A New Hope... "I knew you could do it!"

[RetroACTIVE]

We'll I finally got one... I had to drive to Pittsburgh to get it... ~200mi..  But I am wicked excited... i paid around 600 for it... The monitor (WG) needs some work but it is in very good shape... the insides are all 100% original (no cuts/splices or hacks).  The yoke appears to be fine... there are a few dings here and there but nothing major and from what I've been told, I am the 3rd owner of the machine.

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.... besides I want to play the darn thing!

[Pop Culture Portal]

Wow! 

[Level42]

I think David's offer for a cheap yoke rebuild kit is still available.....


And welcome to the club

[RetroACTIVE]

I think David's offer for a cheap yoke rebuild kit is still available.....


And welcome to the club

I saw his offerings... and I recall your posting before regarding the rebuild deal.  I need to inquire as I double checked the action on the yoke and it seems it may have a gear issue when it is twisted all the way forward, so there may be a nick in a gear or two.

She ain't no cockpit... but I don't have the space for one without giving up one or two of my other games, which Im not willing to do 

[Level42]

Be sure to get the springs too...looks like yours needs them pretty badly

[Spyridon]

And welcome to the club

Where does one sign up for this club?  I got my Star Wars yesterday!

[Level42]

Heheh, it's a virtual club. And welcome

[CheffoJeffo]

---daisies---!

 

[ChadTower]

Don't question the rebuild kit, just buy it.  At that price it's a steal.  The yoke is your whole physical interface to the game - if it sucks so does your game. 

[RetroACTIVE]

Don't question the rebuild kit, just buy it.  At that price it's a steal.  The yoke is your whole physical interface to the game - if it sucks so does your game. 

...didn't think twice, it's already on it's way 

[Lyellin]

Is that the one that was on Craigslist for a bit? If grad school wasn't in my way.... and graduation, I was gonna drive out there and grab it - Pittsburgh is my old haunt.

[RetroACTIVE]

Is that the one that was on Craigslist for a bit? If grad school wasn't in my way.... and graduation, I was gonna drive out there and grab it - Pittsburgh is my old haunt.

Yup!  It was my first trip to Pittsburgh... that city has some wild topolgy!

[RetroACTIVE]

I've had a little time to dissect this thing... I found a few things...

#1 - Broken gear on the U/D pot.... not to worry gear replacements on the way!



#2 - Gooey old bumpers rotting and causing the controller to basically stick and not return to zero... (springs are actually ok)




Here is a pic of the inside / bottom and regulator board







Here are the PCBs ... they are super clean... except for the crud that the fan blew on them!  Not sure what the serial numbering scheme is on these but this one is an even 10000!









Good news... I could not tell what conditon the montior was in when I picked it up... its perfectly burn free!!  It aint no Amplifone... but hell I'll take it!



chassis..



"travelling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops boy!"

[Lyellin]

Very nice, I'm glad someone here grabbed that. If it was up in... 6 months, I may have done so myself, and made that my first resto.

Yea, Pittsburgh is a bit... hilly. The development of the city and the surroundings is actually very interesting, as is the history of the city.

Does make for a lot of heart attack hills though.

[Level42]

One tip for the WG deflection board: resolder ALL connector pins. Then check them with a multimeter....

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... I've dismantled the yoke controller to get it cleaned up to go off to powder coating this weekend.

I must admit... the darn thing is impressive... built like a tank.  Many many screws hold this baby together...

Here are a few pics...



You can see how incredibly gross the rubber bumpers had become in this pic...



I wouldn't call it an 'egg' shell but 'yoke' shell is appropriate... (BTW, ever notice how many people call it the star wars yolk)



"What a piece of junk!"

[RetroACTIVE]

...oh yeah, forgot to mention... in my zeal to get this thing apart... I broke the dang anchor pin in the nut!



RAM-CONTROLS HERE I COME AGAIN!  I already received Dave's rebuild kit... woah awesome stuff... can't wait to put this bad boy back together... it will essentially be new when I'm done with it.

"Sorry about the mess..." (flicks a coin to the bartender)

[RetroACTIVE]

Welp, I called my local powder coating shop... closed on the weekends      The good news is in speaking with them, they are able to give me a quote with a quick e-mail of a picture of the item 

I'm looking for an original finish... its a satin untextured/smooth black... I should have the quote sometime tomorrow...




"Where are you taking this... thhhing?"

[TheShanMan]

I'm enjoying this thread, RA. SW is one of my grails, so keep those updates coming! I'm also interested to hear how much something like that costs to get powder coated. I've never had powder coating done. How do you find a shop that does it? Just look up "powder coating" in the yellow pages?

[Level42]

Ever heard of "internet" "google" ?
 

[RetroACTIVE]

I'm enjoying this thread, RA. SW is one of my grails, so keep those updates coming! I'm also interested to hear how much something like that costs to get powder coated. I've never had powder coating done. How do you find a shop that does it? Just look up "powder coating" in the yellow pages?

Actually... there is kind of a story relating to how I found this place...

My wife and I were out to lunch at a local restaurant... I was mentioning to her I need to find the local powder coating shop to clean up my SW game controller.  I had heard through the grapevine there was a local shop but I could not recall where, and I had not started to look yet...  She looked at me and said oh "You want to go to Performance Powder Coating of Frederick".  I was like wwha?  She had  looked down at the little paper place mat full of adds and it was staring her right in the face, an ad for the place I was looking for.   

[ChadTower]

Actually... there is kind of a story relating to how I found this place...

My wife and I were out to lunch at a local restaurant... I was mentioning to her I need to find the local powder coating shop to clean up my SW game controller.  I had heard through the grapevine there was a local shop but I could not recall where, and I had not started to look yet...  She looked at me and said oh "You want to go to Performance Powder Coating of Frederick's of Hollywood".  I was like wwha?  She had  looked down at the little paper place mat full of adds and it was staring her right in the face, an ad for the place I was looking for.   

fixt

[RetroACTIVE]

Actually... there is kind of a story relating to how I found this place...

My wife and I were out to lunch at a local restaurant... I was mentioning to her I need to find the local powder coating shop to clean up my SW game controller.  I had heard through the grapevine there was a local shop but I could not recall where, and I had not started to look yet...  She looked at me and said oh "You want to go to Performance Powder Coating of Frederick's of Hollywood".  I was like wwha?  She had  looked down at the little paper place mat full of adds and it was staring her right in the face, an ad for the place I was looking for.   

fixt

HA!... took me a second but I found it   

[RetroACTIVE]

Got the quote back today...

Sand Blasting and hand sanding down to bare metal, Zinc Powder Primer and Powder Coat: $60.00

I'm also going to have them do the power block metal work... I'm thinking gold ... what the heck!



"5000... all in advance"
"5000... we can almost buy our own ship for that!"
"Yeah but who's going to fly it kid... you?"

[ChadTower]

Yeah! I'm not such a bad powdercoater myself!

