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Post by Emig5m on Feb 8, 2017 0:17:19 GMT -5
I think so....lol. Picked up this nostalgic beauty yesterday, 1980 Atari Centipede Arcade Game:  Was up until 4am last night servicing it (Screen needed adjusting, trackball was barely working and needed to be rebuilt, power supply wasn't bolted down and flopping around freely and a couple loose ground wires, cleaned it inside and out, etc....)  It took so long to fix the trackball because the roller shafts had to be fine sanded and then hand polished since they had some wear (160,000 plays on the play counter, lol) Finally around 3:30 AM I got it all put back together, cleaned up, fired up and running with the monitor looking great once again (image was horizontally collapsed, flyback turned up too high, and out of focus).  All cleaned up with the lights on....  Yea, yea, yea... I forgot to put the infamous plant on it before snapping a pic, no need to remind me, lol. Anyway, it's rare to have all the original docs with these 80's commercial arcade games, but even more rare, the quarters per play stickers where still inside the game and never peeled off or installed on the coin door.....  Oh yea, the orange paper in the middle says something about a four day $50,000 tournament for this game that was being held in Chicago. $50,000 back in 1981 sounds like a lot to get a high score in a arcade game! Interesting piece of gaming history I have here! Ok, here's kind of a strange coincidence about yesterday. I had been trying to email the owner of the game for the past few days who had the ad up for sale and I wasn't getting a response so I figured the game was sold. I was shopping early yesterday morning at the very location I used to play this arcade game as a young child back in the early 80's. For some strange reason I decided to walk through the toy isles and I couldn't believe I find a little mini and playable Centipede arcade game:   So I was like well-I'll-be-damned... If I can't get the real thing, the mini toy one (that actually plays the game) will be pretty neat so I threw it into my shopping cart and started heading to the grocery section. Just moments after throwing the little toy arcade game into my shopping cart, I get a notification on my smartphone which was a reply about the game I was inquiring about telling me it's still available. Coincidence? I'm at the store location I used to play the arcade game as a child while my mom would be grocery shopping and they're selling a toy version 30+ years later (you'd figure these old archaic games would be long forgotten about to be selling a mini toy version of it 37 years after its initial release) and I get a reply from somebody selling the real one... Interesting indeed. The little toy version sitting on the real machine, heh....  Mid-life crisis in full swing, lol...  |
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Post by Cop on Feb 8, 2017 0:44:54 GMT -5
Saw the thread title and didn't even need to see who posted the thread, lol. Looks to be in better shape than the other cabinets when they first arrived...
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 8, 2017 1:11:33 GMT -5
Yea, it's a great survivor for sure. Normally the control panel overlays are worn and peeled off around the trackball on Centipedes. I'm not going to be doing any restoring on this game other than general maintenance and cleaning. The owners, which shocked me when they answered their door at what looked like a million dollar mansion where in their mid to late 70's said it sat in their basement for the past 15 years barely ever used. I didn't expect it to be owned by people so old.
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Post by Cop on Feb 8, 2017 10:49:04 GMT -5
Well, they probably bought it in their midlife crisis as well  The coin stickers have me confused, especially the "one coin = one play" followed by "2 play minimum", what a rip-off! But the one underneath is even weirder "Susan B. Anthony coins" <- WTF are those?? |
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Post by BT on Feb 8, 2017 11:57:05 GMT -5
The cabinets artwork is awesome... pity the game sucks a dead dogs dick! Can you put any other trackball-utilising boards into it? Missile Command and Rampart immediately spring to mind and I'm pretty sure they're both Atari. |
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Post by maniac on Feb 9, 2017 0:06:01 GMT -5
Well, they probably bought it in their midlife crisis as well The coin stickers have me confused, especially the "one coin = one play" followed by "2 play minimum", what a rip-off! But the one underneath is even weirder "Susan B. Anthony coins" <- WTF are those?? Susie B's! I've got a few around the house. They are $1 coins from back in the day, made from '79-'81. edit: Apparently they also made some in 1999 which I didn't know about until posting this picture. They are about the size of a quarter so sometimes they show up inside rolls of quarters I believe. While I wouldn't call them rare coins, they don't show up in circulation too much and during my days in retail a lot of young folks working registers would have no idea what they are and would call a manager over or just plain refuse to take them even though they are still legal tender. From what I understand a lot of older arcade machines would take them and consider them quarters due to their size being so similar.  |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 9, 2017 5:11:01 GMT -5
