Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!  (Read 5511 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« on: August 14, 2022, 04:06:25 am »
Ok, so it is an illness.
But the wife hasn't said stop yet!

Some background for anyone who hadn't seen the start of this latest batch of mayhem.

I got six (yup, six) mostly rotten cabinets a few months back and have been sorting through the guts.
The boxes were termite eaten (a few still infested) but it seemed like most of the internals were ok so I figured I would have some project material.

The one I REALLY wanted from the pile was the Rampage.  Fond memories of playing this one with my sister eons ago.
But of course the box was toast- really toast.
Cockroaches, mice, and best of all termites.



Looks like it got to see some moisture too at some point considering how the powr supply looks.



I never got it to power up (in fact I watched something that wasn't an LED light up like one on the Sounds Good board when I powered the thing up) but I dissasembled it lovingly so that I could build a new box for it.



Probably 2 months ago I went through the whole thing and measured pretty diligently to get dimensions and angles proper, cut a bunch of interior panels, and worked on the CP a bit.

Shortly thereafter I saw a post from someone needing a harness for a Rampage and figured I could send mine (already removed!) to Ken at goldenage and he can make the pattern to repro it for anybody.
So off it went and this project went on the back burner.

Got tired of looking at the old one rotting outside and cut the side panels for it last week.
Then the pump in the pond died and that ate my life for 5 days so another halt to progress.

Until today!
While I was trying to clean up the disaster that the workshop has become from other crap not as fun, I figured it was a great opportunity to make some headway on this thing finally.

So I routed the T-molding slot in the side panels and then put this together.



This one has been fun since I finally got to use the router table I built 6 months ago.
A few interesting parts here to have the speaker panel and grill capture both the marquee and bezel glass at the same time.

The metal part of the control panel is not really that bad (although the joysticks are little rust blobs and will require a lot of work and maybe parts replacements) but there is some rust on that too.



Anyone have any experience with ospho on these things?
I figured it would work but no clue if it will destroy the overlay on the other side if I get any leaching through.
Would prefer to keep the original overlay on this if possible.

If I get cooperation from the universe tomorrow I will be painting this baby.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2022, 04:09:13 am by bobbyb13 »
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

leapinlew

  • Some questionable things going on in this room with cheetos
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7906
  • Last login:March 19, 2024, 06:19:27 pm
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2022, 11:08:35 am »
I know the feeling! I took on 3 Donkey Kong cabinets this summer. Working on the last one now and it was in the worst shape. I had to rebuild the sides, floor and back, but I was able to reuse the control panel and marquee, so that's a time saver.



I took the sides and repurposed them into some Arcade1up risers. I'll paint them back, but this is them getting test fitted.





Definitely re-use what you can, you might be able to use Ospho and keep the overlay. Do you need to use it at all? I would be inclined to take a sander to it and spray rustoleum over it. That might be kind of ghetto, but... it's the underside of the control panel.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2022, 11:10:28 am by leapinlew »

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2022, 11:52:14 am »
Nintendo cabinets are such a classic.
Where did you find 3 DKs all at once?!
Sadly it looks like I'll be running out of room before I get to build one of those.

Great use of beat up panels.  Seems I mostly find cabinets that are so far gone that none of the wood is salvageable.

I think you're right about the sanding and Rustoleum for my CP.
In between I think I will just lightly brush it with ospho instead of flooding it and see if it looks like it is helping.
Really only want to do this once!

I still need to mock up and test fit the whole CP assembly to make sure I get the kick panel set in just the right place.
It is very Dynamo-like in form so if I don't recreate it well it is sure to be wobbly and creaky or cock-eyed.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2022, 06:15:13 pm »
Before putting any paint on this I wanted to get the kick panel in it's final resting place- which meant making sure the CP asembly was going to be right.

The factory arrangement for this is pretty cool (and apparently a Midway staple.)

A few locating pins and a bracket that serves to both support the lateral edges of the control panel and also get the hold down clamps in the perfect spot too.
Simple and slick.



There is a hinge on the bottom of the front metal skirt of this panel assembly (easy control maintenance for sure) so getting this in the right place so that it captures the bottom edge of the bezel glass and sits on the side supports well is pretty important.

