This article is to describe how to connect an All-In-One arcade control panel to an existing upright arcade cabinet.

Please note, we do not have any affiliation, sell or offer warranty on items contained in this post as this is just a reference guide for those interested in building your own machine or upgrading a previously purchased machine.

Items you will need:

1. Upright arcade cabinet with working CGA monitor.   The cabinet must be of style that can support a full size control panel with 2 players.
2. Sound system with 3.5mm stereo input connector.
3. All in one arcade control panel – such as one of the following which can be purchased on Amazon, eBay etcPandora’s Key 7 : https://www.amazon.com/Pandoras-Console-1920×1080-Players-Controller/dp/B075V86Z2Z/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1542119055&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=pandora+key+7Note, the game console above must have VGA output and sound output.   There are many brands and variations to these controllers.  Get what looks best for you and check the video reviews.   The latest version of the “Pandora” series is “7” – which seem to have a faster emulation board.

    

4. VGA to CGA converter https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1NV3629034&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-Tomorrow+Top-_-Media+Converters-_-9SIA1NV3629034&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv-_x-dDR3gIVzrjACh021Az0EAQYAyABEgIGA_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds     or   http://www.hollandcomputers.com/data/Images_Additional/arcade%20game%20parts/ra-vga-rgb-converter%20vga%20to%20cga%20instruction.pdf
5.  Tools, hardware and a little ingenuity to mount the control panel and wire up the components.

Here’s the quick guide and overview

The all-in-one controller comes with games and is self contained.  All it needs is a TV monitor (HDMI which brings in the sound) or you can connect external components.  This is what we will do using the arcade CGA monitor and the external sound system mounted in the arcade cabinet.

Most arcade games have a CGA monitor.  It is not directly compatible with VGA outputs.   The game console has a VGA output, so we must convert it to CGA.   This is where the VGA to CGA converter comes in.

Additionally, sound must be connected.  The game controller has a 3.5mm stereo output connector.   This can go directly to a 2.1 PC based speaker system, many of which are mounted already inside arcade cabinets.

The VGA to CGA converter takes 12V DC power top operate.   Connect a VGA cable from the output of the game controller to the input of the converter.   Then the CGA output needs to be connected to the arcade monitor.   Many arcade monitors already have a VGA to CGA cable, but it is not a converter.

The game controller, VGA to CGA converter and your arcade game cabinet all need to be connected to AC power.  Many cabinets have a power strip inside where all the components can be connected.

Mount the game controller where the old arcade game controller was.

Adjustment – the VGA to CGA converter most likely will need to be placed into 640×480 output mode, otherwise the output will not work.  There are menu buttons on the converter to set that mode.

Use the most recent game controller that you can find in order to get the fastest and bug free games.   Many older systems did not work well, and while they came with lots of games, many did not function.  Use reviews on the internet to decide which is the best model for you.  Just make sure that whatever you choose, has a VGA output… which I believe all do.

I believe many of the game controllers can be connected to both a modern TV and use VGA out at the same time, for easier debugging and setup.

Now that we have the elections past us, we can concentrate on more family fun activities : like arcade games for your home!

Now is the time to place your orders for a new upright or cocktail style arcade game for the holiday season.    We personally deliver machines within 100 miles of Lexington, KY and ship on pallet (door to door) anywhere in the continental US.

New Upright Machines:

Galaga / Ms. Pacman Multicade Arcade

Multi-Williams Multicade Arcade

New Cocktail Style Machines:

Ms. Pacman – Multicade Arcade Cocktail Table

• All new machines come with a 1-year parts warranty from time of delivery.
• All machines are built with NEW commercial arcade parts and never used computer components or residential quality parts.

Christmas and end-of-year ordering is starting early.

We always plan to get as much in stock as possible, but invariably, we always sell out.

Here’s what we have planned for this fall 2017.  Prices are going to range between $2100 and up

Guns N Roses Pinball

F14 Tomcat Pinball

World Poker Tour Pinball

Star Trek Next Generation Pinball

Aladdin’s Castle Pinball

Pinbot Pinball

Fish Tales Pinball

Sharkey’s Shootout Pinball

…. others may be added

NEW Cocktail Multicade – Pacman / Galaga etc

New Upright Multicade 

The scene was Chucky Cheese’s.  I remember this thing showed up and I did not know what to think of it.  I played it… and got by butt kicked.   I remember it on and off over the years, and then it disappeared.

A couple years ago, I was asked to restore one.  I located a machine in the middle of Indiana and trailored it back to the shop.   This included bringing in everything I knew about arcade restoration and pinball restoration.   This machine still looks new today.

Restoration Notes

• Full cabinet restoration.  Including custom yellow paneling
• Playfield was fully stripped, sanded down and restored
• New plastics and parst
• Boards were re-built
• Monitor was restored

Welcome to SPRING !!

Ok, so it might be a little early.  But here, in Kentucky, I’ve been lobbying for Spring since mid February, and it looks like someone is finally listening to me !

With that… comes new machines:

WhirlWind Pinball

Jack*BOT Pinball

Black Knight Pinball

Taxi Pinball

Star Trek – The Next Generation Pinball

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Pinball

No Good Gofers Pinball

and of course, we always (usually) have NEW multicades in-stock:  Upright and Cocktail

new new news

MultiPAC standard and deluxe models have been changed!   This model is now available as a custom build only – with NEW cabinets, graphics packages of your choice and a new 27/29″ arcade LCD monitor.   Bigger experience!  Badder machine!

