Time Pilot Cab - To destroy or Rebuild?

[jsw2068]

I've been lurking on these boards for a while and this is my first post. I finally purchased a cab to start my project. A 'Time Pilot' from 1982 which I won from eBay for 132.50

I have read on here where it's a shame(sometimes hatred) to demolish a cabinet that has original artwork.
I would like to know the opinion of other people here if It's okay to gut the cabinet. I know the ultimate final decision is up to me. But being an avid Atari collector and retro-gamer I am undecided on what to do.

The cabinet is average condition. The monitor is missing the chassis so i don't know the condition of the monitor. The game boards are there along with a power supply. It has the coin doors also. There are some cracks in the wood on the top of the cabinet so I might have to replace that board. The side art has it's rips and scuff from old age/use. I have the Marquee for it.

If I where to keep the cabinet original what would i need? Is it possible to keep everything original and also put a computer in for MAME? SO I could switch between the Timepilot and MAME?

SO far this is what I know I will need:

Monitor Chassis. If that doesn't work I need a whole new monitor.
The control panel needs rework. Maybe I can make removable control panels?
The glass has some big scratches on it. Need a replacement.

Picture of the cabinet:

[CheffoJeffo]

Welcome ... nice grab on that cabinet.

It'll come as no big surprise to many that my vote is firmly in the restoration camp. The artwork looks great.

Trying to restore AND put in a MAME machine might be problematic as TP is not JAMMA, so there isn't an easy plug-and-play solution like a JPac. You could, I suppose, rewire the machine as JAMMA and use a JPac to interface to the PC and a Konami-to-JAMMA converter to interface with the TP PCB.

Of course, then you are still left with the issue of monitor orientation -- if you want to play horizontal games, you'll have to rotate the monitor, which will make it tough to play Time Pilot as it is a vertically-oriented game.

Sounds like you are already predisposed to MAMEing it, but perhaps you can offer it up for a trade for a more generic cabinet that may suit your needs better anyway (there ain't a whole lot of room on that CP).

Anyway, welcome and good luck with it.

Cheers.

[DYNAGOD]

thats in far too good of condition to desecrate, RESTORE!!!
besides, thats a great title

[CheffoJeffo]

thats in far too good of condition to desecrate, RESTORE!!!
besides, thats a great title

Sure is a great title ... I have a board just waiting for an original cabinet ... jsw2068, you don't happen to be local to Toronto, are you ?

Cheers.

[jsw2068]

Oh I am not predisposed of making it a Mame machine at all. I have everything I need to start my project as a MAME cabinet from scratch. And that cabinet will be for the horizontal games. I was wanting to make this a vertical only machine. I thought this was Jamma. But I guess not.

I just wanted to be able to keep the ascetics of the machine as a time pilot but be able to play the other vertical games.

..and thanks for the welcome!

[jsw2068]

Sure is a great title ... I have a board just waiting for an original cabinet ... jsw2068, you don't happen to be local to Toronto, are you ?
Cheers.

I also liked the game. I remember playing it quite a bit.

I am in the chicago Area sorry...

I really want to keep the cabinet and restore it. I just want the best of both worlds.

[Mark70]

Restore the art.  leave the hardware dormant.  Put a PC in it.  Isn't that the logical option?  That way it's one step better than it is now.  Art restored, hardware waiting to be restored.

[CheffoJeffo]

In that case, I would consider another option ... leave the cabinet wired as it is and use a JAMMA to Konami adapter to interface a JPac:

http://www.arcadeshop.com/parts.htm

http://www.arcadeshop.com/pics/jamma2konami-adapter.jpg

You may or may not need to add buttons (just create a replica CP with the additional buttons), but that ought to work better than my original suggestion (I took a beam to the forehead Friday night, so you'll have to pardon me).

Oh yeah, the more I think about this, the more I like this project ... keep us posted.

Cheers.

[Fozzy The Bear]

As you already made clear that you have room for two cabinets.... Why not just restore this to absolutely original condition. Even if that means a new monitor. If later you want to sell it on it'll be worth WAY more money! look at it as a well invested pension fund.

Stick mame in your other cabinet, and you've got the best of both worlds.

I've got a Star Wars Sit Down Cab.... That I originally aquired in far worse condition than this one, with the intention of putting driving games into it. But the thought of completely ruining forever and original Atari cab just pulled me up. The Star Wars is now being fully restored and my driving games are just going into the regular mame cab with an alternate control panel instead.

RESTORE RESTORE RESTORE!! That's my vote.... Once they're gone, they're gone forever!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[CheffoJeffo]

Restore the art.  leave the hardware dormant.  Put a PC in it.  Isn't that the logical option?  That way it's one step better than it is now. 

Not necessarily ... anything that wrecks the CP, harness or monitor mounting would be a big step backwards. A tasteful MAMEing can be more work and more expensive than authentic restoration.

Cheers.

[jsw2068]

Wow you have given me a lot to think about!

