Might get 3 free arcade machines!

My father has recently informed me about one of his customers who has 2 arcade machines that he wanted to get rid of and was willing to sell for $250 each (it's surprising the variety of people he knows. Apparently you meet a lot of people as a guy who fixes motors). My father had denied this offer. A few weeks later, the same guy came back (just to stop by and probably mess around on my father's pinball machines in the back of the store, no motors needed fixing) and said that he was willing to give them to him for no charge. Apparently he actually had 3 of them, not 2. My father plans to pick them up this Saturday.

I don't know what games they are, who the guy is, or how old the arcade machines are; so I'm pretty anxious to find out. Could they be Neo Geos, Pac-Man, Street Fighter, that stupid Aerosmith game, who knows! I don't.

I will most definitely try to get the best picture of them that I can. Maybe I can have my father ask whoever it is that is giving him these arcade machines what games they are.

EDIT: After further questioning of my father, the arcade machines are coming from a restaurant that this customer bought and is trying his hand in. None of the arcade machines work (well, 1 turns on, but does nothing). From a restaurant, none work properly: crap. I'll still be getting them, though. I have a feeling that fixing them will be quite an experience. When the machines come, I and my father will diagnose them best we can. The arcade machines have never left the restaurant since they were put in there new, so I have a feeling the only problems are really just dirt, something's loose, or the power supply is broken in some way. If anyone can help with them when I am in possession of them, please do.

I still don't know what games they are, but since they're from a restaurant, they'll probably be Cruis'n USA/World, maybe Outrun, some fighting game, or some other racing/fighting games.

Would it be fair to say that I am reasonably jealous?

If one is SegaSonic the Arcade let me know I'm looking for that.

Cool. You could restore them or, at the risk risk of sounding blasphemous, convert them to a MAME machine. Be prepared to replace power supplies, capacitors, monitors, or even full boards. It could definitely be fun (and maybe expensive) to fix them up and will be a learning experience. I'm sure there are forums that specialize in cabs that will help.

go to byoac.org to read about converting them for a MAME machine...some amazing stuff there.

Have fun!

Since they're coming from a restaurant I'm betting on Area 51, some Street Fighter vs XXXXX, and 1941.

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Originally Posted by Deo

Since they're coming from a restaurant I'm betting on Area 51, some Street Fighter vs XXXXX, and 1941.

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Actually, I'm hoping one is Area 51! I played that at Wall Drug in South Dakota and it's absolute crappiness made me love it. If one is Area 51, that's the one I'd try hardest to fix.

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Originally Posted by JRedmond3

If one is SegaSonic the Arcade let me know I'm looking for that.

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If one is, I may not be able to part with it. From a 2-second Google search, it looks like a lot of awesome. If I can convince my dad into sending some stranger on the internet stuff, I'm pretty damn sure I wouldn't send the entire thing unless you live in North Dakota and are not a child rapist. I might be able to send parts if you have the cab and just need parts.

Remember, this is if one is miraculously a SegaSonic machine, if I'm willing to part with it, and if my parents would allow me to send parts or give it to someone we don't personally know. Chances are... really slim. :?

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Originally Posted by Yoder

Cool. You could restore them or, at the risk risk of sounding blasphemous, convert them to a MAME machine. Be prepared to replace power supplies, capacitors, monitors, or even full boards. It could definitely be fun (and maybe expensive) to fix them up and will be a learning experience. I'm sure there are forums that specialize in cabs that will help.

go to byoac.org to read about converting them for a MAME machine...some amazing stuff there.

Have fun!

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So; power supplies, capacitors, monitors, maybe entire boards. Sounds expensive and time consuming. I hope they are all easy and cheap to fix. What'll probably end up happening is waiting for my oldest, most tech-savvy brother to come home from college for a weekend, have him look at it, order parts, he leaves, wait till he comes back.

Also, converting to MAME might be a possibility, but I already have and arcade machine with MAME on it (Dream Arcade machine), so I probably won't do that.



All will be found out Saturday. Also, I will probably get a free meal from the restaurant on Saturday. If I get nothing out of the arcade machines, at least I'll get a free meal. :)

The BYOAC forums can offer you some great help if you decide to restore them. =)

SCORE! When you get them take lots of pictures. I would have loved to get an arcade or three.

GOT 'EM!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3940513_n.jpg

That's me standing next to them.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...3_416123_n.jpg

The third arcade machine was a Megatouch (Super Megatouch IV) which supposedly works. I haven't turned any of them on yet since they were out in the coldness of ND for an hour. I took closer pictures, but they didn't save for some reason. Both arcade machines are very dirty, inoperable, and have burnt-in screens. Rampage a joystick replaced from the feeling of it and needs to be repainted, and Gauntlet needs some new decals since what was there has entire pieces missing.

