Questions about Jawhn's 'new' Aliens game

jawhn

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Ok, to begin with, I definitely do not deserve the awesome friend/tech support that Brien/Arcadenut is... The man is just plain awesome. Thanks a ton, Brien.

Ok, lips now off of B's behind, I picked up an el cheapo JAMMA Aliens game tonight off of Craigslist. The people listed it as nonworking, no pictures, and wanted $120 for it. I almost blew it off, but I had seen it on there for a while, almost a month... So I looked it up on KLOV and remembered playing it BITD. So I shot them a text and planned on meeting them after I got off work.

Got there and almost ran out the door. It had no sideart and looked pretty awful. Then she began telling me how it worked until it just started "smoking." So I plugged it in, and heard sounds. So it was playing blind, no neck glow, no monitor, but marquee lights, coindoor lights, etc.

Then I smelled the evil smoke. Holy hell. And it kept playing blind, despite the fact that I could see that the isolation transformer connected to the power supply was puffing smoke like a stoner on a joint. After disconnecting the power cable, it continued to crackle and smoke for, I swear to God, another 5 minutes. No fuses have popped since I've had it.

At this point, not being that interested in the game, I called Brien and asked a few questions, and then tried looking up the transformer online. (No luck, that's my first question, can anyone help me source it?) and explained a few ideas to her and her husband. I tried talking them into fixing it up, but I guess he was not comfortable messing with solder or electronics, and didn't have time. So I tried to leave, but they really wanted to get rid of it. So I offered them $50. They were like, "Take it."

So, I couldn't pass it up for that, the parts are worth that, and the cab is decently solid, just ugly. So I brought it home.
  • Isolation transformer - where get?
  • If I replace that, hopefully that fixes it, but if not... Would putting a new or replacement transformer be stupid before doing something else?
  • Need to check monitor. Standard res WG 7000 series in a JAMMA cab, so hopefully not too hard to pull off.
  • If I wanted a different JAMMA game to put in it, what is everyone's favorite? I am so unfamiliar with what's JAMMA...? It has 2 8-way leaf joysticks and 2 leaf buttons per player.
Thanks in advance. Hoping I can bring it back to life, but if not, I won't have too guilty of a conscience parting it out... Is that bad? :rolleyes:
 
Oh, hey... Pics are nice, huh?
 

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Wow. Just Wow. No space and you pick this up? ;)

Nice bezel at least... :001_sbiggrin:

Now for the advise...

Test the monitor in another cab. Verify power.
 
Wow. Just Wow. No space and you pick this up? ;)

Nice bezel at least... :001_sbiggrin:

Now for the advise...

Test the monitor in another cab. Verify power.

I know, I know... The hoarder runs deep in this one... :rolleyes: I am single, and have a huge covered back porch...

Which cab? Not the DK... The Joust? The Rampage? Tron? Pac-Man?

Verify power... Should/can I disconnect the iso xformer and/or unplug the monitor to keep it from smoking when I plug it in? The game plays blind, so Brien was thinking the switcher might be ok...? But I can certainly test it.
 
I know, I know... The hoarder runs deep in this one... :rolleyes: I am single, and have a huge covered back porch...

Which cab? Not the DK... The Joust? The Rampage? Tron? Pac-Man?

Verify power... Should/can I disconnect the iso xformer and/or unplug the monitor to keep it from smoking when I plug it in? The game plays blind, so Brien was thinking the switcher might be ok...? But I can certainly test it.


LOL! Hoarder. I like it!

Easiest cab in your gameroom would be the Pac to test it in.
If the game is playing, He's right. Most likely good. Use the MM to test though.

You can easily test it by unplugging it from the current cab. If it plays blind with no smoke. Bingo.

For a even more satisfying test...swap monitors. Use the Pac cab. See if you get a pic then.
 
... For a even more satisfying test...swap monitors. Use the Pac cab. See if you get a pic then.

