Ms Pac-Man Progress

It’s nice when a full row of games is complete enough to power on and everything is playable..

This project Ms Pac cabaret came to me complete but not working.

So far, I’ve recapped the monitor, changed the top CPO, added a marquee light and new T-Molding. New Buttons, rebuilt the joystick and tumbled some of the metal.

Still, plenty of rust on the door hinge and the game counter that I need to address.

The game came with a full not-really-working Ms Pac boardset and original power supply.

I cleaned the original harness, boards and power supply and wrapped and stored them for future purist endeavors. To get the game going, I decided to go FPGA instead - Bitkit to the rescue.

Storing the original harness, PCBS and power brick in the bottom wrapped in plastic and brown-paper. I built up a power-block with a new 8-liner and isolation transformer and switched the game to a JAMMA wiring harness. I installed Ms Pac on the Bitkit and set it to directly boot to the game instead of a game selection menu.

The BitKit in action:

I still need to address rusty spots, the side laminate and the game could use a new monitor overlay.

All said though, it is running great with the Bitkit with only one caveat.

There are sync frequency differences between the Bitkit menu and the MsPac Rom.

I can get the monitor dialed in for one or the other but not both, so at this point it has little value as a multi-game, it is strictly a dedicated Ms Pac. The bitkit offers some choices for this, including reversing the polarity of the Sync through a jumper. I’m more inclined to blame this on the monitor than Bitkit, though. I’ll spend some time to determine the sync polarity and attack that problem more surgically in the near future. My guess is that I may be able to solve it with some combination of tweaks between V-Sync, h-Sync or sync-ground tweaks on the harness.

UPDATE 3/20/2019: Aaron (from Bitkit) saw this post and proactively reached out to me (because he is that kind of awesome). He confirmed that (paraphrasing him here) the Bitkit’s origins in Nibbler (Fantasy, Pioneer Balloon, Vanguard, Zarzon) so that the original menu was built with the Nibbler hardware in mind. There are some sync differences between the Nibbler hardware and the Pac hardware. He said he intends to release a future update (early May) to port the Bitkit menu system to the Pac hardware.

That said, in my case I haven’t spent a ton of time (aside from pot adjustments) experimenting with the the sync and grounds to see if I can get both the MsPac and the Bitkit menu dialed in equally. As I alluded to above the best I can do, today with the adjustment pots is to get the Bitkit menu w/ MsPac having a large g07-like curl on the right or I can get MsPac dialed in perfectly at the expense of the Bitkit sync.

I’m more inclined to believe this is an out-of-variance condition on this monitor than any real fault or weakness in Bitkit. Don’t take my report here as a strike against Bitkit - I’m extremely happy with the Bitkit board. It plays perfectly, boots fast and was super-simple to get running.

One of those situations where I triaged this to: “okay it plays great overall situation is good enough for now” and I moved on down the line to the next dark marquee in the lineup.. :)

I’m not sure about my long-term intentions having (effectively) three cabinets that will play Ms Pacman in some capacity but I’m sure this could be excellent trade bait for something else down the line, if it comes to that..

Namco 20yr Reunion

I saw this Namco 20 year come across the As Found / For Sale Arcade Group on Facebook

..and decided to take the plunge. Bob Cunningham is awesome and knows how to handle and grade game condition. Lots of pictures, arrived exactly as described.

The FryBack

Unfortunately in this hobby, stuff happens. After leaving the game on for a couple hours one night a friend looked at me quizzically : “What’s that smell?”

The Flyback became a FryBack. What was odd was it was a brand new Flyback (clear date code on it) but it certainly melted down.

I mentioned on a different Facebook group when asked how it was going that “the monitor needs a little love but it’ll be fine” and Bob reached out to the person that had recently rebuilt the chassis. They were both super cool about it and replaced the flyback, I was only out shipping and a little time. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything - this stuff happens. But there you go, solid people people solid. :)

Other Clean-up Items

While the chassis was away I took the opportunity to correct some other things w/ the monitor and other parts of the game. There was a ground issue coming into the chassis from primary A/C and some floppiness in the purity / convergence rings.

