found a DK cabinet...UPDATE: Picked it up Tonight!!!!

[severdhed]

yeah, i saw that...i may look into it, but i'll probably just try to piece this together a little at a time....that is if i can manage to get it at all.

i planned on picking up the cabinet tomorrow, but this afternoon, my wife called me and asked me to come pick her and the kids up at the playground, she hit a speedbump and now her van is making a horrible noise.  when i arrived, the passenger side front corner of the van is sitting much lower than it should be...it looks like she broke a strut.   it cost me $60 to get it towed (which wasnt too bad), and according to my mechanic,(based on what i told him) it would probably cost between $100-$150 for parts and labor.  that isn't too bad considering what alot of other places charge..but i really feel bad spending the money on a DK cabinet when i should really put that towards getting the car fixed. 

so i'm going to talk to the guy tomorrow and hope he will hold it for me for a little while...at least until i get a total for the car repair. i dont want to count on it costing $150, only to find out that more was damaged than the strut and end up with a $400 bill

[Octo]

10:1 your wife got tipped off about your future purchase and sabotaged her van to prevent your DK dreams.

[severdhed]

she was talking to the guy i am getting it from today...but i doubt she could have managed to break a strut by herself....but then again, she really doesnt want any more cabinets in the house...so you may be right.

i don't know how long it will take to get the van fixed.  i paid the tow truck driver out of the cash i had set aside for this project, i still have enough set aside to pick up the cabinet and order the few buttons and joystick i need.  I do get paid on friday, but if the van is done before then, i may end up having to use that money to pay for the van.  at that point i am screwed.  my best bet is to hope the van isn't done until friday, and just pretend that i dont have any money on me.  i thought about getting the cabinet tomorrow anyway and just storing it at my friends house, but if i do that, i know the van is going to end up costing alot more than i am counting on, and then i will really be in trouble.

this sucks

[severdhed]

AWESOME NEWS!!!

the cabinet guy apparently told my wife that he saw me the other day, which made her ask me why..so after some hesitation, I told her that i went to talk to him to see if he had a DK cabinet...and that he does in fact have one. 

I didn't mention that i had planned on just bringing it home without asking, but i did tell her the thought crossed my mind.


after a little persuasion, she gave me the OK to buy the cabinet, as long as we have the money by friday.  The only stipulation is that i don't invest another dime into it until after Christmas. That is a little snag in my plan, because i cant get the joystick and buttons i need for it now, but i guess you have to pick your battles.  i do have a really crappy joystick beston stick i can use....and who knows, it was dark, the rest of the joystick parts may be lying in the bottom of the cabinet for all i know...

so as long as the van isn't too bad, this story will have a happy ending.

[Dr Zero]

I might have a couple of those nintendo switch holder things and I know I have a couple of leafs that I would be happy to send to the "Save the Donkey Kong" fund 

The arcade gods have smiled upon your efforts and things look like will work out.

[TheShanMan]

My wife was reluctant to let me get my 3rd cab (cyberball, which is huge) but gave me the OK, saying this is the last one. Then she let me get my 4th (tron) saying it's my christmas/bday present and NO MORE! Then she has the great idea of putting the cabs in the dining room (couldn't believe it). Fast forward 6 months... We go to the NW Pinball & Gameroom show and she has a blast and that's when we get serious about getting our next house with a big game room so that I can get a lot more . Then we go to CAX and I come home with a change machine and then pick up a DK and Ms Pac from Frizz a week later. Now our house is on the market and a big game room is one of the central requirements for our next house.

Point of the story... some wives come around. Sounds like yours is. Find a way to get her interested and excited about the hobby and you never know where that will lead!

[severdhed]

My wife was reluctant to let me get my 3rd cab (cyberball, which is huge) but gave me the OK, saying this is the last one. Then she let me get my 4th (tron) saying it's my christmas/bday present and NO MORE! Then she has the great idea of putting the cabs in the dining room (couldn't believe it). Fast forward 6 months... We go to the NW Pinball & Gameroom show and she has a blast and that's when we get serious about getting our next house with a big game room so that I can get a lot more . Then we go to CAX and I come home with a change machine and then pick up a DK and Ms Pac from Frizz a week later. Now our house is on the market and a big game room is one of the central requirements for our next house.

