concerns about Ms Pac-Man purchase

[ghaleon1965]

Hello:

I'm sorry I haven't posted much here on this forum.  I am mostly lurking and admiring other people's projects.

I would like some advice.  I am looking for a local (I live in San Francisco) Cabaret Ms Pac-Man arcade cabinet.  After searching on Craig's List for several months, I finally found one.  The large blue and the cocktail Ms Pac-Man machines are available pretty much all the time, but the Cabaret one is the only one that fits up the stairs and through the door of my apartment.

However, I found several problems with the machine and the seller.

One of them is that the seller is very unwilling to let me go to his house to check the machine.  I have asked him several times to give me his address so I can check it out, and he has not done that yet.  I have also told him I need to know in advance so I can schedule a trip to San Jose using the train and the bus, since I don't have a car.

He finally suggested today that he could bring the machine to my home and if I like it I would make the purchase; otherwise, we would move on.

That brought me to the second concern I had:  One of the photos on his Craig's List ad (which has expired already) has actually the maze of Ms Pac-Attack, not Ms Pac-Man.  He didn't know about this; he, his wife, and his children have been playing it this way for about 10 years and he wants to sell it now because he needs the space.  According to him, when you boot the machine it goes directly to Ms Pac-Man and it doesn't play any other games.

He probably has some Multi-Pac board installed.  However, I don't think I will be able to recognize the specific board on the spur of the moment if I look at the motherboard and I need to make a purchase decision there.  So I would be buying it without knowing if I can make it boot to the original game.  I don't exactly care about having a Multi-Pac board in there as long as it automatically boots to the original Ms Pac-Man.

I have a mixed record with messing with hardware.  I did a lot of hardware repair back in the day during my former job when Windows 3.1 was the norm.  I have replaced hard disks, motherboards, graphic cards, power supplies, and so on.  I have never tried to fix a monitor for fear of being electrocuted.  In most cases I was successful, but I had lots of spare parts.

Since then, I have sucessfully replaced the hard disks on my two Mac Minis.  However, recently I broke both my GPH Caanoo and my sister's iPhone 4 while trying to fix them.  I don't know how to solder, burn chips, or fix monitors.

He wants $1000 for the machine, plus $100 to take it home.  I would consider that a fair price if I could see it in person and if the motherboard were original.  As is, I don't know if I want to buy it without knowing if I can make it play Ms Pac-Man upon boot.

Any advice?

Here are the two photos from the original ad that I saved.  I only changed the names of the files.

Peace,

Ghaleon

[yotsuya]

Yeah, that's not Ms. Pac-man. If you're that unsure of your skills, I wouldn't buy it if you really need it to be an authentic Ms. Pac-Man.

[DeLuSioNal29]

If space is your concern:  Perhaps you should check out this thread:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,128666.msg1315226.html#msg1315226

Not speaking for Maximus (former name on here was GriffonDodd) but maybe you could PM and see if he will either sell you his or build a new one?  It's worth asking...

Good Luck!

DeLuSioNaL29

[McHale]

My advice is to pass.  I'm not impressed with the overall appearance of the cabinet but a few things in how he's attempted to deal with you tells me it's not worth the hassle. 

Walk away.  There will be others that are better.

[paigeoliver]

That is a $500 machine not a $1000 machine and the seller not wanting you to come look at it is a crazy weird red flag.

I promise the standard full size machine or cocktail will fit through the door and into your apartment. If it didn't then you also wouldn't have any furniture or appliances. The uprights are only 24" wide and the cocktails are less than that.

My buddy has the cabaret and I have the upright and I do prefer the upright a little bit, if only for the larger monitor and more sturdy feel. As far as real world footprint they basically take up the same amount of space. Sure the upright is a little deeper and like 3" wider, but when you are arranging a room they both fit in a spot roughly the same size.

You really shouldn't pay more than $500 for a Ms. Pac upright or cabaret or $750 for a cocktail unless it has really been gone over (and most of them have not been).

When buying you want to make sure you have a legitimate midway PCB board inside, if it doesn't have that then take $100 off the value right there (a "60 in 1" board does not make the machine more valuable, as that board costs $50 less than a Ms. Pac-Man board is worth). Print up a picture of what one looks like.

Mike Doyle sells a really sweet 96 in 1 multipac daughtercard that plugs into the original midway Pac/Ms. Pac boards. They are less than $100 and well worth it if you are going to own a Pac game. Google should find it.

