Best Practices :
For me, repairing each machine has been a first-time experience with that game. That makes my work practices pretty general in nature.
- Games you choose to restore should not be beyond your financial means or beyond your personal skillset.
- It is much easier to restore games that are popular which in most cases means that items such as reproduction artwork & controls & and original chips and boards are relatively easy to source.
- Collect as much information about a game as possible. That means get the game manual, all schematics, cab assembly drawings, the ROM files, as many photos as you can find, etc.
- Always take your time. Nothing is so important that you have to make shoddy hurried repairs or tests. That only leads to more problems. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later. The best time to deal with a problem is when you come across it, not 'someday'.
- Never take shortcuts. Sure, doing something correctly might make the job take a lot longer, but it is always worth it in the long run.
- Always use the best materials and parts. Don't go too cheap. Crappy parts make crappy unreliable ugly machines.
- Always clean everything. Do it before anything else and everywhere possible. Nothing is more frustrating than handling dirty parts or having fixed up a machine and having it working but it still looks like a turd. In my book, the cleaning process is the most important.
- Always fix things right. That means using the correct connectors, not just twisting wires together or using marettes. Only install new electronic parts and don't reuse old ones unless there is absolutely no alternative.
- Take a lot of photos before you disassemble anything. The pictures may help a lot when it comes times to put it all back together. Bag groups of screws, bolts, nuts, and washers as you take a machine apart. It will help later if you have all the hardware for the coindoor in one baggy and the monitor hardware in another and the marquee hardware in another and so on.
- Be prepared to put a lot of time into painting and preparing parts for painting. Only use the proper kinds of paint for the job. Always spray your paint, never brush. Nothing looks worse than a brushed or rollered cab or coindoor. The only correct way to paint metal parts is to strip it back to bare metal, prime it, and then spraypaint it.
- Basic wiring skills and the ability to read electrical and electronic schematics is essential. The ability to use a voltmeter and ohmmeter is also critical.
- If you don't know something, ask someone who does.
The Hard Stuff:
Here are the most common questions that people ask me regarding the home arcade hobby:
- How do I restore an arcade machine?
- How do I maintain an arcade machine?
- Where do I buy parts for my game?
- Where do I find information about my game?
- What do I do if I can't find a certain part?
- How do you restore artwork?
- How do you fix a damaged cabinet?
- How do you fix circuit boards?
- How do you fix a monitor?
- Where can I find schematics and drawings and component datasheets for my machine?
- Where can I find the ROM files needed for the chips in my machine?
Some of these questions can be difficult questions to answer, especially considering how many different skill sets an individual might need if he expects to do everything on his own. Some of the questions are related to each other for example restoring a cabinet usually involves repairing damage and artwork.
Gosh knows I have put a lot of time and work into the arcade machines in my collection. Along the way, I've run into a lot of obstacles. If this sort of thing is something that you have no patience for, get out of the hobby now. One thing is certain and that is that the solutions vary widely depending on several factors, the most important of which being the skills and budget of the individual.
1/ How do I restore an arcade machine?
I suggest reading my Galaga and Robotron pages.
2/ How do I maintain an arcade machine?
- Don't leave the back door or panel off of the machine for extended periods of time. Doing so invites contamination from dust, pet hair, and pests. Keep the coin door/s closed for the same reason.
- Set up an annual checkup schedule for each machine you own and stagger the schedules by 1 month. To perform a checkup, just take an hour or two and perform a few simple tasks:
- Put a small brush head on your vacuum cleaner and go over the entire machine, including the top and back. Take the back door off and vacuum everything inside as well. If the interior is very dusty, remove the monitor and marquee and clean the insides of those cabinet areas. Clean the inside of the marquee and bezel. Clean the marquee light bulbs.
- Replace any small lamps that are burnt out.
- Take a damp rag and some "simple green" cleaner and thoroughly clean the entire control panel surface and all of the controls as well.
- Check (and replace if needed) any batteries inside the machine. Don't let batteries get too old or they may leak and cause serious damage to the boards. Don't use cheap batteries either because they'll go dead faster and leak sooner. Cheap batteries are almost garanteed to leak. I like to use batteries with a long shelf life such as Duracell or Energizer. I'ver never seen those brands leak.
- Check all electrical connectors for looseness. It's never a bad idea to reseat them.
- Check the entire length of the power cord, make sure it's healthy and replace it if it is damaged or brittle.
- Don't steal parts from one machine to fix another. Just get another part for the machine that needs one. If you get into this bad habit, you'll soon end up with a machine, or several machines, that do not work. Once a part is missing and the machine can no longer operate, it becomes a lot easier to take more parts from it. Worst case, the machine finally has so many parts missing that it becomes another project that will likely never get done.
- Keep the machine clean and dry. Don't store it in your back yard shed where it'll get damp or wet, too hot or too cold. Use common sense. Don't pile junk up on it. Dust it off once a month. Treat it with respect. One year of storage in a bad location will do more damage than 20 years of general use in your home gameroom.
3/ Where do I buy parts for my game??
Shops:
Forum sites:
4/ Where do I find information about my game?
5/ What do I do if I can't find a certain part?
- There's always one out there somewhere. You can try eBay. Set up a "search" and have it email you if something matching your search parameters is listed. Try posting your needs on the KLOV wanted ads. Join a forum related to the arcade machine hobby and ask the members if they want to sell you the part you're looking for.
- Search for an equivelent substitute made another manufacturer or look for a modern equivelent. For example, maybe you cannot find a certain bipolar PROM chip, but there's a good chance that it was also made by another company under a different part number or that the same chip was used in another game.
- For very rare or custom electronic components, buy another entire circuit board to get the part from if that's what it takes.
- Do some research on the internet to see if someone else has already solved your problem. Chances are very good that a solution already exists.
6/ How do you restore artwork?
I suggest reading my Robotron cabinet restoration pages.
7/ How do you repair a cabinet?
I suggest reading my Robotron cabinet restoration pages.
8/ How do you fix circuit boards? Uh, very carefully?
9/ How do you fix a monitor? Uh, very very carefully?
This is very complicated subject so it might be quite some time before I write anything big about it.
For now, these tips will help get you started:
10/ Where can I find schematics and drawings and component datasheets for my machine?
Bill's Classic Arcade ---- or ---- Home
Page under construction Sept. 15, 2007
