just bought 2 astro city cabs

[bay]

what should i know about these cabs?

my first guess is that ill need stepdown converters 120v to 100v?

secondly i expect ill be cleaning these suckers up =)

thirdly i hope these monitors are in good condition, workable to say the least.. ill find out when i get to firing it up... probably after i get the stepdown converters?

i have new buttons and sticks to replace whats there, but ill probably also be fabricating new panels anyway. i was thinking of a base aluminum, graphics layer, then thin plexi. this a good or bad idea? anyone have experience in making cps?

one cp is an astro city graphics with 2 players, 3 button config with a plug in the third for each player. the other is a 1 player sammy guilty gear cp configuration.

if anyone is interested in these panels just say so, since ill be making new panels these are to the FS section.



theres the standard side scuffing, and yellowing of the cabinet. i'm probably going with a repaint of white gloss, unless you guys have a better idea.

more pictures and whatnot when i get them in the apt and unpacked.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For bay,

A stepdown transformer for your Astro City cabinets isn't necessary. Plan on spending that $$$ for your favorite arcade Jamma PCBs (and shmup PCBs as well). ^_~

The 110v-120v USA A/C voltage rating is fine with such a Japanese 100v A/C power supply. Sure, I'v seen some budget Japanese stepdown A/C convertors sold in Akihabara, Japan, but they are very expensive: prices range in the 14,500 yen range. (And from there, the sky is the limit as to how much one wants to pay for such a stepdown A/C convertor or a "step-up" A/C convertor.)

I've got a Japanese 15000 series PS2 console that runs on 100v Japanese A/C that's plugged into a computer surge protector which is then plugged into USA 120v A/C line. I haven't had any problems with that setup. ^_~

It would be a good idea to get a good computer surge protector for both of your Astro City cabinets since all that arcade Jamma PCBs are sensitive electronic equipement anyways.

You don't want your expensive and rare arcade Jamma PCBs to "go up in smoke"...then add some fuses to the 5v and 12v lines respectively on the Jamma edge connection interface and you'll be in good shape. Naturally, you'd want the fuses to "blow" and not your valuable arcade Jamma PCBs. Right? (The previous statement info is to be taken into consideration only if your Astro City cabs doesn't have fuses for the 5v & 12v lines already installed.) ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[bay]

plugged them in tonight, work great. both of them, i'm pleased =)

the range of input volt on the power supply does seem to be forgiving (based on the sticker) so that's awesome, no step downs needed! awesome!





both of the cabs we're in vertical positioning, i'm going to move the one with the 1p panel into horizontal mode sometime this week.



it's so nice to be able to play this since the supergun i got doesn't seem to like anything but cps2. it doesn't even output sound for most of them, rather annoying, i'm going to have to open it up and tweak some (on the supergun)..

spent a good 2 hours already with a s**t eating grin on my face..

[malcolm]

Where do you buy one of these cabinets on the east coast?
I live in Mass.

[bay]

i think most people will tell you that there arent that many of these on the east coast, and there are no distributors that i know of (that sell used japanese cabs.) i've seen a couple cabs on ebay that were on our coast, it just wasnt great timing for me to snatch them up.

i got these off ebay from california, used NAVL to ship. originally i got one off ebay but with the shipping quote being relatively the same for 2 machines from NAVL provided your volumetric weight stays below 1000lbs (i think thats the rule) i negotiated a second astro city and them both shipped to lovely dirty jerz.

i like the guys i dealt with out in california, and the contractor for NAVL that ran the truck out here was very professional and great to work with.

i'm going to contact the seller today, i know he had more astro cities.

[slugnoid]

You don't want your expensive and rare arcade Jamma PCBs to "go up in smoke"...then add some fuses to the 5v and 12v lines respectively on the Jamma edge connection interface and you'll be in good shape.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I've been thinking about doing this myself... what value fuses should i install?

[bay]

You don't want your expensive and rare arcade Jamma PCBs to "go up in smoke"...then add some fuses to the 5v and 12v lines respectively on the Jamma edge connection interface and you'll be in good shape.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I've been thinking about doing this myself... what value fuses should i install?

i'm interested in doing this as i clean up my cab as well, i have new jamma harnesses to put in and i might as well add some fuses.

i wait on baited breath..

[slugnoid]

You don't want your expensive and rare arcade Jamma PCBs to "go up in smoke"...then add some fuses to the 5v and 12v lines respectively on the Jamma edge connection interface and you'll be in good shape.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I've been thinking about doing this myself... what value fuses should i install?

i'm interested in doing this as i clean up my cab as well, i have new jamma harnesses to put in and i might as well add some fuses.

i wait on baited breath..

can i ask where you got your new harness? is it wired specificly for your cab, or do you have to change all the connectors... looking to do this as well

[bay]

can i ask where you got your new harness? is it wired specificly for your cab, or do you have to change all the connectors... looking to do this as well

it's not wired specifically for the cab, but the old harness/connector is looking pretty shoddy. i bought a new harness off jammaboards.com. comes with the quick connectors - link : http://www.jammaboards.com/store/wire-h ... at_15.html

meanwhile i've cleaned up the sammy guilty gear xx midnight carnival control panel:

the buttons and stick operate fine, buttons are a bit used and need some extra plastic or maybe some resin put around them to keep them from spinning (2 out of the 5) but work fine, stick has rust on it but works, i'll clean the rust off and polish it.

i've had some interest in this panel before i got to cleaning it, it's in great shape. the only real pain was removing some tape residue.. why was it taped? no idea.

back of the panel has a sanwa stick mount on it.





too bad i want 6btns.. and 2plr..

[oxtsu]

Astro's have fuses on AC and PSU voltage already. Unless your cabinet has been hacked improperly, you shouldn't need to add them.

About replacing the JAMMA harness: You will need all of the original Astro connectors as well (not included with the aftermarket harness), unless you plan to splice it in with the original harness.

About fabricating a custom panel: If you have the tools and know-how, sure. Unfortunately, all the ones I've seen so far look like a piece of raw steel with the sticks rising higher than Dr. J's hookshot. I imagine adding the plexi overlay would create a tiny step between the panel and panel housing (any panel thicker than 1.5-2mm, overlay included). It could become annoying. I would spend the $100 (+shipping, etc) on a factory replacement from Seimitsu. Sanwa's panel is about $40 more (buttons are OBSF-30-RG, instead of normal).

[bay]

Astro's have fuses on AC and PSU voltage already. Unless your cabinet has been hacked improperly, you shouldn't need to add them.

i saw these while checking out the lines, good to know.

About replacing the JAMMA harness: You will need all of the original Astro connectors as well (not included with the aftermarket harness), unless you plan to splice it in with the original harness.

funny you mention this, i'm looking for some connectors atm. but i definately would be interested in a new set. know where i can pick these up?

About fabricating a custom panel: If you have the tools and know-how, sure. Unfortunately, all the ones I've seen so far look like a piece of raw steel with the sticks rising higher than Dr. J's hookshot. I imagine adding the plexi overlay would create a tiny step between the panel and panel housing (any panel thicker than 1.5-2mm, overlay included). It could become annoying. I would spend the $100 (+shipping, etc) on a factory replacement from Seimitsu. Sanwa's panel is about $40 more (buttons are OBSF-30-RG, instead of normal).

i agree with you on that, lots of fab panels i see are pretty weak. i'm only going to do it if it can come out looking good, meaning the right thickness of metal + lexan (or alternative)

[oxtsu]

About the Astro type connectors: replied in your trading thread, here.