would this be a good arcade cab? Twin Cobra Project

[Duo_R]

Found this on Craigslist, would this be a good arcade cab to build for mame or something else?

Worth $75 for the cab? Doesnt power up

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/vgm/3153019594.html

[thesteve]

consider it a true untested, with a bad supply in it

[PCEngineHell]

Twin Cobra was a vertical shooter. Not sure if that would do you much good cab wise for mame unless you can modify the monitor mounting area so you can flip the monitor back into a normal position. Some of the old cabs can be modified easy, some of them not so easy. That is cheap though, as it is the game itself might be worth restoring. I haven't seen a Twin Cobra cab since I was a kid.

[SignOfZeta]

I would buy this. I wouldn't use it for MAME though as I'd rather play actual PCBs.

[esteban]

Twin Cobra is a great game. I'd want this just for my Tiger Heli addiction.

[Duo_R]

checked it out, looks like it is in pretty bad shape, been outside possibly rained on. Oh well, pass for now wait for something better

[Arkhan Asylum]

dude for 75$ id buy that.  It cant be that hard to fix.

[Duo_R]

It's not a question of hard it just looks pretty rough around the edges

[majors]

PCB is a steal at $75, but hauling the cab back home would be tricky unless you had a truck. Without knowing the CRT status, I'd pass on the MAME idea (I'd pass on ANY MAME thoughts). You can get FREE cabs if you just want to drop a PC and LCD in there.

[DrBread]

I think $75 is defiantly worth it!

[Samurai Ghost]

Eh, you figure most people will only have one, maybe two cabs in their house, so you'd want something that didn't look like a piece of junk.

[Duo_R]

Exactly i want something nice since at most i would have 2

[PunkCryborg]

i want that pcb!

[esteban]

i want that pcb!

Yup.

[Duo_R]

Is it a good game? What is it similar to?

[PunkCryborg]

Is it a good game? What is it similar to?

That's Kyukyoku Tiger dude!

[420GOAT]

can you put a tg16 in it?

[wilykat]

can you put a tg16 in it?

With duck tape and dremmel, you can do anything you want.

[Duo_R]

Hmmmm..... Maybe I can low ball them :-)

[Duo_R]

Ok I checked this game on YouTube I really dig the music
 This cabinet needs work, but it's not like I couldn't restore it. I have even spare joystick parts. Maybe a good project after all. I have always wanted an arcade cab

[PunkCryborg]

Yeah man and you can't go wrong with Toaplan games. Hopefully the PCB is in good condition. If not it would be worth fixing.

[Samurai Ghost]

Ok I checked this game on YouTube I really dig the music
 This cabinet needs work, but it's not like I couldn't restore it. I have even spare joystick parts. Maybe a good project after all. I have always wanted an arcade cab

Yeah it's an awesome game! Really cheap for the PCE as well.

[esteban]

Is it a good game? What is it similar to?

[Duo_R]

Ok guys, you convinced me to pick it up. I plugged it in and....nothing. I tested the power supply and conformed it was dead. I then dug up a power supply from an old PC and wired it up. The game was LOUD!!!

Wow this is the first arcade game i have owned.

Interesting fact: this used to to be a centipede cabinet. Downside is the blues seem low on the monitor, but game still look nice. Hopefully i can adjust that.

More of an issue: some sprites of certain ships ans explosion animations have glitches (lines). After doing some reading sounds like i may just need to reseat the eproms. Hopefully that fixes it   , but overall happy it even works. I also need to figure out how to lower the volume, the pot on the board didn't work.

Any arcade knowledgeable people have some tips on the glitches?

