Exidy (Venture, Crossbow, Mouse Trap)¶
Exidy, a notable US maker (1974-1990): from Death Race (1976, a founding controversial game) to Venture, Mouse Trap, then the light-gun 440 series (Crossbow, Chiller). 6502 hardware.
Identification¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Exidy |
| Years | 1974-1990 |
| CPU | MOS 6502 |
| Settings | DIP |
The main boards¶
| Hardware | Games | MAME driver |
|---|---|---|
| Exidy (6502) | Targ, Spectar, Venture, Mouse Trap, Pepper II, Hard Hat, Fax | exidy/exidy.cpp |
| Exidy 440 | Crossbow (1983, light gun), Cheyenne, Chiller, Combat, Clay Pigeon, Crackshot | exidy/exidy440.cpp |
| Exidy Vertigo | Top Gunner (vector) | exidy/vertigo.cpp |
The 440 series (named after a 12-bit audio DAC) introduces Exidy's optical light-gun
games (Crossbow & co.). Emulated in MAME (exidy/*).
Notable games¶
Death Race (1976), Targ (1980), Venture (1981), Mouse Trap (1981), Crossbow (1983), Chiller (1986)…
Common faults¶
| Symptom | Likely cause | Lead |
|---|---|---|
| Corrupt sprites/tiles | video RAM, 6502 | RAM test, contacts |
| Imprecise gun (440) | optics / calibration | Clean, recalibrate |
| No sound | 440 DAC / circuits | Sound-stage diagnosis |
| No image | Power, 6502, harness | Base diagnosis |
Modernisation & mods¶
The common ground for every JAMMA board
Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.
- Storage 🟡: the game lives in EPROM/mask ROM on the board. Changing or restoring a game means reprogramming the EPROMs (and, for a mask ROM, using a pinout adapter) → EPROM method.
- Media preservation: replacing the original storage, multicarts, ODEs and modern options by family → PCB preservation hub.
- Scan rate 📺: ~16.8 kHz / 60.0 Hz — standard resolution, a classic 15 kHz chassis is fine → tri-sync and upscalers.
(Computed from the MAME sources —
exidy/exidy.cpp— pixel clock ÷ htotal.) - FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.
Repair (technician)¶
- 6502 logic (late 70s-80s): TTL/RAM/buffer diagnosis, good/bad comparison. Exidy 440 = a 68000 base; Vertigo = XY vector → CRT safety.
- Sound: DAC / circuits (Exidy 440: a dedicated sound stage) — diagnose separately.
- 2732 EPROMs on sockets: oxidised legs → re-tin / turned-pin socket.
- Edge contacts: clean; check the PSU.
→ Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · EPROM · Traces & vias
Expected clocks — measurement table ✅¶
Values extracted from the MAME sources for this platform. On a scope or frequency counter, a clock that is missing or off-value points straight at the crystal, the divider or the chip at fault — the fastest starting point on a dead board.
| Component | Expected clock | Role |
|---|---|---|
| M6502 | 705.562 kHz | CPU |
How to read this table
Several values for one component = several board variants in this family (or several instances of the chip clocked differently). These frequencies are those of the clock signal at the component's input, not of its original crystal — on many boards the clock is divided down from a single master crystal.
Original manuals for games on this platform ✅¶
Manufacturer manuals for games running on this board. Beyond the instructions, they very often carry the full DIP settings, the connector pinout, the test procedure, the parts list and the expected voltages.
- Mouse Trap — original manual (PDF)
→ Full catalogue: service manuals, wiring & game manuals
DIP settings ✅¶
11 games on this platform, settings extracted from the MAME sources (INPUT_PORTS_START blocks). The Position column gives the switch's physical reference on the board (SW2:!3,!4 = bank SW2, levers 3 and 4) — which is what lets you set it up without the paper manual. Games are sorted by MAME set name.
