Total Newbie - needs Asteriod restoration opinions

Malice95

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So I am looking for some seasoned restoration opinions.. I have never restored
an arcade cabinet but I want to get into this hobby. I found an Asteriods on ebay.
I could probably get it for $300. What do you think? Is it worth it? I am not looking
to make money on it, just start a personal collection.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140443027440

Would you go for this cab?

Thanks,
Mike
 
A lot depends on the area, but if you can wait you can probably find one cheaper. Or wait for them to re-list it at a lower price.

I've seen one locally, with the owl-eyed coin door, go for $149 non-working. I got a newer style cab for $79 non-working a couple of years ago.

-JM
 
Asteroids

The price depends on the cab condition to me. The side art is $165 by its self. Most of the 100-200$ have issues at the bottom of the cab that makes repairs needed. Then you have to decide after the repair if you can live with the black stripe at the bottom or if you buy new art. Plus $15-20 of new vinyl for the front. I think if the cab is complete and the bottom of the cab is nice. It is worth $300. Boards are $80-125 shipped now adays and monitor repairs are pretty simple with a 22$ kit. Non working is not a big issue. Complete with a nice cab is.

I would ask either to be able to go look at it or have them take pictures of the bottom and inside the cab. Aaron
 
$300 may be a bit much to pay for an Asteroids that needs work. I have a little less than $300 in mine, including parts, labor, and the cost of the machine. I only paid $80 for mine, which was a little more beat up than that one. I didn't buy the artwork, as mine was in decent condition. I got it as a nonworking machine with a dead PCB.

Here's my mini restoration, from beginning to end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhanlen1/sets/72157623489836658/


Major stuff I did:

PCB repair is $60-$100
High Score Save kit is about $50 (must have)
Monitor rebuild kit and new Big Blue is about $50 from Bob Roberts.

After looking at the game... it's not worth it. That's a $100-$150 machine tops. Guys on here sell working ones for $300-$400. Be patient.
 
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If the cabinet is in NICE shape and it truly plays blind, then $300 isn't bad. Monitor repair for that generally consists of $15 worth of parts and resoldering the molex header pins, which often have cracked solder joints. Probably add $10 for a big blue cap for power brick and a few dollars for a new cord.
 
Went for it... $300

Okay so I went for it at $300. I've been looking on ebay and craigs list and pretty much any cab in NJ is going for $200 plus. I got outbid on a non working joust the other day at $342.

I stopped by and saw the machine before bitting. The side art is in great shape and the cabinet is very clean. As far as I can tell everything is there and totally original. It has a couple scuff marks on the one corner from moving it. The bezel, Marquee are perfect and the CPO is in great shape. I'l probably replace ther CPO. Coin mech is in place. I plugged it in and just the coin mech lights.. nothing else. The inside is very clean. Its been owned by 1 family for the past 20 years in a basement. no water damage.

They told me the monitor stopped working about 6 months ago and then the machine
stopped lighting up/making sounds shortly afterward. I am hopeing its an easy fix.

I also bought a sweet Galaga today, Which is working:)

Since I am a total Noobie what would you do to start getting this running?
I assume start checking the output of the power supply and move on from there?

Where can I get docs/schematics/etc on this? Who would have parts for
this machine? What parts should be typically replaced to give it a nice
long life?

The side art on the one side seems to have some white paint speckled on it.
Its not obvious at first but when you compare it to the other side you can notice it.
Any idea how to get it off? A sort of selective paint removal?

I am picking it up Thursday so I'll start a restoration thread then with pictures.

Thanks,
Mike
 
I'd get out the soldering iron and do some basic maintenance. It's an old game, so this stuff will all have to be done in the future. First determine that the monitor in there is a Electrohome G05-802. Place the following order to www.therealbobroberts.com

GO5-802 19" B&W X-Y w xsistors___________________$11.00
Asteroids PCB Cap Kit _____________________________$5.00
Atari "Big Blue" Capacitor - (Transformer assembly)___$12.50
Atari A/R or A/R II-01 Repair Kit (Caps+Q2/3+R290____$9.00

I'd also replace all your fuses on the power supply.

The manual and schematic.

http://www.djgallagher.com/games/classics/asteroids/tech.php

The Audio Regulator board's voltage is pretty important too. It can fry your game board, if something's not right. The test points on it are pretty obvious rings, so it should be easy to find them. I'd look at your PCB and it's edge connector, and see if they're are any traces of burning or dark discoloration. Bad edge connectors can also do damage.

As far as the white specks go, I'd experiment with some light soap and water and go from there. Might try a magic eraser on some of the non-artwork areas. Just don't get carried away. Maybe a little windex wouldn't hurt either. It really all depends on what the specks are, as to what it will take to remove them.
 
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