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Author Topic: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED  (Read 32193 times)

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markrvp

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Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« on: March 14, 2006, 03:14:41 pm »
The two games I played the most growing up were Pacman and Donkey Kong.  I already restored a Pacman cocktail, so I turned my attention to Donkey Kong.

Here is the cabinet arriving yesterday.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2006, 11:19:54 am by markrvp »

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2006, 03:33:26 pm »
Neat, looks to be in pretty good shape.  What do you have planned for the resto?

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2006, 03:55:55 pm »

Well, my advice is to start by standing it up.  It's amazing how much better they look upright.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2006, 04:02:58 pm »
I love the look on the kid's face....."DADDY DON'T SELL MY DONKEY KONG!!!"..."PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT!"......

you're a cruel man MarksVP.

 :P ;D ;)
Seriously. Will it fit in my basement or what?

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2006, 04:07:22 pm »
I bought this DK cabinet from an arcade operator.  The cabinet is in good condition, but the monitor is fried and the Donkey Kong game boards are gone.  All the rest of the original power supply and wiring are there, but it is unverified that they are working.

So....

I have a couple of options to turn this into a working Donkey Kong: 

1.) Restore it using an actual Donkey Kong boardset,    or     
2.) Put a computer running Donkey Kong on MAME in the cabinet

I have chosen to restore the cabinet using an actual Donkey Kong boardset.  I already have the boardset which I purchased off Ebay for around $125.  That may have been overpriced, but anywhere from $75-$150 is what I have seen.  Donkey Kong comes in both a 2-board and 4-board configuration.  The 4-board set is primarily for cocktail tables and DOES NOT have the option to use a single harness.  The 2-board set which I bought DOES ALLOW the use of a single harness.  Later in this post you will see why that is important.

Now it's confession time.  I asked the arcade operator to hold the cabinet for me back in December.  Without doing any real reasearch, I bought a Happ Vision Pro II CGA monitor when Happ had them on sale a month or so ago.  When I started doing some research this past weekend I found out that a regular CGA monitor won't work in a DK cabinet without a converter.  There are three issues with the video (Sanyo monitors used in Nintendo cabinets) to be addressed:

1.)  DK Sanyo monitors used inverted video which a standard CGA monitor won't recognize
2.)  DK Sanyo monitors have an onboard audio amplifier that is needed for the speaker
3.)  DK Sanyo monitors run on 100v AC instead of standard 120v AC.  Were the cabinet power supply to crap out later I would be in trouble.

Here is what the original Sanyo monitors used in Donkey Kong (DKII, Popeye, etc.) cabinets looks like:




Quarterarcade.com has refurbished Sanyo monitors for $190.  Mikesarcade has new replacement monitors for $335.  I don't want to buy either one since I've already spent almost $200 on the CGA monitor with shipping.  It is frustrating that both the video and audio are dependent on that monitor.  If I were going to use the original power supply and wiring with my Happ CGA monitor, then a solution for the video/audio problem would be to buy this board from Mike's Arcade:  http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=NININVAMP



This board not only converts the video from the DK board to the proper signal for CGA monitors, but it also acts as the audio amplifier to drive the speaker.  Not bad for $25.  If I were sure that the original power supply in my cabinet worked, I would probably go with this solution.

However...

After talking it over with the arcade operator, he suggested I convert the cabinet to Jamma wiring, use a new switching power supply, and get a Donkey Kong to Jamma adapter from http://www.arcadeshop.com



There are several benefits to doing this:

1.)  The adapter takes the place of the audio amplifier and converts the video to the proper signal for a standard CGA monitor

2.)  The wiring and power supply will be all new (i.e. not as likely to die anytime soon)

3.)  The board will only require one harness to be plugged in instead of requiring separate connections for:
- power to the main board
- power to the video board
- monitor connection straight to board
- audio connection straight to board
- controls connection straight to board

I like the idea of running everything to the boards through one harness instead of multiple connections.  The jamma harness is standard and the new power supply should work great. 

One other necessary cable is what is commonly called the "Donkey Kong Rainbow Cable."  I got this for $2 from arcadeshop.com when I ordered the DK to Jamma adapter.  It's purpose is to loop power from the DK main board to the video board.

I'm not particular about authenticity on the inside where no one will ever see it.  What I am most concerned with is the game playing like I remember it and not burning out a few weeks from now.