The cabinets artwork is awesome... pity the game sucks a dead dogs dick! Can you put any other trackball-utilising boards into it? Missile Command and Rampart immediately spring to mind and I'm pretty sure they're both Atari. Missile Command uses a horizontally mounted monitor where as Centipede is vertically mounted so I guess you would have black bars at the top and bottom like a letterboxed movie. I really would like to get a Missile Command. I'm currently keeping an eye out for one as I think Missile Command is fun as hell! But more or less, these are also collectors items as well... I have fond memories of playing Centipede as a kid growing up in the 80s. |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 9, 2017 5:15:54 GMT -5
Well, they probably bought it in their midlife crisis as well The coin stickers have me confused, especially the "one coin = one play" followed by "2 play minimum", what a rip-off! But the one underneath is even weirder "Susan B. Anthony coins" <- WTF are those?? There's different settings on the game board set by dip switches to change the amount of money needed to play. So that's why there's so many different stickers to use depending on how the operator had the game set up. However, this game is currently set on free play so you just tap the one player or two player buttons to start the game without having to put a coin in. I actually should check the coin box to see if anything is in it, heh. |
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Post by Cop on Feb 9, 2017 10:45:09 GMT -5
From what I understand a lot of older arcade machines would take them and consider them quarters due to their size being so similar. Good deal then because according to the sticker a Suzie would get you 3 plays whereas 2 quarters would only get you 1... |
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Post by ForRealTho on Feb 9, 2017 11:33:13 GMT -5
I miss my old MAME cabinet.
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Post by sphinx on Feb 9, 2017 17:36:18 GMT -5
Very cool story and congrats on obtaining such an awesome piece of gaming history. If I followed your path, I'd be putting a Street Fighter 2 cabinet in my home. That's what I used to play when mom took me to the grocery store with her. I'd see friends from school every now and then and we'd have a little mini tournament if there were enough of us.
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 11, 2017 18:20:02 GMT -5
So I have a couple issues to fix. #1) The game is supposed to save the top three high scores and mine isn't. Researching the problem it appears the problem can be caused by- ----A) The old school eearom going bad or not being seated firmly ----b) Too low -30DC voltage that runs the save rom which can be a few parts needing replaced (two 15volt regulators and the 555timer) I checked the -30DCV test point on the game board with a digital multimeter which should test around -27DCV and it is low at only -14DCV so I'm probably going to just order all the parts (the eearom, voltage regulators, and the 555timer) and just shotgun it. #2) Although the monitor looks pretty good I noticed the screen isn't stretching all the way to the top and bottom and can't be stretched out by adjusting the horizontal width coil. Causes- ----A) Monitor circuit board needs a capacitor overhaul. This is cheap, only about $10 for the best quality capacitors replaces everything on the circuit board. ----B) Low B+ voltage. ----C) Bad horizontal width coil (sometimes even the HW coil doesn't give you enough adjustment and you sometimes have the change the values of some capacitors to stretch the image out all the way. I checked the B+ voltage at the test point on the monitors circuit board with the multimeter which should be set at 120DCV and it was WAY low!  ^Not even close to 120DC volts! So I tried adjusting the B+ adjustment pot and turning it up all the way only got me to...  Still not 120volts so it looks like I'm going to have to be ordering a complete rebuild kit for the monitor which really is needed anyway. The monitor is now 36 years old (going by the date on the chassis which says Aug 19th 1981) so it's time anyway. I'm surprised the monitor looks as good as it does, actually. I'm really just missing about a inch and a half of the top and bottom of the usable screen area but otherwise looks pretty good with good black levels and bright picture. The one coin slot light that wasn't working wasn't burned out, it was just a corroded connection that had to be clean so now that's working. For a $1.99 on the Xbox 360 you can enjoy both, Centipede & the sequel Millipede in both their original graphical glory along with the high definition remakes. But oh is the original arcade machines so much more fun and involving! hehe. |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 11, 2017 18:29:37 GMT -5
