An introduction and a few questions.

Bonesaw

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2009
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
Wisconsin
Long time lurker, first time poster. I'd like to say a little bit about myself so I can have an identity attached to my posts in what I hope will be a long successful ride here at KLOV.

33 year old bartender/student/Robert E. Howard/Conan fan, on track to become a respiratory therapist. Up untill 2006 I was a successful independent pro-wrestler in the Wisconsin (mostly Milwaukee and Green Bay), Minnesota and Chicago. I made it to the point where I had to either commit my life 100% (in hopes of "making it" to the WWE) or walk away. At that level there was a lot of steroids and drug use going on by most of the guys. Among my group was Ken Anderson (now Mr. Kennedy), Shawn Davari, Austin Aeries, etc. I wrestled with legends such as King Kong Bundy, Koko B ware, Tito Santana, and for a while Sherri Martel was my manager. I chose to walk away because I didn't like being on the road away from my family and friends for such long periods. Plus, I had sustained a few injuries that I knew would be aggravated with that kind of rigorous schedule. I have a lot of stories for wrestling fans but I'll leave that to the off-topic forum.

So anyway, after losing my job of 15 years as a chemist to "downsizing" (while the company simultaneously erected factories in India and China), I find myself bartending on the busiest nights at the busiest bar in my county. It's good. It allows me to go to school and pay the bills and got me thinking about what I want to do for non-physical hobbies for the rest of my life.

So it came to me the other night that I should settle on a long-term hobby, and that is why I am here. I grew up as a 80's child for the most part- right at the perfect age to enjoy the glory of the late 80's early 90's arcades. I lived in my local arcade. I can still hear that fantastic montage of bleeps, bloops and zaps, the smell, the shitty carpet- it ruled! Now, I wish to begin the process of learning how to collect and restore old arcade machines.

I'll throw down a wish list of what will eventually fill a good portion of my next house's basement.

Wrestlefest - mandatory for me, probably the best wrestling arcade game I ever played. I used to destroy people with the Ultimate Warrior (and Earthquake when I tagged up)

Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Burgertime - fairly obvious classics that really need to be in every collection

Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter 2: CE, Samurai Showdown 2 - rounds out the fighting ring

Popeye - don't ask why, I just loved the game, maybe it was the graphics on the cab

Cruisin' USA - not solid on this one, but I would like to have a driving game

Elvira and the Party Monsters Pinball - my favorite! Skull lock, the finger puppets- good stuff

Crime Fighters - I just the ability to kick a guy when he was down

There are others that would be nice like, APB, Guerrilla War, Double Dragon, Terminator 2, Afterburner, Creature from the Black Lagoon pinball, etc, but I'm trying to keep my dreams realistic.

Now the problem. I have absolutely no technical ability. I'm starting from scratch in both electronics and wood working. Being in school already, I thought about throwing in a basic electronics and wood-working course to get my going. I figure, this is going to be decades-worth of hobbying so it isn't too late to start. Besides, it will be a few years at least until I buy my next place with a game room in mind.

Saw this book on amazon. I'll probably pick it up even though many of the reviews state that it is outdated. It can't hurt, can it? http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/0764556169/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248380409&sr=1-1

I'll probably also hit the library and pick up some books on arcades, electronics and such. It seems kind of pathetic, but hey, you have to start somewhere. There is also a chance that I could land an apprenticeship gig with a guy who does restoring here in town.

I should also note that I am planning a road trip before the end of the year where I will be hitting a few major arcades that are still intact. Ground Kontrol in Oregon, The Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas, a couple others.

After reading through a lot of the technical threads I find myself wishing for a glossary
for certain words and abbreviations. Is there such a thing? Also, would you say that the art of arcade restoration is something that you can eventually master, or is it something that you continuously learn new things?

I'll be attending Gen Con this year in Indianapolis. If there are any old-school arcade machines running, I'll be sure to take pics and post them.

That's about it. Any tips, comments or advise would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to chatting with you all!
 
Welcome to the addiction. I was in your shoes about a year ago (I now have 5 completely working games). Spend as much time online searching for repair tips and it comes quick. By the way, are you still in Wisconsin?
 
