To Buy or Not To Buy

[FrizzleFried]

$100.00

She says it works...

I'd only be interested in it to MAME it... which may or may not upset the arcade gods.  The fact of the matter is that Pole Positions are destroyed all the time...people can't give them away...EXCEPT in places like where I live...small market areas.  So I don't come across broken Pole Positions all the time....and I want one for a MAME driver.  Unfortunately, this cab is working.  As such,  karma dictates that I don't MAME it...

CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.

[Mauzy]

Thats tough. What about taking out the working boards and keeping them for a day in the future when you find a better deal or just don't want the drivingMAME? You take out the computer and encoders or whatever youre using, and put the pole position stuff back in, making it a complete, sell-able game rather than a shell.

If anything else, just say to hell with it and sell the guts. Leave the side art intact and I dont think anyone will care that you mamed a working game considering what it is. It not like its a Defender or a Pong or something people care about.

[Witchboard]

Chances are if it did work when stored, it may not now.  Pole Positions are infamous for a leaking battery causing a lot of acid damage.  It's a little difficult to get a pole position working correctly once it's started flaking out.

[CheffoJeffo]

Be sure to GoogleMaps the address before you leave to pick it up ...

 

[shardian]

Play it until it dies. That shouldn't take too long. 

[Ginsu Victim]

Pole Position didn't age well (both the game itself and the hardware problems). I mean, I know we're supposed to try to preserve classic games, especially those with hardware failure issues, but that's also the purpose of MAME.

So.....

Just MAME that sucker. Have fun playing Outrun!

[CheffoJeffo]

Pole Position didn't age well (both the game itself and the hardware problems).

I'll disagree about the game -- it's still great fun and I love games with 360 wheels.

As for the hardware, there was somebody working on a repro boardset a while back ... can't find the link right now and haven't heard anything since, but somebody was working on it.

Frizz -- consider this a reminder from the arcade gods:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=80548.0

 

[Ginsu Victim]

I guess my reason for saying the game hasn't aged well is because of the fact I haven't got to play on real hardware in a very long time! Emulated versions and ports aren't near as fun, so they've tarnished my enjoyment of it.

[shardian]

Pole Position is a very fun racing game. It had great atmosphere, and great sound. For  a weekend at the mall when I was a kid, there was a Pole Position set up for Free play in the food court. I played the HELL out of that thing all weekend. I would love to have a fully functional Pole position.

Having said that, all I ever see are dead and gutted Pole Positions for sale online.

[whammoed]

I'll buy the working boardset if you decide to mame it. 

The op that I bought my PP from had about 5 dead ones lined up.  I doubt converting it will upset too many people.

[RetroACTIVE]

I know little to nothing about pole position (technical issues)....

It seems to be a well known fact that they are notorious for failures...

Does anyone know what the failures are... are they a because of thermal or component issues?  If so would it be less likely a unit would fail in a home environment where it has periodical use?  Or are there things that can be done to extend the life of them in general?

Don't mean to side track... but I thought it may be useful to de-mystify the issues with the system before deciding whether or not to convert it....

[FrizzleFried]

Be sure to GoogleMaps the address before you leave to pick it up ...

 

I already did!   

There is a house out there...

[Lutus]

Be sure to GoogleMaps the address before you leave to pick it up ...

 

I already did!  

There is a house out there...

Almost forgot about that little jaunt a while ago   

I am laughing with you, not at you!!!   

[Ummon]

That looks aweful nice. If it were me, and it worked, I'd buy it to play it.

[leapinlew]

I think Pole Position sucks. Mame away.

I successfully hacked that wheel if your looking to do a mouse hack.

[RayB]

She says it works...

That's all the convincing you should need (to not MAME it). I'm seeing inverse-logic in this thread. People are saying it's OK to MAME because ops have lots of dead ones and can't sell them off? What kind of logic is that?

Fact: Pole Position has hardware issues making them very hard to repair. THAT is why it's hard to sell BROKEN ones.

But this one that FF is looking at is claimed to be working. Why the hell MAME a WORKING one when there are dozens of empy dead ones around

[Witchboard]

There may not be any empty or dead ones around his location.  Considering that, if the board actually does work, he can sell it off to a collector with a board that has corrosion and doesn't work, thus bringing another Pole Position to life.  What does it matter which one gets MAME'd as long as another one is saved?  It's like an organ donor.  Somebody else's Pole Position may need a new heart.

[Ummon]

There may not be any empty or dead ones around his location.  Considering that, if the board actually does work, he can sell it off to a collector with a board that has corrosion and doesn't work, thus bringing another Pole Position to life.  What does it matter which one gets MAME'd as long as another one is saved?  It's like an organ donor.  Somebody else's Pole Position may need a new heart.

Not quite. This cab appears in great condition, besides (potentially) working. If he really wants one, a dead and decrepit one may surface.

[Witchboard]

This cab appears in great condition...

Ya think that might be why he wants it?  He's making a dedicated driving cabinet, so modifications should be minimal if any.

If he really wants one, a dead and decrepit one may surface.

Hey, we want you to wait for a POS cabinet that will cost you a lot of your time and more money to restore, if one shows up at all.  At least this one will still be safe in her garage with the battery eating away at the board. 

As previously stated, who knows if it still works.  If it does, great!  Pull the boards, cut off the battery and sell it to one of many people who are ripping their hair out either trying to repair an acid damaged board, or looking for a working one for their dedicated machines.  The longer it stays in her garage, the more probability that it's not going to be working.

If you buy it and it works, if it makes you feel better, try and sell it.  You have more contacts and know where to list this in your local area for maximum exposure.  If nobody is interested, then you know it would still be sitting in her garage rotting away.

[Ummon]

Hey, we want you to wait for a POS cabinet that will cost you a lot of your time and more money to restore, if one shows up at all.  At least this one will still be safe in her garage with the battery eating away at the board. 

Maybe I wait for neither. However, if I didn't buy it, I would tell her about the battery. Or, if I'd gone and looked at it, removed the battery.

[quanlee]

My two cents... for me it's a lot easier to use mame. I could have a machine like that running mame in no time. Fixing pcb's, power supplies, and monitors is very time consuming. In the end, if you only restore the original, you have one game. I have a stargate that was acting up, I nearly mamed it. The only thing that saved it was a guy that offered to trouble shoot and fix it for me. It's great that it's just like the original, but I don't have all the other games I could have played on that machine, like Joust, Robotron, and any other horizontal type game.

I say mame it...

[RetroACTIVE]

FF.... Did you end up getting this machine?