Very cool story and congrats on obtaining such an awesome piece of gaming history. If I followed your path, I'd be putting a Street Fighter 2 cabinet in my home. That's what I used to play when mom took me to the grocery store with her. I'd see friends from school every now and then and we'd have a little mini tournament if there were enough of us. Street fighter 2 was the shit! I played the hell out of that game in the arcades and used to get adults pissed when I smoked them! If you used to play it back in the day, I would get one if I was you! Playing arcade games on a game console or PC isn't the same experience as standing at and playing the original arcade machine! For me it's about the original arcade experience right down to each games own unique artwork. Yea, they're also kinda like pieces of artwork as much as being a game..... of course, nostalgia plays a part as well.... and some games had unique controls. Like for instance, Centipede uses a trackball. And Paperboy used handlbars. Budweiser Tapper used beer taps. Not easy to replicate the gameplay on a modern console or PC when more unique controls where used.... |
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Post by ForRealTho on Feb 11, 2017 19:09:35 GMT -5
Very cool story and congrats on obtaining such an awesome piece of gaming history. If I followed your path, I'd be putting a Street Fighter 2 cabinet in my home. That's what I used to play when mom took me to the grocery store with her. I'd see friends from school every now and then and we'd have a little mini tournament if there were enough of us. Street fighter 2 was the shit! I played the hell out of that game in the arcades and used to get adults pissed when I smoked them! If you used to play it back in the day, I would get one if I was you! Playing arcade games on a game console or PC isn't the same experience as standing at and playing the original arcade machine! For me it's about the original arcade experience right down to each games own unique artwork. Yea, they're also kinda like pieces of artwork as much as being a game..... of course, nostalgia plays a part as well.... and some games had unique controls. Like for instance, Centipede uses a trackball. And Paperboy used handlbars. Budweiser Tapper used beer taps. Not easy to replicate the gameplay on a modern console or PC when more unique controls where used.... There used to be an arcade in my town with a bunch of Street Fighter 2 machines back when it was all the rage. People would stand in line for hours. When Champion Edition came out I got pretty good with Sagat. |
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Post by maniac on Feb 11, 2017 20:40:48 GMT -5
We had a skating rink called the outer limits that a lot of kids in my neck of the woods always wanted to have their birthday parties at back in the early-mid 90s. Probably had 30-40 arcade machines. My favorite was the 4-player Simpsons game, always wanted to play that when I was there. Mortal Kombat 2 was always really popular as well.
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Post by BT on Feb 12, 2017 2:41:15 GMT -5
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Post by sphinx on Feb 12, 2017 15:43:30 GMT -5
Very cool story and congrats on obtaining such an awesome piece of gaming history. If I followed your path, I'd be putting a Street Fighter 2 cabinet in my home. That's what I used to play when mom took me to the grocery store with her. I'd see friends from school every now and then and we'd have a little mini tournament if there were enough of us. Street fighter 2 was the shit! I played the hell out of that game in the arcades and used to get adults pissed when I smoked them! If you used to play it back in the day, I would get one if I was you! Playing arcade games on a game console or PC isn't the same experience as standing at and playing the original arcade machine! For me it's about the original arcade experience right down to each games own unique artwork. Yea, they're also kinda like pieces of artwork as much as being a game..... of course, nostalgia plays a part as well.... and some games had unique controls. Like for instance, Centipede uses a trackball. And Paperboy used handlbars. Budweiser Tapper used beer taps. Not easy to replicate the gameplay on a modern console or PC when more unique controls where used.... I'd love to have one of the cabinets as soon as I live in a bigger home. Right now the apartment life has some constraints. I'd love to eventually have a pinball machine or two as well as a few cabinets. Lately though I have been thinking about getting a X-Arcade Joystick setup or something similar. Btw, Paperboy was my jam back in the day. Gotta say though, I was never able to play it on arcade, which sucks because that interface with the handlebars sounds awesome. Also, I've not heard of Budweiser Tapper, I'm going to have to look up a video and see that in action! |
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Post by ForRealTho on Feb 12, 2017 16:09:58 GMT -5
MAME has come a long way and you can run other emulators to fill the gaps rather then have a billion cabinets.