[TheShanMan]

That seems like a super reasonable price with the sand blasting and sanding! I had no idea what something like that would cost, so it's good to know that if and when I want to do that it should be pretty affordable.

[Level42]

I payed similar prices (compared to our standards). However, each color is separate price.
At "my" local powdercoater (who I did find through Google by the way) it's best to give a whole bunch of parts in one go, as it doesn't matter for the price. It also helps a bit that this guy always seems to forget to give me a bill

F.I. I payed the same for the grey Midway coindoor as I did for all the little black parts of the Galaxian and MB.

Wish I could do it myself. Powdercoating beats all the other options IMHO. I'm in a marching band and we've had a number of rings and drum hardware powdercoated black that was originally chrome colored. It's been done 3 years ago, and there's not a chip or scratch to be found, and really, these drums are not always treated friendly.

Powdercoat metal parts on a cab, and I bet they'll last as long as you live....

[ChadTower]

Powdercoat metal parts on a cab, and I bet they'll last as long as you live....

Oh, most definitely.  In home use, though, wouldn't a well painted piece stand up just as long?

[Level42]

Maybe, but I still think powdercoating is way sturdier than (spray) painting.

By the way, that was a funny story RetroActive

I'm now looking at getting all the black metal parts of all my cabs (that haven't been done yet) in one go. That way it's very cost efficient too.

Sad thing is my powder coater can't do the blasting as he normally does really big stuff (gates,fences  etc.)

[ChadTower]

Maybe, but I still think powdercoating is way sturdier than (spray) painting.

There's no debating that.  I'm just starting to wonder if it's actually necessary or if he could put the $40 difference towards a backup flyback fund or something.

[Level42]

Yes, per game, it's a lot of money if you need to pay that. On the other hand, you'll never get the same finish with spray painting yourself (unless you have a HVLP set-up, which is also _very_ expensive).

AND it's a Star Wars. That alone deserves a little bit more than usual. And because it's the yoke, this will be touched a lot so it can't be sturdy enough.

[RetroACTIVE]

Yes, per game, it's a lot of money if you need to pay that. On the other hand, you'll never get the same finish with spray painting yourself (unless you have a HVLP set-up, which is also _very_ expensive).

AND it's a Star Wars. That alone deserves a little bit more than usual. And because it's the yoke, this will be touched a lot so it can't be sturdy enough.

I seriously considered painting this... as my DK2 coin door came out fantastic using spray and 0000 steel wool between coats.  I figured I'd leave the handles alone as they are in decent shape and because they are as you stated touched a lot.  Which left me with just painting the frame... and after I got it apart and looked at it... I figured sanding it would be a ---smurfette--- so that did it for me.

[ChadTower]

HVLP isn't that expensive if you already have the compressor and pneumatic stuff... which would also be used for sandblasting.

Funny I'm having two parallel powdercoating discussions, one here and one KLOV.  The other is about how one would build their own powdercoating oven which to my view is very very similar to a meat smoker but less complex because you don't have to worry about food issues.

[RetroACTIVE]

HVLP isn't that expensive if you already have the compressor and pneumatic stuff... which would also be used for sandblasting.

Funny I'm having two parallel powdercoating discussions, one here and one KLOV.  The other is about how one would build their own powdercoating oven which to my view is very very similar to a meat smoker but less complex because you don't have to worry about food issues.

I really think the sandblasting capability is key to any method... prep work is such a pain without it.

[ChadTower]

Definitely... ooh, I wonder if you could use the same box for blasting as you did for baking.  Just design the heater on a pullout shelf and you're good to go!  That wouldn't be hard at all.

[Level42]

What I read about HVLP is that you need a _REALLY_ big compressor to prevent it from running continously. One in the 700 bucks range....tell me I am mistaken as I already got a el-cheapo small compressor and I would love to try out HVLP...

[ChadTower]

What I read about HVLP is that you need a _REALLY_ big compressor to prevent it from running continously. One in the 700 bucks range....tell me I am mistaken as I already got a el-cheapo small compressor and I would love to try out HVLP...

I don't think it's that big a requirement but yeah el-cheapo won't do it.  But el-cheapo won't do sandblasting either.

[WunderCade]

Prices vary, but the important thing is that the compressor is at least a 15-20 gallon compressor. I found one (a Craftsman) at Orchard Supply for $99.00 US.

[ChadTower]

That's a bigass tank.

[Spyridon]

I got mine for $300.  26 gallon tank.  Works great!

[RetroACTIVE]

Dropped off the controller and power block at the shop today.  They are normally not open but they were there for another customer... stuff should be done by Wednesday.


"You can go about your business"

[RetroACTIVE]

Powder coating shop backed up... still waiting.... Monday 4/6 is the new date...


"Move along.... move along."

[Spyridon]

You're really confusing me with the title changes.  (but keep it up)

[Level42]

+1. At least keep something "steady" in there....

[RetroACTIVE]

You're really confusing me with the title changes.  (but keep it up)

This is fun... I hope I'm not too irritating.

On the project front, besides waiting for the powder coat... I've done a few things and made a few decisions on the restoration process...

The bottom right corner of the unit has a chunk taken out, but does not intrude on the artwork.  The front panel has a chip top half (its small but looks like crapolla)... and after close observation it looks like the person who spray painted the chip on the corner, also tested the spray can on the front of the artwork... and the front panel bottom is a bit munged up sooooo...

My plan is to replace the entire front panel (if I can do it surgically),  I've ordered the front artwork from Phoenix Arcade.  I ordered it Monday moments before their "unadvertised sale"... they refunded me the difference even though I missed the special!  So ... Phoenix Arcade gets high marks from me!

With that when I remove the front, I will be patching that damaged corner and refinishing the black outside the perimeter of the artwork.

This is not the level of restoration I wanted to do, but I'm a bit of an AR person so I guess I'm not surprised.

Also...

I've disassembled the montior, recapped it, added low voltage circuit, replaced all the headers with new square pinned SPOX headers and wire connectors (got rid of all the IDCs).  I've still got to finish the rebuild on this... I've not yet replaced all the frame transistors.

I've rebuild the AR-II board.

I've all the parts to rebuild the power brick... when it comes back from powder coating.

Stuff I've picked up in the mean time:
...a new yoke decal from ThisOldGame
...a new marquee overlay from ArcadeShop
...a new Cinelabs HVT



"Its not over yet."

[RetroACTIVE]

+1. At least keep something "steady" in there....

Fair Enough....

[Nemss316]

 

This restoration is going incredibly well!

Someday, I'll own my Star Wars cabinet, just got to get my midichlorian count high enough!

[RetroACTIVE]

Received my front artwork today... box was crushed by USPS...damaging the vinyl 
I've contacted Phoenix Arcade and sent them pics...



"If there is a bright center to the universe then you are on the planet that it is farthest from."

[Level42]

Wait a minute, do you mean they shipped a (rolled) vinyl in a BOX ?

