Just got a Zoo Keeper - questions about the battery, Taito high score kit, etc.

Grantman

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Just got a Zoo Keeper - questions about the battery, Taito high score kit, etc.

This is my first classic arcade game cabinet. Forgive the newbie questions--I haven't worked on one of these before.

It appears to be the original battery on the PCB (see image). Can I just yank that off?

I'm getting a memory failure message when powering up (see image). Is that because it has a dead battery or is that caused by something else? If I open the coin door and pull out the power interlock switch, it seems to be OK.

Will the Taito high score kit save the game settings as well as the high scores (and fix the memory problem above)? Does anyone have a photo of that installed on a PCB? I just ordered one from QuarterArcade and I want to see where exactly it's supposed to go.

The monitor is kind of dark (I can barely see the coconuts on the ledge levels). Is this something that can be adjusted, or would a cap kit help?

The joystick is loose. Is it possible to tighten that up or do I need to replace it?

The game is missing a speaker. What's the deal with that? Any idea where I can get a replacement or does it have to be from another Zoo Keeper game?

Any other advice would be appreciated.
 

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Breathe....

Yes, that is the original battery.
Yes, the battery is dead.
Yes, that is what is causing the error message.
Turn up the brightness on the monitor's flyback.
 
...

Zookeeper actually only came with 1 speaker. But you can wire in a second one. I actually did this to mine.

Also, You need to replace the battery or purchase the Mark Spaeth hi-score memory save.

I would also recommend to burn the coin bypass chip. You can download it here:
http://www.arcade-classics.com/roms/ARCADE

I dont see the any reason to recap it yet. The picture looks good to me.

Jon
 
You. Bastard. I've been wondering who got the $100, near perfect looking zookeeper off cl a month or two ago, if that was you, I hate (read: envy) you. :) Welcome to the addiction, always good to have another one here from NoVA.

As far as the joystick being loose, it would depend on the joystick (not sure which ones were on zookeeper, I've not owned one), but if you mean it's not returning to center or there's some play in the center, could be a couple things. If the joystick mechanism has a bunch of dirt/dust/etc in it, it could be causing enough friction that it's sticking. If it's something where it's just not returning all the way to center or there's some looseness in what center is, could be a matter of a spring. Both of those should be relatively easy to remedy (cleaning the joystick or replacing the spring) if you get the joystick off the panel and broken down into it's parts.

By all means wait on executing the above until someone can confirm what type of stick that particular game has, like I said I've never had hands on one so I'm not sure what type of stick is in there.
 
You. Bastard. I've been wondering who got the $100, near perfect looking zookeeper off cl a month or two ago, if that was you, I hate (read: envy) you. :) Welcome to the addiction, always good to have another one here from NoVA.

That wasn't me! But I saw it and I wanted it! I replied to that CL ad twice and heard nothing. What was the deal with that? I thought it was fate that 1) I was actively looking for a Zoo Keeper and happened to see the ad (even though it didn't even say the name of the game in the ad), 2) it was local, and 3) it was only $100! But it was not to be. I am still bitter about that one. I ended up buying one from Georgia and having it shipped at much greater expense.

So which of you other bastards picked up the Zoo Keeper for $100?
 
Holy chesse & crackers....Zookeeper for $100! I bet there was a mob lined up in front of this guy's place!
 
That wasn't me! But I saw it and I wanted it! I replied to that CL ad twice and heard nothing. What was the deal with that? I thought it was fate that 1) I was actively looking for a Zoo Keeper and happened to see the ad (even though it didn't even say the name of the game in the ad), 2) it was local, and 3) it was only $100! But it was not to be. I am still bitter about that one. I ended up buying one from Georgia and having it shipped at much greater expense.

So which of you other bastards picked up the Zoo Keeper for $100?

I guess you're alright then. :) Yeah that one shocked the hell out of me. First CL ad I'd seen where someone was asking an insanely low price just trying to get rid of something, saw the sideart and did a triple take. I was a day and a half late, though, I replied to the ad and never heard back either. I figured someone had already gotten it by the time I emailed, whoever got it probably invented a teleportation device as I don't imagine that one lasted long. Been meaning to post a "fess up" thread, just hadn't quite gotten around to it as of yet.

If you could get a shot of the joystick (bottom, component end under the control panel) we could probably have a better idea of how to deal with the loose joystick. I didn't think to ask that last night. Is it that it sticks, or that it flops a bit at center?
 
joystick

If you could get a shot of the joystick (bottom, component end under the control panel) we could probably have a better idea of how to deal with the loose joystick. I didn't think to ask that last night. Is it that it sticks, or that it flops a bit at center?

The joystick doesn't stick. It moves/wobbles around before meeting any resistance. Photo is below.
 

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speaker?

Zookeeper actually only came with 1 speaker. But you can wire in a second one. I actually did this to mine.

Is that a generic speaker I can order online or do I have to find an old Taito one?
 
Zookeeper on a multi?

Off topic of this post, but do you guys know if Zookeeper is on any multiboard (other than the Taito Gameroom Classics board)? I want to start restoring my cabinet, but I want the game working first. I've been messing with it for a couple years on and off and it has never worked for more than a day. I am having thoughts of just putting in a multi board and running only Zookeeper off of that board. I just haven't seen one where it's available. It's probably my favorite game, and I'm sick of not having it working.

Edit: On second thought, and after seeing the Zookeeper for sale post, I should just keep at it and keep it original. Might take me a while. I'm just dying to restore the cabinet and get a set of those stencils :)
 
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