NVRAM

[Vimtoman]

Can someone tell me what is stored in the battery powered NVRAM of Rollergames.

Is it all settings? game particular setting?
High scores?

 

[Sam C]

Someone else can probably confirm better than me, but I believe it stores:

-) High scores.
-) Game settings.
-) Date and time settings.

In case the power from the mains is lost. NVRAM is just a replacement for the 3 AA's that would have been there before.

 

[Vimtoman]

OK thanks.

I was wondering why the makers of the NVRAM adapters don't utilise the extra memory these IC's have.

You could have another 8 banks of saves with various setups and saved highscores.

 

[Jay Walker]

Re. the reply above; System 11 didn't have calendar date and time included. AFAICT, the Cmos Ram held the game settings (whether altered from 'factory' or not), audit totals (of which the ordinary player only saw the current Highest Scores), any full Credits, registers which created a faulty switch 'Error Dot' if any valid* register ran down to zero, and some kind of signing-off checksum to be matched when the board started up again - if this didn't match then a Factory Reset would be attempted

* A peculiarity with software LU 1 of Rollergames saw a non-existent playfield switch reported as faulty (No. 15, AIR). It had been used on even earlier editions, I believe, but had been eliminated. The software writer(s) had altered whatever it had been named to 'Not Used', but seemingly hadn't instructed the switch-reporting section to ignore the Ram-stored register for switch 15 when it inevitably decreased to zero

 

[Vimtoman]

I was thinking of having multiple saved setups.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

why? you barely ever change it...

 

[Vimtoman]

Well I guess for me just for the fun of it.
Tournaments maybe. keeping a hard copy. If its serious stuff
The fact you could do another 8 banks anyway , why not?

 

[Arv]

I imagine it would be quite hard to implement and you would need to disassemble the ROM and come up with some sort of bank switching. Crack on

 

[Vimtoman]

No disassembley on this. Just simple hardware.

 

[Arv]

If you can do one fair play then. But i don't see it being an easy job.

 

[Vimtoman]

Well I have a working model of the 8 bank ram .
Below is a schematic for a MK6116 version using a FM18w08 IC and hex switch.
The MK6116 on the drawing would be replaced by a chip socket with the FM18W08 IC and hex switch on a pcb.

 

[Arv]

So you would use a dip switch to select the bank then?

 

[Vimtoman]

No its a rotary hex switch. It will make it easier to select.
Mines just breadboarded. I may make some boards up.

 

[Arv]

Right, with you i initially though you meant driven through the rom.

 

[Vimtoman]

No Just simple addressing of the banks not used.
Just thought it would be useful to use the rest of the IC.
Theres another 7 banks of storage on these IC's that could be used.
Can be used for corruption issues or setting up different setups.