Thinking of making an offer on an Asteroids Deluxe

[Justin Z]

It's on Craigslist and the guy says he'll drop it off.  He says the monitor needs a cap kit.  I have not gone to look at it yet -- if I do, what do I need to look for?

Here is how he describes it:

So, clearing out the garage, and we came across this - quite forgotten we had it.

It's an Asteroids Deluxe, which means it doesn't have hyperspace, it has a shield instead. Otherwise it's the same game as the original.

Anyway, it's in pretty good condition for something 25 years old.

Now, does it work? It certainly does. However, the monitor needs a cap kit - something relatively easy to do. I just don't have the time myself. Basically it runs ok - sounds are heard etc, it's just that the screen draws everything with an additional line from the center of the screen, which means it's not turning off the raster when travelling from the center of the screen to where it wants to start drawing. A Cap kit should solve that.

So definitely bought as seen - I can demonstrate it to you on site

I can drop it off as long as you are withing 40 miles of Mesa.

He uses the term "raster" on a vector game so it sounds like he might have no idea what he's talking about, heh.

Any suggestions, ideas, tips?  Thanks a bunch.

Justin

Edited to add:  Also it's a cocktail, which adds to the charm, since I have an upright MAME machine.  It looks identical to the Missile Command cocktail we had when I was a kid as far as the body style, and in the pics anyway it appears to be in excellent condition.

[Justin Z]

Pics . . .  You can hide anything in pictures, of course.

[cw]

I would think that the top glass would be one thing to watch for... a monitor and pcb can be repaired but getting a new piece of glass would be the hard part..

[somunny]

God, I've come to loathe AZ craigslist.  It's flooded with ads from those two warring game dealers! 

[Justin Z]

Yeah, I hate those guys.  I report their posts as spam/repetitive/too corporate all the time.  Yeah we get it, you have a bunch of arcade games.  You don't need to post it 17 times a day.

The only reason I'm even looking at this is because it's a private seller.

I will definitely take a look at the glass.

Any tips on capping the monitor?  I have no such experience.

[FrizzleFried]

Couple things to keep in mind...(A) 13" monitor....small... and (B) That should be a G08 if I do recall...which means possible FIRE HAZARD (though I am not 100% sure if that is the case with the 13" version)...

As for the glass,  it's easily replaced...its the ARTWORK that's hard to come by.

[Havok]

Get it - it has shields! Hyperspace is soooo overrated!

 

[ChadTower]

If it's that monitor you can mod it to fix the fire hazard issue.

How many of the super cool AD cab elements are missing in a cocktail version?  Does it have the overlay, the black light, etc?  I can't imagine it has the black light.

I don't think that issue described is a cap kit issue.  That issue is that the intensity/contrast it turned up way too high.  Now, maybe THAT is because it is too dim and needs a cap kit... but it does call into question his diagnosis.

[Barry Barcrest]

Couldn't the artwork be scanned off the glass, retraced and re printed and applied to the undersife os a new piece of glass? I don't see it being that big an issue as the artwork looks in good enough shape to work from.

[Justin Z]

I don't think that issue described is a cap kit issue.  That issue is that the intensity/contrast it turned up way too high.  Now, maybe THAT is because it is too dim and needs a cap kit... but it does call into question his diagnosis.

Heh how cool would that be to turn down the contrast and be done with it.

That said, any guesses on how much I'd have to invest if it were just a cap issue?  (not counting time, of course, since I'll be scouring the monitor/video forum for hours before touching anything!  )

[HaRuMaN]

God, I've come to loathe AZ craigslist.  It's flooded with ads from those two warring game dealers! 

I especially love the free pumpkin with any game.... lol.  I think the other guy cam back with free tuna sandwich with any game. 

[ChadTower]

That said, any guesses on how much I'd have to invest if it were just a cap issue?  (not counting time, of course, since I'll be scouring the monitor/video forum for hours before touching anything!  )

Cap kits are cheap.  If you need tools, not necessarily cheap.  If you are not already familiar with monitors (I assume you are not) it will take much time... and be aware that the discharge process for a vector is NOT THE SAME as for a raster and there is the additional possibilty of doing further damage to the monitor if you do it wrong.

[SithMaster]

Even if you cant/dont want to fix the monitor the cab itself looks worth getting.  This of course assuming the guy doesnt want an arm and a leg for it.

[Justin Z]

He's asking $300 but I have a feeling I could talk him down to $225.

So no, it's not ridiculous.

[Matthew Fisher]

225 is a great deal, especially if the monitor and bd are in good shape.  If it were me, I'd take it in a minute for that, even if the monitor needed a cap kit.  I've successfully installed a cap kit and brought a vector back to life, and if I can do it, anyone can! 

As I recall, the G05-805 is the 15" b/w vector used in the cocktails (it's the G08 color that tends to self-combust), or it could be the WG 15v2000.  Either way, I don't think much of a fire hazard, just a shock hazard. 

I also recall seeing one of these at an auction recently and thinking how much it lost without the backdrop, etc, which is not on the cocktail.  I believe that the vectors in the upright are overlayed on the background via a half-silvered mirror, like in Warrior.  Therefore, I don't see any easy way to effectively recreate the asteroid field in the cocktail.  That said, I always liked AD better than Asteroids (at least you could use the shield, as opposed to the hyperspace) and would gladly add even the cocktail for that price.  Good luck! 

[Justin Z]

Went and took a look.

It really is in pretty good shape.  Minor chipping of paint both around and under the glass but the instructions are intact and the wood grain look is good.  10 beautiful leaf switch buttons, no noticeable problems with the board, audio, anything.  The cocktail itself is the same style as a Missile Command we had when I was a kid but it's noticeably smaller which is really nice actually.  The vector monitor may be 15" but honestly it looked smaller than that.

The issue described above with the monitor is strange and apparently the guy before me told the seller that he didn't think it was a cap issue.  I made a mock screenshot because I didn't have a camera, but I am going to pose the question seriously in the monitor/video forum because it's more on topic there.

Thanks for all the support guys.

Justin