Author Topic: Who needs Asteroids when you can get a ...... Meteor !! (Read 12982 times)

Level42 · « **on:** May 04, 2008, 05:24:36 pm »

I don't believe it. My wife nearly killed me but.....I've just won this:

Monitor is said to be working, PCB not. The monitor is very likely a LAI. The PCB set is completely different from the Atari original but the game is identical.

arcadefever · « **Reply #1 on:** May 05, 2008, 12:21:58 am »

that an asteroids clone ? that cab is in great condition

Level42 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am »

Yes it's an Asteroids clone. And it looks pretty good indeed, but pics always show them better

Here's some more pics of Meteors (PCB-set,upright,cocktail, monitors)
http://andysarcade.de/data/picseries/meteor_hoei/overview.html#upright

LAI monitor pic and schematic:
http://andysarcade.de/vec_monitors.html#lai

And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

SavannahLion · « **Reply #3 on:** May 05, 2008, 03:07:07 am »

Quote from: Level42 on May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am

And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

Somebody vectorize this, it's just begging to be side art.

fixedpigs · « **Reply #4 on:** May 05, 2008, 12:13:38 pm »

Quote from: SavannahLion on May 05, 2008, 03:07:07 am

Quote from: Level42 on May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am
And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

Somebody vectorize this, it's just begging to be side art.

clearly euro...

RayB · « **Reply #5 on:** May 05, 2008, 12:58:51 pm »

Quote from: Level42 on May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am

And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

gonzojoey · « **Reply #6 on:** May 07, 2008, 02:35:20 pm »

i dont know how to vectorize a picture, but I was playing around w/ Photoshop and came up with this picture. Maybe this would make a good image to base some sideart from?

http://www.carolinaveedubs.com/Meteor%20copy.jpg

(Only posting link since image has boobies

)

Level42 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 08, 2008, 01:11:18 am »

That looks great Gonzojoey !!!
I am totaly incompetent with Photoshop and I'm still amazed what can be done with it !!!
Great work !

I would be happy to put a finished version of that on those empty dull sides of the machine

Would it be possible to recreate the color image like that, using the b/w picture from the flip-side of the flyer ?

gonzojoey · « **Reply #8 on:** May 08, 2008, 07:49:06 am »

Quote from: Level42 on May 08, 2008, 01:11:18 am

Would it be possible to recreate the color image like that, using the b/w picture from the flip-side of the flyer ?

Thanks. All I did was use the B/W photo from here (http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=2)and slide the Meteor logo down to the bottom. I'm not really that good in Photoshop compared to the masterpieces I've seen others make for their cabs. I wish I knew how to clean up that color photo so it could be used (or how to add decent coloring to the B/W photo), but I don't $:-\$ . Perhaps someone in the Artwork section could provide some assistance? I'll add a post in there and see what we get

gonzojoey · « **Reply #9 on:** May 08, 2008, 08:03:12 am »

I started a new thread over in the Artwork section asking for assistance with this side art "project". Hopefully someone will be able to help out.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79902.0

Oh, and I forgot to tell you Congrats on the great score! That's a beautiful cabinet (even if it doesn't have any sideart on it

)

Level42 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 08, 2008, 10:13:58 am »

Thanks for your help !!!

I totally agree, the sides are begging for that sensual lady

Can't wait to pick it up, but it will have to wait until the 17th....no time earlier :S
Will be my longest road-trip yet (3,5 h. one way), and actualy the first cab I bought abroad

!

And IMHO I got an absolute STEAL on this

danny_galaga · « **Reply #11 on:** May 10, 2008, 03:31:46 am »

Quote from: Level42 on May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am

And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

DESTROY SALLING METEORS!

Level42 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 10, 2008, 04:25:54 am »

Quote from: danny_galaga on May 10, 2008, 03:31:46 am

Quote from: Level42 on May 05, 2008, 01:42:12 am

And the best flyer ever IMHO:
http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=2394&image=1

DESTROY SALLING METEORS!

