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Having second thoughts on Ms. Pacman cab -- need input
Diet_Pepsi:
So I acquired a ms. pacman cab a couple of days ago. It's pretty beat-up, and the monitor has moderate to severe burn -- so much so that it is noticeable on the blue maze level.
I bought this thinking that I would gut it and convert to a mame machine, but...
- Everything seems to work well (with the exception of the right hand coin mech)
- The joystick is pretty good. Has a little play at center, but, other than that, functions well. Guessing the grommet could use replacing, but thats a pretty inexpensive part, right?
- The innards were a lot cleaner than expected
- I had forgotten how nice it is to play a ms pacman cabinet with original hardware...
So now I am thinking about keeping the original board in some fashion. Some things that have been crossing my mind:
-rip out the original wiring, re-wire the cab to JAMMA and buy a ms pac to JAMMA converter (so that I can switch between the original PCB and a Jpac)
-leaving the original as-is and getting a Mike Doyle 96 in 1 or an ABC board
-perhaps doing both of the above (convert to Jamma and upgrade the original board)
Am I nuts for taking this on and trying to save the original hardware? I'm attaching some pics so that you guys can take a look...
This is going to stay in my garage so I am not too concerned about the external cosmetics (except for the CP overlay, which I will replace regardless).
kahlid74:
Typically it's looked down upon to get a cabinet that still works and Mame it (especially a classic). So no, you're not crazy for it. If you can save it/refinish it, there are people who would want it. So the idea is to buy a cabinet shell of a game that is broken and gut it/mame it.
If I were in your place, I would attempt to save the game and refinish it. I would then sell it and buy a shell of a cab to MAME out.
Generic Eric:
The lack of other answers should suggest that Khalid's answer is *the* answer.
Fear not. You can have the cake, eat the cake, restore the cake and then sell it for profit. Here is what I mean.
Step one: trace the cabinet, build a replica.
Step two: get your ms pac fix on the unit you purchased.
Step three: fix that old girl up. Get intimate with the joystick. Buy a new one and replace it.
Step four: if you are inclined to learn how to, work on the tube. Do what you can. Swap in a new one. Maybe you want a lcd in your replica.
Step five: work on side art. Start on your replica with your stencils. Hopefully they can be reused. Consider stenciling the old gal.
Step six: by now you have a spot on replica and a fully restored original. If you don't decide to flip the old gal for profit, you have an original game and a replica you use for vertically orientated 4 way joystick games in mame.
If you are into this, you literally can't lose!
Diet_Pepsi:
Thanks guys. Gonna keep it as a dedicated ms pac. Ordered a new cp overlay and a 96 in 1 mike Doyle kit. Also bought a second original joystick to use while I tinker with the one that came with the cab.
Now all I have to do is convince the wife to let me buy a project cab for Mame...
yotsuya:
Kudos to you, bro! :cheers:
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