kingtreelo
Active member
i'm only 18 if anyone wants to pass some of their cabs on to me
What will we do when we get to old?
- Thread starter _Matt_
- Start date
Retroman839
Senior Member
I have a house full of family’s stuff .. it’s pissing me off!
Slowly learning how to just emotionally disconnect and Chuck stuff away!
And I’m talking about paintings my relatives have painted and shit like that .. like it pains me to do it …. But my PCB’s gotta live somewhere too you know 😉
Out with old in with some
Older shit …
Just heard a story about an arcade in Hastings below a nightclub that burned down ..
Guy goes in asks for all the games …. The builders are taking hammers to all the games ! Answer no sorry all this stuff has been written off by the insurer all going in skip.
Arcade distributors that burned thousands of cabs surplus to requirement ..
You can understand why. Space is not finite.
& One day all this will be dust
Slowly learning how to just emotionally disconnect and Chuck stuff away!
And I’m talking about paintings my relatives have painted and shit like that .. like it pains me to do it …. But my PCB’s gotta live somewhere too you know 😉
Out with old in with some
Older shit …
Just heard a story about an arcade in Hastings below a nightclub that burned down ..
Guy goes in asks for all the games …. The builders are taking hammers to all the games ! Answer no sorry all this stuff has been written off by the insurer all going in skip.
Arcade distributors that burned thousands of cabs surplus to requirement ..
You can understand why. Space is not finite.
& One day all this will be dust
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kingtreelo
Active member
that is just a dreadful insurance company, i may know someone, i cant say who, who once had a flood due to a burst pipe, he..or she, had a lot of consoles on the floor at the time and tried them all once the water was eventually gone, the guy writing it all off came and spoke to him, or her, and said he "had to place them in the skip, but nothing was stopping anyone from taking them back out again"
said writer off guy also wrote off the entire game library i am told, and also placed them nicely in the skip
disclaimer: it wasn't me...honest
Retroman839
Senior Member
That was a nice insurance guy.
I actually didn’t claim for a crash when my car was wrote off. Because I was to scared my MOT had elapsed by you guessed it ! 1 day
I have 10 years later discovered from a flooded car that you can claim for a car with no mot .. they take the cost of a mot off the end £30 in this case …
I could crt🥲
I got smashed into /
Car went to the scrap heap /
Other party totally admitted fault : lovely lady she was too ..
And I didn’t claim .
She must have loved me..
I actually didn’t claim for a crash when my car was wrote off. Because I was to scared my MOT had elapsed by you guessed it ! 1 day
I have 10 years later discovered from a flooded car that you can claim for a car with no mot .. they take the cost of a mot off the end £30 in this case …
I could crt🥲
I got smashed into /
Car went to the scrap heap /
Other party totally admitted fault : lovely lady she was too ..
And I didn’t claim .
She must have loved me..
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kingtreelo
Active member
i dont want to incur the wrath of bods in this thread, but i feel like insurance is a bit of a scam these days
That sounds strangely like exactly what happened to CEX’s retro stock when Nintendo told them that they couldn’t sell imports anymore. Only it all went on eBay instead of in a skip after the “flood”.
Flyback2021
Active member
Those retirement homes are going to need more sockets put in the communal areas for our cabinets (and decks) when the time comes. It could all end up working out well for us.
Operation wolf tournaments in the lounge replacing bingo ?
Operation wolf tournaments in the lounge replacing bingo ?
Shoryu-stu
Active member
- Credits
- 227CR
Im 47 and i know it sounds daft,i cant really see myself doing anything else,maybe take up parmotoring,id love to now but the wife keeps saying "you might die","its dangerous", (and heres me thinking she wanted to get rid of me)ive 28 grandkids and dont think they would continue my arcade hobby,their too involved with their own thing which if fine.dont want to be 80 odd(if i reach that age)and be sat in front of the tv ,not for me.
Wow 5 years …. I am still here at 72 as regular readers will have realised ?
I mainly seem to have more time to write extensive posts on here !!!!
We retire and perhaps fester in a community care home? Or we carry on?