Yes, I hate it when those meteors start salling !

But luckily whe can always "Emergency Escape, Our Spaceship"

Level42 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 16, 2008, 04:52:35 pm »

Tomorrow is pick-up day. Wish me luck with over 7 hours of driving on my own, and PRAY for me that it will fit in my car..... thanks

Level42 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 17, 2008, 06:19:22 pm »

She's home and safe in my kitchen !!! It was my longest haul ever...7 hrs. of driving, 15 minutes at the sellers place. The seller is a trader and has a MYRIAD of classics.....too much to mention, but I saw an Atari Fire Truck but then without the seat (single player). It worked.

Much more that I all forgot about right now, it went too quick.

O and I played Missile Command (the arcade version) for the very first time in my life !!!! It was on a sweet little cabaret that looked near mint. The trackball badly needed bearings and rollers though. Still very nice. I was surprised how much it looked and sounded like the Atari 8-bit homecomputer version, then again it makes sense.

The separate base firing buttons are a nice extra, and this game just screams for that trackball control (that I never had on the 8-bit).

Anyway that MC was sold for €499,-.............

I'll put up a lot of pics about the Meteor soon. The good news is that we have neckglow on the monitor, the power supply voltages are good and (after inserting a missing 6502) it gives some start-up sounds...

The real cherry was at the bottom of the cab:
ALL schematics !!!! YES ! Game PCB-set, PSU, monitor and a "user" manual as well

That can be added to the Arcade Archive nicely since I think it's missing

Level42 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 17, 2008, 06:26:06 pm »

Fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn !
I love the German highways. The only highways left in the world without speed limit

Because of all the games I had to look (drool) at I totally forgot to take pictures. Before I knew it the machine was loaded with great help of the seller and his dad...

Tight fit, but the lid can be closed !

Let's return home....this is not only my longest haul so far, it's probably also my fastest

Safe at home:

Level42 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 17, 2008, 06:35:10 pm »

More pics:

Worst part of the cab:

CP, pretty rusty

Instructions in German by the importer (Gauselmann, still in business with fruitmachines today).
Not sure if I should remove them or not. Might hurt the artwork of the bezel as it's printed on the frontside

Marquee, excellent condition !

Bezel etc.

Buttons....they are short leaf-buttons with microswitches under them....

Level42 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 17, 2008, 06:45:52 pm »

And still more...

Sides, very dull without any art ! Wife and son complain that this cab looks dull....they are right, we need that flyer-lady on the sides !!!!

Manufacturer sticker:

Power supply. Regretfully no connectors between the PCB's.

PCB set with fan. See something that's missing ?

B/W CRT. Condition looks to be very nice.

LAI XY monitor chassis. Looks like a very neat design !!!

A real cherry on the bottom of the cab, something I wouldn't dare to hope it would be included:

PCB set, left (smaller) pcb is sound and i/o, the other the main pcb. Hey the 6502 is missing.....it couldn't be THAT simple, could it ?
Well I put one in, but it doesn't make much difference. I do hear some weird buzz sounds now when starting it up.

Coin Mechs etc.:

Buttons, as mentioned, microswitches with short leaf-style buttons.....

ablizno · « **Reply #18 on:** May 18, 2008, 12:30:44 am »

Someone is flipping me off in the picture of the rusty control panel. Nice find. Also yes the sides do look very boring. Last but not least, i wish the woman in the poster was my wife {jk}

Level42 · « **Reply #19 on:** May 18, 2008, 03:37:35 am »

Ha, that's my 6 year old son's hand. He's not doing that on purpose though. Ever since he started at pointing things he used his middle-finger. Not that strange really, after all it's the longest finger you've got

Yeah I love the artwork on that flyer and not because of the nudity. The whole style of the pic is great. There's more artwork by HOEI International which is from the same artist I bet:

Level42 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 18, 2008, 04:00:10 am »

Forgot to include the main PCB only pic:

Level42 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 18, 2008, 04:57:15 am »

Just checked my PCB with the pictures on Andy's site ( http://andysarcade.de ) and it's clear that there have been different revisions of the main PCB.

