COIN-OP COLLECTING UK
MY 2-CENTS
Below is documentation of what i have discovered about
the hobby of arcade collecting in the UK in the few years
that i have been following the hobby seriously.
It does not`t matter if you are either new to the hobby(what
we kindly call a`newbie` or `noob`) or perhaps
considering pursuing the hobby in the near future either way
you should find this an interesting read!.
Jj
`Newbie` Questions that i can now
answer:
Q:"Is arcade collecting an expensive hobby?"
A:Its really as expensive as you
want it to be! ,but if you wish to repair game boards or
cabinets(cabs)you will need to purchase
equipment(meters,scope,soldering iron,etc).
Also to play the games you will of course need a cabinet or
a `test rig` (super gun) of some sort.
This will be discussed later.
Q:"So,how much do these game boards and cabinets cost to
purchase?"
A:This is my opinion:(UK prices)
;)
`JAMMA CABINETS` =(£80-£200)
`DEDICATED CABINETS` =(£100-£1200)*
`VIDEO GAME BOARDS`(pcb`s) =(£10-£150)*
`*` =Don't
Panic!, The upper end of the bracket is for those
rare or sought after titles.
Q:"Where can i purchase these game boards or
cabinets?"
A:Believe it or not there are a few
shops/warehouses dotted around the UK,(i will give more info
later).Other than that other coin-op collectors of course.
There are two types of people in this hobby,we will refer to
them as `TRADERS` and `COLLECTORS`.
TRADERS
Obviously traders are guys who buy & sell on a regular
basis,they may have a small coin-op collection of their own
but prefer to sell for profit,items can change hands quickly
here!.
Many traders(and even a few collectors) can be found on
E-BAY (UK).
COLLECTORS
Of course these guys take the collecting side very
seriously indeed preserving and hoarding anything coin-op
related ,they generally only sell in extreme cases,(to fund
another purchase/ lack of storage or living space/or even a
nagging partner 
)
These guys can be found in coin-op related `Forums`
,most are experienced and willing to help any `noob`
with a question.
Q:"Do you need any Electronics knowledge for this
hobby?"
A:To enjoy the collecting side of the
hobby of course not, but sooner or later electronic items
do become faulty.
Imagine switching on an arcade cabinet one day to be
confronted with a screen full of `static garbage`(messy
graphics,blocks),with no knowledge of electronics imagine
what that would feel like?.
Where would you find advise or help?,as luck would have it
there is a wealth of info out there thanks to the vast size
of `cyberspace`!.
So my answer to the question is Yes,it would help.
Personally i have just a few qualifications in electronics
(City& Guilds 224 Lvl 2) so i at least know what
components are and what function they serve in a
circuit.
My few qualifications
94-95
Electronic Systems =DISTINCTION
Practical Test =PASS
Assignments =PASS
95-96
Anolouge Electronics
Practical Assignments =PASS
Electronic Technology =DISTINCTION
Digital Electronics
Practical Assignments =PASS
Electronic Technology =CREDIT
96-97
Control Systems
System Technology =DISTINCTION
Control Systems =PASS
Impressed?,Well you should not be!.When i have a faulty game
board on my repair bench i follow the same procedure as any
other guy who wishes to repair a game,but with my lack of
experience i will probably terminate the procedure earlier
and throw the game board on the `scrap pile` :(
even with my little knowledge i would estimate my game board
repair success rate to be 10% or
less!
Q:"JAMMA?,What is that?
A:Normally the first question a `newbie` asks...read
on
Lets go back to the late 70`s early 80`s,picture the scene!,
a video game needs changing in an arcade/ fish& chip
shop(diner)/or taxi rank a guy would arrive with his two
wheeled trolley and wheel the heavy cabinet away to return
with a new cabinet on his trolley which he would then
awkwardly maneuver into place.This is because the games are
`DEDICATED`.Due to the configuration of the game board
connector in the cabinet other game boards could not be
inserted, every game manufacturer was using their own game
board-cab connector configuration.
In other words you could not fit a `Space Invaders` board
inside a `Pacman` cab for example.
All this changed with games manufactured in the late 80`s
with the appearance of `JAMMA`
(Japanesse Amusement
Machinery Manufacturer
Association)
They designed a `universal` connector configuration,this led
to the birth of new cabinet designs. Control panels could be
changed,new game monitors appeared which could be turned
inside the cab to change the screen orientation
(Horizontal-Vertical or visa-versa) all this to suit the
newly inserted game board without having to change the whole
cabinet!
Q:"Many cabinets are from 70`s - 80`s are they
dangerous(unsafe)?"
A:Any serious collector will tell you
ALL Video arcade cabinets are dangerous to a
degree.Not always switched on in normal operating/playing
situation but switched on with the back cover off is a
different matter.
Sooner or later a collector finds himself in this position
and uses extreme care as up to
20KV(20,000 VOLTS) and
more can be found on the rear of the monitor.A similar
voltage can be found in the same place for a long time after
the cabinet is switched off!(DAYS).
If unsure of the wiring in a a cab and you have no
electronic/electric knowledge seek advise or
help!
Q:"20,000V...err! but only 240V goes into the cab"
(mains)?
