PEP talk needed from fellow arcade collectors...

ifkz

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Mid last week Omega Race went down again, one of the several times since I bought it barely working in 2007. This time it was a component in the high voltage cage that powers the vector monitor (a Wells V2000). After I got the monitor working again, I went ahead and threw a cap kit on my spare game PCB set and it all ran well for 45 minutes. Turns out something else died on my spare set, the same one that I had to send to England and payed out $200 total to get working. It seems there are only 2 people that work on these sets and they are both outside of the US.

So, what is a collector to do when your favorite game gets to be unrepairable without a massive injection of cash?

Right now I get the feeling I'm sitting on twenty ticking time bombs, waiting to test my limited technical abilities. I can't be the only frustrated collector out here, what has worked for you in the past? Let the games die naturally? Do preventative maintenance (done)? Never turn them on? Sell them while they are working at less of a loss versus a totally dead machine? Get more reliable, but less cool games?

A good friend has already helped out by basically saying, "you own vectors, which are harder to keep running than most other games. Not only that, you own one of the most problematic vectors of all. Sell it if it becomes too much."

In the end, the game is running again, I put my original set back on and it works fine. No telling if it will last 5 years, or 5 minutes though....And I am not selling it. I grew up in the JAMMA age, and seeing this game made me realize how much I missed of the classics that came before. You could say that because of this game, I have a good mix of dedicated classics and JAMMA-ish games. I guess I'll throw my backup set in a box and try not to think about it? Google images of dead Omega Races for motivation? Sigh....
 
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Dont think too far ahead. You Could get hit by a train tom. Live in the now, and for now it works :)
 
Some guys like an original model T. Some guys like a T-bucket with modern Ford running gear. That's the analogy between original, dedicated machines and MAME'd machines. I prefer a sleeper. Original body, modern drivetrain. That way I don't have to turn a wrench every time I go out to turn the key. I prefer an arcade monitor so it's not obvious what's under the hood. I know that is a sin to most vintage collectors, but it's really no different in any vintage hobby.

Let's face it - the most popular games to collect are antiques by definition. Antiques are not the best choice for daily use. How many early 80's cars do you see on the street?
 
This kind of thread is really important for new folks entering the hobby to understand so they have proper expectations. Especially folks that want to buy a working machine and think they turn on and play with the reliability of an xbox.

I've gone through this same frustration with a first pinball and a first williams cab. The money put in them made it so it was impossible to sell them after awhile.

Although I loved Omega race during it's original run (Skating Rink era around here), think it is very attractive artistically nowadays, I wouldn't have the guts to own one.
Cheers for taking it on.
 
even though I just started there are afew things that scare me that I'd like to own(laser disk games). Even my X-men conversion scares me abit due to the caps on the sound chip(no one wants a silent X-men machine) and I've already had to buy another board to keep all the "welcome to die" lines. I'm considering getting it recapped to save me the headache of replacing it later but that's still alot of money I've thrown into a short beat'em up...
 
I would liken this to being afraid to love anyone because you are too worried they could die.
The good thing about games though is that when they do die, we can usually somehow resurrect them.

Too many collectors get fixated on their one broken game instead of their 10 or 20 working games.

Too many collectors panic and make bad decisions when a game breaks such as sell it, part it , or buy spare parts and throw them in the game without checking voltages or anything ( a certain Star Wars comes to mind ) and so that reminds me, did you check voltages before putting your spare board back in ? Maybe your +5 jumped up and fried the board.

Too many collectors horde spare parts to keep their games going.

All I am saying is relax and don't let one broken game make you crazy and vulnerable. You are the captain of your collection. The other games are counting on you. Stay calm and prevail :)
 
I went through this same kind of angst, and here is my take on it...

My favorite game is Defender. Its not as notoriously unreliable as Omega Race, but as an early game it is still overly complex with different boards connected by ribbon cables for its controls, sound and graphics as well as a hair-raising power supply with the potential to destroy the main board if it freaks out.

Remember the game is for you! In the case of my Defender, its just me and one other buddy that play it. Everyone else is scared to death of the thing. My favorite arcade thing is watching someone who has never played it attempt to last 30 seconds before it eats them alive.

All I'm saying is that like Defender, Omega Race is what I consider an "insiders" game. The regular family rabble that comes to play wants Pac Man, Galaga and maybe Donkey Kong. Print an OUT OF ORDER sign and stick it on the Omega until you feel like fixing it. Nobody will care.

This might be kind of a hack practice, but I've also taken to stockpiling parts for the unreliable games. If you have a spare boardset (I realize this isn't easy for Omega Race) and monitor, you can probably get it running while the others are out for repair.

I've seen the Omega Race board repair threads, and know I'll never be up to that kind of thing. That is for people that solder and repair electronics for a living.

To sum up this ramble, accept that its unreliable, that you love it, and most importantly that nobody gives a shit if its not working except for you. Don't let it run your life!
 
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