Art like that should be shipped in a tube like these:



That's the 2nd time I read about a seller of artwork trying to cut corners on shipping cost. Very smart to not spend a couple of bucks more on a $100 piece of artwork.......

Why do people think that shipping companies have only THEIR package to deliver and keep it separate from all the other stuff ? Tell me, if you fly, do you have your luggage in a paper bag ? No, that's because you _know_ that they are going to throw it, bang it, stack it, smash it etc.

Seller is responsible, not USPS.

[RetroACTIVE]

Wait a minute, do you mean they shipped a (rolled) vinyl in a BOX ?

That's the 2nd time I read about a seller of artwork trying to cut corners on shipping cost. Very smart to not spend a couple of bucks more on a $100 piece of artwork.......

Why do people think that shipping companies have only THEIR package to deliver and keep it separate from all the other stuff ? Tell me, if you fly, do you have your luggage in a paper bag ? No, that's because you _know_ that they are going to throw it, bang it, stack it, smash it etc.

Seller is responsible, not USPS.

Yeah... it was sent in a long rectangular box... its unfortunate but  the seller is sending me a replacement.  I was surprised myself to see how it was packaged... hopefully the second time around it will be different.




"Even I can't understand their logic at times."

[m_mcgover]

The bottom right corner of the unit has a chunk taken out, but does not intrude on the artwork.  The front panel has a chip top half (its small but looks like crapolla)... and after close observation it looks like the person who spray painted the chip on the corner, also tested the spray can on the front of the artwork... and the front panel bottom is a bit munged up sooooo...

My plan is to replace the entire front panel (if I can do it surgically),  I've ordered the front artwork from Phoenix Arcade.  I ordered it Monday moments before their "unadvertised sale"... they refunded me the difference even though I missed the special!  So ... Phoenix Arcade gets high marks from me!

With that when I remove the front, I will be patching that damaged corner and refinishing the black outside the perimeter of the artwork.

You may have seen this already, and it is probably not the best example of a corner repair, but it is on an upright Star Wars....so maybe useful:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=67031

[RayB]

They are just plain being cheap. Buying a single mailer tube is expensive, but if youre in that BUSINESS, you can buy in bulk and it works out to be cheap.  *sigh* some people.... 

[pinballwizard79]

"Ive got a bad feeling about this".

Not really, I just wanted to say that.

"Luke..................................Carri".

Ok, back to your thread.

[Nemss316]

Some fun vids to go along with the awesomeness of this thread:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfqDVP_0O0c[/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wGR4-SeuJ0[/youtube]

[TheShanMan]

The Chad Vader series is awesome. I haven't checked in probably 9 months to see if there are any new episodes. Thanks for the reminder.

[RetroACTIVE]

Got my stuff back from the powder coating shop.... yeah!  I glossed the bulk of the body and semi glossed the handles... I also had a gold coat put on the power block frame... check it out!



This gold looks unbelievable!... wish I had new stickers



I'm anxious to get it back together... but real life is keeping me preoccupied.






"You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done."
 

[TheShanMan]

That looks awesome! I was watching an old episode of My Classic Car last night and they had a guy from Eastwood on the show showing off their DIY powder coating kit. Looks really cool, and it's really simple. Only thing is you gotta have an oven you don't use for cooking. When we get our next house I might just have to get some old oven off of CL so I can do this! The kit is here: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=5572&itemType=PRODUCT

[Level42]

Wow that looks great !!!

I think I will have to plan a date to remove _ALL_ black hardware from _ALL_ my machines and have them powdercoated in one go.

That little DIY kit looks nice but the youtube video seems to have a couple of unfavorable comments...does anyone own a kit like that ?

For an oven, you could consider one of those tiny electric ovens that cost close to nothing. However, larger parts like marquee retainers would require a really big oven, bigger than a regular house-hold oven. And that would take up the same space as a cab.....

[ChadTower]

For an oven, you could consider one of those tiny electric ovens that cost close to nothing. However, larger parts like marquee retainers would require a really big oven, bigger than a regular house-hold oven. And that would take up the same space as a cab.....

You might be able to get away with retainers in a household oven if you took out the racks.  Complication here is that you have to hang the part so it's not sitting on anything.  Maybe if you suspended it diagonally with two hooks.  I'm in the process of working this stuff out right now.  Just had an electrician out to spec out the work to put power out to my shed.  Included in the plan is a 240v outlet for an old electric oven for powdercoating.

[RetroACTIVE]

I received my replacement artwork today... it came in the same square box... it was a little crushed again... there are a few kinks in it.  I'm a little dissapointed it's a lot of money and I just want it to come out great.  I'm sure it will be ok.


"Thats funny,  the damage doesn't look as bad from out here."

[Level42]

For an oven, you could consider one of those tiny electric ovens that cost close to nothing. However, larger parts like marquee retainers would require a really big oven, bigger than a regular house-hold oven. And that would take up the same space as a cab.....

You might be able to get away with retainers in a household oven if you took out the racks.  Complication here is that you have to hang the part so it's not sitting on anything.  Maybe if you suspended it diagonally with two hooks.  I'm in the process of working this stuff out right now.  Just had an electrician out to spec out the work to put power out to my shed.  Included in the plan is a 240v outlet for an old electric oven for powdercoating.

Eh, we got 230 V al around here When you're cooking electrically you get 360 V around here

Retro: Can't believe they sent it AGAIN wrong packaged. I'm sorry but this is sure cautioning me away from Phoenix for the future.

Making a mistake can happen. Repeating a mistake is plain stupid.

[Spyridon]

That powder coating kit looks pretty cool.  I've got my sandblasting kit at my Uncle's garage.  He just happens to have an old working over there.  I think I may try that out.

This piece looks great:


Did you remove the stickers or just cover them up?

[Level42]

I guess if he hadn't removed them they wouldn't have survived the oven ? It would also be better to cover the entire frame with powder coating and not leave the parts under the sticker uncovered.

Just my guess of course...

[RetroACTIVE]

I guess if he hadn't removed them they wouldn't have survived the oven ? It would also be better to cover the entire frame with powder coating and not leave the parts under the sticker uncovered.

Just my guess of course...

Yup... can't really powder coat without a total sandblast and strip.  I peeled the stickers off and reapplied them... they look like crap...  I scanned the whole surface w/stickers before I sent it off to be refinished and sent the image to TOG.... TOG typically has various repro decals and such so I figured what the heck.  There is most likely zero demand for this sort of thing... but whatever... at least I scanned it right?



"I heartily agree with you sir"

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is the RAM Controls complete yoke rebuild kit:


(springs not shown... forgot to put them in the photo!)




"Thank the maker!"

[ChadTower]

Eh, we got 230 V al around here

That would be good except that I'd only be able to run clothes dryers and 15000btu air conditioners.  Pretty much everything not heavy duty runs on 110-120v - even stuff like refrigerators.

[Level42]

Here is the RAM Controls complete yoke rebuild kit:


(springs not shown... forgot to put them in the photo!)




