Came for the spinner, stayed for the cab! ?'s inside

[jfh2112]

So I went by the local operator today to see about getting a spinner from an old cab (and he's got a *lot* of 'em). Ended up coming home with an Arkanoid conversion. Used to be a Frogger, and has definitely seen better days. Most of them probably around 1987.

I cracked it open (well, crumbled would be a better word) and was surprised to find that the board looks nearly brand new. It won't turn on, though, because there are a few cut wires near what I'm guessing is the isolation transformer. Pictures attached.

Should I bother trying to connect that & seeing if it works, or should I just scrap it & part it out, hopefully salvaging the spinner for my MAME cab? Total investment so far is about thirty minutes and zero dollars.

[Glaine]

If you know what you're doing and are comfortable with it, I think that looks like a great cab to fix back into working condition. Just needs to be dusted, new CP art, new speaker grill. The cab itself still looks solid to me, though you know better than I. Never been crazy for that fake wood covering like that and Zaxxon, but thats just me. Is there any water damage or rotting? You said it crumbled some. I would guess critters chewed your wiring, don't know.

In short, I think you should fix it back up into shape, but a spinner MAME would be cool too.
(Disclamer: The Glaine  cannot be billed if this endevor turns out to be a huge waste of time and money. You knew that getting into this hobby. Have fun!)

[jfh2112]

Honestly, the cab itself ain't in all that great a shape. Would probably have to rebuild it. Mississippi summers have taken quite a toll on it, plus it's been stored in a metal warehouse - practically outside - for years.

I would also like to point out that I am, in fact, an idiot.  That cut wire doesn't have a mate on the connector where it goes to the monitor. I'm guessing it did when the machine was a Frogger, but I don't know for sure. I did find a disconnected connection on the iso transformer, and it's got a burn mark on one of the wires, and the fuse on the board is blown. I've pretty much reached the extent of my knowledge regarding video game guts.

[davieboynj]

I suppose there's some chronology that would really be nice to know right now (which happened first, the disconnected wire, or the fuse), but I'd give the monitor a shot.  throw a new fuse in the chassis and reconnect the iso transformer as it should have been. 

personally, I'm a huge fan of arkanoid, so i would try to clean up the whole thing and get it playable, but that's just me.  It looks like a lot of work to make it something else...  might be better off with a different freebie cab. 

[jfh2112]

I looked at it again this evening after the OMG-free-cab newness wore off, and I don't think it's worth repairing. The monitor has some severe burn-in that I didn't see last night. The monitor bezel is just a travesty - it's the original Frogger bezel, and they spray-painted it black. You can still see the frog prints near the top corner if you angle it just right.

Plus, the cabinet is eroding away, and it's got this wonderful abandoned-house smell to it. I'm surprised the SO is letting me keep it in the backyard.

I'm trying to separate the spinner from the CP, and I've salvaged the marquee (which surprisingly is in very, very good condition), which I want to put in a lightbox later on with a few other marquees. The rest of it I'll probably eBay; I don't think I have enough posts to post on the B/S/T board yet.

On the plus side, everything is a learning experience - I now understand AC wiring routing in cabinets 

[Grauwulf]

On the plus side, everything is a learning experience - I now understand AC wiring routing in cabinets 

Did it involve a 'BZZZZT' sound, rapid movement and a few colourful words?

[gamecreature]

On the plus side, everything is a learning experience - I now understand AC wiring routing in cabinets 

Did it involve a 'BZZZZT' sound, rapid movement and a few colourful words?

That's how I learned which circuit breaker really connects to the electrical outlet in my garage.

[shardian]

That's how I learned to not unplug an outlet with sweaty hands...

That's also how my dad learned how not to use a pair of pliers to wrestle free a romex wire staple... (That was some funny ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---)