My PCB set only has 4 ROM's, compared to 8 on Andy's PCB. Also the configuration around the two DACs on the top of the board is somewhat different.

Here's Andy's PCB:

Level42 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 18, 2008, 06:28:42 am »

Just scanned all the docs. Saint do you have 50Mb to spare for this ?

Level42 · « **Reply #23 on:** May 18, 2008, 06:01:41 pm »

Never mind:

OK, anyone who needs the schematics, manual for this game and the monitors:
Andreas from www.Andysarcade.de put together an excellent PDF from the original docs that I scanned:

http://www.andysarcade.de/meteor_hoei.html#manuals_datasheets

I mailed Arcade Archive since I think this should be added there, but no reply yet....

For some people it might be interesting to have a look at the Schematics of the PCB set, to see how they changed "everything" and still get a game that is identical except for the Atari logo.....

patrickl · « **Reply #24 on:** May 18, 2008, 06:30:51 pm »

Lol, you really cannot help yourself huh?

Cool find though. Just wondering how you will ever fit all your cabs in your house. I guess that's not so difficult, but I mean while still staying married

Level42 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 18, 2008, 06:35:00 pm »

Ssssh, it's all part of a secret plan

I had hoped that the building of my Gameroom would be started, but the guy who will be doing it is too busy....we'll talk definite plans this week though....

Luigi · « **Reply #26 on:** May 19, 2008, 03:17:45 am »

Very nice machine.....I hope you had a good trip to Stefan Lietz

Level42 · « **Reply #27 on:** May 19, 2008, 05:11:58 am »

Quote from: Luigi on May 19, 2008, 03:17:45 am

Very nice machine.....I hope you had a good trip to Stefan Lietz

Was a long drive but really worth it

Regretfully it was raining most of the time (not when I shot that speed

)
Stefan was really friendly and he (and I think his dad ?) were very helpful with loading the machine. Stefan also showed me the complete inventory.....if only I had space, no job and heaps of money

The only thing I fixed so far is the marquee light. The starter (which is a strange (Japanese?) screw-in type) was loose. Very hard to fix this

Tried bypassing the watchdog and keeping high the reset line, no go. I only see some diagonal lines every now and then, and sometimes some spots at random places. So I guess the monitor is OK at least.....

If everything fails, I will get an Asteroids PCB for this baby....but Andreas promised to help me with fixing this thing. He has a working board-set so he can reference stuff for me. And I actually think the original Asteroids schematics and other docs (like this http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/asteroidtech/asteroidsrepair.html) can be helpfull as basicaly, the set-up of the games are the same of course.

Luigi · « **Reply #28 on:** May 19, 2008, 08:09:25 am »

I know Stefan Lietz has a lot of classic games.....I recently managed a deal for him. A lot of 18 real and partially really rare classics (most of them Atari machines from 197x: Dominos, Smokey Joe, Sky Dive, etc.) and 10 generic cabs. He took them all. I would have loved to take them but I didn't have the room and, of course not the money to buy them all

Good luck with your Meteor.....Speleo (Andreas) is a real genious

Level42 · « **Reply #29 on:** May 19, 2008, 08:18:39 am »

Yeah, I saw all of those cabs when I was there. I was particularly interested in the Dominos, as I have one too (but it's still missing a PCB). It was complete, even the metal start-buttons were on there.

The Smokey Joe looked very nice. I also saw he just listed them on e-bay (Tank II if my fav.). These cabs are all a bit too much in price for me though. In reality a game like Dominos is simply boring. You want a game like that for the cab, and the "history" of it. I got the cab for free.

