Researching and reversing digital CRT microcontrollers

[Hydreigon]

So I just noticed digital monitors like the Wells Gardner D9200 and Neotec NT-500DX use a microcontroller with an internal mask rom (meaning it was made like this from the factory and can't be dumped) for controlling screen settings and an OSD menu. Due to these starting to age, some contents of the mask rom will wear off and cause various issues (loss of color, misaligned image, unable to use the OSD menu). Currently, the only way to source this component from another chassis.

It would be nice to see a superior replacement microcontroller (probably a PIC) for these digital CRT chassi to make better use for them in the long run.

 

[twistedsymphony]

If it's truly a mask ROM then you'd just need to extract a good one and dump it and then we could replace it with an EPROM.

 

[Hydreigon]

From the D9200 manual:

The location of that component is IC101. The part number is KS88C6116. It's a microcontroller. Here is the datasheet: https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/parts/datasheet/409/KS88C6116-pdf.php

I have a D9200 (after having to source a flyback from another chassis) that won't display the OSD menu but shows the "no signal" message properly if no signal is fed into the monitor. Tested two different neck boards and still no OSD. My suspect is currently IC101 and yet to test this tomorrow.

 

[twistedsymphony]

From the datasheet:

The KS88P6116 single-chip CMOS microcontroller is the OTP (One Time Programmable)version of theKS88C6108/C6116 microcontrollers. It has an on-chip EPROM instead of masked ROM. The EPROM isaccessed by serial data format.

that's good news, that would seem to imply if you can find a compatible programmer you should be able to dump it. and given it's an OTP EPROM and not a MASK ROM it means if you can find a new chip you can program it yourself.