Point of the story... some wives come around. Sounds like yours is. Find a way to get her interested and excited about the hobby and you never know where that will lead!

cool.

i'm trying to get her involved and interested..but she just doesnt seem to care that much.  i can occasionally get her to play pacman or tetris with me..and then i can't get her to stop..so i think she would play under teh right conditions

[severdhed]

I picked up the cabinet this afternoon....it is still in my friend's vehicle until he can come by this evening to drop it off.  I'll try to take some pics tonight.  i also picked up a NOS 4way wico leaf joystick for $5.  i couldn't pass it up.  he said he has some more lying around..a few that he found looked like 2way sticks though..when he opened the box and had a 4way, i had to get it.

this guy has i think 3 ms pacman, pacman, and galage 3 cabinet, that he would let go for $100 for all of them.. they are in various state of disrepair...most are gutted. and in need of some cosmetic work, but all seem solid....if anyone is interested, they are near Altoona, PA.  i can get you contact info if you want

[Dizzle]

Glad things worked out for you Sev.

If you have to put the joystick and buttons on hold, I have an Ultimarc E-stick that I'm not going to use and could send out to you.  The size and color (red) may be all wrong for what you're looking for, but maybe it'll do in a pinch?  At least until you pick up what you want.  I think I also have some buttons (white, orange, and blue).  I'll never find my own DK for $50 so I might as well live vicariously through you.

[severdhed]

thanks for the offer, but i think i got it covered.  i think ill use the 4 way wico stick i got with it for a while.  it is a red ball top, but should work fine.  i have a few black and yellow buttons, which should look just fine with the dk jr control panel.

ill try to take some pics after the kids go to bed.

[severdhed]

ok, got the cabinet in the house tonight and took some before pics.  it will be a while before i can do anything since i promised my wife i wouldn't put any more money into it until after Christmas.  Tomorrow i plan on giving it a good cleaning, and then starting to work on fixing the black base, which is missing the front board.  then i'll work on the monitor mount, since it is the biggest problem that i have to overcome.

there are a few places around the edges where the surface (laminate?) is cracked or peeling...and the t molding is in rough shape.  but for a cabinet that is nearly 30 years old, i think it has help up pretty well:

one problem i am noticing is that the coin slots are a little more narrow than the ones on my other cabinet, and the steel washers i use as tokens are a really tight fit...so that could be an issue.  i do plan on making the coin reject buttons add credits though, so that should take care of the problem.

i took a shot of the coin counter...over 33 thousand coins have been through this thing   

i assembled the NOS wico 4 way stick, it is really stiff...i'm hoping it losens up a little, i like a little lighter feel to my sticks than this thing is offering...although i have a feeling it will get a little better over time.  i will have to do some routing on the back of the control panel, to get the stick to fit, since the nintendo stick uses different bolt patterns.

well, what do you guys think, was it worth the $50?

[bkenobi]

Nice looking cab.  It needs a bit of touch up to look new, but it's a lot better than some I've seen available.  Actually, it looks better than some I've seen in use on route!  Of course, the ones at the on route had joysticks and buttons.   

[Ryglore]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Nothing a little bit of TLC can't take care of. Considering it is a real DK cab, I would say it is totally worth the $50.

[javeryh]

That thing is totally worth the $50.  You got the coin door which cannot be bought new anymore so that's huge - plus the bolts ($9).  You also got some button holders ($6 each x 3).  You got the CPO bolts ($10).  You got the top marquee bracket ($17).  You got the bottom marquee/top bezel bracket ($21).  You got the bezel ($45).  You got the CP strikes ($5).  This is all I could see in the pics - I'm sure there is more.  Great deal. 

Are you allowed to buy some bondo, a gallon of paint and some primer?  Those aren't necessarily "parts" for the cabinet so maybe you could slip it by the wife.     You could get all that for under $100 and get it looking brand new!   

