Robotron Cabaret

[opt2not]

YES! I've finally found a Robotron Cabaret!  

Robotron is my holy grail. I've been searching for this cabinet for quite some time now, but there weren't any available near my area. To even find a cabaret version...that's just incredibly lucky. This game, even after all these years still holds-up in entertainment value. It's one of those games that create "moments" of pure joy, or pure frustration. For the past couple years I've been thinking up the concept of making a short animation film about Robotron (my avatar is some early concept art I did) and with this cabinet, it'll give me tons of motivation to pay homage to one of the greatest games ever made!

But first, I plan on restoring this baby to tip-top shape. It's going to be glorious!!


The Purchase



Won an auction tonight, going to pick it up this weekend.
Here are some of the seller's photos, I'll take my own when I get it...I am so excited!


Side-art looks scuffed, I'm hoping I can patch-paint it. Perhaps tape and spray?
If not I might have to consider stripping and re-stenciling.


Control Panel looks like it has some damage. Joys and buttons could use a cleaning. I'm assuming the buttons lamps aren't working. They were pretty weakly lit anyways...


This is such a beautiful picture.
The seller says the monitor is bright, and has no burn-in (can't tell with the flash on). That's great news, because if I had to replace the monitor I'd probably have a hard time finding one in that size. Also, the marquee looks to be in great condition.


Coin doors look great, no visible damage, may just need some fresh paint! As do the bolts.
The front base of the cabinet looks a bit chipped. I'll have to fill it up, sand and repaint. Not a big deal, happy to do it!
Oh yeah, and the t-molding should probably be replaced with a new set.


All the boards look to be in nice looking shape. Pretty clean!  Looks like I'm going to have to do a battery upgrade on this, easy-peasy. AA battery saves just aren't going to cut it for the long-term.


Dirty! Oh man, 13" monitor, this is going to be so awesome!


Original Power Supply. I'm going to keep it this way and just maintain it when I need to.


The restoration plan and cost:

Construction
1. Strip cabinet. Clean, sand paint, wood-fill/bondo, sand
2. Paint $20
3. stencils for artwork - $65
4. Clear-coat
5. New T-molding - $30
6. New Control Panel - $100

Electronic
1. Power Supply rebuild & Connector replacement - $35 **Order 1**
2. 4164 DRAM Upgrade chips ($1/ea.) and adapter ($8.50) - $32.5   **Order 1**
3. Battery Upgrade to Lithium - $4   **Order 1**
4. Re-flow Solder
5. LED #47 Bayonet bulbs for start buttons & coin door - $5.80
6. New fuses - $3   **Order 1**
7. LED Marquee Light  - $17.95
8. New Power cord - $3.00   **Order 1**

Order 1 Shipped = $89 USD

Total estimate restoration cost not including shipping/duty: $316.25

[CheffoJeffo]

 

[HaRuMaN]

sweeeeeeet 

[ckong]

Yoepiedoe, that machine still looks great. Congrats with this find. 

Robotron is, together with Black Widow, my number one cab still to score. But as I am living in europe, that chance is very small. But you never know.

Happy restoring. 

[opt2not]

Thanks guys, I'm eagerly anticipating getting this home!

Yoepiedoe, that machine still looks great. Congrats with this find. 

Robotron is, together with Black Widow, my number one cab still to score. But as I am living in europe, that chance is very small. But you never know.

Happy restoring. 

Thanks ckong!  Who's Yoepiedoe?

[jasonbar]

Score!!!

[whammoed]

I'm assuming the buttons lamps aren't working. They were pretty weakly lit anyways...

Maybe not.  They are lit very dimly from the factory.  It is difficult to light those dark blue leaf buttons.
It can be done more effectively with high power LEDS: (link is my site btw)
http://www.nicemite.com/LightmiteLB/LightmiteLB.htm
Of course modifying it would make it non-stock.  For some it is important to keep their game exactly the way it came from the factory.

