This is a very interesting game I had a chance to pick up and couldn’t resist. A 1980s System 80 game – one of two very rare, low production hybrid pinball/video game machines Gottlieb made. Let’s take a “first look” at what I have… more videos to come of the restoration!
This is a very cool game that is surprisingly rare. A 2008 Stern “NBA”. Rumor has it the game had a very low production and was mainly made for the Chinese market.
I had a chance to get one of these games that had been stuffed in the back of an operators office for many years. It needed quite a bit of work. Here is the whole video series from first look, to the repairs, to the showcase of gameplay:
I’m excited to release this video because it finally shows a relatively functional example of a re-programmed 1979 Bally Paragon using all new code and all new sound. Check it out:
This video addresses a common scenario that I often hear about – mostly from people who aren’t very familiar with these games. Someone gets a pinball machine and it doesn’t work. Now what? Let’s walk through this situation with a game I just picked up and explain the process of what to do when you have a new pinball that you don’t really know what condition it’s in or what’s wrong? What do you do? Are there things you should not do? How do you tell what’s wrong? Let’s get into it.
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Here’s a new game I picked up and I’m going to roll the camera and have you come along with me as I figure what’s wrong with the game and what I notice…
Here is Part II:
After getting my Trident operational, I installed the BSOS system and have been working on fine-tuning the custom code and sounds. Here’s a short demo of what the new Arduino-based controller does to a standard Bally 18/35/Stern early solid state game.
Resources (courtesy Dick Hamill):
The code is all available on GitHub. It’s broken down into a base library and then machine-specific implementations. Rewriting other games requires a moderate knowledge of C/C++.
https://github.com/BallySternOS
Here’s a suggested parts list. If you bought all these things, you could create 6 of these boards. If you don’t need that many boards, you might find cheaper ways to source smaller quantities. I haven’t done any work to figure out if this is the cheapest way to source any of this stuff.
Cheap Arduino knockoff x6 ($20.99) – needs CH340 driver for programming / has to be ATmega328P
https://www.amazon.com/ATmega328P-Controller-Module-CH340G-Arduino/dp/B08NJNJCTX/
0.1″ 40-pin connector (40 pieces for $7.99)
https://www.amazon.com/Honbay-Single-Female-Connector-Arduino/dp/B06Y4S6G29/
32-pin Prototype PCB (2 pack for $9.99) – this won’t work for Alltek or MPU-200 because they have a 34-pin connector
https://www.amazon.com/Prototype-Snappable-Arduino-Electronics-Gold-Plated/dp/B081QYPHHP/
Wire ($7.99) – tons of wire
https://www.amazon.com/REXQualis-Breadboard-Assorted-Prototyping-Circuits/dp/B081H2JQRV/
74125 – ($1.95) https://www.jameco.com/z/74125-Major-Brands-IC-74125-Quad-Tri-State-Bus-Buffer_49373.html
Boot switch – x2 ($8.99) this switch will work for activating the Arduino board and toggling the speaker (see the writeup here to find out why: https://ballysternos.github.io/install.html)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XMH174C/
OR
@RoyGBev has created a PCB and kit (doesn’t include the Arduino) here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1304-roygbev-pinball/04736-arduino-nano-adapter-for-classic-bally-stern
I’ve been working on a new project that I’m very excited about. There’s been a movement to create an inexpensive, non-destructive and simple way to mod early Bally/Stern solid state games and add more features. In this video, I demonstrate an early prototype of the system used to modify a Bally Mata Hari pinball machine to include new features such as a skill shot, modes and even a wizard mode.
Want to learn more about this project? Visit: https://github.com/BallySternOS