Quick Start Guide - CE

SmartyPi CE Quick start (25-01-26) – What’s in the box

When you receive your SmartyPi parcel it will contain the following:

• SmartyPi CE PCB.
• Ribbon Cable. (Fixed to CE PCB – This connects SmartyPi to the Raspberry Pi)
• 2x PCB Extenders. (Optional for mounting CE PCB)
• USB Cable. (USB-A to USB Micro-B)
• SD Card adapter containing a Micro-SD card which is ready loaded with the latest Raspberry Pi image.
• Heat Sink & 4x M2.5 Nuts for attaching to your Raspberry Pi.

Before we begin…

The only additional component you will require is a Raspberry Pi 4B, SmartyPi is compatible with all versions. Check the guide section of SmartyPi.co.uk for the latest setup and configuration information.

All SmartyPi PCBs and parts (USB Cable & SD Cards) are tested before shipping.
I have full confidence that your out of box experience will be straightforward and after following this guide, you will be up and running, playing games. While SmartyPi is intended as a replacement for the original game PCB, it will not fix a cabinet that has poor controls or has bad colours on the monitor. Audio is still be routed through the original cabinet’s audio amplifier circuit, the only item SmartyPi replaces is a broken game PCB, now that’s cleared up, let’s get on with the setup.

Recommended setup procedure
You need to complete assembly of SmartyPi by connecting your Raspberry Pi, adding the SD card, and fixing the Heatsink. Let’s complete this in the following order.

• Remove the Micro-SD card from the adapter you received with SmartyPi and push it into the Raspberry Pi Micro-SD slot. If we are looking at the Raspberry Pi from the top side, the green sticker on the SD card will be facing upwards when inserted.
• Take the Raspberry Pi and connect the header pins to the Ribbon cable which is already connected at one end to the SmartyPi PCB.
• Place the Raspberry Pi onto the threads from the hex nuts looping the ribbon cable underneath the Raspberry Pi (See image below), you may need to loosen the screws from the underside. Once the Pi is sitting correctly, place the nuts onto the threads and finger tighten them (clockwise), this is slightly tricky due to the ribbon cable connection, the spare cable length of the ribbon cable itself should be folded under the Raspberry Pi. If necessary, tighten the nuts on the hex posts. Now we can attach the heatsink.
• The Heatsink is larger than the surface we are connecting it to, in our case the heatsink will sit directly on the CPU but also cover various other components of the Pi. Remove the tape from the underside of the heatsink and place it over the Pi, it is a snug fit against the Ribbon connector and other connectors of the Pi. Press down over the centre of the heat sink for 30 seconds making sure it is sitting flat over the CPU.
• Plug the supplied USB cable between the Raspberry Pi and the microcontroller (As shown on the SmartyPi silkscreen labelling. Do not force the cable into the microcontroller port it will only fit one way round and should be gently pushed into the socket. I recommend plugging the cable into the Raspberry Pi first and then the microcontroller.
• The games and the order which SmartyPi loads them comes in a default setup for the cabinet you have are using, there is a text file on the MicroSD which is connected to the SmartyPi PCB, this can be altered as needed.
• The MicroSD card is housed in a spring-loaded connector, press the Micro SD card in and it will eject out of the connector.
• Take the MicroSD and connect it to a computer (Use the supplied SD card adapter if necessary. In the root of the drive is a file called setup.txt open this in your text editor of choice. There are various parameters that can be adjusted, at the time of release for the CE PCB, the config file is at revision 1.0.
• The options for configuration are as follows:

Cab=OR (This option selects the Cabinet SmartyPi will be used in and calibrates controls to suit.)
SwitchGames=FALSE (If you are entitled to play different game ROMs set this to TRUE.)
Outputs=ALL (Decides which output signals are used.)
GameList=OReh (Chooses the game list and order they will play)
CG1=CB (Custom Game 1 – Used with the Custom GameList=CU parameter.)
-> CG12=TOR (Custom Game 12 – Used with the Custom GameList=CU parameter.)
Unused CG parameters should =NA

Read the list of available options for each parameter and alter, as needed. Once happy with the options, save the file. Eject the MicroSD card from your computer and place it back into SmartyPi. Press the Micro SD card into the connector and it will lock into place.

You should now mount SmartyPi in the cabinet. Turn the power to your cabinet off. If you have an original game PCB, I suggest you remove it, and stored in a safe place so no chance of accidental damage can occur while SmartyPi is being wired in and setup. Using the supplied PCB Extender arms, SmartyPi can be mounted and fixed to the original hole positions an original game PCB would occupy.

Before plugging in any of the connectors to SmartyPi, you must check your cabinets 5 Volt power supply level. With the original game PCB removed, turn the cabinet on and measure the 5V DC form the white and yellow power connectors of the original game, adjust your supply to be as close to 5 Volts DC as possible, a reading from 5.00 to 5.09 DC is acceptable and suitable for use in SmartyPi. If you do not follow this guidance, and the power supply it is set higher that 5.2 volts, you may destroy the Raspberry Pi and other circuits on the PCB, providing more disappointment than when your original PCB breaks! I cannot accept responsibility for damage caused by over voltage. If you do not know how to check and adjust the power supply, please ask and I will guide you through. Once you have checked and set your power supply, turn power to the cabinet off.

Plug in the connectors to SmartyPi. Use one of the Power connectors (the second one you may have can be left disconnected and loose.) Connect the Video and Audio connectors. You may have a four or six pin connector for audio, if it has four pins, follow the placement as shown in the PCB silkscreen (Connect from the left side, leaving two unused pins on the right side as you look at the PCB, with the text in correct reading orientation.) Finally connect the two I/O connectors, the fifty (50) pin and/or twenty (20) pin black connectors. These are ‘keyed’ and can only be inserted in one orientation. Once all connectors are in place, you can power on the cabinet on.

You should see the SmartyPi logo screen for a short while, followed by having the first game in the selected list load. Controls should be configured to work, if entitled, use the game switch button (default is cab Service button) to cycle through games. You may need to make minor monitor adjustments for size and position and brightness, pre-release testing has in some cabinets shown the need to adjust the Vertical Sync to obtain a stable picture but is not needed in most situations.

If you don’t see your game playing 30 seconds after turning you cab on, power it off and check all connections are correctly made. For further detailed instructions & troubleshooting, look in the ‘guide’ section at smartypi.co.uk or scan the QR code at the top of the page.