Cool aquisition BTW.  Were you looking for one when the NIB (New In Box) were available?  They were expensive but in reality a good price for brand new.

[brock.sampson]

Congrats that's awesome.  Unfortunately this will probably bring your search for robotron cabinets plans to a halt.  Guess I'll have to find those.

[Level42]

Brilliant ! This is without a doubt one of the coolest cabarets ever ! (Together with Berzerk).

Love it, good luck on the restoration !!! Robotron ROCKS !

[RayB]

  

Congrats. I agree with everything you said about the game. It's still very fun, but boy do you have to be "in the zone" to do well, but when you are, what a rush.

I hope your side art is good enough to leave alone. That "grey" is actually silver. So you're gonna have a hard time matching it.

I did not know the start buttons are lit. I think mine is missing any lighting for that. But there is a row of bulbs that lights the top area of the monitor bezel.

If you decide to replace the control panel, Quarterarcade sells a perfect reproduction for $100 (ouch). Make sure you sell your old one rather than ditching it. They are R@RE!

[opt2not]

Maybe not.  They are lit very dimly from the factory.  It is difficult to light those dark blue leaf buttons.
It can be done more effectively with high power LEDS: (link is my site btw)
http://www.nicemite.com/LightmiteLB/LightmiteLB.htm
Of course modifying it would make it non-stock.  For some it is important to keep their game exactly the way it came from the factory.

Thanks for the link! I like that it's a non-invasive way of adding LED's to the buttons. I've been really considering an LED solution, for the sake of longevity.  It would also make the cabinet look so pretty as well.
I'm going to be upgrading the battery anyways, again, for longevity reasons (i've read stories of williams PCB's that have had AA batteries fail and leak, damaging the board), so I'm not going to be that AR with keeping this exactly factory stock.
I'm not too familiar with power supplies, so I'll have to do my homework,  - probably a dumb question - but can I connect these to the original linear PS?

Cool aquisition BTW.  Were you looking for one when the NIB (New In Box) were available?  They were expensive but in reality a good price for brand new.

I considered it, even though the cost of a NIB is pretty standard, I couldn't really pay for a $2000+ machine.  Besides, restoring a cabinet is like putting a little of your own love into it.
I get excited about doing the labour, reading some of Level42's and Spyridon's restorations had really inspired me.

Congrats that's awesome.  Unfortunately this will probably bring your search for robotron cabinets plans to a halt.  Guess I'll have to find those.

Yes, but now I can measure my cabaret and perhaps someone out there looking for the dimensions for a re-build can use it!

Brilliant ! This is without a doubt one of the coolest cabarets ever ! (Together with Berzerk).

Love it, good luck on the restoration !!! Robotron ROCKS !

Thanks Level42! I completely agree. I love the design of it! AND Robotron especially rocks with 4" Wico sticks! It's been too long...

Congrats. I agree with everything you said about the game. It's still very fun, but boy do you have to be "in the zone" to do well, but when you are, what a rush.

Definitely!  That's what's great about this game, once you get to that sweet spot, you cruise!  The best feeling is finishing a wave or two in a row without dying, it's like that feeling of having extra money when all your bills are paid...like "I'm ahead! Now what do I spend this on?"   I also love those moments when you make some crazy dodge that you saw coming out of your peripheral (if people are watching they're like "Holy!!  ", then the moment right after when you die from something stupid, because you're stunned that you just pulled off that magnificent move!

I hope your side art is good enough to leave alone. That "grey" is actually silver. So you're gonna have a hard time matching it.

That's what I'm hoping too. I'd hate to strip this cab, then try a re-paint that doesn't turn out the same. We'll see...

If you decide to replace the control panel, Quarterarcade sells a perfect reproduction for $100 (ouch). Make sure you sell your old one rather than ditching it. They are R@RE!

I'm hoping that damage on the right side of the CP is actually just dirt/grime. If not, I might have to get a replacement, eeek!   
Thanks for the tip, RayB!