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2006, 04:09:17 pm »
[quote author=MameMaster

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2006, 04:10:27 pm »
I like my story better.  ::)
Seriously. Will it fit in my basement or what?

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2006, 05:08:13 pm »
Looks like a cool project!  I will be of no help on this so the only advice I have is, tons of pics please. 8)

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2006, 05:24:43 pm »
my vs super mario monitor died, i replace it with the inverter board from mike arcade and it is great, i fix the video and monitor at the same time :)

it is well design , just plug and play !!!! allow you to use a regular monitor , i also use the dk to jamma and work great too :)

go for it :)

that what i did : (on that picture only the sound is conected)



markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2006, 05:39:42 pm »
Thanks for posting that pic.  That board seemed like an elegant solution.  I'm sure I will have some questions to bounce off of you before this thing is finished.

I'm going to try and get the new monitor mounted tonight. 

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2006, 07:05:04 pm »
on nintendo cabs the sound board is mount on the monitor, after a while the sound was getting worse, i got that pcb from mikes arcade, and plug it in (what you see on the picture), it is really easy , the board is build to receive nintendo wires  8), just add the 12v and that all.
later the monitor finally died , i replace it with a brand new , and you do the same as the sound :) just plug the video cables to the board.

no need to buy the nintendo to jamma , unless you want to rewired your all cab jamma  ???

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2006, 07:23:08 pm »
Yeah, I would suggest checking into Mike's Arcade DK to JAMMA converter since it only runs $45.  Might save you some chedder.

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2006, 06:56:23 pm »
Last night I got the new CGA monitor mounted in the cabinet.  I had to swap the new monitor tube and chassis into the old Sanyo frame so that it would mount into the existing brackets in the cabinet.  Here is what I did:


First of all, here is the broken Sanyo monitor I took out of the cabinet.  Notice that the mounting brackets are at the top and bottom.




Notice also that the chassis is mounted at the bottom on the steel plate below the frame:




Here is where the mounting bars at the top and bottom of the monitor frame mount in the cabinet:




Now look at the Happ Vision Pro II universal mount CGA monitor I am replacing the old monitor with:




Notice the first problem is that when you flip this monitor vertically that the mounting brackets are on the sides instead of top and bottom like we need:




The second problem is that when you flip it vertically, the chassis is mounted on the side.  This wouldn't be an issue except that this frame won't fit in the cabinet as/is.






Now obviously we could make a new mounting bracket to adapt this monitor to the cabinet, but I already have the frame from the Sanyo monitor, so I decided to take the tube and chassis out of its frame and put it in the Sanyo frame.  First step is to unscrew the chassis from the bottom plate and then remove these screws holding the tube to the chassis:





Then I removed the Vision Pro from its frame and put it into the Sanyo frame.  I had to drill two new holes in the plate to screw the Vision Pro Chassis down to it.

WARNING:  DRILL MOTORS USE MAGNETS WHICH WILL MESS UP YOUR MONITOR.  YOU WILL HAVE TO USE A DEGAUSSING WAND TO CORRECT THE MAGNETIC FIELDS.  DO NOT USE A DRILL RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR MONITOR TUBE (like I did).



Once I mounted the chassis, below the tube, I found that the connector for the degaussing coil no longer reached the chassis.  I had to cut the rip-ties holding the degaussing coil to the monitor and rotate it 90 degrees.  Then I used nylon rip-ties to mount the degaussing coil back to the monitor tube:




And here is the new monitor in the Sanyo frame with everything connected back to the chassis:





And here is the new monitor mounted safely back in the cabinet:


mccoy178

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2006, 07:04:20 pm »
Nice work.  I bet it was fun throwing those monitors around.

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2006, 07:05:07 pm »
It scares me to death.  I keep thinking I'm going to get electrocuted or break the neck.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2006, 11:10:03 pm »
 :o nice job :) well i was more leasy than you  :P mikes arcade sell also the mounting brackets for nintendo  8)

anyway good job and nicely detailed  :)
« Last Edit: March 15, 2006, 11:14:35 pm by arcadefever »

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #16 on: March 15, 2006, 11:12:27 pm »
It scares me to death.  I keep thinking I'm going to get electrocuted or break the neck.

You have a greater chance of breaking the neck.  Relax, but use common sense.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2006, 07:46:18 pm »
Nice work, Mark, and spectacularly documented, as always. 

