My new 'arcade'!!!??

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Yesterday I was looking over ebay and noticed a listing for 8 arcade machines. Before I even clicked it, somehow I knew it was going to be in my city. It indeed was. I contacted the guy right away and made him an offer. I aimed super low just to see what he said. We went back and forth all day and came to an alright number for both of us, which of course is a number he had in mind the whole time. I would have liked to pay less, but I still think I did ok. Here's what I got:

Ms. Pacman - Original Cab, a little faded, some chips but not too bad. New controller overlay. The machine has a speed chip, and when you get the power pellet the ghosts are rats instead. Not sure if this is inherent to the board if it's a bootleg or something, or if I wanted it to be regular if I could just remove a rom chip.

Galaga - Original Cab. Artwook looks pretty good and has a brand new bezel. Game played fine, but the picture on the monitor was shakey once in awhile. Not sure if it was because the games were in the cold garage, but hopefully it's no biggie to fix.

Die Hard Arcade http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7579 I hate the cab this game is in, but it'll be nice to have a st-v system. Also has these games for it: Virtua Fighter Remix, Decathlete http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7542, Golden Axe: The Duel http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7967, and Winter Heat http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=10452. Everything looked and worked perfect on it.

English Darts - Worked perfect, but I don't really want it.

Beast Busters http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7063 - Not working right now. Cab is in really nice shape, the guy said it's probably a power supply problem and that it used to work. Going to be a beast to move, but looks like it would be really fun to play.

Sky Soldiers http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9577 - In a Tempest cab. Said it turned on a few weeks ago, but when I was there it wouldn't turn on. Probably sometihng simple.

Jungle King http://klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8258 - Said he had never gotten this working. He has an extra power supply with it, and the roms to convert it to elevator action. The cab is in REALLY nice shape.

Special Force Pinball Machine - This thing looks AWESOME. Right now it turns on and attract mode works. I think possibly the coin mechanism isn't hooked up correctly, because there's no way to give yourself credits. I'm hoping this will be an easy fix, because I don't feel comfortable working on a pinball machine.

Now obviously, I don't have room for all of this at my house. As of right now, I'm planning on keeping Galaga, Ms. Pac Man, Die Hard, and the pinball machine. I'm hoping to bring the non working ones to my work, fix them up, and sell them. I hope I'll be able to get enough money from the sale of them to cover the costs of the games I'm keeping, or at least get them for cheap.

I'm pretty confident I'll be able to fix the video games, but I'm definitely scared of tackling the pinball machine. Picking all this up on Saturday, wish me luck. I'll keep you all up to date if you're interested.

I'm sure you're also all wondering the price: $2300.

[IntvGene]

I'm betting that Tempest cab died because it is rejecting Sky Soldiers! Damn, the Tempest cabs sure get put through some of the worst conversions. You should really try and restore that cab to its original glory, if at all possible.

I'm not going to comment on the price, as you already have. Be warned that some of those problems may not be as easily fixed as expected. But, enjoy the cabs! There are some nice games there... is that Special Forces Pinball the 1987 Bally one?

Send us pics when you can and congrats!

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Pricewise, not the steal of the century, but I don't think it's unfair for either party. I'm sure other people here may think otherwise. Plus, I'm splitting the cost 50/50 with my roomate, so it's not that big of a deal.

I would love to restore Tempest, but I've of course heard the monitor horror stories about that, so I'm understandably wary of that idea.

The Special Force Pinball is indeed the Bally one. Have you played it? What did you think?

I'm being optimistic about the repairs for now, but you're right, I could maybe regret trying to tackle this. I'm up for the challenge though.

[IntvGene]

Yea, my advice to fixing arcade machines is to be patient. Realize that it all isn't going to be fixed overnight. On the other hand, you also have to be looking to make steady progress on something or else they'll never get fixed. Start with the small stuff and do lots of background reading on what you need to get done.

I haven't played Special Forces, but I think I remember seeing it in the arcades a couple of times. That's why I want the pictures. ;)

[shawnbo42]

If you think that the Jungle King has power supply issues, rip out the whole power supply board, chuck it (after you crack it in half, so that no one else uses it) LOL and replace it with a standard switching power supply. That's what I did with mine, works great. I can email or pm you with the wire pinouts if needed.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Finally, some pictures.
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/1.jpg
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/2.jpg
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/3.jpg
Not the greatest photos, but it gives you the idea.

The three other cabs and the dart machine are at my work. I've only fixed Sky Soldiers so far. That was a simple fuse issue. Hoping to sell that and the dart machine soon.

As for other work I've done, not much. New cherry switches in the Die Hard cab, everything works great on that now. Thinking about getting the pinball machine shopped.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

I forgot to mention, Special Force pinball now does work, but there are some issues. The pop bumpers don't fire, and either does the left slingshot. There's a pinball shop in town, and I think I may just have the guy there fix it, instead of trying to dwelve into those arcane arts.

[IntvGene]

Lookin' sweet!

I love the art on that Special Force pin. :)

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Haha, yeah, the dagger dude is awesome.

[Bluteg]

Congrats on the Die Hard Arcade cab it's one of my personal favorites.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

now - to get radiant silvergun for the thing. i think my roomate is on that one.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

I added another machine to the collection today. A columns cocktail I got from a rummage sale for 50 bucks. It works and plays alright, but the monitor has horrible burn in. Still, 50 bucks.

My friend picked up a Double Dribble dedicated cab for 150 from the same rumage. Nice condition and works really well. Same rummage also had Double Dragon and Ninja Gaiden, but the DD cab was in like 4/10 condition, and the Ninja Gaiden was in some sort of horrible generic cab. It looked like garbage. He wanted 350 for the both, so I passed. Maybe for 250, but 350, no way.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Here's some pictures of my other games that are in storage at my work. The Sky Soldiers and the Dart Machine both work. Haven't really had a chance to look at the other two yet. If I can't get Beast Busters working, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with that thing.
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/arcade_4.jpg
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/arcade_5.jpg
http://www.wiskate.com/fun/arcade/arcade_6.jpg

[TripppsK]

Nice haul, good luck getting it all working again.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

Yesterday I worked on Jungle King for a couple hours replacing the power supply. The one that was in there was pretty burnt up, and the replacement I had is the same part number, yet it was a little bit different, so it took me quite awhile to figure out what went where. Plugged it in, and it fired up! Too bad there's just garbage on the screen. More work to be done.