- Joined
- Apr 4, 2010
- Posts
- 669
So, about two years ago I found a small, decrepit arcade tucked away in a billiards place. Basically every machine was out of order besides the Neo-Geo, running Puzzle Bobble obviously. One specific out-of-order cab was a game I absolutely would love to have the PCB for even as-is, so I message the place on facebook asking if any of the games were for sale. The owner responds that none are for sale currently and that he wants to repair them himself. Understandable. Fast forward to last week: I took a week off of work and used the opportunity to go through my backlog of arcade PCBs I've been meaning to fix, and this reminds me of the billiards place and its rotting machines. I check in again asking if any progress was made on the machines, and as I'm high off of successfully fixing some shit recently I boldly offer to come by and help him look over and diagnose what's wrong with his machines and try to get them working again, and that I would even do this work in exchange for any loose PCBs he might have in the back or that one game I wanted or whatever.
He tells me to come by around noon and talk about it. I immediately regret it and feel way over my head, but I show up to the place and start talking to the owner. He's an incredibly nice guy and explains that the original tech that used to come out and maintain the games retired, that he has personal attachment to the games and would like to get them going again. We come to an understanding that:
Here's the target: 9 cabs to repair
Here's the "prize" that I'm hoping to get out of it, stuffed into a terrible condition Jaleco Low-Pro
Blurred out for suspense lol
Couple hints:
He tells me to come by around noon and talk about it. I immediately regret it and feel way over my head, but I show up to the place and start talking to the owner. He's an incredibly nice guy and explains that the original tech that used to come out and maintain the games retired, that he has personal attachment to the games and would like to get them going again. We come to an understanding that:
- I am not a professional technician; This is just a hobby and a learning experience for me, and I make no guarantees that I can fix EVERY machine
- As I am not a professional, I don't feel comfortable accepting money for the work I'm doing.
- If I get the other games working, or if they feel that I've made a genuine effort to get them going and repair as much as I'm able to, in exchange of my time I could take home the one game I originally wanted in lieu of money (the "prize"). I offered to just take the board and swap it with some other game to have on the floor as I don't exactly have space for a third arcade cabinet, but he has no interest in swapping and would want the entire cab gone.
- I will adjust/calibrate monitors as best as I can, but I will not be doing any actual monitor repair or recaps (I'm not confident enough to do the former on just any ol' monitor and I don't have the spare time for the latter)
- I'm not touching the pinball machine (no knowledge + high voltage) and the lightguns/racing game I have no experience with, so don't get your hopes up with those
- I'll give him an accurate valuation of anything he does want to sell. This is true - I'm not looking to scam him at all and I'll tell him exactly what something is worth, even if it's something I would be interested in. I won't be referencing ebay prices mind you, but my genuine assessment/feeling on its value based on forum sales or whatever. It's one thing to scoop up something that shows up at an unbelievable price, but only a scumbag would mislead and undervalue something for their own benefit
Here's the target: 9 cabs to repair
Here's the "prize" that I'm hoping to get out of it, stuffed into a terrible condition Jaleco Low-Pro
Blurred out for suspense lol
Couple hints:
- It's a shmup
- I valued the PCB at around $450-$600
- Kinda obscure and hard to price as it doesn't really come up often