There are those among us who believe switching power supplies never fail. This is the third one to fail on me. This boy was pumping out 2.3VDC when it should be +5. Bad power supply you have been replaced.

Log: Frogger (197297)

Not exactly what I expected from a newly rebuilt and calibrated monitor. I would blame the board, but I tried 3 different boards and got the same result.

Log: Asteroids (15195)

Tried the second side last night, it failed just like the first. Curled up like crazy.

Tried the recommended 3M 80 Spray. Super light coat this time. Too light, it did not stick. It did manage to cause the shrivel marks again. Very disappointing.

The board came back and we tested it. Working great. still more to do on this project but great to see and hear it living again.

Missile Command gave us trouble. It killed two boards. We tore it apart and tested all the power pathways. The AR-II was pumping -25V into the -5V line. Could be a problem? It seems fine now with a known-working, loaner AR-II.

This project is far from over, but a few games of Missile Command put some juice back in the process.

Log: MC1980

As the cold weather approaches I am forced to empty the garage and prepare space for my truck. Moving days are here again.

The Asteroids (15195) is back. We replaced the Big Blue and refurbed the power brick. The monitor was repaired for $75 and installed. The board is shot. It is out for repair.

Back door was painted.

Marquee light rebuilt. We tested several ballasts for other repair jobs. I think I am set for FS2 and ballast parts for a while.

I had a small meltdown. The Tron art was not behaving and I had to add more adhesive. The 3M Spray Adhesive 80 was recommended. I carefully applied it and had hope this project would end.

The spray adhesive will melt your artwork if applied too liberally in some areas.

Would have been good to know prior to spraying.

Karen wanted Skee Ball. She found a spot in the Basement to put an alley and I finally found one. Well, two actually. Hoping I can restore both, but may need to cobble one from the pair.

Tags: Acquisition

I asked a neighbor to look at the G-LOC seat bottom. It was in pretty bad shape but plastic is not my thing. Bob used his fiberglass skills to mend, restore and produced a beautiful seat bottom.

We made serious headway on Tron tonight. It was more work than I expected. Every time I look in the parts pile there are more things I have to do. Everything seems to take a little creative joining as well.

What’s new:

• Inside Art, Left and Right
• Stick plastic
• Shroud art, left, right and center

Photos: Tron Rebuild

Where is the shop you keep referencing in all these post? Until recently the shop was the basement. Now that David is on board, we are restoring more games than ever and needed space. I found a local (4 miles) place with 200 square feet of space.

The temperature extremes are not ideal but it is climate controlled. Power, light and a paint booth make it ideal for restoration. Hopefully this will solve some parts storage issues I have faced in the past.

Full Details: Story

Gun Fight 2469 is operational. Burn test today. Soon will be ready for market.

Photos: Gun Fight

I was making progress on the Tron paint today

One of the Gun Fight collection is working! Fixed the Control Panel’s woes tonight. Placed the Yellow Gel in the unit and moved it to the working side.

Gun Fight 3999 is operational after a board fix, Power supply replacement, Gel transplant, trigger fix, leaf switch replacement and serious cleaning.

Restoration Log: 3999
Photos: 3999

We got the replacement transformer wired into the Sprint 2 last night. Checked voltages and powered the lights. It worked a new bulb in the coin door had it up and glowing. 120 going to the fluorescent bulb but no light. I will have to rebuild that.

Next we added the monitor and it is good. Finally added the boardset and played Sprint 2!

The wheels are great, both coin slot work. Track select, 1 Player and 2 player light up when appropriate. Both shifters and gas pedals work.

The monitor needs some help. Tried making adjustment to get the best picture but it is not great. We have a working spare. Might need to consider capacitors on this one.

My Pole Position cockpit had a volume problem. This game has 4 volume controls and one of them just did not want to adjust. I bought a replacement Potentiometer because I assumed it was rusted and frozen up. I should have looked first.

We opened it up and found the bad volume pot. It appears the contact was caught on one of the wires and not rusted in place. Cleared the tangle and adjusted away.

I had to play a few games. You know, just to test it out. Make sure there were no further problems with the nit.

We acquired a Space Duel Cocktail. Space Duel is essentially 2 player Asteroids. It is fun in the head to head cocktail configuration. Problem is the 6100 monitor is a rare color vector. The problem is the maintenance is expensive and the price will reflect that fact.

For Sale: Space Duel

I acquired a Q*bert again. I really missed my last Q*bert that stayed in Connecticut. Rick would not sell it back to me, so I found another unit. It is working but could use some cosmetic help.

I acquired another Space Invaders on Saturday. The cabinet is very nice but some parts are needed to get it running. The monitor is out for repair, the power supply is in the mail and the board has issues.

Another part of the Space Invaders project.

The remnants of Space Invaders 8685 are available for free

For Sale: SI 8685

Space Invaders is complete and working! I had to merge the parts from SI 8685 and SI 10050 to make a complete, working game. I am playing Space Invaders.

Photos: Two Halves
Log: Space Invaders

Found a Cleopatra Pinball today. I am trying to get her clean now. Might only be for parts, but I will try to save her.

Tags: Acquisition

The “Big Score” was courtesy of Harry. Harry is not done with arcade games, he just has other hobbies and decided to thin the herd.

He is still working on an Asteroids cocktail, rebuilding from the ground up. It was great dealing with him and he was very generous. Keep up to date on his progress at his bLog. You can become a follower and make him a Blogspot All Star!

In addition to being an awesome deal, his other hobbies include brewing. I am chilling a few samples now for later tasting.

I responded warily to a posting on r. g. v. a. c. for Free Game Giveaway. I assumed it was a scam to find Live email addresses, but the lure was too great. It was not a scam!

David and I rented a truck (to protect the game from the forecast rains) and a couple of helpers and responded to the ad. We grabbed 8 projects and some spare parts.

Check the Project Page for new entries.

We had some neighbors over for a pizza party. The kids loved the cockpit games and even played LeMans. The dads preferred Golden Tee and Galaga.

The Line Up:

• Centipede
• LeMans
• Galaga
• Burgertime
• Pole Position
• Golden Tee
• Star Wars

No failures, or break downs all night!

The Golden Tee is ready for sale. This is one of those games everyone requests. I finally have one for sale.

Price: $1000
Photos: Golden Tee
Log: GT 2004

Tags: For Sale

LeMans is ready for Sale. We are starting at $250 and seeing what the market for Monochrome is like.

Photos: LeMans
Restoration Log: LeMans

David was over for a working session. We lined up the Gun Fights and other Black and White games. We have some working XM700 monitors, a working board or two and a pile of Midway Power supplies.

We found one Power Supply that needs help on -5 Volt side.

We proved two monitors work and on does not.

We proved it takes almost 5.4 volts to get +5V on the boards. Have to inspect the harnesses and look for something that soaks it up!

The Gorf cabinet became available and David grabbed it! Now the search for parts begins.

Today was a travel day, Picked up an Atari Battlezone in very nice condition and a Kee Games Sprint 2.