Author Topic: i scored 3 machines from a thrift store...:) (Read 6506 times)

robot8319 · « **on:** October 31, 2006, 12:54:13 am »

i was going to build a cab but i found out the hardway thats its impossible with $40...

so i did some searching and the same exact thrift store i bought my 17" monitor from for $4.. had 3 WORKING arcade machines in the back waiting to be priced...but the funny thing is that they were NOT working until i secured the jamma harness it was completely unplugged in all of them...

here is what i got..

1.snk neo geo big red with 25" monitor 1 slot with art of fighting 2

2.the combatribes "dedicated" cab with 25" monitor this baby real nice

3.street fighter 2 "dedicated" cab with 19" monitor in good conditon

the price i paid for all three was $150......thats what i offered the first time and the thrift store accepted...i was both stunned and happy as hell at the same time..the real surpprise was findingout there was not a thing in the world wrong with the games just the usual sticky buttons and minor dings..

best of all three of them have working coinmechs and coin chutes,,

i am so lucky and blessed its "UNREAL"...

now the sad thing is which one do i want to MAME or butcher as i would call it..

i was thinking i would do the street fighter 2 machine as its so common..

any ideas what i would need to make a mame machine out of an arcade machine??

AlanS17 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:57:43 am »

That's an easy one... Kill the Combatribes. It's got the 25" monitor and it doesn't have interchangeable game boards like the others... Plus it's a truly crappy game.

... and next time, take 3 machines of MY hands! :-)

ahofle · « **Reply #2 on:** October 31, 2006, 01:08:04 am »

So where did this mystical $150 come from if you were limited to only $40 in building a cab?

Congrats on the score BTW.

spacies · « **Reply #3 on:** October 31, 2006, 01:54:27 am »

Quote from: ahofle on October 31, 2006, 01:08:04 am

So where did this mystical $150 come from if you were limited to only $40 in building a cab?

Congrats on the score BTW.

Good call LOL.

Sell all the machines and build yourself a BEAST!

AlanS17 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 31, 2006, 01:58:43 am »

By selling two machines and using the third for MAME, you can come pretty close to breaking even and getting a free MAME machine out of the deal. It all depends on what parts you already have and how much you plan to do.

The NeoGeo and SF2 will fetch better money, and it sounds like the Combatribes is your best bet to butcher, anyways. It's a no-brainer. As cool as having 3 machines would be, you'll have the other two emulated in which one you decide to MAME. So it would be redundant.

Of course, they're your machines...

CheffoJeffo · « **Reply #5 on:** October 31, 2006, 06:50:28 am »

Nicely done ... I agree that the Combatribes is the one to MAME and I would start looking into video cards that can produce the 15Khz signal to run that 25" arcade monitor. The ArcadeVGA is the easy choice and I recommend it, but there are much cheaper options available if you are on a budget.

Selling the other two will help raise cash, but my NeoGeo sees more play than my MAME box ...

Congrats on the score.

Cheers.

EDIT for pre-caffeine typing

shardian · « **Reply #6 on:** October 31, 2006, 07:23:55 am »

I scan my thrift stores every once in awhile. I've seen some stuff I wanted that wasn't "priced" before. They always get huffy and tell me they won't budge until it has been officially priced and put out on the floor. You definitely got lucky on those purchases.

Post some pics of your loot!

ChadTower · « **Reply #7 on:** October 31, 2006, 09:08:57 am »

Nice score. MAME the Combatribes, sell the others to raise cash for the project.

leapinlew · « **Reply #8 on:** October 31, 2006, 10:35:08 am »

What do you mean learned the hard way?

Lilwolf · « **Reply #9 on:** October 31, 2006, 11:07:36 am »

You might consider to see if any of the cabs can handle the monitor vertical. Then have a fighting cab and a vertical classic cab.

Nice combo.

I would DEFINATELY butcher the Combatribes. It doesn't have any type of cult following (so its as good as a generic cabinet). It has the larger monitor (make sure its a monitor that works well with ArcadeVGA video card).... And you said it looks nice... This is the big part... A nice arcade machine is a piece of furnature... A crappy one is something you hide in the corner since its still functional, just not so pretty.

shardian · « **Reply #10 on:** October 31, 2006, 11:09:07 am »

...I liked playing combatribes at the local Hills shopping center when I was a kid...