Also, the hotlinking thing is pure genius. :) 

Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Cheers,
KenToad

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #18 on: March 18, 2006, 02:50:54 pm »
Updates coming soon.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2006, 03:19:36 pm by markrvp »

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #19 on: March 18, 2006, 03:22:48 pm »
Ha!  Was that your wife saying something about putting a bar of soap in his mouth three times instead?  :P Good stuff.  Oh, I'm not sure what the video problem is. :angel:

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #20 on: March 18, 2006, 04:35:41 pm »
Ha!  Was that your wife saying something about putting a bar of soap in his mouth three times instead?  :P Good stuff.  Oh, I'm not sure what the video problem is. :angel:

Yeah, my nine-year-old has discovered the magic of naughty words.  I took away his internet and PG-13 movie priveleges for 2 weeks.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #21 on: March 18, 2006, 08:19:48 pm »
Quote
I took away his internet and PG-13 movie priveleges for 2 weeks.

but what about the r-rate movie priveleges?
Back in MY day we lived on the moon and we had to build a rocket ship from scratch to get to the Earth before we suffocated.

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #22 on: March 18, 2006, 08:45:52 pm »
My Donkey Kong cabinet works and it is beautiful.  I stayed up until 5 o'clock this morning and only got a couple of hours of sleep.  I spent today tracing a chip on the video board that wasn't seated correctly.  Once I got that sucker in there right the video quality is pristine with the new CGA monitor.

I'm too tired to update the pics and narrative, but tomorrow night I will do it for sure.  I can't wait to show it off.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #23 on: March 18, 2006, 10:18:23 pm »
 ;D good !!! cant wait to see it  8)

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #24 on: March 19, 2006, 10:29:31 am »
It's tomorrow!

Come on with the pics!

Excellent work so far, by the way.

markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #25 on: March 20, 2006, 02:49:25 am »
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.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #26 on: March 20, 2006, 03:14:07 am »
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.


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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #27 on: March 20, 2006, 03:32:00 am »
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

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #28 on: March 20, 2006, 03:49:36 am »
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

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #29 on: March 20, 2006, 03:59:24 am »
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.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2006, 04:02:26 am by markrvp »

spriggy

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #30 on: March 20, 2006, 06:53:05 am »
Nice job... Nice write-up...Nice through and through.... 8)
"Once a Knight, always a Knight.   Twice a night.. and your doing alright!!" ::)

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #31 on: March 20, 2006, 12:50:41 pm »
 8) was worth the wait  :laugh: the writing and pictures of the all project is very well done...

i build a mame cab a long time ago, but for some reason, i found it more fun fixing dedicated cab  ;D.


markrvp

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - New Monitor Installed
« Reply #32 on: March 20, 2006, 12:56:12 pm »
Nice job... Nice write-up...Nice through and through.... 8)

Thank you very much.


8) was worth the wait  :laugh: the writing and pictures of the all project is very well done...

i build a mame cab a long time ago, but for some reason, i found it more fun fixing dedicated cab  ;D.


Thanks a bunch.  I really appreciate it.  Your gameroom made me want to create my own.  I've got a long way to go to catch up with you.  I will be restoring a Super Hang-On shortly and will probably have some questions for you.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #33 on: March 20, 2006, 01:04:13 pm »
Great job with the restoration and some great money saver tips for interfacing the monitor.


Don
  Scratch built upright MAME Cab

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #34 on: March 20, 2006, 03:59:44 pm »
 :P i'm very happy to see that my gameroom inspired you ....

i build my mame cab 3 years ago, and when it was finish i say, let me own a list one real game :) i got double dragon , restore the all game and got one more, and one more ect .....
cant wait to see all the nice detailed posts  :)

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #35 on: March 22, 2006, 12:35:43 am »
Okay, I just posted my best score at 78,800.  Once the Springese start coming twice as fast, I was cooked.  I haven't got the timing down on those yet.  I'm too tired to keep going tonight; I'll try again tomorrow.

I really love this cabinet.  It is definitely my favorite now.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #36 on: March 22, 2006, 04:35:06 am »
Great work on the cab, and nice write-up.

Makes me wish I had room for a few classic cabs.

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Re: Markrvp's Donkey Kong Restoration - FINISHED
« Reply #37 on: March 22, 2006, 07:18:28 am »
You are just too fast, MarkRVP ... nice project and excellent documentation.

Cheers.
Working: Not Enough
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