"Thank the maker!"

Yup. Four of these kits are in hands of UPS Cologne right now, waiting for further shipment to ME (and my friends of course ) but I guess there's not much happening today and tomorrow because of easter. Can't wait to work on my yoke

[RetroACTIVE]

Cleaning up the WG6100 chassis... after reading through the WG6100 FAQ .pdf... I've determined I have the following revisions of boards:

Deflection: 327, HV: 329 and Neck: 326

I've made all of the upgrades to my deflection board to bring it up to essentially rev 329 (per faq), and changed out all the frame mounted transistors....

This monitor upgrade is one heck of a job... I sure hope it works.


...oh I should be done with the power supply block tonight!   I will be posting pics soon of all of this ...



"Rest easy Son... You've had a busy day"

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is the completed AR-II board...



Here is the AC Power Block Assembly... done and ready to go!



and... underneath it all



I'm pretty pleased with the way it all came out... Yoke is next... I'm waiting for the lubricants...



"Actually I'm not very good at telling stories... well not at making them interesting anyway."

[Ninten-doh]

Can you do me a big favor and take a pic of the molex plug at the end of the yoke wiring?  Mine was cut off by the previous owner for a Sidewinder hack and I need to convert it back. 

Thanks, and great work on the resto!   

[RetroACTIVE]

Can you do me a big favor and take a pic of the molex plug at the end of the yoke wiring?  Mine was cut off by the previous owner for a Sidewinder hack and I need to convert it back. 

Thanks, and great work on the resto!   

"Did you see THAT!"

[Ninten-doh]

I'm a dope.  I should have clarified which yoke I meant.

I was referring to the 12 pin Molex plug at the end of the yoke controller wiring.  Thanks anyway, someone else supplied me a pic today so I'm all set. 

Carry on.   

[RetroACTIVE]

Yoke is coming together now... here is the mechanical assembly... all but wiring



... another view



I got the TAI lubricants hobby kit... has both high and light viscosity oil and a grease that works fine for dampening the torsion springs.  I tried to get the original Nyogel 779 but its like $55 for 50g of it... the stuff in this kit works fine... then entire kit is available at lubekits.com for $24.95










", this oil bath is going to feel soooo good."

[TheShanMan]

That thing looks so sweet. Based on those pics I'd guess it would be hard to tell the difference between that and an NOS unit. It really looks brand new.

[Level42]

Your quoting is really funny, keep it up 

That's my next step on the SW....I'm looking up to it, I'm not that great mechanically...

David's stuff is amazing 

Did you also grease the wheels ? There's some strange stuff on the wheels that I can see from the back on mine that's aparantly meant to lube the wheels.

Looking great !

[RetroACTIVE]

Your quoting is really funny, keep it up 

That's my next step on the SW....I'm looking up to it, I'm not that great mechanically...

David's stuff is amazing 

Did you also grease the wheels ? There's some strange stuff on the wheels that I can see from the back on mine that's aparantly meant to lube the wheels.

Looking great !

I've not greased the gears just yet... I had a conversation with Dave about that and he didn't seem to think it was all that neccessary.  Afterall, it will be in a very clean environment for the rest of it's life.  I think I'm going to do it anyway just to keep things as smooth as possible, I'm just waiting until I install it.

[RetroACTIVE]

I'm a dope.  I should have clarified which yoke I meant.

I'm the dope!  I was thinking sidewinder was some old vector game     derrrr...




"Damned fool, I knew you were going to say that."

[RetroACTIVE]

Well... I hocked and hocked and hocked my collection to get these:

Amplifone NOS tube
Amplifone Deflection Board
Amplifone HV Board
Amplifone Yoke, Rings and harnesses
Amplifone Mounting brackets

What did it cost me?  A complete Scramble project/cabinet (w/monitor and all the trimmings +2 Scramble board sets), 2 Rampage boards 1 Phoenix board, and a Nintendo JAMMA Adapter.

All that work on that WG... who knows maybe it will find a home in another machine someday (Tempest anyone?) 

All in all... Totally worth it! 




"You'll have to sell your speeder"

[Level42]

Geez, maybe Spyridon would be interested in that WG !

[Spyridon]

Geez, maybe Spyridon would be interested in that WG !

Hmmm...maybe he would be?

[Spyridon]

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.... besides I want to play the darn thing!

This statement is quite funny!   

[Spyridon]

Geez, maybe Spyridon would be interested in that WG !

Hmmm...maybe he would be?

But seriously...let's talk.  Level42 has all but forced me to upgrade to a monitor without a burn in spot in the middle   

[RetroACTIVE]

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.... besides I want to play the darn thing!

This statement is quite funny!   

Yeah I know right?  This darn game is my Grail so I can't just let it be... I want it to be the best it can, plus I'm AR so I should know better.

"My name is Jim and I'm an arcade machine restoraholic."

Just for the record, the smallest restore job I ever did was my Asteroids all I did was put new buttons and cones and coin entry/reject buttons in it. (sounds like a typical restoraholic doesn't it?)

[RetroACTIVE]

Geez, maybe Spyridon would be interested in that WG !

Hmmm...maybe he would be?

But seriously...let's talk.  Level42 has all but forced me to upgrade to a monitor without a burn in spot in the middle   

I'm going to be a bit selfish with this one...hate to be a ---meecrob--- but I'm thiking my next project is going to be a Tempest and I would like to hang on to the WG for a little bit.  However, if I can't get anything to materialize, I will offer it to you first before I ever put it up publicly...and I mean that sincerely.
 

[Spyridon]

Not a problem.  I would keep it as a spare myself.

[ChadTower]

If he doesn't want it at that time I'm looking for one myself... I'm always on the lookout for a Black Widow and of the few I do see they usually don't have a monitor.

[RetroACTIVE]

If he doesn't want it at that time I'm looking for one myself... I'm always on the lookout for a Black Widow and of the few I do see they usually don't have a monitor.

"As you wish."

[RetroACTIVE]

I'm not where I wanted to be just yet... I've done a few things...

Re-fabricated the front bottom, rear bottom and back panels.  I've also stripped and primed the control panel and am getting ready to finally fix the corner issues...  hopefully it will be back together this weekend!

Here are a few pics...

Control panel ready for black paint... it had some rust spots so it needed to be completely stripped and primed...


Here is the new front panel... I've not yet applied the artwork... I used white melamine so that it would be pretty much an exact copy of the original... (minus the decal of course!)



New rear door... those spots are on the camera lens...

New rear lower panel... (nothing too remarkable here)



Amplifone goodies have arrived... I've all the parts coming to rebuild/bulletproof them...


I've a deadline of next Friday.... I'm having my first game party!  The WG will be going in for now... the Amplifone is a project for a later date...



"Ah... everything under control... situation normal, we're all fine now here..... how are you? "

[ChadTower]

Could you document when you join those new pieces into the cabinet?  Mine is trash in the back.  Needs a new roof, the panel below that, new door, and probably the one below that.  Might need a new floor, too.  It's just teetering on the point of burning the cabinet and finding a new one because the sideart is still usable.  I'm still sort of on the fence about finding a better cab or saving this one. 

