Galaxian/Classics Project

[jfunk]

I just acquired a Galaxian project cabinet!  I've been wanting to do a 'Classics' cabinet, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Here are some pics:






The cabinet was originally a Galaxian, but the owner prior to the one I bought it from 'converted' it to a Galaga.  Apparently, this consisted of painting the front and t-molding black and adding a Galaga PCB and marquee.  The guy I bought it from was going to 'fix it up', but the Galaga PCB got scrambled during a lightning strike so he gave up.  He sold me everything but the marquee and the control panel! 

Here's my current plan, in broad terms:

1) 'Restore' it to look like a Galaxian
2) Custom 'classics' control panel
3) Add an old PC running vantage for games
4) Interface with currently installed 19" monitor

It'll be a lot of work, but I'm looking forward to it.  It'll be a lot different than building one from scratch.

Unfortunately, the whole thing is 4 hours away from me.  The guy selling it lived near my parents, so I had them pick it up and store it for me until I can go get it.  So, there's plenty of time for planning and preparation!

So, based on the pictures, what looks usable and what should be scrapped?  The side art is VERY faded, but, since I haven't seen it in person, I don't know HOW faded.  I'm planning on selling the Galaga board pretty cheap.  My neighbor sells Galaga replacement chips, so I'm going to see if he wants it.

Just looking for thoughts and input!  If anyone has any suggestions for interfacing DOS and an old computer with the 19" monitor, I'm all ears!

I'm hoping to start a blog of my progress at a new location HomeArcade.US..  But I need to find time to get it set up 

THANX!

[jfunk]

Ah, a couple more pics:




The bottom front corners are pretty munged.  I'm hoping nostrebor's 'water damage repair' tutorial will help.  If nothing else, corner protectors will look nice    I think I should have enough of the green t-molding from my MAME cab (INVADER) to redo all the painted t-molding.



The coin door will need some work, but at least I don't have to buy one!

I've been thinking about names.  I'll PROBABLY just leave it as 'Galaxian' and get a repro marquee made..  But maybe use the Galaxian theme and call it

Classixian

(Classics -ian..?  Lame, probably).

Anyways, more as it develops.

Thanx. 

[Hiub1]

I would highly reccomend you do the water damage repair to the cab. It will give you peace of mind that everything is stable again, and it really is not as hard as it looks. Sounds like you have your work cut out for you! Do you know if Vantage supports arcade native resolutions? What are your ideas for the control panel?

[jfunk]

I would highly reccomend you do the water damage repair to the cab. It will give you peace of mind that everything is stable again, and it really is not as hard as it looks. Sounds like you have your work cut out for you! Do you know if Vantage supports arcade native resolutions? What are your ideas for the control panel?

Like I said, I haven't SEEN the cab yet, so I'm unsure if the entire repair will be necessary.  From what my dad has said, it appears just the corners are banged up, but it's structurally sound.  I'm taking his word for it because he's a Mechanical Engineer    But I'm reserving final judgement until I can inspect it.  Hopefully, it's just some patchwork, as my woodworking skills are sub-par at best    Have you figured out your 'wood size' issue, yet?

Vantage does support arcade monitor output.  Which is another great reason to use it.  That, along with ArcadeOS or the like (which also supports direct monitor output) is why I'm going DOS (well, that and I have some crappy old PCs lying around..).  The ONLY (from what I can tell) issue is making sure the stuff that displays PRIOR to these loading doesn't fry the monitor.  I've heard of people using relays and such to turn the monitor on after a certain time period, but haven't researched it much.

Definitely on my long todo list 

Thanx!

[Hiub1]

Hm, Vantage sounds very nice at the moment. I am looking to do somewhat of a classics cab with that R-Type as well, so let me know how you go about doing your config and stuff.

As for the monitor, I have been experimenting with mine for the past 3 days, and it has showed no signs of trouble sometimes after screwing up and switching back to a 31kHz resolution while it's still plugged in. It won't sync, but it doesn't seem like anything horrible. I still try not to do it when I can, but it does not seem to be hurting the monitor in any way. You could set up some sort of timer that as soon as it gets power, it will wait say 10 sec and then give the monitor juice, once the FE boots up. I am sure there are plenty of ways to go about doing this, so it's another topic to research.

The wood thickness issue is not really bothering me at the moment, I think I will be able to get away with just finding some sort of plywood sheet that makes up that difference. I had a busy weekend and the weather didn't help, so I will resume hopefully this friday.

[IG-88]

....so let me know how you go about doing your config and stuff.

Yes yes, I'm "all ears" when it comes to this topic. I'll be following this real close. Try to document as much as you can!

[SirPeale]

You may want to see this:

http://www.pealefamily.net/tech/newmame/index.php?cat=7

Or you may not.  Whatever. 