Welcome to the madness of arcade game collecting. Once you get the first one it all goes downhill from there.

The book looks to mostly be about building your own MAME machine and not really working on the old/existing hardware. Best way to learn is by doing, trying, asking questions, and of course coming here. There is a wealth of knowledge here and people willing to help.

Glad to see another from the area. Welcome again, and you are always welcome to stop by and visit the basement arcade.
 
Welcome man! Very interesting background. Arcade collecting is like crack...totally addicting. Be ready for your want list to change and grow as you visit arcades and check out other collectors games.

I started exactly the same: with the exception of a small amount of experience repairing lab equipment, I was completely green in arcade repair. Many collectors here are the same, and have gone from zero knowlege to being very good at troubleshooting, repair, capping monitors, replacing other PCB components, re-wiring, re-doing connectors, etc etc. That's about the level I'm at; I'll still go to a professional for main PCB repair.

The glossary you requested is here: http://chux0r.org/glossary.php

This forum, as well as rgvac and coinopspace house a wealth of information on finding games, troubleshooting, repair, restoration, etc. Get familiar with the search function here if you're not already. Many of us have web sites and/or blogs related to the hobby. Like many sites, ,mine has a links page to many other collectors' sites and arcade related businesses. One surprize to me entering the hobby was just how much infrastructure already exists for the collector. There is so much repair/restoration information out there, and a ton of reproduced parts and artwork.
 
wellcome

WOW Cool! I've been a wrestling fan since 1984 wrestling is the only thing i love more than arcade games.

I love wrestleFest I have it in my WWF SuperStars Machine. I would love too have Midways WrestleMainia some day.

I would love you hear your wrestling stories sometime.
 
Welcome fellow cheesehead!
I'm over in Watertown, and there are plenty of other Wisconsin collectors to help you along your journey of filling your house with arcade cabinets:)
 
Welcome to the community! Sounds like you've had quite a career path. Good luck in finding your games and enjoy the ride. "Bonesaw is ready!" - Macho Man Randy Savage in Spiderman. :)
 
Welcome aboard. You've come to the right place to gain arcade knowledge. Good luck with the quest for your grails.

Where's our other resident pro wrestler? Anyone heard from Tejas?
 
Ground Kontrol is great but plan on being there on a weekday early to mid afternoon if you actually want to play any games. otherwise the place is packed with hipsters who are more into hanging out than playing games and tend to block most of the machines.
 
As a fan of the professional wrestling since '85, I too would like to welcome you to the boards. Respect, bruddah.
 
Post and read in the repair section of the forums , they'll teach you anything you need to know .

And if you find a game your interested in for sale , like on ebay or craigslist , but unsure how much you should pay for it , post on here a price check so you can see if the asking price is reasonable or too much . Theres deals out there but also theres people that want waaaaay to much for a common game .
 
Now the problem. I have absolutely no technical ability.
Wow I wish somebody had told me this was a "problem." I've been in the hobby since 1994 and I can swap a joystick, install a multikit and not a whole lot more. Why did I never learn you ask? Because that crap bores me to tears. No interest whatsoever. You learn the basic stuff and can find friends or others to do the stuff you can't... either long term like me or until you learn and get up to speed. Welcome aboard! I'd be interested in some of thse wrestling stories too, though WWE turned to crap when they were no longer WWF...
 
Project Arcade - I bought this book. All the information in it is available and more at BYOAC.COM

But - the cabinet plans in the book and on CD are useful if you build a scratch built MAME cabinet and are not concerned with arcade authenticity.

I used the plans and built the cabinet and we all love it (me and my kids).

If you buy the book for the plans then good, but for arcade info here and BYOAC are better.
 
Greetings from Wisconsin. I'm in Appleton. I'm also new to the game and it sounds like were in the same boat. I don't know anything about the technical aspect of arcades either. But I do plan on buying one sooner or later. I first thought I was going to do a MAME machine but then I found this site a couple weeks ago. I may still build a MAME box to hold me over but sooner or later I will get my first Arcade machine. Looks like Super Auctions is having an auction in Milwaukee this November so now I'm saving all my quarters up so I can get down there and hopefully get something.
 
Back
Top Bottom