Winner of the POPBUMPER.COM replacement board comparison.
www.popbumper.com/reviews/bally_stern/reviews.htm
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From: lucky@netatlantic.com
Subject: Re: new MPU board needed?
Hi Dave,
Just wanted to send a follow-up note to let you know how things went.
Per your suggestions I checked out the voltage, it seemed fine. Also
tried some of the wires too, those seemed ok too.
So last Tuesday night took the plunge and ordered your Ultimate board,
and got it here in Massachusetts Thursday. Thanks for the fast turnaround!
Installed it Thursday night (in my Bally Freedom SS machine) and its
been working great ever since! You have a great product, easy to
install, good directions, all the parts I needed, and it brought my
machine back to life. Your price is fair, and your product is excellent.
However, most important to me is that you took a couple of minutes to
help troubleshoot the problem. I'm sure you do this for a lot of people
who ultimately do NOT order your board, but for me I certainly
appreciate you making the extra effort to help someone like me new to
the hobby and enjoying tinkering on the machine.
As an aside, I also asked the exact same question to a competitor of
yours and got this rather condesending reply:
"Your game is a 25+ year old piece of electronics. ALL bds need to be
restored and upgraded,
a very expensive activity if you hire someone
like me to do it, assuming you do not have the
skills, the knowledge or the tools to do it right
yourself. ......
.... BTW, newsgroups and internet "repair" sites
are generally bad sources of repair and
technical information."
So, I am not sure what this guy (your competitor) from Oregon (I am sure you
know who he is!) was trying to say, but as you can see he sure wasn't much
help! I realize that newsgroups and forums are not necessarily the best
place to find information, but what is someone to do? It's not a bad place
to start, and look for ideas, in my opinion.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know I appreciate your quality product, and
taking a few minutes to give someone some help. My kids and I (and all the
kids in the neighborhood) are enjoying playing the pinball machine very much
over the holidays, as they are all home from school.
Sincerely,
Andy
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"Steve Young", Pinball Resource
...a great product that fills a need for all customers:
Homeowners: a great value for a single game or great for troubleshooting
an new purchase
Operators: a great value to get a game back on its feet in order to sell
it or operate it...also handy for diagnostics and repair
Technicians: a great value for diagnostics and since all the code is on
one board...eliminates a second trip to the game as you always have the
right ROMs
...just as the Gottlieb system/1 CPU replacement board has been wonderful
in bringing these games back to life, this board is even better because it
covers so many Bally and Stern games all in one...maybe the best
name for it is "all-in-one"!
...installation proceedures are very simple...a few steps
...market should include even persons with good working boards as the free
play feature and the diagnostics offered provide important inprovements to
the basic design of the original systems
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Reprinted with permission from Gameroom Magazine.
June 2001
THE ULTIMATE MPU BOARD Manufactured by Alltek Systems. $199.
How would you like to have an MPU replacement board that doesn't need new
ROM chips or program jumper modification ever again? There is a new product in
the coin-op marketplace that crams the programming for 85 (yes, 85!) different
pinball machines into one board. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well,
believe it. The technicians at Alltek Systems have reengineered the old Bally
and Stern Electronics MPU boards. With the setting of a dipswitch, their
Ultimate MPU Board will become any one of its 85 games. Need a Bally Evel
Knievel board? Set the switch. Need a Stern Meteor? Set the switch
again. And on and on and on ... That includes any of the older Bally games
using a –17, –35, or video/pin board. Also in the programming are all of the
Stern machines, MPU-100 and -200 series. This virtually eliminates fumbling
around with chips or jumper configurations; just set this baby and play. It's
smaller than the original Bally/Stern boards, however it's designed to mount
perfectly on existing stubs. The guys at Alltek didn't stop there because now
you can set all of the Bally games in free play mode. The free play mode was
one of the most wanted features in the older Bally pinball machines and now
with a single dipswitch setting, this option couldn't be easier. The
Ultimate MPU Board utilizes AA batteries instead of Ni-Cad, all IC chips
are in sockets, a one chip reset circuit with a reset switch is built in, full
onboard static protection, LED power monitoring, and test points. There's also
a newer diagnostics program that allows you to exercise the board and machine.