The rings were just floating on the neck and not really locked in place. I believe some plastic likely got brittle and cracked that was used to create circular tension around the neck glass. Hot Glue & High Temp Silicon to the rescue..

I also took the mail-off time to redo the control panel with a new CPO from Rich @ This Old Game. It turned out awesome as his stuff always does..

Also went back with a Pac-Pro 4-Way Leaf from Groovy Game Gear.

..Putting it back together..

Rebuilt chassis, re-adhered and adjusted purity / convergence rings and fixed chassis ground..

With the help of a little Wifi Endoscope and a cellphone, I got tack-sharp focus out of the monitor.
(Thanks to Nathan for useful tools as gifts!)

Done for now..

Just have to install the coin lock, replace the mech bulb and adjust out the controller some and we’ll call this one done, for now. :)

Wreck it Ralph 2, The Re-Wreckining..

Yeah, that’s not the real title. Get over it.
Spoilers within. Click away, if you care.

Wreck it Ralph hit on all cylinders for me as a family film. You’ve got arcade stuff, a heartwarming friendship and a story about finding a way to live in your own skin. Do we like going to work day in and day out? Do we like taking our the trash, cleaning toilets, & the general work of self-maintenance? No. These things are work and can be tedious and feel menial.

This goes for anything you do for 30 years'; even things you love.

The moral of Wreck it Ralph showed us that happiness can be found in sharing these menial moments with people that we love. With friends and family and loved ones that accept us for the people we are and often see us differently, more positively, than we see ourselves.

Wreck it Ralph 2 follows with a narrative about clingy-ness and co-dependency; about lying to friends about and general Pettiness. The movie has its moments but it is also a complete betrayal of the first, which I find unforgivable.

I played The VO1D Ralph Breaks The Internet Experience before seeing the movie and nothing was really spoiled in doing so. The V01D Experience was a 15 minute playable movie trailer for the 2 hr commercial that is Ralph Breaks the Internet. John C. Reilly is charming as Ralph and Sarah Silverman is ever-adorable as Vanellope. Gal Gadot is excellent in a role as Shank, an MMO racer analog to Vanellope.

Vanellope’s game breaks and there’s an ever-relatable scene for Arcade Collectors in that the arcade manufacturer is no longer in business and the replacement part is expensive - and on eBay.

Aside from this chuckle the movie explores Ralph & Vanellope’s relationship as they travel through the internet in search of the arcade part (or funds to buy it.) Ralph’s simpleton tendencies are turned up to 11 and Vanellope’s sweetness is turned down in favor of her own selfish pursuits. Ralph is over-controlling and Vanellope and Ralph are both dishonest to one another.

Logos! So many corporate logos!

Everyone’s a villain in a plot that mirrors the first in a frustrating way.

Imagine if - after watching Luke Skywalker destroy the death star and save the rebellion, the beginning of ESB showed Luke gassing up Death Star 2 and entering the coordinates for the new rebel base. In Wreck it Ralph 1 the tension is around Ralph leaving his game and the impact to the other characters in his absence that will result in the game being decommissioned. Here, Vanellope decides she is bored with Candy Crush and that it’s okay for her to just leave and be part of an apocalyptic MMO / GTA clone. They hand-waive it off will “they’ll never even miss me.” W. T. F.

The movie has math mistakes (27years vs 30years for Fix it Felix) and plot holes galore.. It’s as if someone at Disney asked Alexa to build them a movie script.

I give it two out of 5 Quarters. I preordered it on Apple TV as a purchase and should have rented, instead..

Micro Machines.. well... kinda.

With a few games leaving and after making some room in the game room, I started looking for the next titles to occupy the arcade for awhile. Going…. big on.. going.. small…

Finally ran across two Cabarets that I’ve been seeking for over a year. The first, is a project Ms. Pacman. It is “all there but not working”.

