Author Topic: Star Wars Cockpit......SHE LIVES !!!!! (Read 158472 times)

Spyridon · « **Reply #400 on:** May 21, 2009, 09:00:08 pm »

Very nice!

Daviea · « **Reply #401 on:** May 21, 2009, 11:57:54 pm »

LOVE the pictures! Your machine is looking pretty awesome!! Would you mind if I used some of the pics on my website?

I wasn't sure if anyone was really paying any attention to the project blog on the t-molding. It's nice to see someone reference it. I still need to flesh it out with a few extra tidbits of information on the extrusion process itself as well as some final installation pics (which is one reason I'd like to use your pics).

Enjoy that SW machine!!!

David Adams
RAM Controls

Quote from: Level42 on May 21, 2009, 07:20:22 pm

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.

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

Level42 · « **Reply #402 on:** May 22, 2009, 02:17:29 am »

Yes of course you can use the pictures David, I'd feel honored and that's the least thing I can "do" in return !

Maybe cool to show "before" and "after" pics

Remember that I took them at night time in my rather dark game room and the lighting on that end of the room is a bunch of x-mas LEDs (starry ceiling) and a blue neon tube. This kind of gives it a nice look though

Also note that my canopy plexis are "custom" repro's, in that they are grey (black) colored and not the original brown/bronze tint. That was just a personal preference, I just think the black looks _so_ much better than that orignal bronze stuff.

Here's a direct link to the SW cockpit t-molding blog on David's site, it really is very interesting to read and will give you even more appreciation for David's eye to detail

http://www.ram-controls.com/blog-150tmolding.html

Love to see the picture of the original Atari die that David used:

When I got the cockpit I thought that would be the part that never would be looking good again. I considered buying some T-molding from Outwater that was at least the right size (but different otherwise). Thank you David for making this possible, sticking out your neck, because we all know how small the market for this is (even though your market share in this product is 100%;) ).

10000 feet is about 300 meters, my estimate is that 3m is needed per cab, so you guys do the calculation what David has in stock......do we estimate that this about covers the entire fleet of cockpits in the world ? I think so. 2450 were build (at least that's the "official" number but is seems that this is for the US only, so let's say that 2000 were built in Ireland. How many of those would be left ?

David if you ever happen to visit my part of Europe, you're always welcome to come and see it all in person

RetroACTIVE · « **Reply #403 on:** May 22, 2009, 12:18:16 pm »

Damned you!... I've been telling myself over and over... I don't need a cockpit... I don't have the space... I don't need a cockpit... I don't have the space...

I'm starting to get the itch to find one... with RAM controls and TOG... it may get a heck of a lot easier to restore these bad boys in the not too distant future...

AHHHHHH! I hate this hobby!

I don't think I've ever commented on this thread... all great work by the way!

Level42 · « **Reply #404 on:** May 22, 2009, 01:23:00 pm »

Thanks, it's been pretty slow progress so far, but I'm on a roll now. I simply _have_ to completely do the cockpit because when I add the last two cabs (SI and Power Drift are still waiting for me to pick them up) it will be not so easy to get it out (and in) the gameroom.
So, actually that's a good thing. I think my first next step now is to get every metal part from all my cabs that I want black and (very likely) have all of them sand-blasted and powder-coated in one go. That will save a lot of worries later on.

Your work on the upright is simply amazing.

I actually love this hobby......I was working on the T-molding yesterday with a smile on my face the whole time

Daviea · « **Reply #405 on:** May 22, 2009, 02:36:40 pm »

Thank you!! I just added five of your pics to finish up the picture section of the blog. Let me know if it looks adequate or not.

I really do like the blue lighting -- it adds a nice effect.

Oh, and the 10,000ft is just enough t-molding to apply to 900 machines @ 11ft per game, provided I don't cut it up wrong. I certainly hope this is enough t-molding to last awhile. LOL I seem to have a talent for sticking my neck out, so it's just business as usual from my perspective. :-) I'll do anything I can to help promote our hobby and keep it alive.