RayB · « **Reply #11 on:** October 31, 2006, 11:55:58 am »

That's the thing about kids...

I too vote to kill the Combatribes. That game marked the death of many arcades, operators and converted classics. It's a truly horrible, horrible beat-em up. Almost as bad as Vigilante.

The good news to you is that you should be able to sell the NeoGeo for at least $200+. Same goes for the SF II. Lots of young guys in their mid 20's now are out looking to own their own SF2 machine. Christmas is the perfect time to sell and even DOUBLE my price estimates. Try selling them for $400 each. I feel confident you will find a buyer.

Just replace any sticky buttons, and replace all the microswitches, that way you won't have the buyer coming back to you for tech support if any of these little parts are faulty.

robot8319 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:04:52 pm »

ok i have a small problem with the SF2 machine..

the monitor takes about a minute for it to turn on..

i know thats not normal what could be causing this??

and combatribes is alright its about as fun as crimefighters is...

ChadTower · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:26:15 pm »

It actually is normal. It's old, and old monitors do that. It can very likely be remedied with a cap kit.

leapinlew · « **Reply #14 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:27:57 pm »

Quote from: robot8319 on October 31, 2006, 12:04:52 pm

ok i have a small problem with the SF2 machine..

the monitor takes about a minute for it to turn on..

i know thats not normal what could be causing this??

and combatribes is alright its about as fun as crimefighters is...

Get a computer that takes about a minute to boot up. Problem Solved!

As for combatribes. I had a dedicated one of them. Played it 1 time. The end is kinda funny, but overall it's just a horrible... HORRIBLE Double Dragon clone.

leapinlew · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:28:41 pm »

Now the question is....

Can you convert this to a mame machine for under $40?

ahofle · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:30:22 pm »

Quote from: leapinlew on October 31, 2006, 12:28:41 pm

Now the question is....

Can you convert this to a mame machine for under $40?

I'm more interested in the part about converting $40 to $150.

ChadTower · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:30:57 pm »

If he wants to do some learning, I think he can.

Old PC with a 15khz capable video card... can be had free.
Keyboard hack... can be had free.

If he sells the other two, keeps and converts Combatribes using the cheapo hardware route, he can get a 25" MAME setup and come out financially ahead.

shardian · « **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:38:53 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on October 31, 2006, 12:30:57 pm

If he wants to do some learning, I think he can.

Old PC with a 15khz capable video card... can be had free.
Keyboard hack... can be had free.

If he sells the other two, keeps and converts Combatribes using the cheapo hardware route, he can get a 25" MAME setup and come out financially ahead.

Is there a list of the 15khz video cards somewhere so I can get a shopping list for ebay?

ChadTower · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:47:18 pm »

I'm not the right guy to ask as I deal almost exclusively in original cabs... but IIRC there are a few older ATI cards that can do 15khz. There are more but I don't know which they are.

shardian · « **Reply #20 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:49:45 pm »

Well you mention it off-hand like it is the easiest thing in the world to obtain and get running, so I figured you might have a little more detailed knowledge. My bad...

AlanS17 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:51:03 pm »

Matrox G200 and G400 are the way to go. They can fine-tune a video mode like nobody's business.

ChadTower · « **Reply #22 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:51:36 pm »

It's not hard, actually... I'm just the wrong guy to ask for the exact details.

And I never said it's the easiest thing, I said it's the cheapest thing.

leapinlew · « **Reply #23 on:** October 31, 2006, 01:04:05 pm »

Quote from: ahofle on October 31, 2006, 12:30:22 pm

Quote from: leapinlew on October 31, 2006, 12:28:41 pm
Now the question is....

Can you convert this to a mame machine for under $40?

I'm more interested in the part about converting $40 to $150.

Heh, no doubt. I think most of us are guilty of nearly quadrupling our budget. Especially after we said we were broke.

my58vw · « **Reply #24 on:** October 31, 2006, 04:01:54 pm »

ultramac makes a device (jpac I believe) that allows a jamma compatable cabinet to be interfaced to mame.... just an idea... not under 40 dollars though

Stingray · « **Reply #25 on:** October 31, 2006, 04:21:10 pm »

Excellent find. I'm not even going to mention the whole $40 - $150 thing.

-S

MameJunkie · « **Reply #26 on:** October 31, 2006, 04:45:47 pm »

Quote from: Stingray on October 31, 2006, 04:21:10 pm

Excellent find. I'm not even going to mention the whole $40 - $150 thing.

