Dynamo HS-9 Advice

[Lumo]

I'm heading out to look at what I believe to be an empty HS-9 or HS-8. I'm not sure I've ever seen one, but I just spent the last couple hours reading up on them here, going back a lot of years in some of those threads. Every one with substantial contributions from @DonPanetta. Thanks Don and everyone else adding their pics and knowledge!

Anyway a couple questions for anyone who knows:

1. The monitor is gone (replaced with an LCD of course). I think I've got a source for a 25" monitor, but if that falls through, I may need to mount up a 19" in the short term. It looks like the HS-8 and HS-9 are identically sized cabs, but just came with different sized monitors. Is it safe to assume I can adapt either cab to either monitor size with a bit of woodworking?

2. What's it worth? Buyer is asking the equivalent of $350 US, which seems like a lot for an empty box, but it's the right cab for the project, fairly clean and I'm not spoiled by choice here in central Alberta.

3. It's gotta come up the stairs from the basement. The old flyer lists 450lbs but monitor is gone, so it can't possibly be that heavy. Will I need to take the top half off, or can 3 decently strong guys muscle it up stairs?

4. Any problem areas or frequently missing irreplaceable pieces I should check for?

For context, I hope to get the 25" crt back in it, rewire it and use it for fighting games as well as an occasional test rig (drawer access!). And eventually maybe add a CPS2 Darksoft multi.

I'm not hugely into 90s fighting games, I generally prefer golden age stuff, but it feels like a needed piece to recreate the arcade experience of my later youth. I also have a bootleg SF2CE and a couple beat em ups that are homeless.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DonPanetta]

$350 just seems excessive for an empty conversion cabinet, but that's just me. Wheel and deal. Kick tires.

The only difference between the HS8 and HS9 structurally is the monitor mount. The HS5, H8 and HS9 monitor simply mounts on two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood and 2 metal brackets that sit just behind the speaker panel. These panels have an either two 1/2-in holes on each side or one large elliptical cutout which gives you just enough space for adjustment. When rotating the monitor you undo two wing-nuts that hold the plywood slats while leaving them mounted to the monitor and you simply rotate the monitor with the slats on there. I don't have the dimensions for the 19 inch mount but you can easily make some by measuring the HS-9 monitor area, measuring the horizontal size of your tube then subtracting the tube size from your space and dividing that number by 2.

Check to make sure you have all of the leg leveler brackets at the bottom. There are no repros and everyone seems to have issues with them either going missing or being rusted out. If all the brackets are intact, make sure the leg levelers move easily. Lots of people break leg leveler threads in the brackets and its a nightmare to get them out.

If this cabinet has not been painted then it is an HS9B cabinet which are made of plywood. These are more sought after, lighter and stronger. 2 people getting this up the stairs is more than enough. Do not try to break this cabinet apart.

I feel everyone should have at least one generic JAMMA conversion cabinet from the late 80's-90's in their lineup. They are just so versatile, great for testing and for playing those boards that you enjoy from time to time but don't want to dedicate space to.

 

[ChanceKJ]

I have a few of these in my collection, all on location downtown Calgary. There are at least a dozen amongst a handful of us in the 403. A couple of the blue ones too. And we usually pay $250-400 Canadian for one. Also, If it helps here are the links to a couple of my Flickr galleries so you can get a better idea of whats inside…

Dynamo HS-9 Street Fighter

Explore this photo album by Chance Johnson on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Dynamo HS-9 MVS 1-Slot

Explore this photo album by Chance Johnson on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Yeah, and as stated above, they DO NOT split apart. Its just for looks.

Nothing really "irreplaceable" on them. Most of these style Dynamo cabs (HS1, 2, 5, 9, etc) are pretty generic. Probably done to keep manufacturing costs down for margins. Plus you can get the 45° marquee brackets at Home Depot in 8ft strips already painted black lol. Just trim to length and drill holes. Stock PSU's are also an easy rebuild with a cap kit. Owned my first one for a year before I realized there was a tiny hole on the right side with a power button. lol

Solid cabs, would be nicer if the back panels used a key rather than 4 screws, and the control panels were the wider HS-5 version with the horizontal pcb drawer, not the 45° drop in board.

 

[Lumo]

Awesome info Don, that's more than I could have hoped for! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge.

I'll do my best to get this done and home and will report back.

 

[Lumo]

I have a few of these in my collection, all on location downtown Calgary. There are at least a dozen amongst a handful of us in the 403. A couple of the blue ones too. And we usually pay $250-400 Canadian for one. Also, If it helps here are the links to a couple of my Flickr galleries so you can get a better idea of whats inside…

Dynamo HS-9 Street Fighter

Explore this photo album by Chance Johnson on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Dynamo HS-9 MVS 1-Slot

Explore this photo album by Chance Johnson on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Yeah, and as stated above, they DO NOT split apart. Its just for looks.

Nothing really "irreplaceable" on them. Most of these style Dynamo cabs (HS1, 2, 5, 9, etc) are pretty generic. Probably done to keep manufacturing costs down for margins. Plus you can get the 45° marquee brackets at Home Depot in 8ft strips already painted black lol. Just trim to length and drill holes. Stock PSU's are also an easy rebuild with a cap kit. Owned my first one for a year before I realized there was a tiny hole on the right side with a power button. lol

Solid cabs, would be nicer if the back panels used a key rather than 4 screws, and the control panels were the wider HS-5 version with the horizontal pcb drawer, not the 45° drop in board.

