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Released: Gaelco Conversions. Squash or Thunder Hoop into Biomechanical Toy

I got some new desoldering equipment and it made short work of this conversion. I'm now in the club!

vrggsl.jpg


BTW I used a Squash pcb and it was not necessary to replace the PAL.
 
@Mitsurugi-w its impressive how much you seem to get done. Do you have time to sit and enjoy a few games? I barely get the time and I don't do half the cool shit you seem to be working on. I do have kids though so thats my excuse. :)
 
No kids and no job to weigh me down right now. I should wake up earlier than I am tho....
 
not many reflow units have a bed big enough for a model2/3 board!!
 
twistedsymphony said:
Mitsurugi-w said:
No kids and no job to weigh me down right now.
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you planning on getting that re-balling setup working? I've got a Hikaru and 2 Chihiros that need doing. :D Maybe even a model 3
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The problem I have now is that where I am living none of the circuits can handle the load the BGA station puts on it. When it is working it takes 20 amps. The only outlets in the entire house that are 20amps are the laundry room (a closet literally) and the garage, which is not a controlled enough environment for the science of BGA rework. And that's only 20amps. I probably need to use a circuit for 25amps to be safe. Not possible in this house. I even checked the wire gauges to see of the circuit breaker can be upgraded but no dice.
stj said:
not many reflow units have a bed big enough for a model2/3 board!!
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True but you can make it work. The trouble with big boards is they need to be completely supported 100% flat during the process or they will warp. Even a tiny warp will cause a BGA chip to not set right. basically what happened to my first Hikaru pcb.


One day I'll have it up and running. God knows I've invested enough in it already.
 
Mitsurugi-w said:
The problem I have now is that where I am living none of the circuits can handle the load the BGA station puts on it. When it is working it takes 20 amps. The only outlets in the entire house that are 20amps are the laundry room (a closet literally) and the garage, which is not a controlled enough environment for the science of BGA rework. And that's only 20amps. I probably need to use a circuit for 25amps to be safe. Not possible in this house. I even checked the wire gauges to see of the circuit breaker can be upgraded but no dice.
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Dude, if I was near you I would help you run some new circuits where you need them, plus install a whole house surge protector in for good measure.
 
damn I didn't realize those BGA stations used so much power!

I can commiserate; I need to get a 220 outlet in my garage for my welder. I bought the thing brand new years ago and it's done nothing but collect dust because I don't have the juice!
 
Nice, thanks for the info & files! This seems like a very nice project to start using my cheap TL866CS programmer which has been sitting in it's box since I bought it. Hopefully it will be able to flash the required chips. Anyone have a list of chips needed so I can place an order? :)

P.S. I have a Squash PCB and bought it because I actually like the game (and having played squash a lot is a factor as well), am I the only one that actually takes a liking to that game? :D
 
I don't think so, it's just not as popular as other games, but sports games in general (basketball seems to be the exception) aren't hugely popular
 
I havent done the conversion yet either, is there a post of the ics needed?

As for sports games, I tend to like Tennis, Football, Snowboarding. For me Basketball/Baseball games are pretty boring to play, I rather play them irl.
 
While googling for the IC's needed I stumbled upon this post in which our friend @Apocalypse explains the conversion.

My French is not great, but in any case it states you need 12x EPROM type 27C040, but also a 10k resistor?

Can anyone confirm if this is still needed?

He also says there are 2 versions of the Squash PCB (922804/1 et 922804/2) and he only confirms the latter is working and can't guarantee that the first revision works.

Any info on this would be appreciated :)
 
Sp33dFr34k said:
While googling for the IC's needed I stumbled upon this post in which our friend @Apocalypse explains the conversion.

My French is not great, but in any case it states you need 12x EPROM type 27C040, but also a 10k resistor?

Can anyone confirm if this is still needed?

He also says there are 2 versions of the Squash PCB (922804/1 et 922804/2) and he only confirms the latter is working and can't guarantee that the first revision works.

Any info on this would be appreciated :)
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Yes you need 12 * 27C040.
And there's a mistake, the resistor is 2 ohm but can be substituted by a piece of wire.
I'm not sure what is the difference between 922804/1 and 922804/2 but they look visually identical.

[EDIT]
Here's my converted board:

x391c2.jpg


And a video of it running:

 
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