Donkey Kong Restoration

[vwalbridge]

night and day, looks fantastic.

Thanks Malenko. I want to try and use as much of the original parts of the cab as I can...but after 35 years of gaming abuse it was time for a new CP, CPO, and buttons.

[harveybirdman]

gettin a little less Fugly every day 

[chopperthedog]

Nintendo buttons are super easy to restore with some wet sanding and polishing (my after pic above). Don't throw the old ones out. Nice progress so far.



good day.

[vwalbridge]

OMG. Those buttons are beautiful...


...how much you want for them? 

Yea...I need to restore the ones I have now.

[vwalbridge]

Well if you thought washing a monitor was controversial...how about this?

I'm trying to track down this annoying speaker hum and siren sound on my fugly DK...so I figured what the heck...I'll cap the power supply. I took it out of the machine and cracked it open. (BTW...Nintendo must have hired a gorilla in their power supply factory because I stripped 2 screws trying to get this beyoch open.


It was filthy so I washed it in simple green of course! (gasp!!!) Used a paint brush to get in the tough spots. Then rinsed it off with a spray bottle with water.


Here is the aftermath of snot that came off the 2 power supply boards


I propped them up in front of my space heater for about 10 minutes. And then let them sit for a few days.


Of course I used another one of Ian Kellogg's shaweet cap kits.


Soldering these caps was was a real PITA. Really huge globs of solder followed by very small tacks of solder. Some spots were dangerously close.
For the record...I'd rather cap 10 CRTs than cap a Nintendo power supply again.


All said and done, I think it was 27 caps inside that monster. Sheesh!


And for those of you that like before and after pics..




I then threw it back into the DK and fired it up. (Not gonna lie...I closed my eyes and flipped the switch with a wooded broom handle. lol)  BUT, no sparks, smoke or fire. YAY!

Next step was to check all the voltages coming off the PS. So I used my crappy Harbor Freight mulitmeter and got 5.1v, 12v, and 24v where appropriate.

Now that the voltages checked out, I threw in the 2-stack DK PCB and fired it up.

The Good news: The game still works and plays fine.

The Bad news: Still have that hum and siren noise. (However, I am giving up on the "hum." I'm told that I need to stop wasting my time as all Nintendo cabs do this....guess I never noticed it)

So I'm back to tracking down the "siren" noise. I'm going to look at the transistors on the PCB again.

[yotsuya]

I looked at one of Ian's kits for the monitor I just picked up. He wanted $18 for a kit Bob Roberts had listed for $10.

[yotsuya]

Oh, and play a few Donkey Kongs at ZapCon. Maybe we'll see that what you think is weird is pretty normal for your cabinet.

[Malenko]

wheres the 30 minute video that has *maybe* 35 seconds of something interesting going on?

[vwalbridge]

I looked at one of Ian's kits for the monitor I just picked up. He wanted $18 for a kit Bob Roberts had listed for $10.

Don't quote me on this but here is what I have heard are positives from Ian's kits:

1. They are all labeled and organized for an easy-to-understand install. (Sometimes a PCB cap map is even included for convenience)
2. He uses caps that are rated to last longer. I heard as much as 2x longer?
3. He sometimes includes caps that you don't normally see in other kits.
4. He is readily available to help you if you have any questions.

I've never ordered from Bob Roberts so I don't have anything to compare first hand. And the 4 "features" above are just things I've pieced together from various threads on 3 different forums. (and personal experience)

I've kinda got 2 left hands when it comes to this stuff so having them all organized and labeled is a big plus for me.

[vwalbridge]

wheres the 30 minute video that has *maybe* 35 seconds of something interesting going on?

I could strap a Go Pro to my head while I work and upload that for everyone to see.

But I'm afraid it would be more like 3 hours of my cursing and saying WTF? to myself over and over. Followed by 30 seconds of me saying "At least I didn't make it worse"

[yotsuya]

Good to know. I'll eventually probably order something from Ian.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Use code: johnsarcade and you will get a discount.

[yotsuya]

Use code: johnsarcade and you will get a discount.

Already ordered from Bob, but good to know.

[vwalbridge]

OK, so I've made some progress. The "hum" sound that my DK speaker was making was driving me absolutely bat----steaming pile of meadow muffin--- crazy so I had to fix it. However, I learned this "hum" sound is actually totally normal for Nintendo cabs. Why? Well, it's actually a design flaw. Nintendo thought it would be a good idea to have the audio amp draw its power from the monitor chassis. Thus, the audio amp picks up interference from the monitor and outputs it through the speaker in the form of a "hum" sound.

So how do you fix that? I purchased a $16 12v-amp from Amazon.


This little amp will now draw 12v directly from the unused 7p power headers on the power supply. Pulling clean, non-noisy power. Here you can see it from the back of the cab. Jankey-ly hooked up but working nontheless. NO MORE HUM! YES!


And a view of it from the coin door. I'll decide later where to permanently mount it. Anyone interested in eliminating the "hum" sound in their cab, I think this is a perfectly good solution.


Now I just have one issue left...That annoying "siren" sound that repeats in the background. It's definitely coming from the PCB. Grrrr. 

[yotsuya]

OK, so I've made some progress. The "hum" sound that my DK speaker was making was driving me absolutely bat----steaming pile of meadow muffin--- crazy so I had to fix it. However, I learned this "hum" sound is actually totally normal for Nintendo cabs. Why? Well, it's actually a design flaw. Nintendo thought it would be a good idea to have the audio amp draw its power from the monitor chassis. Thus, the audio amp picks up interference from the monitor and outputs it through the speaker in the form of a "hum" sound.

So how do you fix that? I purchased a $16 12v-amp from Amazon.


