Star Wars Cockpit......SHE LIVES !!!!!

[Level42]

Love this video. What I love most is the absolutely minty fresh look of the cab......



Be sure to set it to 480 for a much clearer sound.

[wp34]

Love this video. What I love most is the absolutely minty fresh look of the cab......



Be sure to set it to 480 for a much clearer sound.

That is pretty sweet.   

Too bad the video isn't a touch better.  I watched War Games in HD recently and it was cool seeing a mint Galaga in HD glory.

[Level42]

While we are at SW video's (and because there is no serious news about this restoration) , this is pretty funny, Darth Vader recording voice instructions for TomTom, be sure to watch it completely to the end

YouTube - Darth Vader recording for TomTom GPS - behind the scenes

[saleem]

so,your in danger of your tom tom throttling you with the power of the darkside?

[Level42]

Yeah:

http://starwars.tomtom.com/voices/index-starwars.php?Lid=4

It's kinda funny.....the weak part is that it doesn't randomly play different instructions. I mean it always says the same words, just like with a normal TomTom instruction voice.
This makes it grow old pretty quick if you use it a lot (like I do). Still the TomTom is the best Dutch product since the CD player

[Level42]

Guys, I'm in deep ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, the Empire arrested me for reconstructing a rebel X-wing simulator:

[opt2not]

  Looks like you gave that storm trooper a bit of a rough time before he caught you. 

[Level42]

Finally another update on this ever-lasting project

I've reassembled the yoke !!

All I still need to do is the the wiring and the handles

The stupid thing to happen: I finally had everything I needed. The wonderful RAM controls repair kit, the right new cap screws, a very nice too for use on Imperial sized hex cap-screws and even the Nyogel had arrived.

Everything went well. The only thing that is a real problem was screwing down the cap-screws that hold the steering to the handle assembly. I cannot reach it with the current hex tool I have:


This is an excellent quality tool, it was cheap (bought it from www.modelfixings.co.uk) and I've used it a LOT since I bought it ! However, the drawback is that these don't have a "short"  angled part with which you can tighten the screws..... the two who are angled on the place where the steering part is fixed to the handle part are impossible to reach with it.
I tried tightening them in several ways but have only partly succeeded.

So.....now all I need is ONE Hex Imperial size  7/64  key.........I so have another Imperial sized set of keys, but of course THIS size is not in it....I HATE the imperial system RAAAAAGHGHGHGHGH ! ....

[polaris]

t bar hex keys are what you want, can only find them in sets though, i think i know a place that sells them individually if you cant find them over there.
link



not seen him yet by the way, i haven't forgotten about asking
 

[Level42]

Actually those are not what I want because I can't reach it with a long straight tool. It needs to have the 90 degr. "hook" to be able to use it. The folds of the base of the handle make it impossible to reach the screws with a longer tool, that's why my tool won't work...

O and thanks for not forgetting

I was actually expecting someone to say "Pics or it didn't happen" so, here goes:

All the "ingredients" I need:


Handle assembly finished:


Steering assembly finished:


READY ! (Well, apart from the wiring and handle stuff....

[Level42]

This actually isn't that hard at all to do. It looks hard before you begin, but it's pretty easy really. I did screw up one time, had the shaft of the steering the wrong way around so the clip was on the wrong side too.
Had to reverse a couple of steps to correct it, but nothing to worry about.

Can't wait to finish it tomorrow.

[ckong]

.... Can't wait to finish it tomorrow.

.... and play the game!  Your son will be very happy I guess, the little SW addict. 

[shrunkenmaster]

Actually those are not what I want because I can't reach it with a long straight tool. It needs to have the 90 degr. "hook" to be able to use it.

Could you put it in a vice and bend it 90deg? Just a thought. By the way, I always have every size handy apart from the one I need too 

[Level42]

Ha yeah....
Well the problem is solved. turned out I could fit in a (metric ?) scredriver exactly so it's now nice and tight.