Speaking of Europe, I have a pending contract requirement which means a trip to Germany in the next year or two. Germany is pretty much right next to your area, so maybe I'll make the trip over for the heck of it. Thanks for the invite. I'll let you know well in advance so I don't just show up unexpectedly at your doorstep one day. LOL

BTW, I have to say it again, this is a cool restoration thread. I hope to see more of these sometime soon, given the t-molding and the upcoming SW cockpit artwork which will be made available by TOG.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Quote from: Level42 on May 22, 2009, 02:17:29 am

Yes of course you can use the pictures David, I'd feel honored and that's the least thing I can "do" in return !

Maybe cool to show "before" and "after" pics

Remember that I took them at night time in my rather dark game room and the lighting on that end of the room is a bunch of x-mas LEDs (starry ceiling) and a blue neon tube. This kind of gives it a nice look though Also note that my canopy plexis are "custom" repro's, in that they are grey (black) colored and not the original brown/bronze tint. That was just a personal preference, I just think the black looks _so_ much better than that orignal bronze stuff.

Here's a direct link to the SW cockpit t-molding blog on David's site, it really is very interesting to read and will give you even more appreciation for David's eye to detail
http://www.ram-controls.com/blog-150tmolding.html

Love to see the picture of the original Atari die that David used:

When I got the cockpit I thought that would be the part that never would be looking good again. I considered buying some T-molding from Outwater that was at least the right size (but different otherwise). Thank you David for making this possible, sticking out your neck, because we all know how small the market for this is (even though your market share in this product is 100%;) ).

10000 feet is about 300 meters, my estimate is that 3m is needed per cab, so you guys do the calculation what David has in stock......do we estimate that this about covers the entire fleet of cockpits in the world ? I think so. 2450 were build (at least that's the "official" number but is seems that this is for the US only, so let's say that 2000 were built in Ireland. How many of those would be left ?

David if you ever happen to visit my part of Europe, you're always welcome to come and see it all in person

Level42 · « **Reply #406 on:** May 24, 2009, 06:08:44 pm »

Today the weather was absolutely perfect. Bright blue sky, nice temps and it's not getting dark until 22.00 h.

SO, I figured I'd do some serious work on the lady that was LONG overdue:

I rolled her outside to give her a bit of sunlight (actually shade). Better to work that way though....

First thing I had still to fix the ends of the wide T-molding. Now there are some very important things I learned.
On some bends, the T-molding had come up just a little bit. No wonder since it was not fixed at the ends. Thing is: I advice to pull a bit on the molding towards the end and then put it in the slot and fix it so it is as tight as possible.

Now,on the top, it's not too hard. Just remove the metal plate that covers the top plexi. If you feel uncertain I advice you to remove the top plexi so you can't damage it. I didn't actually do that though.

Since I now have a compressor and a nail gun, I chose to copy the original method of fixing the ends. After all, this is the best way if, let's say in about 20 years you want to remove the molding again.

Anyway, as said ,pull tight and make sure the mold is entirely flat. Then (carefully) fire away. Don't put you compressor on full pressure or you may shoot _through_ the molding....

Make sure that the molding ends BEFORE it touches the wood underneath or else it might be "pushing" itself up. A bit shorter is better than too long, you won't see that part when the metal cover is on anyway.

Now, at the other end I had some more problems. I will tell you how to do it properly right away:

Remove the marquee !!! You really should, you could well damage it or even get it stuck. I did remove the marquee because I know how valuable they are (recently one went for over 180 bucks on e-bay).

To remove the marquee, loosen the top retainer first. The marquee will still be held in place. Then remove the bottom retainer. Be very careful since when you remove the last bolt (I advice to the the middle one last !) it will go down by gravity and so will the marquee so be ready to "catch" it.
Then carefully let it slide down and put the marquee in a safe place.

Now, this side of the molding needs to be fixed on an _extremely_ short part. As usual, make the cuts that are required to make a good bend. You won't have much left of the part that goes into the slot but that's not that important.

What _is_ important is that you cut the t-molding absolutely level with the end of the board. Else you will not be able to slide the marquee back in. Also put great attention to where you aim with the nail gun. Make sure the nail will go into the wood, and not extend out of the inner part. Again, that will hinder the movement of the marquee and may even damage it (even you don't see it, there's no need to do hurt it, right ?)

