Tabletop Arcade. Help and questions

[+TwentySixHundred]

Hi guys, thought I'd ask this here due to traffic. If in the wrong area and should be posted in the arcade sub forum I have no issues with Al or a moderator moving the topic.

 

So I got this little gem passed down to me by my father. He had it since I was a child and it originally was dedicated Phoenix. About 10 years ago he got iCade thrown in which without sifting around too much under the lid I'm assuming is emulation on an Android device(haven't looked)

 

Anyway first issue is the CRT. It's always had this issue where it looks slightly galsed on side and seems to be a stretched image on galsed area. 

 

Wondering if any gurus know ways to fix this issue or if it's just something will have to live with?

 

Other issue and probably ignorance on my part is when bootijg the system into game selection. It's not letting me scroll and pick a game. It's stuck on the first game Ms.pacman. the joysticks work fine and all the buttons as far as I can tell in game. Hard to know as Ms.pacman only uses the one button to start. But seems to start and play without any issues besides I'm stuck without a choice of game...

 

If anyone knows how or have information about these issues that would be much appreciated

[IMBerzerk]

First thing is to get a degussing ring.  Don't by the cheapo stick, you'll need this tool for years to come because anytime to reposition a CRT you need to degauss to where its new position is. That should take care of the color issues.  Judging by the pics you posted, that's what it looks like.

 

The other issue I'm not familiar with because I've never heard of the software.  I've used GameEx, Mamewah and a few others, but I've never head of iCade.  

 

At any rate, you've got a nice little gem of a cocktail cabinet.  Enjoy it.

[+TwentySixHundred]

1 hour ago, IMBerzerk said:

First thing is to get a degussing ring.  Don't by the cheapo stick, you'll need this tool for years to come because anytime to reposition a CRT you need to degauss to where its new position is. That should take care of the color issues.  Judging by the pics you posted, that's what it looks like.

 

The other issue I'm not familiar with because I've never heard of the software.  I've used GameEx, Mamewah and a few others, but I've never head of iCade.  

 

At any rate, you've got a nice little gem of a cocktail cabinet.  Enjoy it.

Thanks mate i will have to look into buying one. Also used the incorrect spelling and my phone auto-corrected (gaussing not galsed). Anyway at least you understood what i was talking about.

 

After looking into it more im fairly sure that's the issue and makes sense. My father is heavily into music and knowing him he would have stored his big guitar speakers on the cocktail at some point. Im thinking the speaker magnets could have caused it.

 

Thanks for the help, i'll have to hunt around for a decent degussing ring. Some probably wouldn't be too bothered but these little issues set off my OCD and i can't help but notice while playing ?

 

Edit: Also looking into the iCade side of things it looks to actually be this PCB that replaces the original board.

Edited November 28, 2021 by TwentySixHundred

[+TwentySixHundred]

So a little update about how im going with this thing. It's definitely needs degussing. I have played around with most the games today and some look worse than others. Looking into the rings i can only find them sold in the US. So i may have to bite the bullet and pay the shipping to Australia. The other option is what seems simple but a little daunting and that's to make a homemade one. Many people seem to be making their own although running 240Volts through a homemade rig kinda scares me.

 

I have noticed around the internet some convert the CRT display to LCD. Don't really like that idea as id rather keep this system as original as possible. The screen seems to work fine other than this issue and a very slight wobble on some games.

 

I worked out how to game select and it was as suspected, my ignorance. Just took a little playing around to figure out what i should be pressing and when, within the menu screen. So one issue solved and i also noticed the original Phoenix PCB is still in the system. Asked my father and he confirmed it is indeed there. They just installed an iCade board and left the original Phoenix PCB. So that's a huge bonus for keeping the system as original as possible.