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Evolution of a collection


racerx

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Seeing the Sprint consoles reminds me of the first time I really saw and acknowledged an arcade game. Of any sort that I clearly remember. I remember seeing it in some huge (to a kid) castle of some sort. And my parents took me in there to check it out and stuff.

 

The place was full of smoke and pot-ridden hippie druggies. And I was never allowed to go back there, except maybe for the afternoons when the big kids were in school and the place was more empty. Or maybe it was indeed a family night thing. Because. I remember it being moderately crowded and dark out.

 

I never really played the Sprint game much because I couldn't reach the controls all that well. I remember playing the mechanical lunar lander game. It was the one with the rotating surface. And then I think they had another one that landed on stationary terrain.

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I think the CHANGE MACHINE deserves a complete going over and restoration. While not a game of course; it is where the arcade adventure began in earnest. It was the second step toward starting your electronic odyssey. The first was walking into the cool and darkened arcade atmosphere on a hot sweltering day. The second, the change machine.

 

And you can't deny there was certain satisfaction when you stuffed a $5.00 bill into it and waited while the coin mechanism counted out the tokens. And then you scooped them up and hefted them. Maybe divided them up amongst buddies. Next you orbited the arcade once or twice to check out the games or the hot, big-hair, 80's girls. Maybe not.. Maybe you strolled over to your favorite and jammed straight away!

 

This machine should be saved & restored, even if not used. No arcade was without!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think the CHANGE MACHINE deserves a complete going over and restoration. While not a game of course; it is where the arcade adventure began in earnest. It was the second step toward starting your electronic odyssey. The first was walking into the cool and darkened arcade atmosphere on a hot sweltering day. The second, the change machine.

This machine should be saved & restored, even if not used. No arcade was without!

 

At this point I'm tired of wrestling with the bill acceptor. Couple its problematic nature with the fact that it won't read current bills (though older singles are plentiful) I'm leaning towards just installing a switch behind the return button to trigger the dispensers.

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At this point I'm tired of wrestling with the bill acceptor. Couple its problematic nature with the fact that it won't read current bills (though older singles are plentiful) I'm leaning towards just installing a switch behind the return button to trigger the dispensers.

 

Maybe a simple fiber optic switch to indicate the passing of a bill would suffice, or like you say, just do a manual switch.

 

If you're tired of something set it aside and come back to it later, much later.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Picked this up over the weekend. Pretty much a charity case, but I'd really like to get it up and running. Basically a 4-player Pong, manufactured down the road in Elk Grove Village. It's in great physical shape and a neat piece of local history when everyone was trying to jump into the game market.

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Edited by racerx
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Picked this up over the weekend. Pretty much a charity case, but I'd really like to get it up and running. Basically a 4-player Pong, manufactured down the road in Elk Grove Village. It's in great physical shape and a neat piece of local history when everyone was trying to jump into the game market.

 

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Holy cow! I had a machine exactly like that in my basement when I was a kid. I don't remember how we got it, but when we moved from Minnesota in 1990, my mom made me give it away instead of moving it. At the time, I didn't care too much, because "it wasn't a real Atari Pong" LOL... Now, I appreciate it for what it was, but more importantly for the fact that my dad and I used to play it all the time. The screen took awhile to warm up, and we had to knock it on the side sometimes for it to come on, but once it was going, it was all good. I always thought that amber plexi over the screen was weird... like a way to make it "color" without being color. GREAT FIND! That really brings back memories. I haven't seen one of those since ours 25 years ago! Once it's done, if you ever want to sell it, you have a built-in buyer, right here, and I'm absolutely serious. Thanks for bringing back some memories!

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How much work do you think you're going to do on this? Full restore right down to the coin box switch?

 

I'm not a real believer in 100% museum quality restores. I don't want POS machines, but I don't mind them showing their age, like they're proud of where they've been. :)

 

This one is in nice enough condition that I just want to get it running. I'm not real good at TTL stuff, but a friend of mine is an electrical engineer. We'll bust out the logic probe and have a go at it.

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By the way, I don't remember anything about it being 4-player. But what I remember for sure is that it's 2-player... each player's controls moves two lines of the "players" (bats). For example, in Soccer, your left paddle moves the goalie bat, and the right paddle moves the main line of 3 bats. If there was a 4-player option, I don't remember it, pretty sure it's just a 2-player game. (Obviously, 4 people could play it, one taking each paddle... but that's not how we did it!)

Edited by Mirage
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By the way, I don't remember anything about it being 4-player. But what I remember for sure is that it's 2-player... each player's controls moves two lines of the "players" (bats). For example, in Soccer, your left paddle moves the goalie bat, and the right paddle moves the main line of 3 bats. If there was a 4-player option, I don't remember it, pretty sure it's just a 2-player game. (Obviously, 4 people could play it, one taking each paddle... but that's not how we did it!)

 

Nope, definitely 2- or 4-player. It's got four individual paddle knobs/pots.

 

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10309

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Nope, definitely 2- or 4-player. It's got four individual paddle knobs/pots.

 

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10309

Well, yeah, I guess it's how you look at it... like my edit says, you can definitely play it 4 player, but just as easily 2-player with the same game selections. You'll see what I mean when you get it going. It was good, simple fun.

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Well, yeah, I guess it's how you look at it... like my edit says, you can definitely play it 4 player, but just as easily 2-player with the same game selections. You'll see what I mean when you get it going. It was good, simple fun.

 

I gotcha. Definitely marketed as a four player game though.

 

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Edited by racerx
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I gotcha. Definitely marketed as a four player game though.

 

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Interesting. Yeah, you're right then, obviously. I just realized... we would have never known then 2-4 player difference, because ours was set up as free play. So, it didn't matter. If it hadn't been, I would have realized the difference. I think I know what the difference in coins would have been, but I'll wait until you get it running to find out for sure. I'm also going off of 25 year old memories here. We just played it two player with 2 paddles each. I could never get anyone else to play with me anyway ha ha, just me and my dad.

 

Seriously though, if you ever want to sell it, please let me know. I'd love to have another one of those again. Good luck with it, and have fun!

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I remember playing this game at PIzza Hut, co-incidentally located in Schaumburg, right across town from where it was made. I remember I was too short and had to stand on the cushioned bench-booth order to see the screen. They had this set up in carryout & waiting area. A great way to pass the typical 20 minute wait times at dinner. They also had the little alcove's walls carpeted to lower the ambient sound and not disturb the patrons. Cozy and inviting.

 

That waiting area was awesome, and in stark contrast to "Down The Hatch". Their carryout waiting area was a real concrete jail cell. And damned cold in the winter. Like an afterthought when they built the place.

Edited by Keatah
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  • 2 months later...

Picked one up for #1 son. He and his buddies play basketball and football at school, and this was a request. I foresee it staying at home for a few months until they lose interest, but this is a perfect one to put in the break room at work. Picked it up for pretty cheap at a new retro boutique shop in Milwaukee; just needed a need hard drive. I'll replace it with a CF instead.

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Edited by racerx
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  • 4 months later...

Wow. I had a half day at work today after an appointment at the cornea specialist (ugh), and needed to stop by the hardware store on the way home. Because I took a different route home, I spied a coin-op airplane ride on the side of the road. I spoke with the guy, and not only did he give me two games to go with it (a DinoScore redemption and a working Time Crisis) but he also followed me home and delivered everything in his liftgate truck. The airplane ride and Time Crisis are working, though the plane obviously needs some cosmetic love. EPIC WIN!!

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