Aero City Restoration

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
So I recently got an aero city in pretty garbage shape, here's a picture of what will henceforth be known as "before"
20170325_124536_1490489585851.jpeg20170325_124544_1490489585676.jpeg

So yeah, it looks abysmal, but all the wiring is good and the monitor is in great shape, over the last few days I tore down the control panel so I could figure out what it was I was working with, turns out it's all set for a 1 player set up, but I want a 2 player six button set up so I can get my street fighter on, which really just means ordering an adapter and kick harness and running a few more wires up to the control panel casing

I also got rid of the stupid box that was screwed to the kicker and the cabinet to make it standing height, this is a goddamn candy cab, so getting it back to its original height was a must, add to that a shiny new coat of paint and we ended up with this:candy.jpg

Which personally I think is much better than what we started with, I'm currently waiting on some funds to come in so I can purchase some new side and control panel art, and codecrank said he would hook me up with a proper CP, beyond that I need to pick up some new joysticks and buttons and try to figure out how to fix the Aero City light up sign which is cracked, worst case scenario I'm just going to end up removing it and super gluing the 3 pieces back together, that's it for now, I'll update as I make more progress
 

egg_sanwich

Windjammers Wonder
10 Year Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Posts
1,379
Nice work so far, way to bring this thing back to life. Love the angular look of the Aero City.
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
Late night update: seeing as I'm waiting on funds there's only so much I can do with the cab at the moment, but one thing that kept nagging at me was the cracked Aero City sign, which looked like this:20170327_232614_1490691307229.jpeg

it's hard to see but there's a crack in that spot and the same spot on the other side, so the fix for this, without being able to find a repro was to glue the thing back together with some super glue I had lying around from another project, the difficulty in this was that to get to the sign I had to take out both speakers and their enclosures and carefully wiggle the repaired sign into the grooves, this whole experience sucked and the sign is still ugly, but at least it's now in one piece:
20170328_014719_1490691307404.jpeg
 

daithidownunder

Krauser's Shoe Shiner
Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Posts
235
Late night update: seeing as I'm waiting on funds there's only so much I can do with the cab at the moment, but one thing that kept nagging at me was the cracked Aero City sign, which looked like this:View attachment 43850

it's hard to see but there's a crack in that spot and the same spot on the other side, so the fix for this, without being able to find a repro was to glue the thing back together with some super glue I had lying around from another project, the difficulty in this was that to get to the sign I had to take out both speakers and their enclosures and carefully wiggle the repaired sign into the grooves, this whole experience sucked and the sign is still ugly, but at least it's now in one piece:
View attachment 43851

Looking forward to seeing this progress, always loved the look of these cabs.
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
Nothing big today, but I was able to figure out the particulars of the wiring harness and I labeled everything so I can just plug and play once I get a CP and buttons and sticks, I also realized the cab is fully wired for a 2 player set up and ordered a molex connector from one of the bajillion arcade supply shops on the web, so the next thing to do with that will be building a harness for the 2nd player controls which is one of the most relaxing things to do when it comes to arcade restoration, I'll be picking up the necessary 20 gauge wire and quick connects in the coming days, beyond that I'm just waiting on a check to arrive in the mail so I can order all the stuff I need to fully restore this thing
 

NoAffinity

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
74
Godspeed to you sir. There's gotta be a way to repro that header. Have you tried shopping it around to local sign makers, plexi or glass places? It might be a 2 part process - plexi or glass is cut, then somebody else prints on it, but maybe there's a 1-stop shop that could do it. Of course, there's always the price consideration, but man I empathize, having that in my peripheral vision while playing would drive me nuts.

Looking forward to seeing the continued progression on your restore.:cool:
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
Picked up a set of locks, a Hana mahjong control panel and a mahjong PCB for 40 bucks from a guy on KLOV who lived in San Jose, since I was visiting friends in that area I met him in person to pick up the stuff, he threw in the pcb and the cp for an extra 5 bucks and I figure I'll probably goof around with them when I've got the time, the big thing was the locks which I just installed tonight, I'll post pictures tomorrow when I'm working in the garage since I'm exhausted at the moment from a long drive

