Galxaxian Questions From Newbie

flyingpan777

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I just picked up an original Galaxian and plan to restore it. Overall the game is in great shape—although the inside is very dirty and dusty. I don't think it was ever cleaned. All the parts are present and in really good shape. The cabinet artwork has very little wear too.

I do have the occasional hum bar issues so I am replacing the fuse blocks/fuses and the edge connector as well as all of the electrolytic caps on the PCB. Although I've included it in my order from Bob Roberts, I am ambivalent about installing the monitor cap kit. The monitor is a Wells Gardner 19K 4606 and from what I have been reading installing cap kits have had mixed results-some work better, other times they create more trouble. The monitor for the most part, looks fine to me. There are no jailbars, blurry pixels or curling. Granted I'm sure it was much more sharper and color vibrant when it was built in 1981 but it's not screaming for help. My question is, how much of an improvement will I see after I install the cap kit and is it worth doing it on a monitor that is working without any major problems?

I thought about turning this into a 60 in 1.

From what I understand I would need the following:

JAMMA harness
JAMMA 60 in 1 board
New Control Panel (I don't want to hack the original)
New Power Supply or can I use the existing one?

Is this correct?

While I would like the idea of having 60 games in the machine, I don't want to make irreversible modifications. I would like the option to return it to its original state. I really like Galaxian-it's a harder game than I thought! The only reason I am considering a multi-game is because of space issues. If the conversion requires me to tear apart the original-I won't do it.

Thanks,
Robert
 
If it aint broke, dont fix it. If it doesnt need a cap kit, dont cap it. :)

As for the conversion, youve nailed it. Although I would put in a new switching "Peter Chou" power supply. Theyre much more reliable than the 25+ year old supply.
 
If it aint broke, dont fix it. If it doesnt need a cap kit, dont cap it. :)

As for the conversion, youve nailed it. Although I would put in a new switching "Peter Chou" power supply. Theyre much more reliable than the 25+ year old supply.

Cool. Thanks!
 
60-1 - the sounds are very mediocre on many games and the HS table sucks. Space is a huge reason why you would want to use one though.

Bastardizing the cabinet - not all. You could actually leave all original hardware installed.
FWIW - I've had Peter Chou's fail ... nothing is bullet proof right? ;)

Additional hardware needed - Control panel, JAMMA harness, 2 1/4" trackball? 60-1 pcb and power supply.

As far as the monitor rebuild goes - mixed feelings on this one. If you plan on keeping it and hope for many hours of trouble free enjoyment I guess if it were me and the tube wasn't burned to hell .... yeah I'd cap kit it. If the tube was fairly burned in then I'd leave it alone and when she failed install a different one.
 
Well that sucks about the 60-in-1s. Is is just the 60-in-1s or are all of the multi boards like that? Well the first thing I want to do regardless is get this one back in shape. Who knows maybe after it is all done, I will keep it original.

Regarding the monitor, I do plan on keeping it and am definitely hoping of many hours of trouble-free performance. There is no burn in at all. I just know I would be kicking myself if I took apart a working monitor, only to find out that I f'd it up by trying to fix it. I am pretty experienced with soldering and electronics in general, I just think I would be more inclined to purchase a new one rather than troubleshoot a 29-year-old one.
 
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