You might want to join the arcade-museum / klov forums as there are a lot of nice guys on there that fix up games to help finance their own collections. Since you are willing to pay market value you could probably easily find someone to sell you a Ms. Pac-Man with a recapped monitor, recapped mainboard, regrommeted joystick and Mike Doyle kit and carry it up your steps for you at around the $700-$800 mark.

[DeLuSioNal29]

You might want to join the arcade-museum / klov forums as there are a lot of nice guys on there that fix up games to help finance their own collections. Since you are willing to pay market value you could probably easily find someone to sell you a Ms. Pac-Man with a recapped monitor, recapped mainboard, regrommeted joystick and Mike Doyle kit and carry it up your steps for you at around the $700-$800 mark.

+1

[McHale]

+100 for what paigeoliver said.

[ghaleon1965]

Thank you very much to everyone for your advice.  I will not make the purchase from that seller based upon it (and my feelings).

I have visited the KLOV forums although I never thought of placing a wanted ad there.  I will be placing an ad today.  Thank you also for letting me know of that possibility.  Their members are a lot more knowledgable about the fair value of arcade machines and care about preserving and restoring them as much as I do or more.

And I love the Little Ms Pac-Man!  You know, the maker of the copy of Little Ms Pac-Man is trying to sell it now on Craig's List.  He lives at Livermore or close to there.  I could get there by train and then a few buses.  I seriously thought of buying it from him.  I decided against it because it's using a 60-in-1 board.  I'm not paying $1000 for an emulation, even though that machine has excellent craftmanship.  I can play Ms Pac-Man on a more recent version of Mame on my Mac right now.

This is the thread of the copy of Little Ms Pac-Man.  Both Sshando and Maximus did a great job.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=131863.0

Peace,

Ghaleon

[Richardgregory]

I don't think the authentic Ms. Pacman Cab has the multi-step configuration as in the picture - ie.  The CP is lowered from the screen.

[chopperthedog]

I don't think the authentic Ms. Pacman Cab has the multi-step configuration as in the picture - ie.  The CP is lowered from the screen.

That is a typical Midway cabaret style used for many titles. See here: http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8782


good day.

[Richardgregory]

OMG!   Thanks for the tip.   I think I have one of these CABs, which I am wanting to gut out - the last person that had this last, took the riser out, and as a result, the CP was raised and at an angle.

I don't think the authentic Ms. Pacman Cab has the multi-step configuration as in the picture - ie.  The CP is lowered from the screen.

That is a typical Midway cabaret style used for many titles. See here: http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8782


good day.

[Richardgregory]

What are Midway "Cabaret" style cabinets anyways?   Why does the cabinet have that elevated level - step from the control panel to the Cab's display.

[ghaleon1965]

I got it.  Thank you for refering me to the KLOV forums.  A member of that forum contacted me and I bought it from him.  I felt a lot more confortable with this seller than with the first seller.

I expect to take very good care of my Ms. Pac-Man machine and keep it for decades.

You can see the machine I bought here:

[paigeoliver]

Looks nicer than the first one you linked too.

[opt2not]

Beautiful mini cab! Nice score.

Also, I've come to realize since paigeoliver's return to BYOAC, he does say a lot of useful stuff.

[kuehnau]

Looks exactly like the one we have running in a local bar called the Red Brick in Marinette. I don't see any issue with the maze graphic on the pictures you linked to, but maybe I am just too ignorant.

[Unstupid]

Looks awesome... now peel off those coin return stickers! 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Looks great!  Congrats on your purchase!

Also, do some Googling on Multi-Pac board upgrades where you can convert the existing PCB to play multiple versions.  Much better than a crappy 60-in-1.

D

[paigeoliver]

Looks great!  Congrats on your purchase!

Also, do some Googling on Multi-Pac board upgrades where you can convert the existing PCB to play multiple versions.  Much better than a crappy 60-in-1.

D

The 96 in 1 kit from Mike Doyle is they one to have. Mike ships fast and it is a really easy installation.

[Malenko]

The 96 in 1 kit from Mike Doyle is they one to have. Mike ships fast and it is a really easy installation.

I think the 96 in 1 is a bit much, I feel the 4 in 1 is the best. Slow and Fast Pacman and Ms Pacman. but if you wanna play crazy mazes and piranha the 96 in 1 is the way to go.

[Nephasth]

I think the 96 in 1 is a bit much, I feel the 4 in 1 is the best. Slow and Fast Pacman and Ms Pacman. but if you wanna play crazy mazes and piranha the 96 in 1 is the way to go.

Thanks. Now I have to buy an EPROM programmer.

[Malenko]

4 in 1 is like $10 at hobbyroms.com

[Nephasth]

You're not doing a very good job talking me out of it.