[RetroACTIVE]

Could you document when you join those new pieces into the cabinet?  Mine is trash in the back.  Needs a new roof, the panel below that, new door, and probably the one below that.  Might need a new floor, too.  It's just teetering on the point of burning the cabinet and finding a new one because the sideart is still usable.  I'm still sort of on the fence about finding a better cab or saving this one. 

Sure... the way I removed them may also be pertinent.  I first unscrewed all of the blocking screws on the inside front of the cab which hold the front panel on.  Then, with a real stiff 4" putty knife, I separated the front from the blocking by tapping it in along the edges to break the glue bond, working from the top to the bottom.  It takes a bit, you may leave a few pieces of the front on the blocking.  Once the front was off, I did the same putty knife technique along the base.  However, the base is also nailed from the underside to its blocking, so you need to pull the nails out first before you go trying to use the putty knife to break the glue seal otherwise you'll just run into the nails.  After I got through most of the glue, I used a rubber mallet to strike the base from the inside to get it free.  Then I peeled it off from front to back... it kind of crackles off of the angled piece but I don't think you can avoid that completely.  After I got the bottom off the angled and lower rear panel piece just popped off pretty easily.

All of the blocking is left in place so the new panels should just go on pretty quickly.  I don't want to remove the blocking along the side panels as I'm afraid it may accidentally pull too much of the particle board material with them.  My plan is to staple and glue the two bottom pieces first then put them in place and staple and glue them to the cab as one.  Then put the front and then the rear panel piece on.

We'll see how it goes...

PS... I'm purposely not showing pics of the machine... it's a bit upsetting  ... I had (what looked to be) a perfectly put together machine... now not so much.  It did really need the work, once I got to the underside of it, it was really in bad shape, it must have sat on a wet surface, two of the t-nuts were non-existent and the holes where they used to be were damaged so badly that I could not simply replace them.



"Oh my... R2 can you hear me .... say something!"

[ChadTower]

I removed my panels by poking at them with my index finger.  Then I swept up the crumbled pieces with a broom.  They were that bad.  The base is still there but probably needs to be replaced for structural reasons.  All water damage.

[RetroACTIVE]

Dimensions for the rear door panel have been requested... so I figured I'd post it for everyone's enjoyment!





"Look at the size of that thing!"

[ChadTower]

Cool!  I'll use that to make mine.  thanks!

[Ninten-doh]

Cool!  I'll use that to make mine.  thanks!

+1  Thanks!

[RetroACTIVE]

I'll do the front and the other two bottom and lower back pieces as soon as possible...



"An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia have demonstrated a weakness in the battle station."

[Spyridon]

I'll do the front and the other two bottom and lower back pieces as soon as possible...

"Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

[Level42]

If anyone could post the dimensions of the backdoor of a cockpit.....

[m_mcgover]

Dude....don't you have a cockpit? 

I didn't know it was missing the back door...

[ChadTower]

He just wanted to say cock and backdoor in the same post.   

[Level42]

 

He just wanted to say cock and backdoor in the same post.   

The backdoor is missing yes...

[RetroACTIVE]

He just wanted to say cock and backdoor in the same post.   

"You watch your language!"

(sorry couldn't resist)

[m_mcgover]

I can do the measurement then.  I assume you want the door that is vertical, not the angled piece on the top, correct?

[m_mcgover]

Here it is.  Hope it helps.  All measurements in inches.

[Level42]

Indeed I ment the vertical part, thanks for the measurements !!!

[RetroACTIVE]

Almost ready to put this thing back together....  got all the body work done, masked off the artwork and have put 2 coats of satin black on the thing....

I recut all the blocking and will be rebuilding it tomorrow... at that time I'll take the final numbers for the blocking and panels...

New corner...



Masked off art...



New hit of black...




New corner... painted


New rear corner...



... and if you look closely you can see a NOS Amp tube peeking out of the foam    This thing came from Canada and was packed PERFECT!






"You've just taken your first step into a larger world.

[Level42]

Great work !

Two of those tubes also made it safely across to Europe. The packaging is the key. Still have to take up the challenge of installing one of them in Luc's upright, but I feel pretty confident I can get it converged now.

[Ninten-doh]

Have you had a chance to install the control yoke overlay yet?  If so, I'm interested in how you went about lining it up. 

Spyridon - if you're reading this, this question is for you as well but figured I wouldn't ask it in both places.  I'm sure all the Star Wars aficionados are reading both threads anyway.   

[RetroACTIVE]

Have you had a chance to install the control yoke overlay yet?  If so, I'm interested in how you went about lining it up. 

Spyridon - if you're reading this, this question is for you as well but figured I wouldn't ask it in both places.  I'm sure all the Star Wars aficionados are reading both threads anyway.   

Actually I did... I've a huge update to this thread I've not had a chance to get to...

Putting the overlay on was a piece of cake... the one I had (thisoldgame) is an exact copy of the original... I did a dry fit first to see what the deal would be... then it was very apparent to just simply line up the cutouts for the screw holes and just wrap it around... worked like a champ!

... on a related note... I also put the PhoneixArcade artwork on the front panel of my cab.... all I can say is HOLY F&*(&ING   S()&()&T  it came out UN-FLIPPIN' BELIEVEABLE!  You literally cannot tell its a decal and it looks PERFECT.  The film is very thin so it goes on very easily and the adhesive is not ridiculously sticky so its great to work with.   Wait until you see it...  I would seriously consider doing the sides too if my artwork was not in decent shape.

[Ninten-doh]

... then it was very apparent to just simply line up the cutouts for the screw holes and just wrap it around...

So you started at the top screw holes and wrapped from there?  I was debating whether to do that or line up/stick on the front facing first, then wrap the top and bottom.

[RetroACTIVE]

... then it was very apparent to just simply line up the cutouts for the screw holes and just wrap it around...

So you started at the top screw holes and wrapped from there?  I was debating whether to do that or line up/stick on the front facing first, then wrap the top and bottom.

Yup.. I started with the top ... figuring that if anything became out of alignment it would be less visible on the underside...

I peeled off some of the backing of the decal... then just slightly applied the edge where the screw holes are and kept even tension on it as I laid it down along the metal shroud keeping it aligned right to left... once I got to the bend I did that section then the final bottom side... peeling off the backing between each side.

[Spyridon]

Spyridon - if you're reading this, this question is for you as well but figured I wouldn't ask it in both places.  I'm sure all the Star Wars aficionados are reading both threads anyway.   

Why of course I'm reading this thread.  Haven't installed mine yet (any day now), but it looks like the approach listed above is the way to go.

[Ninten-doh]

Regarding the painting of the sides...can you take a close up pic of where the paint meets the sideart?  Did you use an exacto knife or something on the blue paint tape to get it exact?

