Racket Boy Cab Club

[Dakinggamer87]

Just realized that this thread could practically be called the Racketboy Neo Geo club too!

Yup exactly long live the Neo-Geo!!

[the King]

my 60 in 1 vertical monitor multicade








and just yesterday was working on the control panel for another multicade that will have horizontal games.

[skate323k137]

Don't take this the wrong way but what's so special about Neo Geo cabs?

Good game selection without having to convert the cabinet or change the motherboard. The multi slots you can leave 2, 4, or 6 games in and switch with a button on the control panel. On the cabs like mine (one slot) you can simply change the cartridge just like a home console. This was revolutionary for arcade operators; change out a cart and marquee, and you have a new game in your arcade. No full-on conversion of a cab needed.

I Got around to replacing my 19" arcade monitor (old wells gardener) with a 20" PVM. Replaced the bulb behind the marquee too. Big picture warning (right click and view for max scanline goodness)

[oxymoron]

What's a good price for one like yours? Also, what's a good price for one of these?

[fastbilly1]

What's a good price for one like yours? Also, what's a good price for one of these?

If you are looking for just a Neo Geo, you can comb Craigslist and usually find one in decent condition in the $400 range (in a major city ofcourse). Any more modern sitdown (2000 on) is going to run you alot more, 1k+. You can always check for arcade auctions, that is how I use to buy cabs. But sadly Super Auctions does not come to Atlanta anymore.

As for the main topic, I have three currently:
4 Slot MVS
Nintendo Vs Tent
Sega Astro City

But the MVS is going back to Ack as soon as I get a truck in ATL.

Old pic:

[skate323k137]

You can expect to pay anywhere from $350 to $700 for a neo-geo cab depending on location, condition, and whether or not there are any games with it. eBay price (sucker price) is closer to the 700 mark. I got -really- lucky with mine, I scored it for $300 on craigslist from a non-gamer (former bar owner that kept the cab when he sold the bar). I've put a lot of work into polishing it up. Only ~$120 of expenses, but a couple weekends worth of work to say the least.

If you want to own a cab, you should definitely be good at soldering and using a volt-meter (and general hand/power tools). Otherwise, your life can quickly resemble the movie "The Money Pit."

[mjmjr25]

Nice thread, Bryan!

Skate - yr PVM looks truly brilliant, and a great game you have in there as well.

[skate323k137]

Nice thread, Bryan!

Skate - yr PVM looks truly brilliant, and a great game you have in there as well.

Thanks man, I got really lucky to scoop that; even got a kit and shockbox with it (BONUS!)

There's still a little noise in the video... more than playable, but enough to notice it pretty badly on white screens. I can hear a nice high pitched whine from the PSU so I'm replacing that tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if dirty power is causing a little interference, and I know it's not the PVM as it tests fine with consoles and my NAOMI. If that doesn't clean it up, time to look for bad caps on the motherboard. I have to pull the mobo again when my unibios shows up, so that's not a huge inconvenience, but I'm really hoping I don't have to recap it.

[jay_red]

Nice thread, Bryan!

Skate - yr PVM looks truly brilliant, and a great game you have in there as well.

Thanks man, I got really lucky to scoop that; even got a kit and shockbox with it (BONUS!)

There's still a little noise in the video... more than playable, but enough to notice it pretty badly on white screens. I can hear a nice high pitched whine from the PSU so I'm replacing that tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if dirty power is causing a little interference, and I know it's not the PVM as it tests fine with consoles and my NAOMI. If that doesn't clean it up, time to look for bad caps on the motherboard. I have to pull the mobo again when my unibios shows up, so that's not a huge inconvenience, but I'm really hoping I don't have to recap it.

Was there anything special needed to put the PVM in? Did the mounting ears line up? How does it wire into the jamma harness?

As fo r Neo-Geo prices, if you keep checking, and are able to jump on deals quickly, you can score. Mine was listed at $250 with a motherboard problem, and included Metal Slug 5 (a $100 cart) I talked him to $200 expecting to replace the motherboard if I could not fix it. The repair was beyond my ability, so I sold the board for $40 and got a 1 slot for $80

I do see some pretty rough Neo-Geo's come up for 500 or more often on my local craigslist, but they keep listing them over and over for weeks or months, never selling. Just keep you eye out for a deal, they are out there, I promise!

[skate323k137]

Was there anything special needed to put the PVM in? Did the mounting ears line up? How does it wire into the jamma harness?

I should take some pictures. I actually got really lucky. The shelf that the old monitor frame was mounted to holds the PVM perfectly. The PVM had little rack-ear type things by the front controls that stick out in front of the bezel, so I unscrewed those so that the front of the monitor could be effectively flush with the glass in the cab. I slid the monitor in from the back, took the front 2 feet off the monitor and left the back 2 feet on. Once again, I got really lucky; as the front of the monitor got right up against the glass, the back 2 feet of the monitor hit the back of the shelf. I used two C shaped conduit clamps to secure the monitor feet to the back of the shelf.

As far as wiring, it's pretty straightforward honestly. I keep a stash of BNC to RCA adaptors, and a stash of shileded RCA cables. I took 4 RCAs and hooked all the shields to the jamma video ground. You have to tone the video down a bit, since PVMs are closer to SCART signal spec than they are straight JAMMA RGB. JAMMA RGB can carry a much stronger signal. I put one 220ohm resistor in series on each line (R,G,B and Sync),. Anywhere from 150 to 330 really should work, but 150 would be probably be REALLY bright. I find 220ohm to be perfect.