My First Neo Cab!

[BlueBMW]

While I've done plenty of video gaming on countless other systems, I've never got into Neo-Geo.... until now. Under pressure from friends and such, I've made the jump into Neo-Geo. So far, its looking good!

First I picked up a CMVS with two MAS sticks from a seller in North Carolina. That was neat just by itself. Then just yesterday I picked up this "non-working" cab for $20 and about $50 in fuel to pick it up.

I got it home, plugged it in and turned it on. To my surprise, I could hear the sound from the game (Magical Drop 2) but had no picture. I opened the back and did some looking. I found a solder joint on the back of the monitor to be broken free from the board. I resoldered it and the screen turned back on! The screen is fuzzy with intermittent periods of clarity. I've been told it would be a good idea to do a full cap swap on the monitor's board.

So just a few questions here. I've found the answers to some by asking and searching, but I have a few others.

First off, where can one buy a Neo Geo style control panel sheet? While I understand this isn't a true Neo Cab, I'd still like the look and the control panel doesn't look that great right now. Plus its super dirty and the buttons are worn out, so I'll be refreshing the whole panel with new components.

Second, besides a cap change, what else can / should be done to an old monitor. This one is a Wells Gardner 19K7602 that has a manufacture date of Oct 1988.

Third, how difficult is it to find either a single game marquee for the top, or maybe even one that just says Neo Geo (since I dont see keeping one game in it permanently)

Also, being new to Neo-Geo, game recommendations are more than welcome! I don't tend to like fighters as much, but I don't mind giving good ones a shot. I love shooters though.

The games I have now are:
Strikers 1945 Plus (boot)
Blazing Star (original but flaky)
Magical Drop 2 (original)

Thanks all!

 

[Nerdygrrl]

It looks like you have a dynamo corner cut cab. You can go online to a number of arcade suppliers and find a Ne-Geo CPO, buttons and sticks. I have a section in the general discussion page about great suppliers for sticks and buttons.

As far as the monitor goes, I would recommend a cap, kit, flyback, and a rejuvination. That should have it looking as good as new.

Marquees are easy to come by as well. Again arcade suppliers or ebay.

 

[cdamm]

killer find. its awesome that there doesnt seem to be a lot of work to it needed at all. this is probably a huge steal!

as far as games go- definately look into the metal slug series (i personaly like metal slug x the best). there are some nice sports titles like the baseball stars games, 2020 baseball (interesting take on the game), and neo turf masters (golf), as well as some soccer titles. puzzlers- bust a move (1 and 2), puzzle de pon, money puzzle exchanger. also wind jammers. there are lots of nice titles out there. what i did was look at the master list and then you tube video of the games that seemed interesting. you can find reviews on just about everything now.

good luck! hell of a deal, mate!

 

[Tango]

yeah nice deal! That picture would definitely be resolved by a cap kit, but in the meantime... go around to the chassis and adjust the focus pot on the flyback transformer. That is the black box with the red wire that leads to the anode cap attached to the back of the tube. There are 2 pots on there, one for brightness and one for focus. You will need to make these adjustments while the cab is on so you can see the effects if any of adjusting the focus pot.

 

[BlueBMW]

As far as the monitor goes, I would recommend a cap, kit, flyback, and a rejuvination. That should have it looking as good as new.

What is meant by rejuveination? I know I heard I need to find a degaussing wand since this monitor doesnt seem to have its own degausser built in. Any recommendations on where to source a new flyback? I've got the caps covered.

killer find. its awesome that there doesnt seem to be a lot of work to it needed at all. this is probably a huge steal!

as far as games go- definately look into the metal slug series (i personaly like metal slug x the best). there are some nice sports titles like the baseball stars games, 2020 baseball (interesting take on the game), and neo turf masters (golf), as well as some soccer titles. puzzlers- bust a move (1 and 2), puzzle de pon, money puzzle exchanger. also wind jammers. there are lots of nice titles out there. what i did was look at the master list and then you tube video of the games that seemed interesting. you can find reviews on just about everything now.

good luck! hell of a deal, mate!

