last updated March 11, 2001 01:51

Information Page for Centipede to Millipede and Millipede to Centipede conversions.

This information was compiled for use on my Centipede to Millipede conversion for my Centipede cocktail machine. I will soon have my blow by blow conversion document posted.  Of course, it will have to wait until I actually DO the conversion!

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Centipede Pinouts With Corresponding Millipede Pins and Notes For Conversion

Giving credit where credit is due, I created this starting from the Cent/Mill wiring conversion document on Spies.  I could not find a name on it to credit. If you are the creator of this document, let me know, and I will mention it. Some of the information came from Jonathan Deitch, John L. Cwikla, and T. Franklin Bowen's documented pinouts, also found on Spies. But now, most of it has been determined by myself, by careful examination of the boards.

I am soon to be converting the other way. I currently have a Centipede cocktail and have a Millipede board on the way (this has now arrived). Once I get it I will be making an adapter to run the Millipede board on the Centipede machine.

  • Centipede pin numbers in Bold Navy Blue are pins on MY Centipede connector that actually HAVE wires going to them.
  • The Millipede pin numbers shown in Bold Red are the connections that need to be made for the cocktail conversion to work.
  • The smaller grey pin numbers either are not needed for this conversion, or there was no wire from the Centipede cocktail harness to make a connection anyway.
Wiring List for P20: ¹ inverted signal
² cocktail model
³ undocumented
Connection
Mill
pin
Cent
pin
Cent
pin
Mill
pin
Connection
ground
A
A
1
1
ground
+5v
B
B
2
2
+5v
+12v
J10-4
audio
for Mill to Cent

E
(for 10.3v)
C
3
3
+22vdc
-5v
J10-9
audio
for Mill to Cent
D
4
4
-22vdc
nc
--
E
5
n/a
center coin counter
left coin counter
P19-C
F
6
P19-A
right coin counter
NC
--
H
7
--
NC
start LED 1¹
P19-3
J
8
P19-4
start LED 2¹
NC
--
K
9
13
fire button 2²
start 2¹
P
L
10
N
fire button 1
start 1¹
14
M
11
F
trackball horizontal clock 2²
trackball horizontal clock
C
N
12
H
trackball vertical clock 2²
trackball vertical clock
D
P
13
17
self test¹
left coin slot¹
T
R
14
U
right coin slot¹
slam (tilt)
R
S
15
16
cocktail mode
center coin slot
n/a
T
16
8
horizontal dir. 2²
trackball horizontal dir.
5
U
17
7
vertical dir. 2²
reset (n.c.)
V
V
18
6
track ball vertical dir.
-22vdc
W
W
19
19
NC
+22vdc
X
X
20
20
NC
+5v (controls)
Y
Y
21
21
+ sense
ground
Z
Z
22
22
- sense
 
Wiring List for P19: ¹ inverted signal
² cocktail model
³ undocumented
Connection
Mill
pin
Cent
pin
Cent
pin
Mill
pin
Connection
NC
--
A
1
1
audio 2 out
NC
--
B
2
2
audio 1 out
NC
--
C
3
--
NC
NC
--
D
4
P20-11
p1 joystick up³
p1 joystick left³
P20-9
E
5
P20-10
p1 joystick right³
p1 joystick down³
P20-M
F
6
P20-L
p2 joystick left² ³
p2 joystick up² ³
P20-12
H
7
P20-K
p2 joystick right² ³
p2 joystick down² ³
P20-J
J
8
11
video green
video red
12
K
9
10
video blue
video return
H
L
10
8
video vertical sync.
video horizontal sync
6
M
11
--
NC
coin ground
N
N
12
7
composite sync³

Notes from the Millipede to Centipede conversion document from Spies.

Since these notes were written with a Millipede to Centipede conversion in mind, I've added my own notes for reference when doing a Centipede to Millipede cocktail conversion like I am. My notes are in blue. Updated thoughts are in red.

  • Make sure the cocktail pin (P20-15) is jumpered over to ground for uprights on the Centipede side connector.
    My conversion is with a cocktail machine, so this will be different for me.
  • Install a jumper from P19-L to ground on the Millipede connector. This is the ground for the Millipede coin mechs. The ground on P19-N is the ground for the Millipede service panel.
    I think I can ignore this.
  • The P10 connector for the -5 and +12 volts is on the Aud/RegII board. You will need to buy two .093 male Molex pins to snap in the Molex housing.

    Since I'm going the other way I don't have to worry about this.  My Centipede wire harness supplies -5 and +12 volts, but the Millipede PCB doesn't need them anyway. Phew!  That makes that easier.  However, the Millipede shows a +10.3VDC connection at P20-E and P20-18.  I don't know how I'll supply that, if it's needed at all...

    Okay, I found +10.3VDC.  It is also on the Regulator/AudioII PCB.  An empty Molex plug with the unregulated +10.3VDC (mine measures 11.5VDC actually) sits at J6 pin 5, as I've indicated in the Millipede pinout table below. Here is a picture of the Audio board, for easy location of J6. I've also indicated where you would find the -5 and +12 VDC lines if you were adapting a Millipede to play Centipede.
    NOTE: Okay! It seems that the 'unregulated' voltage lines have a 30% tolerance!  That means I can just connect 12 volts to the 10.3 volt line! That means NO connection to the Audio board as described above. At least not for a Centipede to Millipede. I'll leave the reference to the 10.3VDC line on the image of the Audio board below for you purists, and for those looking for the -5 and +12 volt lines to do a Millipede to Centipede conversion.

