yorkshire_spam Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 At one time I had a large (17 machine) collection of coin-op video games... a few life changes later and I'm left with just 5 machines... When I'm not fixing Triumphs I like to restore/repair the electronics and cabinets on these. I currently have: Atari System II (Paperboy or Championship Sprint) full sized machine Atari Asteroids full sized machine Atari Star Wars full sized machine Atari Battlezone smaller machine Atari Missile Command smaller machine Plus boxes of circuit boards and parts I've hoarded over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Blimey....... Another whole world I know almost nothing about. There must have been tens of thousands made - where do the go to die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 A very large number of the early "dedicated" machines were scrapped/burned at the end of their service lives (when they were 5 years old or so) because they could only run the game that they had when they came out of the factory. In the 1980s a "generic" style of cabinet and standard wiring was introduced that meant the cabinets could be fitted with new games as they came out... they lasted into the 1990s until the industry was virtually killed off by home consoles like the playstation equaling the graphics etc. that an arcade machine could offer. These days one of the biggest problems is getting hold of replacement CRTs if you damage one... nobody makes 19" CRTs in 4:3 aspect anymore.... not since flat panels came along. I have a fondness for the late 1970s / early 1980s Atari stuff. Some last bastions of nostalgia for 40-somethings like myself still exist: https://www.arcadeclub.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino_mac Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I would give my right g***d for an original Atari Star Wars sit down cabinet. I remember seeing one for the first time at Bournemouth Arcade on the pier and tens of kids crowding round it to peer inside and watch who was playing. "The Force will be with you.............always". Sound of my childhood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 Hey rhino_mac, On 8/5/2018 at 12:41 AM, rhino_mac said: I would give my right g***d for an original Atari Star Wars sit down cabinet. I remember seeing one for the first time at Bournemouth Arcade on the pier and tens of kids crowding round it to peer inside and watch who was playing. "The Force will be with you.............always". Sound of my childhood! Unfortunately there are a few other people that feel the same way, so the Star Wars cabinets seem to command a premium price. The cockpits are rarer (fewer made, fewer survived due to size!) If you ever find yourself in the region I strongly recommend a trip to https://www.arcadeclub.co.uk/ they have a Star Wars cockpit machine (along with many others!) Cheers, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 This doesn't tickle your fancy, does it, Sam? https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/taylor-and-co/catalogue-id-ibta10126/lot-f0796b6c-8c4a-4893-8b22-a93000bc99c7 John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 Not for me that one John, I've never been into fruit machines. I'm sure it'll get plenty of interest from both camps though (fruities and Star Wars fans) A friend of mine used to collect ANYTHING star wars related, he ended up running a stall on a market to get rid of the surplus.... he was buying other people's collections just for 1 or 2 items he didn't have! (That's gotta be worse than me and my car part/tool habit?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 It's cold out in the garage at the moment. So I'm trying to repair this 1980 Atari Missile Command circuit board. Yes my desk is a tip... just like my garage. At the moment it "sort of" works. The board things that the RAM/ROM/BUS are all ok, but clearly the screen ram is not mapping as it should! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6MK3 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I've owned a few coin-ops, but got out of them a decade ago. One day I'll have a garage big enough for a Galaga... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 I love Galaga, I think Galaga '88 is probably the ultimate shoot-em up, but sadly well out of my price range these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR5tar Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Great hobby Yorkshire. I remember seeing the first coin operated Atari machines, must have been late '70s or early '80s and being wowed. By '83, I think it was, I had my own console. Used to play asteroids all night long, back when I was one of Maggie's millions. And there's me now, banging on at my children for wasting their time playing online games! Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 1 hour ago, TR5tar said: Great hobby Yorkshire. I remember seeing the first coin operated Atari machines, must have been late '70s or early '80s and being wowed. By '83, I think it was, I had my own console. Used to play asteroids all night long, back when I was one of Maggie's millions. And there's me now, banging on at my children for wasting their time playing online games! Darren Thanks Darren, the Missile Command is now up and running! So it'll be available in the sitting room this year for the family get-together on Christmas eve. Next on the list is either the Asteroids or the Star Wars! Most of the machines I've had were Atari late 70s/early 80s stuff with a few exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod1883 Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 This thread takes me back to 1977 and arriving at Uni in Nottingham and discovering Space Invaders and Asteroids machines. Can't remember exactly when the different machines appeared, but to a Comprehensive School lad from Somerset, they were incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRNigel Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I had to make do with ping pong when I arrived at Uni Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod1883 Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Was that in black and white, or had colour arrived by then Nigel? Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRNigel Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Showing my age now, only black and white! Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 At one time about 3 or 4 of the machines in my collections were early B+W games, these days known as "Bronze Age"games by the collectors. My early arcade memories are associated with family holidays at the coast and spending pocket money on the machines in the cafes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR5tar Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 When did the first coin operated machines first appear in the UK, Yorkshire? I think I first saw them in the late '70s, and like you it would have been on holidays by the coast. I must have had the Atari console in '82 or '83. Before that, in the late 1970s, I was given a Binatone console as a Christmas present. I can remember it having 10 different "pong" type games. That was the end of Etch A Sketch, Buckaroo, and Kerplunk for me. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 I actually have a Binatone (TV Game IV) in a box somewhere... The first successful video arcade game (rather than the electro-mechanical ones) would have been 1972 - PONG! But in the UK the first really successful ones were Space Invaders (1978) I used to have an Atari Destroyer (B+W, 1977....) machine that was really cool! To me, the late 1970s / early 1980s were the "Golden Age" for the arcade coin-ops, some really fantastic games. I've mentioned it before higher up the thread, but for anyone who wants a trip down memory lane... https://www.arcadeclub.co.uk/ is the place to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR5tar Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 My Binatone console looked slightly different to the one in your photo, and had some more games, one of which was shooting. I do still have it in the attic somewhere. After Asteroids, the Atari game I liked most was Defender. Breakout was goo, too. Thanks for that link, I'll take a look. Cheers, Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 1 hour ago, TR5tar said: After Asteroids, the Atari game I liked most was Defender. Breakout was goo, too. Defender is a fantastic game... but not Atari. That's a Williams game. Breakout was Atari though. I also used to own a few Key Games machines (not a very famous brand) but they were also Atari - same company but a different brand because of the way dealers in the USA wanted exclusive rights to a particular territory. (ie yes, you are exclusive dealer for all atari games in florida, but not for Key Games) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR5tar Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I didn't know that about Defender. I did play it on my Atari console, so presumably there was a deal between Williams and Atari? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 Most of the game producers licensed their games (or made them themselves) for other people's consoles, especially if they themselves didn't make home systems. The label for the Atari 2600 cart would indicate that Williams just licensed the game to Atari and they produced the console version. There were all sorts of deals like that. A lot of the Space Invaders machines in UK arcades were actually "The Invaders" made by neither Taito (original space invaders) nor Midway (USA licensed version) but in fact made by an Italian co. called Zaccaria (https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8202) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 It lives! Fixed the circuit board and fired it up for my first game in about 10 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRooster Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Cool, long time since I played that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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