Description
The DECO Cassette System was introduced in December 1980 by Data East. It was the first arcade system that allowed arcade operators to change games and used audio micro-cassettes as the storage medium. Operators were required to purchase a generic DECO cassette cabinet, and games would come in form of a kit that would include the instruction manual, the cassette and a security dongle.
On power up, the system would load the contents of the game from the cassette into ram, which took 2-3 minutes on average, and the ram would retain the contents of the game until rebooted.
The system itself proved quite unreliable, and did not sell very well. Today there are very few of these systems still in working condition. In addition to that, many of the popular games released for the DECO system, were re-released as a standalone, ROM based game, in their own dedicated cabinet. In fact, many more of these dedicated games exist today.
This adapter aims to be compatible with the dedicated versions of the DECO system games. Many of these dedicated ROM based games share the same or very similar pinout, which was quite different from the original DECO cassette system pinout.
Note: This adapter was previously called “Data East Cassette / Dedicated”, which was changed to “Data East Dedicated” to avoid confusion with actual cassette system. Pictures below will be updated to reflect that.
Images
Pinout
This adapter follows the following pinout scheme:
Main Edge Connector
| SOLDER SIDE | PARTS SIDE |
|---|---|
| +12V | +12V |
| +5V | +5V |
| GND | -5V/GND # |
| VGREEN * | VBLUE * |
| VSYNC * | VRED * |
| COIN2 | COIN1 |
| NC | TILT |
| P2START | P1START |
| P2B2 | P1B2 |
| P2B1 | P1B1 |
| P2DOWN | P1DOWN |
| P2UP | P1UP |
| P2LEFT | P1LEFT |
| P2RIGHT | P1RIGHT |
| NC | SPK+ |
| GND | SPK- |
| GND | GND |
| GND | GND |
(PCB edge connector facing away, list is ordered right to left)
(#) – Ground supplied for this pin, unless -5V is required for BurgerTime. This can be selected via the configuration jumper.
(*) – Additional bootleg video pin configuration for bootlegs without the additional 10 pin power / video edge connector (eg. Burning Rubber bootleg)
Power / Video Edge Connector (with included cable)
| SOLDER SIDE | PARTS SIDE |
|---|---|
| GND | GND |
| GND | GND |
| GND | GND |
| VSYNC | VBLUE |
| VGREEN | VRED |
| NC | NC |
| NC | NC |
| +5V | +5V |
| +5V | +5V |
| +5V | +5V |
Here is some information on how to connect this adapter to your board as well potential sync issues with Midway licensed version of Burgertime.
Compatible Games
This is the list of games that you may be able to use with this adapter:
- Bump ‘n Jump / Burning Rubber
- BurgerTime / Hamburger
- Zoar
- Disco No. 1 *
And possibly other Data East games from this period. Games with a (*) above may require a change to the adapter to support an additional video / power harness which is not included.
This adapter supports bootleg video pins on the main 36 pin edge connector.
The adapter has been tested with a genuine Bump and Jump and bootleg Burning Rubber pcbs as well as Zoar.
Revision History:
Rev 1.0: Initial Design.
Rev 1.1: Adapter branch and name change. Added jumpers to connect / disconnect bootleg video.
Specifications
Board Size: 45mm x 112mm
Current Carrying Capacity: 5V – 12A, 12V-3A, -5V – 3A