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 13, 2017 2:00:53 GMT -5
MAME has come a long way and you can run other emulators to fill the gaps rather then have a billion cabinets. Most of the classics are even on say, Xbox live arcade (I even have Tapper on the Xbox 360). A lot of them even have HD remakes (since the old graphics kinda relied on the CRT distortion for their graphical look and look like crap on a modern displays). But I will say this, if you grew up playing the arcade machines back in the day, there's something so much more enjoyable about standing at and playing the original arcade machine as you did as a kid. I have fond childhood memories of these games and something that MAME can't replicate is the seeing that marquee with its brilliant graphics lit up in front of your face and all the beautiful custom artwork each game cabinet had, the arcade smell of the old cabinets, the fun and joy of working on them, the hunt to find them, etc.etc. BTW, here a video of Tapper... Not sure why it isn't starting at the time I set it to but skip to 2h12m54s |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 13, 2017 2:10:43 GMT -5
Check out Ivanka Trump playing Centipede, lol...   |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 13, 2017 2:40:11 GMT -5
Check out this guys place that the guy from the John's Arcade channel visits.... ^That setting and atmosphere! |
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Post by Cop on Feb 13, 2017 12:17:12 GMT -5
Check out Ivanka Trump playing Centipede, lol... I'd like to put her on one of those pinball machines, The Accused-style... {Spoiler}{Spoiler}  Yey, rape jokes... |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 18, 2017 4:59:03 GMT -5
Have my eyes currently set on this: www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-Missile-Command-/182454264956I actually went and looked at it and played it last night. If I miss out on that one, he'll have another one up and running in about two weeks that needs some power supply work. Missile Command is infectiously addicting as I've been playing the hell out of it on my Android tablet but it plays so much better on the arcade hardware with a more instant input response with easier to use and much more precise controls which makes it so much more enjoyable to play. The guy is pretty cool too, he invited me to their Tuesday night get-togethers as they hit the bar next door and then go hang at his warehouse and play the tons of arcade games him and his friends have stored there. |
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Post by Emig5m on Feb 20, 2017 15:39:10 GMT -5
Have my eyes currently set on this: www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-Missile-Command-/182454264956I actually went and looked at it and played it last night. If I miss out on that one, he'll have another one up and running in about two weeks that needs some power supply work. Missile Command is infectiously addicting as I've been playing the hell out of it on my Android tablet but it plays so much better on the arcade hardware with a more instant input response with easier to use and much more precise controls which makes it so much more enjoyable to play. The guy is pretty cool too, he invited me to their Tuesday night get-togethers as they hit the bar next door and then go hang at his warehouse and play the tons of arcade games him and his friends have stored there. Well I'm bummed. I got outbid bigtime right at the last few seconds. I had a bid of $720.00 with a couple minutes remaining which the previous bid was $620 and it shot up to $910 right at the very end.... And this game you can't compare the 2600 version or the Xbox and even iPad/Android touch screen versions because the gameplay sucks and the controls are horrendous compared to the arcade machine with the giant softball sized track ball dedicated to one hand and three launch buttons dedicated to your other hand kinda like playing first person shooters on a gamepad sucks sweaty fuzzy donkey chestnuts compared to mouse and keyboard. Oh well, I'm sure I'll eventually find one in my price range but right now laid off work I couldn't get into a gotta have it at all costs bid war.  |
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Post by ForRealTho on Feb 20, 2017 15:42:16 GMT -5
Have my eyes currently set on this: www.ebay.com/itm/Atari-Missile-Command-/182454264956I actually went and looked at it and played it last night. If I miss out on that one, he'll have another one up and running in about two weeks that needs some power supply work. Missile Command is infectiously addicting as I've been playing the hell out of it on my Android tablet but it plays so much better on the arcade hardware with a more instant input response with easier to use and much more precise controls which makes it so much more enjoyable to play. The guy is pretty cool too, he invited me to their Tuesday night get-togethers as they hit the bar next door and then go hang at his warehouse and play the tons of arcade games him and his friends have stored there. Well I'm bummed. I got outbid bigtime right at the last few seconds. I had a bid of $720.00 with a couple minutes remaining which the previous bid was $620 and it shot up to $910 right at the very end.... And this game you can't compare the 2600 version or the Xbox and even iPad/Android touch screen versions because the gameplay sucks and the controls are horrendous compared to the arcade machine with the giant softball sized track ball dedicated to one hand and three launch buttons dedicated to your other hand kinda like playing first person shooters on a gamepad sucks sweaty fuzzy donkey chestnuts compared to mouse and keyboard. Oh well, I'm sure I'll eventually find one in my price range but right now laid off work I couldn't get into a gotta have it at all costs bid war. I had that happen to me on Ebay a couple of times which is why I usually only search for things with "click to buy now". Back in like 2003 I got outbid on a really nice car stereo by like $5 or something at the very last second. |