[Duo_R]

Example of the glitch


/20120806015959168.th.jpg

[PCEngineHell]

A rom could be bad and needs to be reflashed or replaced. You can always carefully reseat the eproms first to make sure because stress creep is always a possibility too. To be honest what I would do is just give the board  a good washing in the dish washer. and let it air dry via a fan for a day or two. After that reseat the eproms and if you are still getting issues, then check all over the board to make sure there's no damage on any traces. As for the pot not working, you could snip the speaker wire leading to the jamma harness and try wiring a high watt resistor in there or something, and just make a switch to select between it and normal. Also, the pot on the board may be bad, so eventually you'd probably want to replace it anyway.

[Duo_R]

Thanks is this stuff typical for old arcade cabs like this?

Also how hard/ what equipment is needed to flash another eprom?

[roflmao]

Kyukyoku Tiger is one of my favorite pce titles.  Awesome find, Duo_R!

[Duo_R]

Now I want to get the PCE version! =)

I just read an interview where Toaplan I believe only did the Megadrive ports in house, is that true? I might want to check out that version too.

The funny thing is how loud this cabinet is, I swear my whole neighborhood can probably hear me rocking out to Twin Cobra when I boot it up.

[roflmao]

Avoid the Genesis/MD version at all cost.  It's HORRIBLE.  It's one of the few Genesis games I regret spending any money on (and I think it only cost me $5 shipped).  The NES version is better.  The PCE version is by far the best though. (unless you have a 68k - that version looks pretty bitchin')

[PunkCryborg]

Awesome, glad you picked this up. Toaplan games are always great and are in demand PCBs. Your monitor should have adjustment pots and might need a recap.

[Duo_R]

Awesome thanks for letting me know! I think I remember the NES version back in the day!

[Duo_R]

Here is something interesting, the monitor only comes on if this cherry switched is pushed in, it doesnt stay pressed so  have to tape it down. Seems weird should i just permanently wire it in? It already has a rocker switch on the bottom for power so not sure why it is like this.

The volume pot works so the sound is good now. Here is a picture of the switch.

/img20120806130429.th.jpg

[roflmao]

I'm guessing that switch once was located by the back panel so if some kid somehow opened up the back they wouldn't be able to shock the bejeezus out of themselves.

[jc78_2005]

Here is something interesting, the monitor only comes on if this cherry switched is pushed in, it doesnt stay pressed so  have to tape it down. Seems weird should i just permanently wire it in? It already has a rocker switch on the bottom for power so not sure why it is like this.

The volume pot works so the sound is good now. Here is a picture of the switch.

/img20120806130429.th.jpg

yes that is a "kill" switch, so that the machine would power down when the back was removed for maintinace  the "flyback switch on those old monitors can carry alot of juice! congrats on your first arcade cab! i have a ms pacman, and a ninja gaiden

[Duo_R]

ahh that makes complete sense, I didn't think of that because the switch is facing inside, it must have broken off and the previous owner put it on wrong. Cool! The PCB is really dirty so I am hoping that a good reconditioning of the board will fix the small graphic glitches on certain sprites. I may try to use a pencil head and press on some EPROMS while it is running to narrow it down later when I have time to work on this. But really excited, I am going to add in some new paint, probably mask off the side art.

I have built arcade joysticks before for consoles out of HAPP parts, so I am very familiar with upgrading those parts. Looks like the joystick panel needs some cleanup. And it needs a new Marque (however you spell that).

The music on this game ROCKS! Love this!

[PunkCryborg]

I'm guessing that switch once was located by the back panel so if some kid somehow opened up the back they wouldn't be able to shock the bejeezus out of themselves.

thats interesting because I looked at a SFII cab a while back  that was missing the back panel and it had the same button you had to hold in for it to work. But yea that totally makes sense.

[esteban]

Awesome thanks for letting me know! I think I remember the NES version back in the day!

YOU HAVE CHOSEN WISELY.

[PCEngineHell]

Yeah Duo R, the stuff can be finicky at times if it wasn't taken care of. I had a Silkworm pcb with graphics issues, and I was never able to narrow down the problem, and a Martial Champion board which I looked at closely and found a damaged trace.

edit:man I should never post right after I just woke up.....at any rate, post fixed so it doesn't read like Regal wrote it.

