Time to make it official? Hey, everyone!

Hey, everybody! I joined a while back to post a "thank you" for the guy that saved/dumped the Sharp X1 version of Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushuu.

I'm an older software engineer (born pre-80s) that loves tinkering with arcade and retro console projects. Recently, I've been working on a few projects that I hope to complete soon:

• Trying to get my Triforce Type 1 system firmware updated so that I can get F-Zero AX netbooting
• Finish my Stern Cliffhanger restoration
• Finish cobbling together my Lupin: The Shooting and Lupin: The Typing NAOMI setups
  
• Find an appropriate Taito cabinet for my Lupin III (1980) arcade board, so that I can finish it

I built a maple adapter to play Lupin: The Typing with a Dreamcast keyboard, and have played it a few times now, but I need to build something a little nicer (I'm not a carpenter. ). I have several disparate piles of Sega/Naomi Type II gun kit that I hope can be fashioned into something usable for Lupin: The Shooting.

As you can tell, I'm a Lupin geek, but I like lots of other stuff too. My long term goal is to have all of my Lupin games side-by-side and running well. If anybody has helpful information about any of those projects, I'm all ears. Even unsolicited "Hey, you should try this" type of stuff is welcome.

Anyway, sorry for the long ramble, glad to be here. Look forward to digging into the backlog of forum posts now.

 

welcome to the site

 

welcome to the site,

I also own a stern's cliff hanger,

pretty tough restoration if broken..

Mak

 

Yeah, when it finally goes together, it will be made up of parts/pieces scavenged from all over. The cabinet was found in a barn somewhere in Nebraska (or Oklahoma) with black paint over the original sideart. ZPU, GSI, and cage came from a KLOV member from Canada. VMB, UIB, sealed NIB laserdisc, original marquee, original LD players (x2), and unmolested control panel plexi came from eBay sellers, most out in California. Reproduction VMB/UIB came from Cambridge Arcade on the east coast. RFB came out of a bootleg Wonderboy machine up in Wisconsin (owner shipped it to me for nothing since it wasn't being used -- although I compensated him anyway for his trouble and kindness). I did end up buying a Dexter kit to avoid laserdisc issues, or to get it working without having to worry quite so much about that side of the machine's inner workings. I almost have enough to restore 2 machines (barring an extra cabinet).

Not sure why Stern's games were so over-engineered. I mean, I guess it goes back to their pinball mindset, like having a switch matrix for controls, and then a dedicated UIB under the control panel to handle it. Either way, I hear you, it's a monster game when you factor in all of the different PCBs.

 

That machine uses a Pioneer PR8210, I think? Annoying things - you can fix them, but they often don't seem to stay fixed for very long.

Also it's a good idea to check the main "ZPU" PCB on those Stern machines because they have a big NiCd battery on them and most of them have leaked by now and put KOH all over the board.

 

Yes, the PR8210 was the stock player. I have 2 of them (picked up after I had already acquired the ZPU/cabinet), one that has been unmolested, but plays, just a little bit of static in the playback image (happens on all LDs, so I'm not suspecting laser rot). I suspect dirty A/V connectors and possibly bad caps in the video circuit. The second player has obviously been opened before, and may even be missing screws on the casing (wasn't happy about that).

Thanks for the reminder on that NiCd batteries, I need to go make sure I removed it. I know when I first got the board, there was very little corrosion damage from the battery. Normally, I'll remove the batteries and spritz PCBs with some white vinegar to neutralize the corrosion. Particularly with Neo Geo boards.