Where the heck have I been?

Let's see, where have a been? Since my last post, I took a bazillion business trips, smashed my car, lost a grandmother-in-law, landscaped my back yard, tried (in vain, but had fun soldering) to fix my inlaws TV, done a lot of rearranging of the basement den/arcade/shop/kids castle/Dreamcastland/etc and started coaching my daughter's soccer team.

Zap.

There goes 8 months.

Had some good pinball and arcade on my business trips. The best was probably GamesNAt in Pittsburgh, and the bowling alley next to the Pinball Parlour in Earlington, PA (Philadelphia area).

This week, I helped turn a fellow member of the awesome Yahoo EM pinball group onto Fitz's in St. Louis. They only have a LOTR, but it's well shopped, and the Rootbeer and Cream Soda are to die for.

I got the fever for it so bad that I took the wife and kids there before the Trout Fishing in America concert at the Library.


In other news, Jeff Rothe has got his great new website called coinopspace.com up and running. He calls www.coinopspace.com a "Classic Arcade Game Forum". Sounds about right. It's like KLOV or RGVAC or RGP, only with great graphics and (so far) lots of friendly "hobby" folks. (i.e. not a lot of jerks/egos).

They've helped me out with some cap kit questions, so I'm ready (I hope) finally to tackle my cap kits this winter.

The return of the 15 year old Mullet...

Went to St. Pats the other weekend back at school. Didn't see many folks from my era. But, I did snap this picture of me circa 1993/4. Wow, that's some bad hair! LOL Hmmm, I wonder why Jenny had no interest in going out with me back then?

Where the heck have I been?

I've been to Rome and back.

Here's me ordering a couple of veggie burgers at the Pompeii Burger King (this is not a joke... it's one of nearly 100 fast food joints found on the main streets of Pompeii.)
Here's me towering over the tiniest real care I've ever seen!Here's some of the fun they used to have at the brothel in Pompeii (kids, close your eyes!)

I've only got about another 400 or 500 pictures and a bunch of videos. So, you're lucky I'm sparing you. :)

In the basement, we've been progressing along fairly well. I put the Top Score on Free Play using Marvin3M's method for Gottlieb EM halfmoons. Works like a charm.

I've got all the games moved into place, and it feels good.

Made it to Lowes last weekend to finally give my daughter her castle. So, I've started framing in the walls in the corner. More pictures as it goes up. Should be fun.

And, tonight, we had a great walk in the neighborhood where William skipped and played drums on each electrical box and cable box... Then, came down stairs and played a few games of air hockey, pinball, and Green Beret. I beat Julia 9 to 8 in air hockey. She took it pretty well. I meant to let her win, but it didn't work that way. Oh well, she's doing well.

Then, Julia played Green Beret and William pretended to play Green Beret. Both of them were sitting on my lap. She scored 4700. Not bad. It was, for a daddy geek... awesome. Then, Julia played pinball on her own. Jenny had played pinball earlier.

It was a lot of fun, and a great family night.

What have I gotten myself into??? Cap hellllllp?

Disclaimer: Any dirt on the board is a combination between Nicotine and fried dog hair.

NOTE: All pictures are bigger if you just click on them.

I told my in-laws during the New Years weekend I'd try to fix their TV for them. Ah, smart Jon. I have a 32", 7 year old TV sitting upside down on a card table in my garage. Where my car should be. That was 3-4 weeks ago. Kids suck the time out of you. Putting a heater in an uninsulated garage when it's 20 degrees out - that takes the oomph out of you. Finally got into it this weekend when it hit 60F out.

Anyway... symptoms were that it started snapping to a horizontal line, then now it's down to just the power supply "clicking".

So, I got it open, reflowed what I could get to on the neckboard. (On the left)

No help. So, I decided maybe I could reflow the main board. But, I had to take it out. Took me a bit, and here's my reward... I think it's a slightly bulged cap. This one's big. Almost 2 inches high. It's in the powersupply section.




On the right side, there are two parallel traces coming down to some leads pointing up and then down (about 1/3 of the way down, under the "+" by the words "HOT\COLD")). That's where the big cap goes through.

Here's the detail on it. The "flashes" of brown are nicotine stains I haven't cleaned yet. But, on the left (the very left of the white line down the center), is where I think the capacitor "goo" is.Even worse, on the lower left side of the shot above, there is even more "goo". (I can't find the cap this would have come from. None of the others look even slightly "bulgy".)