My only fear is harming the Pac in some way...? :confused: Can a bad monitor not really hurt a working cab/game? (Kinda like a bad PCB being tested in a known working game?) I'm not familiar with the safety rules of thumb of what can and what cannot be 'swapped' and not destroy other things. Although common sense tells me that if a power supply is questionable, you wouldn't want to test it in a good game...
 
Congrats on the grab, Jawhn. $50? Nice! I haven't played Aliens since I was a kid, but I remember it being pretty fun. I'm sure you'll have it up and running in no time.
 
Congrats on the grab, Jawhn. $50? Nice! I haven't played Aliens since I was a kid, but I remember it being pretty fun. I'm sure you'll have it up and running in no time.

Thanks mang! :) I figured it'd be nice to get a JAMMA cab, since I'm 99% sure none of mine are... (Unless Rampage is?) EDIT: Nope, just checked. I don't think any of mine are JAMMAs.
 
I know, I know... The hoarder runs deep in this one... :rolleyes: I am single, and have a huge covered back porch...

Which cab? Not the DK... The Joust? The Rampage? Tron? Pac-Man?

Verify power... Should/can I disconnect the iso xformer and/or unplug the monitor to keep it from smoking when I plug it in? The game plays blind, so Brien was thinking the switcher might be ok...? But I can certainly test it.

Didn't you say that the Monitor was smoking too? An Orange cap?

Never run a monitor without an ISO. Repeat after me... Never run a monitor without an ISO (unless you know 100% for sure it already has one built into the monitor).

I might have one you can borrow to test with, but I would need it back.

and you cannot test in a Nintendo cab, because those monitors run on 100V, and the monitor you have runs on 120V.

If you can't get it working that way, you can yank the monitor out and put it on my bench and we can test it that way.
 
Nice pickup! Aliens was an okay game. Aliens Vs. Predators (CPS2) is the Aliens game of choice for me though.

You're right. You got more than what you paid in parts alone. I wouldn't feel terrible parting it. Like most JAMMA games back then, it was only a kit. You have there a Dynamo HS-1 generic cabinet that Capcom used to house many of their early 90s CPS1 games (SFII, Willow, UN Squadron, 3 Wonders, Final Fight, etc.). Then, they used later models (HS-5) as well as KOAM (Big Blue) cabs for their CPS2 and CPS3 games.

Best of luck getting it up and running.
 
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It shouldn't be too hard to get up and running. It's def worth it.

In a pinch just strip the vinyl and primer and paint it black. It'll look about the same if you don't mind a little painting.

I love Dynamo HS1 cabs and there's a ton of good jamma games you can dress this one as pretty easy. SF2 control panels are HTF for HS1 and HS5 configs but if you are just looking for a 2 or 3 button jamma game, you'll find many games that play great on there.

Sell off those leafs and just throw in some cheap Happ ultimates since this won't be a fighter cab.

There's a ton of Capcom games that would play great on there. You can also rotate that monitor for a vert cab pretty easy also.
 
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If not comfortable changing the monitor, you can bring the pcb to my place and test. I can give you a monitor to test that end too. Either way.

Brien is 100% correct again, don't test without an ISO. In a pac, the ISO is usually on the transformer...
 
Thanks everybody. I knew I wasn't paying too much for it, $50 for a blind playing game is pretty no-brainer. I definitely need to read up on some FAQs or something, I understand very basic DC and AC electronics, but troubleshooting/diagnostics are not my forte at all...


... the ISO is usually on the transformer...

Wait, wat? Now I'm confused again. Isn't it called an ISO transformer? Are they different things and I was saying wrong?
 
You should check at Apache Reclamation. (not open on Sundays)

313 W Apache Street
Phoenix, AZ 85003

You'll have to hunt for them, but I've seen some in there. Think of it like a Treasure hunt :)

If you're lucky, the ISO will have markings on it. You'll want a 1:1 ISO.
 
... If you're lucky, the ISO will have markings on it. You'll want a 1:1 ISO.

Would an ISO from a Joust cab work? I forgot I had an extra power supply for one sitting around... :confused:

Wish I still had the one from my Pole Position II as well, but I'm 99% sure that got tossed by an ex when we were 'cleaning'...
 
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