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

[Level42]

Wow........25000 hits on this thread. I'm honoured and flattered !!!! Thanks everyone for watching and posting. Soon this project will be in the gameroom and then the full restoration will be completed

In the meantime, Bruno (DarthNuno) installed his set of repro-canopy plexi's:

http://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?topic=74.msg3815#msg3815

Not sure if it's the pics, but they look a bit darker than I'd expected. Maybe the flash etc. But I do think the black color looks better than the bronze color.

[Level42]

Yummie !

http://www.rotheblog.com/arcade/photos-of-the-star-wars-cockpit-artwork-films/

[Level42]

So, since my wife went to see the Sound of Music (Musical) I was having the whole night for myself ! AHHHHH

Figured, since the SW cockpit was in the nicest and coziest work place (my living room) still I should do some work on it.

While playing, my son reported loss of left-right control a couple of days ago. I already heared a small thud, and indeed the small gear had come loose from the potmeter shaft. Fiddled around, and although the fixing screws are apparantly and most likely imperial sized, I found a 2 mm. hex key to work excellent. Gear is nice and tight again.

Little parts of the rubber bumpers that limit left-right have been falling off during gameplay. The sad thing is that David from RAM controls very kindly sent me some of those for absolutely free some time ago, but I can't find them anywhere. No worries, they're not lost, I know I stored them in a safe place, they will surface soon enough.

Anyway, I was still having one technical issue with the lady: she spoke to me only through the left loudspeakers (or was it right...can't remember). I removed the 4 pin connector from the AR-2 board and measured for resistance on each pair. Sure enough the good side had about 4 ohms (two 8 ohms speakers in parallel) and the other was open line.

I was kinda glad with that as it meant it probably was just a loose wire and no defects on the sound board or AR-2.

So I decided to open up the area under the seat for the first time to see what's wrong:



Was glas the Mrs. was out so she didn't see that

Vacuuming and cleaning cleaned it up almost completely. Also soon enough I found the cause of the missing right channel sound:



Strange how these have come loose. Both of them. Anyway, removed the pin and fixed the wires on a brand new pin and.....succes.....well almost.....

Now I didn't have sound on the left top speaker (the one behind your ears). I knew that one worked before...

Found out that the 2nd connector (it's the right-most connector on the first picture), that runs to the two back-side speakers had really poor contact. It looked like it had been laying in some soda or something. Need to replace the connector, for the time by-passed the connector by twisting and isolating the wires and yes, for the first time I could enjoy the game in true fake-stereo sound. Gotta love the effect !!! Jed Margolin wrote on his site that the effect didn't work out very well on the upright because the speakers are too close, but it sure works great on the cockpit !

After playing some games (and reaching nr. 2 position in the chart on SW), I checked out the insides of the cab. I must say that the HVT is running very hot. Not only that, but I also noticed some tiny sound. Like tiny sparks going on inside the HVT ! I switched off the cab and let her cool off. Switched on and no "sparks sound". After a while, when the HVT was heating up, the sound came back. I turned off all the lights to see if I could see any sparks but no such thing......

This is a bit worrying. However, I will be cooling the HVT and deflection boards with mains powered fans anyway. I did this on my friend Luc's upright and it has been running trouble free ever since....

So from now on it's cosmetics !

[CheffoJeffo]

 

* CheffoJeffo has to stew in the juices of jealousy for a while longer

 

[Level42]

Keep it up Cheffo...

Good news: I found the "missing" parts. I actually put a number of spare parts for the SW in a zip bag. Turned out it was in a box full of PCB's.... there's spare BD509D's, convergence strips, some nice Lego SW key chain hangers, some diode's for the deflection board mod and indeed the bag that David sent me with the much needed 4 rubbber stops plus two thumbbuttons incl. springs Inside the bag is even the small chip of the lower side corner that was already loose when I bought it, so I will be able to fix that now too....

Installed the grey/black/colorless perspex canopy parts yesterday and it looks absolutely sweet.





Pulling the protective layers off makes the perspex very static and it draws dust like nuts......should have cleaned it a bit before the pictures, but you get the idea....


It also painfully shows how much the metal parts need a new layer of black paint.

Planning on getting a HVLP gun for the compressor and enter the world of spray painting....

[RayB]

Where did you get that poster? I have one too I got direct from Atari, rolled up and waiting to be framed.

[Level42]

Downloaded it and had it printed at an on-line photo printer for 8 euro's.

I was lucky that we have a customer who produces that black stuff to frame pictures in. It's black, white inside and then black again. They professionally made the cut-out (at an angle so you see the white inside, very nice).
And all for free (not the frame though, but that's an Ikea ).

