Two years in the hobby, finally got my first score!

[ClarkWGriswold]

Two years in the hobby, finally got my first score!

Drove to Richmond and picked up an original and complete Donkey Kong for 300.00. Not the sexiest title, I know, but this cab for three bills ain't too shabby for a newbie. The bones are solid and it's completely unmolested inside. It powers up with a chime and I get neck glow on the sanyo but the picture needs such a vertical hold adjustment that I could not tell if it boots to an attract screen or if it's just garbage. Either way, with a little elbow grease and some guidance from Klov-ers, this ought to make a nice addition to my small lineup as my first Nintendo cabinet. Sweet!

The seller was a retiree who took possession of it a decade ago and for the last five years it sat in a corner of his mother-in-laws garage taking up space. She passed recently, so he was looking to offload it. Says he ran a google search and my name came up on a random KLOV thread where I stated that I was in the market for a DK. He dropped me a random note thru Facebook and asked if I was interested. Said he had not otherwise advertised it and was looking for three hundred. A most fortuitous bounce.

 

[GreaseBall]

#donttellgleek

 

[ElectricDreamz]

great game, REALLY great price, local'ish to you, and a wild turn of events that led you to it. and having such a crazy story i'd imagine will make the game even more special to you.

huge congrats!

 

[Ghostlyguy]

That would have been a good deal 10 years ago.

 

[TheYeti]

You did good. Real good. The game is worth 3 times what you paid. Probably 4 times what you paid if you clean it up good.

The monitor is definitely going to need to be capped. A great chassis to cut your teeth on if you haven't capped one yet. Big strong solder pads and easy to read labels.

I'm jealous and already own 2.

 

[VectorCollector]

Wow, nice game for a nice price. DKs can be easily restored too (and multi-game'd).
Cool story too.
Congrats. Enjoy. Update VAPS. Have a beer.

 

[MartyMcfly]

REP'd.



Google search eh?

Dear Googlers.

I'm looking for a nice DK for $300.

Your friend
Marty.

 

[j0novision]

#donttellgleek

He wouldn't know what to do with one if he found one.

 

[Cashdog]

smoking deal. cap kit and bet it is good to go.

You will now have the full blown disease. Welcome to the club.

 

[2HitWonder]

Wow, how rare is that? Somebody seeks you out, gives you a great deal that you don't even have to compete with anyone for. Congrats man, great deal and all the best getting the machine running perfect.

 

[jacklick]

crap I knew my avatar would get me. nobody is calling jacklick to come get a game but clark griswald. WTF Electricdreamz, you told me to own it.

 

[coinopper]

#donttellgleek

Seriously. Only $300? Damn, you basically STOLE it!

 

[hwm52806]

The bartop 60 in 1's are going for $800+ for me locally, that DK would've easily been $1200 or more. Amazing deal!

 

[Whippersnapper]

Sometimes Lady Luck dials your number -congrats !

 

[ElectricDreamz]

if it makes you feel any better, i didn't get any calls either!

crap I knew my avatar would get me. nobody is calling jacklick to come get a game but clark griswald. WTF Electricdreamz, you told me to own it.

and again to Clark, congrats. i'm just glad it didn't come to this:

 

[JonRomo]

Awesome deal with a great story to it. I wonder if that has ever happened to anyone else??

 

[jacklick]

My apologies Clark. Congrats on pickup, great story too. now back to me.

Awesome deal with a great story to it. I wonder if that has ever happened to anyone else??

not the google find my name thing but have been lucky getting noticed driving to and from storage unit with bunch of games.

https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?p=3710866

 

[bottlejunkie]

great game, REALLY great price, local'ish to you, and a wild turn of events that led you to it. and having such a crazy story i'd imagine will make the game even more special to you.

huge congrats!

so I don't have to type this, thx.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Talk about a lucky break....I don't know what kind of a search he ran online but he said that my name was the only one that came up in the state of Virginia that had expressed a specific desire for a DK. Super nice fella, said he was an old HAM radio guy but just didn't know much about the electronics in a classic arcade. The coolest thing was that he said he knew enough to know it was a good candidate for a restoration, and just wanted it to go to a good home. Also said he'd like to see some pics of the finished, working product.

I told him it would take me some time, but hell, that's the very least I could do. Good stuff.

As far as having the arcade sickness, I think I may have moved beyond being a mere apprentice after today. I took an unplanned day off work to make a four-hour roundtrip to get this cabinet without telling the warden anything about it. I then had to stash it in my storage unit when I got back. Now I have to come up with some la,e cover story about how....and when....I acquired it. It's a tangled web we weave...

Yes, revealing this will bring about some tsk-tsk'ing from the mob but dammit, that deal was too good to be true and I had to jump on it. Not likely to ever happen again. Now, should I try my hand at a cap kit or just take it 25 minutes down the road to Buffett? Questions.

 

[jacklick]

Oh yea you have the sickness now and have plenty of company.

There are two pots on the pcb H and V position that can make the pic screwy too. Try those and the sync pots on monitor first.