wtf noob

ryanmac

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I didn't see a forum for new members and noobs to ask questions, so I'm putting this here.

I have zero experience in this hobby, but for the last few years I've been daydreaming of picking up a cabinet or two for my man-cave. Any advice for a first timer?

I'll tell you the two games I'd love to have are Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey and SF3 Third Strike.

Who knows.. who knows.
 
SF3:TS is an expensive game to get because the stupid cps3 board has a suicide battery in it. That means that if the batteries die; the entire game board dies; forever (this can be fixed ..sometimes, but its expensive).

This means that working sf3 kits usually sell for 200-300$ for the game board alone. The most important thing you must look into when you buy an arcade game is the state of the monitor. There is no point in buying an arcade cab with a shitty monitor, because they are total bitches to find now, and very hard to fix when you are completly new at this hobby.

Controls are easy to fix, you can find replacement pieces for cheap online.

The best places to buy cabs are usually places like craiglist and so on, but I would not recommend it if you are a complete noob at the hobby. Lots of people on those sites are scammers or will dump stuff that barely works. My first arcade cabinet, A Killer Instinct machine, was purchased from a distributor. You will pay more, but you can get guarantees that what you will buy is not a crappy piece of shit. It's way better for a first purchase.
 
noob

Don't even buy one. That's all it takes, and it is down hill from there. Next thing you know you will be adding on to the house, spending every waking hour looking for games, Driving 4 hours one way just to get the game you want. But it is fun. Welcome
 
E-bay is probably a good way to go for a first time buyer. Like CL, there are people out there trying to sell games (especially multigames) for way more than they are worth, but at least you have a system in place that keeps sellers honest for the most part. Buy local if you can, avoid having games shipped. That way you can see it for yourself and make sure it works before forking over money. Probably the best thing that you can do is strain your eyes reading posts on this forum for hours and hours. I already had a tech background but I was a member here for nearly a year before I got my first game. There is a huge amount of valueable information and brains to pick here. For the most part, we are pretty decent people and don't mind noob questions because we all started there. So, welcome aboard and here's hoping your significant other doesn't throw you out because you have too many games (mine hasn't yet, and she even helps work on them sometimes),
 
E-bay is probably a good way to go for a first time buyer. Like CL, there are people out there trying to sell games (especially multigames) for way more than they are worth, but at least you have a system in place that keeps sellers honest for the most part. Buy local if you can, avoid having games shipped. That way you can see it for yourself and make sure it works before forking over money. Probably the best thing that you can do is strain your eyes reading posts on this forum for hours and hours. I already had a tech background but I was a member here for nearly a year before I got my first game. There is a huge amount of valueable information and brains to pick here. For the most part, we are pretty decent people and don't mind noob questions because we all started there. So, welcome aboard and here's hoping your significant other doesn't throw you out because you have too many games (mine hasn't yet, and she even helps work on them sometimes),

Thanks for all the tips guys. And yeah, I'm sure the mrs. will be a threat in the long run if I end up spending way too much money in the hobby. LOL
 
Come to the dark side, we have Donkey Kong

The most important advice I can give you-

The moment you find yourself saying "No more games, I'm finished!" is when you know you're addicted ;) Next thing you know, you'll find yourself with no other furniture, unable to move, and catonic in front of a joystick shouting to the outside world that "I CAN QUIT ANY TIME I WANT!"

But even as addicting, expensive, and time consuming as this hobby can be, I would say it's definitely worth it. You've made a good choice. If you play your cards right, it can be cheaper than modern gaming. I spend less a year on the machines (usually two or three a year as well as all repairwork and extra parts) than most of my XBOX/PS3 crowd friends do on their gaming.

I would suggest starting out on eBay. It sucks for sellers, but as a buyer I've never been disappointed. Craiglist... don't be surprised to get some very "interesting" experiences. With eBay and their overly-buyer-centric feedback system, you're usually going to get a good experience because the seller doesnt want you to leave them a mark on their record. I've only worked with people at at least 99 percent feedback and haven't had an issue so far. However, the best deals will come from connections. It's amazing what percentage of my incredible deals (and one free, working machine!) came from connections in the hobby. We're a good bunch of guys, get to know the KLOVers in your area a bit better, go to their shindigs or host one of your own, and you'll find yourself with some steals eventually.
 
The most important advice I can give you-

The moment you find yourself saying "No more games, I'm finished!" is when you know you're addicted ;) Next thing you know, you'll find yourself with no other furniture, unable to move, and catonic in front of a joystick shouting to the outside world that "I CAN QUIT ANY TIME I WANT!"

But even as addicting, expensive, and time consuming as this hobby can be, I would say it's definitely worth it. You've made a good choice. If you play your cards right, it can be cheaper than modern gaming. I spend less a year on the machines (usually two or three a year as well as all repairwork and extra parts) than most of my XBOX/PS3 crowd friends do on their gaming.