Tomorrow I'm also going to head to a local metal shop to pick up a sheet of metal to act as my control panel, I was hoping to not have to go to the effort of building a cp but it should be cheaper and it'll fit what I want the panel to do, I'll also be calling the guys who said they'd hook me up with new sideart about maybe making me a cp overlay, after I get the art, the control panel and buttons and an adapter and kick harness from Xian Xi I'll be able to throw a Pandora's box in this thing and go nuts
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
So Codecrank go back to me about an hour too late to say he had some 2L6B's he'd be making (there was some misunderstanding in some of the back and forth but we got it figured out) so the funny thing is when I got an email alert on my phone about him pming me back I had just left the metal fabrication shop where I overpaid for a sheet of metal to make my own CP out of. I'm going to call the fabrication shop and see if they can cancel my order so I can get a refund tomorrow. I'm definitely going with Codecranks panel over building one myself because I really don't want to go to all that trouble on top of everything else I've had to do with this cab

I also got some money today, so I made sure to order some buttons and joysticks, the buttons will all be Seimitsu the joysticks will be Sanwa because the shop I ordered from were out of stock on the seimitsu sticks I wanted.

After I find out whether or not Codecranks panel has the player start buttons in the panel I'll be able to order my artwork from the local printers (the panle surround art has a big ol'1 and 2 plastered on them and if codecranks panel has the player start button holes in it I'll ask the printers to edit the art work so the 1 and 2 aren't on the surround, no point having 4 start buttons on a 2 player panel)
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
Godspeed to you sir. There's gotta be a way to repro that header. Have you tried shopping it around to local sign makers, plexi or glass places? It might be a 2 part process - plexi or glass is cut, then somebody else prints on it, but maybe there's a 1-stop shop that could do it. Of course, there's always the price consideration, but man I empathize, having that in my peripheral vision while playing would drive me nuts.

Looking forward to seeing the continued progression on your restore.:cool:

The closest plexi place is about an hour away, so I'm hesitant to have to go to them, not to mention having to take apart the whole thing again just to get to the header so I can bring it to them and show them what I need
 

coreykun667

Galford's Armourer
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Posts
455
Neato. I still want to get a candy cab, but I'm absolutely awful with my money. I want a Blast City, but an Astro or New Astro would be fine with me. My fiancee would absolutely kill me though. Also not sure if the apartment I'm looking at is a 1 bedroom or a studio. All I know is that it's a decent deal, at least for Modesto.
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
Neato. I still want to get a candy cab, but I'm absolutely awful with my money. I want a Blast City, but an Astro or New Astro would be fine with me. My fiancee would absolutely kill me though. Also not sure if the apartment I'm looking at is a 1 bedroom or a studio. All I know is that it's a decent deal, at least for Modesto.

get a place in Turlock, less meth heads and you get the cool college town ambiance, also long time since I've seen you around Corey, how you been?
 

coreykun667

Galford's Armourer
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Posts
455
get a place in Turlock, less meth heads and you get the cool college town ambiance, also long time since I've seen you around Corey, how you been?

I've been alright. Just going through life, working and going to college. Though there's less of the latter going on nowadays since I spend more time working. Dunno why, but after a while I just hardly went on any forums. Just kinda distanced myself a while back, but now that I have a decent income, I've been collecting more lately. How have you been? Also getting to work would be a major pain since I work in Riverbank, and might get more hours at a different location in Modesto too.
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
I've been alright. Just going through life, working and going to college. Though there's less of the latter going on nowadays since I spend more time working. Dunno why, but after a while I just hardly went on any forums. Just kinda distanced myself a while back, but now that I have a decent income, I've been collecting more lately. How have you been? Also getting to work would be a major pain since I work in Riverbank, and might get more hours at a different location in Modesto too.

been good, you're welcome to come over and play some games once the cab is done

Anyways I started wiring the 2 player control harness today with a molex connector I got off the web, the connector was a perfect fit for the one that came with the cab but, and I only realized this after I had set four wires into the molex, but he sent me female molex pins rather than the required male, so I'm taking a break from wiring until the new pins I ordered this afternoon come in which according to amazon will be next wednesday add to that that the art guys I went to haven't returned my email (going to have to call in the morning) and progress is going much slower than anticipated, but the pandoras box 4s board won't be here until at least next month so I've got time, no real use in complaining, I'm also waiting on codecrank to finish up the panel he said he would send me

Also the buttons and sticks arrived today, so that was fun just need something to put them in :)
 

coreykun667

Galford's Armourer
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Posts
455
been good, you're welcome to come over and play some games once the cab is done

