Orange Sherbet Gravitar

Area69

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As if I don't have enough projects, I grabbed this POS yesterday.
Notice the buzzer button on the front. =)

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I'm just not one to walk away from a color vector, no matter what the condition.

Testing the board in my Space Duel provided a quick glimpse of the Gravitar Logo before going black. So the board has problems, naturally.

The monitor is a mess, and the power brick and AR need rebuilding.

The best thing this has going for it is the cab, except for being painted orange, and missing a chunk here and there, it's in decent shape. =)

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Nice find especially for us Floridians, not too many classics around much anymore seems a lil dried up here.
 
Congrats! Challenging game = fun. I would personally leave it orange(or orange-er), but that's just me.

It's horribly cool. :cool2:
 
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I know what you're saying about the classics, few and far between. I never played Gravitar, and I hear it's really difficult, but a vector is just too good to let go. The artwork alone sold me.

Glad to see there is some love for Gravitar, cause I'm going to need help with this one. I'm kinda digging on the orange too.
 
Glad to see there is some love for Gravitar, cause I'm going to need help with this one. I'm kinda digging on the orange too.

If restoring it to white proves to be too much of a pain in the ass, paint it black:

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Saw this black Gravitar for sale on eBay about a year ago and I nabbed a copy of the photo for posterity. Tell me that doesn't look bitchin'. Way better than the original white IMO.
 
Yeah, that black one looks good too.

So I finally get to look at the Gravitar tonight after work. I busted out the Simple Green and the Magic Eraser. Im happy to say that most of the crud that was on the artwork came off and it's in nice shape.

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Also the door bell had to go. Sorry.

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Here's a shot of the board and that burnt to hell tantalum cap.
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So far I've re-capped the main PCB and did Bob's kit rebuild on the ARII. Friday I tested the x and y outs and they look pretty sketch, so I ordered up the TL082's and sockets.

The bottom of the cab is filthy as always so I'm going to try the sanding / vacuming trick before I rebuild and reinstall the power brick.

With some luck I'll be playing Gravitar next weekend.

Does anyone make a repro of the control panel for these?
 
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Well replacing those TL082 did squat. I won't be playing Gravitar any time soon. =(

The x out is still way low, like .6 and the y is 146-160, looks normal. Any ideas?
 
Here I go again. I have this Gravitar, and the artwork looks good, but parts of the cab are nasty. After seeing some of the work Phet did replacing corners I decided to give it a try.

I used a tracing bit on my router and made two copies of the front control panel portions of the cabinet. One side had a large chunk missing and the other was cracked and bent outwards. I did the same for the top two corners near the marquee. One side had been patched with some kind of putty and it flaked right off, and the other was splintered and smashed. This photo doesn't really show the damage very well.

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I used a circular saw and just hacked the damaged corners off. It wasn't a very elegant way of doing the job, and the cuts were a bit mangled. I then matched the two pieces up and used the biscuit joiner to attach the new corners.

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Sorry for the poor photo quality, I was using an iphone. Anyway they all turned out quite well, I think with a little bondo and a good deal of sanding they should be looking fresh again.
 
Dude... I need to do EXACTLY the same thing to my left side control panel area!

...interested in selling me a piece? I don't have a "tracing router bit" nor do I have a decent router frankly.

Here's my chunk:

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Dude... I need to do EXACTLY the same thing to my left side control panel area!

...interested in selling me a piece? I don't have a "tracing router bit" nor do I have a decent router frankly.

Here's my chunk:

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No problem, but you will still need a way to cut the t-mold groove. I was just looking at the photos on your post about this game. Looks like you should replace the other side as well. Either way, let me know.
 
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What is it about the Atari vectors cabs...they always have cracked and mangled control panel cab sides as well as the upper corners of the cabs too..what the hell did people do when moving these cabs that caused this....I've seen this literally on 75 percent of the atari vector cabs i've come across...

If its not already mangled or a portion missing...you at least have the stress crack start to form in one of those locations..

I've come to the conclusion that it must have been a defect in the way the cab was made where the weight distribution of the cab allowed for cracking in those high stress areas when moved..or something to that effect..

Things that make you go hmmmmm...:rolleyes:
 
Think about it...its particle board that is cut to a small rounded point. Lots of pressure from onlookers or players leaning on these areas (its where you see wear most commonly on any cabinet) and it's a recipe for crappy particle board to break.
 
Yeah, it really isn't a great design (this specific cab) frankly. The area on the side of the CP is just too small...
 
Plywood gives quite a bit, in fact, it can be steamed and bent. Particle board is brittle and just cracks or breaks. It probably doesn't take a really big hit on one of the control panel areas jutting out to crack it.
 
I bet its from people moving them by twisting them from side to side. Agreed, its not a good setup. You can fix it with Bondo and screws. Friz, you at least have SOME support there. I repaired one with bondo, and it turned out nice.. Now I wouldnt carry the cab from that spot though..
 
Sir, you may have just embarked on a great little opportunity...the arcade equivalent of autobody patch panels!!!
 
I haven't tried using my router with plywood yet, seems like a much better choice. I used a biscuit joiner, and the pieces lined up perfectly. If I had to use dowels, I'm sure I'd have assed it up big time.

Ok, I'll start selling pre-routed corners and cabinet pieces. Sounds like a plan. :)
 
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