Ms Pac Cabaret (Project)

From the photos, I’m expecting to have to do some cabinet work, new laminate and new control panel overlay. Depending on the condition of the PCBs I may end up using a Bitkit. We will see what happens as I get into it…

Centipede Cabaret

One thing I haven’t actually owned in 5 years of arcading - is a trackball. Seriously. Kinda weird right? I’ve come super close to buying full-size Centipedes that come up nearby but the timing has always been off. This cabinet is working just needs to be cleaned up a little.

It is pretty cool that these cabarets use a 19” arcade monitor.

Excited to get to know this classic better.

RetroAdvance, Update

Non-existent support but still a cool little device.

As previously mentioned, my Retro Advance arrived with a pretty big flaw. Not being able to maintain power with the battery compartment door on the game was a pretty limiting.

I reached out to support via email, Facebook and a webform. Unfortunately, no one responded.

I worked out a fix ( in my case) by removing the back (just a couple small screws) and re-seating the battery pins on the PCB. I also added a dab of hot glue on the back of the connector pad to give it additional rigidity and keep it from moving under the pressure of the battery springs.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, this $40 toy hit the nostalgia spot on design. Pretty cool “chill and play” size and a nice walk down memory lane. Even if it is a probably-not-properly licensed knock off from a what appears to be a fly by night company.

My general thoughts summarize as:

Pros:

• Very good screen brightness

• Pretty cool game list

• Decent button-feel

• Extra style points of the knock-off Gameboy design

Cons:

• Slow shipping

• Non existent support

• ‘Meh’ off angle screen viewability

• Dumb boot up menu language selector

• Questionable Durability

Atari Star Wars Finds a New Home

After about a year of ownership, I listed and sold my Atari Star Wars Arcade. It was part of what was my “Star Wars Shrine” in the back of the room, comprised of an arcade, a pin and my home-made battle pod.

To determine which games needed to go I just looked at their play frequency over the last year, took into account their size. etc. In SQL Developer terms:

SELECT TOP 2 NAME
FROM GAMES
ORDER BY ACTIVITY ASC

I listed it on Facebook Marketplace and a few Arcade groups with the following pictures, highlighting areas of the game that have been fixed or should be fixed in the future.

Cabinet Sides

Video Walkthrough of Condition

Video Walkthrough of Game Operation

A buyer in Birmingham reached out and bought if. We met in person, went over the game condition and arranged delivery through Bob Cunningham on his way through here, heading North.

Getting the game pretty for its short trip North.

It was really cool to meet the game’s new owner and hear his story regarding seeking this title out. He is someone entering the hobby after looking for this game for over 20 years. His first game! Honestly, being exposed to the enthusiasm and excitement of someone entering the hobby a-new was a nice shot in the arm for my own hobby morale. Always awesome to meet cool people in this hobby.

RetroAdvance, First Impressions

Received my Translucent Black RetroAdvance, today. Took about a month to come from over the big bond. (Insert Great Wall of China / Border Wall joke here)

It has the potential to be very cool. It feels alot like the classic system the case is inspired by and the buttons feel good.

Unfortunately.. it kinda.. doesn’t work. (Video below). I’ll give them a chance to respond, I’m sure they will make it right :)

I’m sure I could rework the connectors, shave away some plastic, shake magic electrical chicken bones at it, etc… I’ll wait to hear back before I put on my MacGyver Hat.

RoadBlasters Hits the Road

I abandoned the idea of turning Roadblasters into an Indiana Jones after seeing the cost and rarity of the control panel and PCBs (and optional side art).
I figured I’d be about twice the asking price for a RoadBlasters into the conversion. Also, playing it in MAME - it seemed “Consoley” to me, so … Roadblasters went up for sale to make a hole..

It sold in about an hour on Facebook Marketplace.

The buyer went with Fastenal 3PL, so I palleted it up and brought it to depot. I’d.. forgotten just how heavy Atari cabinets were. Loading it on the trailer by myself was… strenuous.

Was really concerned the game might turn into a lawn dart if someone stopped in front of me. In addition to 1200lb tie straps, the pallet got screwed into the decking of my trailer.

It made it.. (woot!)