Old Enduro Racer stand up cab - valuable bits?

[giantsean]

Hi All,

I won an auction of a sit down Cruisin cab and a stander Enduro Racer, both with original CRT's installed, for less than 20 USD.  I plan to convert the Cruisin cab to MAME later so that's another thread.

The ER cab on the other hand is in pretty rough shape.  No original boards, CP Removed, and full of squirrel pee.  I'm sure it has some value to someone but my goal is to strip it down for parts (if anything valuable to be had) and put the cab out by the road to be picked up for free.

All that said, what's worth keeping?  I've pirated the coin door, harnesses, locks, and manual.  The CRT is the big question.  Due to it's age it is of course pre-VGA and though I'm an IT guy by trade I do not have extensive experience testing tubes.  I do know enough to be mindful of things like discharging caps, and have some old 80's consoles and video gear that I could probably rig to test with some guidance.  Is the CRT worth the time to test and if so, any good reference materials out there for testing w/o original hardware? 

Thanks, and appreciate any advice!

[Vocalitus]

Put it on Craigslist and you might get your $20 back.

I'm the same.  I have plenty of 4:3 LCDs but crap at repairing CRTs. Easy to swap out but you are missing some expensive hardware unless you have some handlebars laying around. 

The other cab you got is interesting.  Hope you post your project in the forums. 

[bobbyb13]

If there is that much of them left you should rebuild them and make a MAME cabinet from scratch.
It really is not hard to.  Especially if you have template examples in your posession.

A CRT with no screen burn is always worth saving and also, altogether kids...

Don't maim for MAME!
 

[giantsean]

So in fact I already have a MAME cabinet in progress... the Cruisin' cab will be #2, and 2 will be all I can fit.  The squirrel pee is also pretty much a deal breaker (though I have encapsulated it pretty well with spray paint.. it will not last.  Ask me how I know )

The screen itself is pretty clearly burned in though.  If for that reason it's not worth keeping I will kick it to the curb wholesale and hopefully someone will find a use for it.

[bobbyb13]

Some screen burn looks hideous but isn't really bad with the monitor on- but can't tell unless you can fire it up.

Seems like a lot of machines wind up like that due to minor chassis issues.

Rodent whizz of all scents is nasty.

You'd be surprised what fresh mint leaves (or a whole plant even) can accomplish.
Bonus is rodents hate it and won't come back!

[giantsean]

The house I "bought" (a family hand me down) was infested with squirrels since I was a kid.  Job one was to remove the 1950's era insulation (read: nesting material) and with a spray gun hit the remaining surfaces with about 200 coats of BIN shellac.  Did wonders for sure, but houses are made of wood and not MDF.. well unless it's a Swedish house I guess

For the monitor itself, how would I go about testing it?  I can track back power but what did old games use to interface tube to board?  I'm guessing it may be proprietary (at least from glancing at it, I didn't see any sort of standard connectors, unlike my Cruisin and PGA cabs which are clearly VGA)

[bobbyb13]

Always blew my mind that squirrels loved fiberglass insulation.
That ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- REALLY makes me itch.

Without a functional game board or a test pattern generator I wouldn't know where to start on checking just how good the monitor is, but you should be able to see if the chassis fires up.
Is the original power supply still in there and connected?

You need to be sure that you are using an isolation transformer if the chassis requires it.
Pictures or model numbers will help immensely and don't plug it in until someone smarter than me replies here.
 

I know some basics- but just a little.
There are some very knowledgable people here who may chime in given some time.

[giantsean]

I wore a full body tyvek suit (complete with booties) and a respirator.  Painting with alcohol-based shellac.  In an attic.  In August.  Multiple methods of passing out were discovered... while in an extremely good mood throughout (the squirrels and I sang and danced together.. then had some tea.  At least that's how I recall it).

The PSU is still in there... I just have to try tracing back the dangling wires to their functional bits and see how it would possibly all connect to the missing pieces.  I'm not ready to go creating cables to make things work and end up blowing me and my squirrel friends up, so definitely no power until I check all the wires carefully.