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Post by gliptitude on Oct 30, 2013 13:51:07 GMT -5
I am considering buying my first arcade cabinet, which is a full sized Asteroids, for sale locally. I thought the price was right ($375), but my uncle who has dealt in arcade cabs quite a bit thinks I should pay $250 or less. Here is the listing: cincinnati.craigslist.org/tag/4139908104.htmlAnybody have an opinion of what is a fair price for this? ... Machine is described as fully functional and good cosmetically, with one problem - the monitor flickers when the machine is shaken. |
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Post by VectorX on Oct 30, 2013 13:53:20 GMT -5
Well don't shake the machine then!  Price sounds fine to me. |
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Post by gliptitude on Oct 30, 2013 14:20:30 GMT -5
Well, I just wonder if the shaky monitor is a recognizable symptom of a terminal problem. The monitor is probably the most difficult to replace part of this machine. The main reason I want this game is for the vector graphics, so it would suck pretty bad to lose the vector monitor. ... It's going to get shaken quite a bit in the moving process too.
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Post by VectorX on Oct 30, 2013 14:48:40 GMT -5
Good points there.
BTW, after thinking about it, maybe the game's worth $25-50 less actually. But still not a bad deal.
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Post by gliptitude on Oct 30, 2013 15:56:07 GMT -5
Yeh, if it was a Cabaret (mini) cabinet I would be all over it. That's what I really want, but have hardly ever seen for sale, (and never seen locally).
... I just talked to a local shop that said they recently sold an average condition Asteroids for $800.
Also I notice that Asteroids is generally more valuable than Asteroids Deluxe.
... The one arcade that I know of around here recently retired an Asteroids Deluxe cabinet due to a monitor failure that they considered beyond repair. So I am nervous about this "shaky monitor". The one at the arcade was working decent prior to fatal failure.
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Post by jfmateos on Oct 30, 2013 16:41:46 GMT -5
From Spain, that seems a fair price.
Here it would be very difficult to get an Asteroids Cabinet for less than €600
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Post by gliptitude on Oct 30, 2013 20:11:16 GMT -5
From Spain, that seems a fair price. Here it would be very difficult to get an Asteroids Cabinet for less than €600 Thanks for the perspective, jfmateos. I'd guess that generally there is less in the way of old arcade machines there, BUT probably easier to find caberet/minis? (I figured since they are sometimes called "Euro" models). .. I love those smaller low profile cabinets, like the Asteroids and Battlezone ones that were made. |
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Post by VectorX on Oct 30, 2013 20:33:12 GMT -5
I'd guess that generally there is less in the way of old arcade machines there, BUT probably easier to find caberet/minis? And tabletops. A friend of mine lived in Australia and said they were pretty popular over there. My guess is that they're smaller, easier to ship, lighter and much less likely to tump over in case something happened. |
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 10, 2013 20:02:10 GMT -5
Ha ha. Well this seller JUST returned my calls this morning, and I ended up buying it, ($350). It's in my kitchen!
"Fully functional" is a generous description. The graphics are all bunched up now. It gets better temporarily if you wiggle a few things inside. .. Sound is normal until you get hit by an Asteroid. Instead of the big booming explosion sound it makes a higher pitched bleep. .. Cabinet itself is in pretty decent shape.
After looking around in the meantime, I'm ok with the deal, and happy to get my first vector cabinet.
A nice unexpected perk was the original manuals in decent condition. There is an Asteroids manual and a separate Quadriscan manual. Also a large folding collection of detailed schematics.
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Post by VectorX on Dec 10, 2013 20:25:46 GMT -5
Pics, pics!
Congrats.
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 12, 2013 2:03:21 GMT -5
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Post by VectorX on Dec 12, 2013 10:08:41 GMT -5
Heh, we got to catch a glimpse of your dog, too!
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Post by jasonbar on Dec 12, 2013 12:41:59 GMT -5
My brother is in Plymouth, MI & has a very nice Asteroids. He paid more than you did. :]
He's had trouble with his vector monitor. (Who doesn't?)
Look up Jeremy, member g3n3ric on KLOV in Michigan. He did lots of repair/maintenance/etc. on my brother's game. He is "the man."
-Jason
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Post by gliptitude on Dec 12, 2013 18:53:35 GMT -5
Ok. Thanks for the reference Jason. I'm not keen on moving this machine to Michigan for repairs, and I imagine it would cost quite a bit to get Jeremy down to Cincinnati. But maybe he can just advise me in the forums.
Doesn't seem like there is much here in the way of servicing this machine. I actually bought it directly from a guy who runs a sister business (repair shop) to the biggest classic arcade in the area, and HE was selling because he didn't want to fix it. .. I'm hoping it is not the monitor itself that is malfunctioning. The fact that the sound is also acting funny is encouraging in that department. Also the title screen routinely has problems that the game play screens do not have.
Would you mind sponsoring me so I can join the KLOV forums? Or maybe I'll just make the nominal donation in the meantime.
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Post by jasonbar on Dec 13, 2013 12:41:25 GMT -5
It's easy to remove the boards (well, watch out for the HV flyback on one of the monitor PCBs!!!) & ship them as needed. I've shipped many an arcade motherboard PCB or monitor PCB over the decades...
PM me regarding KLOV sponsorship. I'm not sure how that works--hit me up & point me to relevant info.
Thanks,
-Jason
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