An optional switch board that plugs into the J2 connector permits you to
exercise the game functions in ways that make it easier to troubleshoot hard to
find problems. It's a great tool for the operator or weekend technician. The
board is a cakewalk to set up and installation generally takes less than five
minutes in any game. Every machine we tested it in performed flawlessly, even
the Stern MPU-200 machines. The Ultimate MPU Board comes with new
plastic mounting stubs (in case your present ones are broken off), an easy to
understand manual, and a helpful Web site www.allteksystems.com which
includes schematics and extra documentation. The board is covered by a 5-year
warranty even if it is used in a machine located in a commercial setting. After
the warranty period is over, Alltek Systems offers a flat rate repair charge.
From:
Dogox1550@aol.com
Subject: Fun Pins
dave hi i received a
battery holder in the mail yesterday.it came as a big surpise.i cant thank you
enough.you have got one really happy customer here.you are a real pro.i changed
it over today worked great.i have used the test card now cant live with out it
now it is great. mata hari and play boy are playing great and both seam faster
in play since i put them in.i will be back for more boards in time.if you ever
want to conduct a survey of your product put me on your list i will be happy to
give feed back.thanks alot highest reguards bill in decatur,il..
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From: "Mickey Johnson"
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: mpu success
I gave up on my acid damaged mpu. I bought
a new mpu from alltek systems. I recieved the
board in 4 days from my order. I had the board in
my machine and up and running in about 5 minutes.
Just to test it out, I flipped the dip switches and I had
the board up and running in another machine in about
3 minutes. If anyone is looking for a mpu replacement,
definatly check into this board. For more information,
check here:
http://www.allteksystems.com
P.S. It can even be used in the baby pac/granny gators, with
just a jumper switch.
--
Mickster
Visit my website and see my arcade!!!
http://mickster.freeservers.com
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From: "Blaine Kienker"
To: support@allteksystems.com
Subject: Re: The Ulitmate MPU Board
Dave,
This board is awesome, in the past week Ive had it in a Bally Power Play, 8
Bl Dlx and its worked flawlessly. Very handy when running service calls to
have a board like this that has so much flexiibility in the games it can be
used in. I'll probably be placing an order for another one
shortly.......thanks!
Blaine
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From: pincoin@webtv.net (Brian Romancheck)
To: support@allteksystems.com (support)
Subject: Re: The Ultimate MPU
Dave,
Last night tried th board in Medusa and Fireball II, worked
flawlessly!! I am very pleased with your product. Will be ordering
more soon!!
Brian
Brian Romancheck
869 N James St
Hazleton PA 18201-2364
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From: Subway228@aol.com
Subject: Re: The Ultimate MPU board
To:
Dave:
Thanks for checking in. The last two I ordered from you were the 3rd and 4th
boards I've purchased so far. And, like the first two, it is working GREAT!!!
I was in Allentown and sat in on your presentation and then spoke briefly to you
and your partner in the parking lot.
You guys have done a great service to the coin-op industry and the pinball hobby by
creating this board. It's easy to use and the free play option is fantastic.
So much so that I see some of your competitors are soon to begin offering it.
I'm looking forward to getting the diagnostic tool from you as soon as it's available.
Please keep me in mind when it is ready for shipping, as I want at least one,
maybe two.
Best and thanks again.
Greg Pruett
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From: "Kenneth Caine"
To: support@allteksystems.com
Subject: Re: The Ultimate MPU Board
Hi Dave
The board is working fantastic. My Flight 2000 worked right away when I
hooked it up. I'm close to having my old Flight 2000 board fixed. Once I
found out that it was a voltage regulator problem (from using your manual to
hook up your board) the old board almost works. I get 7 flashes then the
board freezes when going into attract mode. I'm hoping to fix it so that I
can use the UMPU for another game (not yet bought).
I friend of mine is most likely going to buy on soon if he already hasn't.
Did you contact Marco about selling the board? I talked to him recently but
didn't mention the board.
Thanks for the great board
ken
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