[gryhnd]

  What is the difference between a cabaret and a regular upright, generally speaking? Just a matter of scale? 

[opt2not]

What is the difference between a cabaret and a regular upright, generally speaking? Just a matter of scale? 

Scale, smaller monitor (13 inch), and of course: COOL FACTOR.

[Spyridon]

What is the difference between a cabaret and a regular upright, generally speaking? Just a matter of scale? 

Edit: That's some interesting art on the full size cab.  Haven't seen that before

[whammoed]

I'm not too familiar with power supplies, so I'll have to do my homework,  - probably a dumb question - but can I connect these to the original linear PS?

The kits for the dark buttons only come in 5VDC, so you'll have to tap into a 5VDC supply somewhere.  As long as there is an extra 0.4 amps available on the 5v line you should be able to.  Otherwise you would need to add a separate supply...a regulated 5vdc walwart would do fine.
Or heck, this little guy is only 6 bucks:
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17629+PS

[Level42]

That's great news, because if I had to replace the monitor I'd probably have a hard time finding one in that size. Also, the marquee looks to be in great condition.

Looks like it's not needed, but for 10-30 bucks you should be able to pick up a Commodore 1084 monitor which is also 13" that could be transplanted in there. But it looks like the monitor is either fine or needs very little work.

[edge10]

What is the difference between a cabaret and a regular upright, generally speaking? Just a matter of scale? 

Edit: That's some interesting art on the full size cab.  Haven't seen that before

I didn't know The STIG played videogames!

Thanks for the flyer, helps me see the difference.

[opt2not]

Edit: That's some interesting art on the full size cab.  Haven't seen that before

Yeah me too, though I don't really like it. The normal cabinets with the larger 2084 going down the side is much better looking.

Also, speaking of different looking Robotrons, I like the look of the Euro Robotron Cabinets:

The black paint with red looks pretty bold. It's like looking at Robotron's evil twin brother... or doppleganger

The kits for the dark buttons only come in 5VDC, so you'll have to tap into a 5VDC supply somewhere.  As long as there is an extra 0.4 amps available on the 5v line you should be able to.  Otherwise you would need to add a separate supply...a regulated 5vdc walwart would do fine.
Or heck, this little guy is only 6 bucks:
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=17629+PS

I admit, I'm completely inexperienced when it comes to power supplies, other than PC ones which are super simple to deal with. How would one hook one of these up? I really got to do my homework...

Looks like it's not needed, but for 10-30 bucks you should be able to pick up a Commodore 1084 monitor which is also 13" that could be transplanted in there. But it looks like the monitor is either fine or needs very little work.

Oh I love those monitors, they're resilient! Thanks for the tip!  After reading this, I mentioned it to a work buddy of mine, and he said he's got one he'll give me if I ever needed it.
Though I probably won't.

I didn't know The STIG played videogames!

[RayB]

Level42: He'd have to find a UK verson of the C64 monitor. Over here, they didn't have SCART input. Just composite.

[Level42]

Level42: He'd have to find a UK verson of the C64 monitor. Over here, they didn't have SCART input. Just composite.

No, the 1084 was not a "C64" monitor (like the Commodore 1701 and 1702) but was aimed at and released during the Amiga era.
That's why they also have an analog RGB input on a Sub-D 9 pin plug:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=849

The 1084 is equal to the Philips CM8833. I've got one of those. There were also other brands sold as the 1084. Stick to the Philips version I'd say, it's top-notch, I use it as my test monitor.

The Commodore 1701 and 1702 were aimed at and released during the C64 era, you may be confused by that one. I've got one of those too for my Atari 8-bit machines. (Lord forgive me for hooking up Atari hardware to a Commodore monitor)....

But we're drifting off topic

By the way, is the STIG  actually known in the US ? Do they have Top Gear on telly there ? One of the rare programs I love to watch....

[opt2not]

Level42: He'd have to find a UK verson of the C64 monitor. Over here, they didn't have SCART input. Just composite.

