Tapper Cocktail, I have questions

Field305

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I just picked up a great Tapper cocktail that is just awesome. Ive owned a Donkey Kong and Pacman but the insides of this are a bit different, just curious if someone could help me understand this a bit better.

1. My serial is number 434, any idea how many were actually produced in cocktail form?

2. How much is it worth?

3. Why are there 3 boards to the game?

4. What is that small board to the far right of the power supply?

Thanks all!
 

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My serial is number 434, any idea how many were actually produced in cocktail form?

Up for debate. The number that used to circulate was 300; however, unlike the Atari production #s, I've yet to see anything concrete from Bally / Midway or even someone saying they got their info from a former employee. It's fairly safe to say that Bally / Midway cocktails made from the beginning of 1983 onward are rare.

If you can, take pictures of the serial # and record it in our Lowest / Highest Serial # thread. It could help people determine total manufactured # sooner or later.

2. How much is it worth?

In good shape, I'd say $600-$900. A lot of video arcade game collectors, however, collect because of the uniqueness of the cabinets; they look at them like bodies of cars. So, they trash the cocktail version of Tapper because it's not nearly as ornate as the UR; it's downright utilitarian. You also have a segment who don't like cocktails under any circumstances for various reasons.

Nuts to all that, I say: it's a great game, and a rare piece. If someone offered me $300-$400 for one, I'd tell `em to forget it.

BTW, if I'm correct, that should be an underlay underneath the glass, not silk-screened graphics...
 
BTW, if I'm correct, that should be an underlay underneath the glass, not silk-screened graphics...

That is correct it is an underlay, a bit warped and Ill prob pick up a new one soon. I went ahead and updated the high/low serial number thread, thanks for the heads up!
 
The 3 boards serve the following functions:

One is the CPU and background graphics
One generates sounds and handles control input
One generates foreground video

The small board off to the side amplifies the sound.
 
Saw a nonworking clean one bring in $600 plus fees (so $720) at superauctions a little while back.
 
I sold mine in great shape for $400-$500 can't remember now, it was also in the 400's serial#, there is a thread in this forum somewhere. Clearly they made close to or more than 500 of these in cocktail form.


I didnt' read all of the other responses thoroughly, it looks like you have an arcadeshop switching power supply adapter in there.

edit:
looks like mine was 426

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=128169&highlight=I'm+sitting+pouring+beer
 
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I sold mine in great shape for $400-$500 can't remember now, it was also in the 400's serial#, there is a thread in this forum somewhere. Clearly they made close to or more than 500 of these in cocktail form.

Do we know for sure that serial #s for Tapper coctails started at 001?
 
No I don't think we do know that.

I have often suspected that they started the serial numbers of their older titles at 300 because every B&W midway cabinet I ever pulled out of anywhere had a serial in the 300s or 400s.

Do we know for sure that serial #s for Tapper coctails started at 001?
 
I just picked up a great Tapper cocktail that is just awesome. Ive owned a Donkey Kong and Pacman but the insides of this are a bit different, just curious if someone could help me understand this a bit better.

1. My serial is number 434, any idea how many were actually produced in cocktail form?

2. How much is it worth?

3. Why are there 3 boards to the game?

4. What is that small board to the far right of the power supply?

Thanks all!

1 and 2. Already answered.
3. This is an MCR game which I think stands for Midway Card Rack. It's a family of games that have unusual controls like Tron and they also share the same three board setup.
4. That looks like a power supply conversion kit so you can run a switcher.
 
Question for the OP: are you getting any type of "hum bar" or interference on the monitor while playing? I've heard some Tapper CTs do this...
 
Question for the OP: are you getting any type of "hum bar" or interference on the monitor while playing? I've heard some Tapper CTs do this...

Funny you should ask, yes there is a slight humming noise from the speaker. I looked into and its due to the switching power supply. Daves Arcade on youtube has a video about it.

I would switch it back but the highscore save and the switching power supply itself outway the cons of the humming sound. The only way you would notice it, is if your room was dead silent. So its not an issue for me.
 
Thanks for all your responses guys, really do appreciate the information!

I saw this machine at auction and just had to have it. I paid $600 for it. Ill post a video sometime online for everyone. Thanks again!
 
Thanks for all your responses guys, really do appreciate the information!

I saw this machine at auction and just had to have it. I paid $600 for it. Ill post a video sometime online for everyone. Thanks again!

Cool. Not a lot of videos of Tapper cocktails out there.

Sounds like a good price, IMHO.
 
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