Jump to content
Unfortunately we had to take download section back offline temporarily. We should have it working normally soon.

To Rebuild or not to rebuild???


Tredog

Recommended Posts

My brother-in-law came across a MegaTouch XL Cabaret that looks like this:

post-127147-14287067603_thumb.jpg

It is in fair shape at best (Was left in the snow recently) so repairing it is out of the question. But would it be worth the time / Feasible to convert it into something like this: http://www.hayneedle.com/product/pacmansarcadepartycabaretbynamco.cfm Trying to decide on stopping him from Ebay parting it out.

I will post an actual picture of it tonight or tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It worries me because the wood looks to be cheap, covered in laminate maybe, and is swollen in some areas (see pic 5). The front has holes, and the t-molding is shot. That aside, I have everything but a custom made metal control panel, t-molding, and joystick/buttons for the front. So I could just repurpose it as is and throw some vinyl on it... Anyway, here are the pics as it sits (I do have the back as well (Not Shown))

cabaret01.jpg

cabaret02.jpg

cabaret03.jpg

cabaret04.jpg

cabaret05.jpg

cabaret06.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get the power man tools out and sand the shit out of it!! Get it all as smooth as possible. Pick out any loose parts and be brutal. Once you have the shell down to the bare bones start the rebuild. Use filler and get it all back into shape. Then re sand, prime the hell out of it, paint or vynal decal.

Its a bonus as it looks like the screen is stil working??? If so it would be epic to have it still touch screen... so many emus can benefit from that, scumVM android etc etc etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it will power on, have not tried as it was sitting in the snow recently. Previous owner said it had a "Short" code for "Not a clue whats wrong". If I do rebuild it, I will probably make it simular to this:

post-127147-142870676075_thumb.jpg

OR if the touchscreen happens to still work (Doubtful) would make a nice Popcap / Jukebox machine, eh?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that what you call damage to woodwork? If so, you haven't been around 30 year old cabinets. If you want to convert it, raise the monitor up a little and then fabricate a control panel for it perhaps like a dynamo cab. It sort of matches the hard edges.

post-36788-142870676081_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its a bonus as it looks like the screen is stil working???

Well after you said that I decided to risk it and plug it in... Flipped the switch and it came to life, kind of:

cabaret07.jpg

After a few minutes of running it, no video, no sound, tried a quarter thinking maybe it was running but the screen was bad, tapped the screen a few times, then noticed vertical lines against the green background. Flipped the switch back off POOF, big white flash. So now I get to thinking its just a bad main-board and the monitor may work. Disconnected the video cable, it looked VGA like with less pins, plugged it into a test rig, and had garbled video. Pulled out a working monitor and set the resolution to 640x480 @ 60hz, switched back to the arcade and BAM we have video:

cabaret08.jpg

It was really dark at first, found the brightness settings on top the coin box, twisted up as high as it goes, and the picture is not half bad. No burn-in that I can see. Tomorrow I will find the lead for the touchscreen, and if its USB, will test it next! About 30 minutes after powering it up, I heard a pop and the little bulbs behind the coin mechs went dead. Not sure what the noise came from but everything else kept on trucking.

cabaret09.jpg

Now to the dilemma, I now know that this machine has the potential of being repaired. So do I keep going anyway, or... Maybe go this route: If anyone is interested in saving this machine from me transforming it and is in the Cincinnati area, Make offer / Pickup only... Give it a week before continuing? lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is the thing, it's not fully functioning. The Main-board is dead or needs help. I will drill out the locks and pull it out tomorrow and evaluate the damage. The image on the screen is from my test rig. (Atom PC running Mala/Mame) However, I will check and see if the touchscreen is USB on the other end of the cable. If it is, will see if I can get it working. Last I checked, these quiz type games were not being emulated yet, so if I do get it working, its more of a "Hey it works" and "now what to do with it". Does anyone know of a post of one of these being restored? or converted?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now to the dilemma, I now know that this machine has the potential of being repaired. So do I keep going anyway, or... Maybe go this route: If anyone is interested in saving this machine from me transforming it and is in the Cincinnati area, Make offer / Pickup only... Give it a week before continuing? lol

Seems to me like your heart isn't set on doing anything with this cab. If only i lived near you. I would pick this up. My friends and I love cabaret cabs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems to me like your heart isn't set on doing anything with this cab. If only i lived near you. I would pick this up. My friends and I love cabaret cabs.

My heart is definitely in it, just this was an unexpected find, and not attached to it by any means. If someone wanted it for what it is, would be willing to let it go.

Drilled out the lock to the Mainboard / HDD area. PC/ PSU is shot. So no resurrecting this thing as it sits. It looks like I will be going ahead with the Mame conversion and replace the CRT with 19" LCD to gain some space for the control panel. Anyone interested in the arcade monitor PM me (tatung vga crt monitor type 58 640x480 @60hz 18in viewable corner to corner).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Planning the build, that is what made my choice on art. This is what it would look like if I do my own art using what is available vs. paying to have it done. Not decided on which way I will go, however, does not look bad this way if I do my own art. Was also playing with t-molding colors (Red vs Chrome) and I think chrome looks best...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

So I took off the t-molding today, and the damaged corners are not that bad. A little wood hardener and minor sanding should do it, however, the gap for the t-molding is wider in some areas than the t-molding requires. Is it best to wood fill and re-route it or should I use the hot glue method that I read about? OR???

Will post progress pics in a week or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if you have a router, fill the spots and re-route them. If you don't then there are a number of other creative ways of going about that. If its just a few small spots, you can use construction adhesive to bond it down and put a piece of painters tape to hold it down against the panel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do have a router. The swelling on the worst spots have split the particle board right where the current routed groove is. My buddy thinks I can use wood hardener and/or wood glue and clamp it back together to strengthen it back. After that, I was going to test wood filler and re-route the bottom and see how it turns out. May just go with the hot glue if that proves to be more effective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do have a router. The swelling on the worst spots have split the particle board right where the current routed groove is. My buddy thinks I can use wood hardener and/or wood glue and clamp it back together to strengthen it back. After that, I was going to test wood filler and re-route the bottom and see how it turns out. May just go with the hot glue if that proves to be more effective.

Depending on how bad the split is, it may be best to inject some wood glue into the split and let it penetrate as far down into the split as possible. Friend of mine did this to a cabaret cab he had. He added a few drops of water to the wood glue to thin it out and then poured it into the crack. get a slim piece of 1/16" plexi or slightly smaller would be ideal. Lay your glue in the slot, give it some time to go as far as it can and then clamp it all down tight. When it dries the plexi should not glue to the wood permanently and you should have a strong enough bond to lay your molding without having to do much more repair on the slot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Finally made some progress on the pac-man conversion.  I made some changes to the original design: Marquee will be much smaller height-wise, and the control panel and screen are now on a single piece of MDF; Lots of work on one piece of wood.  Will update with pics as I start the assembly (Monday or before).  I am going to assemble it completely, then disassemble it to prime, paint and decal.  Then reassemble the final product, add the lexan over the screen/control area, and add the chrome t-molding last.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...