No, the 1084 was not a "C64" monitor (like the Commodore 1701 and 1702) but was aimed at and released during the Amiga era.
That's why they also have an analog RGB input on a Sub-D 9 pin plug:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=849

The 1084 is equal to the Philips CM8833. I've got one of those. There were also other brands sold as the 1084. Stick to the Philips version I'd say, it's top-notch, I use it as my test monitor.

Ahhhh, yeah I was thinking you meant the C64 monitors. Thanks for clarifying

By the way, is the STIG  actually known in the US ? Do they have Top Gear on telly there ? One of the rare programs I love to watch....

I don't know about the US, but in Canada they play Top Gear on Discovery Channel. Or at least, they did...I haven't seen it aired in a while. Though, I haven't had much time to watch the tube these days.

[Spyridon]

Looks like it's not needed, but for 10-30 bucks you should be able to pick up a Commodore 1084 monitor which is also 13" that could be transplanted in there. But it looks like the monitor is either fine or needs very little work.

Actually, these will run more like $50 - $120 for the monitor.  Because they make great test rig monitors, they have been harder to get around here.  I think I ended up getting one for $75 plus shipping a few months ago.

[opt2not]

Actually, these will run more like $50 - $120 for the monitor.  Because they make great test rig monitors, they have been harder to get around here.  I think I ended up getting one for $75 plus shipping a few months ago.

I just got a 1084S locally for $10.   

Man, I'm getting lucky with the finds these days!
I should go on a search for Jimmy Hoffa's body, or the Loch Ness monster at the rate I'm going...

[Level42]

Looks like it's not needed, but for 10-30 bucks you should be able to pick up a Commodore 1084 monitor which is also 13" that could be transplanted in there. But it looks like the monitor is either fine or needs very little work.

Actually, these will run more like $50 - $120 for the monitor.  Because they make great test rig monitors, they have been harder to get around here.  I think I ended up getting one for $75 plus shipping a few months ago.

I should start exporting these ! Wanna trade for some cabs ?

I picked up two about 2 years ago, one cost me 15 euro, the other 10. That's about 20 and 15 bucks.

They seem to get a bit rarer here now, most of them are sold with an Amiga

[edge10]

By the way, is the STIG  actually known in the US ? Do they have Top Gear on telly there ? One of the rare programs I love to watch....

Top Gear is on BBC America here, many times a week.  Dish Network (Big Satellite provider) is how I get it.

[opt2not]

So after a long drive back from middle Washington, I finally got the cabinet home.
The seller seemed really sad to let this baby go, but said he was happy that it's going to a good home. Indeed it is!

The drive was long, and most of it was through a mountainous area.


Beatiful view, what an awesome drive there. But on the way back it rained really hard, and was pretty scary driving down.

The cabinet dimensions are about 5'3" tall, and 2'x2' wide/deep. When we picked it up, my wife couldn't refrain from saying "it's so cute!".  It packed up pretty snug in the SUV. Yay 60/40 split!


Here are couple shots of it in it's new home. I turned it on to see how it ran, with the lights on and off to see how clear and bright the monitor was. It's awesome! No burn in, and nice and sharp!

(Hard to tell, but on the right is a dreamcast sitting on top of a 1084s monitor, rotate on it's side for some Under Defeat monitor testing )

The cabinet condition isn't terrible, though the sides are pretty roughed up, and foot base wood will need to be restored. My fear for the need of a repaint is true, so I'll have to see if I can get the paint matched, as well as copy the artwork and stencil it out.
A close-up shot of the top corner:


The CP has a nasty cigarette burn on the right, and will probably have to be replaced. The bezel, and marquee are in pretty good shape, could use a cleaning is all.  The t-molding will have to go. The buttons are dirty but have no damage.
From my earlier assumptions, the coin doors are in awesome condition, they're just dirty, and are missing the proper cam-locks. The backdoor is missing a lock as well.