I did have to screw up again to solve it this way though......turned out I had forgotten to put the big spacer between the steering and the handle assembly, so I had to get all the three cap-screws loose again !

Anyway, it worked out great, now soldering wires !

[Level42]

RAAAAAAAAHHHH , I just tested the yoke and everything works fine. So next I wanted to mount it to the panel BUT the powder coating layer is SO thick on the threads that the nuts won't grab !  

I wish they had taped off a little more when they did the job, another lesson learned !

Now, how to get this stuff off from a thread ? I guess I will head for the DIY store and pick up a Dremel wire brush thingy.....sigh...

[ckong]

Never a dull moment. Arcade restoration jobs always end up being very exciting. But heads up, you're almost there. 

[Level42]

Yeah, and I bet you'll love the lessons I've learned on the job

I found another nut laying around and tried that. It seemed to fit. However, I'm sure that this is not the right size. I put all the parts in a bag and the 4 other nuts were not in there for nothing....
So I put on the other nut just to give it a test spin.

Well it works, however there are a couple of things not perfect yet.

1) Left trigger fire goes off spontaneously every now and then. I bet a bit of wire is touching some metal part somewhere (and this triggering). You seriously don't want spontanous fire in the trench ! (No force !)
2) in the test screen the pots show a bit to the left when it's physically centered, guess I will have to adjust the tooth gear one notch
3) the yoke is leaning a bit to the right. I would have loved to see it fully centered by the new kit....

[Level42]

Well I picked this one up. It's supposed to be the toughest one in the range of Dremel:

http://www.dremeleurope.com/dremelocs-nl/Product.jsp;jsessionid=204228576CC1C30AE91A0CF78CC05250?&ccat_id=498&prod_id=175

It cost almost freaking  € 6 !!!! And it is TOTALLY worn out after doing 4 tread posts !

I mean, wtf this is original Dremel "Quality" ?

OK, I know powdercoating is tough stuff so it's probably that I "abused" it.

Anyway, another €6 to add to the cost of this cab .....  

At least it worked ! I managed to get the nuts on using the brilliant imperial sized tool-set that Spyri sent me !! This set has already proved it's worth in gold !!!

More later...

[Level42]

Something in between :

Retroactive has written a doc how to do the TO220 power resistor mod:

http://home.comcast.net/~retro-active1/pwpimages/Amplifone-HV-TO220-ResistorMod.pdf

Excellent stuff and totally recommended for any Amplifone HV board !

[Level42]

Alright. Almost done.

The spontaneous left trigger activating was an easy fix. I measured it and sure there was a couple of 10's of k Ohms on it. Not good, should be totally open. Moving it made it worse.
Turned out the soldering and wire end was a bit too long and touched the metal of the handle cover. Cut it and fixed.
(Note to myself, get some decent reading glasses, you need them !)

I re-centered the potmeter and that's perfect now.
It's still leaning to the right a bit (physically). Maybe I'll add a little weight on the left inside of the yoke to get it perfect, but it's only a tiny bit but I'm a bit anal I guess....

So fired up the cab again. I noticed after some time that there were issues with the monitor (!) Not sure what, but it looked like connection problems. Pressed all the connectors again and problem seemed gone. Will have to look at this later.

Here are some earlier pics:

Uh-Oh, I forgot something:


All this mechanical stuff is nice, but it's NOTHING without some wiring...


Soldered the firing buttons. I compared David's new microswitches with the old one's, and wether it is because of use or something else, the old once felt easier to push, and I'm a sucker for quick firing (believe me you need it). I only replaced one microswitch because that wasn't original anymore and was one with a metal blade (which amazingly worked OK, but still).



Can't say I notice much difference between the microswitches in game play. I put the new one on the right trigger, I guess the spot where I'm at my "strongest"....

Put in the trigger, and thumb button. And of course the springs. I've been on the floor at least 5 times to find back one of those springs !
See the point where the trigger swivels around ? (Top left). Had to scrape of the powdercoating there too because of course it needs to move without any resistance.



