Battlezone    High Score Save Kit -- Installation Guide

Step 0: Make sure your game is fully working

Before installing this kit, make sure your Battlezone game is fully functional. This kit can only work in a fully functional game.

Step 1: Turn off power to the game

While it may be possible to install this kit without removing your board from its cabinet, you will find it easier to install the kit if you do remove the board. Pay careful attention (or label), any wire connections as you disconnect your board so that you can correctly rehookup the game PCB afterwards. Take note of which side of the PCB edge connector is facing the parts side of the board and which side faces the solder side, The connectors are sometimes not keyed and can be inadvertantly plugged in backwards - ouch! It is recommended that you label the connector faces with something like "parts side" or "solder side".

Step 2: Locate and remove the game PCB

For Battlezone upright, the game PCB is usually attached to the left side of the cabinet (as viewed from the front). The board may have a screw attaching the boardset to the side of the cabinet, which will need to be removed so that the boardset can be removed for easy access.

BATTLEZONE
Battlezone main PCB
(6502A Analog Vector Generator) 		AUX Board
Battlezone AUX Board

Step 3: Remove the 6502 CPU chip

Locate and remove the 6502 CPU chip on the boardset. Use the images below to assist in locating it. See 6502 Chip Identification for additional information. The 6502 CPU chip is a 40 pin (large) chip, located at M3 It is the only 40 pin chip on the boardset. Remove the chip gently by using a flat head screwdriver to pry it out of its socket from each end. Some of the Atari boardsets have open frame sockets which do not protect the PCB traces. Be careful not to scratch any of the PCB traces underneath the socket. Also be careful not to bend any of the pins. If any pins do get inadvertantly bent, you will need to straighten them out before the next step. Needle nose pliers work the best for this.

6502 CPU Location
Battlezone 6502 CPU location 		6502 Closeup
6502 Closeup 		6502 CPU Removed
6502 CPU Removed

Step 4: Insert the 6502 CPU into the daughter card

Insert the just removed 6502 CPU chip into the empty 40 pin socket on the High Score Save Kit. Make sure pin-1 is correctly oriented. Pin-1 is marked on the 6502 CPU chip usually by some type of indentation or circle molded into the plastic. The end of the chip with the marking, needs to match up with the socket on the daughter card that also has a marking on the plastic. Pin-1 is also labelled on the kit pcb with a "1". If the 6502 chip is installed backwards it will cause permanent damage to the 6502 chip.
Pin-1 Identification
Click images for a larger view
BZ HS KIT
Battlezone HISAVE kit 		Pin-1 Closeup
Pin-1 Identification 		Kit with 6502 installed
Kit with 6502 installed

Step 5: Insert the daughter card into the boardset

Insert the daughter card back into the 6502 CPU socket on the boardset where the 6502 CPU chip was originally removed from. Again, make sure pin-1 of the 6502/daughter card is oriented to correctly match pin-1 on the boardset. Use the photos as a guide.

HS kit Installed HS kit Installed

Step 6: Double check your work

Review the steps and double check that 6502 CPU is properly installed into the daughter card with no bent pins and that it is correctly oriented for pin-1. And that the daughter card is also installed snug into the 6052 CPU socket at M3 with pin-1 matched up. REPEAT: If any of these devices are installed backwards it will cause permanent damage to the devices!

Step 7: Powerup and game and enjoy!

Reinstall your board into the cabinet, hookup the edge connector with the original orientation and then powerup your game.

If the game does not come up, turn power off immediately, double check your work, and read over the trouble shooting section.

As a side note, if you want, you can also remove the old code eproms. These are located at the edge of the board near the 6502 CPU location. See code eprom picture.

Easy to clear out the high scores when desired. Simply put the game into selftest (using the cabinet selftest switch). Once in selftest mode, press (and hold) the start button and the fire button. The screen will imediately show "ERASED" indicating the high scores have been cleared out. This is a similar procedure used by other atari games. See Clearing High Score table for detailed directions.