I would suggest starting out on eBay. It sucks for sellers, but as a buyer I've never been disappointed. Craiglist... don't be surprised to get some very "interesting" experiences. With eBay and their overly-buyer-centric feedback system, you're usually going to get a good experience because the seller doesnt want you to leave them a mark on their record. I've only worked with people at at least 99 percent feedback and haven't had an issue so far. However, the best deals will come from connections. It's amazing what percentage of my incredible deals (and one free, working machine!) came from connections in the hobby. We're a good bunch of guys, get to know the KLOVers in your area a bit better, go to their shindigs or host one of your own, and you'll find yourself with some steals eventually.

So far the issue I noticed with ebay is shipping costs just as much as the cab. Thanks for the good tips though. I'm going to check this board for some links to others in Vancouver. See if there's a crowd.
 
I would recommend for ALL new people, to buy a FIRST game where you can go see it in person and play it before you take it home. That way you know EXACTLY what you are getting, and won't get an 'Ebay Surprise".

Also, these tips are good:

1) Actually turn it off and turn it back on while checking it out, especially if the game is already on when you get there, as some sellers will do some hack to get it working for when you are there, and then you get it home and it doesn't work. If it works there, then at least you'll have a much better starting point if you get it home and have problems.

2) Take the back off and make sure nothing is loose inside (especially the monitor) before laying it on it's back to get it into a truck or SUV.

3) Plug it in as soon as you get it home so you can call the seller for help if for some reason it won't come on.

4) Take some help when picking up and unloading. makes a lot of difference.

5) make sure you secure it properly when transporting, unless it is a Moppet strapped to a pallet in high winds... :rolleyes:
 
1) Actually turn it off and turn it back on while checking it out, especially if the game is already on when you get there, as some sellers will do some hack to get it working for when you are there, and then you get it home and it doesn't work. If it works there, then at least you'll have a much better starting point if you get it home and have problems.

This is great advice. I wish I had this tidbit when I bought my first game Tutankham. The guy had it already on when I got there. When I got it home, it would take 20 minutes to "warm" up before you could paly it. He didn't mention it needed time to warm up. Anyway, I replaced the power supply with a switcher and all was fine.
 
So far the issue I noticed with ebay is shipping costs just as much as the cab. Thanks for the good tips though. I'm going to check this board for some links to others in Vancouver. See if there's a crowd.

No problem... and I usually only use eBay for local pick ups anyway. Use the distance search to easily see how many arcades you have around. Mod is right about "eBay surprises", though, I would suggest (if you find something very local) requesting to come see it before bidding. If they decline, there's a good chance they had something to hide ;)
 
So far the issue I noticed with ebay is shipping costs just as much as the cab. Thanks for the good tips though. I'm going to check this board for some links to others in Vancouver. See if there's a crowd.


Vancouver, WA or Canada? There are many collectors around both areas and we have Seattle and Portland collector groups. Either way we are having a big show in June in Seattle and if you can make it to the show you can meet local collectors and possibly take a game or two home with you.

http://www.nwpinballshow.com/
 
I didn't see a forum for new members and noobs to ask questions, so I'm putting this here.

I have zero experience in this hobby, but for the last few years I've been daydreaming of picking up a cabinet or two for my man-cave. Any advice for a first timer?

I'll tell you the two games I'd love to have are Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey and SF3 Third Strike.

Who knows.. who knows.
I would suggest making a wtb thread on here with your location in the title. Got alotta responses that way, and 4 or 5 of my machines that way.
 
I bought my first cab from a local dealer and definitely overpaid.. $600 for a 25" dyanmo with no game back in 2000, but it was ready for the type of plug-and-play jamma games I like to play since it had a SF2CE control panel. While it's an expensive up front, down the road it's just money spent and you don't think anything of it. It'll be the only cab I've purchased until tomorrow. :)

I think, speaking as a fellow sort-of-newb-but-seen-a-lot, the hardest part is just getting your first cabinet. Boards are easy to come across, especially if you're willing to pay for the first one you find. eBay is a really good resource, but you'll find that a lot of their complete cabs are way overpriced for what you can find here, especially after shipping, but the problem here is the games you want that show up are usually not anywhere near you.

And like someone else mentioned about SF3, the security cart does have a suicide battery in it and there are very few people that are able to restore the carts if they do die. Changing the battery in a CPS2 board (like SSF2) is extremely easy if you have basic soldering skills, but doing the same thing in a CPS3 security cart (like SF3) usually results in a dead cart (from what I've read on several sites, at least). Those security carts are pretty old now, and there's no telling when your cart will die, which it will.

For something like that, though, there's always the option of buying a nice jamma cab and throwing in a PC for MAME, but it's always really cool to own the actual pcboards of the games you enjoy.
 
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