Scored a Time Pilot (Cabaret) tonight.

[NoahsMyBro]

Early this evening, after work, I picked up a cabaret Time Pilot from somebody moving to N. Carolina (from NJ).

The game works, but the display is tinted red and distorted along the top and bottom (wavy, not glitchy). The cabinet is dreadful and stinks - musty and ammonia-ey.

The joystick seems to work perfectly, but is very loose.

Finally, based on my quick 2 minute test, the game makes a 'hissing' sound when it is powered up, but I wouldn't expect there to be any fans in the unit.

A) How easy, how costly, would it be to get a different cabinet for this?
B) I'm fairly savvy with electronics, but nowhere near Scott S' level. How easy/costly would it be to replace the joystick?
C) What on earth might be making the hissing sound?
D) What is likely to be the monitor problem, and solution?

Thanks!

PS: I'm FINALLY in the functional arcade machine owners club. Whee!

[Goblin]

Congratulations and welcome to the club.

A) How easy, how costly, would it be to get a different cabinet for this?

Cabinets can be had for Free up to a few hundred. Don't you still have a non-working game one in your garage? You could use that. You hardest part of a cabinet swap is either rewiring the harness or making yourself an adapter.

B) I'm fairly savvy with electronics, but nowhere near Scott S' level. How easy/costly would it be to replace the joystick?

$15 for a joystick and about 20 minutes. One of the simpler tasks you can do.

C) What on earth might be making the hissing sound?

Most likely the capacitors are charging.

[Arcade Antics]

B) I'm fairly savvy with electronics, but nowhere near Scott S' level. How easy/costly would it be to replace the joystick?

It might just need a new grommet, check that first before replacing... unless the whole thing is a mess and you want to replace it anyway.

C) What on earth might be making the hissing sound?

Based on your description of the smells, hopefully it's not a cat.

D) What is likely to be the monitor problem, and solution?

What's the make/model?

[NoahsMyBro]

Cabinets can be had for Free up to a few hundred. Don't you still have a non-working game one in your garage? You could use that. You hardest part of a cabinet swap is either rewiring the harness or making yourself an adapter.

$15 for a joystick and about 20 minutes. One of the simpler tasks you can do.

Most likely the capacitors are charging.

I still have my dead Frenzy, but I still cling to the fantasy that I'll somehow bring it back to life one day. Don't want to sacrifice that cabinet.

As for the joystick, I was hopeful it was as easy as I expected. Sounds like it.

Re: the caps - I thought capacitors are supposed to suck up electricity (i.e., charge), and then hold the charge. In any case, you're suggesting the caps are failing, I guess? Might that explain the wavy, red display?

It might just need a new grommet, check that first before replacing... unless the whole thing is a mess and you want to replace it anyway.


Based on your description of the smells, hopefully it's not a cat.


What's the make/model?

Joystick - the knob is all cracked anyway; if a replacement is really under $20, I'll just go ahead and replace it.

No, the smell isn't cat-like. Definitely a combination of 'musty' and 'chemically'.

As for the monitor make/model, when I got home I basically stuck the machine in the garage until I've got time to find a place for it and examine it more thoroughly. I'll have to check the machine out in a few days.

Thanks guys.

[Arcade Antics]

I still have my dead Frenzy, but I still cling to the fantasy that I'll somehow bring it back to life one day. Don't want to sacrifice that cabinet.

Nice score!

No, the smell isn't cat-like. Definitely a combination of 'musty' and 'chemically'.

I was going off the "ammonia-ey" part and making a lame joke about cat pee.

[Kid Ice]

The hiss could be the flourescent bulb in the marquee (if it works of course).

[TheDomesticInstitution]

In my donkey kong, the video cable running from my monitor is very very sensitive. If it's not plugged in perfectly it will tint the screen red, blue, green- whatever. I would try wiggling/inspecting/reseating the video cable where it goes into the game board, and see if that effects anything.

If the screen is tinted a certain color, it is possible that a disconnected or desoldered cable (or two), that carries color is suspect. But then again, there may be bigger issues.

[Peale]

Hissing can be caused by a number of things. I've seen quite a few powers supplies that had bad caps that hissed. It could also be a bad flyback. Track down the source of the hissing and let us know.

As for the cab, you can strip it out and paint the insides to seal in the odors. Inside odors, of course. Outside regular cleaning with Windex will help to remove odor causing compounds, and Febreez can help neutralize it.

Red haze could be a shorted color in the tube, a shorted color transistor, or even the red turned up too high on the neckboard.

IIRC Time Pilot used a special joystick. You may be able to repair it.

[NoahsMyBro]

Played with the Time Pilot this afternoon after returning the lawn mower to the garage. In spite of the awful cabinet and the distorted display, the game plays great!

I managed to hit 97,600, and Nate scored around 12,000.

PS: Peale - Your avatar is cute. Was she the kid sister on Buffy?

[NoahsMyBro]

Here's an ignorant question - if I leave the machine on continuously, long-term, will that damage anything? Alternatively, are there hacks that preserve the high score table at power-down?

[namzep]

Are you leaving it running in extreme temps (hot or cold)? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The machines were built to be run almost continually in the arcade.