With the front skirt bolted to the underlying plywood and the metal plate on top I marked the height that the kick panel needed to sit at and drilled a few holes to secure that too.
Got the height right it appears.



Time to get some paint on this thing.
I will steal a little time to start that today while I am waiting for the pond to fill up.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

leapinlew

  • Some questionable things going on in this room with cheetos
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7906
  • Last login:March 19, 2024, 06:19:27 pm
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2022, 08:50:18 pm »
That's looking awesome. Are you buying this wood? I couldn't believe the cost for 2 sheets of 5/8ths MDF.

So, what's the deal with the pond? Pics of the pond!

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2022, 03:07:06 am »
Slow down Bobby, you're making us all look bad!

Seriously though, good score. I'm sure, with your woodwork skills, they'll be going again in no time.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2022, 03:37:38 am »
That's looking awesome. Are you buying this wood? I couldn't believe the cost for 2 sheets of 5/8ths MDF.

So, what's the deal with the pond? Pics of the pond!

I'm using poplar or birch cabinet ply for these cabinets- which is now $75/sheet here.  It is painful.
The world as we knew it is over.

The pond is the result of a ridiculous idea of mine to have an aquaponic system.
We have the room so it went from concept as a 100 gallon tub to an 8,000 gallon thing I dug with a friend of mine who has a mini excavator and some serious skill with it.
Like everything else around here laughably outlandish.

Functional at the moment but getting reworked a bit more to blend it into the landscape and make it pretty.
Under construction still but filled here.



Needed a waterfall for aeration of course- and no shortage of rock in my life.



If it irritates me as a fish pond it will become the 15'x25' quick dip pool.  It is 3 feet deep after all, and I formed stairs into the ground on the low side anyway so it is easy to get in and out of without falling on your ass every time.

Maybe some part of this property will be 'done' before I die!

I have had FAR too much down time with the way the last four house renovations I have been working on  have gone for the other trades (and are still in limbo!) so I wound up with a lot of (despreately needed) time around the ranch here.
It is almost certain that exactly when one of them is ready for me again that then all of them will be.
And then I won't have time to scratch my butt if it's itchy- so I need to get some crap done around here now.

My cabinets keep improving a little each time (and take less time too) so maybe the next few will be awesome.
 :lol
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 11:57:30 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2022, 08:50:23 am »
I thought you said you were running out of space for arcade cabs?

You could build an arcade room on stilts over that pond.

Put some glass windows in the floor.

Make a small hatch so kids can feed the fish.


pbj

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10871
  • Last login:Today at 09:00:13 am
  • Obey.
    • The Chris Burke Band
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2022, 11:18:02 am »
You're fixing to get very well acquainted with the local wildlife.  First you'll dump some koi in it.  Then the aggressive birds show up and you put up netting to stop them from eating your fish. 

Then it will magically fill with frogs that you didn't know Hawaii had.  They will keep you up all night because it's all systems go in No Natural Predator Humping Frog Pond and they all gotta croak as loud as they can to get the lady frogs.

The frogs will attract whatever fills the raccoon niche in Hawaii.  So the raccoons will tear up everything to get to those tasty frogs, the birds will fly into the new holes, and your netting will start accidentally catching and murdering endangered species birds.  Then you're placing them in black garbage bags at 4am and throwing them away in isolated dumpsters and praying no one saw you do it.


 :cheers:





Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 11:57:30 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2022, 11:23:09 am »
When I had a koi pond I kept the birds away with AM radio.

They didn't seem to care about music, but talk radio kept them away.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2022, 11:36:15 am »
Swimming pool.

That's what we did.

25 metres long for lap swimming. Keep you healthy (and poor) until old age.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #11 on: August 15, 2022, 02:27:55 pm »
You're fixing to get very well acquainted with the local wildlife.  First you'll dump some koi in it.  Then the aggressive birds show up and you put up netting to stop them from eating your fish. 

Then it will magically fill with frogs that you didn't know Hawaii had.  They will keep you up all night because it's all systems go in No Natural Predator Humping Frog Pond and they all gotta croak as loud as they can to get the lady frogs.

The frogs will attract whatever fills the raccoon niche in Hawaii.  So the raccoons will tear up everything to get to those tasty frogs, the birds will fly into the new holes, and your netting will start accidentally catching and murdering endangered species birds.  Then you're placing them in black garbage bags at 4am and throwing them away in isolated dumpsters and praying no one saw you do it.


