Patient: Simutrek, Cube Quest UR
Technicians: ???
Problem: Game would power up, but die after a few minutes. No sound.
Troubleshoot: I was just a lucky observer with this project, so I can’t provide too many details. (I will ask and update if possible) I did get to see the huge board set and the massive cage that housed it. What a monster.
Solution: The easiest way to work on this board set was to have it out of the cabinet, but the cage and cabinet has connectors that are all dependent upon one another. Sticking your head into a dark cabinet to probe with an Oscope is not a fun time, especially when the cab is in the garage during a wonderful Midwest winter.

The cage itself prevented effective troubleshooting, it was just in the way. What to do? Build an equally complex testing harness and power supply, of course. After many days of painstaking labor to develop and build a dedicated test station for Cube Quest, the tech was finally ready to get down to business.

After only a short time, the technician was able to get the board working, as you can see. One interesting bit about this game is that it was designed to work and play even if (or should I say when) the laser disc player failed. What you see here is game play minus the laser disk effects. Still pretty cool. The next step is to restore the sound and then connect the laser disc player to see if it will all work together. Want more info about this particular game? Check out the post over at rotheblog, happy gaming!

OK, simple frog pattern on the right to mimic the original tire tracks, pointing frogs around the joystick to indicate jump direction, got it. But what’s going on with that background? Is that supposed to be pavement or some kind of Rorschach test? I keep staring at it with my eyes a little squinted, hoping the secret message or shape might appear before my eyes.

It does bear the Willis name and even a part no, so there is no doubt that this version is the actual Willis Frogger reproduction overlay. It will hop on over to the archive. Enjoy!

• Scored an old RCA 19" today from an estate sale, free. I don't remember them being so heavy. New tube for Tapper! #

I recently made the road trip from Chicago to McLean IL, to meet up with my good friend Jeff at the Arcade Museum. What is the Arcade Museum? Just a little piece of arcade nirvana located right off I55 on your way south to St. Louis. If you don’t find what you’re looking for at the next St. Louis Super Auction, you can at least pop on over to the Arcade Museum and get your fill of classic gaming at its best.

John Yates, the avid collector responsible for the museum, has created a cozy little place to play a bunch of true classics. When we arrived there were a handful of customers playing games and a few volunteers working hard moving new games into place and keeping the ones on the floor working 100%. Read the rest of this entry »

• Headed to McClean to see the Yates museum and vast warehouse, should be fun! #

Not too exciting I suppose, but Galaga is a true classic and worthy of recognition, even if it’s just about the cpo. This is one of the Namco reproduction overlays that I picked up awhile back to use in my Gaplus project. I have a Galaga UR and wanted to add Gaplus to the cab. I figured I could just install one of the double jamma adapters from Mikes Arcade and have both games in my Galaga cabinet. Gaplus uses an 8-way joystick and I wasn’t about to hack up my nice Galaga panel, so I picked up a crappy one and cut a hole for the 8-way joystick. (see that post here) This overlay is destined for that panel, if I ever get around to finishing the project!

If you’re into arcade game repair, or have been in the hobby for awhile, you’re probably familiar with the Programmable Atari Test Station, or PAT-9000. This elusive piece of test equipment was sold by Atari to operators and would assist them in troubleshooting and repairing both raster and vector Atari circuit boards. It wasn’t a cheap item back in the 80’s and if you can find one now it would likely cost a small fortune. Oddly enough, I spotted these two gentleman moving one into the back of a Volvo.

This unit was purchased by a Chicago local and while it had been badly hacked by the former owner, Bill K was able to repair it and get it 95% of the way to full working operation. Imagine that, repairing the repair equipment. The proud new owner will be making the final adjustments and repairs which includes building a housing for a vector and raster monitor to complete the package. A pretty amazing find and a great piece of history.

• Just helped two frail women load a lazy boy recliner into their mini van. My basement is now cleared of unwanted furniture. Drywall time! #

Stern did a nice job with the artwork on Scramble, a fun scrolling horizontal shooter. The stainless steel panel, the partially suggestive bezel, stenciled side art and the marquee blend to give the bright yellow cabinet a unified look. While the artists at Willis tried, I think they missed the boat on this replacement overlay. Using the stylized “worms” from the marquee isn’t very original and gives the cpo a flat and boring appearance. Great game, not so great overlay. At least the piece is in excellent shape and will make a good addition to the archive.

This one is among my favorite Willis overlay’s and while I admit it’s not as amazing as the stainless steel original, at least there was an attempt to make it blend with the theme and artwork of the game.

Lots of robots pulled from the side art and colors from the bezel. Not a bad replacement and perhaps better than the dark factory replacement cpo that was offered direct from Stern. This Willis Berzerk control panel overlay is in great shape and produced with their typical quality production. I will happily add it to the archive.

Looking for a stainless steel reproduction for your Berzerk upright? Pre-order yours now! Likely the last time I will revisit this project, so if you need one, let me know.