Project Popeye: Updated 01.27.06: FOR SALE

[lebanull]

I just wanted to take this time to say

[ChadTower]

On the sound amp, is it an enclosed unit or a regular PCB?  When sound is complete but low, you're losing voltage somewhere.  I would suspect dead capacitors or a bad connection on the wiring harness.  Check the speakers, too, they could just be torn or blown.

[lebanull]

Thanks for the reply. I've checked speaker, tested out and harness is okay.

On the sound amp, is it an enclosed unit or a regular PCB?  When sound is complete but low, you're losing voltage somewhere.  I would suspect dead capacitors or a bad connection on the wiring harness.  Check the speakers, too, they could just be torn or blown.

[ChadTower]

Thanks for the reply. I've checked speaker, tested out and harness is okay.

How?

Another potential cause is a bad volume potentiometer.  If that is cracked, you're only going to get a small portion of the voltage flow through it.

[lebanull]

I will rebuild the amp and go from there. Do you know of a replacement monitor that would work?

Thanks!!!!

[ChadTower]

I am not that familiar with the monitors that Nintendo used.

If you are working on the sound amp, there is no need to discharge the monitor.  They are separate.

Why do you want to replace the monitor?  At this point, you're saying the sound amp has a problem, the cab itself is not worth salvaging, and the monitor needs to be replaced.

At this point, you just get a different cab and swap the game PCBs into it since nearly everything worth having on the original isn't worth saving, from the info you are giving.

[lebanull]

Replaceing the monitor was just a thought.

I am not that familiar with the monitors that Nintendo used.

If you are working on the sound amp, there is no need to discharge the monitor.  They are separate.

Why do you want to replace the monitor?  At this point, you're saying the sound amp has a problem, the cab itself is not worth salvaging, and the monitor needs to be replaced.

At this point, you just get a different cab and swap the game PCBs into it since nearly everything worth having on the original isn't worth saving, from the info you are giving.

[ChadTower]

Ah.  If the monitor works, may as well keep it.  Nearly all monitor issues can be repaired without a huge amount of trouble once you have learned enough to do so.  These monitors are simpler than they appear to be.

[lebanull]

...so they seem to be. 
Here are my before shots. With two kids and a job with many hours, I hope this doesn't take too long

Notice the dust on the monitor? 23yrs of arcade dust!!
















What do you guys think about the burn in? Have you seen worse?

[CheffoJeffo]

On the sound amp, is it an enclosed unit or a regular PCB?  When sound is complete but low, you're losing voltage somewhere.  I would suspect dead capacitors or a bad connection on the wiring harness.  Check the speakers, too, they could just be torn or blown.

Sounds right and Bob Roberts used to have Nintendo Audio Board Cap Kits ... I had been intending to order one for my SMB.

Cheers

[CheffoJeffo]

I will rebuild the amp and go from there. Do you know of a replacement monitor that would work?

Quarter Arcade has rebuilt 19" monitors for the early Nintendo cabs, including the Audio Board. I had looked at picking one up for my SMB project, but am going to trying capping the current monitor instead.

http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/4864

Cheers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Is that 3/4" particle board ? Hmmm.

Cheers.

[lebanull]

thanks for the input

On the sound amp, is it an enclosed unit or a regular PCB?  When sound is complete but low, you're losing voltage somewhere.  I would suspect dead capacitors or a bad connection on the wiring harness.  Check the speakers, too, they could just be torn or blown.

Sounds right and Bob Roberts used to have Nintendo Audio Board Cap Kits ... I had been intending to order one for my SMB.

Cheers

[ChadTower]

Unless there is damage you're not showing, that cab is not only savable but in pretty good shape.  Take a look through some other restoration projects around here to see the lengths to which people go to save cabs.  Yours looks like it needs a little filler here and there, a fresh coat of paint and some T molding.  That's an easy restoration.

The inside of the cab is also remarkably clean.  No insects, no rodent nests, no mold or water damage.  I'd say you got a cab in pretty good shape, not a crappy one.

I definitely feel what you're saying about kids and a job, I am in the same boat.  Sometimes the projects just don't seem to move along for weeks at a time.

