long term restauration Donkey Kong cab

[Automark]

I always wanted to have a Donkey Kong cab, but here in Spain you just can't find any original old cabs, only ugly general bootleg cabs. So I was thinking of building one myself. But I know myself and I would be annoyed that it is not an original with the original details like coin door and box etc etc etc.

So on my daily arcade surfing on the interwebs I found an original Nintendo cab in Germany which was converted to a Taito Ralley bike. Without a game board, imported from the USA with 110v instead of 220v, and an untested (so probably not working) monitor, for way to much money. Transport to Spain is also very expensive because it is a distance of 2700 km (+/- 1650 miles). So I thought about it for a day or two and decided to go for it. I got a little discount, but still, pfffff very expensive But in Europe there are not much left, so what can you do?

So, and today it was delivered and I totally forgot the price I payed for it





First things; it does not look that bad, pretty decent for it's age actually. The marquee is original Popeye, and the bezel original Donkey Kong, but they where both painted over , so pretty useless. The control panel had a different joystick and 2 new happ buttons. T-molding is colored, but in a very good shape. Monitor needs to be fixed and properly installed in the cab. But overall, I'm pretty happy with it, and I'm glad I did not build one myself, also because I know that would probably not really work out

Because of the different bezel and marquee I don't know what it was. Was it a Popeye or a Donkey Kong? Does anyone can see this by the serial number? It was made in Japan and not by Nintendo USA. Inside was also a manual for DK, Popeye and Taito Rally :S

So what am I gonna do with it? I must say I don't know yet. A complete restoration? Or a good clean up and new DK artwork? I think it will be the last, I like the patina of a 32 year old used arcade machine. Imagine all the kids who spend their money on it.

The wiring is not original anymore, it has a jamma harness, I probably gonna replace this with a new one, and install a 60 in 1 jamma board.

I'll try to read in a bit about how to test and repair the monitor if possible. Anyone tips for this? It is 110v so I'll need a transformer first.

This is not a quick restoration, I planned this for the winter so don't expect a lot of updates the next weeks .

Anyone tips or ideas for this machine?

[Automark]

First thing is to remove the taito stickers on the CP and speaker panel,

[Malenko]

tpp2-up-us = popeye

[Automark]

Ah thanks, now you mention it, it sounds pretty obvious 

Had a better look at the cab, and the monitor supports bar is missing, this one:

pic found on the webs

But I know a good ironworker here in town, but maybe I can make something like it.
But I'll have to test the monitor first, but how to to that? Just plug it to a jamma board? Precautions?

If it does not work, i still have a brand new 19" pc crt. But I prefer this original tube.

[Endprodukt]

If you need someone to repair the monitor chassis I know THE guy in Germany who is doing it for a very good price. Never paid more than 50 Euro. Of course you could try a cap kit first and go from there.

[Endprodukt]

Btw pc crt ist not low res. Get a pcb and the right adapter to test the monitor. Check that all cables are sitting in the correct connector. Boot up and see what happens. Usually the worst case is a broken chassis! Get it to the pro and be happy or attempt to repair it by yourself with the help of forums.

[Automark]

Finally got a 110v transformer, and put a jamma board into it to test the whole thing.

Monitor worked, although inverted colors, for a second or 20 than a psssssssssssshhhhhhh sound and smoke. Quickly turned the thing off.

To bad, tomorrow I'll have a look what burned through. The tube also has a pretty burned image of popeye. If somebody here in the neighborhood can fix it, ok, otherwise maybe a new crt pc monitor for the time being. Here (southern Spain) you just can't find any 19" (sanyo) arcade monitors.

BTW, the popeye marquee turned out pretty well with 1500 sand paper, maybe some novus if I have some time for it.

[Automark]

......  sorry

[CoryBee]

......  sorry

Canadian

[javeryh]

Donkey Kong!

Coin door looks to be in great shape from what I can tell.  God luck with the project and take lots of pictures.   

[Superfrog]

......  sorry

I like your homepage C64 style 

Bring back good old memories 

[Automark]

hehe, still no plans with that site, I'll leave it for what it is

Back working on the cab, but I think the monitor is fried

I didn't change anything with the wiring. It was converted to a jamma cab, so I just plugged in a game board, en the plug into my 110v converter. But after a message @ klov, I had a better look at the internals, and the nintendo power supply wasn't connected at all. They connected the marquee light and monitor plug in the internal outlet, but that one was directly connected to the 110v plug.



If it ran @ 110v, is it than completely gone? Or is it still fixable? Otherwise I'll install for now a 19" pc crt.


I got the plexi from another klov member, so the cab looks now much better than the taito rally look it had. It is original from Nintendo, it has some small scratches and cig burns, but for me it's ok

[Automark]

I added new buttons and a brand new sanwa joystick. The iL buttons didn't fit the nintendo CP overlay, but with a bit of sanding with a dremel i made the holes 1mm wider.