Arcade Repair Tips » Miscellaneous

The Arcade Auction Experience

Jonathan Leung — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:30:22 +0000

When you are first starting out in arcade collecting, you might find it difficult to find the arcade games that you want. While sites like eBay and Craigslist have made finding arcade games easier, arcade auctions are still the preferred method of buying machines for many collectors. In this post, we will discuss the entire arcade auction experience from registration to checkout.

The Arcade Auction Experience

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dpi8pMSofo

Before we get into the details of arcade auctions, here’s a list of some arcade auctioneers. Please check their websites to see what areas they service.

American Amusement Auctions –
http://www.americanamusementauctions.com/
Amusement Associates – http://www.amusementassociates.com/
Auction Game Sales – http://www.auctiongamesales.com/
Captain’s Auction Warehouse – http://captainsauction.wordpress.com/
USAmusement Auctions – http://www.usamusement.com/

Now that you have located an arcade auction in your area, let’s talk about when to get there and what to take. Most arcade auctions will post a preview time and an auction start time. It is very important to be there during the preview time so you can walk around and get a feel for what you might be interested in. Most auctions allow you to play and inspect (i.e. look to see if a game has boards, power supply, etc.) the games during this time which will give you a better idea of what you want to spend on them. Some items you might want to take to the auction with you are a long (50 ft) extension cord, your arcade toolbox, a flashlight, a hand truck or dolly, tie down (preferably ratcheting) straps, a tarp or something to cover up the games (just in case in rains between your house and the auction location) and perhaps some food and drinks. While the games are suppose to be on free play, many will have locked coin doors so bring quarters with you to try them out. Clipboards and calculators are good things to have too so you can keep up with how much you’re spending.

Buy a Ratcheting Strap Set from Amazon.com now!

Buy a Hand Truck/Dolly from Amazon.com now!

Once you arrive at the auction location, it is time to register as a bidder. It’s a good idea to get your bidder card early as the registration line tends to get longer the closer you get to the auction start time. Be prepared to share some of your personal information along with your method of payment. Cash is a preferred method of payment at most auctions and the only method at some. Be sure to ask them if you are unsure about what payment methods they accept. Some auctions require you to put down a deposit or leave your driver’s license with them for security reasons. If they take your driver’s license, PLEASE remember to retrieve it at the end of the day.

With your bidder card in hand, it’s now time for the auction to start. Please listen very carefully to the terms and conditions which the auctioneer will typically go over right before they auction the first piece. Most auctions will have a buyers premium (an example would be 10%) and sales tax that will be added to the final price. Please keep this in mind when you are bidding. The price that you win the item for is NOT going to be the out-the-door price. If you are a seller, there will typically be a sellers premium that will be deducted from the final price as well. These premiums are how the auctioneers make money. Also, most if not all items are sold as is so keep in mind what you are bidding on.

When the bidding starts, the auctioneer will usually start the item at a very high price to see if anyone bids. If no ones bids on the item, he will continue to drop the price until someone does. If interest in an item is low, the auctioneer might even drop down to one dollar. With that said, it’s best to hold out as long as you can or until another bidder jumps in. To bid on an item, hold up your bidder card. Once you are in the active bidding group, you can just nod to one of the callers and they will usually take your bid. The auctioneer and the callers will try to work the crowd by saying things such as “the first one is always the cheapest” and “this game looks like it just came out of the box.” Of course, they are just saying these things to get you to spend more money. The auctioneer might also say some useful things such as the condition of the game or any bidding rules (such as a reserve price) that are attached to the piece. Keep a listen for these things as they can be very important. Once the auctioneer says SOLD or GONE, no more bids will be taken and the item will go to the last (or winning) bidder.

Here are some general tips to keep in mind as a bidder. If you are interested in a particular game, try to make your way as close to the game as possible so that the callers and auctioneer can see you and you can hear what’s going on. It’s a good idea to have a maximum dollar amount in your head for what you want to spend on a particular game before the auction starts. This will help you avoid auction fever or overbidding on an item. Watch out for shield bidders or sellers that attempt to drive up the price by bidding on their own items. Sellers can usually buy back their items by just paying the auction fees if they don’t think it’s going high enough. If you mistakenly bid on something, notify the auctioneer immediately. This will keep you from getting stuck with an arcade game you do not want. Be careful who you talk to when you are at the auction. If you start talking about a Galaga you are going to bid on where the cord is loose others might hear you. Instead of getting an easily fixed, broken game for $50 you might be in a bidding war with somebody that overheard you talking. Also, many of the big bargain deals are going to be towards the end of the auction. Auctioneers tend to front load the auction with games they know are going to bring big dollars. By the time you get to the end, many people have either got their items and gone home or are out of money. With that said, the bids are usually lower on items towards the end of the auction. So if you want a game for cheap, plan on staying till the end of the auction.

