SIAR*
IECH
JOU
The Technical Monthly
for the Amusements Industry
P.O. Box 1065
Merchantville, NJ 08109
609/662-3432
JULY 1984
VOLUME 6, NO. 5
Publisher/Editor
James Galore
Administrative Assistant
LT. DiRenzo
* *
* *
NEWS BITS
IBM MAKES A BICJ CHIP
ATARPB NEW GAME MACHINE
RECHARCJEABLE BUTTON
MONEY WEICJHER
IBM MAKES A BIG CHIP
IBM has fabricated a 1-megabit dynamic
random-access memory (DRAM) chip at its
manufacturing line in Essex Junction,
Vermont. A million-bit chip has the capacity to
store about 100 pages of double-spaced,
typewritten text. Six such chips could store a
250-page paperback book. The creation of
the 1-megabit chip shows that IBM, along
with two of the five major Japanese chip
makers, is at the leading edge of RAM-chip
technology.
The standard-size RAM chip is now 64K A
few firms have developed 256K RAM chips,
but these are not widely avai !able and may be
so expensive that the 64K chips will be the
standard for some time. (Four64K RAM chips
cost only about $16 and offer 256K of RAM
altogether.) The IBM chip operates with a
single-voltage 5-volt power supply and is
about % by 5/16 of an inch in size. Improve-
ments in photolithography and processing
technology made the chip possible. IBM did
not announce when or if it would manufacture
the chip in large quantities.
ATARI'S Nl!W GAME MACHINE
Atari is getting ready to unwrap a new video-
game machine, the Atari 7800. Industry
sources say the machine may be compatible
with Atari's first video-game machine, the
popular Atari 2600, but not the more recent
5200, though the firm may offer a 5200-
compatible adapter. The new machine is
expected to sell for$140 and feature improved
graphics, sound, and speech capabilities.
Atari is estimated to have sold more than 15
million on its 2600 model, butfarfewer5200s.
Art/ Advertising Coordinator
Paul Ehlinger
Circulation Promotion
Linda Geseking
Layout
Dale Meloni Graphics
Contributing
Technical Writers
Mark "Bear'' Attebery
Sam Cross
Erwin H. Boot
STAR•TECH JOURNAL, July 1984,
Vol. 6, No. 5. Copyright 1984 by
Star•Tech Journal, Inc. All rights
reserved. Address inquiries to: P.O.
Box 1065, Merchantville, NJ 08109.
Phone: 609/662·3432. Subscrip-
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RECHARGEABLE BUTTON
MONEY WEIGHER
This carbon-lithium battery has 1,000 charge-
recharge cycles, claims Matsushita It pro-
duces three volts per cell instead of the two
generated by other rechargeable batteries-
so fewer cells are needed. The battery
recharges in less than 10 minutes, says the
maker.
Plop nickels, dimes, quarters, bills, or even
food stamps on the Money Scale ($1,595),
and in a moment its display shows the weight,
number of items, or dollar amount. And it's
"absolutely accurate," says its maker, K·Tron
(7955 E. Redfield Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260).
MDDIFVINCJ
CINEMATRDNICS 1
DRACJDN 1 S LAl~BPACE ACE
FDR 'I CDIN/'I CREDIT
BY SAM CROSS, ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN,
GODWIN DISTRIBUTING, N. LITTLE ROCK, AR
In place of adding integrated circuits and
associated components to modify your
Dragon's Lair or Space Ace to accept one coin
for one credit, try this inexpensive, two-step
modification.
• Set option switch bank "A" for 2 coins/2
credits (AO = ON, A 1 = ON Dragon's Lair;
AO= OFF Space Ace).
• Solder bridge resistors R31 and R32
together at the ends closest to J4, the
white36·pin plug (control panel connector).