Summer 2021 things were slow so we had a few days in Scotland .. first summer break in years….
Of course Covid lockdown happened and we got through that but just getting going again in 2021 …. 20th of July was a very hot day to begin with … the wife and I set of to Prestatyn Ffrith Beach bowling alley and in the super hot conservatory game area we reclothed two pool tables by 11am . Swapped over a fruit machine in the bar for a new digital screen blueprint model, and ‘rested’ counting coins …. Later…..
Went to the arcade in Towyn where a few machines were off as the kiosk staff had no access and just switched off offending games …. A couple were big pieces and fit as I felt they do get heavy…
The double ‘Barbercut’ a guide scissors machine, to a string dangled prize which has to be severed to win it ….. the machine had been shoved sideways pulling the euro socket out of the metal cabinet … no power , lucky nobody got a shock? The lead stayed in and the socket left the cab shearing the wires just inside the rear …..fixed that….
Emptied a few 2p machines into the change hoppers … a 3 gallon bucket 2/3 full is approx 4000 coins (£80) and weighs approx 25kgs in fact if you fill the bucket any more you can’t lift it and the handle tends to pull out of the rim spilling coins far and wide across the arcade, (done that once or twice or more) carrying one in each hand is a big muscle action (hernia risk) ! Not least lifting it shoulder high to fill change hoppers. But saves counting any 2ps. As we just dump the pound, 50, 20,10 p coins into the sorter counter in the office and bag them up for the kiosk where they get turned into paper money which we then count and bank and the whole cycle starts over as a pound enters the change machine and 50x 2p coins rattle into the pushers in the aim of winning more 2ps to lose or win a nice quality keyring maybe? We do give away thousands of those and teddies from cranes , (they are not ‘fixed to lose’ but cranes do earl on percentage like fruit machines) all fair in our sites….tho the crane cords do sometimes wear and snap often just as they pick up a big teddy sadly!
The dual deluxe ghost squad gun game Tv had not reset at turn on so had to get in the back to physically press the ON sensor reaching under the tv. To get in that rear the next machine … a ‘need for speed’ sit down twin pair drivers had to be pulled out ….
A punishing afternoon as by teatime I was experiencing a heart attack and wife locked up the arcade … chucked the door and kiosk keys in the pub across the holiday park and drove me to GlanClwyd hospital at Bodelwydden where an angiogram in right arm discovered I needed an urgent heart vein graft , as they only do stents there I was sent to a ward on a monitor bleeping steadily as seen on tv programs?
Due to Covid restrictions not fully relaxed the wife had to abandon me there and drive back home alone….Was this the end??? Only 68 it can’t be time yet!!!!! Can it?
9 days later I was blue light ambulanced to Liverpool heart and chest hospital and a couple of days of blow hard breath tests , various X-rays and other examinations a Triple bypass graft was executed… zip open chest … sliced left arm donor site vein salvage and left leg also from knee to ankle to donate another handy spare part?
Oh dear!!! But I came round 5 hours after a painless sleep…..
Couldn’t cough for a week without grabbing a rolled up towel to alleviate the fear I might burst open the staples re-attaching my ribs to each other? Not really a risk but very uncomfortable…
Chest and arm healed quickly within a couple of weeks but the ankle scar was a niggly long job healing so couldn’t walk far or drive a while
Passed all the arcade stuff on to partner and never returned ,, however I still had a large pooltable hire and maintenance supply with Cheshire county council , my brother in law helped with while I was out of action. I had to wind down not renewing any contracts, selling some of it off and giving away a few tables free to adult care day centres etc. we supplied under that activity.
I still had a large number of machines in our youth club too which remained closed following covid closure… e bay and a couple of trade machine sales cleared the building and in late 2023, we gave that away free , all bills cleared, to our local parish council (Sadly , once probably one of the best arcade equipped youth clubs in the north west still remains closed , unadopted, the local council don’t want to give local kids that wonderful amenity? ) .
I contacted the charity commission and ended the charity we formed to operate the youth club which the council failed to re-new so the £3,800 mandatory rates relief we used to get for zero began to apply again to the building unless they used it for children in the area due to a deed of covenant I put on the deeds years ago!