I had both things happening. The solution was to remove the wrong nails (pretty nasty) and to cut the mould straight angled with a really sharp knife level to the board.

Here's a pic that makes it clear:

You can see that the t-molding is way too long here. So cut it so that it's level.

Then nail away, again aim right ! (this pic is looking up from the underside)

This actually still turned out to have the t-molding too long so I had to cut it with a knife. When you try to re-insert the marquee, when you feel some resistance don't push on....there's either too much t-mold or nails sticking out....

As you can see, it's extremely hard to get this bend to fit 100%. Unless you are willing to put some nails in the front side which I _DON'T_ suggest to do, it will be _very_ noticeable.

Level42 · « **Reply #407 on:** May 24, 2009, 06:22:14 pm »

Further I really had to do some cleaning....

So, for the first time, I completely stripped the monitor/PCB area:

Oops, looks like someone (tried to) steal some money from the machine.....

Luckily nothing of this shows on the outside...

Level42 · « **Reply #408 on:** May 24, 2009, 06:37:19 pm »

I am planning on having all black metal parts powder coated. Here's some examples why:

The top canopy plexi retainer: probably the plexi's got washed pretty often......the rust is on the underside, not on the top:

OK, after some serious vacuuming and soapy water:

Still not perfect, but it is clean. To get it better would require sanding etc. I think I'll live with this...

Now, I noticed I had forgotten about these bolts. They are weird, they're not holding anything.. just some wingnuts on the other side. Maybe this was meant for a license retainer ?

Do the US machines have these too ? (Right to the coin-door).
Anyway, that means going through the sanding-priming-painting process again.......

I had planned to install the new rubber matting I received recently. BUT, there's a problem. The "steps" are fixed with bolts that I really don't recognize and they are in bad shape too. It looks like they have a square opening ?

This shows how bad the rubber is....completely worn out.

Level42 · « **Reply #409 on:** May 24, 2009, 06:43:50 pm »

And finally some demo shots for David. The T-molding in bright daylight:

(This also shows the nice "black" perspex that I installed instead of the original bronze one's)

This is a pretty nice picture I think, really shows off the quality:

Cheers !

Level42 · « **Reply #410 on:** May 24, 2009, 06:52:28 pm »

O, one more thing, I totally cleaned the entire wire harness, but obviously forgot to take a picture. I really enjoy doing that, all of a sudden, the harness looks like new and it's also nice to be able to handle clean wires and connectors.

Also, I noticed that the marquee is GLASS. There is a vinyl print on the outside of it, but it's not plexi as I had expected ( I had removed it in the past but forgot about that ! )

shilmover · « **Reply #411 on:** May 25, 2009, 01:33:00 am »

Lev42,

The square screws are called "Robinson". They started in Canada, but are very common in the states.

I would be glad to send you a set of screwdriver/drill bits if you like.

Barry

Level42 · « **Reply #412 on:** May 25, 2009, 07:42:25 am »

Hey Barry, first of all thanks for the offer. I'll see if I can find something locally first. I think the name is actually Robertson (did some googling).
Already found a Dutch site that sells them but minimum order is 10 pcs. of bits....

It may be a bit harder to actually find new bolts like that...... I had some small hope that this was metric stuff since it's Canadian but it's in inches as far as I've seen.

In fact, my plan is to replace all bolts on the cab. That will need sourcing a number of imperial sized bolts, so I probably will have to search Bob's site a bit....and check the manual for sizes.

The metal strips are not even mentioned in the drawings in the manual so I guess they decided to add these later....so the bolts are not in the list either.

shilmover · « **Reply #413 on:** May 25, 2009, 11:08:03 am »

Yes. Robertson (I misspelled the word

).

If you want, I can send you bits, you send me back a bolt/screw and I can get you some (if you dont find it)...

Oh, the lengths we go to for a restoration...