  • To access the Centipede color grid, a momentary switch will need to be installed as the tilt switch. Apparently Millipedes do not have a tilt switch.
    Millipede may not have a tilt switch, but the PCB has a tilt line at P20-R.
  • Millipede cabinet uses composite sync whereas the Centipede cabinet uses horizontal and vertical syncs.
    It appears that Millipede also supplies separate horizontal (P19-M) and vertical(P19-10) signals as well as a composite signal. How convenient is that? As a matter of fact my Centipede cocktail uses the composite sync signal anyway, not separate H and V. Simpler again.
  • The Centipede pinout on wiretap shows 'coin door ground' on pin P20-X and 'start 2 LED' on P20-R. These are not correct. P20-X is +22 VDC and 'start 2 LED' is on P20-8. This has been verified on the Centipede schematics. P20-R is the tilt switch.
    Actually the Centipede 'slam' or tilt switch is on P20-S, and the 'slam' line on Millipede is P20-R.

If any of this is confusing and doesn't make sense, send me an email, and I'll try to make it clearer.


Atari Regulator / Audio II PCB diagram

regulator_audioII_board.gif (9511 bytes)

  • The black squares are test points, and are labeled clearly on the board. The J# items are Molex connectors. All other components are here for positional reference only.
  • J6 pin 5 is a good place to pick up +10.3VDC for the Millipede PCB when doing a Centipede to Millepede conversion.
    NOTE: It is within tolerance to connect 12VDC to the +10.3VDC line. So, if you are not a purist, you can just connect to 12Volts on the wire harness and not mess with this connection to the Audio board at all. That's what I'm gonna do. Stay tuned for results...
  • J10 pin 4 is a good place to pick up +12VDC, and J10 pin 9 is a good place to pick up -5VDC for the Centipede board when doing a Millipede to Centipede conversion.

Millipede Pinouts With Corresponding Centipede Pins

  • Centipede pin numbers in Bold Navy Blue are pins on MY Centipede connector that actually HAVE wires going to them. The Millipede pin numbers shown in Bold Red are the connections that need to be made for the cocktail conversion to work.
  • The smaller grey pin numbers either are not needed for this conversion, or there was no wire from the Centipede cocktail harness to make a connection anyway.
Wiring List for P20: ¹ unregulated
² joystick for alternate controls
³ this would be a 12v connection
Component Side Connection
Cent
pin
Mill
pin
Mill
pin
Cent
pin
Solder Side Connection
+5v return (ground)
A
A
1
1
+5v return (ground)
+5v
B
B
2
2
+5v
1p tball horiz. clock
N
C
3
3
+22vdc¹
1p tball vert. Clock
P
D
4
4
-22vdc¹
+10.3vdc¹
J6-5
audio

or
C³
E
5
U
1p tball horiz. dir
2p tball horiz. Clock
11
F
6
18
1p tball vert. dir
2p tball vert. Clock
12
H
7
17
2p tball vert. dir
2p down²
P19-J
J
8
16
2p tball horiz. dir
2p right²
P19-7
K
9
P19-E
1p left²
2p left²
P19-6
L
10
P19-5
1p right²
1p down²
P19-F
M
11
P19-4
1p up²
1p fire button
10
N
12
P19-H
2p up²
2p start
L
P
13
9
2p fire button
tilt
S
R
14
M
1p start
coin aux.
????
S
15
--
NC
left coin slot
R
T
16
15
cocktail
right coin slot
14
U
17
13
self test
reset
V
V
18
C³
+10.3vdc¹
connected on the PCB to E
-22vdc¹
W
W
19
19
NC
+22vdc¹
X
X
20
20
NC
+5v
Y
Y
21
21
+5V sense
ground
Z
Z
22
22
5v sense return (ground)

 

Wiring List for P19: ¹ inverted signal
² Both Audio Outputs are only used with original Atari Audio / Regulator II boards. Use only one output for use with a single external audio amplifier.
³ Connect to Cathode of Start Button LEDs, Anodes to +5 Volts through a 330-ohm current limiting resistor.
Component Side Connection
Cent
pin
Mill
pin
Mill
pin
Cent
pin
Solder Side Connection
right coin counter
P20-6
A
1
1
audio 2 out ²
audio ground
B
2
2
audio 1 out ²
left coin counter
P20-F
C
3
P20-J
1p start led ³
NC
--
D
4
P20-8
2p  start led ³
NC
--
E
5
--
NC
NC
--
F
6
M
horiz sync(+)
video return (ground)
L
H
7
12
composite sync¹
NC
--
J
8
10
vert sync(+)
ground
K
9
--
NC
ground
L
10
9
video blue.
ground
M
11
8
video green
coin door ground
N
N
12
K
video red

all pages copyright © 1998 - 2001 by Cliff Lawley

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