I got the arcade collecting bug back in october last year through a friend of mine.
Back then it was just a simple "JK" cabinet with a MAME computer in it, but it was enough to bring fuel to that old dream about owning a bunch of arcade games.
After messing with MAME for a while and adding a second "JK" cabinet so I could play vertical games in one and horizontal in the other, i desided to get into the REAL thing.
So last month I made a sweet deal with a friend of mine, who had run out of room in his garage, and traded a Playstation 3 for two dedicated cabs: Virtua Fighter and Operation Thunderbolt. Both cabs in VERY good condition, only problem is with the player two gun on the Thunderbolt and the recoil giving up about 5-10 minutes into the game, but should be no problem to fix. Then just a few days ago I made an even better deal when I went to an old arcade shop getting a Super Hang-On upright cabinet. When I got there I noticed the monitor was VERY dark, the handbrake was loose and the cab itself needs a lot of work to get back in shape. But the owner was kind enough to lower the price AND include a perfectly working Turbo Outrun mini cab which only needs a new monitor to get back in full working order.
So within 3 weeks I´ve gotten 4 cabs for almost nothing, even though they need some small work here and there, I´ll still consider my first steps to be a success so far
PLUS, the best of all, I might finally get a Defender cab this fall from the same guy I got the SEGA cabs. It needs a new romset, some cap work on the monitor, and a lot of work with the sidearts, new controls etc. but it´s gonna be worth it since I´ve been dreaming about getting a Defender since forever
Since I´m new at this I don´t know THAT much about how to fix these machines, but through the friend of mine who got me into this last october, I´m learning quite a lot every single day working on them. Sure, it´s a bit frustrating now and then, but when you resurrects something, it´s an amazing feeling
Only problem at the moment, I live in a small apartment, 2 roms and 1 kitchen, and my living room containing 6 cabs (soon 7 with Defender) is now looking more like a small arcade with a sofa and hometheater stuck in the middle.
Might be looking for a bigger place in the future, but....I think I can squeeze one or two more cabs somewhere in here before I run completely out of space
To have a bit of that old magic in my home that I got in the arcades back in the 80:s is worth everything to me.