[severdhed]

Yeah...I think it was worth it.  I was told not to spend any money on it at all until after Christmas.  I do already have some bondo...     here is no way i'd be able to paint it without her knowing i spent money, she knows i dont have ny paint that color.  I think i've got enough to do on it with stuff i already  have to keep me busy for a little while.  i think i have some boards that i can use to fix up the black base.  I do have some black paint i can use for the base, the back door, and the top of the cabinet, so i will get those parts painted.  (i forgot to take a picture,      here is a paper on the back door showing dip switch setting and various other things...it is pretty cool)

i haven't taken the marquee off to see if there is a light in there, but i have one in the basement.  i have to get the PC mounted and setup.  i have to figure out how to mount the monitor that i have (19" CRT PC Monitor)

then there is the control panel.  I checked last night, sure enough, the button holes are not large enough for happ buttons.  i dont know how i would make them any larger without totally making them look like crap....and i don't want to destroy that dk jr panel, since it is in good shape.

so i'll probably end up using that one as a template and making my own panel, and just drilling out the button holes at the proper size.  i won't be able to do the artwork on it for a while, but i could make just a simple control panel that i could use  until i can buy the stuff i need to make it look right.  i have some 5/8" MDF and some plexi left over from my last build that i could probablly use to build a temp panel.  i have some black tmolding, which wouldnt be right, but for the front edge of a temp panel, it should be fine.

i've thought about modifying the artwork slightly to add a spot for an exit button, since i think it would be too confusing for other people to use without one. 

Javeryh...where did you get your T-molding?  i noticed that this cabinet is not 3/4" thick like most.   i know tmolding.com has some other sizes, but you have to buy it in 20ft pieces.  how many ft did you end up using?

the only thing that will be tough to get along without are the locks that hold the back panel on, and the coin door shut.  especially the coin door...i wont be able to keep my kids out of it.

it was so awesome last night when we brought it in..my 2 year old kept saying "i want to play Donkey Kong"   i told him we would have to fix it first, and that he could help me with his tools...he is very excited.

[Vebbo]

Ooooh nice one severdhed, jeeez now I also want a DK cab 

I will also follow this thread like I did/do with javeryh's  so glhf

[javeryh]

Javeryh...where did you get your T-molding?  i noticed that this cabinet is not 3/4" thick like most.   i know tmolding.com has some other sizes, but you have to buy it in 20ft pieces.  how many ft did you end up using?

I got mine from Quarter Arcade.  They sell 9/16" t-molding specifically for Nintendo cabinets so I bought a roll for $15.  I can confirm that it is enough t-molding to do both sides AND the control panel.  I was nervous that it wasn't going to be enough but I had a few inches to spare (barely!).  Also, make sure you wrap the t-molding only 1/2 way under on each side (like the original cab) or you will run out.

it was so awesome last night when we brought it in..my 2 year old kept saying "i want to play Donkey Kong"   i told him we would have to fix it first, and that he could help me with his tools...he is very excited.

That's the best.  My daughter does the same thing - she LOVES arcade games now which makes it even more fun.  She can make it up to the last beam on the first level but she can't get the timing down to go up the last ladder.

[Epyx]

Awesome deal!

Anyone besides me like seeing the original coin counters?

This machine saw 33280 games played in its life (and soon many more!) and made over $8000.

/geekstatsoff
 

[Dr Zero]

That looks great for the money!

Congrats! 

[TheShanMan]

If you can, take a vacation to go to an arcade show like CAX. That's a great way to get your wife interested, and may help you find out what game your wife really likes. Then you buy it for her!

You said you want to make the reject buttons do credits, but if you decide to get the mechs working I wrote up some info on converting nintendo mechs to tokens (or washers ) in the mech conversion thread over at klov. If that interests you at all I can find the link for you.

As for the marquee light... beware. The stock one runs on 100v, not 120. The outlet in the bottom of the cab is 100v. So you either need to stick with the original light or tap the transformer differently. I chose to stay original and there is an online shop where you can buy bulbs and starters for it (not too bad price wise). I can either get the info on the shop or forward you to some discussion of solving the nintendo marquee light dilemma if you want.

As for the locks... you can buy them at home depot or lowes. They're only like 5 bucks. They can be had cheaper online but then you'd need to be buying enough to make it worth the shipping cost.

Looks like you don't have the offset t-molding, so that's good. Mine does, so I have to buy oversized t-molding and cut the excess with an xacto knife.

[LeedsFan]

That looks like an awesome project! $50 is an absolute steal for an original cabinet like that. We just don't get stuff like that in the UK.... well we probably do but much rarer to find over here. And it would be much more than 30 quid I can tell you now!!! It's all generic jamma stuff here, that's all I ever see.

