Bought S.C.I - no sound, considering breaking?

[insertcoin]

Hi, iv just bought this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170671400228&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT of ebay £20 , iv not really any interest in the game itself,just the cabinet! It all works fine apart from the sound, iv put sound to the connectors/wires on the pcb via a mp3 player and both speakers are working fine through the 2 volume knobs behind the coin door, so pcb sound problem and can't see anything obvious. I've converted 2 cocktail tables before a nichibutsu 'space intruder ' to a 15in lcd tv with xbox-mame with Gamester arcade stick and a taito table with a portable tv on its back with a plug and play space invader joystick thing rewired to original control pannel, both actually good end results! Any way iv always fancied a stand up and about to strip the S.C.I machine - hoprng just remove replace the control panel, wire the xbox to the RGB monitor or puts tv in ther? and possibly repaint it?? So do I gut it so there is no going back or trlatest do the bare min so it could be converted back with a working/repaired pcb one day? Think prob the later!

 

[frothmeister]

I think you're only going to get one answer on here dude and that's to keep it as original as feasibly possible.

SCI is a good game, why not restore the cabinet properly and get the sound fault on your pcb fixed?

Whatever you do with it, you need to leave it as easy to convert back to it's original state as possible. You could still MAME the cabinet if you require to play lots of games, but keep the original wiring, controls and monitor in there and whatever you do don't paint over the artwork. I believe the device you need is called an A-pac/Opti-pac or something. You will find it on the Ultimarc website.

These machines are becoming scarcer all the time, we need to preserve them and not butcher them into some monstrosity.

 

[trm]

Welcome to ukvac insertcoin. I hope you enjoy it here.

I'm with Danny on this about preserving the game. It's a popular one and if you decide you don't like it in the future you shouldn't have a problem selling it on if it can be returned to an SCI - people seem to really love driving games. If you gut it and/or trash the art then you're going to have a lot more trouble shifting it on later plus it'll be one less SCI in the world. The ebay pics don't look too bad and I'd expect you can probably pickup a reproduction control panel overlay without too much difficulty - what's the sideart like?

Good luck with the (hopeful) restoration and you'll get all the help you need here to sort the sound.

cheers
tim

 

[system11]

Bare minimum, that's an original Taito S.C.I US model. A nice machine if the side art is intact.

You don't know how depressing it is for some of us collectors who care about arcade heritage, to read a post from someone who has already ruined two cabinets, with plans to gut a third. It's getting upsetting now to the point where if I was rich, I'd just buy -everything- to stop it falling into the hands of MAME/etc people.

 

[insertcoin]

Hi, i know what your saying! The nichibutsu space intruder pcb was beyond repair so sold the all the guts to a guy on ebay to live again, and with it being a 'copy'of taitos space invader didn't think it it was worth a full resto! The taito cocktail was an empty box so fitting tv and plug and play was best I could do! Both ended up still looking very original bits of furniture! I've still got the taito glass and wood lid in garage! The S. C. I has cleaned up very nice today and will keep it original, although will pop the xbox in and remove the control panel and make a new one to stand my arcade stick on, making it easy to convert back! Will post somepics later, thanks

 

[DanP]

I don't see any problem with what you're doing. Much better to have a game that can be played instead of a dead wooden box. With the sci you're leaving it so that it can be converted back so no harm done there. My opinion is that these things are meant to be played and enjoyed

Dan

 

[trm]

I agree with the "better played than looked at" but I'd still advocate a sympathetic conversion so it can be restored back to SCI if somebody chooses which is what insertcoin seems to be proposing.

There are two threads with this same post so I think I'll merge them. I'll split today's posts off and merge them with the one insertcoin started in Arcade - http://www.ukvac.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=329535&title=bought-sci-no-sound-considering-breaking

 

[trm]

This is the merged thread now

Good to have you onboard insertcoin - as you can see there's a wide range of views on converting cabs - try suggesting you're turning a Star Wars into a chair if you want to see some real fun

 

[stevearcade]

Firstly I'll say Keep it original

! You post actually made me grimace when you said what you wanted to do

. Don't put a f**king TFT in there what ever you do and don't put a f**king Multi-Driver configured PC in there.

But I figure you're past that and want to go the emulation route.

So if you have to make it into a multi-driver cab, here are some things you should know.

http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/

This place sells everything you will need to interface your cab with a PC. Don't go the XBox route. It's actually more hassle for less satisfactory results.

Buy a second hand PC of eBay to the spec you desire and then get a couple of things from ultimarc. Get an APAC. This is a USB interface that will allow you to connect pedals, wheel and buttons to your PC in one device. Then get the Arcade VGA Graphics card. This will allow the computer to work on your arcade monitor either low res 15KHz or medium res 25KHz. There's also loads of info on that site for wiring etc. The guy who runs it, Andy is also a legend and very responsive to questions and stuff.

Then buy some molex connectors and wire it such that you can plug in all the PC stuff, and use the cab as you like. Or unplug the PC and plug in all the original hardware. Simple, no hacking, no butchering. With the people here, you can probably have the sound issue sorted in no time on that original board, and leave it fitted in the cab. Then you can take the PC out if you like and return to a dedicated S.C.I. in no time at all.

Don't touch the artwork unless it's to restore it with reproduction stuff or very well applied, minute amounts of touch up paint. So what of it's got some marks, it nearly 30 years old, what do you expect. Live with it, it's the cabinet's unique soul. It's lived a life and doesn't necessarily need a full cosmetic make over to have new life breathed into it. Give it a thorough clean, maybe respray the pedals. You'd be surprised at what a difference just that makes.

Anyway, don't be afraid to ask for help at any stage. The last thing anyone in the arcade collecting community wants to see is a pulled apart S.C.I. with an XBox and a f**king TFT in it. And I used to think like you once upon a time. But believe me, if you want that feeling you have when you played on these cabs originally, stick with the low res arcade monitor. You won't regret it.