Asteroids Deluxe Cabaret

ieure

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Donor 2014-2015
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Picked this up a few weeks ago. Plays okay, but needs some attention.

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Game was set on free play. Coin mechs are incomplete.

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Coin bucket is missing. Everything else is there. Even came with the original manuals, schematics, and Atari stickers. In the original Atari bag.

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Mini marquee is cracked and was repaired with scotch tape.

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Cones are mismatched. Looks like these were both black originally. Buttons are very dirty and worn. Lots of deep gouges and pits. I ordered new ones from Bob Roberts. CPO isn't too bad.

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…Except for the front right corner. Ordered a repro from Phoenix Arcade.
 

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Screen has some burn, and the surround is pretty worn. The monitor and inside of the plexi were caked with grime when I picked it up, but they cleaned up okay.

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The picture was extended off the sides. Tweaked the X/Y gain on the main PCB to bring it in line. Monitor has some issues. It "breathes" due to the flashing graphics on the high score screen, and some areas blank out. These were worse after adjusting X/Y. There's a cap kit on the way from Bob Roberts, which should resolve those issues.

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The plexi is shot. In addition to lots of scratches, heat from the monitor has left it foggy, which blurs and obscures the game.
 

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I drove up to TAP plastics today to get a new plexi. They had a new one cut for me in a few minutes.

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Here it is installed. Seems a shade lighter than the original, or maybe it's just the heat damage.

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Here's a decent shot of the monitor issue. Seems to be worst when there isn't much happening. Towards the end of a stage when there aren't many rocks flying around, most of the playfield is blank. As soon as you make it to the next stage, where there are lots of rocks, everything looks fine again.
 

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Looks like an awesome project game. I'll be sure to watch your progress.

Thanks. It's my first attempt, and I'm not sure how far I want to go with it. I don't have tools to make it super extensive, but the cab is solid and I think I can do a decent job with it.

The thing also stank of cigarette smoke. I let it air out a few days, which helped. Then I sprayed Ozium inside, damped a rag with it, tossed it in, and closed it all up. Hopefully after airing that out, it'll be good.
 
Darin has some CPOs for this? That was one of that hardest things to get reproduced. I have threads on it a while ago. Looks nice. looks like you're missing the blue film over the monitor for it. I have a very nice, like-new marquee for this if you're interested.. I was going to replace mine but I have only a small crack in it compared to yours... Oh, put an open box of baking soda in it too and close it off.. That helped allot with a Pac cocktail I had that lived in a bar all it's life. One other question, is that plexi you had made smoked or clear?
 
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Darin has some CPOs for this?

yep Since I still had the films and I was asked to print the sideart for this I recomened doing another small run since posts continued to come up wanting these.
and we should be done with the side art very soon.
 
Keep me in the loop Rich-- wow I don't want to snooze and lose!
 
Darin has some CPOs for this? That was one of that hardest things to get reproduced. I have threads on it a while ago. Looks nice. looks like you're missing the blue film over the monitor for it. I have a very nice, like-new marquee for this if you're interested.. I was going to replace mine but I have only a small crack in it compared to yours... Oh, put an open box of baking soda in it too and close it off.. That helped allot with a Pac cocktail I had that lived in a bar all it's life. One other question, is that plexi you had made smoked or clear?

Yeah, right over here. He seems like a super nice guy. I recently moved and placed my order before I noticed the shipping address. Fired off an email and everything was straightened out in a few minutes.

PM'd you about the marquee. Very interested.

The plexi is "bronze," according to the guy at TAP Plastics, but it is definitely more transparent than the original. You couldn't see the screen burn or tattered bezel edges before.

Yeah, I saw the blue gel on someone else's resto and realized it was missing. Found this thread on it, but that looks to be for the upright. I found a repro, which I guess is for the upright, but I can just cut that down to fit. Assuming it's the correct hue — can someone compare?

I think I can find one at a craft or hardware store.
 
You may find that you can rehab the original plexi. I've not seen one I couldn't make look like new yet. Put it flat on a table and begin with an orbital sander and 100 grit sandpaper. Move to 150, 220 dry, then to 300, 600, 2000 wet. Then go to Novus 3 and lastly 2. Sounds worse than it is and you'll have exactly the right tint for the game.
 