As readers on here will know if they follow restations etc I have still about 40 various machines at home, many needing some attention as it’s our winter workshop too!
But I still get motivated from time to time and it’s just a case of locating keys and new parts I bought years ago (& lost in the mess) to affect any work on them … Good weather has helped restore two kiddie rides this spring, and I have also repaired our thunderbird puppet theatre we built in 1991 and a couple of arcade machines which got e-bayed
Cleared most remaining pool spares as we refurbished our last five Supreme Winner and HGMsuperleague pool tables we had stored in the youth club warehousing… I am back to able to lift odd pool slates or machines but 25” monitors and pinball bases are suddenly seeming to become much heavier now ! Stiffer joints too!
The hobby still holds interest for me, the electronics have gone a bit miniature and hard to see so I avoid the new stuff but e/m pinballs and older video games are still close to my heart ( my patched up heart!)
Just got to get off the sofa now , overcome a developing stiff joint syndrome and plod on ?????
Looking back I enjoyed the freedom to own and play hundreds of video games of all types, pinballs , jukeboxes, quizzes, fruits, arcade novelty centrepieces, (roulette , horse racing, pushers, cranes, pooltables, skill prize games, kiddie rides, fortune tellers, boxer balls, hillbilly moonshine rifles and speed boat ponds, and even multiple player coin operated bingo set ups) some of which cost a lot and frequently lost a lot of money…. However the big picture , tho not all emptying coin boxes to get rich, was good fun and hero to thousands of holiday makers and day trippers to seaside and pub game users… while it’s a great career it’s often hard work too and not least the need of big vans to move the machines around sometimes nationwide or in my late partners case drive all the way to Milan with a snooker table via the Alps tunnel ( I didn’t go on that one- no passport)
We made a variety of machines and novelty attractions .. one I really loved was the ring up the twisty spirals in the HB leisure arcade Rhyl … easy you think , not to ring the bell and win a teddy ???? No! No! Trade secret . We made these wizzard spirals back in the 80s for a couple of sites, the on stall operator shows it’s easy to twizzle the ring up and off the revolving spiral and you part with your pound!!!!
While you attempt to navigate the electfied alarm circuit spiral it spins on motor speed one …. But a concealed foot pedal the operator has behind the counter changes the motor speed hardly noticeable but can go much faster and you lose !!! We laughed for days after the first one was a massive success…..
Children aged 5-8 mainly , stood fascinated at our puppets that danced to a tune for about i minute after inserting 20p and often paid for an action replay !!
Am I happy in old age??? Too right ! But done with the van , my old 1997 tail lift which I retired to eBay nearly 2 years ago , it got drove away to a motorcycle racer guy in Devon and I recently looked on ‘car tax check’ it still passed 2 m o t tests since, just now in June ( being curiously nosey) so it lives on nearly 30 years old R regd.
Street view google still has it in my driveway as it’s slow to upgrade maps. These things we do now with all the time we need to waste ???? I must get up now and sort out another shelf ( if I can navigate junk to get that far? ) thanks ukvac , ebay , google, TEMU, and especially collectors who occasionally call past for a chat and a cuppa? One friend , a fruity collector from Rhyl even brings cake every time! Always welcome! He worked in the Bright Spot arcade on Rhyl seafront so keeps me up to date with everything out that way? I in return give him free consultations to repair his old mainly 80s fruit machines, and give away spare bits I might have no longer useful to me?
Flyback2021
Active member
kingtreelo
Active member
Only if you allow them to Oliver.
Well, there's old and there's old.
What I mean here is, I know of many guys of my age (most in fact) who have got to fifty, but you'd think they were 70. Anything physical needs doing around the house they get tradesmen in ' I can't do that at my age ' Their mind has basically written them off, that can happen if you allow it to. (Weak mind, weak body)
Then you get my Mum's era, she is 79, I went to see her last Saturday and she was up the ladder sorting out her gutters (this is normal) This is my job but I've been busy of late and not had the chance to get there to do it. I did tell her off, although I do encourage her to do what she can to keep her mind and body in harmony as she get's a lot of satisfaction from finishing a job. I respect that, she just needs to keep going, proper grafter and always has been.