Thanks Chance! Once again, great photos and appreciate the local pricing info.

You shared your flickr previously regarding my Track and Field project and while I snooped through a bunch of it I hadn't remembered those.

Next time I have a question I may just start with your Flickr!

 

[DonPanetta]

the horizontal pcb drawer, not the 45° drop in board.

Early first-generation Dynamo HS-2, HS-5 and specialty cabinets made for Tecmo had a horizontal drawer but operators complained that they were a little too top heavy.

 

[JukeboxJon]

Early first-generation Dynamo HS-2, HS-5 and specialty cabinets made for Tecmo had a horizontal drawer but operators complained that they were a little too top heavy.

View attachment 862872

Huh out of all the Dynamo cabs my company use to own and ive seen, I do not think I ever seen a horizontal drawer Dynamo, a lot of Atari Cabs used a similar horizontal drawer like primal rage, they are a lot easier to work on. I think I would still prefer the horizontal drawer the most annoying thing with the 45 degree drawer is those two lock pins on each side falling closed when your trying to put the drawer back in or pull it out, and if the wiring is not properly ran it wont close correctly. Got several HS-5s and 3 Koam zbacks on my to do list someday.

 

[DonPanetta]

Huh out of all the Dynamo cabs my company use to own and ive seen, I do not think I ever seen a horizontal drawer Dynamo, a lot of Atari Cabs used a similar horizontal drawer like primal rage, they are a lot easier to work on. I think I would still prefer the horizontal drawer the most annoying thing with the 45 degree drawer is those two lock pins on each side falling closed when your trying to put the drawer back in or pull it out, and if the wiring is not properly ran it wont close correctly. Got several HS-5s and 3 Koam zbacks on my to do list someday.

These were made for a very short run with Double Dragon II and Ikari III deluxe cabinets being the only 'dedicated' cabs to use it. You can spot them by obvious drawer line directly underneath the control panel.

The Dynamo HS3, HS4 had a horizontal drawer and HS-16 went back to the horizontal drawer design.

 

[DuffCon]

I would add since you asked about weight:

The red ones tend to be plywood sides and a bit lighter. The blue ones tend to be particle board and are heavier. Even without a monitor it's a hand full and it's hard to wrangle or tip over because the top portion is much bigger. If the monitor door is open you have a few more grip options. I'm not the strongest person out there and I've wrangled an empty hs9 into a hatchback, but it took help.

 

[mrbill2084]

Early first-generation Dynamo HS-2, HS-5 and specialty cabinets made for Tecmo had a horizontal drawer but operators complained that they were a little too top heavy.

View attachment 862872

never had an hs2. but its like my favorite drawer cabinet, atari family cab. klax for 19" and rampart or pitfighter for 25".. reason I like it better than the dynamo style, you never have to hatch it closed if you dont want to. there are 2 latches to lock the sliding and 2 latches to lock down the control panel. Its the same cab 19" or 25", so you can swap control panels. flat drawer is best as you dont have to mount the board inside either..

well, normally you cant swap 3 player wide with 2 player wide, but I have a proto one thats bolt on front 2 player. tthe klax below is dedicated production so drawer is 1 piece. I can fit a primal rage board in the drawer, which is pretty big. my buddy mounted the power suplly to the bottom of the drawer so he could have even more room.

 

[Lumo]

Got it home.

Weight wasn't too bad although the overall size made it a bit tricky getting it up some stairs with a low ceiling.

Final price was $250, which is too much, but still happy to have it. Condition is decent, some dowels are a bit loose so I will add some screws, but pretty solid and clean. It's all plywood as predicted.

Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

[mrbill2084]

congrats!

if the hp screen is 4:3 save it.. not a great option, but much better than a 16:9.

 

[ChanceKJ]

Not too bad.

Looks like they pulled the iso as well, judging by the lack of the two bolts on the back next to the PSU. Thats an easy replacement. You might have gotten lucky, that piece of wood holding the LCD up looks like one of the monitor supports. Could use that to template another one and then all you'll need is a tube. And those can be had around here without too much fuss. $350 CDN? Thats not horrible. Looks like the bezel is intact and they added some black posterboard to the front to trim the lcd. Some kind of switchable marquee light too. All easy fixes. Sides look like they are in great shape too. Overall it looks like its in better shape then most tbh

…i see some wood grain just past it in the picture, what else did they have there…?

 

[DonPanetta]

You did decently well for a clean plywood HS-9 with a complete XT power supply for $250 IMO.

The wood plank that the LCD is siting on is one of the monitor mounts. You should have 2 of them and the upper metal brackets that hold the upper plank. I'd check for those.

 

[Lumo]

Not too bad.

Looks like they pulled the iso as well, judging by the lack of the two bolts on the back next to the PSU. Thats an easy replacement. You might have gotten lucky, that piece of wood holding the LCD up looks like one of the monitor supports. Could use that to template another one and then all you'll need is a tube. And those can be had around here without too much fuss. $350 CDN? Thats not horrible. Looks like the bezel is intact and they added some black posterboard to the front to trim the lcd. Some kind of switchable marquee light too. All easy fixes. Sides look like they are in great shape too. Overall it looks like its in better shape then most tbh

…i see some wood grain just past it in the picture, what else did they have there…?

Thanks, I havent figured out the monitor supports yet, but that's encouraging.

Yup, $350 canuck bucks - dropping by the day!

That photo is on my end. The woodgrain is a Vanguard cabinet I picked up a month or two ago with a bootleg SF2 and a cracked neckboard.