Teknotoyz
Well-known member
I really keep fooling myself and think that I'm done, no more games to buy.
I got my grail a few months back (TAF pin), then ended up buying 2 twins, 4 seats of Sega Super GT in December.....
Well, honestly, I'm out of space now, so no new games is a reasonable thought. Right?
Friday night we were on our way to visit with kids living at a local children's shelter and I passed an OP's shop I know (Matt).....
hmm, quick stop and peek in the window sounded like a innocent enough diversion to me.
This is what I saw at that time.
Not too much of interest to me, a dual monitor Players Choice 10 was tucked in the back.
Lots of bigger machines and some yardsale stuff he sells on occasion.
We headed on up to the shelter and had a nice evening of eating and games with the kids there.
If you never get out to do charity, you need to, it's rewarding in many ways.
Anyway, on our way home, the lights were on in Matt's shop so I swung in to chat with him for a few, didn't have much time as my kids and wife were with me and it was LATE.
Most of the stuff I had no interest in. I was eyeing the PC10 dual monitor, it had a minor wiring issue, but worked with 10 games installed.
He was asking $400, not too bad, but I passed due to my space limitation.
We talked for a bit and somehow got on the subject of prize cranes.
I have an old "Big Choice" crane by Betson that the kids LOVE, I mean it gets more play time hands down than anything I own.
I mentioned mine was the silent type, and Matt pointed at one sitting in the corner. It looked like mine, but had a Namco marquee and a credit/timer display!!
My interest was immediate, I knew this machine would have sound and that was something I really wanted to add to my machine.....
$200 was the price (non-working w/ trolly issue) and I told Matt I'd think about it and left out.
I talked it over with the wife, and she had no objections, so the next day I ran down and picked it up.
Really $200 isn't bad, I have tons of spare parts to fix it.
My plan is to swap the control boards out and sell a working (Rotary PCB version) crane to make back my $200, maybe a bit more.
I tinkered with it today for a bit and got the trolly moving correctly.
The best part of this deal, is that no parts were needed at all, wiring issues only (but pretty hacked).
The wires for the claw coil were actually missing, I'll need to fish new ones through the harness.
You'll notice in the video that the claw doesn't close.
I'll need to take some more time to rewire it properly later.
I know cranes don't fall into everybody's idea of a machine for a home arcade.
But I will say, they really do get a lot of attention when people see them.
My kids "win" the stuffed animals over and over and always are happy to win them again.
Gotta add some Angry Birds items into the mix at some point.....
I got my grail a few months back (TAF pin), then ended up buying 2 twins, 4 seats of Sega Super GT in December.....
Well, honestly, I'm out of space now, so no new games is a reasonable thought. Right?
Friday night we were on our way to visit with kids living at a local children's shelter and I passed an OP's shop I know (Matt).....
hmm, quick stop and peek in the window sounded like a innocent enough diversion to me.
This is what I saw at that time.
Not too much of interest to me, a dual monitor Players Choice 10 was tucked in the back.
Lots of bigger machines and some yardsale stuff he sells on occasion.
We headed on up to the shelter and had a nice evening of eating and games with the kids there.
If you never get out to do charity, you need to, it's rewarding in many ways.
Anyway, on our way home, the lights were on in Matt's shop so I swung in to chat with him for a few, didn't have much time as my kids and wife were with me and it was LATE.
Most of the stuff I had no interest in. I was eyeing the PC10 dual monitor, it had a minor wiring issue, but worked with 10 games installed.
He was asking $400, not too bad, but I passed due to my space limitation.
We talked for a bit and somehow got on the subject of prize cranes.
I have an old "Big Choice" crane by Betson that the kids LOVE, I mean it gets more play time hands down than anything I own.
I mentioned mine was the silent type, and Matt pointed at one sitting in the corner. It looked like mine, but had a Namco marquee and a credit/timer display!!
My interest was immediate, I knew this machine would have sound and that was something I really wanted to add to my machine.....
$200 was the price (non-working w/ trolly issue) and I told Matt I'd think about it and left out.
I talked it over with the wife, and she had no objections, so the next day I ran down and picked it up.
Really $200 isn't bad, I have tons of spare parts to fix it.
My plan is to swap the control boards out and sell a working (Rotary PCB version) crane to make back my $200, maybe a bit more.
I tinkered with it today for a bit and got the trolly moving correctly.
The best part of this deal, is that no parts were needed at all, wiring issues only (but pretty hacked).
The wires for the claw coil were actually missing, I'll need to fish new ones through the harness.
You'll notice in the video that the claw doesn't close.
I'll need to take some more time to rewire it properly later.
I know cranes don't fall into everybody's idea of a machine for a home arcade.
But I will say, they really do get a lot of attention when people see them.
My kids "win" the stuffed animals over and over and always are happy to win them again.
Gotta add some Angry Birds items into the mix at some point.....
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