[jfunk]

You may want to see this:

http://www.pealefamily.net/tech/newmame/index.php?cat=7

Or you may not.  Whatever. 

Very nice, Peale!  I'm pretty sure I'll leave mine white.  But may strip/redo the sideart.

Based on what I read on your site, you're saying that with the normal Ultimarc video amp, the monitor takes no damage when it's being sent the wrong frequencies??

I was looking into the circut I found here, but may not if this is the case..  What monitor is in yours?

Some pics of my monitor can be found here..  The only wording I see is "Pro Max".. Is that the brand?

The inside of it looks pretty filthy..  Maybe all Galaxian/Pac cabs come like that standard? 



THANX!

[motorfish]

A classics cabinet would be awesome. Galaxian wasn't as good as Galaga anyways. ^_^

[SirPeale]

Very nice, Peale!  I'm pretty sure I'll leave mine white.  But may strip/redo the sideart.

I had wanted to redo the sideart, but it would have cost way too much, and my budget was nearly zero.  So I did what I could with what I had.

Based on what I read on your site, you're saying that with the normal Ultimarc video amp, the monitor takes no damage when it's being sent the wrong frequencies??

I was looking into the circut I found here, but may not if this is the case..  What monitor is in yours?

It's a weird no-name, a Chung-Hwa (or something similar).  Yeah, the worst thing that happens is that there's a double image for a moment, before the 15KHz drivers kick in.

Some pics of my monitor can be found here..  The only wording I see is "Pro Max".. Is that the brand?

No clue.

Edit: I take it back.  Looks like a G07?  I see G07 on the flyback cage, but it's...heh...too clean. 

The inside of it looks pretty filthy..  Maybe all Galaxian/Pac cabs come like that standard? 

Only when sitting in filth for a number of years. 

[jfunk]

Would be nice if it were a G07.. 

Apparently has some burn-in, but I'm not too worried..  Just need to be patient until it gets here. 

I've now downloaded most of the stuff I need to get VAntage working..  Just need to pull out an old PC..   (And hide it from my wife..    Since we're trying to sell our house, can't have 'junk' out during showings..)

THANX!

[SirPeale]

I used VAntAGE at first, but it just wasn't *right*.  So I switched to Mame.  Didn't even require that great of hardware.

[jfunk]

What wasn't right?  VAntage plays MORE than enough games for my purpose, here.  Was it just the 'P1 + P2' to exit thing that I read on your site?  Anything else?

The PC I'm thinking of using is a Pentium Pro 200..  Should be plenty.

Thanx!

[Raven..]

Yeah, looks like a G07 with an aftermarket replacement chassis (probably from somewhere like 8-liners.com)

[SirPeale]

What wasn't right?  VAntage plays MORE than enough games for my purpose, here.  Was it just the 'P1 + P2' to exit thing that I read on your site?  Anything else?

It's just really inaccurate.  That's why I upgraded and switched to Mame, it's not 100% accurate, but far more than VAntAGE.

[Raven..]

Here's the CP from my converted Galaxian, and one of my overall machine with it's WIP marquee (ahhhh......buttery smooth wood cabinet with real wood trim  ).

[Kevin Mullins]

Just a note.... that IS a replacement monitor chassis like EyeDoc said. (for the GO7 tube)
I had an unidentified "Pro Max" chassis once and then came across an "Eygo" chassis that was built nearly exactly the same. The Eygo had Wei-ya printed on the curcuit board.
Still not sure where the relationship comes in between the two companies but you can probably match yours to one of these -

http://www.weiya.com.tw/products_detail.asp?le=english&fid=97&pid=106&top_fid=86

or

http://www.weiya.com.tw/products_detail.asp?le=english&fid=97&pid=107&top_fid=86

[jfunk]

Well, I think I've decided not to use VAntage, either.  I got it installed and running last night (played a nice game of Donkey Kong with my monitor set vertically)..  However, reading through the VAntage docs, it doesn't seem to like S3 chipsets..  Since mine is a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000, I'm outta luck.  And I don't recall ever owning any of the cards on the list of working cards...  So no scavenged parts..

Besides, Peale says it's inaccurate.  A little inaccuracy doesn't bother me, much..  But if it becomes noticeable..  I'd rather just not have to worry about it.

So, next, I'm trying AdvanceMAME.  .37b16 to be exact.  Anyone have any comments about the usability of this?  Hopefully can try it out for speed later tonight.  Decided to go with a Pentium MMX I have available to me.   Not the PPro..  Mostly because the PPro is in a full tower case and I don't want to take the time to put it in something smaller    Heh.  Impatience.. 