So, this is where I'm at. I have never seen a blown cap before. I assume this is what it looks like, but I'm not sure. I don't even know if fixing a cap would fix the TV. Or, even where I'd buy the cap kit.

What have I gotten myself into? LOL *sigh*

Where have I been?

Okay, so, it's been a while since I've posted. When I've been in the basement, I've been working on rearranging my game room. I got the entertainment center and the 31" Gateway Destination monitor moved with only one (near) Achille's tendon severing fall. I've gotten all my games moved, and finally, have gotten the rubber tile back down in the corner where my daughter's Cardboard Castle is going to go.

Phew.

Got the farthest I've ever gotten in Jail Break last night before litter duty. "Only" scored 110,000 (not my high), but got past the ships on Scene 3 and into the town. Dang, now I gotta learn the pattern for the SUV's on a part I've only been to once. Grrrreat.

On my pinball, I've been having some monster first balls lately. Racking up a 10 ball bonus, and clearing them, and starting over. (On Top Score, the backglass animation gimmick is a loading up of a bowling ball for each bonus point. The one rule of the game variation wise is, once you've loaded up 10 balls, you then go for the "bonus" hole to score them and start collecting more bonus points.) But, for some reason, ball 2 and ball 3 like to drain on me, so I've gotten 30k on the first ball, and then 5 k on the 2nd and 3rd. No where near a high score.

I'm beginning to wonder if the new spot I put the machine in is slower than the other. I haven't leveled it yet, but when I checked, it seemed to be right as is. Hmmm.

The other cool thing is that I've finally scored a Tiger Heli PCB. Sure, it's not JAMMA. And Sure, I don't have a cabinet for it. BUT, it's a minor Holy Grail of mine, and it was only $20 shipped. I used to play the heck out of Tiger Heli both in the Aladdin's Castle in Minot, ND as a kid, and on the Nintendo when I was in college. I even used a flight stick for it on the Nintendo. So, I'm happy.

I'm thinking about putting an Ultimarc Magstick 4/8 way onto my Lock n' Chase once I've done the cap kit, and using it for vertical 8 ways, not just 4 ways.

Next blog - my fun "project".

Air Hockey 1, Arcade 0, Cap Kit 0, Hans O - a bazillion

Well, you'd think, since it's been 3 weeks since I last blogged, that I'd come back fresh with tales of cap kits. (I did score a Hans O free friday! - Thanks Hans!)

Nope, I just have tales of busy Christmas time, and starting to arrange my Game Room. Had a great day today with the lovely wife. Went to eat Vietnamese at yummy Miss Saigon, and then went to go see a pants peeing funny stage version of Sedaris' Santaland Diaries. Grandma watched the kids.

Then, went down in the basement to set up the new Air Hockey Machine once we got home.

It was part of my first Xmas adventure since my last blog... taking my daughter to Chuck E Cheese for a daddy/daughter night. What a blast. Go on a Tuesday, and the place is yours for the taking. But, kiddie cheesy-ness aside, where else can you go to make your daughter grin like a fool, and get in a few hours of Stern pinball, a number of decent racing games, Johnny Nero Action Hero, and a ton of Air Hockey? Plus a full meal, for under $20?

As we left there, we stopped in the KMart next door, and picked up the $40 air hockey promo table. Yeah sure, it's a piece of Harvard crap, but, you know, it's perfectly sized for the kids, and if we're still playing it in a few years, I'll step up to a real table.


The kids sure enjoyed it, even if it's craptastic!


In the background of this shot, you can see some of what I'm setting up.


That's the candy cab hiding under the steps on the left. The Top Score beside it, and the Lock N' Chase to the right. I'll put the Jail Break and Turbo to the right of those. And that will hit the side wall of the basement, and seal the kids in so they can't run around the back to the furnace and hot water heater and kitty litter.

It's just an unfinished basement, so it won't be a real wall. But, in the play area, I've at least got padded floor tiles and garage sale'd carpets. And, honestly, for now, with 2 munchkins and wife who like me around, it's good enough.

And, most importantly, I've left myself enough room behind each game to get behind it for repairs.

Which, I'd better get on, since my luck is not too good lately. I went to fire up my Jail Break, and it was having a resetting problem. *sigh* So, yesterday, I bummed a 1987 vintage power supply off the IS guys at work (thanks, Chris!). So, hopefully I'll find a power supply issue with the Jail Break when I get back there. Cause, I have a 4 project vs. 2 working ratio right now.

