I don't believe it, another classic added => Centipede ! FINISHED !!!!

[Level42]

I can't believe it.....I just bought my third classic cab within 3 months time.....I guess it's a collection now

I had to promise to my wife that this was the very very very last one (it is.....for now )

Well after a Bally-Midway, a Nintendo....it was time far my old-favorite brand Atari.

I don't know what it is, but it's like the classics are popping up all over here all of a sudden, is it the time of year ?

A Centipede appeared on offer, and after some negotiation, we agreed on the price.

The game plays, but there's no picture. So it will probably need a new monitor TV
I will also need new buttons (they put some ugly things on there) and I don't know the condition of the trackball...But the overall condition looks to be very good

Here's some pics:



[Edit] Something I saw someone else do: A checklist of all the things still to be done on a project. Great idea !

So here goes for my "Honderdpoot":

-Exterior:
- overall cleaning
- CPO restoration
- replace coin door with spare I already have

- CP:
- Trackball: -replace ball (for now, red-translucent I had in stock, check/clean/fix/replace bearings and rollers
- Buttons: -replace fruitmachine buttons by repro vulcano's (on stock) and a leaf button & LEAFswitch

- Interior:
- recondition Power Brick and AR2 (parts in stock)
- examine/remove weird extra wiring at CP/coindoor
- repair PCB (3x )
- examine/repair monitor (G07) need to order kit from Bob Roberts...or replace with a TV

[Level42]

And some more....

[ChadTower]

Centipede is one of the true greats.  Congrats.

[shardian]

Is that original artwork? If so, then awesome deal...depending on what you paid of course.

[Level42]

Thanks I'm almost in heaven....

Yes, I bet it's completely original.....

I added a closer-up pic of the front....check out the buttons
Some rust around the track-ball.

It's so funny. I actualy competed at the finals Dutch pre-rounds for the Atari World Championship on the Atari 2600 (I think it was 1983). I became 4th in the under 18 section....so no worls championships for me (it was in Italy then).
The game was Centipede. I had to rent the cart to practice....

I hated the controls of the 2600 version of the game.

When I get to restore it, it will be the very first time I'll play centipede with a Trackball !!!!!!!!!

[FrizzleFried]

You are going to HAVE to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin----can those funky Fruit machine buttons and get a couple of Vulcano's for P1 and P2 and a Happ for fire.

Nice find...the monitor may be fixable as well (G07 perhaps?)...

[ChadTower]

Get a glowing red button for fire.  No point in not upgrading a little while you're in there.

[Level42]

Get a glowing red button for fire.  No point in not upgrading a little while you're in there.

Haha, naaaaaah, if you've read my other threads....you know I'll go for 100% original.....(as much as possible )

[Level42]

You are going to HAVE to ---Cleveland steamer----can those funky Fruit machine buttons and get a couple of Vulcano's for P1 and P2 and a Happ for fire.

Nice find...the monitor may be fixable as well (G07 perhaps?)...

Hah, that was the very first thing I thought when I saw that picture !
Seller says the game worked fine until 2 years ago when they moved....could be a simple loose contact or complete breackage of the CRT, or something inbetween those
 There IS game sound, so the PCB is working (important !). If the monitor IS dead, a simple 51 cm TV will do the trick again (see my Galaxian thread). SCART rocks !

[ChadTower]

That doesn't indicate that the PCB is 100% working.  If there's no video the video circuit could be shot in any of a number of ways.  It's a good sign, yes, but there could easily be work still needing to be done.

[Level42]

Yes, very true...I'll just have to see when I pick it up.

Did you guys notice anything about the bezel ?

So far, all bezel's I've seen have green insects on the top and a blue/geen mushroom on the bottom....

Here both are red !

[FrizzleFried]

Take a look at your marquee too...is that a reflection or is it much more PINK thank it should be?

Here is a marquee from KLOV:

[Level42]

Yeah I just noticed that as well......but what is right ? It could be discolored over time as well of course....
Miscolorings are the biggest problems with repro art afaik.

If you check out the Mario Bros side (http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art/search.php?show_result=1&page=4), I can see color differences with those on my cab. F.I. the turtle on the lower left is really very (dark) blue on my cab. I expect that my side art is original Nintendo, but not 100% sure of course.....anyway, these color difference are there.

However, blue/red is a different thing....I found one picture on the net with the same colors as this one...maybe it was for the European version only (this one was built in Ireland).

