temporary storage. During this transition I may not have access to my games or tools for testing code, building PCBs or burning EPROMs. Please contact me before placing orders.

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Programming Cinevectron FPGA Menus

November 29, 2019

I haven't added many updates to the Outerworld Arcade website recently, but have nevertheless continued to work on a number of arcade related projects.

One of these projects is coding the menu system for Cinevectron, a FPGA replacement for the Cinematronics CPU. This menu system includes the ability to toggle options like free play and high score saves and to view technical info. It also uses scrolling menus to allow enabling/disabling of games and adjust virtual DIP switch options. It is currently undergoing beta testing by a small group of users and is nearing completion.

Click here for additional information on Cinevectron FPGA.

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Modified Space Invaders Test ROM Updated to v1.3

March 28, 2019

Marc Deslauriers has submitted an update which fixes incorrect RAM failures that were occurring with V1.2 of the Space Invaders Test ROM.

Click here for additional information and links to download the source and binary.

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Cinematronics Sundance Free Play with Modifications
for Bi-Level & 64-Level Monitors

February 18, 2018

Cinematronics Sundance was originally programed for use with a 16 intensity level vector display using a 23" black & white tube that was oriented vertically in the game's cabinet. These displays were unreliable when they were new in late 1970s and are exceedingly rare now.

To allow Sundance to run on a wider range of hardware, the game ROMs have been modified to allow either bi-level or 64-level vector monitors to be used.

Additionally, Sundance can now also be installed into CCPU boards like Armor Attack or Solar Quest using two 2732 EPROMs.

Finally, a dip switch selectable free play option has been added with on-screen "FREE PLAY" text displayed when active.

Click here for more information.

The video below shows Sundance running in an Armor Attack cabinet:

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Cinematronics RAM Test PCB Updated

February 18, 2018

Thanks to some helpful advice from a reader, the instructions to build a Cinematronics RAM Test PCB have been updated. This optional PCB is for use with the J4 output version of the Cinematronics RAM test.

The PCB now includes an Octal 3-STATE Buffer to drive the LEDs.

Please note that the power for the board should be taken from the game's harness and not from the J4 connector itself (there is no +5v source at J4). I'm using a pass-through Molex connector with extra +5v and ground wires attached that connects to the game's harness.

Click here for more information.

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Cinematronics CPU Board Repair Log

January 16, 2018

I recently set up a Cinematronics Exorciser PCB from Biltronix. After getting used to the system I was able to repair my non-working Cinematronics CPU boards. I've added a repair log detailing the process.

Click here for more information.

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Cinematronics Rip Off Audio Test

January 15, 2018

I'm investigating an audio problem in my Rip Off game where the sound is low at all volume settings. I pulled the audio board, hooked it up to my tester and the board tested OK. I recorded the results of the test and have uploaded it to YouTube.

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Cinematronics RAM Test Now Available!

January 2, 2018

The Cinematronics RAM Test runs continual tests on the three RAM chips on a Cinematronics or Vectorbeam CPU board and will operate regardless of any bad RAM on the board.

There are two different versions of the RAM test. One version outputs the test results to the vector monitor. The other outputs the test results to the connector J4, which normally connects the CCPU board to the game's audio board.

Click here for more information.

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Cinematronics:
Replacing Masked ROMs, Use of JEH & JMI and Power Supply Repair

December 15, 2017

I've added a couple of new pages and added significant new information to an older page. First is a new article on replacing 8332 masked ROMs and includes tested ROM images needed for this repair. Next is a page detailing use of the JEH and JMI instructions in Cinematronics and Vectorbeam games. Finally is a major update to the Cinematronics power supply page.

You can find links to each of these pages under Cinematronics & Vectorbeam Information to the left.

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Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB Now Available!

December 6, 2017

The Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB adds the reset LED functionality to older Cinematronics and Vectorbeam CPUs. It receives power and signals from the CCPU via four connections to the 74LS107 at C8.

For a temporary installation, connections to the CCPU can be made via a 14-pin test clip (such as a Pomona 5114) or a set of four miniature clip test leads. A permanent installation is possible by soldering four wires to the chip's pins on the back of the board. This permanent installation is still easily reversible.

Click here for more information.