Well, while testing I still found another issue. Sometimes the movement from left to right was really slow...sometimes it didn't reach the edges.... I found out that maybe the solderings of the pot maybe touching metal of the pot itself. I haven't put it in the things that hold the wire in the correct position (ty-rap saddles, it that the right name ?) so still need to do that.

But otherwise.......my god, it was worth it ! It feels SMOOOOOOTH like a baby ! It handles great !!!
Thank you David for doing this kit. Wouldn't know how this cab would have turned out without your brilliant stuff !

Even though I'm out of practice I was able to score a very decent score (for me that is ):

[Level42]

Hey, Single handed play

[opt2not]

Nice job Level! Great updates in the last few days! 

It's a wonderful feeling getting the controls right for a favourite game, it's amazing how the proper controls really make the experience.

[Spyridon]

You didn't mame this yet?



 

[ckong]

Congratulations, very nice job.  Its great that we see each other in a few days, can't wait to try out the game myself. 

By the way, your monitor convergence is indeed spot on, wish I could say the same for mine.  Fortunately for me most of the game images is displayed by using only primary colors. 

[Level42]

It's a wonderful feeling getting the controls right for a favourite game, it's amazing how the proper controls really make the experience.

You're absolutely right. The yoke wasn't half bad when I got the machine but still the improvement is huge.

@Spyri: WAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA !

@Ckong: Actually, I noticed a little blue running out of the purple letters......but I do have to admit that this is by far the best looking 25" Star Wars I've seen so far. Not bragging, I'm just very lucky that the tube is in great condition still and the convergence was very nice too.

I wish I could guarantee you that I can get a perfect convergence if you would buy a new tube. I do think we could get it a lot better than the low-res tube you have now but well, I haven't done it before yet. Not sure if Speleo already did his, it would be good if he could share his experiences with it....

[ckong]

I wish I could guarantee you that I can get a perfect convergence if you would buy a new tube. I do think we could get it a lot better than the low-res tube you have now but well, I haven't done it before yet. Not sure if Speleo already did his, it would be good if he could share his experiences with it....

I'm ready to go for that challenge!  But we talk about it later.

But now for the big question: Is your Star Wars restoration project now officially completed and finished?

[Level42]

As you know Erik, no piece of art is ever finished.

Still to do (see the first posting for an update) some things...

[Level42]

DONE !

Man, it was good to put everything in this area back:

First I recovered the cardboard bezel from the attick. Lot's of new dust on it. I had already touched up the black at some spots. Not the most brilliant job, but it doesn't need to be, it works fine inside the cab. Restored/ re-enforced the corners and put it back into it's original shape:


Yes, yes much better. It's funny how important for the overall experience these "little things" like this cardboard bezel and the real bezel are....


Time to replace the rusty old bolts and nuts. To my utter surprise, the originals (were they?) are metric ! Maybe only on the Irish cockpit ? Anyway, bought brand new bolts but of course had to paint them.
Also bought wing-nuts because these are areas that you will open "regularly" so I don't want normal nuts there...


Put back the bezel.....turns out you have to completely remove the CP to be able to put the bezel back in without damaging anything....


Yes, yes, very nice !


Of course, I had to (test) play some more now everything was back (in this area). Improved my high score by a notch....


Still things to do,  but at least it's a playable machine again now.....

[opt2not]

Man, the colours out of that monitor is just gorgeous. So bright and crisp!

I've never had a chance to play the cockpit version of this game, it must be a great experience, especially with a newly restored cabinet and controls.
...at least I can live vicariously through these pictures!   

[Spyridon]

Man, the colours out of that monitor is just gorgeous. So bright and crisp!

Yeah, I noticed that too.   My 6100 is definitely not that vibrant.

[Level42]

Not wanting to brag but it's even better in real life. The blue is a bit light on the picture.