DIP settings — MAME set fax
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Time | SW1:2,3 | 8000 · 13000 · 18000 · 25000 |
| Game/Bonus Times | SW1:6,7 | :32/:24 · :48/:36 · 1:04/:48 · 1:12/1:04 |
| Coinage | SW1:4,5,8 | 2C 1C · Coin A 2C/1C Coin B 1C/3C · 1C 1C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/4C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/5C · 1C 2C · 1 Coin/3 Credits 2C/7C · 1C 4C |
DIP settings — MAME set mtrap
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Life | SW1:2,3 | 30000 · 40000 · 50000 · 60000 |
| Coinage | SW1:4,5,8 | 2C 1C · Coin A 2C/1C Coin B 1C/3C · 1C 1C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/4C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/5C · 1C 2C · Coin A 1C/3C Coin B 2C/7C · 1C 4C |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Free Play | — | Off · On |
DIP settings — MAME set pepper2
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Life | SW1:2,3 | 40000 and 80000 · 50000 and 100000 · 70000 and 140000 · 90000 and 180000 |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Coinage | SW1:4,5,8 | 2C 1C · Coin A 2C/1C Coin B 1C/3C · 1C 1C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/4C · Coin A 1C/1C Coin B 1C/5C · 1C 2C · 1 Coin/3 Credits 2C/7C · 1C 4C |
DIP settings — MAME set phantoma
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Coinage | SW1:1,2 | 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 2F/1P, 5F Coin/3P · 1F/1P, 5F Coin/6P · 1F/2P, 5F Coin/12P · 1F/3P, 5F Coin/18P |
DIP settings — MAME set rallys
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Coinage | SW1:1,2 | 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 2C/1P, 50P Coin/3P · 1C/1P, 50P Coin/6P · 1C/2P, 50P Coin/12P · 1C/3P, 50P Coin/18P |
| Top Score Award | SW1:3 | Credit · Extended Play |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Coin Mode | SW1:8 | Mode 1 · Mode 2 |
DIP settings — MAME set sidetrac
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Lives | SW1:1,2 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Coinage | SW1:3,4 | 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C |
| Top Score Award | SW1:5 | Off · On |
DIP settings — MAME set spectar
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Language | SW1:1,2 | English · French · German · Spanish |
DIP settings — MAME set spectarrf
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Language | SW1:1,2 | English · French · German · Spanish |
DIP settings — MAME set targ
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Pence Coinage | SW1:2 | 10P/1P, 50P Coin/6P · 2x10P/1P, 50P Coin/3P |
| Top Score Award | SW1:3 | Credit · Extended Play |
| Quarter Coinage | SW1:4,5 | 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C/1C (no display) · 1C 2C |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Currency | SW1:8 | Quarters · Pence |
DIP settings — MAME set teetert
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Life | SW1:2,3 | 20000 · 30000 · 40000 · 50000 |
| Coinage | SW1:4,5,8 | 2C 1C · Pence: A 2C/1C B 1C/3C · 1C 1C · Pence: A 1C/1C B 1C/4C · Pence: A 1C/1C B 1C/5C · 1C 2C · 1C/3C, 2C/7C · 1C 4C |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 |
DIP settings — MAME set venture
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Life | SW1:2,3 | 20000 · 30000 · 40000 · 50000 |
| Coinage | SW1:4,5,8 | 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · Pence: A 2C/1C B 1C/3C · Pence: A 1C/1C B 1C/6C |
| Lives | SW1:6,7 | 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
Check against your own board
These settings apply to the game and revision described by MAME. One title may have several DIP sets depending on region or revision, and some systems use soft-dips (settings in memory, via the test menu) rather than physical switches. In case of a discrepancy, the board's silkscreen and the test menu are authoritative.
See also: DIP reference · game manuals
Emulation & FPGA¶
- Emulation: MAME (
exidy/exidy.cpp,exidy440.cpp,vertigo.cpp). - FPGA / MiSTer: cores for a few titles (Venture, Mouse Trap…).
EPROM repair¶
6502 program. Ex. (MAME exidy/exidy.cpp): Venture = 8× 2732 · Mouse Trap = 6× 2732 · Pepper II = 7× 2732. Crossbow = Exidy 440 hardware (68000).
Lineage¶
Contemporary with Atari/Universal/Gottlieb (the US golden age).
Photos / assets¶
(To add: Exidy board, 440 board, Crossbow gun.)
Sources & attribution¶
- MAME —
exidy/exidy.cpp,exidy440.cpp,vertigo.cpp(6502, games) — https://github.com/mamedev/mame - Wikipedia — Exidy / Venture — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exidy
Review & corrections
How this space is used
Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.
Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.