Daviea · « **Reply #414 on:** May 25, 2009, 02:55:46 pm »

These pictures really caught my eye. I immediately noticed the small metal bracket which looks completely different from the bracket I see on American SW cockpits. The one we have is a smaller, smooth version with no texture of any kind. Actually, it's quite boring looking. I've always been distracted by how plain this part looked. The one that you have on your machine is much more appropriate for a machine like this! I like the one you have installed on yours and now that I am aware of it, I might choose to go this way on my reproduction. Since it was (and I am making an assumption here) installed by Atari, I see no harm in using this version rather than our version. :-)

Here's what ours looks like:

Here's a close up of the two brackets I removed from a cockpit cabinet awhile back. Someone painted them black at some point in time.

Anyhow, this is what ours in the U.S. look like. I know it's no big deal, but I pay attention to these small details. I thought it was appropriate to point it out while it was on my mind.

BTW, the bit you've been talking about is referred to as a "square drive" but it's official name is "Robertson" (named after the guy who invented it. The official word is that they're popular in Canada, but I see them here in the U.S. all the time. In fact, you can buy them and their tool counterpart at Home Depot and pretty much any other hardware center. Boxer and Pro's Kit Industries sells this nice 62pc security bit driver set. I can't find the Boxer model number, but I have one of the Pro's Kit sets here on my desk. Model number is SD-205. It includes four different square drive bits and runs about $10-$20 U.S. I keep one of these kits with me everywhere I go - it's proven to be more than worth the space it takes in my toolbox.

Quote from: Level42 on May 24, 2009, 06:37:19 pm

I had planned to install the new rubber matting I received recently. BUT, there's a problem. The "steps" are fixed with bolts that I really don't recognize and they are in bad shape too. It looks like they have a square opening ?

This shows how bad the rubber is....completely worn out.

Level42 · « **Reply #415 on:** May 25, 2009, 05:13:47 pm »

I agree that it looks better. It also seems to be wider so it crosses the "gap" between the mat and the strip.

It looks very much like they were originally black. I have no reason to believe someone painted them later on. There hasn't been very much messing with this cab except for trying to break into the coindoor.

I will have them sandblasted and powder-coated. I have a bit set with torx, hex you name it, but this square type is not in there and I have never seen those before. But I'm sure I can get a bit here. Even if/when I have a bit it looks like it will be a challenge to get the rusted bolts out.

David, did you ever get those sizes and angles for the canopy ? They actually are a couple of pages back in this thread

Daviea · « **Reply #416 on:** May 25, 2009, 06:05:19 pm »

These are two GREAT pictures. I'm glad you took them in the sunlight because I wasn't seeing the full effect of the "black" plexiglass you've been photographing indoors. I thought it was a solid opaque black that wasn't see-through. The "black" looks MUCH MUCH better than the original. Now I'm torn on whether or not I should keep it original or make this upgrade. And, yes, I do see this as an upgrade to the original because the bronze color never looked that great in my opinion.

By the way, the t-molding looks beautiful installed on your machine!! I can't believe what a difference it makes.

I did see the measurements a few pages back. I did not see the thickness of the material, though? Also, I need the hole placements, if any (size and offsets from edges). I was holding out for an original piece so I could color match, but now that wait might not be needed if I can just specify "black"....does it have a special product code that I need to worry about? Maybe different shades of black?

Now I'm on the hunt for some of those metal brackets locally, but I fear that may be an impossible task to complete. I am prepared to take the plunge and use the Irish version of the bracket rather than the U.S. version because it looks (and probably functions) better than the U.S. version. Anyone have a spare bracket they can spare for a few weeks? I just need to take some measurements and pass them along to the proper vendor. It's entirely possible that I have the OEM extrusion mold for this, but it's unlikely since this part was most likely manufactured at the Irish factory. I'll have to take a look through the tooling and see if I have it.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Quote from: Level42 on May 24, 2009, 06:43:50 pm

And finally some demo shots for David. The T-molding in bright daylight:

(This also shows the nice "black" perspex that I installed instead of the original bronze one's)

This is a pretty nice picture I think, really shows off the quality:

Cheers !

Daviea · « **Reply #417 on:** May 25, 2009, 06:58:19 pm »

Can I get all measurements of this part, including hole diameters and lengths from each edge to center of holes?

BTW, is this considered "dark gray"? When you purchased, did it have a model number? Here in the U.S., the dark gray plexiglass is referred to as model number "2074"...

