Arcade Collecting > Restorations & repair

Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED

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markrvp:
This cabinet has a large black posterboard type bezel/cover that goes around the monitor. 



I used double-sided tape like on the original monitor to stick the inside edges of the cover to the edges of the monitor.  With the smoked plexi/bezel mounted, you cannot see anything but pure black around the monitor.

markrvp:
So now the monitor and cover are installed.  It is time now to turn our attention to supplying power for the cabinet.  In any arcade cabinet there are basically 3 components that have to be powered:

1.) Game PCB (or computer in a MAME cabinet)
2.) Monitor
3.) Marquee Light

Here is the original power supply and harness that was in the cabinet:




There are a couple of problems in trying to use this power supply.  First, we don't know if it works.  2nd, it supplies 100V instead of 120V.  Evidently this was a Nintendo thing (along with some other cabs) to use 100v components.  The monitor we took out needed 100V and the marquee light installed uses 100V and a special EXPENSIVE bulb that is only available from a couple of arcade-specific suppliers.

Here is the part of the power supply that takes 120V and knocks it down to 100V:





Notice in this picture below that there is a two-outlet plug strip.  This outlet comes out of the 100V converter and supplies 100V directly to the monitor and marquee light.  Interestingly enough, the game PCB does not use AC voltage of any kind.  The PCB itself needs +5 volts, +12 volts, and -5 volts DC power.  The big box in the picture below is the AC to DC converter.





Since the new monitor requires 120V and the switching power supply I decided to use needs 120V, it really makes no sense to use this old power supply.  On Bob Roberts website, he has an AC wiring diagram for a Jamma cabinet.  His diagram calls for the power line coming into the cabinet to have a fuse, a line filter, and a distribution block to send power out to the three components that need it.  Rather than wait a week to order those parts, it was my opinion that an easier solution was available from any home improvement store:




This plug strip provides a place to plug in the monitor, marquee, and power supply and also provides a fuse, line filter, and surger protection - all for $8. 


Here is the switching power supply I am using to power the PCB.  It is a Happ controls unit that runs around $20 bucks. 



I got the powersupply and Jamma harness from Tornado Terry who you can find here:  http://www.tornadoterrys.com/.  Tornado Terry runs a hugely successful arcade in Texas and has been invaluable to me in building/restoring my arcade cabinets.  I always check with Terry first whenever I need anything.

Here is a picture of the PCB end of a Jamma Harness:




The Jamma harness connector slips over an edge connector on the game board (PCB) and the wires go to the:  Monitor, Control Panel, Speaker, and Power Supply.  Since the harness requires multiple wires to be hooked into the +12v, -5v, and +5 outputs of the switching power supply, I twisted the wires and crimped them in these spade plugs.  This makes it much easier to connect multiple wires to the same screw terminal.

markrvp:
Now since we are no longer using a power supply that outputs 100V, it means we have to replace the marquee light with a modern fluorescent fixture that uses standard 120v AC power.

The Donkey Kong cabinet has a marquee retainer with 4 screws at the top.  Removing these screws allows us to take off the marquee and get to the old light fixture that we will remove:




Once removed, I took out the old marquee light pictured here:




Here is the $9 flourescent fixture I bought at Lowe's and installed in the marquee enclosure:




All of these fixtures have cords that are too short.  In this picture you see where the power cable lacks about 8" reaching the bottom of the cabinet:




Since the light cord only comes down this far, it makes sense to mount our new plug strip/surge protector here:




And in this photo you can see where the PCB, switching power supply, and plug strip are mounted.  I labeled which plug is which:




In the original cabinets, but missing in mine, is a metal cage that holds the two PCB boards and screws into the wall of the cabinet.  Since I did not have the cage, I had to come up with my own mounting solution.  Notice in this picture that I have mounted the PCBs to a 1/2" thick piece of plywood and then screwed the plywood into the cabinet side with 3/4" wood screws (circled in red - there are four).




First, I cut a board that was 1/4" wider than the PCBs and 2" longer than the PCBs.  The extra length gives space for the screws to hold it to the inside of the cabinet.  I cut out an area at the top to accommodate the monitor shelf.




The bottom PCB is held to the plywood with four 1-1/2" #8 wood screws going through 1" nylon spacers.  The two boards are held together with four 1-1/4" #8 bolts going through 1" nylon spacers:




This image shows the PCB attached to the side wall with the Nintendo to Jamma adapter and Jamma harness connected.  The Jamma adapter came from http://www.arcadeshop.com   and they are also available from http://www.mikesarcade.com




And here is everything mounted inside the cabinet with the cables secured.  Power is supplied to all the components:

markrvp:
This is the condition of the control panel when I got it home.  The original Nintendo black-ball-top 4-way microswitch joystick had been replaced with a Wico 8-way red-ball-top joystick.  Also notice that the jump button should be all orange, but a red plunger had been substituted.  There is also some damage above the P1 & P2 start buttons.




My first step was to replace the old wiring with new wires.  I wired all the controls into a 9-pin molex connector which allows me to disconnect the control panel from the rest of the cabinet.  I also replaced the Wico joystick with a Happ 4-way reunion stick and put in a solid orange button.






NOW - why didn't I get an original Nintendo joystick for it?  Because they are CRAP.  I have seen more broken Nintendo joysticks than all other joysticks combined.  No offense to anyone who likes them, but I didn't want to put in a component that would be prone to break down easily.  The Happ reunion stick is a great 4-way that I felt was the right fit for several reasons.  One of the neat reasons is because I can (and did) get a threaded shaft for it from Tornado Terry that will accept whatever balltop I want.  I also got a mounting plate from Tornado Terry that allows a reunion stick to be mounted to the original Nintendo carriage bolts.  It turns out I didn't need the plate, because the cabinet had already had new bolts put in at the correct spacing for the reunion base.  Also, since the original Donkey Kong joysticks used a black ball-top, I ordered a black ball from McMaster-Carr.  The part number for the black ball-top is:  6046K17




Notice the matching 9-pin molex connector on the jamma harness that goes back to the PCB:





And here is the control panel back on the cabinet with the new wiring harness and controls:




Eventually I will replace the CP overlay and repair the damage to the front panel.

markrvp:
I fired up the cabinet and it had a video problem which can be seen HERE

After about 30 minutes of checking chips on the video PCB, I found one chip that had ONE pin not seated correctly.  Reseating this chip cleared the problem right up and now the video is as beautiful as I could ever wish for.

Here is my baby all finished and working:






You can see the marquee light and monitor here:




And this image shows how good the monitor/video looks.  The blurred sprites are due to the camera's slow shutter speed:





And this project, for the time being, is finished.  I will eventually replace the CP overlay and add the side art.  I'll also fix the wood chips on the front speaker panel and replace the T-molding.

I now have original cabinets that I restored of my two all-time favorites, Pacman & Donkey Kong.

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