Mattel Hockey
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| Mattel's drawing of the Hockey game from its 1978 instructions. Wikimedia Commons holds no freely licensed photograph of the game. | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mattel Electronics (made in Hong Kong)[1] |
| Type | Handheld electronic game |
| Released | 1978[1][2] |
| CPU | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) microcontroller die, marked MM4799 C NFR, bonded to the board[3][4] |
| Memory | 1,536 bytes of ROM and 384 bits of RAM, inside the MM5799[5] |
| Storage | — |
| Display | Red LEDs on an 18-position rink, a goal light, two penalty-box lights and a two-digit 7-segment scoreboard and clock[1][3] |
| Sound | Two-level output through a 74154 decoder to a speaker: sirens, whistles and beeps[3][1] |
| Input | Two shoot keys, four directional keys, PRO 1-OFF-PRO 2 switch[1] |
| Power | One 9-volt alkaline battery; Mattel adaptor on games equipped for one[1] |
| Dimensions | 7.9 × 13.3 × 2.5 cm (3⅛ × 5¼ × 1 in)[6] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 2946[2][3] |
Mattel Hockey (Mattel Electronics Hockey, model 2946) is a handheld ice hockey game with a red LED display, released by Mattel Electronics in 1978.[2][1] One or two players take turns skating an attacker past three computer-controlled defencemen and a goalie and shooting for the goal. It runs on one 9-volt battery.[1] Inside, it is the same hardware as Mattel's Basketball and Mattel Soccer of the same year: a National Semiconductor MM5799 microcontroller die bonded straight to the circuit board, with a 4001 and a 74154 beside it.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]The instruction booklet is copyright Mattel 1978 and printed in Hong Kong, print code 2946-0920.[1] The Handheld Museum lists Hockey as a 1978 LED game, model 2946, and shows versions sold in Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.[2]
The Canadian version is a different game in the same case. Its rink is laid out differently, the players cannot skate behind the goal, and some sound effects differ.[2] MAME's notes identify it as an older version of Hockey, sold outside the USA and also in Europe and Japan, that runs the same program as Soccer; one of the chip's inputs is tied high on the board to make that program play hockey.[3] On some games the hockey sticks printed on the two shoot keys face each other, where most point to the left.[2]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Part | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Microcontroller | National Semiconductor MM5799 (COPS I) die, marked MM4799 C NFR on the US game, bonded directly to the board under a plastic cover; the program is in its mask ROM | [3][4] |
| Other logic | A 4001 and a 74154, also bonded to the board. The 74154 selects the display digits and LEDs and drives the speaker | [3] |
| Rink | 18 player positions, seven of them scoring positions in front of the net; a goal light; home and visitor penalty-box lights; the attacker as a bright light, the goalie and three defencemen as dim lights | [1] |
| Scoreboard | Two-digit 7-segment LED display: home score, visitor score and time remaining | [1][3] |
| Controls | Two shoot keys with identical functions; four directional keys (up, down, left, right, no diagonals); PRO 1-OFF-PRO 2 slide switch | [1] |
| Power | One 9-volt alkaline battery on a snap, under a sliding door in the back; a Mattel adaptor on games equipped for one | [1] |
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 at 9.5 V, not counting what its outputs drive. Its absolute maximum rating allows no pin more than 0.3 V positive of the chip's VSS supply, so a reversed supply exceeds it at once.[5] Sean Riddle, who decapped one of these chips, found that the Basketball he opened had had its battery connected backwards, which vaporised bond wires and metal on the die.[4]
Because the program is in the microcontroller's own ROM and the die is bonded to the board, there is no replacement chip. A damaged die means a board from another Hockey of the same version.[3][4]
The game
[edit | edit source]The PRO 1-OFF-PRO 2 switch turns the game on and sets the speed: PRO 1 is slow and PRO 2 fast. Changing the speed during a game ends it and starts a new one.[1] The computer always plays defence with three defencemen and a goalie; the player skates the attacker one position at a time with the directional keys and shoots with either shoot key. The puck shows as a steady red light travelling to the goal, and blinks while it is loose. A game is three 20-minute periods on a fast clock, with a short siren at the end of each period and a series of sirens at the end of the game.[1]
The scoreboard shows the home score, the visitor score and the time remaining in turn, and is called up between plays with the down directional key. A goal sounds four sirens. A bump into an occupied position gives a high beep; the second bump in one possession is a penalty, signalled by two whistles, and a defenceman goes to the penalty box for two simulated minutes.[1]
Batteries and power
[edit | edit source]The booklet asks for one 9-volt alkaline battery, fitted to the snap under the battery door, which presses and slides off. It allows a Mattel Electronics adaptor "if your game is equipped for an adaptor", and gives no adaptor rating.[1] Mattel's instruction for a weak battery is short: "If display lights on game grow dim, replace battery."[1]
Fit the battery the right way round. A reversed battery puts the MM5799 far outside its absolute maximum rating, and reverse connection has destroyed the die in a game of this design.[5][4] Take the battery out for storage; a leaked battery corrodes the snap and its wires. See Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
Repair
[edit | edit source]Hockey has its own repair guides:
- Mattel Hockey General Maintenance: the battery and snap, opening the case, the bonded chip, the keys and switch, cleaning and care.