I think I will restore the cabinet to it's original condition. After giving the cabinet a once over I think the condition of the cabinet is not that bad at all.

The monitor has some screen burn-in so I think I will replace the monitor. Will be cheaper overall.

Where can I get a replacement monitor from? It's currently an Electrohome g07.

I will need to replace the Marquee as they look okay but are old.

Here are more pictures of the cab. The left side has better artwork. Some images of the crack in the top and the marquee.

[Rocky]

Your TP is in very nice shape as far as the side art goes.  Mine only has the bottom side art. It came in 2 pieces.

The overlay is a little messed up, but you could touch it up with paint  to make it look better.

Time Pilot is a great game. I rewired mine for Jamma and also play Bomb Jack (my favorite), Kangaroo, and Mat Mania in it.

Nice Centuri coin door!

Mame cabinets are fun, but I also enjoy using original arcade hardware.  Plus, if you get sick of it, you can always sell it and probably make some money in the deal.

[DrewKaree]

Yours is in A LOT nicer condition than mine (apart from the monitor).  Here's an idea, since I got mine like this.  If you're not digging the big scratches in the glass, throw in a piece of plexi.  That's what mine has in it. 

[RayB]

Restore!

[gdilly]

For the love of all that is holy please restore.  j/k

Seriously though, these cabinets are like animals on the endangered species list.  It's up to you, but I would definitely restore it.

[jsw2068]

Restore wins! I had second thoughts of what to do but your right it needs to stay what it is.

Anyone have any idea what monitor to use for a replacement?
If I'm doing a restore what are the donts? what are the do's?

Can I replace the monitor with a WG and still be acceptable?

What about side art? can I get it reprinted? or do I just accept it in it's condition?

I know I have a lot of questions but I would like to do this the right way.

[WaRpEd]

JS please restore that cab, every year there are fewer good let alone restorable cabs out there. just my 2 cents worth.

[Karman]

I noticed a couple of oddities about your Time Pilot cab:

1. Its black.  TP was originally woodgrain.  Does it look like yours was painted? 
2. Centuri coin door.  Time Pilot didn't originally come with the Wico logo coin door.
3.  Plastic monitor bezel.  Time Pilot originally had paper. 

The shape and the construction of the cab definitely looks correct, but I'm wondering if maybe it used to be a different Centuri game and was converted?

P.S. - Treat that Time Pilot marquee like its gold - they're *very* difficult to find in good condition.  They flake like crazy.

[allroy1975]

you're in chicago...so you can probably drive over to HAPP to save a ton in shipping and buy a monitor there.

lucky...

[Tiger-Heli]

I am pretty sure repro Time Pilot Overlays are available as well, if you want to go that route.

[leapinlew]

Is it me, or does anyone else think Timepilot should've had a dial for the controls?

[Hurray Banana]

Is it me, or does anyone else think Timepilot should've had a dial for the controls?

It's you

Time Pilot uses an 8way

[brained]

Restore
that's an order

[leapinlew]

Is it me, or does anyone else think Timepilot should've had a dial for the controls?

It's you

Time Pilot uses an 8way

yeah, I know what it uses... but everytime I play it - I think it would've been easier to control with a dial. each direction controlling like 1/4 of the circle just always felt odd to me. I mean, you really only need left and right anyhow...

[Fat_Trucker]

I mean, you really only need left and right anyhow...

And up, and down, and the diagonals.

[jsw2068]

I'll check tonight to see if it was re-painted. I saw an eBay auction for the same cabinet and it was woodgrain. I was questioning that myself.

I haven't taken out the monitor bezel yet so I'm not sure if it is paper behind it. But the bezel is plastic. The scratches are on the top surface.

To me it doesn't look like it was a diffrent cabinet but you might be right as I don't have the experience with other cabinets.

Yes HAPP is local and that's a great thing!

But I still am in question as to what monitor to replace this with. Will a 49-0727-VP2 HAPP monitor work? It states it doesn't need an isolation transformer. Does my current cabinet have one of those? Can it be mounted vertical? Or should I use a WG?

Would like to get something that would connect right up to the PCB.


Also I don't think a spinner would be good for this if I'm keeping it original!

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions!

[Tiger-Heli]

CP overlay is here, not the link I was thinking of, but hope it helps.

[RayB]

It's you

Time Pilot uses an 8way

yeah, I know what it uses... but everytime I play it - I think it would've been easier to control with a dial. each direction controlling like 1/4 of the circle just always felt odd to me. I mean, you really only need left and right anyhow...

It used a "Monroe" joystick. It's not an 8-way like we think. It was a non-centering stick with a perfectly round metal shaft opening that you could perfectly rotate around. Yes, the main input was then done by 4 switches, but still, the motion you would use with this stick made it feel much more natural than it would using a regular modern joystick.

(Gyruss also used this joystick).

[Karman]

I am pretty sure repro Time Pilot Overlays are available as well, if you want to go that route.

Nope (not screen printed, anyway).  Repros are only available from the ink jet guys.