Cocktail Multicade machines have been updated to the new DELUXE Midway cabinets.  These are the same cabinets that were used in all Midway based cocktail machines (Pacman, Galaga, Ms. Pacman) and were seen in Pizza Hut restaurants all over the country.   Includes more stuff and a more robust cabinet

Black Knight Pinball Restoration – machine will be available in Spring 2017.  Reserve yours today.   We have 2 left!

Funhouse Pinball – Beautiful original machine with new cabinet work.  Collectible without the exotic price on one of the most sought after machines!   Avail mid 12/2016.  Inquire today.

“Will you challenge the Black Knight Again?”

One of the great masterpieces of the 80’s – Black Knight pinball.

This machine went under pretty reasonable surgery:

• Cabinet and backbox stripped to wood.  Repaired and painted with a 5 stage automotive process.
• New mirror backglass – a very high cost item
• All new internal circuit boards
• Play field stripped down, leveled, cleared and painted BLACK.  New graphics installed and sandwiched between automotive clear.
• Full LED conversion
• New plastics everywhere!
• New flipper mechanisms and hardware!
• New legs and misc hardware inside and out

This is another “grail” pin that I’ve always wanted to own.  So after some searching, I was able to find an unrestored version that needed some help.  Unfortunately, before I was even started, a good friend of mine wanted to purchase this machine when it was finished.   Oh, well… can’t keep them all!

The original machine was in good working order, technically.   It had already was partially torn down for restoration, but the job ended up being to big for that owner.

In the end, here’s the final restoration notes and custom upgrades:

• Full Cabinet tear down, sand, repaint and new graphics applied
• Freshly re-plated shooter gun from a fellow pinball restorer *who recently departed this earth*   So this machine hopes to honor his life.
• New DMD display
• All boards pulled and re-worked.
• Display panel was early production, and had the prototype inserts already milled out… So we added back the circuit to light them up.
• Playfields were stripped, repaired, recolored in some areas and many many coats of automotive clear.   This plays very fast now
• New clear ramp installed
• Propellor mod added to plane
• Additional LED lighting added to fighter plane
• Additional LED lighting added to mini playfield
• Additional LED lighting added to IDOL
• Opto circuits repaired (idol, trough etc)
• LED lighting added to shooter lane
• Full LED lighting and under cabinet flasher effects
• Custom 2-tone legs to match cabinet graphics!
• New plastics as necessary and all new standoffs

Last but not least

We topped the machine off with a NEW in the box – Indiana Jones bush knife – originally licensed from LucasFilm for the first release of the original movie.   It was custom mounted on heavy magnets (so that it would not be marred / damaged and could be removed easily).   Under-lit by color chosen LED lighting.   It’s a sight!

Holiday season is upon us once again.   We do our very best to have everything in stock for the holiday orders.  Often we are building games into the wee hours of the morning to meet demand…. and we’ve been known to take orders the very last minute and personally delivery on Christmas Eve.    I wouldn’t recommend waiting that long though!!!

Our most popular machines during this time are the upright Galaga/Ms. Pacman and Cocktail arcade games.   They provide the absolute best bang-for-the-buck, rock solid reliability and classic gaming experience!

Coming Soon:

Williams Corvette Pinball – inquire today

Williams JackBot Pinball – inquire today

Donkey Kong / Jr Multicade – inquire today

Williams Stargate Multi-game arcade – inquire today

Tales of the Arabian Nights (TOTAN) pinball is one of my “grail” pins… meaning, a machine that I’ve been looking to own for quite some time.   These machines are very hard as most collectors hold on to them forever.   These machines are considered the most beautiful pinball machines ever made due to the machine layout, style, music and theme.

We were lucky enough to actually have 2 machines to restore.   They both were in reasonable shape considering, but suffered horribly from incandescent lamp burn and the resulting heat damage.   The heat from the standard bulbs over time charred the play field and dried out the inserts causing them to lift off the play field.

 THIS GAME IS FOR SALE

Cabinet Restoration

• Original artwork was salvaged.  Color keyed repairs and wood damage repaired.
• clear coat re-applied over entire surface to lock in the repairs and prevent any further sun damage and abrasion wear
• New legs, misc hardware, buttons
• Restored coin door

Circuitry Restoration

The latest release of the WPC series of circuit boards have become more reliable with less parts with one exception, the power driver boards.  Williams did away with separate bridge rectifiers and went with cost effective power diodes to do the same function.   However, these items do not disperse heat well at all.   Ironically, the diodes that drive the general illumination (that did all the damage to the play field) also caused a lot of heat damage on the driver board.    Anyone who says LEDs don’t save pinball machines are crazy because if this machine had been converted earlier, all of these repairs would not have been necessary.

Playfield Restoration

The play field was fully dismantled and cleaned.   All inserts were cut out, cleaned and leveled.  Multiple series of automotive clear coat and water slide graphics were necessary to get the play field flat and ready for paint work repair.   The burned natural wood area was re-colored and hole damage was repaired and painted.   Multiple airbrush layers were locked in with more automotive clear (I can’t even count how many)… and finally the whole play field was final wet sanded and buffed.

The following items were also upgraded

• Wareroom rail was epoxy coated white for a different look as was the skill shot
• Scimitar blade was plated in nickel for an unbelievable look
• New apron
• All new plastics
• All new ramps
• All LED conversion
• New pop bumper assemblies
• New rubber and balls

Before and After