Astron Belt Virtual Library - Images and information of the major components

(1) The Hitachi VIP9550 is compatible with Astron Belt and Galaxy Ranger as well as the Sega / Hitachi VIP9500SG.  The player must be set to 9600 baud with DIP switch settings:  1-up, 2-up, 3-up, 4-up   For info on the Hitachi Command Set, check the Hitachi Command Set page.

(2) The Pioneer LD-V1000 / LD-V1001 will only work in an Astron Belt with the proper hardware and disc.  When using the LD-V1000 / LD-V1001 in Astron Belt, pins 7 and 17 must be crossed on the ribbon cable going from the disc player to the main board.

Laserdisc Pressing - Astron Belt has two different disc pressings.  There is a Sega-labeled double-sided disc and a Pioneer-labeled single-sided (metal-backed) disc.  The Pioneer disc was shipped with games using the Pioneer LD-V1000 or LD-V1001 laserdisc player and corresponding game PCBs.  The Sega disc was shipped with games using the Sega / Hitachi VIP9500SG laserdisc player and corresponding game PCBs.  The disc content was the same on both pressings.

Conversion Cards - Various products have been developed over the years to allow replacement/upgrade of the laserdisc player.

Dexter is the newest product.  Unlike the other products below which convert to a newer laserdisc player model, no player or disc is needed with Dexter.  The Dexter board is a drop-in replacement which poses as a laserdisc player and plays the video for the game digitally, from a custom file format.  Dexter accepts the original commands from the PCB through the original interface cable.  Dexter has been going in and out of production multiple times, per demand, via pre-order process only.

LaserCon is a laserdisc player conversion card that allows the game to use newer supported Pioneer players.  LaserCon is no longer in production.

The LaserAce conversion card allows the game to use a variety of different Pioneer and Sony laserdisc players.  LaserAce is no longer in production.

Interchangeability - Galaxy Ranger can be played in an Astron Belt cabinet by changing the laserdisc and the EPROMs, provided you have the correct EPROMs and disc for that particular hardware setup.  See the Astron Belt / Galaxy Ranger Service Bulletin for more info.

POTs & DIPs - There are 13 POTs and 4 DIP switches on this board.  Here are their descriptions:

- VR1    Horizontal Sync / Blanking Time Adjustment
- VR2    Horizontal Sync / Blanking Time Adjustment
- VR3    Vertical Sync / Blanking Time Adjustment
- VR4    Vertical Sync / Blanking Time Adjustment
- VR5    Black Level Adjustment (laser video brightness)
- VR6    Red Gain
- VR7    Green Gain
- VR8    Blue Gain
- VR10  Image Quality Adjustment (resolution control for laser video)
- VR11  Hue Adjustment (tint control)
- VR12  Color Level Adjustment
- VR13  White Level Adjustment (contrast control)

DIP switches 1, 2, & 3 should be in the OFF position.  DIP switch 4 should be in the ON position.  DIP switch 4 determines whether to accept composite negative or positive going sync from the logic boards.  Since the logic produces a negative going sync, the DIP switch is left ON.  (ON = Negative Sync  OFF = Positive Sync)  For more info on the NTSC / Demodulator, download the NTSC / Demodulator bulletin.

Booting Issues - If your Astron Belt is not booting and/or the laserdisc player plays straight through, check pot VR-3 on the NTSC decoder.  This pot is an adjustment for the sync between the main PCB and the laserdisc player.  The PCB must match its timing to the incoming video from the laserdisc player.  If the sync is too far off,  the PCB can't communicate with the LD player and it stops functioning.  If your game is suffering from one of the symptoms, try adjusting pot VR-3 with the game running.  Once the main board can communicate with the laserdisc player, the program will start and the attract mode will begin to play.