Centipede barebones

[kayoteq]

Greetings, long time lurker, first time poster. I've been doing bits and pieces of this for awhile (waco joystick/buttons control for atari, sega, nintendo, xbox -same controller, re-wired with nine-pin to make it work with several platforms, but that's not important right now)

What I've gotten hold of: Centipede cabinet, with crt and coin box, no artwork, no controls, no cpu.
 Just crt (bonus at 12000 ©1980 atari still clearly visible on the crt) and the base power supply, with every wire cut off at the nubs. I did say barebones. Serial 38795.  I just couldn't resist getting hold of a Centipede cabinet, even stripped, rather than Generic Monkey Kong universal cabinet..

Help? Well, I'm going at this with the assistance of another technically competent person, so we are well aware of the zapping dangers of crt capacitance and such, so we're going to be careful..

 Just thought I'd start the dialogue here so maybe I can save a few frustrations here and there by noting what things you folks have already done..

Oh and budget: Very very low. I can cobble together this thing from things at hand, maybe indulging in the proper atari buttons so they blink and stuff. Believe me, if you saw the piles of stuff I have from other things, you could see how I can say this. Even an old home fullsize Atari trackball if I want to use it..though I'd prefer to put in a proper one there for durability.


Nice to meet 'yall. Hope I don't confuse ya too much..


(edited to remove the mangling of the cabinet plans and the 90 degree rotating crt idea- it's restore, now. back to oem look. the 90 degree can go in a generic cabinet when I get that.)

Now with pictures!


Too much idle time and not enough black paint? The non-original woodgrain cp overlay.


where'd the guts go? Oh yeah, ebay. But I'll ask directly. "Yeah, I'd like to buy the stuff you removed from this.." Oh well. CRT is shot, so I'd want to start over on that part.. but the art would be nice.

Bonus snicker bar wrapper at no extra charge!

more of the 'too much black paint' syndrome..

the decals are under there.. but I might as well sand it down and start over with a smooth surface.
Depends on how the paint removal scheme works.. probably remove the decal too

That's how it stands.. more research to go. Glad to finally have one to play with.

[bfauska]

I am sure you'll get some resistance here for modding a Centipede, but if nobody around you wants to restore it then there's not much you can do.  As far as the rotating monitor, it is a fairly hot topic here every once in a while.  Jimbo is currently doing a scratch built cab with one, it is a rather straight forward design for the rotation and I would suggest you check it out.  Here it is

Cornchip did one that was a top of the line motorized system, using custom fabricated parts, do a search for his thread, you might try searching for "rotate" posts by user "cornchip"

Good luck with the project, welcome to the forum, and don't forget to share your progress and errors, we all love to learn from each other's successes and failures.

 

[kayoteq]

Oh, Atari freaks,  don't worry. I've redacted the 90-degree monitor mod from my earlier post..

 Sorry if bfauska's reply looks confusing. Let's just pretend I didn't mention the mangling, mkay?
That was pretty much pre-unpacking and inspection..

I can get hold of a generic cabinet later for my true mame-multi project. This seems like too good
an opportunity to have a 'real'  Atari game sitting in the room, which is the idea.

This is how it all starts, eh? he he he..

You can thank your fellow posters for elaborate stories and projects that make me go, 'okay, tricky, but plausible...'


Still debating mame versus Genuine Centipede CPU (tm). I'd really like to be able to play other games
on it.. maybe just the vertical monitor trackball-compatible one button games..

Just didn't want to pass up another thing like oh, the time I was putting stuff in mini-storage, this
arcade tech had a Star Wars Upright, bad monitor.. $250 and I didn't get it. (on many levels)

[bluevolume]

Theres some paint/varnish remover at Home Depot that works pretty well for taking paint off and not runing the vinyl below.  It is orange (smells like oranges too), with a green label.  That's all I remember, but should be enough info once you get to the store.

[WaRpEd]

Citristrip is found at Home Depot.
It's a citrus based solvent that shouldn't damage the vinyl and is milder than a petroleum based paint stripper.
Hope it helps.
And post some more progress pics.

