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This wiki is about replacing the missing insides of a 1976 Williams® Aztec pinball machine with a microcontroller and small and cheap, custom-built relay PCBs. Primarily, this is a documentation intended for myself, in case I want to modifiy or extend the functionality of the machine in the future. However, it is also intended for anyone seeking inspiration for a similar project. You're free to use everything available in this repository for your own purposes.
Check out Aztec on the 🍫 Internet Pinball Machine Database, where you can find the original schematics, the instruction manual and a collection of images. Here's an image of the cabinet's insides of my machine in its current state:
It's a mess, I'm sorry. It's working though and except for some minor glitches, you can play the machine. Feels like it's supposed to. Note that I haven't replaced the coin slots, the tilt mechanisms and the chime box yet.
As you can see, the original power supply, relays and the score motor are gone. Instead, a red PCB is visible, which is connected to numerous little PCBs below the playfield and in the back of the cabinet. The rest of this wiki is about these replacement "organs".
With the inside of the cabinet mostly empty, Aztec needed a new heart, a new brain and some new musculature. Learn about the transplants here:
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🌽 Heart
- The new power supply
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🌽 Brain
- The red main PCB and the software running on it
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🌽 Musculature
- The small PCBs and their connection to the main one