What Is the LISY Board? The Raspberry Pi CPU Replacement for Classic Pinball
What is the LISY board?
LISY — short for "LInux for SYstem" — is a replacement microprocessor (MPU) board for classic pinball machines, designed to drop in place of the original CPU boards used in games from Gottlieb, Bally and Williams. It's built around a Raspberry Pi Zero mounted on a custom PCB. The software runs on Raspbian, and it lets you either play the original game code using PINMAME ROM sets, or build your own gameplay with the Mission Pinball Framework (MPF).
The LISY project offers different replacement MPUs for different systems. The two most popular for collectors are the Lisy1 for Gottlieb System 1 and the Lisy80 for Gottlieb System 80, 80A and 80B.
At its core, the LISY protocol is a generic serial communication protocol for controlling pinball machines. It acts as the interface between the host computer and the hardware, letting the software control switches, solenoids and lamps. The Mission Pinball Framework builds on top of this, so you can even design your own rules, and there are community resources to help troubleshoot a LISY setup if issues come up.
How does it work?
LISY uses a Raspberry Pi Zero on a purpose-built PCB, running software based on Raspbian and PINMAME. By replacing the original MPU:
- Lisy1 drives any Gottlieb System 1 machine.
- Lisy80 drives any Gottlieb System 80, 80A or 80B machine.
Beyond simply running the game, LISY adds handy features such as Freeplay and Ballsave modes. A built-in web interface called LISYcontrol lets you switch every lamp and solenoid on and off from a web browser, view the live state of every switch on a single page, and edit switch descriptions in a CSV file. You just connect the board to your home network to reach it.
Testing lamps and solenoids
One of the most useful things about LISY for repairs is its built-in diagnostics. From LISYcontrol you can click each lamp or solenoid and immediately see whether it works — an enormous time-saver when you're tracking down a dead coil or a burnt-out lamp.
A clean, compact swap
Here's a Gottlieb System 80 machine where the original MPU has been replaced with a Lisy80 board. The Lisy1 and Lisy80 are roughly half the size of the original MPU, and the only slight change in edge-connector positioning is at the 'J2' connector.
Why collectors choose LISY
For owners of classic Gottlieb machines, a LISY board solves the biggest headache with 40-year-old electronics: it replaces the original MPU with modern, reliable hardware, so there's no original battery to leak and corrode the board, and diagnostics that used to take hours are now a few clicks in a browser.
Ready to bring a machine back to life? See the Lisy80 diagnostic CPU board for Gottlieb System 80/80A/80B, or browse all boards for your system in our Gottlieb System 80 and Gottlieb System 1 collections. If you're weighing your options, our guide on why we choose replacement boards over repairs is a good place to start.