I wonder if you could do me a favour please with some dimensions (or anyone with the original bezel artwork). What are the diameters of the small and large black circles in the corners? (Where the characters faces are placed). And how far in from the edge does the larger circle come in by? The smaller one sits flush to the edge I can see.

I'm trying to make a mock up of a scaled down bezel so I can set my monitor position correctly in my bartop. 

[bkenobi]

I would leave the CP as is, but if you really want to enlarge the holes to fit modern buttons in, you need the right tool.  You need to get a step drill bit like these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96275

They sell them at any box or hardware store, so you should be able to find something.

[severdhed]

i'm pretty excited to get started on this.  i found the locks at lowes, thats where i got them for my other cabinet.  that step drill bit looks like it would be perfect.  i'm still undecided on which route to take with the control panel.  i may just make a temporary panel so i dont have to mutilate the DK Jr panel.

LeedsFan: i can try to measure the circles on the bezel tonight, but we are having family over for dinner, so i may not get a chance.  although if you are trying to scale it down, why not just take the bezel graphic and resize it to match the size of your cabinet?

[severdhed]

i'm not quite understanding the whole step drill process.  i understand that i can drill with that and it will slowly make the hole larger as each Step goes in..but how would that work with a panel that is 9/16" thick?  by the time teh 1 1/8" step of the bit was through the back of the board, the front side hole would be too large, because the next two steps would already be into it.  i'd have to find one that only went up to 1 1/8" or it wouldnt work.....or am i completely missing something here?

[javeryh]

No - those things aren't really good for going through wood.  I guess you could try going in from both sides but I wouldn't - what I would do is plan to eventually put Nintendo buttons in there.  Ask around over at VAPS - I'm sure someone would send you some for really cheap.  You already have the switches which is the expensive part.

[severdhed]

yeah, i think i'll just make a new panel so i can use happ buttons.   i want to keep it looking stock, but i'm hesitant to not have an exit button for mame on the panel.  i think i'll play around with the control panel overlay graphics and see what i can come up with.

i did get a little progress done this evening...and i do mean little.  i wiped down the outside of the cabinet to remove some of the dust and dirt.  the top of the cabinet was absolutely filthy, and it could probably use a fresh coat of black paint.

i looked around the inside a little, i found the missing front board to the black base.  i dont think i am going to reattach it, but rather make a new base.  i took the marquee off and there is a light fixture there, but it is 100v, which is pretty stupid.  i'm going to just rip it out, along with the power supply that is in the bottom of the cabinet, and just replace the light with the $6 one i got at walmart.  since i am using a PC, i have no need for any of the electronics/power components of this cabinet. 

i also played around and modified the coin mechs so that they will accept the steel washers that i use in my other cabinet for tokens.  i dont like these coin mechs as much as the ones in my midway coindoor, since they are much more difficult to modify.  i got them to accept the washers, but now quarters dont work.  in my other cab, i can use washers, tokens, quarters, nickels..and just about anything else that general size.  these seem to need to be tuned in for one specific size.  that is OK, since i dont ever use anything but washers in it anyway.  i will probably still try to set them up so that the reject buttons will add coins to mame as well.  Thats what i did on my other cab and it is a nice feature. although it might be a little harder to pull off with these mechs.

i'm all for keeping this thing original as possible, but i need it to be cost effective and functional.  i thought about putting pause and exit buttons on that little board underneath the control panel, like javeryh did, so that they would be hidden, yet easily accessible... but then i realized that they would be at perfect height for my 8month old son to press while i'm in the middle of a game.

my wife is going away tomorrow night, so i have to watch the kids, so i probably wont get much done..but I am hoping this weekend i can get the inside of the cabinet wiped down, get the crap stripped out of it, and start working on mounting the monitor.  I'm not sure how that is going to work...i have never decased a PC monitor before, do they even have those mounting holes in the corners like arcade monitors?  if not, i guess i'll have to figure something else out.  there are 5  bolts through each side of the cabinet, which i assume mounted to the monitor somehow, but i'd rather not use those if i dont have to, so that i can pull them out, fill in the holes and make the sides nice and smooth. 