A:Okay if you have no knowledge of
electronics/electrics i will be as brief as possible,some
components are designed to store charge such as
`capacitors`(referred to as `CAPS`), if its quite a big cap
and you touch both legs or terminals the `cap`will discharge
its current up your arm! but this is nothing compared to a
coil on the back of a monitor or tv tube!.Being blown
backwards or having current pass across you chest will just
be the start of your worries!.
You will read similar warnings on any collector sites,enough
said!.
When current passes along a length of wire it creates a
magnetic field,if the wire is in the shape of a coil
(coiled)the resulting magnetic field pushes back towards the
oncoming current thus voltages can increase above
normal.
You may have noticed if you have ever used a mains`Extension
Lead`(cable reels)the type that can be `coiled up` or `wound
away` into a coiled case.Either printed on the reel or in the
instructions that come with the reel you may read a notice
telling you that the extension cable is more efficient when
fully `un-wound`,because the unused cable not pulled from the
reel is in the form of a `COIL` ;)
Now let me tell you what i have learned in my first 2
years!.
GAME BOARDS (pcb`s)
BOARDS TYPES
Video game boards(PCB`s) come in various sizes and also a
game can be made up of several individual boards stacked on
top of each other (multi-tier) and are connected to each
other through flat wire cables.
I prefer `single pcb` game boards they are easier to examine
than multi-tier boards which are a pain in the ass!,not just
because they have more components but because it can be
difficult to separate and power the boards individually to
fault find. With older 70`s-80`s `Dedicated` games the sound
amp circuit/power circuit can be on separate pcb`s from the
main video board and in the 90`s a lot of games used `surface
mount` technology and double sided boards (another head
ache!)
PURCHASING BOARDS
90% of the time i purchase my game
boards from `E-BAY UK`, i like the auctions with lots of
`untested` or `non-working` boards sold either as single
items or as `job lots`(sold together).
You might think that a waste of time and money but there are
two main reasons.
1.) Its probably the best way to learn faults and
understand game board problems for yourself,Yes! you can buy
some crap(or should that be scrap?) and board repair can be
frustrating but the feeling of achievement when you finally
repair that game board is like nothing else!.
Remember some of these game boards may have been faulty for
years locked away in some garage or storage room somewhere,it
feels good to bring them back to life.
2.) If you buy a bulk quantity of game boards (say 8
boards =£50),the price for an `average` working game
board on E-BAY is between £30-£60 so if you
repair two or even just one board it okay because scrap
boards are good to strip for spare `parts`.
REPAIRING BOARDS
This is the fun part!,examples of
game board faults are: display or graphic glitches/sound
problems /completely dead+blank screen/dead with garbage on
screen/intermittent reset/stuck in test or diagnostic
mode/missing components /component legs touching(short
circuit)/ic`s(chips)inserted into sockets the wrong way
around)/bad connectors or bad component connection...and
there is more!(phew!)
So as you can see, as i said earlier some knowledge of
electronics is helpful `digital` electronics or
`microprocessor systems` would be great!, But really a
general understanding of what job components have on a game
board would at least gives you a fighting chance.
Remember these boards can be 20 years old,they can build up
quite a lot of grime and dirt on contacts and connectors.Also
with time socketed ic`s can lift out of place(because of
vibration or heat) so these simple checks are always
initiated first by a tech before components start getting
replaced.
I have built myself a very basic
Test rig this serves the function of a video cab
it has its own power supply with the common voltages required
by most boards (+5,-5,+12,Gnd)also with `scart` connection i
can use a monitor to display the video image. I have also
built a basic control set up to play the games and test the
control inputs(joystick,fire buttons,start buttons,coin
switch,etc)all this test equipment on a work table in a small
spare room of its own.
The difference between a Test
rig and a Super
gun is as follows a Test
rig is designed more practically for repair it may
have additional connectors for test equipment (such as a
spare 5V connector for a logic probe) also how the rig looks
is not important.A Super
gun on the other hand is normally built for the
sole purpose of playing arcade games using a tv or
monitor,perhaps in a living room or bedroom so cosmetic
appearance is more important.But they both do play arcade
game boards and that's all that matters.
HACKS+BOOTLEG/CLONE/BOARDS
It does not take long for people to
copy an item,the video game industry has never been any
different has it?.Bootlegs would appear of the main titles of
the time(pacman,space invaders,galaxian,etc)and of course
would be cheaper alternatives for arcade owners to purchase
if they wanted to.
Bootleg boards are generally easy to spot, the bootleg board
is generally different in design to the original and of less
quality (a typical bootleg!) ..Also there will be differences
to the game itself such as different game colours (colors) or
the official designers name will be removed from the title
screen on the game.Here is an example.................
The official `Falcon`
version(left) followed by the `alca` bootleg(middle) and
then the `jeutel` bootleg(right)
The original `Falcon` screen
followed by `Crazy Kong` bootleg using Hardware for the
game `Scramble`(yuk!)
A Hack is where
either the game code (stored in the ROMS) or the board itself
is altered or modified to change the game in some
way.Examples would be a Pacman or Galaxian`speed`hack to
increase game speed or perhaps a `multi game hack` where two
versions of a game can be played on the same board with the
flick of a small switch.
Below is an example of a Galaxian`turbo` hack.
Normal
Galaxian on the left with Galaxian `turbo` (Hack) on
the right
Notice the difference in enemy attack
speed
-PAGE
2-
BACK TO
HOMEPAGE
Jammajup 2-CENTS page
© Jj 2004+