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Modified Space Invaders Test ROM Updated to v1.2

October 15, 2017

Frederic Rodo has updated the Space Invaders Test Rom to v1.2. This update includes the following changes:

• Modify the RAM test to display all RAMs in error at one time.
• Correct a display bug on INPORT test
• Simplify the shifter matrix
• Add new manual

The binaries and source for this update can be found here.

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In Development: Reproduction Star Castle Audio PCB &
Space War(s) / Barrier Audio PCB

September 19, 2017

The layouts for these two reproduction audio PCBs are nearing completion.

For additional information and images see the links to the left under "Currently in Development".

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Modified Space Invaders Test ROM Updated

September 17, 2017

Fabrice Girardot has updated the Space Invaders Test ROM with the following changes:

• Fixed a small cosmetic bug on bad ram display
• Refactored makefile
• Added binaries in zip file for easy compiling on Linux
• Added .png file for bad RAM identification

Thank you Fabrice!

The binaries and source for this update can be found here.

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In Development: Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB &
Cinematronics EPROM PCB

September 14, 2017

I'm doing final testing on two new PCBs. The first is a Cinematronics Reset Indicator PCB which adds the reset LED feature to older Cinematronics and Vectorbeam CPUs.

The second is an EPROM PCB that allows the use of a number of different EPROM sizes with Cinematronics and Vectorbeam CPUs

For additional information see the links to the left under "Currently in Development".

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Cinematronics Sundance Reproduction Audio PCB v1.0
Now Available!

June 14, 2017

The Cinematronics Sundance Reproduction Audio PCB is a drop-in replacement for the original Sundance Audio PCB with most traces and components in the same locations as in the original board. The reproduction includes many upgrades from the original PCBs.

Click here for more information.

Below are two videos that show testing of a reproduction Cinematronics Sundance Audio PCB:

The first shows tests of the board using a breadboarded Cinematronics sound PCB tester.

The second shows the audio board being controlled by the Cinematronics CPU running modified code to drive a bi-level monitor (installed in a Armor Attack cabinet). Game control was via a breadboarded control panel.

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Vectorbeam Warrior Reproduction Audio PCB v1.1 Now Available!

June 14, 2017

The Vectorbeam Warrior Reproduction Audio PCB is a drop-in replacement for the original Warrior Audio PCB with most traces and components in the same locations as in the original board. The reproduction includes many upgrades from the original PCBs.

Click here for more information.

Below are two videos showing testing of a reproduction Vectorbeam Warrior Sound PCB:

The first shows tests of the board using a breadboarded Cinematronics sound PCB tester.

The second is the board being driven by the Cinematronics CPU running the Warrior code (installed in a Armor Attack cabinet). I was using the Armor Attack control panel, which made control difficult, but was able to generate all the sounds the PCB can produce.

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Atari Le Mans Addenda modification info added

April 18, 2017

Tim Giddens wrote me with information which cleared up some confusion about the Atari Le Mans addenda modification.

I've added it to the bottom of the Le Mans Repair Log page.

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Cinematronics Star Castle Free Play Now Available!

September 1, 2016

Star Castle Free Play is now available for both the older easy version and the newer hard version of the game. It features a free play mode that can be toggled on or off via the test pattern dip switch. When in free play mode, CREDITS are replaced with FREE PLAY text on-screen.

Click here for more information on features and to purchase new EPROMs with the modified game code. The video below shows the free play attract mode cycling a few times before a game is started:

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Vectorbeam Warrior Program Code Notes

May 19, 2015

I've added a page summarizing my thoughts about Vectorbeam Warrior's code after spending some time documenting it. You can find it here.

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Cinematronics Test ROM Preview on YouTube

March 31, 2015

I've posted a short video showing a Solar Quest sound board being tested in my Armor Attack cabinet using the Cinematronics Test ROM.

See it in action below:

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Vectorbeam Warrior Four Joystick Mod Released

August 29, 2014

While a cool looking game, Warrior's two joystick game play was known to be lacking. From reading the entry on Vectorbeam Warrior on Wikipedia, I was aware that Tim Skelly originally intended the game to have four joysticks. I thought that modifying it to work as the programmer originally intended and making it more fun might be an interesting project.

It's now done and can be found here: Warrior Four Joystick Game Modification

I've also created a page listing the status of some of my other Cinematronics programming projects. It can be found here: Cinematronics Game Mods & Projects

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Arcade Blog Archives

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