A friend of mine in Chicago was going to send me one of the Slug games. I've played them on NGPC but thats it. They do look like good fun!

yeah nice deal! That picture would definitely be resolved by a cap kit, but in the meantime... go around to the chassis and adjust the focus pot on the flyback transformer. That is the black box with the red wire that leads to the anode cap attached to the back of the tube. There are 2 pots on there, one for brightness and one for focus. You will need to make these adjustments while the cab is on so you can see the effects if any of adjusting the focus pot.

I'll give that a try. I was reluctant to start adjusting things as I knew the problem likely was in the caps. I suspect after all is done I'll have to do a full adjustment anyways.

 

[Decepticon]

Great find color me jealous

 

[Jedah Doma]

Awesome deal. With a bit of TLC she should be good as new in no time.

 

[cdamm]

A friend of mine in Chicago was going to send me one of the Slug games. I've played them on NGPC but thats it. They do look like good fun!

ngpc ones are fun, but are nothing compared to the real deal. enjoy!

 

[Nerdygrrl]

What is meant by rejuveination? I know I heard I need to find a degaussing wand since this monitor doesnt seem to have its own degausser built in. Any recommendations on where to source a new flyback? I've got the caps covered.

First off BE CAREFUL AROUND THE MONITOR. These suckers can hold a charge! Make sure you properly discharge the monitor prior to removing the chassis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV9Td8vAb0Y&feature=fvst

Flybacks can be purchased from $12-25 depending on the type on monitor chassis. For some reason I have had a ton of bad luck with the 25 inch monitors and have had the flybacks go a lot.


As a general rule of thumb I change the PS and then install a cap kit, and flyback to every new cab I take in. It will just save you a lot of headaches down the road.
You should check the volts on your PS to make sure it is working properly so you don't cook your boards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idievP6zuyY&playnext=1&list=PL160A60DABEA7973C

Rejuvenation - Basically the electron guns in your CRT weaken over time and the picture/colors may get dimmer. A rejuvenation just jacks them back up. Any monitor repair guy or TV repair guy that has CRT equipment can do it.


Degaussing- just helps redistributed or dissipate the buildup of magnetic fields. Sometimes just by moving the game two to three feet can solve the problem. You can buy a degaussing wand for around $20 or just get yourself a large magnet.


Neo Geo Marquee- Todd from TNT amusements has some for $10 used right now. you can email him at tntquality@aol.com

Great Arcade Sites:

Where I usually buy parts from (cap kits, flybacks and wiring).
Quarter Arcade http://www.quarterarcade.com/Default.aspx
Arcade Shop: http://www.arcadeshop.com/
Twisted Quarter http://twistedquarter.com/

 

[BlueBMW]

Wow thanks for all the great info Nerdygrrl!

Update:

I've discovered something else, that might put a little damper on things.... I wasn't sure what this thing was, but someone told me it was a tube booster, which basically meant the tube was shot. Any opinions on this?

 

[Nerdygrrl]

Nah, people swap monitors all of the time and there are a few TV monitors that are compatible with arcade chassis. Here is a great link http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/100-CRT.pdf

I have not seen one of those before. Are you running a 19 inch or a 25 inch monitor in there? You can always find a used CRT or you can go LCD for around $200-300.

 

[BlueBMW]

Nah, people swap monitors all of the time and there are a few TV monitors that are compatible with arcade chassis. Here is a great link http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/100-CRT.pdf

I have not seen one of those before. Are you running a 19 inch or a 25 inch monitor in there? You can always find a used CRT or you can go LCD for around $200-300.

Someone identified it to me as a tube booster.

http://www.weisd.com/store2/JACSDR-2.html

I guess this is a 19" screen. So I suspect I should stick with a 19" screen to avoid significant modification to the cabinet.

 

[Nerdygrrl]

You should hit up an arcade auction and pick up a cheap monitor or try and track down a compatible tube.
They have auctions in TN all of the time. There was just one this weekend.

