Astron Belt - Owners Manual (35 pages)
Astron Belt - Galaxy Ranger Conversion Manual (1 page)
Astron Belt - Schematics (17 pages)
Astron Belt - NTSC / Demodulator info (3 pages)
Astron Belt - General Bulletins (10 pages)
Astron Belt - Troubleshooting tips (1 page)
Astron Belt - DIP Switch Settings

Astron Belt - ROM Images (for games with the Hitachi LD Player and proper hardware)
Astron Belt - ROM Images (for games with the Pioneer LD player and proper hardware)

Astron Belt - Virtual Library showing images and information of the major components.

Compatible Laser Disc Players - Sega / Hitachi VIP-9500SG, Hitachi VIP-9550 (1), Pioneer LD-V1000 (2), Pioneer LD-V1001 (2)

Hitachi VIP9550 - Owners Manual (15 pages)
Sega / Hitachi VIP9500SG - Owners Manual (12 pages)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Operating Instructions (7 pages)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Interface Guide (24 pages)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Service Manual (incomplete) (28 pages)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Schematics (27 pages)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Cleaning optics (1 page)
Pioneer LD-V1000 - Changing laser tube (3 pages)

(1) The Hitachi VIP9550 is compatible with Astron Belt and Galaxy Ranger as well as the Sega / Hitachi VIP9500SG.  The player must be set to 9600 baud rate for proper communication with the PCB.  The dip switch settings for the Hitachi VIP9550 are:  1-up, 2-up, 3-up, 4-up.  For info on the Hitachi Command Set, check the Hitachi Command Set page. 

(2) The Pioneer LD-V1000 / LD-V1001 will only work in an Astron Belt with the proper hardware and disc.  When using the LD-V1000 / LD-V1001 in Astron Belt, you must cross pins 7 and 17 on the ribbon cable going from the LD-V1000 / LD-V1001 to the main board.

Laser Disc Pressing - Astron Belt had two different disc pressings.  There is a Sega labeled double-sided disc and a Pioneer labeled single-sided (metal backing) disc. The Pioneer disc was shipped with games using the Pioneer LD-V1000 or LD-V1001 laser disc player and corresponding game PCBs.  The Sega disc was shipped with games using the Sega / Hitachi VIP9500SG laser disc player and corresponding game PCBs. The disc content was the same on both pressings.

Conversion Cards - LaserAce will let your laser disc game use a variety of different laser disc players.  Unfortunately these cards are no longer in production, but can still be found on eBay or the D-L-P Classifieds occasionally.  Check this link for more information on which laser disc players are compatible with your favorite laser disc game using LaserAce.

Interchangeable - Galaxy Ranger can be played in an Astron Belt cabinet by changing the laser disc and the EPROMs provided you have the correct EPROMs and disc for that particular hardware setup.  See the Astron Belt / Galaxy Ranger Service Bulletin for more info.

POTs & DIPs - There are 13 POTs and 4 DIP switches on this board.  Here are their descriptions:

Dip Switch 1, 2, & 3 should be in the OFF position.  DIP switch 4 should be in the ON position.  DIP switch 4 determines whether to accept composite negative or positive going SYNC from the logic boards.  Since the logic produces a negative going SYNC, the DIP switch is left ON.  (ON - Negative Sync.   OFF - Positive SYNC)  For more info on the NTSC / Demodulator, download the NTSC / Demodulator bulletin.

Booting Issues - If your Astron Belt is not booting and/or the laser disc player plays straight thru, check pot VR-3 on the NTSC decoder.  This pot is an adjustment for the sync between the main PCB and the laser disc player.  The PCB must match its timing to the incoming video from the laser disc player.  If the sync is too far off,  the PCB can't communicate with the LD player and it stops functioning.  If your game is suffering from one of the symptoms, try adjusting pot VR-3 with the game running.  Once the main board can communicate with the laser disc player, the program will start and the attract mode will begin to play.