 :cheers:

I love this story.
 ;D
The stupid cane toads showed up a year ago.
I have been 'reloacting' them.
At least all the tilapia eat the damn tadpoles now so it has become a non issue.
Had an owl come visit for a few days which was very cool.

Biggest issue will be the feral pigs probably, but the hog fence has been keeping them out so far.

At least we can eat those if they get irritating.

AM radio sounds like a good method if it comes to it Mike.
The loft may get a second story deck and the pond is right there so part of your vision may come to pass.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #12 on: August 15, 2022, 08:21:57 pm »
You have cane toads in Hawaii? Damn!

I used to improve my quarterstaff skills with those guys when I was a kid.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2022, 03:51:04 am »
The toads are irritating but I do not like killing anything I won't be eating.
Except the idiot neighbors roosters.
All of them will die.

Maybe I should let Tyler loose on the toads with the kendo sword!

Rampage cabinet got a second coat of black today.



It is remarkable how much even semi-gloss black shows imperfections.
The texture you can see here is barely noticeable with your hand.

In the past I have been doing ok with using mineral spirits to thin my paint but I tried Floetrol this time around and I am a huge fan.
It takes a bit less of it to get good viscosity, it mixes in easier and the gun seems to lay it down nicer too.

Haven't decided if I will sand this and give it another coat or just run it as is.
I got the side art stripes and T-mold here so I'm getting kinda antsy on making it pretty.

No matter what I know the Sounds Good board needs help (which I am clueless on,) the joysticks need a ton of work too and my harness is in Canada for that matter, so I really should just be patient and make the finish even flatter.

And as prophesied not long ago, I got three messages yesterday that people want me at their jobsites.
 :dunno
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2022, 07:40:37 am »
I feel the same way about you regarding killing things needlessly. However, cane toads are obnoxious noxious invasive pests that kill local native wildlife.

I'm no psychopath, but you should feel absolutely no pity for them. Destroy them with whatever means you have at hand. Just channel "alien invasive species".

If you want to kill chickens, we have many here. Unfortunately, I usually don't have the stomach for killing chickens. I am a big wuz in that regard.

Your black side (of the cab) looks great!

If you want to see fussy arcade cab spray painting, you'll have that opportunity soon. I'm nearly done with my Aussie lowboy cab's paint. Man, it's been far too much of an effort, especially with the humidity. That, and I chose to use acrylics.

In any case, I've been delaying posting pics until it is done so please be patient :D
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #15 on: August 18, 2022, 03:25:46 am »
Comically and as per usual, pbj wins again with channeling Nostrodamus.

It had been a long while since I heard the irritating little gurgling, but last night I caught 17 cane toads up at the pond.
Curious to see how many I find tonight.

While I was at it, there was a family of feral pigs that snuck through a spot in the fencing that had a rivulet hollowed out under it I hadn't noticed before.
Took me the hour leading up to 2:30 am to chase them out because I didn't want to be dressing the damn things in the middle of the night when I had to work in the morning.

When the hell will I get back to machine work-
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #16 on: August 18, 2022, 01:35:31 pm »
Last night's haul was only 6 cane toads.
They and all future bounty will get to slowly and calmly become toad-sicles in the freezer.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #17 on: August 19, 2022, 01:30:02 am »


 :laugh2:

I should start keeping a calendar of how many toad-sicles I make every night.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #18 on: August 19, 2022, 03:13:54 am »
Cane toads. Like orcs.

When I was a kid, we lived in a Queensland regional capital. My best mates were 1-2km one way, another 1-2km the other way. Local shops (with arcade games!) the same. Few people. So sure, I was on my bike a lot, but often I found myself heading out into the dark (evening), without anything but my wits.

So, I found myself a 1-inch thick 6ft long piece of dal (round hardwood) and made it into my Monkey Magic staff.

I wrapped masking/paper/painters tape around it in stripes, so it was easier for motorists to see me walking on the side of the poorly-lit road on dark nights.

I feel that it also served as an effective warning on dark, lonely nights. Like they say, walk softly but carry a big stick.