Peale & EyeDoc..  You guys are SERIOUSLY making me consider stripping it to the wood.  Looks NICE!  Maybe with a nice stain, I could get it in the living room..  Hrm...    More thought needs to be put into that..

EyeDoc, thanx for the CP dimensions..  Working on getting something made.  MAY just have to go wood, though..  We'll see..  Here's hoping!

Kevin, thanx for the info.  As soon as I get the game in-hand, I'll know more..  The links will be very useful.

The scariest thing to me, at this point, is the monitor..  REALLY wish it was easier than this.  AdvanceMAME and AdvanceMenu should do what I need them to as far as outputting 15Khz with my S3 card..  Hacking a VGA cable should be no big..  I guess I'll have to wait to get everything to see if I'll need a 'protection' circuit or a video amp..  *sigh*  Wish my electronics skills were up with my computer skills 

Thanx, all!!

[Hiub1]

Have you thought about jammatizing the thing? You know, if you are going to take the time to restore it, and I doubt you'll have a massive CP that needs more than the inputs that Jamma can offer, why not just go that route? If you get an JPAC it will save you the trouble of the protection circuit or the amp if it is needed, plus you will be able to throw any regular game at it and it should run just fine. Hacking up the VGA cable is no sweat, just make sure that you know what your monitor wants with respect to the H and V syncs, so that you don't have to go scrambling for it when you are soldering like I did! Other than that, it really is straightforward.

I have managed to bypass my need for an ArcadeVGA just using powerstrip and Windows XP, granted i do have a more powerful machine than you do, but if needed I can write something up for those of you wishing to go this route. I have it booting in 15 kHz right into windows, and all the 224 line resolutions look great.

Hurry up and finish! I want to see how its going to come out!

[SirPeale]

I think you're going to have to find another video card.  IIRC any S3 card won't do 15KHz.

As for the art, yeah, stripping and staining will get it in the house (mine is actually in the dining room right now, if you can believe that!) but Galaxian art is teh b0mb.  Save it if you can, but if you can't, I won't fault you.

[Raven..]

I think you're going to have to find another video card.  IIRC any S3 card won't do 15KHz.

Sure they will.  I've built a couple with S3 cards.

[jfunk]

Let me just say that I'm REALLY disliking AdvanceMAME..  On my INVADER cab, I installed MAME, MAMEWAH, Zinc, Daphne, etc, etc and got XP totally hidden without any trouble..  Yet, trying to get AdvanceMAME running, JUST ON MY VGA MONITOR (for now), is proving WAY too difficult.  I probably just need to really read the docs rather than skimming them..  I decided not to use .37b16 because you have to compile it    And I don't even want to mess with that right now..

When I tried .55, i got it working fine horizontally..  But when I rotated the monitor, EVERYTHING is huge.  *sigh*  Can'g figure out why..  And I can't get .65 working at all, currently.  Ugh.  I just need to take a break from it for a while, maybe..

I'm thinking of trying to find some old 3dfx cards I have laying around..  Unfortunately, they're packed up since we're trying to sell our house, and I'll have to go to the storage locker to try to find them.  Ugh.

Speaking of storage..  Ever tried installing DOS with no DOS disks?  Tried FreeDOS and it was a pain..  Didn't want to have to go digging through storage to find my 6.22 disks..  So, scavenged a boot disk online.. Found various useful DOS utilities..  Found sound and CD drivers for DOS online..  Unfortunately, I'm out of CDRs, so have been using floppies..  So I found a great DOS split/unsplit utility to split the MAME install across floppies..  Consumes a lot of time, but.. 

Anyways, just a status update and some gripes..  Wonder if it'll be easier to get everything running when I finally get a 15khz arcade monitor to hook up to..?

Thanx for reading 

[jfunk]

Oh, in other news, I think I AM going to get a J-PAC..  Built in protection and amplification for the video..  Should be nice..

Will probalby go with a Mag-Stik Plus balltop..  I have a balltop around, somewhere, so just need the base..  Not 'authentic', I know..  But convenient..

Have some "Nintendo-style" cone buttons (from a Vs. System, I think..)..  May use those for the Admin buttons..  Then, normal player 1&2 start buttons..  I'm thinking one joystick and 2 buttons..  Just vertical classics..  (Actually, thinking of putting the stick in the middle with 2 buttons on either side..)  Then, exit and pause buttons..  Think I might just force use of the coin door so I don't need coin buttons...

Thoughts?

Thanx!

[Hiub1]

On the last control panel for my cab, I went without any admin buttons whatsoever. I just used the shift function on the IPAC, or in your case, the JPAC and you should be fine. It really makes everything look much nicer and authentic. Anyways, for example:

Pause= P1 Start + B6
Exit= P1 Start + P2 Start
Tab= P1 Start + UP
Coin 1= P1 Start + B1
Coin 2= P1 Start + B2

This method works really well, and all you really need to do is make a nice little instruction card on the bezel or something that explains this and you are good to go! You could even go as far as making your own CPO to match the retro theme of the cab and add the instructions in there somewhere.