[Level42]

Regarding the painting of the sides...can you take a close up pic of where the paint meets the sideart?  Did you use an exacto knife or something on the blue paint tape to get it exact?

Great question, I will have to deal with this on my cockpit too....I thought about getting special masking stuff that is used for models. It's so thin, you won't see an "edge" in the paint....

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... things are coming together now... literally.  Here are a few construction pics...

Yoke and control panel




Now for the cab... After I put the cleats back on the bottom I simply stapled the base on ... gluing it as well with gorilla glue



Here is the rear view of the cleat details...


Here is the front view of the cab without the front panel...



So I laid the cab on its front... then put the door in place and used that to determine where the lower panel needed to be anchored... with the door in place, I glued the cleats and stapled the lower panel in place



For the angled piece, I put gorilla glue on the cleats but used liquid nails on the 45 to get a good bond...

Here is the new angled bottom piece...


all put together... wheels and all!



inside view:

[RetroACTIVE]

Here are some artwork pics...

PhoenixArcade repro... you tell me is that awesome or what?


Here are the pics of the masking job... I just eyeballed it... looked a the curves, then cut the tape freehand ... was not very difficult... there is a slight ridge but its nothing big deal... the machine looks new except for dings in the artwork... but I kind of like them.  I've learned to appreciate the mileage... 











"That's no moon... it's a space station"

[Ninten-doh]

I know that Spyridon has quoted this once already in this thread, but I couldn't resist...

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.

    

Seriously, this thread is great.  Thanks for letting me tag along.   

[ChadTower]

This is a great guide for what I'll have to do to mine.  Lots of the same stuff.

[Spyridon]

I know that Spyridon has quoted this once already in this thread, but I couldn't resist...

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.

    

Seriously, this thread is great.  Thanks for letting me tag along.   

Yes, excellent work, especially on that lower angled piece.  I'd love to see what you do with a cab that is in bad shape!

[RetroACTIVE]

This is a great guide for what I'll have to do to mine.  Lots of the same stuff.

I'll get you all the numbers on each piece as well.. I've them all hand drawn... when I get some time to put them down I'll post them... feel free to ask if you need anything specific in terms of dimensions.

I know that Spyridon has quoted this once already in this thread, but I couldn't resist...

I'm going to take a minimalist approach to this one... I'm going to fix the dings do some quick touch ups, clean the inside and service the monitor... thats it.  There is no need to dissect the machine as it is in very good shape overall and I do not want to create extra work that is simply not necessary.

   

Seriously, this thread is great.  Thanks for letting me tag along.  

... open mouth... insert foot 

I've to do the marquee next... I'm waiting on 1/4"x1/8" foam tape for that as well as the control panel.  The foam tape is used along the edge of the marquee frame where the glass rests and along the inside edge of the control panel...

All of the harnesses are back in and when I fired it up and found that I had a vertical line on the display... so I removed the deflection board and found that it had a blown fuse...  so the monitor works now  ... the screen is very jittery... I'll deal with that later.... good news is each color is there and no HV or deflection problems to deal with.

...as far as the PCB... it comes up alright-ish... the game play is boogered up, star field is not proper, second wave is fubar...  sounds seem ok.  Hardware diagnostics revealed a Matrix issue...  I'll get to that next after all the cab work is done.



"I'm taking an awful risk Lord Vader.... this had better work."

[Spyridon]

[I'm waiting on 1/4"x1/8" foam tape for that as well as the control panel.  The foam tape is used along the edge of the marquee frame where the glass rests and along the inside edge of the control panel...

Where did you get the foam tape?  My Centipede had that on the back edge of the control panel

[RetroACTIVE]

[I'm waiting on 1/4"x1/8" foam tape for that as well as the control panel.  The foam tape is used along the edge of the marquee frame where the glass rests and along the inside edge of the control panel...

Where did you get the foam tape?  My Centipede had that on the back edge of the control panel

Ahh... good question... this stuff was a real pain to locate... I first thought mcmaster... but most of what they had was double sided...

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com

38-8608     $4.69       1     SELF ADHESIVE FOAM TAPE - 1/8 IN. X 1/4 IN. X 17 FT.

I haven't received it yet... should be here today... I'll let you know if its the right stuff.

[ChadTower]

I thought that was just standard stuff you can get at any craft store?

[RetroACTIVE]

I thought that was just standard stuff you can get at any craft store?

Certainly could be... and shame on me for not checking... I just do so much on line (with the exception of the hardware store)... I rarely shop.

[ChadTower]

At least you didn't order a "specialized part" and pay $50 for it.   

[RetroACTIVE]

At least you didn't order a "specialized part" and pay $50 for it.   

... I can say I've not made that mistake yet... I came close a few times early on in the hobby... now I'm  usually more cautious... NOS stuff still usually kills you but most hardware and ancillary stuff is usually no big deal.

[RetroACTIVE]

Had chance to do a little work... I replaced the marquee light bulb only to find I needed a starter... of course Home Depot had every friggin' starter but the one I needed (BTW...  I hate Home Depot)... so across the street to Lowes and voila!

Besides that here are some pics of the foam tape... works well.. its a little firm for the marquee though... seems to push on the glass causing a bump in the decal... I'm hoping it will relax as time goes by...




I stripped and painted the marquee bracket:


Application of foam tape... nothing spectacular...






Here is the tape along the perimeter of the control panel...







"You know sometimes I amaze even myself"  (not realy... just like the comment)

[RetroACTIVE]

Getting close to wrapping this up!... I need some locks for the coin and vault door and a new set of mathbox proms... all on their way

Here are some final shots...

New marquee... as you can see it worked out fine... there are absolutely no bumps or ridges... so the foam strips are good to go...


Closeup shot of the "cockpit"...


Full shots of front and side...



Innards... not "rusty"


New clean base and PS block..


ARII and board cage..


Clean rebuilt 6100 deflection...


Just about ready to wrap this up...



"I don't think you boys can help"

[ChadTower]

That's really sweet.  Nice job!   

[Level42]

Amazing, better than new !

 



 If you're not replacing the fan, it could use some dusting/compressed air though (Amazing how tiny things strike you when all other things look so tight.)

[RetroACTIVE]

Amazing, better than new !

 



 If you're not replacing the fan, it could use some dusting/compressed air though (Amazing how tiny things strike you when all other things look so tight.)

Definitely on my list as I've already hit it once... as you can see some of the dust in on the floor... I do intend on cleaning it profusely... I just wanted to get it in and get it fired up to see what was left to do...  It was originally so dirty it looked like it was growing moss

The absolute last thing I will get to... (sure) is to touch up the artwork along the base...

[Level42]

It's probably just the flash that makes it show really

I'm now installing the T-molding on my cockpit and it seems that when you replace/improve the worst looking part, another part that didn't catch your eye before takes it's place. I only now notice how (relatively) poor the metal retainers of the canopy and backglass are

[Ninten-doh]

Question for those of you who have taken apart the yokes to rebuild...

