Return of the Invaders Bootleg Pinout

[twinfamicom]

I have a Return of the Invaders bootleg I ordered from Italy a few years ago that I'm trying to fuss with now but I don't know the pinout. At first I thought it was the same as the Taito pinout because the board is a fairly close replica of the original but the power connector is completely absent and the pins are arranged differently.

I was wondering if anyone knew what the pinout is for this specific board. I've started mapping it out based on following the pins but unfortunately I'm having a hard time figuring out anything other than the power.

 

[TheDaddy]

Think this is it :-

Return Of The Invaders Pinout (arcade-museum.com)

Dave.

P.S Dont forget to thank me

P.P.S I am assuming its the same as the original but check the 5v against the chips to be sure.

TheDaddy2021-07-11 17:27:34

 

[twinfamicom]

Yeah, it's not the same unfortunately, the H connector isn't populated and the power lines have instead been moved directly to the main connector. I could figure out the power easily enough but everything else is where I'm unsure, and I don't have any schematics so I'm not sure what components are responsible for what.

 

[TheDaddy]

Yeh i have a couple of arkanoids the same - not done a pinout for them yet. Even though H is not populated does it track to the main connector ?? The other parts should be the same.

Failing that just use an IC and find the + - from there,

Dave.

 

[favouredson]

You can see that the pinout does not match, even discounting the power lines, as there are two ground pins at each end on the PCB pictured.
The original pinout has video red and fire on two of the pins which are ground on this PCB.

Also, pin6 is the keyway on the original but the pic shows what appears to be a power line on pin6.

 

[twinfamicom]

You can see that the pinout does not match, even discounting the power lines, as there are two ground pins at each end on the PCB pictured.
The original pinout has video red and fire on two of the pins which are ground on this PCB.

Also, pin6 is the keyway on the original but the pic shows what appears to be a power line on pin6.

Yeah, pin 6 I think is +12 since it runs straight to the VCC pin on the audio amplifier. 1 and 2 are ground on the parts side and 21 and 22 are +5 on the solder side. I gotta check 21 and 22 on the parts side again- it looks like ground but I need to make sure, since it isn't actually directly connected to the ground plane even though it looks like it at first.

 

[favouredson]

You may well be right about pins 21&22 as they seem to go to the resistor arrays which are most likely connected to the inputs.
If this is so you would appear to have your power connections sorted.

Now for the rest...

 

[TheDaddy]

Yeh i didnt check anything as only had my phone , Apologies if its wrong.

90% of boots follow the pinouts of the originals.

Dave.

 

[umjammercammy]

It's been a few years but I've figured out the pinout for this bootleg. Somewhere along the way I also seem to have forgotten I was already signed up on here and created another account... whoopsie. Anyways, here's the pinout for this board:

CPU BOARD (TOP):
1) GROUND A) GROUND
2) GROUND B) GROUND
3) VIDEO GREEN C) VIDEO BLUE
4) SYNC D) VIDEO RED
5) N/C E) N/C
6) 12V F) 12V
7) SPEAKER + H) *SPEAKER -
8) COIN J)
9) K)
10) L)
11) M)
12) 1P START N) 2P START
13) P)
14) R)
15) RIGHT S)
16) LEFT T)
17) U)
18) V)
19) W)
20) FIRE X)
21) 5V Y) 5V
22) 5V Z) 5V

Speaker - on my board was mistakenly joined to Speaker + due to a manufacturing error. The trace had been cut meaning Speaker - no longer went anywhere. I isolated pin H by cutting the connection with an x-acto knife and soldered a small jumper from the pin to the intended Speaker - circuitry (essentially ground).
I also stole pin E, originally not connected to anything, for Video Ground by soldering a jumper to the common ground plane.

The video board (bottom board) only has four pins connected on the far left and right sides of both parts and solder sides. These pins are +5 and GND- should be the following:
Pins 1 through 4 - Ground
Pins 15 through 18 - +5
The bottom side is mirrored exactly as the top meaning pins A through D are Ground and pins S through V are +5.

The unpopulated Taito Classic style power connector pinout is as follows:
(facing the edge connector)
GND
GND
GND
GND
+5
+5
+5
GND
N/C
KEY
GND
GND