The Amplifone Registry thread.

ArcRevival

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
10,147
Reaction score
1,099
Location
RAPID CITY, South Dakota
I have been wondering lately just how many working Amplifones there are out there. I am thinking of collecting some data and making an Amplifone registry. There are probably way too many to list, but even in the group on here I would be curious to know how many we have. I am mainly concerned in actual complete working ones , but if you want to list a non-working one, that is ok too. I was thinking of a format that breaks it down by game and cabinet style of the game. You can list SN's too if you want.

Star Wars upright , SN 28, working
Deflection board SN unk.
HV board SN UR00028
Tube SN UR00028

Tempest upright , SN 02365, working
Deflection board SN UR05761
HV board SN unk.
Tube SN UR05726

If you are running an aftermarket HV or Deflection board just put aft. next to it. If you do not know the SN just put unk.
 
Jess Askey started one of these many years back: Amplifone Serial # Registry.

I submitted him info at a time when I had 2 Quantums. I didn't yet have my MH or SW back then, and never pinged him with the info on those when I got them. I actually forgot all about that listing until I saw this post.
 
Well, I got one working within the last week. However, the seller douched me with a shitty tube, the shadow mask is all messed up. The rig was sold to me as non-working, but the seller claimed the tube was in full working order, tested on his own rig. Guess he didn't think I'd get it running.

Serial numbers are all over the place. I was going to put this in my Star Wars, but now I'm saving it for my fake Quantum.

Deflection:
Color: Beige
UR02273
XY No 100XX (XX digits are torn off)

HV:
Color: Green
HVT: Lexel
UR09114
XY No 19589

Tube:
Rauland M48AAW00X
XY No 10279
 
Last edited:
that's interesting but it looks like its for HV units only. I wonder how many of those people still have their games.

Yes HV units only. And I think a good percentage of those still have their games actually. Many are just listings for people who had extra boards though.
 
Star Wars upright , SN 33, working
Deflection board SN unk.
HV board SN unk.
Tube SN UR00033

I'll have to look at the deflection board and HV board in mine, but I know for sure they are not original to my cab, so no matching serial #33.

BTW, a big thanks to ArcRevival for making it possible for me to get this SW upright. He could have easily sold it for profit, but instead allowed me to get it, knowing I wanted one.
 
Last edited:
I find it odd looking on a Amplifone because of the 90degree tube. I guess I am just accustomed to it on the 6100 for so long is why.

It's also odd that a purist like yourself would put an Amplifone in a Tempest cabinet with the whole historical relationship between the 6100 and the cabinet(100 degree tube) etc. I do agree the Amplifone is a superior monitor in all aspects.

I have seen Amplifone mounts in every other Atari color vector game (SD,Grav,BW,Q,SW,MH). Do you have Amps in all those too?
 
I bought the Tempest from a guy that had taken the 6100 out to put in his Star Wars when his amp died. He sold me the Tempest w/o a monitor and threw in the dead Amplifone. I repaired the Amp and stuck it in the Tempest.
 
Not to dilute the thread but can someone post shots of the two monitors, 6100 and Amplifone and note the differences between the two? I would like to see the angle differences and the reasons why most people say the Amplifones are better. I have been looking up vectors and most everything gives the thumbs up to the Amplifones. Also I have read they last longer than the 6100 and would like to know why.
 
The Amplifone is better because:

a) it is faster
b) it had a higher resolution dot-pitch CRT
c) it is a much better design electronically (remember, it was designed because Atari was sick and tired of the WG issues, so they decided to design one themselves.)
d) it is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to work on
e) it is MUCH easier to repair
f) the set-up is way more elegant

I don't have a pic of them side-by-side, but I've seen both and yes the difference is clear immediately, especially on the 25" tubes.

I like the idea, but without some kind of database to back it up I see little point in posting the details of mine here.. I do think that I have one of the very few that is still 100% original but all the boards and the tube have never been replaced (all same serial number). I think that's pretty rare.
 
The tube is medium resolution so you get smoother lines. With all the mods today and new replacement HV transformers for the AMP and the 6100 I'd expect the "life span" to be comparable. I'm running all 6100's though so I'm outta this thread. :p

Not to dilute the thread but can someone post shots of the two monitors, 6100 and Amplifone and note the differences between the two? I would like to see the angle differences and the reasons why most people say the Amplifones are better. I have been looking up vectors and most everything gives the thumbs up to the Amplifones. Also I have read they last longer than the 6100 and would like to know why.
 
I like the idea, but without some kind of database to back it up I see little point in posting the details of mine here..

I was hoping to take the info from this thread and put it into a registry on my blog or somewhere where it can be kept going.

No love for an Amp registry ?

How about a registry of people screwed over by Ram ?
 
I was hoping to take the info from this thread and put it into a registry on my blog or somewhere where it can be kept going.

No love for an Amp registry ?

How about a registry of people screwed over by Ram ?

No one likes Amplifone snobs.:p
 
I was hoping to take the info from this thread and put it into a registry on my blog or somewhere where it can be kept going.

No love for an Amp registry ?

How about a registry of people screwed over by Ram ?

Sorry, I think I maybe the only satisfied customer....whatever I would have done to it, my SW cockpit would have looked shit without the T-molding. And the yoke parts....

Ah well.....I fear it's pointless...
 
Its interesting that they are so different electrically (slew rate,etc). They both use the same driver transistors MPS U7/MPS U57 and the same outputs 2N3716 and 2N2792s. It looks like one of the big differences is that the Amp deflection uses essentially an unregulated power supply, and does the regulation in the HV unit. The LV supply never fails on the Amp deflection boards, because it aint there ;-).
 
Its interesting that they are so different electrically (slew rate,etc). They both use the same driver transistors MPS U7/MPS U57 and the same outputs 2N3716 and 2N2792s. It looks like one of the big differences is that the Amp deflection uses essentially an unregulated power supply, and does the regulation in the HV unit. The LV supply never fails on the Amp deflection boards, because it aint there ;-).

That for example, and good ole ferro-resonance. Simple and elegant.

One stupid thing on the Amp is all the "W" zero ohm jumpers/resistors. Why on earth did they decide to go to the trouble of compounding zero ohm material for those, instead of simple wire that's in place in the design elsewhere, or God forbid, traces?

A well adjusted Amp running Star Wars is a thing to behold though.
 
The Amplifone is better because:

a) it is faster
b) it had a higher resolution dot-pitch CRT
c) it is a much better design electronically (remember, it was designed because Atari was sick and tired of the WG issues, so they decided to design one themselves.)
d) it is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to work on
e) it is MUCH easier to repair
f) the set-up is way more elegant

I don't have a pic of them side-by-side, but I've seen both and yes the difference is clear immediately, especially on the 25" tubes.

I like the idea, but without some kind of database to back it up I see little point in posting the details of mine here.. I do think that I have one of the very few that is still 100% original but all the boards and the tube have never been replaced (all same serial number). I think that's pretty rare.

Yeah, the design was so great that they have to be rebuilt to a different spec. :rolleyes:

Certainly more capable once rebuilt/bulletproofed, but not sure I agree with touting their original design any more than I would brag about the LV design on the 6100. :)
 
Yeah, the design was so great that they have to be rebuilt to a different spec. :rolleyes:

Certainly more capable once rebuilt/bulletproofed, but not sure I agree with touting their original design any more than I would brag about the LV design on the 6100. :)

Aside from the HV unit, I have seen way more component failures on 6100's than on Amplifones.
 
Back
Top Bottom