MrGame CPU Boards

This board houses the CPU chip, game ROMs, game and CMOS RAM with battery backup, and the circuitry for the switch matrix. It has connectors for power, switch matrix send/return lines, and ribbon cables to the driver, sound, and video game board. Unlike the previous Zaccaria games, MrGame uses a Motorola 68000 CPU as the basis for these games.

Click on the thumbnail above for a larger picture of a MrGame CPU board. This one still has the battery mounted, again in the top centre of the board, where it can do the most possible damage when it leaks. GET THE NiCad BATTERY OFF YOUR CPU BOARD BEFORE IT LEAKS. This one was removed right after this picture was taken.

Layout

The major areas of this board are:

ROMs and ROM Jumpers
Centre of the board (the two chips with the stick-on paper lables in the picture above) are two 27C256 ROM chips. There are two empty sockets, probably for plans for future expansion needs.
RAM and CMOS
Two RCA CDM6264E3 static RAM chips are directly beneath the battery, These are the first two things to be damaged when the battery leaks.
Battery
Top centre of the board are the pads where the battery is mounted. See below for more battery information.
CPU
The large IC in the centre of the board is the Motorola 68000 CPU.
Connector CN14 (Video)
On the left edge of the board. The ribbon cable to the video game board mounted in the backbox connects here.
Connector CN12 (Driver Board)
On the bottom edge of the board. The ribbon cable to the driver board connects here.
Connector CN8 (Sound Board)
On the right edge of the board. The ribbon cable to the sound board connects here.
Connector CN9 (Power)
On the right edge of the board, just above the Sound Board connector.
PinVoltage
2 Ground
3 Power Good
4 5VDC
Connector CN10 (Switch Matrix - Columns)
On the right edge of the board, under the Power connector.
Connector CN11 (Switch Matrix - Rows)
On the right edge of the board, under the Columns connector.
LED
To the left of the Power connector is the LED. It indicates whether the game is running, or not, and whether the contents of CMOS memory are good or not.
DIP Switches
Used to enter setup mode and set the default country settings used by the game when the CMOS RAM settings are detected to be invalid. SW1 is used as a memory protect switch, SW2, SW3, and SW4 set the country (language) defaults. SW2=off SW3=off SW4=off is US/English.

Batteries

The biggest worry with a MrGame CPU board is the NiCd battery pack used to maintain the CMOS memory when the game is powered off. This battery pack is mounted at the top of the circuit board, in the center. If it starts to leak, the battery fluid runs down the board and ruins every component in its path. If yours is working and hasn't leaked, PLEASE get the battery off the board and mount a 5V 1F memory backup capacitor or a remote battery immediately. If the battery has leaked, Clay's web site has a good recovery procedure for dealing with the corrosion and damage. After cleaning up and neutralizing the leaked fluid, remove and replace all components that were touched by the battery fluid, and all sockets on the board. Inspect the connectors and ribbon cables for signs of corrosion and replace as necessary.

To replace the original battery, a 1F 5.5V computer memory backup capacitor like Jameco P/N 142957 or Mouser P/N 555-1.0Z5.5 can be mounted on the CPU board in place of the battery pack and short leads used to connect it to the battery (+) and (-) traces, or a fly lead can be connected where the battery used to be and used to reach a remote battery pack.

To mount a remote battery pack, cut two wires to about 16" long, and solder them to the battery (+) and (-) pads. The other end I solder to a .100" two-pin connector snipped from an old PC floppy drive controller. I add a drop of JB Weld two part epoxy, then heat-shrink the connector, forming a small plug that is just the right size to connect a Radio Shack rechargable portable phone battery (Part #23-197, 3.6V, 350mAh, NiCad). Mount the battery on the bottom of the cabinet with a velcro strap stapled to the wood, and you should never have to worry about battery leakage again. Replace the battery every few years, just to be on the safe side.

Test Points

On the CPU, there's a "+12" test point, which is actually NOT a +12, but is, in fact, Ground. The back side of the board has the pins of CN9 that are labled +12 and Gnd bridged together, and the trace that would have been +12VDC is now being used as a Ground instead. The +12 from the power supply is not connected to the CPU board. This looks like a factory modification.