A PHOENIX rises from the ashes

[Spyridon]

Okay, not really rising from the ashes as this one is in pretty good shape...but I liked the title   

One of my favorite games growing up.




Overall in nice shape.  I'll need to do some work on the bottom as cab doesn't sit straight (might be a structural issue and not just an issue with the leg levelers)

Game is working, but the monitor colors are off.  Also, after a few minutes, the monitor gets very dim and eventually goes dark.  A few minutes later it comes back on but repeats the process.  I'll do a cap kit on it and see where I end up.


Serial #3401 and the envelope beneath the tag contains all the manuals and schematics.  Always nice when the originals are present and by the looks of them, never touched



The major cosmetic issues are the control panel and the marquee.

The control panel has been painted blue on the front to cover up some damage

and the marquee is flaking badly letting the light just shine through

[Spyridon]

Let's tackle the marquee first.  MikesArcade had reproductions available, but now are down to just the seconds.  I picked one up and while it does have some scratches in it around the "X" (hence the seconds), it still looks a ton better than the old one.




Original one for comparison


I thought I had solved the scratch issue when I picked up a NOS marquee


After removing all the paper masking, I went to put it in the cab and found out that it was too big.  I'm not sure what cab these were designed for but it doesn't fit.  Looking at the graphics, they didn't stretch anything, but just added more black around the edges.  If I want to, I guess I can cut it to size.

 

[Spyridon]

Next up was the monitor issues. 

The monitor is a Toei CM-A20HC monitor which is something I haven't encountered before.


Pulled the chassis and installed the cap kit


Picture was much brighter but the colors were still off.  I also had a degassing issue as colors would change in different locations.  Not having the appropriate tool to handle this, I improvised and used a magnet.  A few waves with the magnet and some tweaking of the colors and I was able to get the color corrected. 

Before cap kit and adjustment:

After:


At first, I still had the monitor going dim on me but that has since gone away.  I have been running the game regularly and the monitor has been perfect.

 

[Spyridon]

Since Phoenix has no freeplay, I installed the freeplay ROM hack from Jeffs ROMHACK.  (now if someone would only come up with a way to save high scores)




I've never seen someone use glue (or some type of epoxy) to hold the chips in place.  It peels off without too much trouble.

[Spyridon]

Time to start working on the control panel



Panel was removed from the cab


and depopulated


Heat gun and a scraper made short work of the overlay



I have some rust spots I'll have to deal with


A coating of Citristrip takes off the remaining adhesive


and leaves you with a clean panel


I picked up a new overlay from QuarterArcade that will go on once the panel prep is done

[HaRuMaN]

Love that cabinet! 

[IG-88]

Wow, nice score! I really like your posts. Very informative for us "up-and-coming" restoree's!!

[TheShanMan]

Mine will be rising from the ashes, so you stole my title! Just kidding. The cab is converted to a Pleiades though (with a Phoenix boardset), and since the artwork is all bad to various degrees, I'm converting it back since I prefer Phoenix the game and the artwork. I did pick up a Pleiades boardset for $17 + shipping which turned out to work fine!

I've just ordered the cpo but need the rest of the artwork too.

One of these days I may work on a high score save hack, but I've got to get through my long list of restoration work first.

[Spyridon]

Mine will be rising from the ashes, so you stole my title! Just kidding.

When you are ready to start yours let me know.  I'll change my title to "A PHOENIX soars once again"   

I did pick up a Pleiades boardset for $17 + shipping which turned out to work fine!

Good deal.  I paid more for the Pleiades board I picked up.  I may put add jamma adapters to the boards and get a jamma switcher for this cab

I've just ordered the cpo but need the rest of the artwork too.

Looks like you'll need to go ink jet for the side art

One of these days I may work on a high score save hack, but I've got to get through my long list of restoration work first.

Hey, you know you'll never get through all those restorations.  Might as well work on the hack now.   

[TheShanMan]

Yeah, I know it'll need to be inkjet. I'm in no rush on side art though since all I have to do is stick it between 2 games and no one knows any different.

I'm planning to do the same thing that guy (don't remember who) on klov did with one of his games: just get extension cables and switch back and forth from right inside the coin door. To me it's not worth the money it would take for the good jamma switchers, and there are so many complaints about the chinese ones that I'm reluctant to use those either. Another option: if the hardware is nearly identical (I haven't paid attention to that yet), then maybe I could do a rom hack to do both games, like the 4-1 pacman hack that souza did. At the very least, it's fun to think of future project ideas like that.