I don't think he's going to get that much for it. Tank II is something else. That is maybe one of the most fun games for 2 players around. It's so simple, but I can remember how much fun my brother and I had when playing Combat on the 2600....

Level42 · « **Reply #30 on:** May 19, 2008, 10:14:38 am »

Hey strange, the buttons are a bit different from the usual "Happ/Suzo" button we all know. The "lip" seems to be a bit thicker and higher. Overall the button looks a bit bulkier....the pic doesn't really show it very well:

Looks like the TL tube is still the original.....

Weird starter ! Looks like a regular light-bulb....
Checked it a bit and Nintendo used these too, so must be a Japanese thing...

Sigh.......the marquee is glued to the metal retainers.....won't help when scanning it

OK, we all agree that the sides are dull. Is this a bit better ?

Mmmmm, this doesn't look like it should look. I unsoldered one leg cause it's a filtering cap only. No difference. The boards keeps getting resets.

Level42 · « **Reply #31 on:** May 19, 2008, 10:18:27 am »

I am going to need a good guide on restoring metal panels that have their artwork directly silk-screened.

I guess I will have to scan it first. Than I see no other option to sand the whole thing to the bare metal, 'cause that rust is hurting your hands ! But than....how do I get back the art ? In this case I could maybe stencil it ?

Spaced Ace · « **Reply #32 on:** July 24, 2008, 03:16:43 pm »

Level42, youre too much man. You leaving the control panel as is or you thinking about putting a spinner or trackball in there or something? Figure since its an Astroids clone, why not beef it up a little and update the controls... If you keep it as is, yes it would be an original Meteor, and thats cool and all, but if your going to have Astroids, just buy Astroids.

I'd modernize it if it were me and ditch the Astroid buttons.... but thats just my opinion....

Level42 · « **Reply #33 on:** July 30, 2008, 01:01:40 pm »

A spinner on an Asteroids (clone) ? ? ? ? How do you suppose that would be interfaced to the game PCB ?

This section is about restorations my friend, not about conversions.....

An update: in the weekend of the picking up of the MC cabaret, we also visited Andreas from www.andysarcades.de

It was a great visit, will report about it in a separate thread but to go short: Andreas has a working Meteor PCB. He repaired it and made an adapter to run it on his Asteroids cocktail table. He told me to bring my defective Meteor PCB set and promised to have a look at it. He just mailed me and he has done some amazing work. A LOT of IC's needed replacement ! The game is now running and sound is OK. There's one minor issue still. I'm positive I never would have been able to find all these defective chips....so a very big thanks to Andreas !

Level42 · « **Reply #34 on:** August 01, 2008, 06:05:42 pm »

Just got another mail from Andy, and the PCB is 100% working OK now !!!

It really needed a lot of work and new IC's but now it's alive again !

Andy will be shipping out the board this weekend......can't wait. Andy suggested to replace all the remaining IC sockets and caps which I will do of course. Can't wait to try it on the cab again, what an amazing feeling that will be.

I completely got hooked on Andy's Asteroids cockpit table so I know I am going to LOVE this Meteor !

Level42 · « **Reply #35 on:** September 06, 2008, 09:01:10 am »

Yeah baby, yeah !!!!!

Terrible pictures but it works !

The screen is pumping a bit and I need to get the linearity better. But I guess a lot of new caps on the monitor and PSU will improve things a lot

I'm currently uploading some video's....

Level42 · « **Reply #36 on:** September 06, 2008, 09:38:26 am »

Video !

...and Part 2

evilfuzzle · « **Reply #37 on:** October 03, 2008, 06:36:29 am »

damn that flyer!!! my dad walked in just as i scrolled down

venkman · « **Reply #38 on:** October 03, 2008, 07:22:32 am »

ha!

i'm down with that flyer

Level42 · « **Reply #39 on:** March 07, 2010, 05:11:15 pm »

Sold. It will be going to a very good place indeed, the arcade museum in Denmark !

http://www.playright.info/museum.php


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