Defender Reproduction

Thanks for sharing Zete. You've inspired me to Novus my bezel. It has some patina as well, including a little etched graffiti. Seeing this, I think I will be able to make it look a lot better.
 
Thanks for sharing Zete. You've inspired me to Novus my bezel. It has some patina as well, including a little etched graffiti. Seeing this, I think I will be able to make it look a lot better.
I had a pronounced scratch down the middle of the bezel and finer ones throughout. The finer ones appear gone. The long and deeper one down the middle is still there but way less pronounced. I think I'll apply Novus to it once again and rub it in for a while. I'm also going to use it on my original marquee. The stuff works great!

Good luck with your bezel.
 
Another (tiny) update. Removed the old CPO and stripped off the old glue, sanded it down, and patched up some of the damaged wood. Next up is installing a new, albeit slightly damaged (small broken corner which I'll fix), NOS CPO. Next up after CPO install is buttons and the joystick.
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It's the greatest video game of all-time imo. Defender is just peerless in many ways and great to see that you'll be building one.

You can also mount the Vision Pro LCD with something like this which will make the mounting much easier anyways, it's the same form factor as a CRT and can easily swap it out with a CRT whenever you're ready.

Just dont play the Atari 2600 version
:50:
Defender was huge when it was released back in "81". I can still see the crowd of kids around that cab, the day it was wheeled into our local Mom & Pop Grocery.
:50: Back then, new release games were almost like new release films.:50:
 
Just dont play the Atari 2600 version
:50:
Defender was huge when it was released back in "81". I can still see the crowd of kids around that cab, the day it was wheeled into our local Mom & Pop Grocery.
:50: Back then, new release games were almost like new release films.:50:
I can attest to this. We had an awesome arcade and billiards area in the Unicentre at Carleton University in the 80s. We got all the new releases. It was wonderful. And the crowds awaiting to play each new game was great.

I played an inordinate amount of Defender and Stargate and grew quite proficient. Always wanted one and passed on owning one way too often because life was too hectic. But life has its regrets but at least this one is being rectified.

I wish I had pictures of the arcade at the Unicentre but alas, no. If I ever find one I'll post it.
 
A populated control panel.

I bought this NOS control panel cheap because it had a broken corner and a few scratches for $30. I can patch the corner as it's at the top of the CP.

The buttons are new reproductions and I have opted for the stainless steel joystick from Paradise Arcades.

For the switches, I bought a lot of leaf switches off eBay years ago, which was a smart move. I've only installed the one for the joystick. I'll do the buttons in the next day or so.

For the joystick I can swap the top as can be seen in the pictures below. I will try both to see which is easier on my six decade old hands that have typed way too many keystrokes in the last 50 years.

Next up is installing the boards into the cabinet and the marquee in its spot.

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For the joystick I can swap the top as can be seen in the pictures below. I will try both to see which is easier on my six decade old hands that have typed way too many keystrokes in the last 50 years.
You just reminded me of younger days starting to use buttons. I remember when we were able to use a calculator instead of a slide rule in maths class and then in exams.
 
You just reminded me of younger days starting to use buttons. I remember when we were able to use a calculator instead of a slide rule in maths class and then in exams.
Never used a slide rule though my engineering friends did. I was in Computer Science with a focus on Mathematics and we rarely got to use a calculator, more often got to use nothing. Simpler times :).
 
I've begun installing the boards and wiring into the cabinet.

As can be seen in the picture the main board set is on the left side of the cabinet. You can also see the Paradise Arcade power supply which will power the cabinet. Behind that you can see a most likely non-functioning original Defender power supply. I've left it installed and available if, in some distant future, someone inherits this cabinet and wants to use the original PS. The PS was bought in two separate sales, one for the PS proper and the other for the transformer and mounting board without the PS. Hence why I don't know if this all works and don't feel like finding out , to be honest. I have cleaned it somewhat but it's pretty much as I bought it. And yes it's bolted to the cabinet.

As I indicated, I'm using an arcade LCD. This has to do with me wanting it to be as light as possible but with all the functionality I require.

The harnesses I am using were purchased from Ken of Golden Arcade Parts. You can see them partially installed. I will be continuing the installation and anchoring them to the cabinet in the coming days.

I have also installed new old stock leaf switches. I don't know if the old ones are good but they're soldered to the old harness and I didn't want to desolder them all and determine the quality of each. Unfortunately the NOS leaf switches I have aren't the tall ones like the originals so I had to 3D print risers which are made by modifying these:

https://www.thingiverse.comPinball Flipper Tensioner by Mageek

And then gluing them together with a strong plastic glue. You can see the risers, the leafs, and the final assembled leafs in the photos, below.

I then screwed them into the control panel.

I hope to have another update next week.


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Well, my son came over Saturday and we got an unbelievable amount done. We installed the speaker grill, marquee, and trim to hold it in place. We installed a power bar into the cabinet to power the marquee LED and the arcade LCD. We tied down the harness that we installed and wired in the control panel, again courtesy of Ken's awesome Defender harness. And then we added lithium batteries into the main motherboard and fired it up (more on the batteries below). And lo and behold it lives!!!

Sadly it won't keep the settings and after a bit of testing the battery holder is just too corroded even after I tried to remove as much corrosion as I could. You can see my jury rigged battery holder which works for now. I've opted for an NVRAM upgrade as the 5101 is socketed on this particular Defender board so an easy upgrade. The other two main boards I have, neither of which work sadly, are not socketed so I lucked out.

We both played a game and I am so rusty but that's to be expected after not playing Defender for nearly 40 years.

Next up is the coin door and its service switches, the power switch so we can turn it all on as per an original Defender, the interlock switch, locks for the back door, and latches for the control panel.

I can't believe how close we are! My son and I are so stoked!

Once we get just the rest of the cabinet complete (see list above) we will then install Stargate and a JROK and set up the wiring so we can swap control panels. I will illustrate that as we continue on this adventure.

For now, here are some pictures of the state of the cabinet as of yesterday. Thanks to all who have been following and commenting. It's been greatly appreciated.

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A small update as life has overtaken me. Somehow, though now retired, I'm busier than ever.

But I managed a few hours to test and install the Stargate boards into the cabinet. And it powers cleanly off of the Paradise Arcades power supply so both are operational and I'll be able to switch between the two once all the wiring and switches are in place. This should be partially done by next weekend when my son finally has time to come over again as he's been so busy at work.

Here's what the cabinet looks like after the Stargate was installed and part of the harness I bought from Ken at Golden Age Arcades was connected and tied down.

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And yes there is an original Defender PS in the box but I don't know if it works and want to play the games more than get that PS operational. A project for the future, especially as my goal is to also have the JROK in the cabinet though I might change my mind on that front after seeing the half cabinets from another KLOVer. Time will tell.

Next up for me is to disassemble and clean the coin door. For whatever reason I find this next step more daunting than anything else I've had to do.

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Oh. Forgot to mention one coin mech works and the other doesn't. But I have another operational mech so I should be all set.
 
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