Computer Space #9392 needs some attention

CaptainHendry

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Today I became the proud owner of Computer Space #9392. This machine belonged to a man named Tim and his wife in Simi Valley, CA since at least 1991. And it seems the machine was in the area for some time before that. After I bought it today, Tim's wife told me the story of how she found it.

Back in the late 80s and into the early 90s she would make the rounds to various garage sales around the valley on the weekends. She would start the morning with $40 and keep hitting more sales until she was out of money. One day she came to a house which she described as having a dirt yard. As soon as she pulled up, she could see the red Computer Space and she immediately thought it was beautiful and she wanted it.

She had exactly $5 left of her original $40, so she offered the owner $5 and he accepted. When she got the game home she opened it up and found $5.25 in the coin box. So she literaly got paid a quarter to take the game. At the time, the game was complete and working.

Years later Tim opened the back door and a wire popped off the TV. The game stopped working and Tim wasn't sure how to fix it. He removed the TV and took it to a local repair shop. A couple days later he went by the shop to see if they'd made any progress. But the entire shop was empty and there was no sign of where the owner had gone. Tim never saw him or the TV again.

A few years ago, Tim sold the board and control panel to a collector in Canada. He couldn't remember who, but he got $1500 for the parts. And today he sold the fiberglass game to me. He and his wife were glad it was going to a collector who wanted to restore it:

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As you can see, the paint is a bit rough in patches.

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It looks to me as if this was sitting out in the sun for a long time at some point. The red is mostly gone on the top of the game:

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More below.
 

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Here's the back. The door is a bit warped and will need some work:

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No boards but I've still got the speaker. Not sure about that funky fan. That's not the one I've seen in other machines. A transformer was in the game too but I'm not sure if it belongs with this machine.

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The coin return and front lock are still there, along with the bolts on each side. I just need a panel with buttons etc.

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Fortunately, he still had the old can/coin box, which is one of the coolest parts of these games:

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He also had the bezel. This plastic is so thin I'm amazed it's still in one piece, though it does have some cracks on the inside edge.

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Ohhhhh...i would love a red one. If you ever decide it needs a new home, LMK. :).

Www.flippers.com has some of your missing parts. There is a thread about the FPGA replacement of the pcb stack by fpgaarcade and I just did one last week and it works beautifully. It should get you up and running until you can find a board set and GE Adventurer II monitor. If you need the break out board for the fpga and fpgaarcade is ok with it, I can fab an ugly but working solution for you for cost +shipping.

Good luck with your project.

Brian
 
Last couple pics. There was a packet of paperwork inside which includes a schematic set and the original information Nutting sent out with the game.

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This letter may be my favorite part. It's brittle from age so it feels like a piece of history:

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And finally, here's the serial # plate:

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I know there is some question about which order these were made in. Some machines have the control panel lock up front and others do not. I looked over all the machines currently listed at computerspacefan.com and here is what I noticed. Numbering started at 9000. All of the machines up to 9600 have a front lock. All of the machines after 9650 or so don't have a lock (just a smooth front surface). There is a range in between where they go back and forth, i.e. some games lack the lock and some have the lock. But it appears to me the early machines are the ones with the lock.

My guess is they simplified assembly by leaving out the lock (and therefore not having to drill a hole for it). If that's right, then this is one of the early machines. They made about 1,500 and this is #392. Again, I could be wrong but that's how it looks to me.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this. It's rough. For now I'll leave it but eventually I'll probably do some touch ups to make it look a bit better. I'd like to restore it to full original function if I can find the parts. So if anyone has a GE Adventurer II TV or a board set, let me know.

And if the Canadian collector who bought the parts reads this, send me a PM. I'd like to know what happened to everything.
 

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Was looking at this game on Wikipedia and thought this was really cool trivia about it:

" A custom white Computer Space cabinet appeared in the 1973 film Soylent Green as a futuristic entertainment device, marking the first appearance of a video game in a movie."
 
IMHO, there would be no shame in putting the FPGA and newer technology power etc in this cabinet. YMMV
 
Was looking at this game on Wikipedia and thought this was really cool trivia about it:

" A custom white Computer Space cabinet appeared in the 1973 film Soylent Green as a futuristic entertainment device, marking the first appearance of a video game in a movie."

Yes, that's true. Here's the clip:

 
Ohhhhh...i would love a red one. If you ever decide it needs a new home, LMK. :).

Www.flippers.com has some of your missing parts. There is a thread about the FPGA replacement of the pcb stack by fpgaarcade and I just did one last week and it works beautifully. It should get you up and running until you can find a board set and GE Adventurer II monitor. If you need the break out board for the fpga and fpgaarcade is ok with it, I can fab an ugly but working solution for you for cost +shipping.

Good luck with your project.

Brian

I'm considering that as a temporary measure.
 
IMHO, there would be no shame in putting the FPGA and newer technology power etc in this cabinet. YMMV

I may go the FPGA route just to get it running. Since I'm missing everything though, I first need to find a control panel. I know Windsor made a complete panel including buttons a while ago but he doesn't have any left.

Since I'm missing the entire harness, I don't have to worry about damaging anything original. One thing I may do is flip the rotation and thrust/fire buttons. It'll still look the same from the top but when you play it would be identical to Asteroids/Star Castle. Or maybe a hidden switch to flip it between standard wiring and the Asteroids style layout.

The TV is the tough part. I definitely want a black and white TV. Doesn't have to be an Adventurer II but putting an LCD in this even temporarily seems wrong.
 
We both know someone local to us who has three of these..i am sure arrangements can be made so you can take pictures of the insides.. if that helps you brings yours to life.
 
We both know someone local to us who has three of these..i am sure arrangements can be made so you can take pictures of the insides.. if that helps you brings yours to life.

Or just watch blkdog7 vids ... he has many showing the insides of the cabinet etc. :)

Computer Space Arcade Game Restore Series

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6Omn2cXb7YjxxcY6BipddAD_SoVCImg

BTW, he found his replacement monitor/TV on Ebay ... so they're out there ... (and replacement tubes etc).
 
Or just watch blkdog7 vids ... he has many showing the insides of the cabinet etc. :)

Computer Space Arcade Game Restore Series

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6Omn2cXb7YjxxcY6BipddAD_SoVCImg

BTW, he found his replacement monitor/TV on Ebay ... so they're out there ... (and replacement tubes etc).

There a differences between watching a video and taking your own pics. Watching doesn't give an opportunity to talk to the tech who repairing them. I recommend doing both.

The Tv can be also be found on antique television forums also.
 
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