- Mattel Hockey Troubleshooting Guide: what a working game does, the sounds, supply limits from the data sheet, and faults by symptom.
- Mattel Hockey Capacitor Replacement Guide: what is known about the board, and how to record its capacitors.
No service manual, schematic or parts list for Hockey has been published.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Hockey Documentation: Mattel's 1978 Hockey Instructions (2946-0920) and National Semiconductor's MM5799 data sheet.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Hockey General Maintenance
- Mattel Hockey Troubleshooting Guide
- Mattel Hockey Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Mattel Hockey Documentation
- Mattel Soccer: the same hardware, and the program used by the older Hockey
- Mattel Football
- Category:Mattel Electronics
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 1.16 1.17 Mattel, Inc., Hockey Instructions (1978, Hawthorne, California, printed in Hong Kong, 2946-0920), hosted as File:Mattel Hockey Instructions (1978).pdf. Cover: drawing naming the scoreboard/clock, rink, shoot keys, directional control keys and PRO 1-OFF-PRO 2 switch; "for one or two players". Printed p. 1: "Turn electronic hockey game over, face down. Remove battery door." (press and slide to remove); "Attach one 9-volt alkaline battery to connector."; "You may use a 9-volt alkaline battery, or a Mattel Electronics adaptor, if your game is equipped for an adaptor. (Each sold separately)"; "If display lights on game grow dim, replace battery." P. 2: the defence is always the computer (3 defencemen and 1 goalie); home team starts lower left, visitors lower right; three simulated 20-minute periods, a short siren at the end of each; Pro 1 slow, Pro 2 fast. P. 3: PRO 1-OFF-PRO 2 "turns game on, selects speed. Do not change speed while game is in progress. This will end your present game and start a new game."; directional keys move the offence one position, no diagonal movement; shoot keys release the puck, a steady red light travelling to the goal, blinking while loose; shoot keys have identical functions. P. 4: 18 positions on the rink; scoring only from one of seven scoring positions in front of the net; the goalie can leave the net and steal the puck; a light in a penalty box shows a defenceman in the box; the scoreboard shows home score, visitor score and time remaining, activated between plays with the down directional key. P. 5: the bright red offence light and four defence lights. P. 6: a goal triggers the red goal light and four sirens. P. 7: interception (one whistle, double-beep); penalties: a bump gives a high-pitched beep, one free bump per possession, the second is a penalty (two whistles). P. 8: two simulated minutes in the penalty box; end of game, a series of short sirens and the clock stops. P. 9: care. Pp. 9-10: the 90-day warranty and the Mattel Electronics Repair Center.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Handheld Museum, "Mattel Hockey" (retrieved 2026-10-19): 1978, LED, 9 volt, model 2946; the Canadian version's playing field is different, "you can't go behind the goal, and some of the sound effects are different"; on some games the hockey sticks on the shot buttons face each other instead of both pointing left; Canadian, German, Italian and Japanese versions pictured.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 MAME source, hh_cops1.cpp (retrieved 2026-10-19). Mattel Basketball (model 2437): PCB label MA 6017/18/19; MM5799 MCU die bonded directly to the PCB (die label MM4799 C NCX); 4001 and 74154 also bonded to the PCB; 2-digit 7-segment LED display, 21 LEDs, 2-bit sound. "Mattel Hockey (model 2946): MCU die label MM4799 C NFR, same hardware as Basketball." "There's also an older version of Hockey, it has the same ROM as Soccer. This version wasn't sold in the USA. It is commonly known as the Canadian version, though it was also released in Europe and Japan." The driver for that version marks the F2 input "tied high to select Hockey"; the 74154 outputs drive the speaker and select the digits and LEDs; the game is listed as 1978.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sean Riddle, "National Semiconductor MM5799" (retrieved 2026-10-19): the MM5799 has 1.5 K of 8-bit ROM and 96 four-bit words of RAM and was used in Mattel Basketball, Hockey and Soccer; in these games "the die is bonded directly to the PCB and protected with a plastic cover ... it's very easy to break the exposed bond wires"; the die is marked MM4799; the Basketball he decapped "had the battery connected backwards, which vaporized some bond wires and metal, and deposited spall all over the die".
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 National Semiconductor, MM5799 Controller Oriented Processor data sheet, MOS/LSI Databook (1977), hosted as File:National Semiconductor MM5799 data sheet (1977).pdf: p. 1, features (1536 microinstruction ROM, 384-bit RAM, direct segment drive of LEDs, single power supply); p. 2, absolute maximum ratings ("Voltage at any pin relative to VSS: VSS +0.3 V to VSS -12 V") and DC characteristics (operating voltage 7.9 V minimum, 9.5 V maximum; operating supply current 12 mA typical, 18 mA maximum at 9.5 V and 25 °C, excluding outputs).
- ↑ Tempe History Museum, "Mattel Electronics Hockey Handheld Game", catalogue number 2019.10.4 (retrieved 2026-10-19): 1978-1981, plastic, 3⅛ × 5¼ × 1 in (7.9 × 13.3 × 2.5 cm).