But I still am in question as to what monitor to replace this with

You can use the standard Happ Vision Pro 19".  You will have to change the frame over from the old one to the new one, though, to make it vertical.  It only takes a few minutes to do and is super easy.  I did it in mine.  The Vision Pro doesn't need an isolation transformer, but your cabinet already has one and you can hook it up just like the old one.  It won't hurt the new monitor to be hooked up to an isolation transformer.

[leapinlew]

I mean, you really only need left and right anyhow...

And up, and down, and the diagonals.

Maybe you should play the game....

[leapinlew]

It's you

Time Pilot uses an 8way

yeah, I know what it uses... but everytime I play it - I think it would've been easier to control with a dial. each direction controlling like 1/4 of the circle just always felt odd to me. I mean, you really only need left and right anyhow...

It used a "Monroe" joystick. It's not an 8-way like we think. It was a non-centering stick with a perfectly round metal shaft opening that you could perfectly rotate around. Yes, the main input was then done by 4 switches, but still, the motion you would use with this stick made it feel much more natural than it would using a regular modern joystick.

(Gyruss also used this joystick).

I suppose thats why it feels so unnatural. I'm not suggesting he install a spinner on it - I was wondering if anyone else thought it played a little funky with a stick. The fact that you only turn left and right in the game sort of makes me wonder how it would play with a spinner.

[RayB]

I suppose thats why it feels so unnatural. I'm not suggesting he install a spinner on it - I was wondering if anyone else thought it played a little funky with a stick. The fact that you only turn left and right in the game sort of makes me wonder how it would play with a spinner.

It wouldn't even be possible to map a spinner to work. The game is not just "left and right" rotation. If you push up, the plane will rotate to face up. If you press down-left, it will rotate to face that position. And it rotates using the shortest direction to get there. Try playing with just the left and right keys. Left does not always rotate counter-clockwise, and right does not always rotate clockwise.

(But I'll hand it to ya, it would be interesting to play with that kind of control! )

[myrmidon]

I suppose thats why it feels so unnatural. I'm not suggesting he install a spinner on it - I was wondering if anyone else thought it played a little funky with a stick. The fact that you only turn left and right in the game sort of makes me wonder how it would play with a spinner.

It wouldn't even be possible to map a spinner to work. The game is not just "left and right" rotation. If you push up, the plane will rotate to face up. If you press down-left, it will rotate to face that position. And it rotates using the shortest direction to get there. Try playing with just the left and right keys. Left does not always rotate counter-clockwise, and right does not always rotate clockwise.

(But I'll hand it to ya, it would be interesting to play with that kind of control! )

I think everyone is missing leapinlew's point here.

From my understanding, leapinlew is merely trying to suggest that the game designers should have rather built the original game with a spinner rather than a joystick, and that this would have been a better way to implement the controls.

[leapinlew]

I suppose thats why it feels so unnatural. I'm not suggesting he install a spinner on it - I was wondering if anyone else thought it played a little funky with a stick. The fact that you only turn left and right in the game sort of makes me wonder how it would play with a spinner.

It wouldn't even be possible to map a spinner to work. The game is not just "left and right" rotation. If you push up, the plane will rotate to face up. If you press down-left, it will rotate to face that position. And it rotates using the shortest direction to get there. Try playing with just the left and right keys. Left does not always rotate counter-clockwise, and right does not always rotate clockwise.

(But I'll hand it to ya, it would be interesting to play with that kind of control! )

I think everyone is missing leapinlew's point here.

From my understanding, leapinlew is merely trying to suggest that the game designers should have rather built the original game with a spinner rather than a joystick, and that this would have been a better way to implement the controls.

Yeah, thanks for summarizing it better then I could - but just skip it. I obviously wasn't concise enough in my explanation. No big deal!   

[jsw2068]

The monitor bezel is paper with some warping.

I can't find any markings on the cabinet or tell if it was something else. It was panted black inside and out and only a few wood blocks have sections of no paint (Just overspray).

Looks like it is not an orginal cabinet but a convert.

Any ideas what the cabinet might have been? anyway to tell?

[Karman]

The monitor bezel is paper with some warping.

The part of the bezel I was talking about is the black portion that actually touches the monitor.  On original Time Pilots, this portion is also paper (like the part with the graphics on it).

Any ideas what the cabinet might have been? anyway to tell?

No way to really tell without finding the Centuri tag on the back (which was usually stapled on and is probably long gone) or finding some graphics under the paint.  They used that cabinet for a lot of games (Swimmer, Vanguard, Challenger, etc.) but the only one I can think of that also had the Centuri logo coin door is Aztarac.  That may in fact be what it was, since that cabinet was also black.

[Kremmit]

but the only one I can think of that also had the Centuri logo coin door is Aztarac.  That may in fact be what it was, since that cabinet was also black.

Dear lord, don't even suggest that.  Aztarac is one wicked rare game, and I'd give my left nut for one.  The idea that one might have been converted makes baby jebus cry.