It's on like Donkey Kong Jr - A restoration

[apocalypto]

Hey y'all, welcome to my Donkey Kong Jr restore!

I came across a good condition, complete DK Jr machine on craigslist, the seller wanted $250 so I was intrigued. I went to check it out and discovered there was an issue with the monitor (the picture was shrunk horizontally and folding over from what I can tell). Anyway, it still felt like a good buy for a project piece.

I intend to restore it to original condition and put a Donkey Kong 1 board in there also.

I have posted about the monitor issue here:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=107304.0

I intend to:

• Refinish the exterior - Bondo and paint
• Add new T-Molding
• Add a lock to the rear cabinet door
• Add new sideart
• Add new control panel instructions
• Add below marquee instruction sticker
• Repair Monitor
• Install a Donkey Kong 1 board in addition to the DK Jr board
• Install a high score save kit
• Do anything you experts tell me I should do!

Here are some initial pics!  Tell me if you think it was a good deal for $250





The sides arent really yellow...


I assume this label means its a real nintendo donkey kong jr cabinet?


Is this a real, original donkey junior board?






looks like it's had a lot of playing time!






Buttons looks good, and I assume they are original.


This is not an original nintendo joystick is it?


Looks like some water damage under on this instruction sticker. Should be easy to replace right?


Control panel looks pretty good otherwise


Marquee and Bezel looks good too I think (marquee isn't faded, that's the camera flash)


Only downer is the squished monitor picture  I am hoping this will be an easy cap kit fix!!

[yotsuya]

Looks good! Congrats on the deal!

[apocalypto]

Looks good! Congrats on the deal!

Thanks! I am super excited about it and the adventure ahead. 

[BurgerKingDiamond]

whats with the monitor? It looks super skinny.

[apocalypto]

whats with the monitor? It looks super skinny.

I dont know for sure. But all signs are pointing to a Cap Kit as a fix.

[opt2not]

Awesome deal, not as great as my DKJr, but I had to drive into the middle of no-where to pick it up.

Mine came with the Braze Double Donkey Kong board, which has both DK1 and DKJr on it. You should look into that if you're planning on having both in there.

[apocalypto]

Awesome deal, not as great as my DKJr, but I had to drive into the middle of no-where to pick it up.

Mine came with the Braze Double Donkey Kong board, which has both DK1 and DKJr on it. You should look into that if you're planning on having both in there.

I thought about the double donkey kong board, but I cant get over how bad the sounds are on it.It is a real shame, otherwise it's a fantastic option!. Also, it's not original hardware, which is my end goal for the restoration. I need to look into methods of switching pcb's efficiently...

In case you havent compared the sound differences in double dk before:  http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?action=url&page=prod/ddk/sounds.html

[Spyridon]

Nice pickup at that price.  Yeah, that joystick is not original.  You can either look for a used one, or buy new from mikesarcade.

[opt2not]

In case you havent compared the sound differences in double dk before:  http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?action=url&page=prod/ddk/sounds.html

Yeah, after I picked it up I did a bit of research on the board and found Mike's sound comparison too. I know the sounds are off, but it wasn't a big deal for me since I was happy with the double option of that board. Good on you for going original. 

[paulliadis]

Have you messed with the adjustment pots on the monitor board yet? I'd do that before doing the cap kit.

My Dk Junior monitor was a bit messed when I first brought it home. I adjusted the pots on the monitor and also VR1 on the pcb itself. It looks good now.
Actually, when I first plug in the game the pic is shifted to the left just a bit. After 3-5 minutes it rights itself. I'm sure I'll need a cap kit at some point, but I'm good for now.

I'm not saying this will fix your problem, but I would definitely start here (the easiest solution) and go from there.

Great looking DK Junior, by the way. I recently replaced the instruction card under my control panel with one I downloaded from Mike's Arcade.

Paul

[apocalypto]

Have you messed with the adjustment pots on the monitor board yet? I'd do that before doing the cap kit.

My Dk Junior monitor was a bit messed when I first brought it home. I adjusted the pots on the monitor and also VR1 on the pcb itself. It looks good now.
Actually, when I first plug in the game the pic is shifted to the left just a bit. After 3-5 minutes it rights itself. I'm sure I'll need a cap kit at some point, but I'm good for now.