[Wade]

Yeah, from the photos, that game doesn't look bad at all.  The monitor burn looks minor, if it isn't noticable when the game is running and the picture is good, I would keep it and not replace it.  I have a couple of games with much worse burn.

Wade

[ChadTower]

My Tank II has such bad burn my kids like to play it tracing their fingers on the screen while the game is off.

[lebanull]

Okay, My question about saving this cabinet...How would I fix the corners that have no place for t-molding to rest in? I'm not that handy at wood working, any thoughts? as you can see at the bottom, it's missing a complete pc of wood, that I would need to cut.

Any Ideas as to what kind of wood filler works best on these? Maybe I will try to save this guy? ANd how about a good primer? The paint I would have no problems matching.

Thanks so much!

[ChadTower]

I don't see any places where you have to cut new wood.  The best way to repair that would be Bondo.

I usually use Kilz as a primer, that stuff will prime anything.

[lebanull]

sorry about that, it's the very bottom front(black pc) that's missing. You cant see it.

[lebanull]

Heres a bad corner:

[ChadTower]

Very simple Bondo fix.  Look at any number of other restoration projects here for examples.

[lebanull]

thanks Chad! You might of saved me 50.00. The pints are on me CAn you route the bondo so that tmold will fit?

[ChadTower]

Once it has hardened you can do pretty much what you want with it.

[Sinner]

Once it has hardened you can do pretty much what you want with it.

I've used wood filler on my damaged corners.  In your opinion, will it last?  Should I sand it out and use Bondo??

[ChadTower]

I'm not enough of an expert to answer that, but I can tell you that Bondo is made for the long term.  The long, long term.

[Sinner]

I'm not enough of an expert to answer that, but I can tell you that Bondo is made for the long term.

[lebanull]

Okay. So before I enter the world of bondo, here are my biggest problems:

What would be my best solution here? Remove all that has been cracked before I bondo?




#2
This is the right side bottom, biggest piece that

[ChadTower]

Once the Bondo has dried, you're going to have to route a new groove for T Molding, so don't worry too much about that.  What you're going to do here is basically recreate the missing parts with  Bondo and then route a new groove in there for T molding.

[lebanull]

Thanks for the *quick* reply. Tips for reshaping these pcs?

thanks,

Once the Bondo has dried, you're going to have to route a new groove for T Molding, so don't worry too much about that.  What you're going to do here is basically recreate the missing parts with  Bondo and then route a new groove in there for T molding.

[ChadTower]

I don't have much hands on Bondo experience, sorry.   

[lebanull]

I will hunt for some tips   

I don't have much hands on Bondo experience, sorry.   

[lebanull]

UPDATE:

I had the day off today. So, I decided to restore the controller. All original except, new buttons, t-mold, bolts,instruction card and joystick guard. I think it cleaned up rather nicely.
more to come

[Wade]

I'd say that's about a 5.  But I wouldn't bother changing it unless the burn is noticable when the game is on and the tinted plexi shield is installed.  I have some games with far worse burn, but it isn't noticable when the game is running.

Wade

[ChadTower]

It would be a bigger issue if it was in a cab other than Popeye.

[Wade]

Yeah, that too. I don't mind burn nearly as much if it is for the current game.  It just shows that it is original.

Wade

[TOK]

My Bally cab had really beat up corners and edges. I used rigid carboard to give me a roughly square line, then sanded. You can't see it after paint.

[lebanull]

Tok - thanks for the tip! I'm currently tossing aroung the idea of making this Popeye into a DK,,,,,

[TOK]

I played Popeye, but never cared for it too much for it because I never felt comfortable hitting the perfect diagonals required for the stairs.
The cab is the same, DK parts are pretty cheap and plentiful, so you can convert it back and forth without doing any permanent physical changes to the cab. Not bad!

[ChadTower]

Well, except the side and cp art.

[TOK]

I didn't consider the side art, but when I mentioned the DK parts, I meant he could just buy another panel. I guess since you're stuck with the Popeye side art anyway playing DK on a Popeye control panel wouldn't be so bad.

Better than playing Popeye, at least!