Questions about a possible restore project.

[bigbuffs]

So I noticed an arcade cabinet sitting behind a local shop the other day and I decided to go ask them about the cabinet. I was interested in it for a couple of reasons. One because it was a madden football cabinet which I had never seen before and I never knew they made madden football for the arcade. Two, I am planning on doing another MAME cabinet at some point and I felt this would work well for that. So when I asked them about the cabinet they told me they were throwing it out. He said they had gutted it basically and were getting rid of it. I asked him why they were getting rid of it and he mention something about the hard drive being fried and maybe something else and he said they couldnt find parts for it anymore so they scrapped it. He told me if I wanted it I could take it for free since it would actually save them money not having to throw it out. It was in to good of shape for me to let them throw it away so I decided to take it. I'll post a pic so you can see but the only wrecked part on the cab is the marquee.

After thinking it over for a few days I am really considering trying to restore this thing but I really don't have any experience in working with the actual arcade interface stuff. I only really know MAME and computer stuff. So my main question is what would I need to get this thing back to running condition. I know alot of the basic stuff like I would need a monitor and some sort of power supply, buttons, control sticks, speaker and that type of stuff but my biggest question lies in what the machine needs to run the madden game?

I started looking up some stuff about the game and I found a hard drive on ebay that I think would work. Link to auction here http://www.ebay.com/itm/REFURBISH-RECERTIFIED-EA-SPORTS-MADDEN-2005-HARD-DRIVE-WITH-WARRANTY-/300844728022?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460bbe3ed6 But I don't really know what else I would need. Do these things have a game specific motherboard like thing that I would need to find as well? Also I should mention that they left the 4 joysticks and it looks like 2 joystick interface boards in the machine. Though I don't know if any of the joysticks work.

Any info you have to help me here is very appreciated.

[jennifer]

      Well you gotta ask yourself, All those games on Mame are in one cab, Do I really want to start collecting dedicated cabs?... Its quite
addictive, time consuming, expensive and takes up considerable space... But on the upside its quite rewarding, especially on a cab like that, one
destined for certain death...That cab is not that old, parts should be quite easy to find, I would start that project by going back to where you
found it and ask the guy where all the guts are, The screws, a manual, Whatever he has...With any luck you will score some NOS, then get on
the Ebay, and suppliers to finish it...Good luck.

[bigbuffs]

Ya I have questioned the whole dedicated cabinet idea but I would really love to have a game room someday with some dedicated cabinets. One of the reasons why I am considering saving this one is that me and my brothers have always been big madden fans. We've been playing the games ever since they first came out. I know they would all get a kick out of me having a madden arcade machine and we would have some fun playing it as well especially because it is a four player machine.

[jasonl2972]

That cab is way to nice to mame.Thats a great score.I'd restore it and find some guts for it.Its just too nice to not keep dedicated.

[ChadTower]

MAME that sucker.   That's a GOOD MAME candidate.  Four player panel already finished for you and a really nice marquee/topper area.  I'm usually the first to say "restore that game" but this one really is a good drop in MAME cab. 

[HaRuMaN]

MAME it.  MAME it now, MAME it hard, MAME it fast... never look back.   

[bigbuffs]

no one has really addressed my main question though. What would I need to get this thing up and running again. like I said I found a hard drive on ebay for the game but would I also need a game specific motherboard or jamma board? I have heard alot about jamma but I really don't know much about what it is or how it is used.

[HaRuMaN]

no one has really addressed my main question though. What would I need to get this thing up and running again. like I said I found a hard drive on ebay for the game but would I also need a game specific motherboard or jamma board? I have heard alot about jamma but I really don't know much about what it is or how it is used.

I'm guessing that there is a ton of game specific hardware for it that you will likely not be able to find.  That hard drive really isn't going to do you much good.

[yotsuya]

Get an IPAC 4 and run a computer version of Madden. Either that, or run an xBox in there using HaRuMaN's controller hacks.

[wp34]

MAME it.  We have one in our basement--my son's first cabinet--and it requires a lot of specific hardware and a security dongle for the software to run.  It is a fun game but will not be worth the trouble and expense to restore. 

The cabinet is a great candidate for MAME.  Too bad they took the monitor out.  It came with a WG D9200.   

[paigeoliver]

Mame the hell out of it. It is a late model machine, the kind of which you will be able to buy in perfect working condition for $200-$300 a few years down the road. Don't waste money trying to restore it.

[jennifer]

    Doing what you love to do is not a waste of money.