Another detail: there are Atari  coin-inserts with F1,- (1 guilder) on them This one has spent it's life in the Low Lands from the beginning I guess....

[FrizzleFried]

The greener version is the correct version for here in the states...I can confirm that.

[Level42]

Makes it all the more interesting ! I do think this cab is original apart from the buttons. (The coin door looks to be without paint, which is a bit weird).  We'll see it when I get it....

[FrizzleFried]

I just noticed your side art also has the pink color around the edges,  while the US versions seem to all have yellow around the edges.   I bet it's country specific or something.

[Level42]

Yep, KLOV already mentions pink and yellow. But I've read there's blue too....

[arcadefever]

NO WAY 

ANOTHER ONE ??  you just got the "arcade fever" my friend 

this one look great , nice artwork 

congratulation ......

[Level42]

Thanks, you could say that again ! I feel very lucky. I first didn't want to get this, because I bought the other two so recently. Then I thought it was a very rare chance and the fact that it was in such nice condition....

I will stop now, plenty of restoring to do on this one and the Mario Bros......and the Galaxian still...

FrizzelFried, check out this:
http://www.ggdb.com/GameByName.aspx?vid=503

Here you see both the bezel and the marquee in "my" colors.

[Loki]

Ah! I've seen this one at Marktplaats ^^
Looks great, congrats

[Level42]

Ah! I've seen this one at Marktplaats ^^
Looks great, congrats

SSsssssssssssssssst !

[spidermonkey]

Get a glowing red button for fire.  No point in not upgrading a little while you're in there.

Haha, naaaaaah, if you've read my other threads....you know I'll go for 100% original.....(as much as possible )

I've always been a stickler for keeping  classic cabs original but for some reason I've always liked the idea of a Centipede with a lighted translucent red leaf switch fire button and a lighted translucent red trackball. I always thought that Atari should have gone that route.

[Level42]

I don't think there were any translucent trackballs and firebuttons in those days ?

Yeah it sounds kinda cool...we'll see. First I have to get the Atari Cones and buttons....

[Level42]

OK guys, I just brought the Centipede home. No game sounds as promised by the seller however.....

Can it be that I hear a RELAY switching when powering it up/down (!?!?!)

There were no keys (hey, what's new), so I drilled out the back lock. Nice, on the inside of the back a big sheet full of instructions etc. Also, the original plastic bag with ALL the documents, incl. G07.

The G07 is still there.....no picture though....

I wanted to check the main fuse....it's ok, but I can't seem to get it back in !!!! Must be something holding it down (It's a screw in type fuse-holder) but it won't stay down ! Just removed the power supply to be able to work on it better....

The guy who installed the new buttons apparantly did some trick to get credits using the player 2 button....bad wiring !
There are completely no coin mechs !

[Level42]

Some quick pics...

[Level42]

More...

1st: Dutch License....1989 !

3rd: silver coin door ?

[Level42]

More..


1st.....the trackball feels completely worn out....

2nd: Both sides side-art in excellent condition.....this is uncleaned !!

[Level42]

More...

1st: Very nice, completely intact instruction sheet on inside !

2nd: This one has been in a barn for some time....lots of REAL insects/spiders !!

3rd: G07, no neck-glow.....

[Level42]

More...

1st: Original docs, all there !

2nd: PCB......LED works.....nothing else.....no test-mode....nothing   !!

[Level42]

Today I made a quick (temporary) SCART connector for the Centipede and connected it to a small TV. The screen is total garbage, full of chracters from the game. The spider is there, parts of the centipede, I can see a couple of shooters...when the game is first started after been off for some time there's a lot of noise coming from the speaker that doesn't make any sense. then it quickly dies out.

I was lucky that the Atari engineers included a combined sync even though the G07 uses seperate H- and V-sync signals....made it easier to connect to the SCART on the TV.

The picture is weird though, black and white, seems inverted. Does Centipede use inverted singals like Donkey Kong ?

So it seems the board simply doesn't run. Any way to check clock signals coming from the crysta with a DMM ?

I cleaned all corroded pins on all IC's.(some seem totaly clean, others are corroded...strange). Also cleaned the PCB edge contacts. Removed all IC's that were socketed and put them back in.
Checked all the voltages (man, how many are there !) and all are present and OK.

Any help much appreceated !

[Level42]

No-one ?