I'll take more pictures tomorrow, my camera battery died after taking a few shots so I need to let it charge.

Played it a little bit after getting it home. The joysticks are a bit loose for my liking, especially the shooting side, but I'm assuming the grommets are just a bit worn down. I was able to strike a deal with a fellow BYOAC'r for some replacement wico assemblies, I'm going to see what i can use to get the feeling a bit more tight in these. They should be arriving soon.

As for the game, after roughly 5 mins of playing the game crashes and resets. I did the initial rom checks, and diagnostics and it all turned out fine. No errors, except for an error 31 - CMOS write error. This makes sense because I didn't have any AA alkaline batteries to put in for the high-score saves. But this shouldn't be making the game crash...
I've read somewhere that it could perhaps be the power supply failing?  Does anyone have any experience with their Williams games randomly crashing and resetting to a diagnostic test?

*Edit*:  Looks like I can reproduce the crash 100% when it goes to the brain levels,  aka Wave 5's.  eeek!

[Epyx]

Grats Opt2not!

One of my favourite cabs/games of all time. Should be a beauty of a project!

I love the shots below of your drive and know them well...just before hitting Bellingham with a lake on your left if my memory is correct!

To get your wife to say "it's so cute" is pure win as well! 

[Spyridon]

 My fear for the need of a repaint is true, so I'll have to see if I can get the paint matched, as well as copy the artwork and stencil it out.
A close-up shot of the top corner:

If you want to save yourself some hassle, the stencils are avaialble from gamestencils.com.  And $65 is a good price.
 

[opt2not]

Grats Opt2not!

One of my favourite cabs/games of all time. Should be a beauty of a project!

I love the shots below of your drive and know them well...just before hitting Bellingham with a lake on your left if my memory is correct!

Thanks Epyx, I'm definitely going to take the time and effort into putting the love into this cabinet. The road pictures are actually on the southern side of Baker, traveling east from Seattle. Close guess! There's only two freeways going out in that direction, through the park reserve, and this one was a curvy one. Kind of reminded me of the Sea-to-Sky highway, but worst because of the speed!  Americans do drive fast, which I like because it gave me an excuse to do so too!

If you want to save yourself some hassle, the stencils are avaialble from gamestencils.com.  And $65 is a good price.

Nice, that is a value price! It's also cool they have the paint code on there, including the metallic top-coat silver. Thanks!

Ok, onto the slew of pictures as promised.

First, the cabinet damage

The right side seemed a bit more beat-up than the left, but they both have their problems:

There's a lot of small chipping around the edges.





The side art paint has a long big scratch down the side! AND a gouge right down to the wood! Yikes! In addition, you can see the paint is cracking from age...so, a re-paint is definitely eminent.


There's a bunch of shoddy re-paint patchwork that was put onto this thing, as well, someone decided to hammer nails into the side to secure the monitor mount a bit more. I'm not entirely sure what I should do with these nails...




The front panel has a bunch of paint separation, and base is chipped, but not too badly. Easy fix.




The back of the cabinet needs a good sanding and re-paint. All the stickers were torn off and removed. Oh well, I'm not too concerned with that.

[opt2not]

Control Panel, etc.

Like I said earlier, the control panel has a nasty burnt spot, as well as some growing mold happening underneath! The Joysticks are just a bit dirty, and the shafts could use some rust removal and a buffing.


The buttons are just dirty.


Thankfully, the bezel is good condition. There are only a few small scratches on it, but it's not really noticeable. Also, you can see that there is next to no burn-in on the monitor.  


The only thing wrong with the Marquee is that it has a crack down the right side. I'm not sure if it merits an entire marquee swap, we'll see when it's lit up whether it's annoying or not.


It's nice that there's a latch that allows the CP to swing out to be worked on. It's pretty clean underneath, just a bit of dust and rust here and there.


Original Wico's lookin' good.


Here are the lamps that are supposed to light up the player buttons. It's no wonder they were always "dimly lit".

