DK 3 to Donkey Kong conversion/resto *FINISHED*

[Mauzy]

Mauzy sorry, I've been busy last week w the holiday, I'll get that DK3 plate out to you this week. It has a nasty scar on it, but I think it gives it character! I have a couple other gems I'll send with it too...... 
a tag on my coin door that says DK6887

Hey no worries. I agree with the scar adding character. I usually leave one or two small things on my machines untouched just to show it had a long commercial life for character. On my cab, the entry chutes on the coin door are scratched up from people missing when trying to insert a quarter. I think it looks neat.

[Mauzy]

Look familiar?


Just got it this morning. I'm also printing a new FCC tag as we speak. Thanks again, man!

[ZORK2]

 

AWESOME BRO!! Looks great! I'd recognize that scar anywhere! You'll have to post a pic of the FCC label once you place it too!

Still trying to get my monitor working, but the cab is looking GREAT!! Just need the side art and the marquee! I'm waiting till they show up and I get them on before I post any more pics of things......

[ZORK2]

Mauzy, you ever get that FCC tag printed off?

Quick update, FINALLY got my monitor issue fixed. It ended up being a bad solder joint that had pulled away from PS601, the guys over at KLOV helped me zero in on it. Also fixed the problem with my DK board syncing up. THAT, ended up being a bad pot on the main DK board, VR1 I believe. I ended up finding that the pot was bad by measuring the resistance across the pot. It was 12Mohms! So I robbed the same pot off my DK3 board, WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! I will replace it the next time I place an order with Bob Roberrts and get my DK3 board working again.
I got the monitor placed back in the cab last night, and got braket that runs across top of the monitor fabbed up. Later that night I bought the side art from QuarterArcade.com, and the marquee from MikesArcade.com. I really liked MikesArcade.com's marquee, it was a bit more pricey, but was the only one that I could find that was reversed silk screen on plexi.
Tonight I got the black cardboard skirt that goes around the monitor made and installed, and the lock mechanism installed on the back door of the cab.
So once the Side art and marquee are placed, the only thing left is finding a replacement for the marquee light AND THIS PROJECT IS DONE!! I'm hoping to have some pics of the finished product once this thing is wrapped up here in a few days!

[SirPeale]

That's easy; unless you want a 100% replacement, the undercounter fixture from Wal-Mart for ~$8.00 works very well.

[Mauzy]

Mauzy, you ever get that FCC tag printed off?

Quick update, FINALLY got my monitor issue fixed. It ended up being a bad solder joint that had pulled away from PS601, the guys over at KLOV helped me zero in on it. Also fixed the problem with my DK board syncing up. THAT, ended up being a bad pot on the main DK board, VR1 I believe. I ended up finding that the pot was bad by measuring the resistance across the pot. It was 12Mohms! So I robbed the same pot off my DK3 board, WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! I will replace it the next time I place an order with Bob Roberrts and get my DK3 board working again.
I got the monitor placed back in the cab last night, and got braket that runs across top of the monitor fabbed up. Later that night I bought the side art from QuarterArcade.com, and the marquee from MikesArcade.com. I really liked MikesArcade.com's marquee, it was a bit more pricey, but was the only one that I could find that was reversed silk screen on plexi.
Tonight I got the black cardboard skirt that goes around the monitor made and installed, and the lock mechanism installed on the back door of the cab.
So once the Side art and marquee are placed, the only thing left is finding a replacement for the marquee light AND THIS PROJECT IS DONE!! I'm hoping to have some pics of the finished product once this thing is wrapped up here in a few days!

Yeah, in all honesty I forgot to get pics! I'll get on that in the next couple days.

Glad to hear you got your monitor and DK board fixed! Luckily you had little fixes like that.

The cheap fluorescent fixture is the easiest way to go. Finding bulbs for the original fixture has proved to be tricky for me. All you need to do if you buy a new fixture is make sure to wire it into the 110v AC coming into the cabinet. The little outlet in the bottom only puts out 100v AC  which won't yield the desired result.

EDIT: In case you need a new FCC label, heres where I got mine: http://www.mikesarcade.com/arcade/artwork/fcc-nintendo.pdf

[SirPeale]

The cheap fluorescent fixture is the easiest way to go. Finding bulbs for the original fixture has proved to be tricky for me. All you need to do if you buy a new fixture is make sure to wire it into the 110v AC coming into the cabinet. The little outlet in the bottom only puts out 100v AC  which won't yield the desired result.

