Hey Roy, I don't think that Shinobi machine of yours has made a sound in weeks. What in tarnation is wrong with it?
Nothing's wrong with it Earl. Ninjas are silent, remember.
Apparently Roy is in denial about the failure of the suicide chip in his Shinobi machine. You see most Shinobi machines were equipped with a suicide chip in the form of a custom Z80 CPU that read encrypted data from EPROM number A-7. But the custom Z80 held its decryption table in battery backed RAM, and the battery was encased inside the CPU itself. When the battery runs out, the game can no longer make sounds, as the Z80 is the processor on a Shinobi that generates the sounds (the main game code runs on a 68000).
Roy, I was using Betty's computer the other day, and I read something on the Internet about how you could fix that game of yours.
Oh, they have the Internet on computers now.
But luckily your game can be fixed easily and at very little cost. This project is inexpensive, and can be completed by most people that are capable of reading, although engrish skills can be helpful too, as some of the text on the Shinobi mainboard uses that dialect. People who are extremely scared of electronics may want to have someone else do this for them.
Here is what you will need to repair your game. A chip puller, a Z80B processor, and a single 27512 EPROM programmed with the data from the file shinobi.a7 from the MAME Shinobi rom archive.
Earl, what in the heck are you jabbering about? I don't have an EPROM programmer!
Well Roy, I heard that Jimbo down at the Bigger Jigger had one, mebbe he could do it?
I know, you don't have an EPROM programmer, and you probably don't know anyone who does, and you have no idea where to purchase Z80B processors at. Don't worry, I will tell you exactly where you can purchase the needed EPROM already programmed and get the correct replacement processor at the same time.
Ok, now get all your stuff together. Start by removing your Shinobi gameboard from the game cabinet. It just hooks up in one place, and it should slide right out. Now locate the custom Z80 CPU. It is at location C43 (it is labeled). Use your chip puller to take it out of the socket and throw it away. Put your new Z80B CPU in its place, be sure the writing on it is facing the same way as the rest of the writing on the gameboard. You are already halfway done.
The mainboard has a smaller riserboard on it with a series of EPROMs on it. find the one labeled either A7 or 11287. Use your chip puller to remove it. Replace it with your newly programmed EPROM, be sure not to install it backwards (let the text be your guide).
Go ahead and put the gameboard back in your machine. Your sound should be working again, and should continue to work for the life of your game. You might want to let Earl play first, after all, he was the one who told you how to fix it.
You can get Z80B processors several different places online for around $3. A new 27512 EPROM also costs about $3, but you have to have someone program it for you. There are several online vendors who will do this cheaply. I suggest going with Bob Roberts at www.therealbobroberts.com as he has an excellent reputation, and has the Z80B processors as well, so you can get both items in one place.
Before you ask, yes I do own this game.