October 30, 2008

Another pumpkin I carved tonight…
apparently it’s not my best work.

October 28, 2008

I had not mentioned it here before, mainly because I didn’t want to alert someone to swoop in and steal my deal, but I reached an agreement to buy a few arcade games this past weekend.  There had been an ad on Craigslist for some time, advertising these games for sale.  The person selling them was initially asking $500 for a lot of 4 games.  But, over time, we discussed it and I got the lot for a grand total of $250.

The ad did not offer much of a description, but from my conversations with the seller, I found out three of the games were working fine, while one had an unknown problem.  One game was sitting in their house and was in pretty good shape while the others were in a storage building and collecting cobwebs.  The 3 in storage were in somewhat rough shape, but nothing that couldn’t be repaired.

The Games

The non-working machine is a Kid Niki: Radical Ninja.  The cabinet is in decent shape but needs cleaned.  There are dings, scrapes and scratches that need patched, but it won’t be too difficult.  I will probably end up replacing the t-molding on it as well.  However, I would like to get the machine in working order first.  I really have no idea what’s wrong with it.  It looks like someone has replaced the normal cord with a plug from a PC power supply.  Plugging that in will kick off the fan, but nothing else happens.  No sounds, no lights, nothing.  I supposed I will start with checking voltages.  I have a few other games to restore before this one, so it might be awhile.

The second game is Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters.  The cabinet is in OK shape but, like mentioned above, needs some patching/painting.  It powered up right off the bat and seemed to be working great.  However, I noticed that the top of the screen is cut off.  I think this is usually an indication of a bad capacitor, so I’ll get the monitor model information and see if someone sells cap kits.  If not, hopefully I can dig out the schematics and give it a capacitor overhaul.

The next game is probably going to become a favorite of mine.  It is Haunted Castle, a game from the Castelvania series.  The game works great.  All controls are functional and the monitor is full, bright, and with no waviness.  However, there’s always a catch.  The cabinet is in very rough shape.  The bottom must have gotten damp at some point, because the cabinet is breaking off.  Fortunately, the sides are lower than the actual floor of the machine.  So, I might be able to whack off the overhang and do some minor patching around the bottom and give it some feet.  The cabinet won’t be 100% complete, but it will look a lot better if I can pull this off.

The final game, and one I really wanted, is a Golden Tee 3D.  This is the machine that was sitting in their home.  From an operational point, it seems to work fine.  The monitor might need a cap kit because I saw a little waviness, otherwise it’s really bright with little to no burn-in.  The trackball, however, is a little rough.  It has been dinged up over the years and rolls rough.  I might be able to clean it out, but ultimately I will probably end up replacing it.  I will most likely have to drill out the locks and replace them, but it’s a small price to pay.

So there it is, my treasue I found tucked away in eastern (not “Eastern”) Kentucky.  I’ll post some pictures when I get a chance to snap some.  I guess these will turn into projects V, VI, VII, and VIII.

October 19, 2008

I am gearing up for tax season.  I believe I have all my projects set.  That is, unless I run across another deal.

If you’ll look to the left, you’ll see I have 4 total projects listed.  The first, of course, was my restoration of an original Donkey Kong machine.  But, I also have a second Donkey Kong cabinet that I picked up a few months back.

Donkey Kong – Project II
This will be my next project.  I haven’t decided whether or not I will keep the machine once it is completed since I already have one in my game room, or sell it to fund my other projects.  I mean, who wouldn’t want a Donkey Kong machine upstairs and downstairs?

Popeye – Project III
I was torn between turning this machine into a Donkey Kong Jr or a Popeye.  I ultimately decided on Popeye.  It is a Super Mario Bros machine I picked up in town for $100.  Once I finish the above restoration, I will start on this one.

Donkey Kong Jr – Project IV
Or maybe I will move directly into this one instead.  I said I settled on a Popeye machine for the Super Mario Bros cabinet, but that’s because I fell into a deal for a Donkey Kong Jr cabinet.

Any way I go, I have my work cut out for me this winter.  As with my original Donkey Kong project, I will keep track of my progress, costs, and anything else that might pop up.

Here are the cabinets lined up in my garage.  By the end of winter, I hope to have them lined up in my game room.

My pumpkin is on top, Melissa’s is on the bottom:

[singlepic id="7" w="320" h="240" mode="" float="" ]

October 12, 2008

I woke up this morning and felt like getting something accomplished… instead of doing much needed house work, I plopped down in front of my computer and got to work.

I searched around for a good starting point and decided to go with the Blue and Red theme by Lucky themes.  Since I’m still bordering on obsessed with Donkey Kong, I went with a Donkey Kong-like color scheme.

I searched for an appropriate generic logo, but couldn’t find anything.  I went through several designs of the above logo and several hours later, decided to go simple.

It may not be the smoothest design, but it’s a lot better than the previous, dull, black, tedious layout.

On another note, I picked up a Super Marios Bros cabinet a couple of weeks ago.  It will eventually turn into my third project.  Now I just need to get started on project II.

Oh, and while working (and quite a bit of surfing) I discovered UK received a huge commitment from Daniel Orton.  If Patrick Patterson stays one more year, I see a Final Four run in Kentucky’s future.  Go Big Blue!

October 7, 2008

I’m trying to trade off my working Vendo Pepsi machine.  It seems to work fine with the exception of the coin mechanism.  I’m not sure what is wrong with it, but I bypassed it with some quick wiring, so all you have to do is hold the button for the selection you want until it dispenses the drink

I’m not sure of the year, but it looks like it’s from the 80′s.  It’s in decent shape with a few dings and it’s missing a piece of the molding on the right side.  I’m pretty sure I have that piece somewhere, I just need to find it. I believe it will also work with bottles or cans.

Here are some pictures.  Click on the image for a larger view.