1) even with the 100V, I haven't heard of anyone having a problem plugging in a standard fixture into it.

2) the bulbs and starters are available from Top Bulb.  The bulbs are darn cheap, like three bucks, but the starters are nearly double that!  Add in shipping, and those cheap bulbs suddenly become pretty darn expensive.

[ZORK2]

Thanks Mauzy.
Yeah that chassis proved to be a MAJOR pain!! The good news is that I learned a TON about how those EZV's work, and feel fairly comfortable working with one now. Honestly it makes all the frustration totally WORTH IT! MULTIPLE problems at the same time are just a major pain! Hard to tell where to start, or what is REALLY causing the problem. Glad everyone helped me through it!
Na, it doesn't have to be 100% original, just 100% functional, I'm going to swing by Wal-mart tonight after work and see what I can find. I'll just try the 100V plug at first, mine is actually reading 109v the last time I checked, if that dosn't work I'll go from there.
I'm guessing my Side Art will be waiting for me when I get home today, I'm thinking the Maruee might be in tomorrow or Friday!
Then I'll be 100% DONE!!

[ZORK2]

THIS SUCKER IS DONE!! I am heading out of town in the morning for the weekend and need to pack tonight, so unfortunatley PICS will have to wait till Monday. It turned out absolutly FLAWLESS! The only things that I suppose are not 100% is the joystick(which which does have the 4 way limter on it) and technically according to the name plate originaly the cab left the factory as a popeye, oh and the marquee light is a 10$ replacment from walmart. Other than those detail, Looks like it left the factory YESTERDAY!
Pics on Monday......

[opt2not]

THIS SUCKER IS DONE!! I am heading out of town in the morning for the weekend and need to pack tonight, so unfortunatley PICS will have to wait till Monday. It turned out absolutly FLAWLESS! The only things that I suppose are not 100% is the joystick(which which does have the 4 way limter on it) and technically according to the name plate originaly the cab left the factory as a popeye, oh and the marquee light is a 10$ replacment from walmart. Other than those detail, Looks like it left the factory YESTERDAY!
Pics on Monday......

You big tease!  Congrats though!

[MaximRecoil]

1) even with the 100V, I haven't heard of anyone having a problem plugging in a standard fixture into it.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing in my Super Punch-Out machine, and it works fine in the 100V outlet.

In the case of a Punch-Out or Super Punch-Out machine, there is a good chance the cord that comes with those under-cabinet lights won't be long enough. For mine, I bought a white extension cord at the dollar store, cut one end off it, took the light fixture apart, and used it to replace the original cord.

I also used some flush cutters to trim down the wider blade on the plug so they were both the same width, and a file to smooth it out (it came out good, you have to look closely to even see it was modified), because the outlet in Nintendo cabinets is a non-polarized design, and a polarized plug won't fit in it. It was easy to trim down because the blade was only flared out at the tip to make it wider, rather than the whole blade being wider.

[ZORK2]

I just cut the cord on the Nintendo cord, soldered it to the one I bought from Walmart, put some heat shrink on it, it was good as new!
Well I put the finishing touches on it tonight and moved it into its temporary home.... MY FORMAL DINING ROOM! LOL!

Well here are a couple last pics, I cut a new skirt for around the monitor using the old one as a pattern. I used some black poster board I got a the Hobby Lobby. Here is a shot of that...
I ended up cutting it in 1/2 to get it to fit just perfect.....

[ZORK2]

Side art going on....

[ZORK2]

HOME SWEET HOME!! 

[ZORK2]

2 AFTER SHOTS and 1 before, just as a reminder as to how far this ugly thing has come!
Thanks to all that helped along the way!     She is an absolute show piece!

On to my next project!!!

[IG-88]

That turned out verrry nice  I am totally stoked to get started on mine. Just for inspiration I made one of your finished pics my desktop!!

[Level42]

This totally deserves a RESTOREY !

Congratulations and looking forward to more !

[javeryh]

Well I put the finishing touches on it tonight and moved it into its temporary home.... MY FORMAL DINING ROOM! LOL!

LOL!  That's where my DK ended up! 

I'm just seeing the end results of your project now - amazing job on the restoration.  The coin door is especially SICK.