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Post by Emig5m on Mar 2, 2017 20:25:09 GMT -5
Had to do some work to the Centipede - Installed and replaced on the gameboard a new POKEY chip, LM324 audio chip, new 12.096MHz Crystal, both +/-15volt regulators, replaced a broken glass capacitor, replaced two 3904 Bipolar Transistors that had broken legs, and finally a new 555timer:  Now I finally have a fully functional Centipede PCB that the -30v works, saves high scores (wasn't before), sound works perfectly and isn't all low volume and distorted and everything (sound was low and distorting), lol. Next thing I gotta do is put the new edge connectors on once I get the proper pin crimping tool which nobody around here seems to sell because the stock old connectors are fitting real loose. I was lucky enough to find a shop that still has some new old stock original connectors so I'm trying to keep it all original using original parts. The custom Atari POKEY chip was nice to find new old stock as it's not just a general IC that you can buy anywhere. Amazing a chip with a stamp date of 1979 is still available out there brand new, lol. I should probably order another one for a backup while they're still available brand new because they don't make them anymore. The rest of the parts like the voltage regulators, transistors, 555timers, etc. are common parts used among other general electronics and will probably be made new forever. Mouser had over 10,000+ of the LM324 audio chips in stock with more to be manufactured on demand. And that's only counting the Texas Instruments brand as that chip is made by countless other companies (it's a general use OP Amp). Recapped and rebuilt the monitor with the highest quality Nichicon capacitors, new flyback, and new horizontal width coil plus I did the sync mod for use with newer games (negative sync games) since it's easy to do and doesn't hurt:  Now all I have to do is either replace the LED lights in the start buttons or get totally new buttons with working lights and my Centipede will be 100%. Even though I'm more about originality with these old games, I do like the idea of maybe installing a newer illuminated trackball:  I think that would look pretty neat! |
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Post by Cop on Mar 3, 2017 11:52:18 GMT -5
You are my hero. I'd love to be able to do stuff like that but I can't.
A few weeks ago we went looking at schools with the youngest and I found out I should've chosen differently when I was that age. I'd love to be able to do the stuff that school could teach me (electronics and shit) but I went a more academical way (because I didn't know what the hell I wanted to be at that age) but now I regret not being able to do crap like that.
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Post by Emig5m on Mar 3, 2017 16:10:26 GMT -5
You are my hero. I'd love to be able to do stuff like that but I can't. A few weeks ago we went looking at schools with the youngest and I found out I should've chosen differently when I was that age. I'd love to be able to do the stuff that school could teach me (electronics and shit) but I went a more academical way (because I didn't know what the hell I wanted to be at that age) but now I regret not being able to do crap like that. I didn't even graduate high school, I dropped out the very day I was legally allowed to. I'm just not the type of person to be caged up day in and day out and be tyrannically forced against my will to learn crap at a set pace I have no care in the world about (who discovered what continent etc.) and like you, I had no clue what I wanted to do at a younger age so it didn't matter anyway. If I don't have a general interest in something it never sinks in no matter how hard I try. So I would fail so hard in most classes like history but scored 135 on my last IQ test - go figure (I don't even think IQ tests mean anything because I definitely don't feel smart, lol.) However, on the flip-side, if I have a general interest in something it all sinks in fairly well and is easy to learn like say, repairing the electronics in arcade machines - this has all been self taught on the fly and all the info needed to learn electronics repair is available freely right now online - all you need is the interest. I had no clue in the world what those parts where that I replaced on the gameboard and what functions they play to the workings of the board until I actually had to, and wanted to fix it (The two 15volt regulators work with the 555timer to get the -30DC volts that's required to run the old school earom that saves the high scores and my board was only measuring -14DCV at the -30DCV test point with a multimeter so it made sense that it was a voltage issue why the game wasn't saving high scores and not a bad save rom so it's all really easy to figure out when you break it all down like that rather than looking at the bigger picture, a confusing looking giant circuit board with a million random parts). I don't even think school is necessary to actual learning these days with the internet. I've learned so much more online than I ever did in school. George Washington crossing what river on what date had absolutely no contribution to my day-to-day life. |
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Post by Babel-17 on Mar 5, 2017 1:33:59 GMT -5
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Post by Babel-17 on Mar 6, 2017 12:21:09 GMT -5
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