(The poster was discussed a couple of pages ago in this thread, there's also the link to download it, and there are more nice posters over there (like Tron):

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=68094.msg749798#msg749798)

[Level42]

This is what rubber stoppers look like after about 25 years:



Found the new one's so I'll be replacing them soon

[Level42]

I'm pretty surprised that this gets so little attention:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=89648.0

I ordered !  

[FrizzleFried]

Aside from the possible undercutting of his distributor?   I dunno.  I have a kit already ... got it from Mylstar about a year ago.  I've only used a few of the parts from the kit.  No need to replace it all,  just was was broken.  Bumpers were one of the things that got replaced...mine were sticky rubbery goo...

[Level42]

Hah....yeah......well.....in the end that's David's responsibility....

Gives me piece of mind to have parts at hand for the day one breaks. My gears are all OK still but it's been standing still for at least 8 years (probably more). Never know what will happen now it gets played regulary. First indication is the rubber bits coming out of the yoke (see pic above). Also, the fire buttons don't work well, have to push some very hard, so I'll be replacing buttong, springs and switches. Also the pots of course, I'm sure that will improve control. I also kindly asked to include the torsion springs, which seem to be moving a bit strange on my yoke. So, I'll be using most parts and stocking some.

About the stocking of spare parts: bought two deflection boards from the bay. Now looking for a spare HV board. Also got a spare yoke (for the monitor) and a spare game PCB set (but that's a bit whacky, not 100% reliable, but hey, what can you expect for €17,50 ).

[Level42]

Rich from www.ThisOldGame.com sent me one of the SW yoke artwork prints he has done from the _original_ Atari films, and I finally found a bit time to compare this one to the one on my cockpit.

First, let me say that it looks totally AWESOME. It just can't be done better IMHO. I think there's enough on the various forums but again, Rich has the original Atari films at hand and repro's this in silk-screen printing exactly like the originals.

Now, I guess everybody knows that my SW cockpit is Irish built and that we all already know that the colors of the side-art differ from the US so I already kind of expected a color difference.

The moment I saw the first pics of the new repro's I already thought the blue color was different, and the pictures I took show I'm right.

It's clear that the US blue is much lighter, almost aqua colored, where the Irish is much darker deeper blue. As you can see the artwork on my yoke is still in very nice condition and since the other colors (the red f.i.) are almost a perfect match, I can only conclude that Atari Ireland decided to use another color. They've done it on many machines and this one was no exception.





Top side: Note that the part numbers are identical. Also note that the blue color on the CPO is matching the color on my yoke:



Something that I noticed right away is that the US blue color is much better visible in the dark(ish) light of a gameroom/arcade. The flash hides that a bit on the previous pics so here are some close-ups without flash:





It also looks like the "brown/grey" color is a bit darker on the Irish one.

Also noticable: the "dirt" (black) print is a bit "heavier" on the US version. See the right leg of the Atari logo for instance it appears to have more dirt on the US than on the Irish.

So, the conclusion is that there are difference which was to be expected between the US and Irish artwork. The printing quallity and overall quality of Rich's work is absolutely amazing, as it looks to me like it's "sharper" printed than the one on my cab. Of course age can be a factor here too.

I can only applaud Rich's work on this and I'm looking forward to see the rest of the artwork get finished.

There's only one dilemma for me: Do I put US colored artwork on my cab ? In all honesty, I prefer the US side-art colors because they are more vibrant. But I prefer the darkish blue tint of the Irish yoke/CP artwork over the US color.....

O well, it's not a very big issue.

Anyway, well done Rich and keep up the great work !!!! 

[WunderCade]

In the U.S. we refer to that as Indigo Blue whereas the Irish blue is just, well....regular blue. Perhaps some one in the US with a Star Wars cab or cockpit can verify the Indigo color against their cab.

[Spyridon]

Got my yoke artwork from Rich the other day.  Looks great.  Now I just need a Star Wars to put it on (look for a new acquistion post soon)!

[Spyridon]

Did you see this new offering from Ram Controls?:

Star Wars Cockpit Wide T-Molding
Wide 1.5" t-molding for Star Wars cockpit cabinets.  This is an exact reproduction made from the same plastic material and the same "profile" as the original.  We used the original Atari plastic extrusion die tooling to manufacture this part.  This is a drop in replacement which is 100% compatible with both reproduction cabinet and OEM cabinet.   

Price is $50

[Level42]

Is it available yet ? I bugged David about it and he mentioned it was already produced but that it was somewhere hard to reach....he also mailed me it would be available soon.