i have a piece of 5/8" MDF in the basement that I am going to try to use to make a control panel.  i know that it is a little thicker than the original, but with a little routing, it should work fine as a temporary solution.  i'll probably just use a roundover bit on the front edge.  i will eventually get a real control panel overlay, but i need to buy new tmolding first, then a new marquee, then the control panel.  and since i can't start till after Christmas, it could be a while until that happens.


also, when modifying the coin mechs, i noticed that one of them was missing a piece to catch the rejected coins.  i found out though that the one that is there sucks.  it is really poorly designed and difficult to get the coins back out of it....so i just took it off so they match.  i noticed in some pics of other cabinets that some of the coin mechs on these cabinets have a U shaped metal bar there instead of that stupid thing i have.  i dont know where to get those cheap, and i dont want to spend a bunch of money on them, especially since they arent necessary.  i may try to fabricate something for there, but for now, i'll just leave them off.



I just want to thank you guys for talking me into picking this up.  I am very excited to get this thing fixed up. 

[bkenobi]

I thought you said it was metal.  If it's wood, you probably would be better off using a hole saw or Forstner bit or spade bit to make a template out of some scrap wood.  Then, clamp it to your existing holes.  That way, you can get the hole size you want without worrying about the bit shifting during cutting.  I'd practice first so you don't screw up your CP though.

[TheShanMan]

Sounds like you didn't read what I wrote about the marquee light? You need to make modifications if you're going to switch to a standard one. Or just get the right bulb and starter. Go to the DK group on CoinOpSpace.com. There are a couple of links right there to discussions on the subject. That'll tell you what you need to know.

Did you read my writeup on modding the coin mechs? Hopefully you found that on your own because it took me quite a while to understand these things before I could get them to work with tokens. I mentioned it because I didn't want you to have to waste time figuring out what I had already figured out.

The coin mech part you're missing is called a "bugel" and can be bought extremely cheaply from the manufacturer. Only problem is they now have a policy that you can't open an account for an order under $50. So you'd have to do like me and find someone who already has an account order them for you.

[severdhed]

Sounds like you didn't read what I wrote about the marquee light? You need to make modifications if you're going to switch to a standard one. Or just get the right bulb and starter. Go to the DK group on CoinOpSpace.com. There are a couple of links right there to discussions on the subject. That'll tell you what you need to know.

Did you read my writeup on modding the coin mechs? Hopefully you found that on your own because it took me quite a while to understand these things before I could get them to work with tokens. I mentioned it because I didn't want you to have to waste time figuring out what I had already figured out.

The coin mech part you're missing is called a "bugel" and can be bought extremely cheaply from the manufacturer. Only problem is they now have a policy that you can't open an account for an order under $50. So you'd have to do like me and find someone who already has an account order them for you.

i did read what you said about the light..however i just figured instead of buying new bulbs and starters for the existing light...if i just put in a new one that i already have, as long as i dont plug it into that little power outlet in the cabinet it should be fine.  i'm going to need power to the cabinet for the PC and monitor, so i will mount a power strip in the cabinet and plug that into the wall.  then i can use my regular $6 light from walmart.  i will remove the nintendo power adapter thing that is in there, since i dont need it.

i was going to read the write up on teh coin mechs, and i may still do that...but i wanted to see if i could figure it out myself.  (i'm just that way..i find it more rewarding if i figure it out)

i'm fairly certain i can make it accept just about any coins i want, but i will have to fabricate a small piece to add to it.  by removing a few pieces that were originally there, and adjusting the position of a few pieces, it easily got it working with the washers.  do you have a link to that writeup on the coin mechs?  i'd love to look through it.

[TheShanMan]

Sorry - I was forgetting that you're mame-ing it. Disregard my marquee light comment then.

Here is my post on modding the mechs (just one post out of the whole thread will show).

[severdhed]

cool...thanks.  i had to do some more modifications to mine because i wanted to use washers, which have a hole in the middle, and are also magnetic.  there are two movable levers that are designed to catch things like washers with holes in them..so they had to come off, and so did the magnet.  i'll take some pics of my modified mechs tonight...they were pretty easy to mod once i saw how they function.

[TheShanMan]

Yep. They really tried to make sure they covered their bases with attempts to get free games! I remember the washer catcher.

[severdhed]

THis thread has changed a good bit from what it started out as...since i have the cabinet and and making progress with it, i figured it would be better suited to post in the project announcements forum...so any progress from this point forward will be posted there:



http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=95780.0