[Spyridon]

Today, I used a wire brush on a drill to take off any rust and what little residue was left after the Citristrip



This easily removes the rust



And the panel is now ready to be primed

[dre-w]

<3<3<3<3<3<3

[TheShanMan]

Hey Spy, have you had any sound issues with yours? I had to replace the music chip in mine (now the music plays), and I've also got quite a bit of static noise that changes whenever the image on the screen changes significantly (i.e. it's somehow related to the video). Don't suppose you've had that problem? I haven't had time to try to figure it out yet but thought I'd ask just in case you've dealt with it.

[Spyridon]

No, I haven't had any sound issues on mine. 

[Spyridon]

Okay, it's been a while but I'm back!  Work has keep me on the road quite a bit, so all the restorations I had planned didn't get done.  Finally got some time to work on Phoenix.

When we last left...

The control panel had been stripped bare.  This week, I painted the front and back with a coat of Rustoleum Satin Black.


Once that was dry, I needed a few items.

New overlay...check


New buttons...check


The ones on the cab were too filthy to spend the time cleaning (especially when new ones are so cheap)

Much better:


Overlay went on smoothly, but I was a bit disappointed with it.  While the material and printing quality were top notch, the holes were not lined up perfectly with the control panel.  There was no way to get them all to line up so I had to find the best spot.

In order to get the buttons on the right side somewhat close (but not perfect as sacrifices had to happen across the panel)

by the time you got to the left side, you were left with this


In the end it's not that big a deal as the outer edge of the buttons covers up any imperfections.

Finally, new buttons and harness installed


There is a metal bracket that goes at the top of the control panel that needs to be stripped and painted yet.  Once I do that and paint the carriage bolts, it will be ready to go back on (and this cab may be done)

[opt2not]

Looks like a nice light resto for you, looks like the cabinet was really well taken care of over the years. Though, the structural leveling might be a PITA.
The side art and wood paneling looks great!

btw, I find a quick way of cleaning buttons is removing the spring and e-clips, and putting the plastic parts in the dishwasher. They're perfectly safe, and comes out looking great most of the time, either that or it gets a lot of the work done for you.

[TheShanMan]

The buttons on my phoenix were too bad for a simple cleaning too, so mine were replaced also. I had the same problem with the overlay, but in my case it was compounded by the fact that when I settled on the ideal positioning, it meant a bit of uncovered CP - like 1/16" to 1/8". I painted my cp white because I've heard that the whites in the overlays can sometimes look less brilliant with dark paint underneath. So I need to touch up the uncovered edge of my cp.

Anthony told me the poor alignment of the holes is due to variation in the hole positioning in the cp itself. I'd be fine with that explanation but why not make sure there is plenty of overlay to extend to the edges of the cp regardless of where the cp holes are. Oh well, not a big deal really.

[Spyridon]

Painted the carriage bolts and the metal piece at the top of the control panel and installed it on the game.

[Spyridon]

Before and after control panel comparison:

[IG-88]

The CP colors/details look a little faded out in the second pic. I take it thats due to the camera flash or angle? (I hope)

Was it typical for player one to be on the right side?

Overall fantastic job! I really enjoy your restores!

[opt2not]

You're a machine! Great work!  

[Spyridon]

The CP colors/details look a little faded out in the second pic. I take it thats due to the camera flash or angle? (I hope)

Probably the flash as the yellow on the new overlay is very vibrant compared to the faded old one.

Was it typical for player one to be on the right side?

It's just a single player game.  Left / Right buttons are in white and the Shield and Fire are in red.

[Spyridon]

You're a machine! Great work!  

No, just finishing up some projects that have been hanging out there for a while.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Nice find.  The small details you did to finish it is what really makes these gems shine.  Nice!

How much was the original cabinet?  It was in pretty good shape so I'm guessing it was pricey.

D

[Spyridon]

How much was the original cabinet?  It was in pretty good shape so I'm guessing it was pricey.

Actually, this was a great deal.  Got the cab when a local kids party place went out of business.  They auctioned off their games.  I got it for $230.  I almost got it for $150 and at the last minute a guy put in a bid.  Put about $120 in parts into it, including $40 for a NOS marquee that ended up being too big, so $350 all in.