Arcade Games.

[Iggy]

Anyone here collect, or even just have, old school arcade machines?

I currently have four of them. Two I've had for 29 years(I got them for free back in '84), but I've had a run of luck lately and picked up two more really cheap.

On the right, is one of the machines I've had for 29 years: Paddle Battle. It's a Pong clone from roughly 1973. It needs a new TV, but AFAIK the motherboard still works. On the left, is the 3rd machine I acquired, a fully working Poker machine.


Here is a picture of my newest machine, Super Pac-Man. It needs a little work, but it plays just fine. I put it next to my very first machine ever, Lunar Lander. These are fairly rare, because many of them were converted to Asteroids machines.

[the_cake]

Neat. Arcade machines are definitely something I'd collect if I had the time and space. Would be fun to have one of those 6 player X-Men boxes with 3 CRTs in line.

[KubeDawg]

cake, the xmen arcade game is available from the PlayStation store for like $10. Same with the simpsons arcade game.

I wish I could afford to buy some arcade consoles. I'd probably get Soul Calibur 2, a Neo Geo machine with Samurai Showdown/Metal Slug and The Grid lol.

YouTube

YouTube

haha so ridiculous

[Iggy]

Kube- There's something about the original hardware that just can't be replaced. That's one of the reasons I've passed on several "multi-cade" cabinets that have come my way over the years. I've only ever gone after original machines, although I've lost out on several over the years. Emulation and/or home versions can be fun, but nothing can ever replace the feel of plunking a quarter into that machine, and giving it your best shot.

Cake- My wife knows what I plan on doing if/when we have the money(and a house all to ourselves)..... even though she's not entirely happy about the idea. We haven't negotiated on the maximum number of machines I'll have, but we have plenty of time. At this point, I'm not allowed to get any more for at least a year.... but where I live at, they are really hard to come by. As it is, I'll be spending about $150 restoring Super Pac-Man to it's Arcade glory. I've also some repairs to do on Lunar Lander again, I'm not sure what is wrong with it this time... but I'll track down the problem. As you can see by the pic, the Poker machine needs some replacement lights, but they are cheap. I just need to find a good source of them.

[CaptainAhab]

Lunar Lander is a fucking awesome game.

I started gaming after arcades had long begun to decline, and I never lived near one anyhow. My only experience in an arcade was in passing -- stopped by one in a mall one time a few years ago and played the shit out of Frogger.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by CaptainAhab

Lunar Lander is a fucking awesome game.

I started gaming after arcades had long begun to decline, and I never lived near one anyhow. My only experience in an arcade was in passing -- stopped by one in a mall one time a few years ago and played the shit out of Frogger.

I literally used to live in one. My then best friend's parents owned the pool hall across the street from my house between 82-84. I would "do chores"(clean up the place) for free games. Sometimes, my friend and I would "open up", but show up 2-3 hours early so we could play all we wanted until it officially opened.

I'm telling you this, because Lunar Lander and two Paddle Battle machines were in the back room when the place burned down. I took pictures that night(I was awakened by the fire department sirens), and the next morning. They are on my FB page, if you're interested in seeing them.

Anyhow, because I helped out that night, and when everything was being moved out from the pool hall, I was given Lunar Lander, and one of the Paddle Battle machines.

Horror story coming: The guy who owned the Paddle Battle machines, THOUGHT he had given me the non-functional one. One worked, one didn't. I had only wanted the cabinet, to put my Atari in. Unbeknownst to me(and him, BTW), he had given me the WORKING one. Of course, I was "young and dumb" at the time.... so I (without testing it) cut the TV out of it, and put it out for trash.

Two weeks later, he showed up at my door, asking if I had done anything to the cabinet yet. I told him what I had done, and I saw his face go ashen white. When he told me that he had accidently given me the working one, I joined him with the ghostly pale look.... because it sunk in what had happened.

Lunar Lander worked great when I got it. Over the years, it developed problems with the throttle control(moving parts wear out, ya know?). Last year, I got a set of parts for it, and managed to fix it. A couple of weeks ago, something else went wrong with it. I'm not sure what, but when I have time, I'll track down the problem and get to work on it. There is enough info out there these days, that repairing/restoring old arcade games isn't the difficult.

Tomorrow, I'm looking to go pick up some light bulbs for Lunar Lander, and my Poker machine. I did put a new(well, old) coin mech in Super Pac-Man, so it's taking quarters now.

I plan on getting all 4 of them up to 100% working order at some point, although Paddle Battle will probably be the biggest challenge. I did manage to find a wiring guide for it, but I just KNOW it's going to be a huge pain in the ass.

[CaptainAhab]

I really wish there was a modern version of Lunar Lander. That game above all others of the era just has me hooked on it every time I get a chance to play it.

I don't know what your views on reddit are, but http://www.reddit.com/r/cade seems like an active, good resource.

[KubeDawg]

http://www.atari.com/arcade/arcade/l...narlander/play

[CaptainAhab]

Originally Posted by KubeDawg

http://www.atari.com/arcade/arcade/l...narlander/play

oh fuck

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by CaptainAhab

oh fuck

My thoughts exactly!!!

My Lunar Lander took a shit a couple of weeks ago... and I need to replace the marquee light. Not as easy as it sounds, TBH. I took the glass off, and revealed a complex fixture behind it. Gonna have to pull the manual out to see how to replace it. Fortunately, I have it around here somewhere. It came with the cabinet. A few lights on the controller housing, and a few on the Poker machine also need to be replaced. Going to go hunting for those sometime next week. Hopefully, I'll track down the problem with Lunar Lander and get it working again soon. For some reason, I'm thinking it may be the power supply, but I won't know until I start doing some work on it.

[Iggy]

Just a little update:

Super Pac-Man didn't take as much work or money to get it where I wanted it. Although, when I fired it up tonight, the marquee light blew out. Oh well, at least I have the tools to get it open... just need to get a new bulb. There's still some marks on the cabinet I want to take care of, but that's just elbow-grease and strong cleaners.

Lunar Lander is back up and running. Doing some research(and some electrical testing) gave me reason to believe that the "Big Blue" capacitor on the power brick was bad. I ordered a replacement, put it in, and voila! Fired right up. I still have to work on the marquee light, though... new bulb didn't cure the problem. May need a new starter or ballast.

I opened up the poker machine, and wired a new light housing in for the marquee. Replaced all of the bad bulbs, and now there's only 1 out. I'll replace the socket when I get some money.

I did some wiring work on Paddle Battle, and it's ready to be hooked up to a TV. Now, it's a matter of finding an old TV with the RCA inputs. I plugged the machine in(sans TV), and everything that was supposed to light up, did. I'm betting that thing still works!

I also moved things around in the game room, so here's an updated pic: