Galaxian No. 815

[Level42]

This thread documents the restoration of my Galaxian. Galaxian was and still is one of my top-favorite arcade games.

Don't ask me why. I don't know if it was the fact that after the dull-moving space invaders it was SUCH a big upgrade to have the aliens actualy attack you......or was it all those colors, real colors instead of the color plastic on the CRT.......or was it the amazing sound (for those days)......I' don't know. I just know I've always loved it. I remember renting the Atari VCS2600 cartridge (no money to actualy buy it !) and how disappointed I was. I also remember playing it with my cousin, and we were dreaming about being able to play the real arcade version at home.

After all those years, I can make that dream come true....

Finding a real original arcade game here in The Netherlands is pretty tough already. There's plenty of generic jamme/neo geo cabs available (I made one into my Mame machine). But the real-deal is a lot tougher to find. There are more recent cabs around, but the classics are rare.

One day I almost got a Galaxian from a place near where I live, but someone was just before me to snap it up. Then I missed out on an Asteroids Deluxe, which was dead, and still went for A LOT of money.

Then I had decided to sell my Double Axle. I have no game room (yet) and space is VERY limited in my home. I had just sold it, and then I saw an ad for this Galaxian. I instantly sent three mails and the guy called me. To make a long story short, I picked up the cab, payed a VERY nice price on it and brought it home.

Sure, it needs some restoration, but the cab is in general good shape AND it worked all the way

The first pictures show the cab as it arrived. I had already removed the marquee though:
You can see that the side art is still in very good shape, I've seen a lot worse on the internet...

[Level42]

Well.....the usual dust stuff behind the marquee area...

The TL tube was not OK. It only glowed at the edges. So I put a brand new tube in it, but had the same problem. The problem was probably in bad conctacts in the tube holders. So I figured to get a complete new fixture. I had to remove the new ballast and Tube holders and put them in the metal because the new ficture was too big to fit in the marquee area. I actualy kept using the starter-holder because it looked great still and is a lot sturdier built then the one in the new ficture I bought. I choose a warm-colored tube to give the marquee the nice "warm" light.

Sidenote: This TL Lighting fixture was only used until serial nr. 3000 (source Galaxian Manual). After that, two old-fashioned light bulbs were used on both sides !!!
The only reason for this I can think of is that it was a little cheaper to manufacture (no ballast). However, operartors were using now about 80 W's just for the lighting of the marquee, instead of the 15 W of the TL....) Guess in the early 80's now-one cared about energy consumption yet....but still if you owned an arcade with 50 games or more....this would make a BIG difference on your energy bill !
Also, the lighting of the TL is much more even than that of two bulbs....anyway....back to the pictures...

[Level42]

Well that marquee looks pretty good still. However there are several "holes", especialy in the black parts. Any tips on how to carefully restore this (black paint and a fine brush I guess...)

I carefully cleaned both sides.

[Level42]

Ok some more shots of the cabinet as how it arrived:

The left side-art is in even better shape then the right...it's dirty though...

The kick plate is OK, of course the lower part is worst. Later, Midway used protective rubber on that part of the cab... The coin door has seen some beating-up and rust. But everything still works ! It still runs on real money (Guilders) and luckely I found one in the bottom of the cab

The usual rust and wear on the CP where thousands of players-hands have been...luckely no terrible operator mods !!!!

[Level42]

More CP shots. The CPO was not too bad, but it was chipped near the joystick hole (funny, I've seen Galaxian CPO's with a chip at exactly the same spot !). It's clear this CPO needs some sanding, new paint and a brand new CPO It's on it's way from the US as I write this

[Level42]

More pics..

[Level42]

Now.....what did you notice about this Galaxian cab from the very first pictures ?

Indeed: Where is that famous alien-green T-molding ?

When I went to pic it up at the seller I told him that the T-molding wasn't the original. It was black with a leather texture. Little did I know that this actualy is a quite unique feature.

When I got home, and did some research, I found the original Midway flyer on the net, and there on the picture the cab has this black (leather textured ? Can't tell because of the low detail level) T-molding !!!
It also has a WHITE joystick ball and all buttons are white. So this was the second hint that this was quite an early Galaxian !

When checking the inner parts, this got confirmed: Serial no. 815. That's pretty early in a 30.000 (my personal estimate) production

I was pretty excited about this, but also it was a tiny bit disappointing, because I already had decided to replace the black with the "real"  green we all know and love. I love it because that color really smacks you in the face. But, we've got to keep this original feature of this cab of course. However the T-molding showed it's age pretty much, so I've ordered brand new leather look black that's now also on it's way

When removing the old T-molding, by the way it was mounted on the ends, with small staples, I knew this was still the very first t-molding. You can see it on the second picture there are still some traces left...hard to remove !!

[Level42]

Some "inside" shots:

The original Wells-Gardner K4500 still in place and yes, it even still works.....but it's clearly at the end of it's life as later pics will show...

The PCB is pretty clean, and the game itself seems to run 100% ok, picture sound, gameplay, all work !

The power supply is pretty dirty but that's normal when it's flat on the bottom. Look there in the lower leeft part is a Guilder (real money ! Sorry guys, I still can't get used to those fake sounding Euro coins...)

So, there's no new switching power supply in this cab, 26 years and still running. I love the way the PS humms, especialy the start-up sound   I'll keep it running with this as long as possible.

[Level42]

DIP instruction sheet (still uncleaned, looks better now) Another proof of it being an early version: It has the first ROM set with the LOW scores for extra Galaxips !

2nd picture.....26 years of dust....

[Kaytrim]

Real nice find and excellent documentation of what you are starting off with.  Keep this up as you work on the restoration. 

[Level42]

CP removed...backside (I already removed a button)

2nd pic.....and it still works !!

3rd....a cleaned and a button in the state it came from the CP....it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta' do it )

[Level42]

1st: You may guess what the fire button was.....OK these have done their job as well and will be put in "retirement"

Brand new one's are on their way with the CPO and the T-molding.

2nd: Getting the metal part off the wood part was a bit of a nightmare ! Acc. the manual, a part behind the joystick would have to move loose, but apparantly this was now totaly rusted together. So I started turning the ball of the joystick and slowely it let loose (even though it's not threated !) This way I was able to remove the stick.
There's obously been some drinks spilled over the CP....

3rd....joystick place   YUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH !!!!

[Level42]

1st: Joystick base....lots of rust, this needs sanding and painting...

2nd: Joystick ball and shaft....more rust.  IF ANYBODY HAS A (NOS) WHITE BALL LIKE THIS, CONTACT ME !

[Level42]

OK time to do some restoration !!!!

Let's see how the inside above the monitor looks....(the black parts)....

That's not what I want....this needs a new paint !

Note, those scratches come from the bezel. The only part missing on this cab is the original bezel. It obviously broke at a point (I found a glass part on the bottom of the cab). They replaced it with a normal sheet of glass, but it appears the measurements are just a little bit too big, causing these scratches during placing/removing of the sheet.....

[Level42]

Let's protect the monitor. Gotta get the speaker grill and the speaker itself out of the way as well. As you can see the T-molding is also already removed.

While we're at it, let's clean the speaker grill. Looks like new !!!

This came from the grill......yugh !

[Level42]

This is my magic cleaning stuff......one of the cheapest around (Lidl www.lidl.com). Removes dirt, grease, nicotine etc. like a dream

OK, after several treatments of sanding and rollering (I used a water-based semi-gloss paint, rollering it was really easy) it looks a lot better

[Level42]

Because I'm so proud of it (I usualy let my wife do the painting because she's better at it), some more shots.....the lower parts had lost all of the black paint, now great again. OK I spilled a bit on the edge but that will be covered by the new T-molding of course.

[Level42]

Yeah, this is going to need some new paint as well....

But first....what do I see....thos grills look filthy !

[Level42]

Let's see what we can do about that...

Mmmmm, better but still not satisfied, there's rust. Bruno from www.dragonslairfans.com has some great stuff for removing rust. I'll be visiting him soon (can't wait !!!) so I hope he can get me some of the great French stuff he uses to get ridd of rust....

[Level42]

Let's take a look at the inside of the coin door....

Ok, my guess is that there is a digit missing to show the real number of games played......if not, it still brought up it's buying value multiple times !

Coin mech still works like a dream !

[Level42]

1st: Dutch approval sticker....regretfully the game specific details wore off. This cab has been imported directly when it was new. I found a sheet of paper of the machine vendor, and this sticker shows it's been in commercial (arcade) use.

2nd: backside......you may guess what I already cleaned (although not fully !!!), and what not

3rd: Burnt and burnt and burnt....poor CRT. I guess it's been in private use for quite some time as well, since the "PUSH START BUTTON" is also burnt in.....indicates of free-play setting (although it's wasn't on free play when I bought it).
 You can also see the changed screen size and again burning in ......!

At this point, I had received a cap-kit from Zanen electronics and installed it. It actualy made my monitor a lot worse..... there was a bipolar cap in it with a value that was WAY of that of the original. I mailed Zanen about it and they confirmed the error. (didn't offer my money back though....)
Anyway, I've learned some things of this: IMHO monitors of this age are not worth cap-kitting anymore. There are so many convergence and pot-controls that can become bad are misadjusted, you could spend ages to get it a bit better looking. Then there's still the burnt-in CRT. So I decided to "retire" the WG.

[Level42]

OK, I forgot to include this earlier:

A video clip of the "new"  TL fixture:


(Please excuse my voice/English) 

[Havok]

Great find! Looks good even in the condition it's in. Congratulations! Galaxian was always one of my favorite games...

[jfunk]

Hey, I have #17380!



Mine didn't look NEARLY as good as yours, though.  I'm very jealous.  The t-molding on mine had been painted black, the kickplate was black, and the sideart was faded and peeling 

Had to strip it down.  Going to redo it all.  Not "original" anymore, but it'll look nice and be able to play multiple vertical games.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing your full restoration..  Living vicariously through you and all that 

[Level42]

Thanks for the nice replies guys....I got plenty more pics already, I'll post them ASAP.

Jason, first: I really like your invader cab, great, very stylish !

Indeed your Galaxian had a lot worse life than mine !!! I consider myself extremely lucky. It's like finding a classic car in a barn covered under a sheet....

I was also very lucky that the guy selling it didn't really knew what he was selling I guess... he got "my" machine in a "package deal". He's a jukebox collector and wanted to buy a certain juke, but he had to buy two fruitmachines (gambling machines) and this beauty all in one go. So he wanted to get rid of this extra pretty quickly.

Jason, I checked out all the pictures of your Galaxian on your site. I noticed this:


I've seen it on other Galaxian pictures as well. I was wondering if mine was missing this. It is not on it, but.....there's also no holes at that spot, so I guess the early machines didn't have this label. I like it though...

About your serial nr.: I've seen serials up into the 27.000 range. So that's why I "estimate" that there were (at least) 30.000 built. But who knows, it maybe plenty more....

Question: How are you going further with restoration ? Side and kick-art graphic files are digitaly available but would it be possible to have it printed on that same kind of vinyl ?
For me, it's still a mistery that the side and kick-art are not available anywhere. It's not the size, you can get Centipede, Asteroids everything, those are even bigger AFAIK.  So why on earth no Galaxian ? Isn't this considered a classic ?? I bet there is a market for this, I know many collectors have this machine with the side-art "as is" but the collectors probably not really happy with it.

If all else fails, you COULD consider converting it to a Pac Man. Of course, I am all for keeping it a Galaxian. But if it's (nearly) a lost case, this is a good option. Check out what Darth Nuno of www.dragonslairfans.com is doing now: http://www.dragonslairfans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=195

When it's done with grace and quality like this, I can live very well with a conversion like that (I think a better word is re-birth here ). It's always better then ditching the cab...

[Level42]

OK, I hope I'm not overloading the server-space here...

More pics !

1st: A pic I still wanted you guys to see: This resistor on the monitor PCB has seen quite some heat !
The Ohms value was still OK though

2nd. So the monitor needs replacement. Now, normaly it's a big disadvantage to live in Europe for this hobby. There is one thing very much in our advantage though: We have TV's with the SCART connector ! This means that every TV in Europe is also a great arcade monitor And since everyone is buying LCD and Plasma TV's now (why-o-why ?) those (CRT) TV's are extremely cheap. Latest offer I saw was a brand new 51 cm (19") TV for €99,- (about $125). Even cheaper are the used one's.
So I bought one that was advertised as a 51 cm. A nice Nokia.

And a dissassembled shot...

[Level42]

So let's put that baby in the bezel....

HOLY F...K !!! It doesn't fit !!! It doesn't even come close 

I should have known better. I didn't actualy measure the CRT before buying it. The seller had listed it as a 51 cm but it actualy was 55 cm !!!

(Another lesson learned !!)

OK, I gotta fit this thing in....so I make the bezel hole larger and drill new holes...

Move the original PVB holders to the right place for the "new" PCB...

[Level42]

HAHAHAHAHA, looking back at these pictures only I only NOW discover that I actualy mounted this CRT on the WRONG side of the bezel ! (It doesn't matter now though...read on)

SOOOOO, I didn't forget one important thing....I desoldered the IR receiver for the remote control and put it on some wires so I could put it in front of the bezel. Normaly not needed to adjust anything but always handy that it's still possible...

OK, fix the PCB and......READY !

At least I thought so.....after this picture I plugged it in (without connecting it to the cab) and.....nothing.....totaly dead !!! How could this be ?? I downloaded the schematic and the transistor in the power supply had shorts all way around.  Now I had to repair it before it had worked for one second (YES it DID play at the sellers' and it still played at my home when it was still in it's case....)

[Level42]

Well after all these set-backs I really needed a (small) success....So I cut the old video connector from the loom that connected to the WG and following the schematics info wired it up to a SCART connector. I used some serial resistors since an arcade PCB puts out 5Vpp and SCART wants only 0,7Vpp....(check out this thread about this: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62634.0 )

So I connected the SCART to a small TV and...........YESSSSSSSSSSSSS !!! Perfect picture !!

[Level42]

I had to wire up an extra wire from the PCB to a certain pin on the SCART to let the TV know that I'm sending an RGB signal and that the TV should switch to that mode. This is a steady 5V so that was easy enough.

I still need to wire up another pin to a (about) 12V source so that the TV will start up and select the correct "channel" but that's for later.

[Level42]

OK, so there I was with a broken TV.  Sometimes I'm unpatient, so I simply bought another used TV with the RIGHT size this time I still got some parts to repair the other TV later, it may still be good for another cab...

I chose a Philips this time...Dutch pride !!! (oh, it's built in Italy )......also it had a nice round tube, just like they were in the early 80's...

BUT, of couse I had "ruined" the original bezel by making the hole for the CRT larger.....the fixing points of the "new" (19") CRT were now up in the air......so there was nothing else to do then recreate a the front part of the bezel. Went to the local DIY and bought some MDF, nicely sawed at exactly the right size The original had multi-layered wood (we call it multiplex) but this was WAY too expensive compared to the MDF that is about as strong.

So I measured all sizes for the holes etc. etc. and copied it to the new MDF. I did some guessing work on the curves of the CRT that worked out pretty OK (no I didn't have a drink when I did the sawing out of the hole

I've seen Darth Nuno do a much simpler job on an new bezel for his Galaxian->Pac Man restoration. Maybe I'm too anal about this....I always think things were built that way for a reason. The reason probably that those cabs get smacked around at arcades and during transport. Nothing like it will experience in the future during my home-use but anyway...

1st:
I checked out the metal part of the bezel.......hey what do we have here.....a Lady Bug !!! Girl you must have missed the correct cabinet. She obviously got killed by a Galaxip shot RIP

2nd: There it is, all finished. I only replaced the black screws with new one's. They had (like almost everything on this cab) imperial size.....I hate that It's all wrong !!!!! (i.e. my tools don't fit  ) 
By now I guessed you've already seen that our kitchen is my workplace (for now).....I'm lucky with my wife.....she's pretty patient about this all
And yes that's our cars you see Nothing fancy but the black one (Skoda Oktavia) "easily" fits a cab in the back.

3rd: and YES it fits....also put it on the RIGHT side this time

[Level42]

Power up and: YES ! This one survived the transformation from TV to monitor (The black part is because this is a good-old 50Hz (60 when used with the Galaxian PCB) TV so my camera had some problem "getting the picture"....

I had wanted to use the original PCB holders again, but they wouldn't fit because of the metal near the edge of the PCB.

So I considered using the "regular" arcade PCB stands we all know well for a monent, but that would have required quite a lot of them (to distribute the weight) and would be clumsy to service. So I decided to pick up my brand new Bosch jig-saw again and this time I went wild on the original TV case.....leaving me with the bottom part. I shifted the PCB nicely into place, and mounted the bottom part with two screws onto the wood of the bezel....nice and sturdy and easy to service. As a bonus I was also still able to use the built-in cable holder for the mains cord, and I moved the sticker from the back of the TV case to this position......for future reference.

See that nice big blue connector on the 2nd pic......that's the key to make it possible to use any TV as a true arcade monitor I LOVE SCART !

[Level42]

OK, so let's put the whole thing inside the cab and test it !

It fits perfectly !!! WOW, I've learned to paint AND some wood-working skills within a couple of weeks

Turn on and YESSSSS it works....

Still needs some adjustements to the TV though, the height is a bit off, and I MUST get that stupid channel indication off (Need to go to the service menu for that apparantly, weird !!!)

We'll fix that later...

[jfunk]

...
Question: How are you going further with restoration ? Side and kick-art graphic files are digitaly available but would it be possible to have it printed on that same kind of vinyl ?
For me, it's still a mistery that the side and kick-art are not available anywhere. It's not the size, you can get Centipede, Asteroids everything, those are even bigger AFAIK.  So why on earth no Galaxian ? Isn't this considered a classic ?? I bet there is a market for this, I know many collectors have this machine with the side-art "as is" but the collectors probably not really happy with it.
...

For the time being, I'm just going to have to *shudder* paint it white.  I've got leftover green t-molding I'll use.  I'll get emdkay.net or mamemarquees.com to print up a custom marquee i've designed (mostly galaxian marquee with a few modifications)..  I've got an old/trashed control panel i'll use/modify.

As I come into more funding, I'll eventually have sideart, cpo, and kickplate printed (all available on localarcade.com...).  I'm not sure they'll be authentic-sized (since that's so $$$), but I'll do the best I can.

But, like I said, I REALLY wish I had the time and/or money and/or talent to do what you're doing.  Plus, I'm enjoying reading about European tvs and the like.

Keep up the great work and progress updates!!

[arcadefever]

  this is some very hardcore restoration 

wowwwwwww you should be very happy, this is a great job you have done 

[Level42]

For the time being, I'm just going to have to *shudder* paint it white.  I've got leftover green t-molding I'll use.  I'll get emdkay.net or mamemarquees.com to print up a custom marquee i've designed (mostly galaxian marquee with a few modifications)..  I've got an old/trashed control panel i'll use/modify.

Custom marquee ?

But, like I said, I REALLY wish I had the time and/or money and/or talent to do what you're doing.  Plus, I'm enjoying reading about European tvs and the like.

Well, I barely have time as well. I've already got this cab since december 2006 so it's not like I did all that work in a couple of days About the talent: I've seen your Invader cab, and I doubt very much I could build something like that....so You've got what it takes IMHO.....all I did so far on the woodwork is "copying" the front of the bezel

Keep up the great work and progress updates!!

Thanks, and I sure will !

[Level42]

this is some very hardcore restoration 

wowwwwwww you should be very happy, this is a great job you have done 

Thanks ArcadeFever !!! It WILL be a hardcore restoration....when it's done, but I'm not close to 25% yet Most pictures you've seen are "as is" for now...

[Level42]

OK, some shots I took today:

On the right you see the wooden part of the CP. While I was painting this inside of the cab, I figured this could use some new paint as well. So I cleaned it, sanded it and looks very nice now. Won't be visible when assembled, but I hate the idea to have a filthy wooden part behind a freshly restored metal panel....

On the left, the metal panel. As you can see I'm having a tough time getting rid of the original CPO. I've tried hot water and some sticker remover stuff. That last stuff only seems to get rid of my lungs instead of the stickers !!! Any good suggestions are welcome......(Do I really need to do this, when it will be sandblasted anyway ?)

[Level42]

And before I start restoration of the coin door:

Take a look at the close-up of the paint. What I am wondering is if these small bulbs are caused by rust underneith or were they put on deliberatly during manufacturing as decoration ?
Does anyone know this   On the backside, there are also some of these bulbs but a lot less...It reminds me of the effect that we got when we ushed toothbrushes at school to "spray" paint on paper by stroking the tootbrush with out thumb.....maybe something simular was used here ?

2nd a close up of the Coin Door plate. A brand new NOS version is on it's way. However, I wonder how this is mounted ? Are those pop-nails ? And if so, can I do this myself ?

[Level42]

And here's a scan (fixed up the worst scratches) that will generate some nostalgia for Dutch arcade fans:

The Dutch 1 Guilder coin insert. Just like I remembered them on every single videogame and pinball in the 80's

Inworp = "throw in" (direct translation)

PM me if you need a high-res scan...