Thanks

Quote from: Level42 on August 27, 2008, 05:10:37 am

Level42 · « **Reply #418 on:** May 26, 2009, 12:37:41 am »

I'll let you know ASAP.

Level42 · « **Reply #419 on:** May 28, 2009, 11:21:16 am »

David, I hope to have all the info tonight for you....stay tuned....

Was home early from work so let's move on !

I found two square sized bits at my local hardware store and one turned out the right size but, just like I feared, some of the bolts were so rusted (and I tried other things so maybe they wore out) that I could only get out two screws (they are screws not bolts). Why ever they chose to use these instead of regular philips type is beyond me. It's not like some vandal is going to remove them.....

Anyway, I had to go with my last resort option, making a cut in the head with the dremel. The "bad" thing is that the heads are recessed so it was very hard not to damage the metal strips while doing the cutting.
Worked out not too bad, I guess after the powder coating the small damages won't be very noticeable.

Yugh... and also something that _REALLY_ worries me: How on earth am I going to get the T-molding replaced here ?!?!?! I could cut it under the strip of course.....

Most of the rubber comes off pretty easy but some parts are really stuck to the wood....

One more "problem". Of course they glued the rubber matting before they assembled the cab in the factory, so, the rubber runs under the "kickplate"......I cut it along the kickplate with a really sharp knife.

Rubber mat, you've done your job. RIP

And welcome brand new replacement ! It smells really......rubbery !

For the anal people amongst us: The ribs are not 100% correctly spaced. Everything else is the same, the thickness of the mat, the "height" of the ribs, it's perfect for me.

I sanded the wood with my trusty Black & Decker a bit....nothing too fancy but smooth enough.

BUT NOW !!!!! The tough part comes. Removing stuff is easy.....but installing the new stuff.....
I'm always SO in doubt with these kind of things, fearing to do it wrong and ruin it.....

I can't put the front part flush to the kickplate because the cuts on both ends are not straight. So I think I will let it run "over" the kickplate a bit and cut it there after glueing.
But I have to get the angle of the ribs straight....And the stuff is of course also wider than the cab......

Problems, problems, problems........and I need some glue too.

I figure now is also a good time to replace the T-molding. I got plenty of black but I'm unsure if it's the correct width.....gonna check now.....

Level42 · « **Reply #420 on:** May 31, 2009, 04:28:08 pm »

Mainly for my own documentation but I started a little spreadsheet to document all the metal parts on a SW cockpit machine. It probably will be extended with all my other cabs as I want to document each and every part before I send them out to be sandblasted and powdercoated. I even intend to include the bolts, although I will try to simply buy new one's for all of them.

Here's the very first simple start:
http://web.me.com/andre.huijts/Site/Blog/Artikelen/2009/5/31_Star_Wars_Cockpit_Metal_Parts_files/Star%20Wars%20Cockpit%20Metal%20Parts.pdf

Spyridon · « **Reply #421 on:** May 31, 2009, 08:30:23 pm »

I think the spreadsheet would look pretty cool with before and after pictures of each part.

By the way, you must have spelled the last column wrong. I can't read it.

Level42 · « **Reply #422 on:** June 01, 2009, 04:50:51 am »

OK finally did the measurements on the canopy plexi's.

Note that I measured the original bronze parts for accuracy..

The material is 3 mm thick. (I'm using metric sizes because it's so much easier for me, really don't know how to handle the 2/8, 3/32 or 5/18946 th measures you guys use....

The top (flat) part and the bend "front" part are indeed exactly the same width.

I took pics that may help. Here's the top:
It's 58.7 cm. long:

and it's 52.3 cm. wide:

The center hole is exactly in the middle, so 26.15 cm from each side.

The left and right hole are of course equally spaced from the edge at 3.7 cm.

Middle hole:

It looks like they drilled the holes with a 14 mm. drill. It's kinda egg shaped though (bad drilling

) Doesn't really matter that much, there's a pretty big tolerance for those holes.

Next the bend part:
As mentioned, same width so 52.3 cm.

The holes are at the LONG bent side and spaced 8.4 cm. from the edges.