To understand why... I've suffered bullies more than my share in my time. But nobody bothered me when I was carrying that stick.

Anyways, cane toads were always in abundance. So I always did my best to help the community. They were obnoxious and wildly excessive, killed native and pet animals, I practiced my art. With a twist at the end.

Skills gained, as a young adult was quite popular on the fire stick twirling circuit for a while.

Check out my completed projects!


Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #19 on: August 19, 2022, 03:21:54 am »
If you want to find (or trap) cane toads, two things:

1) they are attracted to where the bugs are, and therefore any outside lights.

2) when not hunting bugs, they like to hide somewhere dark, moist and cozy. So anything like a board or sheet over wet grass/soil will be attractive to them. Especially if it is not far from their feeding grounds (the lights)

They need water to breed, so can never be too far from that. However, in a cool dark place, they can survive for a long time. Just look for those cool dark places.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #20 on: August 19, 2022, 03:58:56 am »
Presently I just need to wait until about 9pm, listen for the cute little 'come hump me" noise and grab my net and a bucket!



7 more just now.
Safely in the freezer.

Happy to do this every night if need be but we'll see how the population gets along.

A year ago when I first got the pond filled and circulating the water was crystal clear for a few months and every other morning for a while I was pulling a quart or more of toad eggs off the bottom of the pond.

Not sure moreso if the turbidity got them (it rained a lot in Jaunary and silted the pond and the water quality went to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---) and/or if the fish got big enough to start devouring eggs and tadpoles greedily.

No sign of toads or noise for a while.

I drained the pond finally last week when my old crappy pump finally died and after I filled it back up a few days ago the toads returned.

Never before saw as many as the 17 I got two nights ago.

A mile away from here there was an irrigation pond that had been there since the '50s- until they started letting it run dry and it drained out entirely a week and a half ago.

My pond is now the only source of fresh water for 2 miles in any direction.

Between the toads, feral pigs, and peacocks, I will be doing battle for a while.

Maybe Saturday I can work on the cabinet again?!
Yeesh.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #21 on: August 19, 2022, 04:18:53 am »
Ugly buggers.

You could bury a bucket, like that one you pictured, top level to ground, a few metres away from your pond. Cover top with a board (prop up corners with some rocks).

Come back mid-late every night, lift the lid, and collect all your toads!

Bring a broom (or a Monkey Magic stick!) to sweep any reluctant toads into the pot.
Check out my completed projects!


Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 11:57:30 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #22 on: August 19, 2022, 07:14:30 am »
Newts eat tadpoles.

Dump a bunch of them in there.

Then you will have a bunch of newts instead of toads. And newts are quiet.

leapinlew

  • Some questionable things going on in this room with cheetos
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7906
  • Last login:March 19, 2024, 06:19:27 pm
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #23 on: August 19, 2022, 04:10:36 pm »
Damn, those are ugly. Seems like you got to build a Frogger now. I'll check back in 2 hours to see if it's built yet.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #24 on: August 20, 2022, 01:24:31 am »
Damn, those are ugly. Seems like you got to build a Frogger now. I'll check back in 2 hours to see if it's built yet.

 :lol

That IS the funniest thing I heard today!
Thanks Lew.
I needed a laugh after this week.

We'll see how many I get tonight!
In the meantime I need to figure out what to do with all these frozen toads.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #25 on: August 21, 2022, 01:49:35 am »
Not even one toad last night.

I've had 10-12 hr days this week and then 4-5 hrs of sleep a night dealing with wild pigs, a hunting dog pack gone feral (and  chasing the aforementioned)- and the damn toads.
We'll see if they make up for it tonight.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #26 on: June 14, 2023, 01:49:19 am »
It is impressive how long it has been since this project got any love.
Wow-

The GOOD thing about being disgusted with the horizontal vector cabinet is that it has freed up time to work on this one in earnest again.

I had loaned out the harness to Ken at GoldenAge so that he could document it and build one for another guy and that came back to me a little while ago and in the interim I got to go through a few other things I suppose I didn't post anything about.

It gave me time to give the monitor chassis a cap kit- K7000- quite easy it turns out- and also to sort out making sure the marquee, speaker panel, and bezel glass all fit the way they should.
All came together nicely.



Pardon the squishiness.  I hate that when it happens.