[bluevolume]

Citristrip is found at Home Depot.
It's a citrus based solvent that shouldn't damage the vinyl and is milder than a petroleum based paint stripper.
Hope it helps.
And post some more progress pics.

Thats the stuff. 

[kayoteq]

Thank you- you may have saved some vintage art from a fate similar to turpentine..

Going to take this easy, rationally, and cheaply. Saving money here to indulge in the proper thing there, etcetera. should be fun.. As long as I remember it's all voluntary and can make a nice pile of firewood if necessary I should do ok.

[kayoteq]

details? even boring ones? Okay..

Victim #2: Common 80's Hitachi television with analog tuner, channel 3 and video-modulator thingy from x-box. proper size, now the dissection and removal of un-needed parts and accessories. I know a digital unit would have less junk, but this is on-hand unused television. Then again.. well, anyhow, it was a proof of concept.  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/kayoteq/banN2/6_t.jpg to view the exciting photo of a 80's television on its side running Centipede sideways. wow.


quality? I know. modulation/ demodulation signal loss.. imo, it makes it look nice and used, not purty. Okay, I'll try to hook it up more direct so it's in focus more at least..

[tommy]

It looks like a good starting point, good luck.

[kayoteq]

luck? I'd say.. if this thing hadn't been painted, it would have been gone before I got to it




Only damage is what I did before I found a more perfect spatula.

[bfauska]

No need to worry about resistance from the restoration crowd now.  Looks like that side-art is in pretty decent shape, even if you can't make it look new, you can probably make it look like it was never converted.

[kayoteq]

Well, almost. I got 90% of that woodgrain off; player 2's been drilled out for a bigger button, there's extra button holes drilled in.. but yeah, cover the holes, one oem repro control panel overlay later.. (the art's there, but well, it's got extra holes in it.. )

So really, I could 'cheat', re-do the illustrator art to reflect the 'new' holes, install that.

That all depends on if the (original) power supply is working/salvagable. If it is, then yeah, it's going oem retro.

If not, mame with vertical games only,.. I'll get/build a Midway/Nintendo style for the rest

[kayoteq]

Some updates.. got the tv reconfigured into the original CRT, for proper anchoring and electrical inspection before installation.. complete with UHF/VHF tuning knobs mounted on the back.

Passive upgrades, with a bit of quirkiness. I would have a temporary marquee but kinko's didn't want
to print it for fear of copyright violation.  Huh?


shoulda taken pictures during the frankenstein process but I was concentrating on avoiding the coiled snake wire. test-fit the old centipede crt in the tv.. good way to disguise my trash later.

Only 4-5 small screw holes in the metal crt chassis planned, to anchor the board isolation holders for the tv pcb and keep it all nice and safe and adjustable..
 it's a 1983 TV, so it's just about a match except for the extra tuner bits..

Narrowscreen television format. ask for it at your local DVD store..

This is all the 'no-budget' passive improvement portion. Get it together, tweak it, and eventually strip it
down to the proper stuff only. Especially since the tv tuner will be about useless in a couple of years..

Unless there are objections, this is going Jamma so I can have something reliable to do my wiring to,
since the original harness is here and there and occasionaly nowhere. and if I do it right I can eventually  put something more proper in the correct place.

Still haven't tested the original power supply. I've been avoiding the mains for a bit.

More update: Board fabricated, pcb for tv mounted, placed in cabinet for 'hot' testing and adjustment.
Cheapo Pac-man clone game run for signal test (sideways, ironically)

In 'researching' this, I've noticed that tube TVs are becoming rarer and rarer; I've only found one major retailer still selling a 'round tube' 19'' tv, real basic, mono but with a video in. $119.

I don't think I'll have as much 'freedom' as this '83 model to move the parts around, but something to consider in the long term.. just get the thing and set it aside. Oh wait, that costs money.

In this case, it was just an old television I wasn't using.  Excellent fodder for the initial experiment, bonus if it survives the operation.

I hooked the audio to the cabinet- the speaker's stil there and working

Disclaimer- there are dangerous voltages and stuff and decent precautions were taken in the monitor 'conversion'.

