Winchester Control System
The Pizza Time Theatre Winchester Control System was the system used to control the animatronics exclusively at the San Jose, CA (370 S Winchester Blvd) from May 1977 to sometime between 1980 and 1981.
The system was developed by the Cyan Engineering subdivision of Atari (also known as the Grass Valley Team), headed by Larry Emmons and Gary Waters(1)
Hardware
TEAC 4-Track Tape Deck
An unnamed TEAC 4-Track tape deck would be used to play back audio and programming signals to the hardware. The Winchester 4-Track Reel would be the format used for data, where audio, programming signals, and a timecode track would be streamed in real time. These tapes would be generated on the separate (but still possibly interlinked) Winchester Hardware Setup. Due to the later SongCode Hardware Setup using a TEAC A-2340 Tape Deck, which seemingly recorded only in the 2-track stereo-mode, it is a possibility that this was a carryover from the Winchester store, giving this unnamed tape deck a likely model.Unnamed Decoding Box
Currently no sources cite what hardware was used to decode the incoming audio signals into the programming data for the system. It is stated however that there was no central minicomputer controlling the system(2), meaning the decoding device was only there for decoding and streaming.6502-Based Controllers
The main system was a set of identical boards with a CPU based off the MOS Technology 6502 Microprocessor. These boards would intercept the programming and timecode data, and process it for their individual outputs. Each character would receive one of these boards, that being:- Winchester Chuck E. Cheese V1
- Winchester Crusty the Cat V1
- Winchester Pasqually
- Winchester Jasper T. Jowls