Mario Bros. (TMA1)

The Nintendo TMA1 board is a PCB arcade game released in 1983, as part of the Mario Bros. arcade cabinet. The board is taken from a dedicated cabinet, and consists of two primary boards; the TMA1-02-CPU board, containing the Game ROM, CPU, Amplifier, Game Logic, and I/O (Video, Input, Audio) Components, and the TMA1-02-VIDEO board, containing the Video ROM, Signal Generation, and Picture Processing, which are communicated with the CPU board via ribbon connector where it is rendered out into a 15KHz RGB signal.

This device is in the WorkNeeded:OriginalParts category because it was flagged as missing information on the original parts. It may have replacement parts listed but those cannot be assumed to be identical to the originals. If you have a list of the original parts, please feel free to add them by copying the relevant table from EditorsToolbox:Tables

This device is in the WorkNeeded:ReplacementParts category because it was flagged as missing information on replacement parts. If it has the original parts listed you may be able to search for replacements using the parametric searches available from parts distributors. If you have or make a list of replacement parts, please feel free to add them by copying the relevant table from EditorsToolbox:Tables

Mario Bros. (TMA1)

Preliminary Information
Release Year	1983
Leak Risk	Medium
Batteries	2 Removable AA Save Battery
Mounting Technology	Through Hole, Sockets
Capacitor Types	Aluminum Electrolytic, Tantalum, Ceramic, Film, Polystyrene
Destructive Entry	No
Hardware Specifications
CPU	Socketed Z80A-CPU-0
Display Interface	RGB (15KHz)
Sound	Mixed Samples & Basic Analog Sound Generator; Can output both amplified & line level
Power Requirements
Input Voltage	+5V DC, +12V DC, -5V DC

Known Issues

Sprites Do Not Appear, But Text & Playfields Do

Causes

• Board may not be receiving -5V, which is needed for the sprite rendering.

Solutions

• Many modern power supplies do not provide -5V; use a dedicated arcade power supply or inline charge pump of some kind to provide a -5V rail to the appropriate pin on the board. If adapting the game pinout to a JAMMA harness, make sure the JAMMA harness also has a wire present for the -5V pin, as some newer and cheap harnesses omit that pin entirely.

Missing / Corrupted Portions of Sprites, Some Graphics Partially Missing

Causes

• ROM Sockets may become loosely seated or partially lose contact over time, resulting in failed reads from certain portions of ROM, even while other portions work.

Solutions

• Contact Cleaner may remove small debris/corrosion; Carefully re-seating the ROM chips (with care not to bend any pins) may be effective.

Disassembly Notes

• The plastic spacer clips that connect the CPU and VIDEO boards are well over 40 years old at this point, and may become brittle or break if repeatedly separating the two boards. Consider finding a suitable spacer clip to replace, or prepare some kind of custom mount.
• The board was originally meant to be mounted vertically, slotted into an enclosure within the cabinet. If taking the board out of an original cab, or using a board acquired in absence of an original cabinet, consider fabricating some kind of bracket to ensure that components are not being pressed directly down on whichever side is facing the ground.

Original Parts

TMA1-02-CPU

• The manual for this notes many more capacitors as being rated for 50V, however many of those same capacitors are printed on the silkscreen as being rated for a lower voltage, with a matching stock capacitor, possibly indicating that the manual is wrong, not the stock caps installed in the board. Capacitors which do not have the rated voltage printed on the cap itself but are labeled as such in the manual are considered unverified, and have not been input in the table as 50V.
• Every Through-Hole Radial Capacitor on this board is laid out with a lead spacing of exactly 5.0mm, regardless of capacitor size or type, and even stock capacitors appear to just be installed with leads bent to fit the mounting holes. Replacements may also need to follow this, as many of the lower-capacitance caps on the market currently have much narrower leads.
• The particular board used for reference in the header and for creating this page appears to have had several of the larger axial caps replaced already, with generic Nichicon radial caps with similar ratings but generally higher voltage ratings. Other sources have been used to verify that these were originally Rubycon caps as well.
• The amplifier board may not be populated on stock boards, and is possibly an optional installation. The caps present on this board populating C47 through C52 are all seemingly aftermarket and are not mentioned in the manual, and will not be documented under Original Parts.

Capacitor Specifications and Footprint Information

RefDes	Qty	Capacitance	Voltage	Mount	Diameter/Size	Height	Lead Spacing	Temp	Type	Brand	Series
C1, C3	2	10 µF	10 VDC	Radial			5.0mm	0 °C	Tantalum
C2, C54-C56	4	470 µF	16 VDC	Axial					Electrolytic	Rubycon	CE W
C4, C14, C15, C41	4	4.7 µF	10 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Tantalum
C5	1	0.039 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C6	1	0.0039 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C9, C10, C19-C27, C32-C37	16	10 µF	16 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Electrolytic	Rubycon	CE W
C11, C38	2	100 µF	16 VDC	Axial					Electrolytic	Rubycon
C13	1	47 µF	16 VDC	Axial					Electrolytic	Rubycon
C16	1	0.0068 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C17, C31, C40	3	0.022 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C18, C30	2	100 pF		Radial			5.0mm		Polystyrene
C28, C42, C53	3	0.1 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C29, C32	2	1 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Electrolytic	Rubycon	CE W
C39	1	0.0047 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Film
C43, C44	2	3.3 µF	50 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Electrolytic	Rubycon	CE W
C45, C46	2	30 pF		Radial			5.0mm		Ceramic
C50	1	1 µF	16 VDC	Radial			5.0mm		Tantalum
C7, C8, C12, C60-C91	35	0.01 µF		Radial			5.0mm		Ceramic

TMA1-02-VIDEO

Capacitor Specifications and Footprint Information

RefDes	Qty	Capacitance	Voltage	Mount	Diameter/Size	Height	Lead Spacing	Temp	Type	Brand	Series
		µF

Replacement Parts

TMA-02-CPU

Capacitors

RefDes	Qty	Compatible Part Number	Order Links
C2, C54-C56	4	477TTA016M	Digikey
C9, C10, C19-C27, C32-C37	16	16TWL10MEFC5X11	Digikey
C11, C38	2	107TTA025M	Digikey
C13	1	476TTA016M	Digikey
C29, C32	2	50YXJ1M5X11	Digikey
C43, C44	2	50YXJ3R3M5X11	Digikey

TMA-02-VIDEO

Capacitors

RefDes	Qty	Compatible Part Number	Order Links
			Digikey

If parts are not available or different selection is preferred, you can use the values in the Original Parts section to perform a parametric search.

Related Links

archive.org - Arcade Manual: Mario Bros. (TMA1), by Nintendo, Schematics and Physical Board Layouts