I'll buy that instantly when/if it's available. It's by far the ugliest part on my cockpit....

Incidentally, today I received a rubber mat from the UK. However, I decided to keep it in the cardboard roll because it's very hard to get it out so I will leave it in there until I install it.....

[m_mcgover]

Incidentally, today I received a rubber mat from the UK. However, I decided to keep it in the cardboard roll because it's very hard to get it out so I will leave it in there until I install it.....

Originall rubber mat or replacement?  I'm looking for one to replace what was left on mine...

[Spyridon]

Is it available yet ? I bugged David about it and he mentioned it was already produced but that it was somewhere hard to reach....he also mailed me it would be available soon

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=83763.msg964713#msg964713

[Level42]

Incidentally, today I received a rubber mat from the UK. However, I decided to keep it in the cardboard roll because it's very hard to get it out so I will leave it in there until I install it.....

Original rubber mat or replacement?  I'm looking for one to replace what was left on mine...

Not original I'm afraid.

I have to still say something about David here: the guy keeps amazing me. I won't put the full story here but let me tell you that 4 kits (with some extra's) got lost in shipping to Europe (first time I experienced this) but he sent 4 brand new kits through (costly !) UPS to make sure we got the stuff. To be totally honest, his replies were sometimes within hours, sometimes took somewhat more time. Because I had my friends in this deal I felt responsible to get the parts so sometimes I bugged David about it (although still on decent wording) But he stood by his word and I received the kits without any extra cost plus he added some extra's to make up for the trouble. I'm sure he didn't earn a penny on this whole deal. As always. the parts are nothing short of brilliant.

So, David's fine. I guess sometimes Real Life (tm) gets in his way. And, he is not taking any compromise, which probably explains the yoke delay....

I just read the whole story about the t-molding and it makes you understand better what and how he does things. I'm really glad he's around, without him no yoke parts and no SW t-molding.

Thank you David ! 

[Level42]

YESSSSSS !!!!!!!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=91998.0

[Spyridon]

It's the little details that really make a restoration shine. 

Can't wait to see it in place.

[m_mcgover]

So I decided to open up the area under the seat for the first time to see what's wrong:

How did you get under the seat?  From the front or the back?  Any tips are appreciated.

Thanks...

[Level42]

Front, you can remove the panel where the speakers are mounted in.

[Level42]

m-mcgover was nice enough to measure the (missing) backdoor for me....thanks !

For "archival" purposes I link to the file here:

[Level42]

So, let's do a little work !

Since I had moved the cockpit into "working" position in the gameroom for working on Luc's WG6100 25", and since I had built a "testing frame" for that 25" tube anyway, I figured it would be a good idea to continue work on the SW for now. I moved the Amplifone CRT to the test frame so I will be able to do the finishing touches on it's convergence. It's clear that some of the original converging strips had become loose. They tried fixing them with some tape but this came loose, so that's what caused the (not too bad) convergence issue.

I won't do any basic converging as that's fine it's just adding some new converging strips.

The Amplifone 25" med-res color CRT, the holy grail in vector monitor-ism,  ()  in the test-frame. I bet it's out of the cockpit for the first time after it was built


Gee, I thought I had cleaned the screen while it was still in storage.....


So, I gave it a thorough cleaning with glassex and paper towel and what do I see......!!!!!:


Screenburn !! 

Seriously, it's not that bad. I really hadn't noticed before. It's pretty light, and when it's behind the tinted bezel, it's invisible. You do see some patterns of what area get's struck by the demo screen. All in all, it'll be fine, but I won't say no to a brand new tube

I cleaned everything about the CRT carefully. The backside I only did with some paper towel and very carefully at the area's that are covered with the dag. Even cleaned the wires and replaced the ty-raps that hold the degaussing ring (and cleaned that too of course). Not only does it look so much nicer clean, it's also a lot nicer to handle it (and don't get hands that look like a car-mechanic's).

While I was at it, I figured I'd remove the CRT mounts and bolts:


The mounts almost look like new after some simple cleaning with hand-soap. Only a scratch here and there but no rust. That's not what I can say about the bolts:



I guess I'll do the trick with the drill and sanding paper and spray painting them ,but how about the rust on the threads.....

[bartre]

I guess I'll do the trick with the drill and sanding paper and spray painting them ,but how about the rust on the threads.....

i'd suggest a drill/dremel with a soft wire brush on the end.
or some fine grit sandpaper folded in half.

