Restoration
If you have an old arcade cabinet that you might want to restore (perhaps after reading the notes on converting a cabinet), you might be wondering how to do this. While restoration of cabinets might seem daunting, it can be very rewarding to own a real arcade cabinet.
General Resources
Luckily you are not on your own, this wiki can still help on topics like hooking up controls or JAMMA boards. There is even more help available via the BYOAC forums or other websites on this topic. See this list below for a collection of arcade restoration links:
- Guide To Restorations Introductory Article On Restoration (tips, tools, etc.)
- I Want To Build A Game Bob Roberts' Article On Cabinet Wiring
- This Old Pinball - Restoring Arcade and Pinball Games
- prOk's Restoration Page Painting / Paint Codes / Stencils / CP Restoration
- Monitor Repair - Bad Caps / Symptoms and CapKit Lists
- Monitor Repair - Tube Swap
- Too Many Holes On That Control Panel ?
- Another "Too Many Holes" Page
- PCB Repair Tips
- Mike's Arcade Game Repair Logs Also loads of manuals / dips / pinouts
- Big Bear's Bulletin Board (Articles By Bob Roberts)
- Suicide Battery Info
- IONPool.net Loads of technical info
- ARCade ARChive Huge archive of arcade-related goodies
- Randy Fromm's Site
- ArcadeCollecting.com
- rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (RGVAC)
- Arcade Restoration Workshop
- Installing a replacement overlay
- GLS1 Electronics - Board Repair Services
- 2CoinsPerPlay Repair Logs
- Tony's Café Good repair logs and tips
Game Manuals And Schematics
In addition to the dedicated sites below, manuals and schematics for many games may be found by looking the game up on KLOV and checking the listing for links to the manuals. These manuals are typically hosted on arcadedocs.com, which is not available as a dedicated site pending a relaunch.
- Basement Arcade
- Game Manuals Archive
- Crazy Kong
- Manuals and Schematics on ArcArc
- Arcade Connection
- Namco Manuals
- Sega Manuals
- More Sega Manuals
Game-Specific Resources
- Asteroids
- Galaga
- Galaga
- Joust / Robotron Repair logs from Mike Ranger (aka Gravitar), *Williams guru
- Pac-Man
- Pac-Man
- Pac-Man Troubleshooting By Picture
- Pac-Man Repair Guide (PDF)
- Pole Position Clone Project
- Space Invaders
- Williams on robotron-2084.co.uk Technical info for various Williams vids, using 4164 RAM, 8-way stick in Sinistar
- Williams Interactive Troubleshooter on 2CoinsPerPlay
Multigames, Game Enhancements and JAMMA Adapters
Some enterprising folks have developed add-on kits that can augment the functionality of original video games. Multigames allow original game boards to play other games in addition to the original. Game enhancements include High Score saving, free play and other gameplay enhancements. Some of these kits are actively stocked by vendors and some may require some hunting to find. JAMMA Adapters allow you to easily connect your old game PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) to a JAMMA-wired cabinet or Supergun. Adapters for many common games are available from a number of vendors
The list of links below is far from exhaustive and you should check with individual vendors to see if a kit or adapter is available for your game.
- Star Wars / ESB Multigame Clay Cowgill
- Tempest Multigame Clay Cowgill
- Sega Vector Multigame (Star Trek, Space Fury, Tac/Scan, Eliminator, Zektor) Clay Cowgill
- Multiwilliams Clay Cowgill
- Q*Bert Multigame Clay Cowgill
- MultiJamma - Switch between multiple JAMMA boards in a single cabinet Clay Cowgill
- Double Donkey Kong Scott Brasington
- Missile Command Multigame Scott Brasington
- Multipede Scott Brasington
- Space Invaders Multigame Scott Brasington
- Asteroids Multigame Scott Brasngton - Project Currently On Hold
- High Score Save Kits Scott Brasington - Asteroids, Battlezone, Congo Bongo, Donkey Kong, DK Jr, DK 3, Frogger, Mario Bros, Popeye, Zaxxon
