Troubleshooting my F-14 Tomcat audio

[Edan-Grossman]

I am having some audio issues on my F-14 Tomcat and I'm not sure where to begin to try to solve these issues.

After I lock a ball, A sound that I'm not familiar with plays. That sound is not there on the visual pinball version.

After I lock the last ball to start the multiball, the siren is very soft and and the "outlane drain" sound is as loud as the siren should be. Instead of hearing the siren sound 4 times, I hear the "outlane drain" sound 4 times.

The MPU board is a rottendog reproduction board, the soundboard and roms are original from the factory. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Listen for the "ball lock" sounds at 0:19, 0:25, 0:47, and the "siren" at 1:03.

Here is the video:

 

[dtown8532]

Although these are two different board systems, my Firepower had an issue where the wrong sounds were played when the associated switches were activated. This was fixed by replacing the PIA chip on the sound board. Of couse this was after spending A LOT of time with a continuity meter checking traces and looking for cracked solder joints along with resoldering all the header pins.

 

[Edan-Grossman]

I suspect that the u4 rom chip is the problem, since that is the chip that stores the sound effects. I ordered a new u4, u19, u21, and u22 chips with the original sound roms on them. I will try replacing them one at a time starting with u4.

 

[chucktee]

I suspect that the u4 rom chip is the problem, since that is the chip that stores the sound effects. I ordered a new u4, u19, u21, and u22 chips with the original sound roms on them. I will try replacing them one at a time starting with u4.

Sounds like a good plan; the original ROMS can become corrupt due to age (Williams S.S. chips are especially prone to this) be sure to inspect the chip sockets as well and replace any iffy ones you find. Personally I'd leave it as is-the different music isn't a deal killer-and only change stuff out if it causes more problems or it becomes really annoying. Almost forgot to ask-how's the Rottendog replacement board working out for you?

 

[George Klepacz]

Did you figure this out yet?

 

[Edan-Grossman]

Here's an update on my current situation. I have reached out to the pinball help support group on Facebook and got feedback on the different things I should try such as checking cables, pins, solder joints, etc.

I began my troubleshooting with the simple things first listed above with no luck.

It turns out that there are a total of 6 rom chips that run the game, 4 sound roms and 2 game roms. 2 of the sound roms are on the sound board the other 2 are on the daughterboard of the mpu. The 2 game roms are on the rottendog mpu board.

I replaced all 4 sound roms and they made no difference whatsoever. A member of the Facebook support group believes that the game roms on the rottendog board could be the issue since those are what's responsible for calling the correct sounds stored on the 4 sound roms. I think this person could be correct, but I currently do not have replacement game roms to try out, I'll need to order them or get an eprom burner to burn the roms myself.

Given how long it took me to receive my replacement sound roms, I might just ignore this issue for the time being, since the game plays great and the rules are executing correctly.

I purchased this game with the rottendog board already installed by the seller. I asked him about the sound issue and he didn't realize that those sounds were incorrect. I bought the game knowing about the sound issues, I just assumed that it would be a quick and easy fix. Assuming that the rottendog board isn't the cause of these sound issues, it is running great. The game is functional, I haven't had any electronics issues, and I don't have anything else to complain about.

 

[George Klepacz]

Have you reseated the game ROMs? I had an issue with my Firepower when I first bought it because of bad ROM sockets so the improper addresses were being sent. Although with a Rottendog that point may be moot. Try reseating all of your connectors.

My best advice is to make a post about this at Pinside. I've received a ton of help from there.