Foxy Lady – a pin!
This isn’t mine, but I will chronicle the work on it. A fellow collector picked this up recently with the intention of donating it to the American Classic Arcade Museum (like I’m doing with Tunnel Hunt). Non working with a broken glass, I advised him that it would go to a very dark corner of the museum warehouse, and never see the light of day again. The curator there agreed with my synopsis.
Since I have a workshop to do the work in and the required technical skill, I volunteered to do the work on this to bring it to operational status once more.
Pictures forthcoming.
Popularity: 54% [?]
A better picture
Posted by Peale in Tunnel Hunt on December 29th, 2009
This first picture is one with the shroud removed. It more or less fell off due to disrepair. I will need to repair the plastic that fixes it to the top of the cabinet.
Tunnel Hunt - Not Packed In
This next picture I included to demonstrate how much RUST is on the cabinet. This is one of the speaker grills.
Tunnel Hunt speaker grill
Popularity: 33% [?]
Photo
Posted by Peale in Tunnel Hunt on December 4th, 2009
I know it’s a photo of a packed in cab, but it’s the only one I have so far.
Tunnel Hunt
Currently boots to garbage. When I pulled the AR/II R30 was burned. I swapped the AR/II with the one from Centipede. I also fixed the burn on the edge connector because R30 burned up. Then I put the PCB back in and fired it up.
This time…absolutely nothing. What? Then I realize I’ve plugged it in backwards! Oh no! Reverse it…back to booting from garbage, but it’s worse than before. When it was working before it was structured, looked like error codes on screen. Now it’s just nonsense.
Luckily I know a guy nearby (Adam) that can check this out.
I removed the front shroud, and it pretty much fell off. All the mounting wood was pretty much just holding on with sheer willpower (must be it’s own willpower, because I had no clue). Secured it all back down with wood screws, that’s good to go.
The shroud is a different story – the top plastic where it bolts to the top of the cab is completely broken. I think what I’m going to do is get a strip of thick vinyl and glue it in there, reinforcing it. Now I have to find what I’m looking for. The plastic from a DVD case would be perfect, but it’s not long enough. Unless I do it in sections…that could work!
The monitor (a K4900) works flawlessly. Beautiful picture. I wouldn’t even cap it.
Popularity: 44% [?]
It’s dead, Jim.
Pulled the monitor out of Donkey Kong 3 to see what this would do.
Popeye
The answer is “absolutely nothing.”
I even pulled the board out to see if it would work in Donkey Kong 3 (maybe something was wrong with the cab?) but alas, the answer was no. 
Popularity: 54% [?]
A picture might be nice!
Posted by Peale in Galaxian Conversion 2 (Golden Tee) on December 4th, 2009
Should have attached it to my last post. I could edit it, but…naaaah…
Golden Tee '98 - Nearly Complete
Popularity: 50% [?]
Sooner or later it’ll actually be finished
Posted by Peale in Galaxian Conversion 2 (Golden Tee) on December 4th, 2009
The Golden Tee ‘98 PCB has been mounted to the side of the cabinet. Had to get a bit creative with how the wiring was guided around the cabinet, but it works and is clean.
Rigged up a proper trackball harness, that works now. It was rolling REALLY roughly, so I disassembled it. Surprise surprise, it was filled with rust. Considering the barn it was located in was perpetually dank, I’m thankful it wasn’t seized. Much longer and I’m sure it would have been.
While the trackball was out I disassembled the control panel and polished the rust off the mounting bolts, then sprayed them with a clearcoat so they wouldn’t rust again. At least not until the clear gets worn off – and in home use that should be a while.
Installed textured T molding. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough to go on both sides, but with the corner protectors installed, there will be JUST enough! I have to order more now (something I’ve known for months) but at least this cab will be finished.
Still to come:
I’m sure there’s more, but that’s what I can remember.
Popularity: 59% [?]
Pictures of the shop
Finally remembered to grab my camera on the way to the shop one day.
Shop - Nearest to the door.
And another shot from the other side.
Shop - Far Side
Workbench area. It’s a work in constant progress.
My workbench area
Popularity: 52% [?]
Filthy!
Posted by Peale in Donkey Kong 3, Popeye on November 29th, 2009
Like all the other cabinets that I bought in that bulk buy, this is also full of mouse nests. Also the time it spent in that horrible storage area has made it a bit moldy.
I stripped it down to the bare wood, sanded down the insides and vacuumed. The circuit board cage and power block assembly came out. The power supply was disassembled, sanded down (since it was rusty) and given a coat of brass paint. I reassembled it this morning.
The PCB cage top was coated with mouse nests and mouse waste. Disassembled that as well, sanded it down and a “brightening” coat of brass paint was applied.
It doesn’t look brand new, but it looks 500% better than when I started.
I popped the Sanyo EZ out to see if Popeye did…well, anything at all, really. I couldn’t get anything on screen. Then I saw it: a small arc of electricity from the flyback area. I hope it’s only a broken trace, and not a failing fly – they’re expensive.
Popularity: 73% [?]
Cleanup on aisle four…
I forgot to share this story: when I installed the work bench in my shop it was only being supported on three of it’s six legs: both back legs on each end and the front middle one. For what I was using it for it was just fine as it more or less stood like a tripod.
I wanted to do some work on Popeye a few days ago, and it sits right next to the workbench. Since the floor is so uneven it was incredibly difficult to pull the game out so I could walk around to the back. So I pulled it forward enough so I would be able to hop up on the bench and jump over to the back of the cabinet.
I had two plastic drawer cabinets that I store parts and capacitors inside sitting on the end. I moved them to the other end, and sat my butt down on the other end of the desk, fully prepared to swing my legs around and over to the back of the cabinet.
That didn’t happen right away…in fact, it didn’t happen for about an hour. As soon as I sat down the whole bench tipped FORWARD since there was nothing supporting that leg. Not far…only a couple inches, but it was enough to tip both of those drawer cabinets forward, and they came crashing down onto the floor.
Several hundred capacitors spilled all over the floor, as well as many many many small parts. Took me a good hour to just pick them up, and it’ll take me many hours yet to sort the capacitors back into their proper drawers. I’m not going to do it all at once, I grab a handful each day and put them away.
I do have the legs supported now though…lesson learned!
Popularity: 55% [?]
Warehouse Raid
Posted by Peale in Donkey Kong 3, Main, Popeye on November 29th, 2009
Over the last couple months I’ve been reading about many “warehouse raids” where guys go to ops warehouses and buy a lot of their old equipment. Usually I hear about then after they’ve happened.
Yesterday was an exception. I took the boys and we went down to West Springfield, MA and I got to poke around a couple warehouses down there.
There was a TON of old equipment, pretty much stacked this way and that. The op was very interested that I did repair, and I can see myself going down and doing a lot of work for him. I hope this happens.
Picked up a Pac-Man bezel glass (with only half the artwork there, but that’s okay since I just need the glass and not the art), the control panel to a Popeye (better condition than the one I have now!) and the button holder to a Nintendo control panel (which is good because the one I have on the Donkey Kong 3 is broken in two).
I also picked up an orange leaf switch button which I was sure was a Nintendo button, but it wouldn’t fit in the hole on the CP, so it clearly wasn’t. I don’t want to fight with this thing any more, so instead of trying to find one of these fairly uncommon buttons I’m just going to make the hole a bit bigger so the button will fit through. I hate to do it, but at least it’ll be playable again.
Popularity: 98% [?]