Mattel Basketball
 | |
| Mattel Electronics Basketball, model 2437 (Joe Haupt, CC BY-SA 2.0) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mattel Electronics; made in Hong Kong[1][2] |
| Type | Handheld electronic game |
| Released | 1978[1][3][4] |
| Intro price | US$31.99 (price dated October 1980)[3] |
| CPU | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) microcontroller die, marked MM4799 C NCX, bonded to the board[4][5] |
| Memory | 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM inside the MM5799[5] |
| Storage | — |
| Display | Red LEDs: 21 single LEDs and a two-digit seven-segment readout[4] |
| Sound | Speaker driven through the 74154 decoder[4] |
| Input | Four arrow keys, two SHOOT keys, 1-OFF-2 switch[1] |
| Power | One 9 V battery[1] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 2437[3][4] |
Mattel Basketball (Mattel Electronics Basketball, model 2437) is a battery-powered LED basketball game released by Mattel Electronics in 1978.[3][1] One or two players move an attacker round the court with four arrow keys, past five computer-controlled defenders, and shoot for the basket within a 24-second clock, over four quarters of 2½ minutes each.[1] The circuit is a National Semiconductor MM5799 microcontroller die bonded directly to the circuit board, with a 4001 and a 74154 bonded beside it, and the game runs on one 9 V battery.[4][5][1]
History
[edit | edit source]The Handheld Games Museum lists Basketball as a 1978 LED game, model 2437, protected by US design patent D261,402 on the shape of the housing. It came in two box styles: the original, larger box with a fold-out flap on the left and the game packed in styrofoam blocks, and a later, smaller box with the game in a bubble-wrap bag. A Japanese box was also printed. The museum records an original price of $31.99, dated 9 October 1980.[3]
The one-millionth Basketball was plated in 24-carat gold, inside and out, and awarded to the Mattel executive Howard Cohen.[6] The museum also describes sample Soccer and Hockey games whose football and hockey buttons are painted onto Basketball buttons.[6]
MAME records two versions of the program: one shows 12 on the readout at switch-on and the other shows 15.[4] Mattel reissued the game in 2003 as Classic Basketball (model 43572), a different design that runs on two AA batteries, has an LCD scoreboard, a sound switch and a three-point shot.[7]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Part | Detail |
|---|---|
| Microcontroller | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) die, marked MM4799 C NCX, bonded directly to the board under a plastic cover. The game program is in its mask ROM.[4][5] |
| Other logic | A 4001 and a 74154, also bonded to the board. The 74154 selects the display digits and LEDs and drives the speaker.[4] |
| Board | Marked MA 6017/18/19[4] |
| Display | 21 LEDs and a two-digit seven-segment readout. The attacker is a bright blip, the five defenders dimmer blips; a light in the basket shows a score.[4][1] |
| Controls | Four arrow keys (the lower one marked with a dot), two SHOOT keys, the 1-OFF-2 slide switch[1] |
| Power | One 9 V battery on a snap connector under a sliding cover in the back[1] |
The MM5799 holds 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM. Sean Riddle, who decapped one from a Basketball, notes that in these games the die sits on the board under a plastic cover, that the bond wires underneath break very easily, and that the die is marked MM4799 although the part is an MM5799.[5] National's 1977 data sheet rates the MM5799 for 7.9 V to 9.5 V between its supply pins, drawing 12 mA typically and 18 mA at most, not counting what its outputs drive.[8]
Mattel Soccer and Hockey use the same hardware with different programs.[4] See Mattel Soccer.
Controls and play
[edit | edit source]The 1-OFF-2 switch turns the game on and sets the speed: at 1 the defence moves at normal speed, at 2 twice as fast. Do not move the switch between 1 and 2 once play has started, or the game ends.[1]
- The arrow keys move the attacker. A move into a square already held by a defender, or out of bounds, is cancelled.
- Either SHOOT key shoots, from any position. A shot from a clear lane is guided into the basket unless a defender blocks it.
- The 24-second clock starts ticking when the attacker first moves. After the whistle the readout flashes the visitors' score, the home score and the minutes left in the quarter; the arrow with the dot repeats this.
- At the end of the fourth quarter a long buzzer sounds and the keys stop working. Switch to OFF and back on to start a new game.[1]
The sounds are a "ta-taaa" for a basket, a whistle for a lost ball, a buzzer at the end of each quarter, a long buzzer at the end of the game, ticking while the ball is in play and a short beep for a blocked shot.[1]
Power
[edit | edit source]Basketball takes one 9 V battery on a snap connector. Press down on the centre of the battery cover in the back and slide it out.[1] Mattel's leaflet says that misbehaving player blips or scoreboard are "the first sign of battery wear", that a fresh battery should solve the problem, and that a 9 V alkaline battery lasts longer.[1] The Basketball Riddle decapped had had its battery connected the wrong way round, which burned away bond wires and metal on the die.[5]
Repair
[edit | edit source]Basketball has its own repair guides:
- Mattel Basketball General Maintenance: the battery cover and snap, the triangular case screws, the bare chip on the board, the keys and switch.
- Mattel Basketball Troubleshooting Guide: normal behaviour, a symptom table and checks with a meter.
- Mattel Basketball Capacitor Replacement Guide: what is known about the board's capacitors and how to record your own.