How do you get the roll pins out of the inner handles?  I disassembled both handles, but can't slide off the inner part of the handles because of the damn roll pins.   

[ChadTower]

You guys are setting the bar really high here.  I'm going to have to go all out on mine when I get to it.   

[RetroACTIVE]

Question for those of you who have taken apart the yokes to rebuild...

How do you get the roll pins out of the inner handles?  I disassembled both handles, but can't slide off the inner part of the handles because of the damn roll pins.   

Actually mine had no roll pins... only set screws.  Must be a different rev.

[RetroACTIVE]

You guys are setting the bar really high here.  I'm going to have to go all out on mine when I get to it.   

Can't wait ... I still owe you some info... its coming soon.  I've got all the blocking done I am still transcribing the panel detail... you probably don't need these...





"Commander tear this ship apart, until you've found those plans! Bring me the passengers!  I want them alive!"

[RetroACTIVE]

Good old mathbox problems are now a thing of the past!  The board was failing tests 18 and 20D of the matrix processor tests.  Turned out to be a bad LS165 of the 'A' register, IC 7A.  I went and replaced all 4 (6A, 7A, 6B, 7B) of them as they were of the same date code.

Now I'm back on the monitor.  It's too damned bright!  I cannot turn it down enough.  It's leaving green connecting vectors and a decent green dot in the center.  I've read of a couple solutions...anyone had to deal with this?


"No reward is worth this."

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... You know that little adjustment on the HV unit called "SCREEN"?... that was it... derr.  Maybe it would have been better if it were labeled "TRY THIS YOU F'N IMBECILE!"... nah not today...

I'm now waiting on the HV cage cover to help eliminate some screen "jitters".

I still could tweak the x-y analog board adjustments and I will but for now... I'm calling this done!




"The force will be with you.... always."

[Level42]

Question for those of you who have taken apart the yokes to rebuild...

How do you get the roll pins out of the inner handles?  I disassembled both handles, but can't slide off the inner part of the handles because of the damn roll pins.   

Actually mine had no roll pins... only set screws.  Must be a different rev.

Mine has the roll pins but they sure didn't prevent the covers from coming loose of the handles. You did loosen the screws on the inside of the handles that hold the covers right (since we're talking obvious things here anyway ) ?


Or do you mean these:


Just read about this on the Jamma+ forum. My handles don't have that extra hole !

[RetroACTIVE]

My yoke does not have a 3rd hole as shown in Level42's pic.  It only has the two larger ones for the set screws.

The funny thing is the axle does not even have an indent or a hole to receive the pin... and the documentation illustrates at least one set screw and one pin.

[Ninten-doh]

Or do you mean these:

Yep, those are the ones.  I just bought the tool to punch the pins out, but haven't tried it yet.

[Level42]

My yoke does not have a 3rd hole as shown in Level42's pic.  It only has the two larger ones for the set screws.

The funny thing is the axle does not even have an indent or a hole to receive the pin... and the documentation illustrates at least one set screw and one pin.

Just to be clear: That's not my handle on that picture. My handles only has the two holes.  Quite incidentally the same question came up on a thread on Jamma+ forum and I stole the picture from there.

http://www.jammaplus.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14688&PN=1

It also has the answer what is in that third hole:


A slotted spring pin...

[RetroACTIVE]

Just to be clear: That's not my handle on that picture. My handles only has the two holes.  Quite incidentally the same question came up on a thread on Jamma+ forum and I stole the picture from there.

... never thought it was your pic specifically... your pics are far too fancy!

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... I had Rich at TOG print me up the back door sheet... It came from http://vectorlib2.free.fr/BackDoorSheet/ which is not perfect but it printed very well and its on good heavy stock... it looks great!  I did not have one to begin with and as with most of these things they are usually missing or just messed up... so I'll take the defects in the scan just fine

[JeffC]

Man!!! I just stubled on this thread from your sig at KLOV. What a fantastic resto job and documentation. I read every post and really enjoyed it. I love how it starts off...."I'm taking a minimalist approach to this resto" or something similar.  It seemed an all out resto to me. One thing I was glad to see....and another I'll be awaiting updates on:

The masking up to your art and the painting: I'm currently restoring a Quantum and am doing something similar. The cab had some strange bumpiness along the edges of the sides...almost all the way around. It was like very slight water damage, but all the way around all edges of the particle board. I almost thought it might have been stored somewhere very humid and absorbed moisture. Anyway, it was very slight but bothered me enought that I sanded all of the edges to flatten the bumps. I'm trying to preserve the art of course, and am going to mask around it, and just spray the white. And like you, I did some touch up to my Star Wars side art, but mostly left the small dings. That specific art is one of the most forgiving, as any small ding looks like all of the other stars and dots on the art.

The monitor replacement: I have all of the amp set-up that I need, but my tube has a small burn hole. I've also got one of the extremely well packed amp tubes from Canada. I've read enough about converging to be frightened...so I'll be keeping an eye on your progress before diving in myself.

Anyway, I digressed a bit... I really appreciate this thread. Excellent job on the Star Wars.

[Level42]

Please tell me that Rich did a couple of those backdoor sheets.....I need one ! (Are the upright and cockpit the same actually ?)....

JeffC, as long as you follow the steps in the Amplifone manual, you'll be fine with the converging. It's one of those things you can only learn by trying it.

I still intend to make a video how to converge an Amplifone........one day........

[RetroACTIVE]

Please tell me that Rich did a couple of those backdoor sheets.....I need one ! (Are the upright and cockpit the same actually ?)....

I think they are different... but not entirely sure... as the content would be the same regardless.

I still intend to make a video how to converge an Amplifone........one day........

... you may want to stay tuned 

Anyway, I digressed a bit... I really appreciate this thread. Excellent job on the Star Wars.

Thanks Jeff!

[Ninten-doh]

Hey guys,
I'm getting ready to start my own SW restoration over the July 4th weekend, and I have everything prepared -- I think -- except for one piece of the cabinet.  It's the top piece of wood that fits between the marquee and the vented/angled piece on the back.  Any chance I can get some pics and measurements?  Thanks!   

[RetroACTIVE]

Hey guys,
I'm getting ready to start my own SW restoration over the July 4th weekend, and I have everything prepared -- I think -- except for one piece of the cabinet.  It's the top piece of wood that fits between the marquee and the vented/angled piece on the back.  Any chance I can get some pics and measurements?  Thanks!   

I'll see what I can do (if I can drum up some spare moments) ... I'll have to remove the marquee to get those numbers... 

[Ninten-doh]

I'll have to remove the marquee to get those numbers... 

Crap.  I was afraid of that.    

As you can imagine, I would be REALLY appreciative!   

[RetroACTIVE]

I'll have to remove the marquee to get those numbers... 

Crap.  I was afraid of that.    

As you can imagine, I would be REALLY appreciative!   

Is this OK?

[Ninten-doh]

Perfect!  Thank you so much.   

