Restoration
If you have an old arcade cabinet that you might want to restore (perhaps after reading the notes on converting a cabinet), you might be wondering how to do this. While restoration of cabinets might seem daunting, it can be very rewarding to own a real arcade cabinet.
General Resources
Luckily you are not on your own, this wiki can still help on topics like hooking up controls or JAMMA boards. There is even more help available via the BYOAC forums or other websites on this topic. See this list below for a collection of arcade restoration links:
- Guide To Restorations Introductory Article On Restoration (tips, tools, etc.)
- I Want To Build A Game Bob Roberts' Article On Cabinet Wiring
- This Old Pinball - Restoring Arcade and Pinball Games
- prOk's Restoration Page
- Big Bear's Bulletin Board (Articles By Bob Roberts)
- IONPool.net Loads of technical info
- ARCade ARChive Huge archive of arcade-related goodies
- VectorList Archives
- rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (RGVAC)
- Randy Fromm's Site
- ArcadeCollecting.com
- Arcade Restoration Workshop
- Arcade Repair Tips Articles, Podcasts About Repairing Arcade Machines
- Tony's Café
Cabinet Restoration
The following a links to various articles concerning the repair of cabinet parts. Bondo is an excellent material for use in repairing damaged wood in cabinets.
- Bondo Video Tutorial By Sparky of Sparky's Pinball Regenerations and MAACA fame
- Too Many Holes On That Control Panel ?
- Another "Too Many Holes" Page
- pr0k's Control Panel Restoration Page
- Installing a replacement overlay
- pr0k's Stencilling Guide
- pr0k's Paint Codes For Classic Cabinets
- More Paint Codes For Some Classic Cabinets
- Coin Door Restoration
- Restoring Coin Doors
- Peale's Coin Door Refurbishing Instructable
- Electrolytic Rust Removal. A non-destructive process for removing, even reversing, rust on metal parts.
- pr0k's Restoration Essentials
- ThisOldGame Side Art Install 101
Board Repairs and Repair Logs
The following a links to various articles concerning the repair of printed circuit boards (PCBs).
- Multimeter Tutorial By Sparky of Sparky's Pinball Regenerations and MAACA fame
- PCB Repair Tips
- Atari Edge Connector Repair Video By KLOVer bitslicer
- ArcadeComponents.com Repair Logs
- channelmaniac's Old School Repair Logs
- Mike's Arcade Game Repair Logs Also loads of manuals / dips / pinouts
- 2CoinsPerPlay Repair Logs
- UKVAC's Technical Logs
- Coinop.org's Repair Logs
- Vectorlist Archives
Game Manuals, Schematics
In addition to the dedicated sites below, manuals and schematics for many games may be found by looking the game up on KLOV and checking the listing for links to the manuals.
- KLOV Arcade Manuals Archive
- Basement Arcade
- Crazy Kong
- Arcade Manuals on TextFiles.com
- Manuals and Schematics on ArcadeArchive
- Mike's Arcade Manuals
- The Arcade Manual Database
- Namco Manuals
- NeoGeo MVS RAM Locations
- Nintendo Playchoice and VS System Manuals
- Sega Manuals
- More Sega Manuals
- Still More Sega Manuals
- J&H Amusement - Game Manuals PDF Manuals for 8 - Line Games, Boards and Printers
- jrok's Schematics Page
- BYOAC File Repository Manuals, schematics, pinouts, dips
- GlobalVR Service Documents
- William Arkush Video Game Data Books hosted by Tokens Only
- Arcade Manual Archive hosted by archive.org
- Antelope Arcade
- Aurcade
Game-Specific Resources
- Arkanoid Pinouts (many flavours)
- Asteroids Repair Encyclopedia
- Asteroids PCB Troubleshooting Notes
- Atari Football Restoration
- Atari Power Supply Testing/Adjustment
- Atari Regulator/Audio Application Guide
- Defender
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Galaga
- Galaga
- Gauntlet Hackers Page
- Correcting The Colors On Gallag
- Correcting The Colors On Nebulous Bee
- Joust / Robotron Repair logs from Mike Ranger (aka Gravitar), *Williams guru
- Omega Race Dead Zone wysiwyg's new encoder
- Lawnmower Man's Pac-Man Pages updated and hosted on Rotheblog
- Pac-Man
- Pac-Man Troubleshooting By Picture
- Pac-Man Repair Guide (PDF)
- Pole Position Clone Project
- The Radarscope Pages
- Space Invaders
- How to test a Space Invaders/SI Deluxe Power Supply
- Suicide Battery Info
- Fixing the Lighting Effects in EDOT Lighting in an Environmental Discs Of Tron cabinet
- Williams on robotron-2084.co.uk Technical info for various Williams vids, using 4164 RAM, 8-way stick in Sinistar
- Williams Interactive Troubleshooter on 2CoinsPerPlay
- Williams Technical Info And Drawings
- Cinematronics Technical Info on Outerworld Arcade
- Game-Specific Parts
Monitor Repairs
- BYOAC Monitor FAQ
- Randy Fromm's Technical Department Monitor Schematics, More Technical Info With Subscription
- Monitor Repair - Bad Caps / Symptoms and CapKit Lists
- Monitor Repair - Tube Swap
- Monitor Tube list by manufacture and ohms readings. Very helpful tool when swapping monitor CRT's
- Straightening A Curl On A WG4600 nifty fix to an annoying problem
- The Ken Layton Archives
- Yoke Flipping
Multigames, Game Enhancements and JAMMA Adapters
Some enterprising folks have developed add-on kits that can augment the functionality of original video games. Multigames allow original game boards to play other games in addition to the original. Game enhancements include High Score saving, free play and other gameplay enhancements. Some of these kits are actively stocked by vendors and some may require some hunting to find (in particular, Clay and Scott are no longer actively making kits for sale). JAMMA Adapters allow you to easily connect your old game PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) to a JAMMA-wired cabinet or Supergun. Adapters for many common games are available from a number of vendors
The list of links below is far from exhaustive and you should check with individual vendors to see if a kit or adapter is available for your game.
- Star Wars / ESB Multigame Clay Cowgill
- Star Wars / ESB Multigame Mark Spaeth
- Exidy 440 Shooter Multigame Semiofficial thread at KLOV
- Tempest Multigame Clay Cowgill
- Sega Vector Multigame (Star Trek, Space Fury, Tac/Scan, Eliminator, Zektor) Clay Cowgill
- Multiwilliams Clay Cowgill
- Q*Bert Multigame Clay Cowgill
- MultiJamma - Switch between multiple JAMMA boards in a single cabinet Clay Cowgill
- Mike's Double JAMMA adapter Mike's Arcade
- 4-Way JAMMA Switch Y-Plus
- Double Donkey Kong Scott Brasington
- Missile Command Multigame Scott Brasington
- Multipede Scott Brasington
- Space Invaders Multigame Scott Brasington
- Asteroids Multigame Scott Brasngton - Project Currently On Hold
- High Score Save Kits Scott Brasington - Asteroids, Battlezone, Congo Bongo, Donkey Kong, DK Jr, DK 3, Frogger, Mario Bros, Popeye, Zaxxon
- SYSFPGA Williams Multigame Defender, StarGate, Robotron, Joust, Blaster, Bubbles, Splat!, Sinistar
- Save Our Hi-Scores Project
- Video Tutorial For Making A JAMMA Adapter For Primal Rage