-S

Same here...I'll settle for conversion rate of $40 -> $80...

RayB · « **Reply #27 on:** October 31, 2006, 10:20:33 pm »

Robot, time to post some photos... So we can see if any of these 3 cabs are converted classics!

robot8319 · « **Reply #28 on:** October 31, 2006, 10:37:34 pm »

i will do that real soon.

AlanS17 · « **Reply #29 on:** November 01, 2006, 08:53:39 am »

Well the Neo Geo is almost definitely dedicated. The same can't necessarily be said about the other two - especially the Combatribes.

Chris · « **Reply #30 on:** November 01, 2006, 09:17:54 am »

Quote from: AlanS17 on October 31, 2006, 12:51:03 pm

Matrox G200 and G400 are the way to go. They can fine-tune a video mode like nobody's business.

I think I have some of those (G200) lying around if someone needs one...

CheffoJeffo · « **Reply #31 on:** November 01, 2006, 09:24:33 am »

Quote from: AlanS17 on November 01, 2006, 08:53:39 am

Well the Neo Geo is almost definitely dedicated. The same can't necessarily be said about the other two - especially the Combatribes.

You would be amazed ... I recently saw a NeoGo in a nice Millipede cab (sideart intact from what I saw) ....

Cheers

leapinlew · « **Reply #32 on:** November 01, 2006, 09:40:09 am »

Quote from: CheffoJeffo on November 01, 2006, 09:24:33 am

Quote from: AlanS17 on November 01, 2006, 08:53:39 am
Well the Neo Geo is almost definitely dedicated. The same can't necessarily be said about the other two - especially the Combatribes.

You would be amazed ... I recently saw a NeoGo in a nice Millipede cab (sideart intact from what I saw) ....

Cheers

I saw a neo geo converted from a xenophobe cabinet. That was odd shaped. It was very nicely done conversion, but obviously a xenophobe.

Stingray · « **Reply #33 on:** November 01, 2006, 11:38:05 am »

I've seen lots of NEO-GEO conversions & own one myself. Mine was just converted from some generic jamma machine though.

-S

ASmig · « **Reply #34 on:** November 01, 2006, 01:29:43 pm »

Where the heck do you live that arcdes show up in thrift stores!? Only places I have found machines are flea markets and auctions.

Barry Barcrest · « **Reply #35 on:** November 03, 2006, 07:42:18 am »

In the UK the only place i have seen machines is ebay. I remeber being offered 3 Taito Sapce invaders for £25 each about 13 years ago. I didn't have my own place back then so i had no where to put them and had to turn them down. They got skipped in the end... Around the same time i saw 2 non specific cabs 1 driving and 1 3 button dumped in a skip. Now i have my own place i never see anything like that. Mind you back in the early 90's there were still actually some arcades left that were not just full of fruit machines i bet most of these skipped their machines.

shess · « **Reply #36 on:** November 03, 2006, 09:15:14 am »

I very seriously doubt that the Big Red Cab will see anywhere near $200. I recently bid on an identical cab with identical problems a little bit east of me and Robot and the winning bid was $70...I got outbid by 70 cents in the last 5 seconds

. The difference is that the cab had Nightmare in the Dark, a very rare and very expensive game, which can easily go for double or triple the price of the cab. Art of Fighting 2 is probably worth $15. If Robot's cab was working completely and was in good physical shape it might go for $100.

Scott

Glaine · « **Reply #37 on:** November 03, 2006, 09:44:17 am »

...I paid around $230 for my neo-geo 4 slot...
It came with 4 games, though out of those I only really play Metal Slug.
I would keep the Neo-geo and the Street Fighter, mame the Combatribes over the next couple of years buying a few parts each month. Neo and Street fighter 2 are just greatness.

ChadTower · « **Reply #38 on:** November 03, 2006, 10:39:16 am »

It all depends on the buyer. It would not be hard to take out a newspaper classified ad and find a buyer for $200 for a good looking and fully working cab. Especially with a 25" monitor.

RayB · « **Reply #39 on:** November 03, 2006, 01:27:14 pm »

The best people to sell Neo Geo and SF II machines to are guys in their 20's who remember these games fondly from their teen years, and don't know about this hobby. I stand by my price estimates, especially this time of year.

PS: Robot: Where are those PICS???!


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