Open the Pac Door

[DrLove0378]

I scored an old upright Pac-Man for $25 earlier this year. To say that it's a "fixer-upper" would be an understatement... I could probably bang out a long list of everything that needs repair/replacement, but right now, I'm interested in replacing the rear access panel -- it was missing when I bought the game. What's the best way to construct a new back door? (More importantly, where can I find the dimensions on one?)

[TheBman80]

Well the easiest way is to measure the huge gaping hole in the back of your cabinet. I had to do that with my Asteroids deluxe cab the only problem was when they took off the back door they also removed the freaking serial number upper board with it so I have no idea what my cabs number was but the PCB is still original so I think there’s one on there. When I did it I used 3/4" particle board it's fairly cheap and 90% of all arcade cabinets are made of it sometimes they use 1/2" plywood on the back of the cabinets or 1/4" but that’s more like the back of a Nintendo cab or Defender. I would go with either plywood or particle board it just depends on how sturdy you want the cabinet to be. The back door helps a lot to make the cabinet more solid and keeps it from twisting around if the monitor glass is in there moving it around without the extra ridgedness can break the glass if you’re not careful.

[DrLove0378]

Well the easiest way is to measure the huge gaping hole in the back of your cabinet. I had to do that with my Asteroids deluxe cab the only problem was when they took off the back door they also removed the freaking serial number upper board with it so I have no idea what my cabs number was but the PCB is still original so I think there’s one on there. When I did it I used 3/4" particle board it's fairly cheap and 90% of all arcade cabinets are made of it sometimes they use 1/2" plywood on the back of the cabinets or 1/4" but that’s more like the back of a Nintendo cab or Defender. I would go with either plywood or particle board it just depends on how sturdy you want the cabinet to be. The back door helps a lot to make the cabinet more solid and keeps it from twisting around if the monitor glass is in there moving it around without the extra ridgedness can break the glass if you’re not careful.

 

Well, measuring the hole in the back was obvious. Now, what would be the best way to lock the new access panel in place? The edges around the opening are kind of jagged... so I wonder if I should drill out a hole for a cam lock, or just slap a couple of hasps on there. I plan to put this game on location, and I don't want some dumbass to get in there and get fried...

[Crazy Climber]

Do you have any other Coin-ops you are not using/broken? A lot of these doors are interchangable or will fit with a little trim. Might not be the best idea but if you're not concerned about looks why not? I've done it and it was with a PAC

[TheBman80]

I just used a lock at the top center of the back panel just like every other game I have seen I guess you could lock it on the sides you would probably have to attach wood on the inside to do it. I have also never put a game on location but with over 20 some years on some of these games the old locks have worked fairly well so far. I have found that if you use the one lock at the top center it’s really flush with the back of the cabinet so it's next to impossible to pull off. If the person breaking in the cabinet can move the thing and break through 3/4" plywood or particle board the person deserves the quarters inside. I'm sure someone should notice them doing it though, if the cabinet was newer with an over under door there’s nothing to worry about since even if you get in to the back you still can’t get into the coin box. I think you should be good with a standard lock as long as the back of the cabinet is against a wall were no one would notice any imperfections on the backof the cabinet. Not many people would go through the trouble of moving one of these things these days for a few quarters. At least I would hope not I guess it all depends on the location and what you would feel safe having on your game.

[Cassidy Nolen]

I don't recall exact size. Frankly, those cabs are not that uniform to begin with. Some later doors don't fit early cabs, etc. Using some 1/4 inch hinges (screw openings are 1/4, about the size of a house door hinge) at the bottom and a nice lock on the top (like a master lock and an assembly like you might use on a shed) is your most secure. Use 3/4 inch ply as it is loud when you try to break it. Some screws might keep prying eyes out too You don't maintain them that often other than trash in the coin slots.

 

Pacs are easy to get into from the front though. Even with a crossbar, the wood is weak and I can be in one in seconds with a crowbar. I also use to drill a piece of threaded rod across the top edge of the control panel from one side of the wood to the other and then JB weld nuts in place on either end. They were going through the coin door to get at the money.