[opt2not]

Coindoor and Cashbox

First, lets talk about the coin-door & cashbox.  They're in good condition, this cabinet was home cared, and the coin-door really show a lack of use. Just a bit of grime and rust. The previous owner didn't have the keys for the door, so I'll have to replace the cam-lock, as well as get another one for the cashbox entry.




Inside the cashbox, lo-and-behold, a quarter! .25 cents off the price, woo-hoo! Savings!


In the coin door there is a service switch bench assembly that works very nicely.


Inside and to the right there is a installed Volume rod which works fine, and can really turn the volume up pretty loud!

[opt2not]

The Innards


Ok, lets go around to the back and look at the electronics.
First, the plug.  Looks like the grounding prong is missing...Is this normal?  I've seen it done on other cabinets, and always wondered why.


Mounted on the inside of the back-door, there is a row of lamps that I'm assuming were used for lighting up the monitor bezel artwork at the top. Really cool idea, and I will definitely get these lamps replaced.


All the boards look pretty good, so I won't put too many dupe photos of them up again. But here are a couple.




Here's a shot of the battery holders. They're in awesome condition, but they're going to be removed and replaced with my battery upgrade. It's just better for the long-run. I will most likely put this up for sale if any collectors want it.


The monitor tube says it's a Toshiba...though I've yet to identify the chassis.


Eck, gooey substance on the overdrive pots...


Original linear power-supply, and a shot of the fuse diagram for reference.




So, that pretty much sums up the evaluation. Next thing to do is a order of attack, what I want to have happen during the restoration process, and how much it's going to cost me.
I won't be able to start working on this till later this month, but I would like to get it functioning without that crashing problem.

I've noticed that I can play the game for about 5-10 minutes from a cold start before the crash happens, then afterward only up to wave 5, (usually about 2-3 minutes). This leads me to believe that there is something failing after the initial warm-up.  

[opt2not]

reserved

[gryhnd]

While a favorite game, I know zero about the guts.  So don't laugh when I ask: What's the red seven segment LED down lower left? Some sort of checksum indicator?

[opt2not]

While a favorite game, I know zero about the guts.  So don't laugh when I ask: What's the red seven segment LED down lower left? Some sort of checksum indicator?

I believe its for codes to evaluating  and recognizing error conditions with the board.

[Malenko]

the ground plug is always missing from cabs when I buy them, last owner said it was because he didn't have a 3 pronged outlet 

[opt2not]

the ground plug is always missing from cabs when I buy them, last owner said it was because he didn't have a 3 pronged outlet 

I think this is primarily the case. Gah! I don't like the idea of the power not being properly grounded. Another thing to be fixed -- Added to the list!

I've been google-searching and reading, looks like my RAM error is pretty common. Next thing for me to do is check my voltages on my PS as well as DRAM chips. That will give me more of an idea of where the problem lies. If it's the PS (hoping not), I'll have to rebuild it or decide on upgrading to a new PS (most likely a switching one, which I'd rather not).
If it's faulty DRAMs, I should switch from the 4116 to 4164 DRAMs anyways as they're easier to obtain as well as run a lot cooler. There are conversion kits out there I can buy that come with the power adapter to use with the 4164's (no need for the +12 reg and -5 from the PS).

The previous owner gave me a bunch of back-up 4116's, in case of any fail...so for the time-being if the problem is faulty DRAMs I can just replace the individual ones till I go for the full-on DRAM conversion.

[opt2not]

WOOT! 
After checking voltages and poking around a bit, I found out that the DRAM in question had indeed failed.  I swapped it out and it is all good now! No more crashes! I even threw in the alkaline batteries for now, till I do the battery surgery later.
So awesome!

First run after fixing it:

I could have done better but I had to get dinner started. I usually never go over 1 million on the first try, on my mame machine...what a huge difference! Love the real Robotron Wico's, it's like BUTTER!

[gryhnd]

WOOT! 

 

[saleem]

you had to get dinner started!