Star Tech Journal

Nintendo Baseball
Stars RoID Card
Sega Thin Steel
Construction Woes
Thomas E. Oldfin
Nintendo of America, Inc.
Redmond, California
Erik Wittenzellner
Kemp Enterprises. Inc.
South Windsor, Connecticut
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
Some Playchoice Baseball Stars Rom Cards were
released in which the selection process to start
the game is rather time consuming and could be
confusing to the player.
During a routine service call at one of our
locations, I came upon one of the worst sights a
repair tech could find. Our new (one month old)
G. P. Rider looked like it went into the turn too
fast and wiped out! The blue bike was laying on
the ground on its side. It had broken off at the
base - it was constructed of extremely thin steel.
SOLUTION
The updated version abbreviates this process by
allowing the game player to:
SOLUTION
1. Select a 1 or 2 player game.
2. Pick a team.
3. View the roster of players.
4. Play the game.
PROCEDURE
To update the Rom Card, the program Eprom at
location U4 must be changed.
This is available on an exchange basis through
an authorized Nintendo distributor. Request
part number 22405 (Eprom, Baseball Stars Prg).
If you have any questions, call Nintendo Techni-
cal Services at 1-800-628-4126.
* * *
CORRECTION
Williams Replacement Semiconductors
A chart published in the April issue
incorrectly listed two replacements.
Q2
Q4
The correct replacements are:
MPSD52
ECG or NTE 288
MPSDO2
ECG or NTE 287
Please make these corrections in your
April'9 l issue on page 12.
Back at the shop, after drilling out the· 40+ rivets
that hold the body together, it was determined
that total replacement of the beam was neces-
sary. It is a metric piece which is about 2 1/2" x
1 1/ 4" x 14 ga. I used 14 gauge, which is about
twice as thick as the original piece. I purchased
enough material to do both bikes for less than
$20.00. I would have rather paid that when the
machine was purchased.
DESIGN COMMENTS
Not to knock Sega, as their games are some of the
best and most innovative I have played. We use
them in colleges, arcades and amusement parks
where they get taken to the limit on a daily basis.
So far, with the exception of Rad.Mobile, all ofmy
Sega sitdowns have broken down because of
under design in high stress areas. Galaxy Force,
main support beam; Afterburner, main operator
and monitor support breaks and cracks appear
in several places; and this G. P. Rider ordeal.
I feel that the added expense ,to upgrade the
structural integrity of the main supports and
high stress areas would benefit anyone who
purchases these units, especially those opera-
tors who do not have a large service group and
are not able to do major repair work involved in
these situations. I know that this is not isolated
to our route as I have seen these same problems
from Connecticut to Mexico.