[Raven..]

Let me just say that I'm REALLY disliking AdvanceMAME..  On my INVADER cab, I installed MAME, MAMEWAH, Zinc, Daphne, etc, etc and got XP totally hidden without any trouble..  Yet, trying to get AdvanceMAME running, JUST ON MY VGA MONITOR (for now), is proving WAY too difficult.  I probably just need to really read the docs rather than skimming them..  I decided not to use .37b16 because you have to compile it    And I don't even want to mess with that right now..

When I tried .55, i got it working fine horizontally..  But when I rotated the monitor, EVERYTHING is huge.  *sigh*  Can'g figure out why..  And I can't get .65 working at all, currently.  Ugh.  I just need to take a break from it for a while, maybe..

I'm thinking of trying to find some old 3dfx cards I have laying around..  Unfortunately, they're packed up since we're trying to sell our house, and I'll have to go to the storage locker to try to find them.  Ugh.

Speaking of storage..  Ever tried installing DOS with no DOS disks?  Tried FreeDOS and it was a pain..  Didn't want to have to go digging through storage to find my 6.22 disks..  So, scavenged a boot disk online.. Found various useful DOS utilities..  Found sound and CD drivers for DOS online..  Unfortunately, I'm out of CDRs, so have been using floppies..  So I found a great DOS split/unsplit utility to split the MAME install across floppies..  Consumes a lot of time, but.. 

Anyways, just a status update and some gripes..  Wonder if it'll be easier to get everything running when I finally get a 15khz arcade monitor to hook up to..?

Thanx for reading 

I'll shoot you some good stuff later tonight....if I can remember to do it when I have the right computer going.

[jfunk]

I'll shoot you some good stuff later tonight....if I can remember to do it when I have the right computer going.

THANX!

Took a break from it, today, and worked on my MAME cab a bit more..  (See my INVADER thread)..  Will be nice to have that project finished, soon, before getting into this one 

@Hiub1:  I've never been a big fan of shifted buttons..  Seems overly complex.  I figure since I've got the extra buttons, and I'm not mutilating an original control panel (will have to build this one from scratch), i'll be just fine adding a couple of small buttons.    But I'm keeping my options open and will definitely consider that as I build the CP.. 

Thanx!

[jfunk]

Well, I _finally_ got a chance to do some work on my cab!

We're moved into the new house, and the garage is fairly clean, so I've got a workspace!



I've decided to strip the artwork.  It just REALLY wasn't in good enough shape to tr to restore, IMHO.  So, most of my time was spent trying to remove the vinyl.  It wasn't TOO bad..  But it does take some time.

I also gutted the game.  Most of the stuff isn't going back in.  I'm currently undecided on the monitor.  I may just try to use my 21" from my INVADER cab when I swap it's monitor...  More to ponder.

Finally, my website is now up and running.  You can see it here:

JFUNK's Arcade

It'll have more information,  I hope, than the forum.  Plus additional pictures.  Still a work in progress, but...  Let me know what you think!

Thanx!

[jfunk]

Well, I got one side totally stripped, today...  Went PRETTY well.. 

I've got a question, though..  The top of the side I peeled looks like this:



You can see (I hope) the discolored patch.  That whole patch seems to be splitting away from the wood.  The wood there is structurally sound, it's just the facing/laminate part of the plywood that's peeling away.  Any ideas on how to fix that so it won't peel/chip off?

Otherwise, check out my site for a few more pics and such.

THANX!

[Havok]

I had a similar problem with my Space Tactics cab - I didn't strip it to the wood as the sideart was in pretty good shape, but a lot of the edges had similar "peeling" to some degree. I just took a flat head screwdriver, pried the edges open, squirted a crapload of wood glue in there, and clamped it together to dry - wiping off the exess glue before sitting to dry. Now all the edges are super solid, and seem to be totally restored - been about three months now, and no separation.

[jfunk]

I had a similar problem with my Space Tactics cab - I didn't strip it to the wood as the sideart was in pretty good shape, but a lot of the edges had similar "peeling" to some degree. I just took a flat head screwdriver, pried the edges open, squirted a crapload of wood glue in there, and clamped it together to dry - wiping off the exess glue before sitting to dry. Now all the edges are super solid, and seem to be totally restored - been about three months now, and no separation.

THANX!  It makes sense.  I never thought of making it 'worse' to make it better..  I'll be giving that a shot..  Hopefully will have more time this weekend!