Plus, when I went to move the games, my poor dolly had a flat on the pneumatic tire. So, I had to go to Quik Trip tonight to fix the flat.

Oh well, all's well that ends well. After letting my girl win at Air Hockey, I got the kids to bed tonight. Then, I got the mess of Air Hockey boxes picked up. Played a game of pinball (had the full 10 balls on the last ball bonus!), and moved the couch into position.

Not too shabby, with 3 days left in the weekend, and another one coming up in a week.

Merry Christmas, all!

Bob Roberts arrives

:) Wow. It's true, it's all true. The Real Bob Roberts experience is professional, friendly, and accurate.

Here's my loot! Friendly emails. Quick and timely. And, I got a Holiday Pen. A freakin' pen! LOL (No fabled moon pie, but that's okay.) Some guy on KLOV recently complained about _not_ getting a bit of schwag, on an order, once. Boo hoo. Really.

3 cap kits, a solder sucker, solder, some lamps for my pinball machine. Let's see how long before I actually use any of it. Gotta rearrange my basement first. Clean it up so the kids can play while I work on the games. Don't want the 2 year old climbing in the back of an open cabinet that's powered up. I have a plan.

My first Bob Roberts...

Well, here we go... I've placed my first Bob Roberts order! Wheeeeee!

1 Spring loaded solder sucker
1 1LB Roll Of Solder
1 10 Lamps 47
1 GO7-CBO cap kit
1 MC2000S cap kit
1 K4600 cap kit

This is so much fun. I feel like I've entered a secret club by ordering from them. ;)

Cap kits here I come!

p.s. I know, I know. Everyone recommends a soldapult solder sucker, but I didn't feel like ordering from a second place.

My Christmas "unpack" video...

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...and she let me buy my Hakko 936ESD Soldering Iron! Woohoo! Better than a Red-Rider BB Gun!

I'm sure for some folks, dropping $85 on a soldering iron seems like a cheap price. Seeing as your games may cost you $500-$1500 apiece. But, for us, we really had to justify it. Me, for a hopeful lifetime of use on cheap boards and my games (max price paid was $125 on my 25" Candy Cab). Jenny, for me to consider it my Christmas present, since it's about my hobby/fun, and not a "real" expense.

Bob Roberts cap kits, here I come.


The full video... My boy does the unpack. We played Karate Chop with that paper, me and the kids, for 30 minutes after that. It was awesome fun. All we were left with were karate chopped, kicked, and head butt-ed squares of 4 inch paper everywhere.


The stills... My son getting out the paper...

My Son trying to life out the 936.

"Alright, Dad, let's plug this bad-boy in!"

Did I mention they're on sale at Kiesub! Cheapest on the net. $69.95 plus ~$12 shipping.



And finally, My girl decorating the box it came in. (This was pre-karate time.)

Hell, I haven't even really plugged it in yet, and I already got a whole night of fun out of it. A Merry Christmas indeed. Thanks, hon!

1 week...

Until the arcade auction in St. Louey! www.superauctions.com. It'll be fun.

It's been a long time...

No, no... I'm not going to break into an incredible Eric B and Rakim rap.



But, here's what I've done when I've been travelling... Awesome pinball in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh....
Landmark Lanes Kinda hot by the games (no air), but where else do you get 5 perfectly shopped, high end games? Milwaukee rocks. And, I ate at Beans N Barley. Yummy.
Game n At (didn't go, but looked great) http://www.gamesnat.com/index.php - $8 for all night playing. Like a Chuck e Cheese - 9 pins, plus arcade and other games.
Smiling Moose - kind of a dive, but they got games and Karaoke, so I was happy.
Beehive Coffeehouse - Not everyone's ideal pinball place, but again, they got games and are artsy, so I was happy.

Travelling sucks, but at least there are places out there with good pinball. Here by us in Fenton, I have the broke ass Shadow at Cecil Whitakers (still got 400,000,000 on it tonight, with the upper table plunger broke, and both of the ramp lane selectors broke), the flipper sticking Johnny Pnemonia at the laundrymat, and the Cranked way to f-ing loud Tommy at the Swing A Round. Oh well, all 3 are excellent playing games, even when they aren't shopped properly. For some reason, despite their cheesy themes, all 3 are very playable. Lots of shots, and enough ruleset depth for a part-timer like me.