Mistakes you've made / Things you need to know about this hobby

R3LL1K

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Messages
3,471
Reaction score
32
Location
Houston, Texas
Mistakes you've made / Things you need to know about this hobby

I thought it would be a good idea to post things that you have learned being involved in this hobby that could help others. I'm sure a lot of us have made mistakes or small errors that caused huge headaches. Please post some of the mistakes you've made so that it might help someone else some heartache and headaches in the future.

If you go to an ex OP's place and most of the boards in his machine are MVS 16-1's or 48-1 boards then chances are other loose boards or carts he has laying around aren't authentic.

Bought a bunch of Neo-Geo carts and yep sure enough most of them are bootlegs. I'm not too bothered due to the great price I got on everything I bought as a package. Had I looked a little harder I could have gotten an even better deal negotiating on the price. Of course I couldn't very well go around opening up his MVS carts though to check for authenticity. :?

Don't buy a cab to restore unless you know exactly what you'll need to restore it and that it is available.

I know some of you might disagree with this but in my experience it's the smallest most insignificant part that you would never think of, that will keep your cab from ever being complete unless you pay someone to reproduce it.
 
-Don't use wood filler to repair corners.

-If a paint can says apply 2nd coat within 1 hour or after 48 and you miss the 1 hr cut off, wait the full 48 to recoat.

-resist the urge to rush any of the steps in a resto, especially cab/surface prep

-Don't put the game that you are restoring together enough to 'just play it once' before actually finishing it.

-don't work on crucial steps after midnight, or after 3 or more beers.

-Sand outside and paint inside if at all possible.

-If you live in a cold climate, get that garage heater now, not in 2 years.

-Don't leave monitors laying around where the neck can get snapped by just about anything.
 
---->Keep the backs on your project machines.

My buddy has so many games, but hardly a one has the back, instead they're all over his shop. Trying to find the right ones to cover the backs is near impossible now and the guts/ neckboards are exposed to breakage. We've lost one neckboard for sure from this.

---->set backglasses and bezels on cardboard/ fabric/ or ANYTHING but cement floor.

We've busted several glass peices from setting them down on concrete. Despite setting them super-gently down, the second the corner touched, it exploded. If you're stacking them, use cardboard dividers.
 
Don't believe for one second that your $25 arcade score is all it's cracked up to be. Plan on spending several hundred to make it run and look pretty and if those figures scare you, don't buy it!
 
I use to buy all the stuff that I could haul and now I have too much stuff and need it gone.

Remember, don't do it...quality is much better than quantity.

-Tim
 
Don't hoard parts for the games you want someday... someday is never... and if you ever get to that someday... chances are you will find the game you want almost all in one piece.
 
I use to buy all the stuff that I could haul and now I have too much stuff and need it gone.

Remember, don't do it...quality is much better than quantity.

-Tim
Wiser words I have not heard in a long time. I used to buy any cheap game I could find years ago... then I had crappy looking games, often could not find the parts to fix them and even if I did by the time all was said and done it was just as expensive anyway... plus a lot more work. Now I just pay more up front for nice(r) games that only need one or two things, if any. I have had multiple friends not in the hobby come over and ask, "Is that new?" That always makes me laugh (and feel good too). Note: This is partially motivated by my lack of space and associated smaller collection than most here.
 
Dont buy a game just because its a good deal. If you buy 3 games at $150 and only bought them because you were the first one to see the ad on CL, then thats $450 you could have spent on a game you actually wanted.
 
When working with electricity (IE plugging in something for the first time after a repair) ALWAYS double check connections.
 
Here's one I learned last night:

When wiggling wires to find out why the picture comes and goes when they are wiggled, don't put your hand near the top of the focus block on a G07 without checking to make sure that the little rubber protector sleeve is fully in place.

:eek:
 
I learned that discharging a monitor isn't nearly as scary/deadly as some would make you believe. I put off monitor repairs for over a year thanks to folks telling me I risk life and limb even if I follow safety precautions.
 
I learned that discharging a monitor isn't nearly as scary/deadly as some would make you believe. I put off monitor repairs for over a year thanks to folks telling me I risk life and limb even if I follow safety precautions.

Amen. Even worse was that the first few times I discharged monitors I never got a zap sound so I always worried that I had done it wrong.
 
Dont use goof off to get the remaing paper off of a 1981 NOS plexiglass marquee.
 
If you are fixing a g07 that blew a flyback try not to forget to discharge that big cap on the chassis. :eek:
 
An interlock switch can be pulled OUT rather than pushed in, and stays permanently locked on. I only learned this after about 2 years of trying and failing to keep an interlock depressed with duct tape on my first game.
 
Back
Top Bottom