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April 25, 2000
After soaking my buttons in Formula 409 for a day I wasn't happy with the results. I soaked the buttons in bleach/water for another day and decided to cope with slightly yellowed buttons. I installed them in the control panel and have my Space Invaders ready for the boardset.
I'm also working on cleaning up a scanned image of the control panel graphics. My goal is to clean it up good enough and match the colors so I can print a sticker. Then I'll get a new aluminum panel and put the sticker on.
April 24, 2000
I went out to buy a fluorescent black light and hit a deer. What a night. After I got home I still decided to install the light and see how Space Invaders looked. That's when I found out that some of the fixture wiring was missing. The remaining wires were all screwed up so I spent 15 minutes or so getting it to work. Maybe I was too tired but the artwork just didn't glow as well as I expected. I'll have to look at it again later when I'm not thinking about my wrecked car.
April 23, 2000
I'm so anxious to get my Space Invaders game going that I cleaned up the cabinet, took some photos and actually posted them this time. I replaced the 12v lamps used to light the top part of the front glass, cleaned out the spider webs and dust and shined up the monitor and glass. I also cleaned up the buttons and left them to soak in some formula 409. Hopefully they'll turn white again because the button design is unique and I'd like to keep them.
I now have a much better appreciation for this game after disassembling and cleaning it. The monitor lays horizontal to the floor and reflects off a piece of glass. Behind the glass is a translucent plastic planet, some intergalactic artwork and a black light. The graphics behind the game merge with the monitor image and create a very unique visual effect. I still have to replace the black light and of course get my boards installed. Playing this game in Mame doesn't come close to seeing the actual machine lit up.
April 20, 2000
I got word that my Space Invaders PCB is now fixed! Now I just have to hound the postman until it arrives. The boardset was fixed by Jim Skilsky, who's web page can be found on my list of links. If you need some board level repair done, then I'd recommend you ask if he can help you out.
I'll post the exact fixes he did when I get time to look at the e-mail again. Off the top of my head, he said there was a line reset problem that he did a mod for. The boards wouldn't accept coins due to a faulty IC used for buffering coin input and the "Boom" sound wouldn't work due to a faulty LMxxxx IC (Don't remember the #).
April 11, 2000
I scanned my Space Invaders control panel overlay in an effort to clean it up and make a sticker. The control panel I have is paint over aluminum, which is scratched and covered with glue. I also scanned my Wonderboy marquee to submit to the Spies database. I'll be spending some time cleaning those images up first.
The monitor for my MAME cabinet went out. I have parts on order so I haven't done anything with it. I also ordered parts to switch the monitor on from ArcadeOS and to setup a joystick 4/8 way convertor.
Need any t-molding? There's a site now that sells just t-molding and they'll make it any color you like. Check it out: http://www.t-molding.com
April 4, 2000
Since I know where the monitor wiring goes, I cut off the alligator clips and soldered/shrink wrapped all of it. It looks much, much better.
I started to buy to parts I needed for the automatic monitor power switch but couldn't find everything. I'll probably order what I need from Mouser.
April 3, 2000
The power supply for Space Invaders is now working. The final items I replaced were the regulators (for good measure). A couple of loose pins in the harness connector stole about 30 minutes of my life but at least it's working. If I could only get my boardset back now...
April 2, 2000
I found a barstool that matches the color of my cabinet! Check it out in the photo below. I also added a photo of another game running because only 2 photos came out OK.
My next task is building an automatic monitor power switch using a binary comparator and some transistors. I'll post the schematic when I get it finished. I have a couple regulators to replace on my Space Invaders power supply and then I need to start bugging the buy who's fixing my Space Invaders boardset. With any luck I can wrap up 2 projects in the next couple of weeks.