Striking a balance is key and being happy is obviously most important whilst avoiding all of these mental health issues which seems to have become prevalent since lockdown.
Personally, the older I get the more active I've become. I kind of wish I'd got into this hobby later on in life as I find this hobby a bit too sedentary nowadays and I currently regret all the time spent pissing around playing Donkey Kong on my quest for a Kill Screen. Who cares?! Not my finest achievement!
Although my interest in the hobby is pretty much non existent at the mo, I'm reluctant to sell my Cabs in case the interest returns which I hope it does. I was made aware of a wonderful little dude called a Bitkit a few weeks ago which I hope to install into Pac-Man before I'm 70.
When I get to 60's, 70's if I'm lucky enough to live that long I'd like to restore a Mk 1 Escort to a rally spec. Something I've always fancied doing and something to look forward to another day. Another thing which I find quite cools is learning to fly a remote controlled Helicopter. Something else to try when older. I may even restore an Arcade machine when I'm 90, I hope I do and I'll post it here once I've made an absolute balls up of it.
*edit - typos*
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I'm spending a great deal of time staying fit, came 2nd at beachy head half marathon in the over 50s vet category, 36th overall last year, want to go one better in October.
Gotta keep moving, and keep that brain working. Plenty of making, fixing and coding for me now
Gotta keep moving, and keep that brain working. Plenty of making, fixing and coding for me now
You too Ol, it would see you again at some point for a catch up.
I think we're all guilty of wishing we'd done things differently, in fact I know we are.
I don't see you getting out either but I don't see why you would if you enjoy it. Just keep enjoying and hopefully I'll be back enjoying the hobby again with you.
Flyback2021
Active member
I feel like the hobby for me gets deeper with Interest over the years spent in. Between 9-18 years old I couldn't feed enough coins into arcade machines - highlight of every family holiday (US, Europe even Aus ), service station in UK and growing up near Southport . Made some poor choices selling my consoles but was always to feed the next wave of interest in the hobby.
Went hard record collecting for 20 years and then started collecting arcade stuff a decade ago.
Now for the last 2 years , restoring is my main thing and only feed coins in with my son and luckily my machines!
Met some wonderful people along the way.
Went hard record collecting for 20 years and then started collecting arcade stuff a decade ago.
Now for the last 2 years , restoring is my main thing and only feed coins in with my son and luckily my machines!
Met some wonderful people along the way.
It's the weight of the CRT's. 29inch is the max I touch solo but will that it still be the case 20 years from now (touch wood!!)
I think you are right about "use it or lose it". Every year my wife says that's the last marathon and I always enter the following year anyway because I know if I stop I'll never get it back.
I think you are right about "use it or lose it". Every year my wife says that's the last marathon and I always enter the following year anyway because I know if I stop I'll never get it back.
"What will we do when we get to old?" - Well probably farting and shitting our selves I imagine !!
On a slight serious note I only worry about what my wife would do with my collection if I drop dead (Sorry to be morbid). She would have no clue on prices and that and being unwell it does play on my mind. I hope I do get old and keep enjoying the arcade stuff. I am thinning out my collection now , Just brought a CPS1 multi as I have way to much stuff. I will keep gng as long as I can , I only have 3 cabs and thats enough for me to be fair.
In some ways I hope I dont get too old and end up with Dementia or something like that. My wife works in care and I watched my grandad get old with dementia and it aint nice.
Dave.
On a slight serious note I only worry about what my wife would do with my collection if I drop dead (Sorry to be morbid). She would have no clue on prices and that and being unwell it does play on my mind. I hope I do get old and keep enjoying the arcade stuff. I am thinning out my collection now , Just brought a CPS1 multi as I have way to much stuff. I will keep gng as long as I can , I only have 3 cabs and thats enough for me to be fair.
In some ways I hope I dont get too old and end up with Dementia or something like that. My wife works in care and I watched my grandad get old with dementia and it aint nice.
Dave.