Bally / Williams System 11 Version Check

If you are here, it’s probably because your old EPROM labels are unreadable or missing and you want to know what version you are running to determine if you want to upgrade.
Most modern DMD games are great, as they tell you at boot up what version of CPU/Display your are running, or even with a self explanatory menu it can be found somewhat easliy.
But what about those older System 11 games with the older displays?

Sound roms are still easy…Normally you do not need sound roms unless you are having sound issues.

However, the latest CPU code is always recommended even if “working properly” as it fixes bugs, scoring, or even safety issues etc.  When the specific information on what was changed is available from Bally/Williams, it is usually in a readme file in the rom archive, and I will paste it in the listing.  Sometimes, unfortunately more often than not, the info is very scarce for these old games and not available.

System 11’s aren’t as easy to just power them on and get your version like new machines, but here’s how, you can check the version in the test mode:

System 11 Version Test Procedure:

With the game turned on, the coin door open, and the “AUTO-UP/MANUAL-DOWN” switch in the “AUTO-UP” position, press the ADVANCE button once briefly.

• The displays will change from the attract mode to the Game Status display mode. The following will show on the displays
  • Player 1: Game Name
  • Player 2: Game Identification number
  • Player 3: Status Mode (00 for this test)
  • Player 4: Rom Revision (L-X)

The above instruction is per the owner’s manual.  Here is an example of a customer’s Cyclone running the latest version L-5, so you can see the info should still be self explanatory, but may appear differently.  Thanks Randy for the photo!