This little amp will now draw 12v directly from the unused 7p power headers on the power supply. Pulling clean, non-noisy power. Here you can see it from the back of the cab. Jankey-ly hooked up but working nontheless. NO MORE HUM! YES!


And a view of it from the coin door. I'll decide later where to permanently mount it. Anyone interested in eliminating the "hum" sound in their cab, I think this is a perfectly good solution.


Now I just have one issue left...That annoying "siren" sound that repeats in the background. It's definitely coming from the PCB. Grrrr. 

Colorado Kush time!!!

[harveybirdman]

Congrats on fixing the hum!  Hopefully we will find some people at ZapCon that can teach us the Arcade Fu of board troubleshooting, I'm thinking of bringing a couple that need work.

Let's just call this vwallbridge 1 Fugly Kong 5 for now.

[vwalbridge]

I hope chopperthedog sees this and is happy with me. Decided to try and restore the original buttons on my DK. People are asking stupid prices for these buttons now. So restoring mine was definitely worth it. I used the common method you can find on anywhere online. Wet sanding and plastic polish. Many of you have probably already seen this many times so I apologize. But anyone who hasn't...the results are amazing. Credit to Tigue on YouTube for this technique.

Had to clean the grime out of each button first. Pretty surprised how greasy each button was.


I wrapped tape around the shaft of the plunger to protect it from the teeth of drill chuck. I used wet sand paper. Started with 800 grit and moved to 1000 grit. Spun it in my electric drill for about 10 seconds each. Must keep the paper wet and cold and don't spin it very long or it will chew in too deep. If the button is really discolored, you might have to dig a little deeper.


For the collar of the button, I used a bolt and washer on each side. I also put tape on the bot to keep it from chewing up the threads.




When I was done, the bucket of water was nice and cloudy from the plastic shavings. I just wanted to remove the first mirco-layer to reveal smooth original-colored plastic.


Next step gives the gloss look. I used PlasX. This stuff is just amazing. Put a few drops on a micro-fiber cloth and spun it in the drill until it is smooth. I think the real trick here is to use a micro-fiber cloth. I found that a cotton shirt, for example, heats up to quick and starts to melt the plastic. A micro-fiber cloth stayed nice and cool.


I had many other buttons from my Mario Bros, VS, and Space Duel to do as well. It was a button party. But only I was invited. 


I like before and after shots...so here are some:

Orange button:


Blue Button:


A family photo:


I can now look at myself in the mirror knowing that I am using legit Nintendo buttons on my DK.

[chopperthedog]

Nice!!! Since you had em', might as well love em'. The panel looks, sounds and feels right with them.



good day.

[vwalbridge]

Nice!!! Since you had em', might as well love em'. The panel looks, sounds and feels right with them.



good day.

Thanks man!  It's very satisfying restoring original parts. And your picture above definitely made me want to do it.

[Malenko]

They look great!

[P.H.U.]

So how do you fix that? I purchased a $16 12v-amp from Amazon.

Totally blown away by your work. Just a fan. Link to the amp please?

EDIT:  Nevermind. Found it by doing a picture search.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Those buttons look amazing. I may bring mine to Zapcon so you can restore them, heh heh.

D

[vwalbridge]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I was blown away how well the technique worked. If you have any original buttons that need restoration, it can be done pretty easily!

Side note...collectors are now asking $25 to $30 for original blue nintendo buttons and $35 to $40 for orange buttons.   

[harveybirdman]

Dude you rock!

It's for lines like this that I love following your threads...

It was a button party. But only I was invited. 

[vwalbridge]

Dude you rock!

It's for lines like this that I love following your threads...

It was a button party. But only I was invited. 

Glad you noticed that.     

The weather in Denver is about to start getting warm again so I'm anxious to get in the garage and make some structural progress on the restoration. Bondo? Party of one?

[vwalbridge]

In an effort to keep the machine as original as possible, I will be fixing up the marquee and bezel.

The person who owned this cab before me randomly sprayed it black in different places and ended up getting black over-spray everywhere. So I used a magic eraser to get it off. Below is a sample spot before and after. The magic eraser is just good enough to remove the paint...but not so bad that it rubbed off the decal.


Purchased a drill buffing pad from Amazon and went with PlastX again for the scratches.


Dripped on some PlastX and used the drill to work it all around. I was careful not to get any on the edges of the decal but PlastX is pretty mild anyway.


I went ahead and also did the inside of the bezel as well. I think the trick is to not let the drill spin fast, otherwise the PlastX will dry out. And it's not very effective when dry.


Here is the before and after of the bezel:


My marquee also needed attention, so I used Goo Gone for the sticky stuff and PlastX again for the polish.


Same process as before, used the drill to work it around.


I got some really good results on the marquee. Looks almost brand new.

[Malenko]

hawt.

[harveybirdman]

 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Nice!

[n3wt0n]

This restore is coming along nicely. The thread is a great source of information as well. Thanks for taking the time to update it.

[JimmyU]

It's on. It's on like...I forget the rest, but you get the idea.

[harveybirdman]

It's on. It's on like...I forget the rest, but you get the idea.

Michelle Kwan?
Red Dawn?
Grey Poupon?



oh you mean on like Donkey Kong....

[vwalbridge]

It's on. It's on like...I forget the rest, but you get the idea.

Michelle Kwan?
Red Dawn?
Grey Poupon?



oh you mean on like Donkey Kong....

[Malenko]

I'd take Michelle Kwan over Donkey Kong anyday

[DeLuSioNal29]

Or Michelle Kwan remixed.

[reptileink]

Really satisfying to see how great those buttons turned out, and I didn't even do them!

Loving this thread!