Home Page Forums MAME MAME TMS-09xx/1xxx thread (was New Dumps)

Inkscape has "trace bitmap", which is based on Potrace. The result is one single path, no groups. There is a command to break apart the paths after that but that completely messes up the result.

*edit* ok, tried standalone Potrace to convert .bmp to .svg, much better!

Great, Topgun is working ;D http://tsk-tsk.net/net/temp/ktopgun.png

Preliminary artwork here including svg2lay output, for testing only(aka please don't redistribute yet) http://tsk-tsk.net/net/temp/ktopgun.zip

I uploaded the background for Top Gun: http://www.seanriddle.com/tg.jpg

I'm working on TMNT now. I've got Contra, but I can only find the PCB; I've misplaced the case and LCD. Those are the 3 that I found patents for. I've also got Lone Ranger, Blades of Steel and Gradius. I'll see if it's possible to dump those ROMs without destroying the games.

I also picked up a Sharp EL503, which Datamath says has a TP0327. And a Sears Follow Me, which has a TMS1000 with slightly odd labeling:
69-11513
MP0919
MBSL 7927
SINGAPORE

Is it in theory possible to scan/make photo of all LCD segments by using a reverse polarity filter sheet? Or am I typing nonsense here.

I've tried using polarizing filters to make the segments visible without powering them, but haven't had any luck with the recent calculators or the Konami games. I was able to get pics of one of the RZone LCDs: http://www.seanriddle.com/rzonejedilcdinverted.jpg

I'd like to drive the LCD segments while taking pics, but the panels just have conductive traces on the glass, so they have to be tightly pressed against the PCB. It's hard to get everything to fit under the scope, and there's a clear plastic window and a polarizing filter on top of the LCD that aren't of the best optical quality to take pics through.

I've got to figure something out after the 3 Konami games that have patents with the segments shown.

yeah you have to power the LCD to make the segments visible. turning the polarizer will just give you white segments on a black background. maybe using static electricity would work? it will definitely turn segments on, but doing it more controlled might be difficult.

The polarizer trick might work if there's enough space between them and the unused areas... You'd just have to photoshop out the unused space.

Do any of them show all the LCD segments when batteries are first put in? Some do, some don't... Not sure about the Konami's, been a while since I turned them on...

I have Garfield if you can find a way to dump them without hurting the game.
Looks like they have the entire LCD printed on the back:
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Uf8AAOSwPcVVvuCu/s-l1600.jpg
(Looked at a few others, most just show a scene from gameplay, not the whole thing... Not guaranteed to be perfectly accurate either I suppose.)

I wondered about putting an AC power cord close to the display to see what would happen.

I posted TMNT info: www.seanriddle.com/tmnt.html

The graphics in the patent are quite a bit different from the game. The mousers are in different poses, on the LCD the underwater turtles have bubbles coming up from their mouths, the design of the bomb is sticks of TNT in the patent but a cartoon bomb on the LCD, etc. But everything is in the right place, it looks like.

I also got a Tiger Copy Cat, which is a later version of the Sears Follow Me. It also has a TI chip, but interestingly, it's a 20-pin DIP. I'm guessing it's a TMS1000 with 8 pads not bonded out.

MP3005N
MS8918
3313 PHILIPPINES

Rik- yeah, some of them light up all the segments when you put in batteries, and maybe when you reset them. It's not for very long, though, so it'll probably be hard to use a scanner.

I'm going to try to dump a few that I have without decapping them. It might be tough to get to all the needed signals, and I'll probably have to cut the trace to the test pin to allow it to be set.