I was surprised by the place we got them (me and my dad). From the looks outside, it was a dumpy old restaurant. On the inside, it was still kinda dumpy. But, in the back was a 4-lane bowling alley. Of course, it was cluttered and in no condition to use it, but there were old bowling alley tables, bowling balls, shoes, an old package of bowling shoes soles which I found lying around. I thought it was pretty awesome even though it was actually crap.

Well, so far I haven't looked inside them since we don't have the keys yet. The monitors on Rampage and Gauntlet might need to be replaced and they both need to be cleaned, but they're certainly fixable. I plan to do what I can with them tomorrow.

Those are pretty damn sweet cabs man, i hope you plan to restore them and not MAME them.

And if you don't want them you could always patch them up and sell them (change monitor/clean/little paint work)
You could make a pretty penny.

Man i would love to have that Rampage, but alas I'm an ocean away.

Man that Gauntlet is so burnt in it looks like it's on!

Sweet!!! Glad you were able to get them. :ok:

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

Those are pretty damn sweet cabs man, i hope you plan to restore them and not MAME them.

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and here I was thinking that these would make nice MAME cabs ^ ^'

Actually, you could also aim for a general JAMMA? cab or whatever.

- I really don't know too much about arcade cabs. Those things are freaking rare in Germany because it is illegal for kids and teens to play arcade games and thus there never was a market for these machines.

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Originally Posted by Christuserloeser

Those things are freaking rare in Germany because it is illegal for kids and teens to play arcade games and thus there never was a market for these machines.

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...

What the bloody hell? You're joking, right?

No. It's an archaic law that equals Las Vegas type gambling and arcade gaming.

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Originally Posted by Nunzio

Man that Gauntlet is so burnt in it looks like it's on!

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It's not that burnt in in person. Though, the words "Game Over" are clearly visible.

Gauntlet with three friends is an awesome experience.

Congratulations on your finds NavesRegge, especially under the seemingly random circumstances.

Best of luck to you also in regards to your restoration efforts.

The first two Gauntlet games have always been worthwhile, and I frequently mention them fondly in the same breath alongside the equally-good Golden Axe series.

I fondly recall playing the original Gauntlet back in the day, but haven't seen any in person in quite some time.


The closest that I've come to doing so is playing/seeing a modified Gauntlet II cabinet{which now runs Sunset Riders} at this summer camp that my family and I visit annually.

The player decals are intact, but the Sunset Riders marquee has been sloppily pasted over the Gauntlet II grey brick wall/speakers.

As far as Rampage is concerned, I've never seen one "out in the wild"{ditto for Rampage World Tour}.

The NES port of it has long been one of my favorite games for the system, despite its limitations.

WOW.... Guantlet AND Rampage!! I remember playing Rampage at a pizza shop when I was a kid.. can't remember the name of the place though.

SCORE!!!!

Oh man, Gauntlet and Rampage, two classics! When you clean them up and all, you've got to post some pictures for us!

Nice find again NavesRegge!

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Originally Posted by Baloo

Oh man, Gauntlet and Rampage, two classics! When you clean them up and all, you've got to post some pictures for us!

Nice find again NavesRegge!

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Well, you best have some good patience. I doubt these will be restored and working within this year. Hopefully I can convince my tech savvy brother to try to get them working over the summer. I'd love to have these working, but I don't know enough on how to fix them and never really have the chance to go to my dad's shop and work on them. Hopefully they are relatively easy to fix.

The Megatouch machine works just fine, though. It's dirty as hell inside, so when it warms up outside I'll have to get some canned air and blow out the dirt. The thing's screen is a little jittery at times and the coin-op doesn't work, but otherwise it's fine. I have it in my room so if you desperately want pictures I can take some. It's not the prettiest machine ever. In fact, it's rather dull, but if you want to see what it looks like I'd have no problem getting pictures of it. Here's one that looks very similar to it:

http://www.actionpinball.com/games/mega4/cab1.jpg

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Originally Posted by NavesRegge

[...] I'll have to get some canned air and blow out the dirt.

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Riding a train once, I overheard two men talking in a seat behind me. One exchange stuck with me. One said to the other: "You know how you can tell a junior engineer from the rest?" ... "The can of canned air on his desk."
They then went on to joke about newbies they've worked with who used canned air to "clean" equipment.
anyhow, what I learned was a vacuum is the proper way clean dust. Canned air just moves the dust around and often lodges dust deeper into fine cracks and spaces.