- me and me friend are kinda like the mythbusters guys..
lots of focused technical madness and care taken to survive.

No wires were cut. Only two small holes drilled in one lip of the metal frame of the CRT chassis mount.

Purists can rest easy knowing at least that much..

"You rebuilt a Centipede game.. with a xbox and  a Hitachi television?"

Just wait. .there's still the Apple Macintosh ADB 2 1/4'' trackball to integrate.. Happ can wait.

[kayoteq]

Progress report; still leaving original stuff alone, making my own version of restoration elements. I'm notoriously cheap, and want to make it a working model and then tweak out the details as I go. Priorities.

An original trakball is on it's way this week, sure to be needing a full rebuild, but original. The Apple trackball will go away.

The CP has been sanded down and a paint job to keep it from rusting. Hated to lose those last bits of original art there, but it was a lost cause anyway.

Slowly and surely, this thing will be making proper noises and gameplay someday. Some assembly required.

[Level42]

Good work.

Just MHO:
Go for a full restore. Get a Millipede PCB that has (or add) the Multipede kit, so you can play both Millipede and Centipede. Emulation is nice, but it's never the real thing.
And how many vertical raster trackball games are there ?

[kayoteq]

Oh, since I got hold of a couple more cabinets (like potato chips, apparently one is not enough) I can 'focus' on putting it back together right. there's still most of the original wiring in there, the CRT is stil a challenge because I can't take apart the two I got for their monitors (see other project thingy) are too intact for salvage..

Ironic that I can't get hold of a truly worthless cabinet for a working CRT.. so the TV stays in there for the moment.

 I just got in my used 'needs cleaning' centipede TB. Ugh. Original Scum included.

Thought I had made a mistake, but with plenty of cleaning, and soaking the bearings in 3-in-1 (as the sticker reccomends I can get a good 2-3 second spin out of them now.(the shafts, not the ball.)  but assembled it pretty much gives me a 1-1 control now .

the shafts, of course, are worn, but I believe it's playable once there's something for it to control. Eventually I'll get the rebuild kit. Priorites. . Ironically installed it doesn't look as smooth as the mac trackball (the ball  fits in the centipede tb case!)
..seems dependent on that overlay to look right, or I'm missing a top part on the CP..

I'd love to do the 'full restore', but while most of the wiring is there.. there's a few bits missing. In reality, I'm scared off by the prices for those darn things. I turned down paying $75 for gen-u-ine marquee/bezel glass for it at that auction I went to.. but it'd look silly having proper glass and no guts.

A primo one went for $275 at the auction, but that's cheating..

The supposed goal of going to the auction was just to check out complete centipedes, but I ended up calling my friend with the truck to pick up my two other distractions. Good thing I warned him..

 I did end up taking  pictures of a few cabinets so I could repro the things I have missing, like the manufacturer label up front.. but the camera shook, so I'll have to reproduce it in illustrator anyway. At least now I have a template..

[kayoteq]

3 month later update:
Despite all logic,rationale and other factors, the pieces are still coming together slowly..
I have gotten a stockpile of other parts, trading them out and spending the proceeds on restoration parts for this and other games.

Millipede board, wire harness and power regulator board acquired, and a spare power supply from a Crystal Castles to boot.
Even a real CRT as opposed to the 19'' TV that is currently installed (at the time I didn't have parts) Real glass front bezel,
no bezel art yet.. fake marquee till that right price for a real one comes along. CPO when all the panel has all the parts.
And friends already wanting to play it even unfinished. Hey, gotta get it working first.

Just those #$( start buttons. Always with the start buttons. I can bid on a  working Star Wars yoke but these buttons.. ??

[Kaytrim]

How about posting some pics of the current progress.  This thread should also be moved over to the restorations forum now.  Good luck on the rest of the restore of one of the best classics around.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[hillbilly]

I am thinking of making a repro centipede cabinet as I can not fine one locally. Would you mind taking some shots of the speaker area from the inside and outside of the cab and a shot of where the control panel rests from the inside and outside please