Alien Poker (Williams, 1980): common faults and System 6 replacement boards
Is your Williams Alien Poker silent (no speech), playing wrong sounds, not booting or resetting? These symptoms are typical of Williams System 6 pinball machines, whose original boards (MPU, Driver, power supply) are now over 40 years old. The good news: the WillFA7 replacement board, Plug & Play and battery-free, brings your machine back to life.
Alien Poker (Williams, 1980): overview
Released in 1980, Alien Poker is a Williams System 6 pinball machine themed around a poker game against aliens. Famous for its speech lines (the well-known "I win, you lose"), it is one of the brand's early talking games.
- Manufacturer: Williams
- Year: 1980
- Electronic system: Williams System 6
- Type: solid-state pinball with speech
- Theme: science fiction / poker
Common faults (System 6)
On Williams System 3 to 7, the recurring faults come from ageing: leaking NiCad battery on the MPU (corrosion, the No. 1 cause of dead boards), worn 40-pin MPU↔Driver connector (the best-known weak point), resets/reboots on a 5 V drop (power headers and connectors to be resoldered), tired power-supply capacitors, displays with missing segments, and a solenoid fuse that blows (slingshot or stuck bumper).
Issues specific to Alien Poker (forum feedback)
- No speech: the W1 jumper and the sound board DIP switches must be set correctly — some machines have been found with speech disabled.
- Wrong sounds at the wrong time: a target triggering the ball-drain sound, for example, points to faulty sound-select signals (cracked solder joints on the MPU connector).
- Unsuitable sound ROM: the documented original ROM set (Sound ROM 2) plays sounds that are off; a corrected ROM is often needed.
- Loose IC sockets: on the sound/speech board the sockets no longer hold the pins, causing intermittent bad contacts.
- Error code on the display: some Alien Pokers show a code (e.g. "1501") at start-up, to be diagnosed on the display/connector side.
- Volume control not working: the pot under the playfield barely changes anything and the sound stays very loud.
Replacement boards compatible with Alien Poker
- WillFA7 — 2-in-1 board (MPU + Driver) compatible with System 3 to 7, System 7 included.
The WillFA7 replaces the original MPU and Driver board (boot-up, logic resets, coil driving, battery-free memory) and removes the fragile 40-pin ribbon. Because the sound-select signals originate on the MPU, a healthy board also makes sound triggering more reliable; the sound/speech board and the displays, however, must be addressed separately. Our support team will guide you.
Plug & Play installation, battery-free, free tutorials and support. Contact us.
FAQ — Alien Poker Williams
My Alien Poker has no speech.
Check the W1 jumper and the sound board DIP switches. Speech depends on the sound/speech board, separate from the MPU; our support points you to its repair.
It plays wrong sounds at the wrong time.
Often cracked solder joints on the MPU sound-select connector. The WillFA7 replaces the MPU and makes these signals reliable.
My Alien Poker won't start or reboots on its own.
Often an unstable 5 V and/or the 40-pin connector. The WillFA7 replaces MPU and Driver and removes the fragile ribbon.
Should I keep the original battery?
No. The WillFA7 works without a battery and removes the No. 1 cause of corrosion on System 6.
