 |
Click this picture to enlarge TRS2-03 SOU board.
If you want to identify an unknown board and need a better picture,
view this full
sized TRS2-03 SOU board image (size is 346 KB) |
 |
Click this picture to enlarge a TRS (I80)-02-SOU board with voice.
If you want to identify an unknown board and need a better picture,
view this full
sized I80-02-SOU board image (size is 409 KB) |
Radarscope had Voice!
 |
At the time i repaired the older TRS01 board variant in my cocktail
table i noticed a "VOICE" label on the sound board. I knew of only voice-less
SOU boards of TRS02 before.
|
|
Also, on this board there was a tester's label which was dated July 16,
1982 and which says (in german) "with speech"
|
The following table has some sampled voices i collected as ".wav" files. They were recorded using a sound
card at 22,5 kHz, mono, by clipping a probe on the voice regulator pin:
| Sample
file |
Duration
(seconds) |
Size
(KB) |
Description |
Note |
| cp01_voice_a.wav |
4.5 |
191 |
"trouble,
trouble..." |
This
is where the game starts |
| cp01_trouble.wav |
6 |
265 |
(plus
siren) trouble... |
siren
and voice (mixed) |
| cp01_voice_b.wav |
2.5 |
102 |
"...checkpoint
charlie (?)" |
In wave,
at the beginning |
| cp01_voice_c.wav |
2.5 |
94 |
"...checkpoint
bravo" |
In wave,
after about 60 s |
| cp01_voice_d.wav |
2.5 |
95 |
"...checkpoint
alpha" |
In wave,
after about 90 s |
cp01_voice_e.wav
|
1 |
52 |
"...Use caution!" |
Almost at the end of a wave. (Thanks to c.h for this info!) |
| cp01_voice_f.wav |
2.5 |
94 |
"complete
attack mission" |
End
of wave |
| cp01_voice_g.wav |
|
94 |
"engine
trouble" |
constantly
when damage 100% |
The samples b to e above repeat every completed wave, while g sounds
only when the damage meter has reached 100%
These are some samples of the regular game sound
Signals from / to the sound board (hardware)
Here is what i found out so far about the sound hardware, as seen from the connectors:
P4 CPU connector on sound board
| Pin Number |
Signal Name |
Signal description |
| 1 |
Noise |
From separate noise generator, generates flickering of the stars (see below) |
| 2 |
N.C. |
Not connected |
| 3 |
ANS-I |
Output from sound board 8035 MCU, PB4 (Pin 35) to the CPU
board. This signal acknowledges the execution of the startup sound
sequence. The line is held high (for about 8 seconds after the Start
button has been pressed) then pulses low two times after completion of
the startup siren sounds. |
| 4 |
SYSTA |
This comes from the CPU board and goes to the active low /INT
line of the sound board MCU. During the initial startup sound (for
about 8 seconds after the Start button has been pressed) this line is
pulled low by the CPU |
| 5 |
GND |
ground |
The "shot noise" is an electronic noise, generated by the flow of
electrons through a highly-charged field (like a semiconductor
junction). Here it is the inversely polarized base-collector junction
of the NPN transistor (Tr 10). This transistor has its collector left
open. The shot noise is not used for sound purposes but for a visual
effect: to generate a random twinkling of the stars on the video game
(The Noise signal at P4 is then accordingly labeled /STAREN on the CPU
board and used to randomly switch the stars on and off).
P5 CPU connector on sound board
| Pin Number |
Signal Name |
Signal description |
Comment |
| 1 |
/SYNTH0 |
Sound trigger for MCU |
connected to DB0 (pin 12) of the 8035 MCU at pos. 3H |
| 2 |
/SYNTH1 |
Sound data for MCU |
connected to DB1 (pin 13) of the 8035 MCU at pos. 3H |
| 3 |
/SYNTH2 |
Sound data for MCU |
connected to DB2 (pin 14) of the 8035 MCU at pos. 3H |
| 4 |
/SYNTH3 |
Sound data for MCU |
connected to DB3 (pin 15) of the 8035 MCU at pos. 3H |
| 5 |
/INIT |
Reset input for MCU |
| 6 |
/SOUND0 |
Sound trigger |
| 7 |
/SOUND1 |
Sound trigger |
| 8 |
/SOUND2 |
Sound trigger |
| 9 |
/SOUND3 |
Sound trigger |
| 10 |
/SOUND4 |
Sound trigger |
| 11 |
/SOUND5 |
Sound trigger |
| 12 |
/SOUND6 |
Sound trigger |
| 13 |
/SOUND7 |
Sound trigger for siren circuit |
| 14 |
2 VF |
Sound data for MCU |
| 15 |
GND |
GROUND |
Waveform Generator
The SYNTH0 to SYNTH3 inputs to the 8035 MCU on the sound board select the type of background music the game plays:
The MCU transfers the sound data from the EPROM at position 3I to the digital-to-analog converter DAC-08 at position 1H. This DAC together with one half of the operational amplifier MB3614 (pos. 2G) forms a high speed wave generator. The output of the wave generator is mixed into the other sound output lines at R1. This is the 10K variable resistor marked "CPU / VR1" you see at the top left of the Radarscope sound board.
The following table shows the settings for SYNTH0 to 3 in order for the sound board to produce the sound you can download in the sample column (each sample about 4 seconds, about 200K)
Siren circuit
The Radarscope siren sounding at the start of the game is not a sampled sound produced by the waveform generator described above. It is created with one half of the NE556 dual timer at position 3B. This is an IC which has two of the common 555 timers in one casing.
The 555 part responsible for the siren is wired as an astable, the timing resistors being R50 (47k) and R51 (27k). The timing capacitor is 33nF. The output at pin 9 of the NE556 is a 432 Hz square wave. This square wave is modulated with about 185 Hz from the oscillator at position 3C (4049, pin 4) which is fed to the "control voltage" input of the NE556 at pin 11. It makes the siren sound a bit more rough/uneven.
The result is then switched by a slow oscillator formed with the 4049 at position 3A, making the siren "attack" in ramps of about 1 Hz.
Variants of the sound board
The sound board in my Radarscope cocktail table (Model "TRS-HL") which is equipped with the voice option described above seems to be older than the TRS2 sound board used in upright machines (Model "TRS-UP-US").
The label reading "TRS-02-SOU" has a sticker. If it is removed, the printed text reads "I80-02-SOU". Maybe this board was also used in games before Radarscope.(what does I80 mean?).
before removal of the label
after
