Dragon's Lair! Ohh Baby! Updated 06-01-2016

I can understand wanting to stay original with the DL, but even when they were new the LaserDiscs were problematic. Have you considered replacing it with a Dexter LaserDisc emulator board?

http://laserdisc-replacement.com

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/10/dexter-laserdisc-replacement/

The control panel looks great for having black paint over it for an untold number of years.


For me, It's the idea of an actual spinning laserdisc that has the cool factor. I totally get dexter, and from now on it will always be an option (assuming they make more, can't even get one now) I already have the Merlin 8000 and from what I've seen it works with dexter well.
 
Got it all working outside of the cabinet! Can't believe the monitor and the old ntsc decoder board works. Everything seems to be working as it should except... no game sounds.

When I just play the disc hooked up to a tv the sound works great but my volume control was hacked up due to the conversion someone did. The speakers do the beeps at startup, but not sure how to hook up the volume pots correctly. Have to do some more research!

Working Dragon's Lair Disc running in a LD-V4200 with Merlin 8000. WG Monitor with original NTSC decoder board. Original Iso and a brand new switching power supply.

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Looking Awesome Dan!

I love that you set up the Bezel around the monitor to give it that in-game look!

The RCA plugs go directly to the volume pots. The shield wire is connected up with common ground and connected to one side of the pot, the signal line goes to the opposite side of the pot. The center (wiper) pot connection then runs to the main board at pin 16 (right) or pin 24 (left).

Keep us posted.
 
Dragon's Lair Project

Good luck with this project; I would love to have a DL in my collection but I would probably punk out and go with Daphne emulator. Nothing says 80's arcade like Dragon's Lair running in attract mode.
 
Good luck with this project; I would love to have a DL in my collection but I would probably punk out and go with Daphne emulator. Nothing says 80's arcade like Dragon's Lair running in attract mode.

amen to that!

Very nice progress, that is looking like it's going to be a sweet final product.
 
Update: 1-15-2017

Still a few small things to finish up but another Dragon's Lair is back in service! I had to cut a new piece of wood to mount the scoreboard and speakers on. I used the measurements from the repro plexi I got. (which is beautiful btw) Cut the openings and drill holes for the speaker bolts. Once it was cut I painted it black and asembled everything. It all fit really well. I used some window tint from wal mart for the black film over the scoreboard.

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Applied the side art, which is also amazing looking. Had some talk about where exactly to put it. In the end, I put it where I thought it looked best. Installed the monitor and wired everything up. I ended up finding a ld-v4400 fully working. Running that with a laser con merlin 8000 card. Game plays fantastic!

Few things, I only had one speaker when I got the game, I acquired another DL speaker, but it was a different kind. I've seen both styles in DL games before, but eventually would like them to match.. One of the volume pots is going to need to be replaced. Few other odds and ends, but I just wanted to get to playing it. I also decided to leave the back untouched other than replacing the fan cover and I have a new air filter in the mail. I like the 'Joytime' sticker and paint. Shows it was really in an arcade. The side art is new, but all the vinyl I left original too. Just a few dings here and there, overall it looks really nice.

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Game is up and playable! Can't believe I own a fully working Dragon's Lair. I did go with the repro control panel overlay. After seeing pics of nos ones, the repro isn't that far off, and had to do something about the 5 holes drilled in it. I'm happy I went this route. 8 way leaf wico joystick, and all leaf switch buttons. I also put some .50 cent inserts in the coin door, no idea if thats how it was originally. Looks sharp though!

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JeAlOUs ... nice work. Thanks for sharing the journey to bring this one back. One day I hope to have one as well. (damn the critics). :)
 
Nice job. I love these machines and it is always great to see another one get up and running.

On the $0.50 coin door labels, mine has them and I believe they are original to the machine.
 

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Really beautiful work. I'm about to start my restoration but I'm missing a lot of stuff too. You have inspired me to start the journey. Congrats on the amazing work.
 
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