Of course not everyone has a fine nosed vacuum. So canned air is probably better than nothing.

Either way, you got two awesome classic arcade cabinets there. Best of luck in getting them operable. The two of those games together probably claimed more quarters from my neighborhood friends back in the mid 80's than all other arcade games combined. I think next to Sunset Riders and D&D Tower of Doom/Shadow over Mystara; Rampage and Gauntlet are some of the funnest cooperative multiplayer arcade games ever made.

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Originally Posted by Zz Badnusty

Riding a train once, I overheard two men talking in a seat behind me. One exchange stuck with me. One said to the other: "You know how you can tell a junior engineer from the rest?" ... "The can of canned air on his desk."
They then went on to joke about newbies they've worked with who used canned air to "clean" equipment.
anyhow, what I learned was a vacuum is the proper way clean dust. Canned air just moves the dust around and often lodges dust deeper into fine cracks and spaces.

Of course not everyone has a fine nosed vacuum. So canned air is probably better than nothing.

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I wouldn't be blowing straight down or into it. I think the way the Megatouch opens up would allow me to blow from the side without most of it getting deeper in the machine. When using canned air (the few times I've used canned air), I generally try to blow upwards or to the side or any direction that would best keep it from getting deeper in the machine. I don't think I'll be using canned air on the big arcade machines, though. My dad has a shop-vac or two which would probably work for getting most of the dust and dirt out.

Anyway, when I seriously get working on the arcade machines I'll have to try and get a somewhat fine nozzle or something for the shop-vac or maybe just a specialized vacuum for cleaning tech stuff. The cleaner the better.

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Originally Posted by NavesRegge

Anyway, when I seriously get working on the arcade machines I'll have to try and get a somewhat fine nozzle or something for the shop-vac or maybe just a specialized vacuum for cleaning tech stuff. The cleaner the better.

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For sure.

Sounds like you've got a good grasp of how to approach all this. Keep us posted on the progress.
...even if it is 6 years from now before you get 'em playing again. :p

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Originally Posted by JRedmond3

If one is SegaSonic the Arcade let me know I'm looking for that.

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LOL I doubt that arcade ever made it out of Japan.

That Gauntlet cab is SWEET. I can't wait to see these restored, though they don't look like they require as much work as others I've seen. They seem to be in pretty good shape, just dusty.

On the subject of finding 80s arcade cabinets "out in the wild", I found this classic gem accidentally on eBay earlier today{while looking up other Shinobi-related items/games}:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=200564182268

It likely won't get sold, since the buyer has to live in or near Winona, Minnesota in order to pick it up{due to the seller's refusal to ship Shinobi out to anyone}.


If any of you Sega-16ers live in that area, best of luck to you on this inexpensive find!

MN is a bit too far away for me to go and purchase it myself{particularly at the beginning of a new college term}.

P.S.-I love it that the seller lives in Winona{of all places}, because that's the city from which Winona Ryder's parents got her name{and she's always been a favorite actress of mine}.

Awesome machines! Congrats!

And, BTW, your grammar and writing is great! I'm not kidding or being patronizing. It's hard to find a teenager these days who can write well. Heck, even 20 years ago, kids didn't write well. I'm sure you're a bright kid though...

Man, I must be getting old ;-)

you're a lucky son of a bitch. I hope you know that!

I would have killed for Gauntlet to have dropped on my doorstep like that when I was 14.

What a lucky guy you are! Gauntlet and Rampage machines = awesomeness

Honestly, Rampage is one of the funniest multiplayer games around

I was never a big Rampage fan, I'm not sure why, but it's definitely a classic.

I'd kill to have a Gauntlet cabinet. I spent many quarters on that thing in the bowling alley with my friends.

They're in pretty nice shape too. Both of them are truly historic pieces of hardware. Good luck restoring them.

So, it's finally time to let the "cat out of the bag".

About a month after NavesRegge began this thread, I also found a vintage 1980's game by accident. I was visiting this two-level antique shop in Corning, NY{about 20 mins. from me}, and came upon this game:http://arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8920

The seller in the shop had purchased it almost a year prior at a public auction, but had received no serious offers during that time.

He was charging $395.00, which is reasonable if you consider a few aspects:

A: The Cocktail version runs around $700-800 on eBay.
B:More well-known titles{such as Space Invaders, Donkey Kong} typically cost around that{or higher}
C:Neither the seller nor myself normally purchase/actively seek out such games, as I stick to the NES/SNES/Genny.