[RetroACTIVE]

I've stared to do the amplifone rebuild ... here is the HV board... Now I'm not going to take credit for the resistor mod... Level42 gave me the idea... so I'm simply riding his coat tails...

These are TO220 power resistors... 30W 50 Ohm.  You can see in the pic how badly burned the board was from the old mod... We'll see how it works...




Here is the solder side ... everything re-flowed...some bad pads had to be dealt with on the regulators.  I also added some heavy guage on the one trace that was pretty much cooked off the board from the old resistor heat!


New flyback... and all cleaned up ready to go...


I"ve the deflection board about finished...

[ChadTower]

Nice job.  I usually jump those traces with wire rather than risk heating the trace and delaminating it even more.  I seem to see that more on much smaller traces, though.  What you did looks pretty nice!

[Level42]

Wish I had seen those TO220 resistors before I did my mod !!!! Looks sweet ! 30W seems an awful lot of power for such a tiny package, I guess it really depends on the used heat-sink what the real wattage is. At least it is well over the 5W that Atari used.

I hope the heat will go into the heat-sink mostly, as the only doubt I have about this set-up is that the TO-220's are pretty close to the caps.....

No other way then to try it I guess

[m_mcgover]

@Spy - Do you have a link to the TO220 resistors?  Or some extras for sale?  I'd like to pick up 4 for my 2 HV PCBs...

Thanks!

[RetroACTIVE]

@Spy - Do you have a link to the TO220 resistors?  Or some extras for sale?  I'd like to pick up 4 for my 2 HV PCBs...

Thanks!

Here you go: Mouser #684-MP930-50

[RetroACTIVE]

I hope the heat will go into the heat-sink mostly, as the only doubt I have about this set-up is that the TO-220's are pretty close to the caps.....

No other way then to try it I guess

The back side of the package is exposed ceramic... and I'm betting on the size of that aluminum heat sink to spread the heat well enough... and the cooling fan of course... but like you said... we'll see

[RetroACTIVE]

Convergence and purity... wow... has this been a real treat!

Actually, convergence... not so bad... purity is a pain (at least for me)!

Couple of things I've learned...

#1  Placement of the convergence magnets... the manual says approximately 2" from the start of the neck glass... for me, I needed to add about another 1/4", further up on the tube neck for the magnets to have the greatest range of adjustment.

#2 Expect to repeat the whole procedure many times... for me it was pass #3.  I'm sure experienced wizards could do it first shot... but there are so so many variables its hard to imagine that it would not take at least 2 passes no matter what.

#3 Adjusting blue and red convergence (magenta cross hatch)... rings would not get it "perfect" across the whole display.  I used the rings to get it close then adjusted the position of the yoke to fix the peripheral convergence... this seemed to work very well.

#4 Color purity was/is still a problem overall.  Moving the yoke forward and backward along the neck affects the purity of the colors... It is set to "optimal" using the green cross hatch pattern... too close to the tube and you end up with red and blue on either sides of the display... too far away the same thing... you are supposed to put the yoke in the middle where green is "pure" across the whole display.  

With my setup I can't seem to get purity balance... I always seem to have a little purity problem in the top left and bottom right which are at odds with each other... I move the yoke away from the tube the top left gets better and the bottom right gets worse... towards the tube... vice versa.

And I've managed to stay safe and not get electrocuted... although I've felt a bit of a static charge here and there.

And those TO-220 resistors work fantastic... the HV heat sink is slightly warm to touch (I'm guessing 110-ish deg F)...and the caps are not even remotely affected by the heat... the deflection board is actually much much hotter than the HV board at this point.  I ran this for several hours 4+... aligning and playing the game with several death star explosions and the temp remains fairly constant.  I'm going to scab a thermocouple and hook it up to the fluke to get a real number (out of curiosity)

Not sure how I'm going to get this purity issue resolved... any thoughts?
 
"Almost there..."

[RetroACTIVE]

I'm done!... I was able to get this thing converged and the purity adjusted as well...  for the most part it is perfect!... I'll post a few pics asap. 

After seeing both the WG and Amp... there is a HUGE difference between the two.   Of course game play is no better... but the medium res tube and the speed of the display is very noticeable.  I'd say you'd have to be visually impared to not notice the difference between the two!

Putting together a monitor from scratch is not a whole heck of a lot of fun... It took me many many many many tries.  I'd say I had it adjusted properly several times but purposely did it over again to be sure I was able to get the best possible outcome.  It was a lot of work... I probably would never do this again... but who knows.

[Level42]

 

[RetroACTIVE]

thank you... thank  you very much

[hatrick]

  Congrats! I just got my Amplifone working last week and played my first game of Star Wars and it was a great feeling!

[drventure]

Dang, you guys with your crt monitor hacking and fixing.

You make me feel like a wimp for not poking around in those things 

 

[RetroACTIVE]

Congrats! I just got my Amplifone working last week and played my first game of Star Wars and it was a great feeling!

Thanks, Congrats to you too! I'm so pleased with the results.  Did you have to do any convergence adjustments?

Dang, you guys with your crt monitor hacking and fixing.

You make me feel like a wimp for not poking around in those things 

 

Nahhh it's no big deal... Actually the amp setup makes working on it easier than most... Only two boards, no neck board... everything can be fileted out on the bench.

[Level42]

Dang, you guys with your crt monitor hacking and fixing.

You make me feel like a wimp for not poking around in those things 

 

Nahhh it's no big deal... Actually the amp setup makes working on it easier than most... Only two boards, no neck board... everything can be fileted out on the bench.

Totally agreed. The Amplifone was actually the first monitor I managed to fix. I find it very easy to work on. With the FAQ as an excellent guideline. The set-up is ideal to work on and the electronics are much simpler than a raster CRT monitor.

[hatrick]

Thanks, Congrats to you too! I'm so pleased with the results.  Did you have to do any convergence adjustments?

Nope, no convergence adjustments, just a rebuild and bulletproofing of the deflection board and the HV board. I ended up doing the resitor mod that Level42 did (the aluminum cased resistors).
The Amp looks loads better than a 6100 and I agree that it's so easy to work on. I did smoke two posistors since I forget to plug in the degausing cable twice while testing. You'd think I would have learned the first time. 

[Level42]

That was actually one of my first mistakes too, and it was on a friend's cockpit ! I thought my heart exploded when it happened. I had read that Amplifone and WG6100 were (and they are) interchangeable. I thought the degaussing wouldn't needed to be hooked up (it's never important with raster monitors/TV's) and since it was a different connector I skipped it. The thing was that my friend has a cockpit and an upright. The upright had (and has) a working (now rebuilt) Amplifone, and the cockpit a non-working 6100,so I thought running the Amp boards on the 6100 CRT could be tried.... Then I had that small burst of smoke....yikes !

I read that it actually doesn't hurt the posistor somewhere and indeed it's been working fine ever since....

I returned everything as was (because I didn't know that then) and have since repaired both.