You may find that you can rehab the original plexi. I've not seen one I couldn't make look like new yet. Put it flat on a table and begin with an orbital sander and 100 grit sandpaper. Move to 150, 220 dry, then to 300, 600, 2000 wet. Then go to Novus 3 and lastly 2. Sounds worse than it is and you'll have exactly the right tint for the game.

Yeah, I considered that, but I don't have the tools for it right now. This will do in the mean time.
 
Looking at that thread and my cabaret, it does appear that the blue gel is the same color. Here's my website that shows my cabaret, in case any of the pictures help:
http://home.comcast.net/~dark.paladin/deluxe

One thing I only just noticed is that the instruction text on the right side of the repro overlay is lined up completely differently than the original.
 
Looking at that thread and my cabaret, it does appear that the blue gel is the same color. Here's my website that shows my cabaret, in case any of the pictures help:
http://home.comcast.net/~dark.paladin/deluxe

One thing I only just noticed is that the instruction text on the right side of the repro overlay is lined up completely differently than the original.

That was dicussed. Actually the repo overlay is correct on the Ireland cabinets. That was the film AtariScott has-- so it is true to the original, just the print was found on the Ireland cabs. I have an ireland cab and it was an exact match-- but the US versions had the gap in the text.
 
Looking at that thread and my cabaret, it does appear that the blue gel is the same color. Here's my website that shows my cabaret, in case any of the pictures help:
http://home.comcast.net/~dark.paladin/deluxe

One thing I only just noticed is that the instruction text on the right side of the repro overlay is lined up completely differently than the original.

Read your link-- very nice. How does the speaker sound?? I have a spare one from a Battlezone if you want it??
 
Thanks for the offer, but I found a local collector with a spare speaker so the game is now complete. Well, it will be whenever the Multi kit comes out!
 
Looks like you also need to get the picture to use the entire screen, hence the test pattern does not go to the edges of the screen. After you cap it, I had to do this too with mine, adjust what looks like the convergence ring on the monitor. It's not a convergence ring of course, but it does extend the pic in or out on the screen.

Nice project, looks alot like my Asteroids cab before I restored it.
 
Looks like you also need to get the picture to use the entire screen, hence the test pattern does not go to the edges of the screen. After you cap it, I had to do this too with mine, adjust what looks like the convergence ring on the monitor. It's not a convergence ring of course, but it does extend the pic in or out on the screen.

Nice project, looks alot like my Asteroids cab before I restored it.

I figured as much, but I wasn't sure where the adjustment was. Thanks for the tip.

I should have the cap kit, new buttons, locks, and a power cable in the next couple days. I'm not sure how to get the monitor out of this thing — looks like the bezel comes off and I can unscrew the cage from the shelf it's mounted on. That sound about right?
 
I figured as much, but I wasn't sure where the adjustment was. Thanks for the tip.

I should have the cap kit, new buttons, locks, and a power cable in the next couple days. I'm not sure how to get the monitor out of this thing — looks like the bezel comes off and I can unscrew the cage from the shelf it's mounted on. That sound about right?

Yeah 4 bolts hold it onto the shelf and pull it out through the front after disconnecting the harness.
 
ieure

Haven't had time to work on the machine due to the holidays, but parts are here and waiting to get installed. Cap kit from Bob Roberts, new CPO from Phoenix Arcade, and a new marquee is on the way. Looks like the speaker is pretty rotted, so I'll have to track one of those down, too.

The CPO is just gorgeous. Really fantastic work.

I'm torn between keeping things authentic and personalizing the cab. Strongly considering painting the sides (black or white) and getting some blue t-molding, which I think would bring a lot more of the Asteroids character to the cab.
 
I'm torn between keeping things authentic and personalizing the cab. Strongly considering painting the sides (black or white) and getting some blue t-molding, which I think would bring a lot more of the Asteroids character to the cab.

I used blue t-molding for mine but did not paint the sides. I also used aluminium cones to match the CP silver and colored buttons to draw out some color.
 

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