Here's another page with info on Omega Race, and I'll be posting pictures of myself with my own personal cabinet in the near future.
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=ome...detail&id=1880

My cabinet type is the upright version, the one with the brigher graphics/backlit background.

The machine{as you'll soon see, perhaps in a thread of my own} is beautifully intact, with all buttons/decals/dials/switches in one piece.

The speakers/lights all work as well, and the coin door is rust-free/not jammed{there's some loose wiring with the monitor, but that's it}.

I ended up buying it for even cheaper than he was originally asking{$350 all total, with the complete operator's manual included free of charge}.

I declined mentioning it before now due to my not having enough money to purchase it until this past Wednesday{I used some of my college grant money rebate to finally get it, with quite a bit left over}.

The best offer the man had gotten other than me was 100 dollars, which he wisely ignored{I've seen completely trashed Asteroids cabinets go for that on eBay}.

My apologies to NavesRegge for hijacking his thread, but I feel that this find further proves{as his Rampage and Gauntlet setups did} that these classics are often come across completely by surprise!

As I mentioned, any pictures/further info on Omega Race will likely be posted in a new thread, but perhaps not.

I've got no problem with anyone hi-jacking this thread. I didn't even expect to post in it until some many months from now when I plan to start working on the machines.

Anywho, that is a damn interesting machine, especially the version you sit in. Did you say in your post if it worked or not? Sorry if I missed it.

Also, do post plenty of pictures of it and maybe a video of it in action. Nice find!

To Insector_X_Perts: Thanks for the links, I had no idea such a database even existed.

Cool find, and yea 400 is a pretty good price(edit: nice you got it for even cheaper).

Another nice arcade find, great job X_Perts! Post some pictures for us! I'd love to see the condition of the cabinet.

Yeah, awesome stuff! I'd love to see more arcade activity here! Fun stuff to look, read and share about in the experience. :D

Know what really pisses me off, like 90% of arcade machine sales are pickup only, so unless you live in the state, and have a van on top of that, you're screwed(you'll end up paying far more to get it, then what it would've cost for shipping, had the seller actually offered shipping to beginwith.

My apologies for digging up a nearly-year old thread, but much has changed since my last post!
I recently moved into a new home, which I'm renting-to-own.
Built in the 1920's, it has more than enough basement space to accomodate a personal arcade.
I now own four games: Atari's Video Pinball, the aforementioned Midway's Omega Race, Nintendo's Punch-Out!!{the original that began the series}, and Technos Japan's WWF WrestleFest.
I've got my eye on some other 70s-era games, and eventually will add pinball to the mix.
Naves, how is your Rampage machine doing? Did you obtain any others in the meantime?
I'll leave some links below{to give you all more info on the other three} and now collective photos will be on their way{though I'm still unsure if they'll be in this thread or within my own spin-off}!

Video Pinball:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=10313
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=vid...detail&id=3069

Punch-Out!!:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...p?game_id=9155
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=pun...detail&id=2068

WWF WrestleFest:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=10388
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=wwf...detail&id=3207

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Originally Posted by Insector_X_Perts

My apologies for digging up a nearly-year old thread, but much has changed since my last post!
I recently moved into a new home, which I'm renting-to-own.
Built in the 1920's, it has more than enough basement space to accomodate a personal arcade.
I now own four games: Atari's Video Pinball, the aforementioned Midway's Omega Race, Nintendo's Punch-Out!!{the original that began the series}, and Technos Japan's WWF WrestleFest.
I've got my eye on some other 70s-era games, and eventually will add pinball to the mix.
Naves, how is your Rampage machine doing? Did you obtain any others in the meantime?
I'll leave some links below{to give you all more info on the other three} and now collective photos will be on their way{though I'm still unsure if they'll be in this thread or within my own spin-off}!

Video Pinball:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=10313
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=vid...detail&id=3069

Punch-Out!!:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...p?game_id=9155
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=pun...detail&id=2068

WWF WrestleFest:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=10388
http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=wwf...detail&id=3207

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Aside from the typical Arcade classics(you know Donkey Kong, Pac Man, exc), I have to strongly suggest getting Guantlet Legends/Gauntlet Dark Legacy, It's epic(although It's much newer then the 70s, It's a must have).

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Originally Posted by JRedmond3

If one is SegaSonic the Arcade let me know I'm looking for that.

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I know someone who can sell you a PCB. He lives in japan, however. And the price is very steep - expect to pay over $900.