On the top, there are also two small holes. They are at 1 cm. from the edges and 10 cm. from the bend on the SHORT bended edge. The 10 cm. starts at the _edge_ of the bend.

I guess this would be pretty hard to reproduce exactly without having an original. I think Bruno ditched his bend canopy part after installing the repro's since his was really broken but it would have served fine as a "model" for you.

For the color code, I thought I still had the bill from the company where I ordered it which mentioned the color code. I will see if I can find it. I used the same thickness of material, 3 mm. I do have to mention that the overall look is a bit darker when compared to the bronze. As you can see on the daylight pics it is see-through though, and when looking from the inside I can clearly see my "starry night" ceiling in the gameroom. I like the repro MUCH better than the yuckie bronze color. (Bronze color seems so 70's to me, while it's a 80's game

.
I used exactly the same material, color and thickness as monitor "glass". The original plexi (!) was hit by paint when they did the spray painting at the factory !!! Looked terrible. I think that was bronze colored too but it was thicker (5mm). However 5mm black perspex would make it too dark. I still would prefer a real glass alternative.... I thought I read that the US machines have real glass ?

About the matting: I already threw awey the old parts, I'll take a dip in the garbage bin to see if I can rescue a "good" part. And I haven't cut the new one yet so I can at least send a sample of that for you.

I'd be willing to send the "steps" too but I have to be absolutely sure they don't get lost ! No spares :S

Daviea · « **Reply #423 on:** June 01, 2009, 01:59:25 pm »

Thank you for all of those measurements. I was able to fill in a lot of missing info with your measurements. However, I still need a few more plus all of my original measurements (which I picked up off the internet) are now suspect, particularly with the large piece with two bends.

Can you give me the following measurements:

- diameter of the holes on double-bend canopy
- location of holes (on both ends) from each outside edge inward to center of holes.
- length of small bend (measured from outside center of bend to outside edge)
- length of large bend (measured from outside center of bend to outside edge)
- length between bends (measured from outside center of bend to outside center of bend)

I already have the angles which I'm satisfied with. :-)

This is what I currently have, btw:

Long bend: 27.7cm long
Short bend: 8.8cm long (this is the one that throws me off with your 10cm measurement for the hole placement)
Middle: 18.3cm long

Were these measurements taken from above or below the canopy? For me to draw them correctly, I need the measurements from above (or top), from centers of the bends.

Also, I'm glad to learn that the thickness is 3mm! I was under the impression that it was 1/4" which is 6.35mm. I was thinking that the 1/4" was way too thick, but I didn't have an original piece in front of me, so I wasn't sure. This will bring my cost of materials down substantially!!

Thanks again.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Level42 · « **Reply #424 on:** June 01, 2009, 06:04:28 pm »

David, I dove into my trash bin to rescue a piece of the old rubber mat for you, believe me it was not much fun to do......

I will come back about the measure for you/

I just updated the metal parts spread-sheet for those interested, here's the link again:

http://web.me.com/andre.huijts/Site/Blog/Artikelen/2009/5/31_Star_Wars_Cockpit_Metal_Parts_files/Star%20Wars%20Cockpit%20Metal%20Parts.pdf

It was my intention to install the new rubber mat today. I cut it on one edge along one of the ribs. With some minor extra cutting it was straight enough to put it flush to the kickplate. So, I searched for some glue and this looked appropriate, as least it mentioned it would (amongst others) glue rubber to wood.

I was planning on glueing about 3/4th of the mat keeping it to one side. Then when it would have dried I could cut the mat to fit exactly and then glue that part. Instructions said to let the glue dry 10-25 minutes and I had to apply it to both parts. There was just enough for the 3/4 of the wood, but after only a couple of minutes the stuff was completely dry and not sticky anymore at all....

Need to get a big portion and probably the kit variant, not the gel...

Anyway, I took a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin----load of pictures of metal parts that will need powder coating/paint. Also removed the yoke for the first time. Here's a lot of pics coming up for you.....

Speaker grill on the foot area:

Again, Atari decided to use those nasty "pop" nails... These are definitely metal so could be replaced. I will have to drill them out carefully. The speaker grills near the head-area looks much better (not a real surprise).