In all honesty the picture on my Amplifone is the best I've seen so far on any 25" cockpit. I've seen a couple of them now, and well I guess I'm just lucky that the tube is in pretty nice condition. AND that the convergence was great to start with.
It has a slight burn-in, but you can only see it very close to the screen and without the plexi in front of it. I'm also very lucky that it doesn't have a center burn like so many have.

I have done nothing to change or improve the colors. Of course I did do some tweaking on the HV levels/screen level etc. but not the color settings.
The whole set-up (tube, deflection board, HV board) are all still the originals (same XY no. sticker). I also think the PCB set is the original.

The strange thing is that none of the stuff inside has the "UR: xxxx" or "SD: xxxx" labels on them that you see on every US board.Maybe the Irish factory didn't use them.


At opt2not: Playing a SW upright is playing a video game. PLaying it in a cockpit with 25" Amplifone is flying out in space.

The difference can only be experienced. F.I. my local friend RobbinHolland who is also into this hobby played it for a very short time the other day, and he said he wasn't really much interested by SW but that this was MUCH more intense than he expected.

It probably sounds very silly but I STILL keep ducking away for the catwalks in the trench level !!! I think the guys who made this game created a masterpiece by getting the feeling of it so well done.
Imaging that this was only a couple years after the first Space Invaders were hopping around in B/W........

[opt2not]

At opt2not: Playing a SW upright is playing a video game. PLaying it in a cockpit with 25" Amplifone is flying out in space.

Haha, awesome! That sounds so cool, I'm jealous!

[Level42]

If you want to see a larger version of that picture: http://gallery.me.com/andre.huijts/100027/f1108357/web.jpg?ver=12816093230001

The picture is definitely not focussed though !

[Level42]

Love this video. What I love most is the absolutely minty fresh look of the cab......



Be sure to set it to 480 for a much clearer sound.

About this video. Been watching again and I noticed the yoke handles (I think my new 27" iMac helped a bit in seeing it better ):
The handles look different (although you can't see much of it). They actually look more like David's repro handles ! Much more straight than the "bent" one's that were in Atari's production...
The covering seems to have a matt finish, not shiny, it _could_ even be plastic....what do you guys think ?

[funkytaco]

It's my second post here, and I've ready through alot of this thread. Very nice work.

What's left? Just a touchup here and there?

[Level42]

See the first posting for the still to be done stuff. I actually already did some work on the small parts (test-switch and coin counter holder, speaker grills etc.) but not finished yet.

Too many things happening in the hobby AND the end of my holiday seriously messed up my progress.

[Rusty Shackelford]

Exellent restoration L42!

Just one question: Do SW cockpits come with castors as standard or are they fitted by arcade owners? What stops yours from moving around are the castors braked? (opps that 2 questions).

[Level42]

Thanks !

The manual answers your question(s) (See attached clip).

The legs on my cab are all broken off. I just have it on the casters, the cab doesn't move around that much really. It's not like in an arcade where people would lean etc.

[Level42]

Time for an update:

Ever since I restored the yoke I had some problems with playing the game every now and then. It felt like the steering was "lagging".

First I thought there was some shorting of the solderings to the metal of the yoke going on because I hadn't put back in these yet:



I ordered 50 of them and put back the two like they were originally.

Still the same result though. The lagging is probably caused because the SW program constantly "interprets" the pot values. I guess when there are some quick odd values, they will get "averaged out". Jed Margolin mentions something about either not using the POKEY's inputs for the pots or not on his site.

I was at a loss because basically everything seemed fine. I checked all the wires and solderings again, and found the cause:
The black wire of the left-right pot felt like there was a break in it near the soldering. A few moves later indeed it broke completely. Re-stripped and soldered and now finally working PERFECT !

I also sanded and spray painted the metal coinbox:



This side was the worst:


Turned into this (because of the very bright sunlight it looks grey, it isn't really)


Also restored the utility panel:

[Level42]

I also ordered a side-holder for a large fan plus required connector & wire.





I already have a good working Papst (my favorite fan brand) 230VAC fan for the HV and deflection boards.
I will experiment to see if one fan can be sufficient. If not, there will be another one added.