Two owners' repairs have been published. Radio Boat Anchor's needed a new 9 V battery clip and a stiff switch freed with oil; two of its triangular anti-tamper screws had been stripped by a previous owner and were drilled out and replaced with Phillips screws. Rusty Shepherd's game had a broken connection on the main board, cured by resoldering.[9][10] The MM5799 die cannot be replaced, so a damaged die means a donor board.[5][4]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Mattel's leaflet, Mattel Electronics Basketball Game Instructions, code 2437-0920(A), "©Mattel, Inc. 1978, Hawthorne, CA 90250", printed in Hong Kong, is hosted as File:Mattel Electronics Basketball Instructions 2437-0920.pdf.[1] Its eight pages cover:
- PDF p. 1: a labelled drawing of the game (basket light, clock and score indicator, shoot keys, player control keys, OFF-ON speed key) and attaching the battery.
- PDF pp. 2-3: the starting line-up, the control keys and switch, and game time.
- PDF p. 4: the 24-second clock, reading the score and the start of play.
- PDF pp. 5-6: how to play and tips on sinking a shot.
- PDF p. 7: what to do if a shot does not go in, what the sounds mean, taking care of the game and the battery notice.
- PDF p. 8: Mattel's 90-day limited warranty and the Mattel Electronics Repair Center in Hawthorne, with a $10.00 charge for repairs up to a year after purchase.
The leaflet has no circuit description, schematic, parts list or disassembly instructions, and no service manual or photograph of an opened Basketball board has been found.
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Basketball (Joe Haupt, CC BY-SA 2.0) -
Attaching the battery, from Mattel's leaflet
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Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Basketball General Maintenance
- Mattel Basketball Troubleshooting Guide
- Mattel Basketball Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Mattel Soccer
- Mattel Auto Race
- Mattel Baseball
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Mattel, Inc., Mattel Electronics Basketball Game Instructions, code 2437-0920(A), 1978, printed in Hong Kong; hosted here as File:Mattel Electronics Basketball Instructions 2437-0920.pdf. PDF p. 1: labelled drawing; "Press down on center of cover. Slide cover out to remove. Attach one 9-volt battery to connector. Replace cover." PDF p. 2: one or two players; the offensive man a bright blip and the five defenders dimmer blips; OFF, 1 (normal speed) and 2 (defence twice as fast). PDF p. 3: arrows and SHOOT keys; four quarters of 2½ minutes, a 10-minute game; the clock shows the minutes left in the first quarter at switch-on. PDF p. 4: the 24-second clock; scores flashed after the whistle; the arrow with the dot repeats them; "Don't switch between 1 and 2 after starting play or the game will end." PDF p. 6: a long buzzer and the keys stop at the end of the fourth quarter; switch to OFF and back to start again. PDF p. 7: the sounds; "Taking care of your game"; malfunctioning blips or scoreboard are "the first sign of battery wear ... For longer battery life use a 9 volt alkaline battery." PDF p. 8: warranty and repair centre.
- ↑ Joe Haupt, "Basketball by Mattel, No. 2437, Made in Hong Kong, Copyright 1978", Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (retrieved 2026-10-19), hosted here as File:Mattel Basketball.jpg.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Handheld Games Museum, "Mattel Basketball" (retrieved 2026-10-19): 1978, LED, 9 volt, model 2437; US design patent D261,402 on the look of the housing; two box styles; Japanese box; "An original price: $31.99 (dated Oct 9th, 1980)"; the Classic Basketball reissue.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 MAME source, src/mame/handheld/hh_cops1.cpp at commit bdc96c8 (retrieved 2026-10-19): "Mattel Basketball (model 2437)"; PCB label MA 6017/18/19; "MM5799 MCU die bonded directly to PCB (die label MM4799 C NCX)"; "4001 and 74154, also bonded to PCB"; 2-digit 7-segment LED display, 21 LEDs, 2-bit sound; the speaker and the digit and LED select lines taken from 74154 outputs; Soccer (model 2678) and Hockey (model 2946) "same hardware as Basketball"; two versions of Basketball showing "12" or "15" at power-on; year 1978.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Sean Riddle, "National Semiconductor MM5799" (retrieved 2026-10-19): 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit nibbles of RAM; used in Mattel Basketball, Hockey and Soccer; "the die is bonded directly to the PCB and protected with a plastic cover ... it's very easy to break the exposed bond wires"; die marked MM4799; the Basketball he decapped "had the battery connected backwards, which vaporized some bond wires and metal".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Handheld Games Museum, Mattel prototypes and samples (retrieved 2026-10-19): the one-millionth Basketball "plated in 24k gold (inside and out...)", awarded to Mattel executive Howard Cohen; Soccer and Hockey samples with buttons painted onto Basketball buttons.
- ↑ Handheld Games Museum, "Mattel Classic Basketball" (retrieved 2026-10-19): 2003, model 43572, two AA batteries; LED play field with a back-lit LCD scoreboard; a three-point shot and a sound switch added.
- ↑ National Semiconductor, MOS/LSI Databook (1977), MM5799 data sheet, "dc electrical characteristics"; copy at seanriddle.com/nationalcopsi.pdf, PDF p. 29 (retrieved 2026-10-19): operating voltage (VSS − VDD) 7.9 V minimum, 9.5 V maximum; operating supply current 12 mA typical, 18 mA maximum at 9.5 V, excluding outputs.
- ↑ Radio Boat Anchor, "1978 Mattel Electronic Basketball repair", YouTube, 23 January 2024, video description (read 2026-10-19): a new 9 V battery clip; the switch "needed oiled as its motion was very stiff"; "special triangular anti-tamper screws", two with stripped heads, drilled out and replaced with Phillips screws.
- ↑ Rusty Shepherd, "1978 Mattel Electronics Basket Ball game. Broken. Restoration.", YouTube, 1 July 2020, video description (read 2026-10-19): not working when received; "a broken connection on the mother board. A little solder and we were all good."
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