I figured it would be good to check on the power supply voltages and the original linear thing is really unhappy.
But I'm impatient, so while I'm waiting to make sure I can rebuild the original one I got an adapter to use a modern switcher and get this thing playing in the short term.
Learned some interesting stuff about my machine once I knew I had clean power.

1.  Someone had wired the AC filter in with the line and load sides in reverse.  The printing on it was so worn that you couldn't make out what it said but after I looked at it longer it was obvious that someone hacked it up.
It made the most interesting smell after it had been powered up for a few minutes and got the protection circuit in the Happ SWPS ticking.

2.  Somehow the entirety of the harness connector to the power supply was crossed up.  I think 3 out of 20 pins were in the right place.  Really irritating since I had a beautiful new harness in there and had to fix everything that I hadn't sent to Ken.

No wonder to me now that something on my Sounds Good board blew up a year ago when this first came to me.

I spent a LONG time going through the whole thing aftwerwards (thankfully I got the factory manual- including the schematics- along with the machine) and got the harness back to where it should live in the cabinet and secured- so it should be good to go.

After all of THAT I powered it up with the harness disconnected from everything and checked voltages at all the pins connecting to stuff and it looked good.
So I plugged it all in and fired it up.

Apparently the Test Switch must have been in the closed position because I was met with a gorilla growl and I walked around the machine to see a rolling blue screen asking me about what test I would like to perform.

And then ran out of time.

So now I need to actually finish with connecting the controls (did I mention that I rebuilt those crazy Monroe joysticks?) so that I can actually interact with the machine.

That and sort out why the sync appears to not be perfect for some reason.
I have read that Rampage uses seperate positive H and V signal so I need to have a closer look.
I have also heard (compliments of Todd Tuckey) that possibly the harness connection is to fault.

Hope to have some time for this soon because I really would like to be playing it!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Mike A

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5884
  • Last login:Today at 11:57:30 am
  • This plan is foolproof
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #27 on: June 14, 2023, 07:47:49 am »
Nice work.

Good to see progress.

Zebidee

  • Trade Count: (+9)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3239
  • Last login:Today at 02:30:39 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #28 on: June 14, 2023, 06:39:56 pm »
One of my favourites - Always surprises me though, just how small the monitor is. I never seem to remember that from kid days. More space for suggestive bezel art!

Keep up the good work.
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #29 on: June 15, 2023, 06:10:26 am »
Thanks Mike.
Progress on this one feels particularly sweet.
You'll need to tell me when you can bring the kids out here for a visit and play it.
Nice work.

Good to see progress.

If it didn't come with such a hilarious bezel that was still intact Andrew it would have a 27" in it already.
 :)

One of my favourites - Always surprises me though, just how small the monitor is. I never seem to remember that from kid days. More space for suggestive bezel art!

Keep up the good work.

Got to spend more time on this after dinner which is fun since the crescendo is palpable at this point-

I was brave enough to turn it on again, but felt that I should replace this thing first.



Between the corrosion and the Dee Snider nature of the thing it was making me nervous.

Once again I got it turned on and it rolled immediately into a test screen.
Props to Todd at TNT for his brief aside in a video about the screen rolling from the harness connector on the monoboard being off a hair.
I thought I might have some sync drama but I reseated the connector and got a stable picture this time around.
Whew.



And so I tried to go through a bit of the test scenario with a half-assed joystick connection and then read the fine print:
Hit slam switch to advance through test menu.

Well who would've looked for the existence of a slam switch?  Especially when there was a big lock hasp screwed to the door where the damn switch should be?!

Turn off machine, remove stupid unnecessary lock hasp and try to find a slam switch in pile of detritus from ridiculous basement raid like a year ago-
Amazing...



Install switch (was the fact the ground was just cut open have something to do with the coin switches not working?!) reconnect harness and then get...
Nothing- still.
What a mess all this other crap is.
At least it is just swapping some pins around.
Gave up on coin door for the moment so that I coulsd get some controls wired up.

The sticks were a mess but I got them back to functional with some love and bleeding.

Best part of the rebuild activity is how silly all of the art is.
The control panel is nearly as good as the bezel in sheer silliness.



