Price check - Tempest upright

PachoHerrera

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2024
Messages
34
Reaction score
24
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thinking about picking up a Tempest upright and wondering the value these days. The cabinet art is in nice shape, same with CPO. A few nicks, bruises and dings in the cabinet but no major damage. The vector monitor is working and it boots and plays. Seller wants $1,200.

Also wondering about best practices for transporting a vector game. The only ones I've moved before were non-working so I didn't take any precautions.
 
All original boards. Can't speak to whether the monitor has been maintained, but it is currently working. Thank you!
 
If it works and is near enough that you can pick it up, that's a good deal.


Also wondering about best practices for transporting a vector game. The only ones I've moved before were non-working so I didn't take any precautions.

Just make sure that everything inside is screwed and bolted down. Before you move it.
 
Original Atari boardset or emulation crap? Has the monitor been maintained/upgraded/updated?
What's inside the cabinet is likely more important than the aesthetics.

That said, if working and all original, then $1200 is a good price.

Hey VC, since you asked this question, it is very similar to something I've wondered...

Is a WG6100 worth more or less if it's been upgraded/updated instead of OEM, in your opinion?

Maybe there is no correct answer. I guess some folks would pay more for a factory-spec original monitor, and others may pay more for one that has the mods? Garage queen vs. daily driver, perhaps?
 
Hey VC, since you asked this question, it is very similar to something I've wondered...

Is a WG6100 worth more or less if it's been upgraded/updated instead of OEM, in your opinion?

Maybe there is no correct answer. I guess some folks would pay more for a factory-spec original monitor, and others may pay more for one that has the mods? Garage queen vs. daily driver, perhaps?

Excellent question.

As someone who repairs/maintains my collection, I only really trust my own work. So, I think I would prefer a monitor that has not been worked on and is offered at a lower price.

For anyone less knowledgeable or new to the hobby (or to vectors), then perhaps a "reconditioned/updated" monitor is better. Assuming it was upgraded by someone who knew what they were doing. If it was worked-on correctly, I would say a price premium is warranted.

The latter is also true for the typical "lazy KLOV'r". LOL :)

In either case, it is always recommended to look over the monitor, wiring, power, solder integrity, clean the cabinet etc, after buying and preferably shortly after bring it home. Don't assume that just because it was purchased "working" it will stay that way after the move and after playing a few hours on it if you haven't done some further maintenance on the game (and not just the monitor).

As an old-timer, I prefer non-working but complete games. Well, at least I did when I was actively collecting cabinets.
 
Last edited:
Excellent question.

As someone who repairs/maintains my collection, I only really trust my own work. So, I think I would prefer a monitor that has not been worked on and is offered at a lower price.

For anyone less knowledgeable or new to the hobby (or to vectors), then perhaps a "reconditioned/updated" monitor is better. Assuming it was upgraded by someone who knew what they were doing. If it was worked-on correctly, I would say a price premium is warranted.

The latter is also true for the typical "lazy KLOV'r". LOL :)

In either case, it is always recommended to look over the monitor, wiring, power, solder integrity, clean the cabinet etc, after buying and preferably shortly after bring it home. Don't assume that just because it was purchased "working" it will stay that way after the move and after playing a few hours on it if you haven't done some further maintenance on the game (and not just the monitor).

As an old-timer, I prefer non-working but complete games. Well, at least I did when I was actively collecting cabinets.

Thank you, appreciate your insight. I was leaning towards that camp as well. I would probably pay more for an unmolested original.

I'm a bit more into pinball these days, and I cringe when I see things like "upgraded to all LEDs, replaced all the boards with R*tt*ndog, put a hardtop on it, etc..." Ugh. To some folks, that is probably a huge bonus, but not to me.

Anyway, sorry to @PachoHerrera , didn't mean to get into the weeds on your post...
 
$1200 for a complete, working Tempest?

RUN YOU FOOLS!

I'm seeing them from $1800 to $2200 regularly.

For transport: Open the back door and make sure the 6100 is bolted down. If it isn't, BOLT IT DOWN. The 6100 is:
1. Rare
2. Pricey to replace

Don't suffer the shame of necking a tube. LOOK and make sure.

Anything loose inside the game (coin box, manuals, ANYTHING not bolted / screwed down) remove and carry by hand.

Make sure the power brick (the big transformer and fuse block on the bottom is SECURE (try to move it with your hand. It it moves at all, make sure it is screwed down.

I generally load games on their sides or back after making sure there is nothing free to move inside of it.
 
$1200 for a complete, working Tempest?

RUN YOU FOOLS!

I'm seeing them from $1800 to $2200 regularly.

For transport: Open the back door and make sure the 6100 is bolted down. If it isn't, BOLT IT DOWN. The 6100 is:
1. Rare
2. Pricey to replace

Don't suffer the shame of necking a tube. LOOK and make sure.

Anything loose inside the game (coin box, manuals, ANYTHING not bolted / screwed down) remove and carry by hand.

Make sure the power brick (the big transformer and fuse block on the bottom is SECURE (try to move it with your hand. It it moves at all, make sure it is screwed down.

I generally load games on their sides or back after making sure there is nothing free to move inside of it.

Yeah, I wouldn't go as far as declaring a RYF, but that's definitely a good price for that game fully working.
 
$1200 is a good price for a complete upright, with original internals (power, game board, and 6100 monitor).

That said, be aware that there is a fairly high chance you are going to need to spend additional money on this cab. All vectors need TLC, if they haven't already been gone over by someone who really knows vectors (which is not most sellers). But you can spend up to $500-600 to get any dead vector back to better-than-new working condition, by having the boards properly refurbed. (Or potentially less, if you want to learn how to do some of that work yourself.)

I tell people to treat all vector cabinets as non-working, unless you know the history of the cab, and know that it's been redone by someone who knows vectors. Unless the cabinet has been in regular use (i.e., powered on once a week at least, for the past year), the chances of something crapping out once you get it are very high. And you will at a minimum need to take the time to learn how to diagnose what's wrong (so you can send the proper parts out for repair, if you don't want to do it yourself.)

Vectors can be reliable and easy to own. However that requires some learning about them, as they are more complicated than raster games. So if you are going to make the investment, just don't expect it to be trouble-free, and you'll be ok.
 
I was looking for a Tempest for several years, most were priced $2k+. Sometimes a project would hit Captain's ($800-$1,200) but not something I would have purchased since I've never restored a game much less an unknown like the vector monitor, boards, etc or they were missing these items, cabs were horrible, then tack on commission and taxes and not really a great deal.

I finally came across a nice one (about 1.5 yrs ago) i believe the monitor had been gone through, the cab was nice, not perfect but id consider decent+ and included new marquee and cpo art and it was local to me for $1,200.

I jumped on it right away, the guy had 5 or 6 others after it within the hour. I thought that was great then, its still sounds great for you now. Good luck!
 
I appreciate the feedback from everybody. Got it down to $1,000 and the seller is throwing in a dart Star dart machine. So picking it up seems a no brainer at this point. I previously picked up a non-working asteroids and fixed it up. I'm working my way through a dead space duel with Andrew B's fantastic guide. Not my absolute first rodeo but I'm assuming I'll need to drop a couple hundred into it right away to get it working in stable condition.
 
Back
Top Bottom