[Duo_R]

I am a little scared of taking stuff out the of the monitor, I guess all the "high voltage" signs and knowing there is alot of power stored in there is what makes me a little nervous.

Awesome, glad you picked this up. Toaplan games are always great and are in demand PCBs. Your monitor should have adjustment pots and might need a recap.

[jc78_2005]

the thing to watch for on the back of the monitor is a big red wire, one end has a suction cup on it, attached to the monitor tube, the other end plugs into a large capacitor known as a "flyback switch" there are safe ways of decharging these, to make them prefectly safe to work on, but as a note just in general that red wire and capacitor are what you DO NOT want to touch.

[OldMan]

thats interesting because I looked at a SFII cab a while back  that was missing the back panel and it had the same button you had to hold in for it to work

See if you can pull the plunger out. It should click into place. That's how you override it for maintainance mode.

the thing to watch for on the back of the monitor is a big red wire, one end has a suction cup on it

I remember those....Good Times. Welding screwdrivers to the monitor frame, roasting wires, etc. Those were the days

jc78_2005:

i have a ms pacman, and a ninja gaiden

You have a ms pacman? Can you post pix of all the game boards for me, Please

(I can find pix of the first two on-line, but not the rest.)

[jc78_2005]

thats interesting because I looked at a SFII cab a while back  that was missing the back panel and it had the same button you had to hold in for it to work

See if you can pull the plunger out. It should click into place. That's how you override it for maintainance mode.

the thing to watch for on the back of the monitor is a big red wire, one end has a suction cup on it

I remember those....Good Times. Welding screwdrivers to the monitor frame, roasting wires, etc. Those were the days

jc78_2005:

i have a ms pacman, and a ninja gaiden

You have a ms pacman? Can you post pix of all the game boards for me, Please

(I can find pix of the first two on-line, but not the rest.)

ahh yes  lol, i use wire, alligator clips and a nice long flathead screwdriver, the only boards im familier with is the main board and the daughter board? which other ms pacman board are you referring to?

[OldMan]

which other ms pacman board are you referring to?

I knew after I posted that would be the question.
The mazes you play. If I can get a picture of all 4 of them, I can add them to Pyramind Plunder

[jc78_2005]

which other ms pacman board are you referring to?

I knew after I posted that would be the question.
The mazes you play. If I can get a picture of all 4 of them, I can add them to Pyramind Plunder

ohh haha, yes, in a day or two i will get some pics to you, in private messege, so as to not further hijack this thread lol.

[Duo_R]

Ok i worked on the cab then moved the cabinet across the room, the weird part is now the right side of the monitor has a blueish tint to it. Sort of like i took a magnet to the right side. Strange, think i might need a new monitor? Seems hard to change out.

[PunkCryborg]

You probably just need to degauss it. My cabs and my PVM monitor have degauss buttons but you can make or buy a degaussing coil.
I found this page on how you can make a degaussing coil http://mirrors.arcadecontrols.com/OscarControls/degauss/index.shtml.

[jc78_2005]

Ok i worked on the cab then moved the cabinet across the room, the weird part is now the right side of the monitor has a blueish tint to it. Sort of like i took a magnet to the right side. Strange, think i might need a new monitor? Seems hard to change out.

thats not uncommon with the old stuff either, slight movements can cause adjustments to go out of wake, and or also jarring can sometime cause symptoms of dried out caps to rear their head. i would say at best the monitor needs recapped,of course a new monitor is the best route if you have access to a replacement, depending on how much burn in etc is on the one you have now.

[Duo_R]

I am going to dishwash this PCB soon and recondition the board. The Jamma harness are all individually connected, would it be a good time to make a one piece jamma connector? So it is easier to plug / unplug games? Anyone know a good source for those?

[Duo_R]

I found a Sky Shark PCB last week. I believe that is by the makers of Twin Cobra? Is that worth checking out? I am thinking of building a Supergun.