What is it?

System Alpha is designed to replace both CPU and Driver PCBs on Williams pinball machines from 1977 (Hot Tip) to 1984 (Laser Cue).

If you've got a Black Knight, Firepower, Gorgar, Flash, or any other Williams System 3-7 game (see Supported Games list), this board will transform your machine back into the bulletproof quarter-eater it was back in the early 80's 💪.

What's in the Box?

• System Alpha PCB
• Optional System 7 Add-On PCB - If you've got a System 7 game, you will need one of these... 👉 see System 7 Add-on PCB Option below for details.

Major Features

• Replaces both CPU and Driver boards with a single, simple, reliable PCB
• Full cycle-correct MC680X CPU emulation of original Williams ROM software
• Easy Install - No soldering or rewiring, just plug and play

Upgrades to the Original System

• Modern Reliable Design - System Alpha is a total ground-up redesign of the original system. The original 1970's logic circuits are replaced with cool-running MCU's, and the original 5A bipolar transistors are replaced with rugged 50A MOSFET devices for high reliability and efficiency.
• Easy Game ROM Update 🫰 - Plug into your PC and just copy the files over -- no app required!
• One PCB to Rule them All 💍 - The 40-pin interboard connector for Williams games of this era is infamous as perhaps the greatest villain in all of pinball repair history (well, maybe with the exception of the DataSentry 🤔). With System Alpha, everything is all on one board, so you can get rid of that squinky board-to-board connection for good.
• No more IC sockets - When I think back to how many hours of my life have been spent changing IC sockets on equipment from this era... 😭 Leave the random resets behind!
• No more AA Batteries Sooner or later, all Alkaline batteries leak, and so many pinball PCBs of this era tragically lose their lives to acid damage. In System Alpha, the batteries are removed completely, and high scores and configuration are instead saved directly to flash memory.
• No more Feeble Pop-bumpers - Williams games of this era need constant adjustment of Pop Bumper and Slingshot switches to get decent action. To fix this, System Alpha features modern "One-Shot" logic to give full drive on every hit... and prevent coil burnout from stuck switches.
• Reduced Power Supply Wear - Let's be honest -- that original power supply in your game isn't getting any younger! System Alpha reduces the load on your poor 5V regulator by more than 90% (from 1.9A to 0.15A) to hopefully extend its life a bit longer. Additionally, System Alpha features its own voltage booster circuit to immunize itself against glitches from an unstable 5V supply.

System 7 Add-on PCB Option

With the System 7 hardware level in 1980, Williams added dedicated sound-triggering outputs on CPU board 1J8. Unfortunately, this means that for System 7 boards, the wire harness will be too short to reach down to the System Alpha main board!

To work around this, System 7 game owners should order System Alpha with the System 7 Add-On PCB option.

See the below Supported Games list to double-check which option you'll need for your game.

Supported Games / Early Adopter Program

Well as much as I wish I owned every game from this era, my budget and garage space unfortunately will not allow this at the moment!

So I've decided to start an "Early Adopter" program for the games that I haven't seen work yet. Basically, if you can post a video of your System Alpha working in a new game, I'll refund you a $35.00 "beta bounty" for your help in furthering the cause of saving the games from this era. You can post your updates (and see other folks' installs) at the System Alpha Pinside forum.

And if for some reason it doesn't work, or you're not happy with it, of course you can return it for a full refund, no worries.

Below find the supported pinball game list... ✅ next to the game means tested and verified, 🤔 means early-adopter eligible, and a ➕ means your game will need the System 7 Add-On PCB option.

Note: there are definitely less-common shuffle alley and ball bowler games using this same hardware... if you've got one of these rarities and want to try System Alpha, by all means reach out and I'll gladly extend the "Early Adopter" program to you too!

Installation

0/ Watch the Video

Check out this video first, it will take you through all the steps to install System Alpha in your game!

1/ Download ROM Files

First step is to copy your game's software ROMs onto System Alpha. You can download your game's ROM files in a ZIP file from ipdb.org, here are some direct links:

2/ Copy ROMs to System Alpha

To do this, you will need a PC and a USB-C cable. Place your board on a non-conductive surface (like a book), and conenct USB from your System Alpha board to your PC. The board should appear in your file system as a drive named T1LTDISK.

Copy the contents of the ZIP file you downloaded to T1LTDISK. The board LED should start blinking green to indicate the ROM files have been validated and we are ready to program.

Finally press the button on the PCB to start the flashing process. This takes around 15 seconds or so, and the LED will blink Yellow during this process.

When the LED goes green again, you are done! Disconnect the board from USB, it is now ready to install.

3/ Install the PCB into your Game

This is basically just a matter of unhooking and removing the old board set and connecting up System Alpha instead. If your game is a System 7 one, you will need to also install the 1J8 Add-On PCB and ribbon cable as well. Some wire harnesses may need to get rerouted, so have a set of diagonal cutters around to cut wire ties as needed. However, no wires themselves should need to be cut/spiced -- everything should just plug right up. Watch the polarity and color of the connectors, be sure to match them up as shown.

Below is a list of all keyed connections, with key pin position and wire color, clockwise from top left:

For more details on Williams game wiring, check out this Gorgar Manual page 30+.

4/ First Power On

The game will initially start up in "Bookkeeping Mode". You can use the buttons inside the coin door to reset high scores and set up free play here. You'll find all the details in the manual for your game, or this video gives a great overall intro.

When you are done, power off the game and wait around 5 seconds for the settings to save, then power the game back on. It will come up ready to play! Enjoy a few games or take it through the full test mode to check that everything is operating 💯%.

5/ After Install

If you are an "Early Adopter", post photos/video of your game in action on the Pinside forum for System Alpha and get that sweet discount!

And likewise for discussion of all things System Alpha, feel free to message me directly through Tindie or post questions in the Pinside forum.

Why did you make it?

I guess my motivation was "forged in fire" as they say? ⚒️🔥

I've owned and loved a number of Williams pinball machines of this era: Disco Fever, Time Warp, Tri Zone, Black Knight, Firepower... and each one was a basket case 🙃 I spent hours and hours pulling IC sockets pin-by-pin, removing rotted-out battery holders, tracking down acid-eaten PCB traces, and of course always replacing that infernal 40-pin connector 😭. Not to mention the myriad cold solder joints, wasted transistors, and cap jobs needed to fix 45 years of use.

So, inspired by the legendary Ni-Wumpf I started to painstakingly build a from-scratch embedded 6800 emulatior for these games. It's been an on-again/off-again kind of project for years now, but here we are in 2025 and I still see these games I love on Craigslist with descriptions like "mostly works", "needs a shop out", and the most heartbreaking "for parts" 💔. So figured it was time for one last push to finish this project up and hopefully let folks fix their classic machines for good!