My local hardware joint didn't happen to have black 3/4" 8/32 carriage bolts and since I can't wait for ordered ones to arrive I needed to improvise because I am sick of just looking at this cabinet and not playing it.

I had only marked the joystick signal wires so I had no idea which buttons were "Jump" and "Punch" so it took a little bit of messing with it running to sort out.
Once I had done that however...



It runs- and all the controls work the way they should.

Still to sort through is the coin door and sound system.

I hear some white noise, but only through the right side speaker so the sound amp needs something.
And I see no lights at all on the Sounds Good board and have no game sound at all so that needs work too.

Have a stack of caps and IC for the Sounds Good but will need to see about rebuilding the dual amp.

Closer still!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Xiaou2

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4098
  • Last login:November 12, 2023, 05:41:19 pm
  • NOM NOM NOM
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #30 on: June 22, 2023, 04:23:57 am »
This cabinet is deserving of Bass Shaker Transducers.   They are fairly cheap, and pretty easy to install.

 The game has a lot of moments of "Thumping"  from creatures falling / stomping..etc.   That would be accentuated
greatly by strong Tactile Feel.

 Id either mount them to the Control panel directly..  or maybe on either side of the cabinet, right next to the
control panel.


 I bought a pair of the original  Aura bass shakers, with the original amps, long long ago.   These ones were the weaker 15 watt each versions.
(They made a Pro version, at 50 watts each)

 To temporarily test them out, I screwed them into the bottom of a Swivel Chair.   Then I fired up a few games in mame.
One of the craziest was Gyruss.  As you fire in Gyruss... the sound of your bullets gets lower and lower in frequency, the further they travel into the screen.
At maximum amp levels... I was unable to SEE anything but a blurring screen... because there was so much vibration, that it was causing my vision to
distort!   I dialed the amps down a bit... and the experience was quite awesome.  Really enhances games and movies.

 Unlike a typical Sub...  you get much more Vibration "Feel"  as most lower end subs are more about projecting low frequency sounds, than vibrations.
Plus, you dont need to shake the entire house, to get great (yet isolated) vibration effects.

 A lot of Sim Racers use them on their rigs.

 If you cant find the originals, I believe partsexpress sells their own version of them.  Not sure if they are comparable in output levels.
Of course, there are many other makes / models.. that are even more powerful... but they are Much more expensive.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #31 on: June 23, 2023, 03:51:53 am »
I like this idea.
Hopefully I can get the original sound system fully functional soon and can consider adding some haptic bass?!

Right now there is a light rhythmic thumping (like a helicopter) coming through behind all of the proper sounds.
I have some caps (axials for some reason!!) to go through the dual amp so we'll see how I do.

I don't understand enough about this to know where that constant background sound is coming from.

Since I have two Sounds Good boards at the moment I'll rebuild the other one too and see if it is any better for some reason I may never understand!
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

javeryh

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7901
  • Last login:Today at 10:28:40 am
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #32 on: June 23, 2023, 07:32:23 am »
Looking great Bobby.  Can’t even tell it’s a scratch build!

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #33 on: June 23, 2023, 06:38:20 pm »
Thank you!  :cheers:

Having the original (however rotten) cabinet to work from made it really easy actually.
I would like to sort out how to take proper measurements of it so that Brain at classicarcadecabinets can build a file from it to document.

There are so many sets of fun multiplayer game boards floating around (which there are no longer any cabinets for) that it would be nice for people to build one up as easily as I pulled this off to put them in.


Looking great Bobby.  Can’t even tell it’s a scratch build!

Hopefully I'll have a little sound system update here after some soldering work tonight.
I got the caps and DAC to swap into the other board and caps for the dual amp too so maybe I can get it all going without the Blackhawk drone in the background.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

bobbyb13

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1897
  • Last login:Today at 12:03:17 am
  • I believe I may need an intervention
Re: I'm on a cabinet building Rampage!
« Reply #34 on: July 01, 2023, 01:04:36 am »
Rebuilt amp!



I got a package of fun stuff from arcadeshop that included the amp ICs I figured these needed and I had already swapped out the caps since I could find them locally (surprise!)
Also got a new volume pot.
The speakers were sounding pretty bad too so I got a new pair of 5.25"s while I was at it.

And after all of that and having gone through the Sounds Good already it finally sounds awesome.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.