I've got an old Atari 800XL here with all chips socketed. I think I could try the 6502 and Pokey of it in the Centipede PCB. Centipede uses a 6502A on 2Mhz afaik. The Atari runs at 1,79 Mhz but I'm not sure if it's a 6502 or 6502A.

I've been thinking about the glowing red button suggestion and illuminated track-ball. I think I may end up putting a GGG Ice button and Ice trackball. This way, it looks pretty original when unlit, but very special when lit   Best of both worlds. I will use a leaf on the end of the ICE button though, NO microswitch, can I still light it up OK with the leaf ?

Two pictures: What a mess under the bezel !  I cleaned the monitor and I am 100% sure this was the very first time in it's life !

This sticker was put on the bottom of the bezel.....
Translation:

AMUSEMENTGAME

Only for amusement and time-passing (don't think this is a good Dutch word). If you get a certain combination you can play on for free several times.

MONEY, PREMIUMS OR GOODS ARE NOT DELIVERED

only for persons above 16 years


Especialy that last line made me laugh.....

[Loki]

Alleen voor boven de 16 

[Level42]

Alleen voor boven de 16 

yeah....I think it's due to the extreme violence of shooting that poor centipede and spiders and scorpions 

[Buddabing]

Arcadeshop has a lot of stuff for Centipede, including the monitor bezel, CPO, etc. I don' t know if they can ship it to you, though.

You might check for bulging electrolytic capacitors on your PCB. Some of those go bad after a while. Try looking at the schematics to see what parts of the board control sound, and concentrate on those areas.

Also, you might want to consider changing the power supply for a modern switching power supply. Old power supplies can be flaky and there might be more hacks in the supply than what you have discovered already. It's also possible that your monitor isn't getting power, but the monitor might also just be dead.

Try consulting with Ken Layton regarding other repair hints.

[RayB]

His voltages are all good. Why would you recommend installing a switcher?

For durability, a Bob Roberts rebuild kit on the AR-II and a new Big Blue will keep it running for many more years. (Plus the "Sense" mod that some recommend).

[Buddabing]

His voltages are all good. Why would you recommend installing a switcher?

For durability, a Bob Roberts rebuild kit on the AR-II and a new Big Blue will keep it running for many more years. (Plus the "Sense" mod that some recommend).

My sound was scratchy with pops when first powered up before I swapped the PS on my Galaga with a switcher. Plus, L42 mentioned problems with his power supply.

[Level42]

A switching power supply is not a real option on the Centipede cab. You won't believe all the exotic voltages that are coming from the ARII:

To coindoor:
6.3VAC
10.6VAC

To PCB:
+5VDC
- 5VDC
+22VDC
-22VDC

From Mains supply to AR2:
36VAC
10,6VDC

And indeed, I measured all voltages  on the PCB and they are fine.

I will probably only need to replace the CPO, all the other artwork is still great

[Luigi]

Hi Level42.


Congratulations....a really nice cab and also one of my favorites


If you need buttons and cones...I have some (the cones are repros made of black anodized alu, I have some low cones and high cones left).

You are from Netherlands if I do remember right, so shipping from Germany would not be expensive.....wait a moment.....2,50€ in a padded envelope.


You can take a look here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=57445.0;attach=64437;image
The rough one is the original cone. As another guy mentioned you can kick them around in the car park to make them more rough...consider yourself



Tell me if you need some. Price is 3€ for one cone and 6€ for a used lit switch or 10€ for a new one.

[Level42]

Hi Luigi,

Ja du hast recht, ich bin Niederlander !

Thanks that's fantastic ! Yes I definitly need two cones and switches to replace the horrid fruitmachine buttons that are there now.

From the pictures I've seen of most Centipedes I think the high smooth cones were used on it ?

I guess  the used switches are fine, they don't get that much action....

Yes I order 2 high cones with 2 used switches. Do you accept PayPal ? Else I can do a international banktransder if you provide me your BIC and IBAN info.

So that would be €20,50 total ....

Vielen Dank !

[fredster]

Level42,

You have a ram problem with that board.  There are several chips on it.  Ask Bob Roberts for a complete set of Ram.  There are 2 2114's and 5 other ones (I forget).

Replace them all.  You might want to ask for another CPU to be sure.

You are looking at maybe $20 for all that.

You don't need to add a switcher.

I have a board that works and I have a set of those cones.