I'm not saying this will fix your problem, but I would definitely start here (the easiest solution) and go from there.

Great looking DK Junior, by the way. I recently replaced the instruction card under my control panel with one I downloaded from Mike's Arcade.

Paul

Yeah I adjusted the pots on the board already. There's no way of getting the screen to occupy maximum width. Also the pots dont clear up the faded areas. I think it is in definite need of a cap fix.

Besides, the cap kit arrives today anyway

[paulliadis]

Good luck with it. Once you get that fixed, that's gonna be a really nice Dk Junior.

[orion]

Have you messed with the adjustment pots on the monitor board yet? I'd do that before doing the cap kit.

My Dk Junior monitor was a bit messed when I first brought it home. I adjusted the pots on the monitor and also VR1 on the pcb itself. It looks good now.
Actually, when I first plug in the game the pic is shifted to the left just a bit. After 3-5 minutes it rights itself. I'm sure I'll need a cap kit at some point, but I'm good for now.

I'm not saying this will fix your problem, but I would definitely start here (the easiest solution) and go from there.

Great looking DK Junior, by the way. I recently replaced the instruction card under my control panel with one I downloaded from Mike's Arcade.

Paul

Yeah I adjusted the pots on the board already. There's no way of getting the screen to occupy maximum width. Also the pots dont clear up the faded areas. I think it is in definite need of a cap fix.

Besides, the cap kit arrives today anyway

Did you try adjusting the horizontal width coil by any chance? Just make sure you get the plastic adjustment kit from radio shack. The first time I messed with one of these I didn't know any better and attempted it with a standard allen wrench... not a particularly pleasant experience BTW.

http://www.arcaderepairtips.com/2010/04/21/adjusting-the-horizontal-width-coil/

[apocalypto]

Have you messed with the adjustment pots on the monitor board yet? I'd do that before doing the cap kit.

My Dk Junior monitor was a bit messed when I first brought it home. I adjusted the pots on the monitor and also VR1 on the pcb itself. It looks good now.
Actually, when I first plug in the game the pic is shifted to the left just a bit. After 3-5 minutes it rights itself. I'm sure I'll need a cap kit at some point, but I'm good for now.

I'm not saying this will fix your problem, but I would definitely start here (the easiest solution) and go from there.

Great looking DK Junior, by the way. I recently replaced the instruction card under my control panel with one I downloaded from Mike's Arcade.

Paul

Yeah I adjusted the pots on the board already. There's no way of getting the screen to occupy maximum width. Also the pots dont clear up the faded areas. I think it is in definite need of a cap fix.

Besides, the cap kit arrives today anyway

Did you try adjusting the horizontal width coil by any chance? Just make sure you get the plastic adjustment kit from radio shack. The first time I messed with one of these I didn't know any better and attempted it with a standard allen wrench... not a particularly pleasant experience BTW.

http://www.arcaderepairtips.com/2010/04/21/adjusting-the-horizontal-width-coil/

Yep I tried adjusting the width coil. I didn't have a plastic adjustment tool so I used an allen wrench attached to a drinking straw. I moved the coil in both directions plenty and it didn't do a thing. And I know what you mean, I touched the wrench afterwards and it was HOT!. I hope the width coil is working, it's weird how it didn't affect the screen... I cant find a replacement one anywhere.

[orion]

Oh when I did that I got a really good shock. If the coil doesn't look broken it probably isn't, it's just a magnet inside a cooper wire wrap after all. It's probably the caps like your guessing before. Just make sure the kit includes the ones that were referenced in that video in that link. Also I have seen Bob Roberts selling them in the past should it turn out you need one.

[apocalypto]

Woohoo, fixed the screen problems with a deluxe cap kit.

Before:



After:



There is still some very slight flag waving which is intermittent. So I may try replacing the Filter cap at some point. I wish that had been in the cap kit.

Now I am done with fixing the screen, next step is body work!

[Level42]

Well that cap-kit was definitely worth it

Nice catch. Yeah I'd replace that joystick.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Nice job on the cap kit man!

[jcroach]

I'll be watching your thread! Just bought a Donkey Kong and I'm starting a restore project.  I'm sure we'll run into similar issues.

[IrishKrush]

Nice cab. Keep up the good work I'm sure it will be amazing.