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FullCircle
03-11-2006, 06:53 PM
I recently bought a Dr. Mario arcade system with all docs and all stickers still on their backing from a couple that was selling off their motel and contents. I got it for $40, and the display only shows green except for one time, when it displayed in full RGB. By this picture, does anyone know if this is a play choice cabinet with a Dr. Mario board stuck in or is this an actual Dr. Mario cabinet (of which very few are known to still exist)? Either way it's either going to be sold for parts or modified to play NES/SNES games.

LINK (http://www.fullcirc.net/Systems/dr_mario_1.jpg)

Additionally, if anyone has any ideas as to how to fix the color issue, let me know. I tried adjusting the gun lenses as it says in the manual (face the tube screen North, etc.) but it doesn't change the picture at all, and the fact that it did display properly once lead me to believe there's some wiring issues.
If anyone needs more pictures to determine this, let me know.

Kitsune Sniper
03-11-2006, 07:09 PM
Well, it's only got one monitor and there are no game selection buttons so there's a good chance this is a Dr. Mario standalone cab. Playchoice-10 had two monitors (one for the game, one for the list of games available and their instructions.)

Then again, there's the VS. Dr. Mario title. LOL

Kitsune Sniper
03-11-2006, 07:13 PM
Sorry for the double bump, but here's some images from the games, taken with MAME:

PC-10 Dr. Mario:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8251/pcdrmro6tr.png

Vs. Dr. Mario:
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3872/drmario0xr.png

See that? The Vs. version has a coin counter at the bottom. The PC-10 version is for all intents and purposes the same as the standard NES console release, with the exception of the timed method of play and the game selection screen (both handled by the PC-10 system).

InsaneDavid
03-11-2006, 07:38 PM
You may want to scale down your images so the thread displays properly in 1024 x 768. If it has a normal board in it and is Vs. Dr. Mario (not just the marquee from one) then it's a standalone cabinet.

PC-10 Dr. Mario...

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7632
(the cabinet picture is incorrect, I resubmit images to KLOV all the time but for some reason the fixes are never put in place - except for the SCUD Race marquee that I contributed and was there almost instantly :roll: )

Standalone Vs. Dr. Mario...

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=10354

http://www.arcaderestoration.com/ is a good place to get started, also some people on the Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum may be able to help you with restorations and identification.

Flack
03-11-2006, 08:50 PM
#1 - I changed the huge picture to a link.

#2 - I moved the thread to the Arcade Alley.

#3 - Nice find!

#4 - About six months ago I sold a dual Dr. Mario/Super Mario Bros. cabinet to fellow DP'er Icbrkr. Oddly enough, after moving it 200 miles, it started doing the same thing (flashing). Turns out, the chips for Dr. Mario are on a daughter board, which plugs into the main motherboard and is held in place by, uh, "pressure". By wiggling it, plugging it and unplugging it, we were able to fix it, but it was certainly fnicky. Hopefully you didn't mess up all the other controls, and you can get it working again by simply reseating that daughter board.

FullCircle
03-11-2006, 08:52 PM
Thanks a bunch, guys. I didn't know where to post this at first, and have replaced the image with a scaled-down version. The board is the Vs Dr Mario board and not one of the swappable chip boards like Mario(jumpman) and Donkey Kong. I'm going to test all of the connections on it next, because it will also make static discharge noises from time to time when left on. I've also got to replace the molding, get rid of some rust and replace the P1 red button with a black one.

Arcade Antics
03-11-2006, 08:53 PM
By this picture, does anyone know if this is a play choice cabinet with a Dr. Mario board stuck in
It's a Nintendo Vs. Cabinet, which may have started out as Donkey Kong or Popeye. Unless the serial #s are still on it, there's really no way of knowing at this point, but they're all virtually identical.


or is this an actual Dr. Mario cabinet (of which very few are known to still exist)?
There's no such thing as a dedicated Dr. Mario cab. All Dr. Mario cabs (like the one you posted) are just Vs. Unisystem cabs with the Dr. Mario kits in them.

FullCircle
03-11-2006, 09:00 PM
That was my thought, but then I saw something about a guy's collection in Sweden that said he had a dedicated Dr. Mario cabinet. I also did notice the documentation said something about Donkey Kong, and references some dipswitches that are not present on my board, but are very similar (free play, falling speed, etc.). I'll let you guys know if I get it working properly. For now, I'm playing with my new toy - the PSP!

evil_genius
03-12-2006, 02:06 PM
nice find. you can't beat that price.