After the auction is over, it’s time to settle up. When you are ready to leave, make your way over to the checkout table at the auction and show them your bidder card. They will present you with your bill and will accept payment at this time. As we discussed earlier, cash is the preferred method of payment. If the auction company does accept credit cards, there will usually be a fee for the transaction. Take our advice, save yourself some money and bring cash. Once you have checked out, you can proceed to loading your games. Most auctions have a time by which you must have your games out of the building. Keep this time in mind if you have to arrange for transportation of your items.

Here are just a couple of tips about checking out. If you are just a buyer, most auctions will let you check out anytime you want so don’t feel obligated to stay till the end. Give them about 30 minutes or so to get your purchases in the system. Once that’s done you can checkout and haul off your items. Sellers will almost always have to stay till the end to get paid. If a game says “with keys” on the tag, make sure you ask at checkout where you can get the keys from. This will save you the hassle of drilling through a lock.

Overall, the arcade auction experience is usually quite fun. It gives you an opportunity to play all kinds of arcade games, pinball machines and other coin operated devices. It also give you an idea of what different arcade games are going for. Please feel free to leave any questions, suggestions or auction experiences in the comments section below.

Arcade Games And Electricity Costs

Tim Peterson — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:30:08 +0000

Whether your an operator or a hobbyist you’ve probably wondered how much it cost to run your arcade games. Electric bills can be a concern of your location owner or your significant other depending on the circumstances. In this post, we will discuss approximately how much it costs to run an arcade game per month.

Arcade Games And Energy Costs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qteT4seCgBU

In our testing, we used a P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Meter by P3 International. This meter outputs the kilowatt-hours used by any device that you plug into it. We used a Donkey Kong arcade machine as our test arcade game. We left it on for 1 hour playing it intermittently during this period. We approximated that we played it about 25 minutes out of that hour. Just as the hour ran up, the kilowatt-hours reading clicked over to 0.09. So we have approximated that this arcade game uses 0.09 kilowatt-hours per hour or 0.09 kWh/hr.

Buy the P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Meter from Amazon.com now!

For our price per kilowatt-hour, we are using $0.12 per kWh or $0.12/kWh as this is the average for residential Texas customers according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. By multiplying the 0.09 kWh/hr by $0.12/kWh, we find that the cost per hour of running an arcade game is approximately $0.0108 per hour or a little more than a penny. Since most people are billed monthly for their energy use, we can take this figure, multiply it by the number of hours we wish to run the game and then multiply it by 30 days to simulate a month. When we use this formula, we find that if we run an arcade game for 2 hours a day the result would be approximately $0.65 a month. Please see the chart below for the hourly break down per month.

At this point you might be wondering how an arcade game compares to other appliances in your house. We did some research and found that most appliances under normal operation will be more expensive to run than running an arcade game for 2 hours a day. Please see the chart below for some of the numbers we found. These kilowatt-hour monthly usage numbers are taken from the Keys Energy Services website.

As you can see, running an arcade game is not as expensive as most people think. Keep in mind that different arcade games draw more power depending on factors such as the size of the monitor and how the game controls. Please post any questions or suggestion in the comments section below.

Basic Troubleshooting Of An Arcade Game

Tim Peterson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:30:30 +0000

Before you can fix an arcade game, a pinball machine or any electronic device, you have to first accurately analyze the problem. A few tools and a good eye will take you a long way towards performing a professional repair. In this post, we’ll discuss some simple steps you can take when you are starting a repair job.

Step 1: It’s usually easier to determine what is wrong with a game by determining what is right. Are there any signs of life at all? Does the marquee or other lights work? Do you hear the monitor? Does the game play blind? (i.e. the monitor has no picture but you hear sound from the game) If the game is appears to be dead, start simple. Do you have 120 VAC going into your power supply? If your power supply is good, is it supplying the correct voltage (usually 5 VDC and 12 VDC) to you main board and other components?