 

[BlueBMW]

The same guy who identified the tube booster had me take a picture of the connector on the back of the tube. Apparently its a pretty common connection. So now I'm on the hunt for another tube tv of the same size. Any brand recommendations? He suggested Sanyo was good, but LG, Zenith were bad.

 

[Nerdygrrl]

What type of chassis do you have? What is the make and model on the Tube frame? I can see a bunch of labels to the left what do they say?

You have to find a tube that is compatible with that chassis. Not all tubes/chassis work together.

 

[BlueBMW]

Its a Wells Gardner 19K7602 I guess. Is that the number we're looking for?

 

[Nerdygrrl]

Its a Wells Gardner 19K7602 I guess. Is that the number we're looking for?

Yup! That's a great setup. So now you just need to find a tube that is WG compatible. How far are you from Chattanooga? There is a huge op there. I bet he could hook you up with either a new (used) monitor or a new (used) tube. You can find monitors for under $100 but you get what you pay for.

Like I said BE CAREFUL and discharge the monitor before attempting to change out the tube/chassis. Monitors can hold charge for months and it is enough to do serious harm. Be careful around the flyback and that little suction cup thing.

 

[BlueBMW]

I'm maybe an hour and a half from Chattanooga. So that might be a good option! I've got a 19" tube tv laying around the house that works good. I might just see if its got the same connection on the back of the tube.

I've not dealt with tube TVs much, but I've been made well aware of the importance of discharging the tube before servicing! I've never been shocked by one, and I dont want to find out what its like I've gotten bit by a chaffed spark plug wire before. Those hurt!

Here's a pic of the connection on the back of the tube.

 

[Nerdygrrl]

Here is a thread I had copy and pasted a while ago from KLOV for my own use. I sent you a link a few posts up on tube swapping.


1) Well, your best bet is to find TV's that have a model number that has 19 in them somewhere. Those are normally 19" tubes.

2) Not all TV's will have vents that you can shine in to see the tube label, and some that do won't be very big to allow you to read it well, even with a flashlight. Some people take some snips and cut out one little bar to get a better view. Just do it when nobody is looking.

3) Tubes that are 19" have a label that starts with A48. If it is A51 then it is a 20". If you're searching for 25", then look for A63. Not all 19" tubes start with A48, though. some will start with 19, or even some other number.

4) If you can see the neck, then you can usually tell if it is a wide neck (CR-23 for G07, K4600, K4900, etc) or narrow neck (CR-31 for K7000, etc).

 

[BlueBMW]

Ahh perfect! I'll see what I can dig up!

I picked up a few cheap but good condition 19" tube tvs today. One sanyo, one sylvania. I'll be taking them apart soon to examine the tubes.

 

[lee636]

Nice Cab!

 

[Nerdygrrl]

How did you make out? Any luck?

 

[BlueBMW]

How did you make out? Any luck?

I opened up the Sanyo TV I picked up. The tube looks like it might work!

Its got the same connector on the back of the tube as in my cab, and it has the number A48JLL40X on it. So its definitely a 19" tube. Not sure about the whole wide neck etc yet though. This TV is a 2003 model, so hopefully it'll work and have some life in it!

I found this tube number on this site showing it to be a compatible drop in for a K7000 chassis.... Is mine a K7000 chassis being a K7602?

http://www.junknet.net/donor-tvs

Update:

I started to disassemble the cab some today. I think I figured out that it originally was a Street Smart cab from 1989 hehe. The bezel around the screen was black, but when I flipped it over I found it to be the bezel for Street Smart. No other proof other than the extra button hole in the control panel that would match the button layout on street smart. Interesting for sure.

 

[BlueBMW]

Update today!

I've harvested the tube out of the Sanyo TV I picked up, it looks like a perfect match / fit! All I need to do now is find a resistor for the neck board as one was removed during the installation of that tube booster thingy.

Old Tube:

New Tube:

 

[Dion]

IMPORTANT!!: Check the resistance of your yoke on both tubes. If they are very similar you can use the tube and the yoke. If the numbers are different by a few then the yoke will not work. You would have to use the yoke off of the old tube and put it on the new tube.

BTW: What are the tube numbers for both the old tube and the new tube?