Inside the CP. Pretty rusty. Which is a problem as I have no intention to replace the CPO at all since it looks mint. Guess powder coating this is out of the question. Painting is possible though as long as I cover the other side properly.

The left-right mechanism. This yoke still centers amazingly well by the way. They definitely greased it. A lot.
There is some play on the yoke front to back (left to right on this picture). This causes the tooth gears to only make contact partly at a certain position.

Inside the yoke (up-down).

Coin door box. Some rust inside. A part on the right has been cut-out for a reason I don't know. On the bottom there's a microswitch that could be connected to an alarm (system). A sticker actually indicated that on the outside of the coindoor. (I put it on the inside)

Level42 · « **Reply #425 on:** June 01, 2009, 06:39:00 pm »

Coin door. Note the extra bolts on the bottom door....there's a reason for those....

...the reason is some extra re-enforcement to prevent theft. Don't believe I have seen that before on a coin door.

Marquee retainers. Top:

Bottom:

This is the part that covers the edges of the seat:

Side view:

Bottom view:

polaris · « **Reply #426 on:** June 01, 2009, 06:52:22 pm »

hey andre,
that rubber matting, expensive?
did you measure the size of the original grooves, i've got a roll of that stuff sitting in my garden, we use it in work.
shipping would be silly money though wouldn't it. never know when i may pass through though.

Level42 · « **Reply #427 on:** June 02, 2009, 11:42:26 am »

Tell me about it, I got it from a guy on the British Jamma+ forum. The stuff itself wasn't overly expensive, but the shipping !!!

It's really heavy and Royal Mail rates are insane. Thanks for the offer though !

Daviea · « **Reply #428 on:** June 02, 2009, 07:29:33 pm »

I drew up the canopy parts in solidworks based on measurements I had laying around. I plugged in random numbers for the placement of the holes for now. I created a custom material spec for the dark gray acrylic so it will show better in the pics. These are saved JPG's directly from my Solidworks 2009 design software.

This one shows the hole placement on the large bend: I need the diameter of the holes and the placement from each edge to center of hole:

This one shows the hole placement on the small bend: I need the diameter of the holes and the placement from each edge to center of hole:

This one shows the measurements of the entire profile of the "front canopy" placed at the top edges of the material. I need to confirm these measurements are correct and taken from the top of the glass instead of the bottom of the glass:

This one shows a closeup of where the measurements are applied at the bends. You might have to open the attachments to see the detail on this one:

That's all I've got for now..

David Adams
RAM Controls

Level42 · « **Reply #429 on:** June 03, 2009, 03:52:42 am »

At work now so I don't have the parts here but there are _no_ holes on the small bend.

Instead, these holes are at the large flat part ! They are 10 cm. from the _edge of the bend_ of the short edge. And 1 cm. from the side edges.

~~I still have to look for the hole diameters and exact size on the right side of the second drawing but here's some corrections~~:

The sizes in the drawings are double checked and correct.

The diameter of the holes is 5 mm.

Level42 · « **Reply #430 on:** June 03, 2009, 04:40:20 am »

Here's a pic of the repro's when they were still in the protective stuff. You can see the position of the holes there. (Just as a reference).

Level42 · « **Reply #431 on:** June 03, 2009, 01:38:02 pm »

So far for the easy stuff.

I'm not too sure about the sizes on the above drawing really, I think they're not correct.
It's so hard to measure though....also in production, where do you "set" the bend ?

I could try get some pics with the tape measure on top of the canopy holding it tight and than make macro pics of the bends. I e-mailed Bruno to ask if he still has that broken canopy, that would be ideal for you to measure and compare any repro's.

Daviea · « **Reply #432 on:** June 03, 2009, 01:44:05 pm »

Ok, this answers most of my questions on the hole diameters and placements. The 10cm measurement is was threw me off. I thought the holes were ON the small bend and the small bend isn't even 10cm long. Whoops.

Thank you. I just added all of these changes to the Solidworks file.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Quote from: Level42 on June 03, 2009, 03:52:42 am

At work now so I don't have the parts here but there are _no_ holes on the small bend.

