Just bought my first classic cabinet...few questions

ClarkWGriswold

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Just bought my first classic cabinet...few questions

Just bought my first classic arcade cabinet. Was told it is an original Pac man cabinet, it's made of plywood and not pressboard....at any rate, I have a few questions. Overview is this: monitor already upgraded to lcd, it's running a 60-1 pcb that appears to have a JAMMA conversion as well.

The joystick is not awesome. i am sure it's the original and it does not actuate consistently, particularly in the downward direction. It makes playing games like Frogger a real challenge! I took a look at the back of the control panel and besides being a smorgasbord of splicing leading into the joystick, all of the connections appear to be soldered. I assume this is the correct method of attaching all those wires, but I am going to order a new joystick. Is soldering the way to go here, if so, recommendations on a solder gun? I have never really tried soldering before, hate to learn on an otherwise working machine but...

Secondly, the glass overlay has Pac Man graphics around the edges that is in fairly poor shape. Can I order a new margin graphic for that piece of glass somewhere? Sorry for the noob questions, but I have been in this hobby for exactly 72 hours now. Looking forward to a basic aesthetic refresh for this cabinet. Something fairly easy for a first-timer. Thanks for any guidance you may have.
 
Welcome to the boards!

Do you plan on keeping it as a multi-game? The overwhelming majority of members here (myself included) would encourage you to restore it to a Pac-Man, if that was the original game.

At any rate, if you can possibly manage it, get rid of that LCD. You will find that a CRT produces a picture that is far superior to your current monitor.

Also, pictures are always a plus, as they help with diagnosing issues.
 
Get an original joystick for PAC man. Nothing feels right except for the original. A CRT would be great if you can find a working one. Maybe check with collectors in your neck of the woods.
 
They probably installed an 8-way joystick in there because some of the games in a multi-kit need 8-ways of movement. Thing is, Pac-Man and a lot of other classics used a 4-way joystick. Playing Pac-Man with an 8-way is just terrible. Frogger is also only a 4-way. 8-way will cause you to hit directions that you don't intend.

Find yourself an original 4-way Pac-Man joystick or at least a 4-way joystick. After that, look into converting it back to a tube monitor(CRT). An LCD has no hope of glowing and ghosting like an original CRT.
 
Welcome to the boards!

Do you plan on keeping it as a multi-game? The overwhelming majority of members here (myself included) would encourage you to restore it to a Pac-Man, if that was the original game.

At any rate, if you can possibly manage it, get rid of that LCD. You will find that a CRT produces a picture that is far superior to your current monitor.

Also, pictures are always a plus, as they help with diagnosing issues.

+1 for this...


Get an original joystick for PAC man. Nothing feels right except for the original. A CRT would be great if you can find a working one. Maybe check with collectors in your neck of the woods.

...and +1 for this


If you want to dive into the hobby, I would strongly recommend turning this back into a Pac-Man, with a CRT, not an LCD. However, if you don't want to have 30+ machines in your house, garage, storage area, etc., then keeping it as a multigame is a good way to go. But even if you want to keep it as a multi, get a CRT. They are just way nicer, I don't even consider changing one of my monitors to an LCD.

If you're talking about the glass over the screen being in bad shape, that's called a bezel, and the artwork is screened directly onto the glass. You can get a new one here, it's worth the price and will look incredible, I promise: https://www.phoenixarcade.com/products/pac-man/pac-man-glass-bezel

Welcome to the forums!
 
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Phoenix Arcade is where you want to get your artwork. Here is a link to their Pac-Man stuff. You can get acrylic which is cheaper of real glass like the original.

https://www.phoenixarcade.com/product-category/pac-man

Make sure to measure your bezel that's in there now. Just in case it's not an original cabinet you don't want to end up buying a bezel that doesn't fit.

Better yet, post a picture on here of your cabinet and we can tell you if it's original or not.
 
Thanks, great to be here. Here is the issue(s) with your suggestion, and I would appreciate some additional insight on this. I live in a townhouse and I might...emphasis on MIGHT, have room for a total of 4 upright cabinets in the mancave. The fact is that although I was the right age when the public arcade hit its zenith,( I was born in '68) I was not an arcade junkie. I never got good enough at any one game that I feel like I simply must have that particular dedicated cabinet in my house.
Since I only have room for 3-4 machines, the only dedicated cabinets that really make sense for me would be those whose original control panel was so unique that its not available on a multicade....Tempest and Paperboy come to mind. I like the idea of having ONE original, unmolested dedicated cabinet (with a CRT) in my small collection but it would be a struggle to decide on which game. Tempest might be the only game I liked well enough back in the day to justify a dedicated cab, but there is a guy in Texas building tempest cabs from scratch with an LCD and new components for 1400.00. Hell, an original Tempest costs the same and you are stuck dealing with that X-Y color vector monitor. I think I am "nouveau-riche" when it comes to arcade-ing. I really don't have the space, and I certainly don't have the expertise, to get into full-on rebuilds. Given all those constraints, I am more likely to have at least one multicade in my house. The ROI is too great when you have so little space.
 
Thanks, great to be here. Here is the issue(s) with your suggestion, and I would appreciate some additional insight on this. I live in a townhouse and I might...emphasis on MIGHT, have room for a total of 4 upright cabinets in the mancave. The fact is that although I was the right age when the public arcade hit its zenith,( I was born in '68) I was not an arcade junkie. I never got good enough at any one game that I feel like I simply must have that particular dedicated cabinet in my house.
Since I only have room for 3-4 machines, the only dedicated cabinets that really make sense for me would be those whose original control panel was so unique that its not available on a multicade....Tempest and Paperboy come to mind. I like the idea of having ONE original, unmolested dedicated cabinet (with a CRT) in my small collection but it would be a struggle to decide on which game. Tempest might be the only game I liked well enough back in the day to justify a dedicated cab, but there is a guy in Texas building tempest cabs from scratch with an LCD and new components for 1400.00. Hell, an original Tempest costs the same and you are stuck dealing with that X-Y color vector monitor. I think I am "nouveau-riche" when it comes to arcade-ing. I really don't have the space, and I certainly don't have the expertise, to get into full-on rebuilds. Given all those constraints, I am more likely to have at least one multicade in my house. The ROI is too great when you have so little space.

If you're patient, you'll be able to find an original tempest in decent shape for under a grand. The color vector monitor is the biggest pain, but I still believe that it's far better than an LCD, because an LCD just can't replicate it well enough. Although, I get where you're coming from. If it isn't working, there is a bevy of collectors on this website that can help with it
 
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