Anyways I started wiring the 2 player control harness today with a molex connector I got off the web, the connector was a perfect fit for the one that came with the cab but, and I only realized this after I had set four wires into the molex, but he sent me female molex pins rather than the required male, so I'm taking a break from wiring until the new pins I ordered this afternoon come in which according to amazon will be next wednesday add to that that the art guys I went to haven't returned my email (going to have to call in the morning) and progress is going much slower than anticipated, but the pandoras box 4s board won't be here until at least next month so I've got time, no real use in complaining, I'm also waiting on codecrank to finish up the panel he said he would send me

Also the buttons and sticks arrived today, so that was fun just need something to put them in :)

Sounds good. I'd like to see what the Pandora's Box 4S is like, plus I get to try it on a candy cab, so that'll be fun to try out! Personally, I was looking at putting one in a Z-back cab that I let my brother have. Currently has Tekken 3 in it, but I can tell it was definitely converted from a Street Fighter.

Peanut Butterrific is back, good to see you again!

It feels nice to be back on here again. Thanks! :)
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
So the art guy is going to get back to me sometime this week likely monday, so I set about repairing those holes in the panelling, I couldn't sleep last night so went and picked up a thing of Bondo at the 24 hour Wal-mart and before going to bed did this with some duct tape on the other side to hold the filler in:20170409_013829_1491777996247.jpeg

When I woke up I took a belt sander to the patches and feathered with a light sanding block and ended up with this over which a surround sticker will be placed:20170409_153820_1491777996409.jpeg

I was just going to leave the holes as is and cover them with the sticker but I started to get worried that that could lead to the art really easily getting punctured somehow, so this was my solution, its ugly but nobody's going to see it once the surround art gets put over it
 

NoAffinity

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
74
Hey NM,

Just stumbled across this on the local craigslist. The exterior looks pretty terrible, but it looks to be a good candidate for getting parts you need...or maybe you're in for another intensive project, and could revive 2 Aeros. ;)

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/vgm/6018170736.html

I'm tempted to get it for parts, but my wife would kill me if I brought home another cab without getting rid of one.
 

West

Mr. Big's Thug
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
205
Ugh, that HemetAero is a goddamn abomination. One of my best friends lived in Hemet, and I can just hear him say "Of course that busted ass thing is from Hemet." Whoever takes that on as a restoration project deserves a medal.

Good luck with your restoration Moose, looks like progress made already.


Hey NM,

Just stumbled across this on the local craigslist. The exterior looks pretty terrible, but it looks to be a good candidate for getting parts you need...or maybe you're in for another intensive project, and could revive 2 Aeros. ;)

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/vgm/6018170736.html

I'm tempted to get it for parts, but my wife would kill me if I brought home another cab without getting rid of one.
 

radiantsvgun

They call him Mr. Windy
15 Year Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Posts
1,687
Hey NM,

Just stumbled across this on the local craigslist. The exterior looks pretty terrible, but it looks to be a good candidate for getting parts you need...or maybe you're in for another intensive project, and could revive 2 Aeros. ;)

https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/vgm/6018170736.html

I'm tempted to get it for parts, but my wife would kill me if I brought home another cab without getting rid of one.

If I was close to that I'd buy it and fix it up.
 

NoAffinity

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
74
^^LOL Back in the day, the good weed used to come out of Hemet. Weed and meth, that's about all that was there from what I was told by the guy that used to get that weed to us in San Diego.

If I was close to that I'd buy it and fix it up.

Somebody needs to. It's a gem needing some polishing for sure. the whole thing needs to be gutted, sand blasted and painted then put back together.
 

werejag

Galford's Poppy Trainer
Joined
May 3, 2005
Posts
2,626
just a little soldering on the monitor board inside

from that criaglist advert. read it as tons of work but i want to lie to you
 

Electric Grave

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
15 Year Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Posts
20,259
OP, the holes that you covered, the centered 2 are meant to be there as start buttons. Some Aero CPs (mostly generic) have start buttons but the original CP does not. Just food for thought.
 

NoAffinity

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
74
The question recently came up on the AO forums - why start button holes on the cp surround area and on the cp? The answer - cuz mah Jongg panels don't have start buttons. Seemed to make sense.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

NeuroticMoose

Super Spy Agent
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
619
OP, the holes that you covered, the centered 2 are meant to be there as start buttons. Some Aero CPs (mostly generic) have start buttons but the original CP does not. Just food for thought.

Yeah, I realized that, but the CP I got from codecrank had the buttons on the cp so I didn't see any reason for there to be 4 start buttons
 
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