Instead, these holes are at the large flat part ! They are 10 cm. from the _edge of the bend_ of the short edge. And 1 cm. from the side edges.

~~I still have to look for the hole diameters and exact size on the right side of the second drawing but here's some corrections~~:

The sizes in the drawings are double checked and correct.

The diameter of the holes is 5 mm.

Daviea · « **Reply #433 on:** June 03, 2009, 01:50:59 pm »

I took some of your measurements I found earlier in this thread and then converted them to imperial (close approximation) before inputting them into Solidworks. But I think your measurements might have been taken from the underside as opposed to the top side of the canopy.

When drawing these parts, I need to have the measurements from the top side, measuring from the center of the bends when possible. When you look at the drawing, it will show sharp bends - disregard it as it's only for measuring purposes. In reality, there will be some nice wide radius bends there.....which, by the way, is difficult to take measurements from. Even someone experienced in taking these kind of measurements can find this task to be quite difficult if precision is important.

Closeup pictures would be great. Then again, a real OEM part in my hand would be even better. :-)

Talk to you soon. And thank you for all the help!!

David Adams
RAM Controls

Quote from: Level42 on June 03, 2009, 01:38:02 pm

So far for the easy stuff.

I'm not too sure about the sizes on the above drawing really, I think they're not correct.
It's so hard to measure though....also in production, where do you "set" the bend ?

I could try get some pics with the tape measure on top of the canopy holding it tight and than make macro pics of the bends. I e-mailed Bruno to ask if he still has that broken canopy, that would be ideal for you to measure and compare any repro's.

Level42 · « **Reply #434 on:** June 06, 2009, 10:15:16 am »

Right.......those imperial sized hex bolts are driving me nuts (ha-ha-ha, nuts, ha-ha) !

I thought I had about all the required tools. A nice set of imperial sized hand tools, a set of all kinds of security -type bits....but it turns out I really are going to need the following hex tools to get the yoke completely dissasembled.

7/64"
9/64"
5/8"

I tried my local hardware store, they could special order 2 of the three 3 sizes, but I really need all of them.

So I checked RS online and they even don't have these sizes !

So now my hope is on some kind soul in the US or UK to get some of these for me and send them over. Would be highly appreciated as I have the yoke apart for 50% now .......

FrizzleFried · « **Reply #435 on:** June 06, 2009, 10:19:38 am »

I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to use a x/64" sized wrench/socket in my life. 95% of things are x/16" or below... the probably 4.95% is x/32 and .05% is x/64. x/64" is usally used in specialize situations.

My guess is that you were misinterpreting 7/64" which is SO close to 1/8"...

Level42 · « **Reply #436 on:** June 06, 2009, 11:00:08 am »

Yeah, well RTFM my friend

Level42 · « **Reply #437 on:** June 07, 2009, 04:37:05 am »

I found a site in the UK that offers ALL kind of bolts in ALL kind of systems and also in low order numbers.

Now, I need to know if all the bolts and screws on the yoke and the rest of the cockpit are UNC (Unified Course), UNF (Unified Fine) or maybe even BA (British Association). Metric of course is ruled out and I think UNC is the most likely, but I hope someone can confirm this (David ?).

Also, since Atari always omitted the "regular" bolts and other mounting hardware in their parts-listings, does anybody know what bolts all the panels etc. are fixed with ?

Thanks !

Level42 · « **Reply #438 on:** June 07, 2009, 05:46:57 pm »

Canopy measures:

Large edge to center of bend: 27.8 cm.:

Short edge to center of bend: 8.8 cm.

Total length OVER the bends: 83.0 cm. Very hard to measure this because of the bends and the resistance of the measuring tape. Could be off .1 mm plus or minus.

Level42 · « **Reply #439 on:** June 07, 2009, 06:07:40 pm »

Been working on the yoke and I can tell you, this is not the most fun part for me. Give me electronics any day over this mechanical stuff....

Anyway, I discovered why my high score is so poor:

The micro-switch on the top left is non-standard. It's not supposed to have the blade. (The other one is an original one). Seriously: I never really noticed much difference between the two thumb triggers.....


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