[Spyridon]

I guess I'll do the trick with the drill and sanding paper and spray painting them ,but how about the rust on the threads.....

i'd suggest a drill/dremel with a soft wire brush on the end.
or some fine grit sandpaper folded in half.

Yeah, I'd second that.  Use a dremel and you should be able to remove that rust in the threads in no time.

[Level42]

Done. I simply hand-sanded the tops, didn't have to remove any letters on them

Chose a holder that fits to the occasion :


Primer:


Finish:

[Blanka]

MMMM. mr 42, I guess the Cockpit is a HE. The cock is a pretty masculine exercise tool, and I think the pit on that has the same gender too
Sometimes cars can be addressed with female referrals, but only when the car is a VW Beetle or some other driving cookie-can.

[Level42]

The cockpit is the grand-dame in my small collection of cabs.

She is also the best looking one by far.

She also needs to be handled respectfully and with love.

So she's a she.

And she's all mine, so I will call her whatever I want.

(God, I loved to be able to write that last line......heheheheheheh  )

[Level42]

Much better:





Now, there's another part of my cockpit that's screaming to be replaced......David ??

[Daviea]

Ouch!  That's some pretty harsh looking t-molding, BUT I've seen worse.  :-)

Your new "grail" t-molding is en route, so you should have it sometime soon.

I can't wait to see the new t-molding installed on your machine!  Don't forget to show pics!!

BTW, really cool thread on your restoration.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Now, there's another part of my cockpit that's screaming to be replaced......David ??

[Level42]

MAN THAT WAS FAST !!!!! 

[Daviea]

That might be a new personal record for an international shipment.  BTW, I sent some extra t-molding just in case.

Install it already! 

David Adams
RAM Controls

MAN THAT WAS FAST !!!!! 

[Level42]

   

[Spyridon]

This isn't installed yet?  Come on...it's been a few hours!

[Level42]

  Sorry guys, had to march with the band tonight and it's almost bed-time here.

Tommorrow is a holiday here but we'll be going to the zoo. I'm off friday too so expect installed pics on friday. I do have to see if I can easily remove the new T-molding again, I'm planning to re-do the black painting on the top sides. It looks like this was either simply badly painted in the Irish factory or it is because the boards are "open" because they were cut side-ways there.....

Check out these pics that compare a US cockpit to a Irish (I hope Andy doesn't mind me linking to his pics !):


It looks like the artwork has a black edge around on the top parts on the US machine, but not on the Irish. Also the angled edge seems to be better covered in paint on the US cab, which I like better. Not sure about this, of course these cabs had a different history, but from all the pics I've seen it looks like this is a difference between the US and Irish cabs.

More comparing pics:

[Spyridon]

Looks like the backglass is different between the two.  Got to love that control panel on the one cab 

[Level42]

Yes backglass are completely different. One is glas, the other (Irish) plexi. It still looks much better when lit in a (darkish) gameroom

[Level42]

OK. Here we go.  I know this is "just" a piece of plastic but man, does it make a difference !!!!!

---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- load of pics coming up !

First of course, it was a pleasure to finally remove the old POS T-molding.
The stuff came off easily enough. The left side was the worst part with the nails. Here's the right side, the molding there was still "OK" (compared to the other side):
The boards are still very sturdy, no small particles coming loose, nice tight cut...


The left side was not so lucky. Besides nails they also used some kit-like glue (for the Dutchies, probably Bison-kit ):




I painstakingly removed all of it mm. by mm. careful not to damage the vinyl on the side.

Installing the T-molding was a breeze, maybe the easiest one I've done so far. It fits PERFECTLY. I simply "hammered" it in with my bare hands/fist. For the corners I used the traditional technique:

First two or three cuts with cutting-pliers:


Then grap one of the parts with the pliers and twist it around until it comes loose:


And the second part. Ready for installation. On the largest bend I cut out three parts.


And the final results are:













A little bit about this product from David: I had read his extensive story about the production of the T-molding. David had the mold, but the material used for this particular T-molding is different from the regular stuff. I can't tell you how incredibly true this material is to the original. It bends the same, it shines "the same" (compared on the inside) and it feels exactly the same. Details ? Yes maybe, but I call it dedication.

1:1 :


Also interesting is that there may well be a cause for the bad "staying in" of the T-molding: They didn't cut the middle part of the T-molding on every corner in the factory. Only the bends at both ends got cuts. This causes forces that wants to push the molding "out" near the bends and you often see that on pics of SW cockpits:









Anyway, amazing product it makes my machine SO much better looking......


O and the "some extra" t-molding is enough for another cockpit  Guess I'll keep it in a safe place to use it in about 20 years