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DEFENDER - Yes, the arcade!
Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-12 17:57:37
OK, it's not an Apple, but it did use a couple Motorola CPUs, the 6800 and 6809. 🙂

The most exciting thing about this arcade, I think, is that it has the original painted artwork on the original, dedicated cabinet! Not restored, no vinyl stickers. Everything is original on it. It even has the 3 slot coin box with a dollar slot for quick multiplay. 😀 The joystick needs a little work, the coin slot doesn't register coins, and the left button on the programmer switch doesn't work (I can short it with a key to get it to Freeplay), but these are very minor. Very, very little ware on the cabinet. CRT has zero burn in, crystal clear.

The guy said he got it for his 16th birthday, but it ended up in his mother-in-law's garage for the last 30 years. Never really got to use it. She melted the overlay with cigarettes, though. :disapprove: Fortunately, NOS arcade overlays show up on eBay quite regularly for under $60, so not a problem. A few expected scratches near the base, and one very minor ding on the front, but all of those defects are in the black area and not in the artwork. Easy repair. Has the original coin box, and even the original manilla "Diagnostics" folder with the original manual and service pamphlet.

Got it for $450 which I think is a bargain for a nearly mint condition original dedicated Defender arcade, and man, is this gonna be fun!

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Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-12 17:58:31
Few more pictures:

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Posted by: JRL on 2013-02-12 18:00:06
That is an amazing price for such a nice example of Defender. Great score!
Posted by: antony701 on 2013-02-12 18:36:49
Nice.

I was never good at arcade games. But a 16 boy got an arcade machine for birthday 30+ years back!!?? That's a big whoa!
Posted by: Byrd on 2013-02-12 19:36:12
That's a nice cabinet - fixing up those things won't cost too much or take much time to repair.

I restored an Australian LAI cocktail cabinet last year (still have to paint the outside a little), originally a Frogger unit (no game sadly, had a game called Slap Fight but the wiring was all melted). Learnt a lot about electronics fixing this up, including restoring and working with CRTs. Have it working beautifully with a 60-in-1 board, and have a Pentium 4 Shuttle PC in there loaded with MAME ROMs, but not having much fun getting the monitor syncs etc. working well on a very old original CRT.

Good luck with it, have fun!
Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-12 19:59:48
I'm gonna fiddle with it tomorrow, see if I can't get the coin mech to work. I'll then have a very, very nice piggy bank. :lol:

Posted by: Brooklyn on 2013-02-12 20:12:21
Awesome conquest! I collect arcades myself, I have a Stargate (sequel to Defender), Excitebike, Continental Circuit 3D and 2 SF Rush sit downs. Finding a machine that wasn't operated, or at least minimally not easy.

Your joystick will probably need a rebuild kit, my stargate needed it, shown here:

http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/5655
Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-12 20:54:45
Hey, cool! That website you linked to has NOS overlays. They even have a Defender, though it looks different from mine. I'm going to see if they have a different one. 🙂

Thanks!
Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-12 21:26:58
Actually, do you have any good resources on repairing arcades? I've never owned one before, don't know where to start. I'm sure I can redo the overlay and fix the joystick, but I don't know a thing about the coin mechanism.

My coin mechanism doesn't register when coins are put in it. Any idea where I should start?
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2013-02-12 22:12:23
One of the cool things I have always wanted to collect but didn't have the money or space for was original arcade machines. I grew up playing Space Invaders , Centipede, Battlezone, Asteroids and the rest when they first came out (just before arcades popped up insides malls during the early 1980s. The local grocery store even had a couple in the front door so kids had something to do while the parents shopped.

I remember during the 90's when arcades started to die out you could get original machines kind of cheap but I never bothered to, I kick myself now. If I ever hit the lottery I will hunt them all down.
Posted by: Cosmo on 2013-02-13 02:01:03
Fantastic find! Those will keep their value really well if they work.

Only arcade i played in local gas station was Popeye, it was so difficult.
Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-13 09:17:57
I'm keeping my eye out for any good deals. Other arcades I'd love to get are Marble Madness, Crystal Castles, Joust, and 720°.
Posted by: trag on 2013-02-13 13:31:28
Heh. The Larry Niven email list just had an arcade game discussion. I found this page amusing:

http://www.xgaming.com/pages/persuading-the-mrs-you-need-an-arcade-machine/

Click on the links at the top of the page for various joystick and MAME type products.
Posted by: MinerAl on 2013-02-14 12:49:32
That's a nice game/cabinet!

It will look great in your arcade!

🙂

Posted by: olePigeon on 2013-02-14 18:45:54
Well, I just noticed that none of the lights are coming on on the coin mechanism. So I think there's a power issue. However, when I hook my multimeter to it, it seems to be all over the place, from ERROR to nearly 10 volts, and sometimes around 5.5 volts. Not sure what the heck is going on.
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