 

BTW, if you have a game on location making money, some idiot will see it as a goldmine. I got hit about 4 weeks out from a count and they came back and hit me monthly from then on. Sold the location ultimately. Could not lock the games up well enough. They were running bolt cutters and a saw of some sort. Cut through the security bars...they were getting 400 bucks every shot and it was taking me a day to put it all back together. Not worth my time to drive a few hours round trip to put up with that. Cruzin USA made sick money there...shame I didn't get all of it that I should have.

 

FTWIW, make sure you become a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) or similar for safety reasons. If some moron decided to break into one and get shocked, YOU and your estate are responsible for his injury if this occured in a public facility (restaurant, bar, etc).

 

Just my .25 cents.

 

C

[Cassidy Nolen]

Forgot to add, there was a hobo in this laundromat that kept his porn mag under my game. He moved it to hide the magazine and every time he did it reset the game and knocked the monitor plug loose. I think he must have been literally dropping the machine back down. You'd be suprized what people will stand by and watch...

 

Hopefully you can find a manned or somewhat public location to minimize costs to your equipment.

C

[TheBman80]

Forgot to add, there was a hobo in this laundromat that kept his porn mag under my game. He moved it to hide the magazine and every time he did it reset the game and knocked the monitor plug loose. I think he must have been literally dropping the machine back down. You'd be suprized what people will stand by and watch...

 

Hopefully you can find a manned or somewhat public location to minimize costs to your equipment.

C

 

Wow lol Yeah I would believe that I work down in the City of Chester in PA and have seen my share of people doing weird stuff and other people just watching. I just wish people would be more considerate of other people’s property man stealing you quarters and destroying your game people sure do suck but I can totally relate to the situation. Were are you placing your games at that you had so many problems like that?

[Crazy Climber]

I remember a group of guys back in the 80's that lived in my neighborhood. They would go on road trips and hit all the arcades and steal all the quarters. They would go through the back of the game causing all kinds of damage, I heard storys that they would just tip them right over if no one was around. Everyone hated them, they were just total trash. I never witnessed it first hand but I did see thousands of quarters in there possesion at times, I heard they would hit everything from vending machines to washine machines to games, etc.... People like that just fuck up things that are cool, I think theft did have a part in the downfall of the Arcade owner, I don't think it was everything but it sure didn't help

[Cassidy Nolen]

This was one really crappy laundromat in southern Maryland. It was about a million miles from my house but it was my first location. I made sick money there for a long time but it got worse the longer I stayed there. The local nutjobs would throw rocks through the glass windows and steal the washers and dryers too.

 

The humorous part of this was the fact the place was unmanned, the cameras were fakes and the doors were unlocked until midnight. Couldn't you just prop the door?

 

[Cassidy Nolen]

I think theft did have a part in the downfall of the Arcade owner, I don't think it was everything but it sure didn't help

 

When I first got into games, I wondered why folks gave tokens instead of running games on quarters. This is the reason. Then you have several locations that you can secure with acutal money in them and the rest are tokens. If someone steals tokens, they are worthless other than in an arcade. Apparently, this eliminated most of the arcade theft.

 

Its also why they installed switches on the backdoor, so an arcade operator could see the game go down and know someone was in it.

 

I am sure there were kids like that in my neighborhood back then. I was too young at the height of the arcade craze to know them personally. Took a few sodas out of a machine once

 

C

[Crazy Climber]

Ahh..Tokens...It makes sense to me now. I always wondered why they used tokens, now I get it.

[TheBman80]

Yeah only have to keep you eyes on the change machines makes sense a lot easier to keep after 2 or 3 change machines than like 30 or more arcade games.

[DrLove0378]

FTWIW, make sure you become a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) or similar for safety reasons. If some moron decided to break into one and get shocked, YOU and your estate are responsible for his injury if this occured in a public facility (restaurant, bar, etc).

 

Good point, but how would I go about becoming a LLC?

[Cassidy Nolen]

Check your state on how you apply. Its a few hundred bucks to apply here in VA. There is a GREAT book about opening your own businesses in the Idiots guide series that I found very helpful. Just go to Borders or similar and read that section. Saves you buying it

 

c