Step 2: Always start with the obvious. Try using the self test on the PCB or in the test menu if the monitor is working. Input and output tests will tell you if certain things are functioning properly. Find a manual for the game online and look for troubleshooting tips inside of it. If the manufacturer is still in business don’t be afraid to give them a call. Look for places that look burned or have loose wires or connections.

Step 3: Use a multimeter. Don’t trust your eyes, trust your meter. Check for blown fuses. Read the manual for your meter or find one online. There are many things you can use your meter for from simple tests down to the component level.

Step 4: Check all wiring. Do some basic continuity checks with your meter and make sure you have good connections. The wiring harness can be a common place for issues as previous owners might have flexed the wires or mishandled them. Trace down the wires using the connector on the harness as a test point.

Step 5: Ask for help! If you are ever reach a point where you don’t feel comfortable, it’s a good idea to ask for assistance. There is no shame in asking a question only in being afraid to ask! Make sure you have as much information as possible when asking for help. Information like the name of the game, the manufacturer and time period are very helpful to someone trying to assist you. Please feel free to leave a comment on our site or email us with your question. We will try to assist you in any way possible.

Always make a commitment to doing the job right. Don’t take shortcuts or do it half way. Your arcade game deserves better and you will be glad in the end you took the time to do it right. Good luck with your projects in the future and again please feel free to leave any questions or suggestions in the comments section below.

Recommended Books About Arcade Games

Jonathan Leung — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:00:24 +0000

Even though our main focus on this site is arcade repair, we would like to take a break for a moment and talk about some arcade related books. I know that many of you are collectors and are generally interested in learning more about arcade games. In this post, we will talk about some books that are not necessarily related to arcade repair but are related to arcade games in general.

Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine (John St. Clair, 2004): Project Arcade is a great book for people who are interested in building a PC-based arcade game from scratch. It goes step by step taking you from designing your cabinet to how to set up your PC. Highly recommended if you plan on building a M.A.M.E. arcade machine and don’t know where to start. Comes with a good resource CD as well.

Buy Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine from Amazon.com now!

Official Price Guide To Classic Video Games: Console, Arcade, And Handheld Games (David Ellis, 2004): This book is a a very handy reference for those of you who are just getting started in the hobby. While the pricing guide part of this book may be a little off, the content is very interesting. It has insightful articles about several classic console and arcade games. Great read and a good starting point for arcade collecting beginners.

Buy Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games from Amazon.com now!

Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers (Brian Ashcraft & Jean Snow, 2009): Arcade Mania talks about the history of the Japanese arcade scene. This book contains lots of great interviews with game makers such as Yu Suzuki from Sega. It also covers a lot about how the Japanese arcade scene has influenced western gaming from Space Invaders all the way to Rock Band. A great book and an excellent read.

Buy Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers from Amazon.com now!

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon–The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World (Steven L. Kent, 2001): This is the one of the most complete books on the overall history of video games available. You’re probably familiar with Kent if you have seen many video game documentaries or read many books on this subject. The Ultimate History of Video Games is definitely his best work. It’s crammed full of information with tons of interviews and quotes from the guys that were there. Very informative and highly recommended.

Buy The Ultimate History of Video Games from Amazon.com now!

High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (Rusel DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson, 2003): If you’re look for something a little more light than The Ultimate History of Video Games then this is for you. High Score covers very similar material to the aforementioned book but without the in depth detail. It’s a great book for those of you who have kids and want to share this history with them. I personally like the detailed pictures found throughout the book. An ideal book to get an overview of video game history.

Buy High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games from Amazon.com now!

Arcade Fever: The Fan’s Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games (John Sellers, 2001): While this book has gotten mixed reviews since it’s release, I think that it does a great job of rekindling your nostalgia for how the arcades used to be. It also does a great job of breaking down what was going on in history while we were originally playing these great games. A fun book for those who want to take a trip down memory lane to relive their old arcade memories.

Buy Arcade Fever: The Fan’s Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games from Amazon.com now!

Zap: The Rise and Fall of Atari (Scott Cohen, 1987): Even though I really didn’t play video games back when Atari was king, I’m still fascinated by the story of the company. Zap explains what went on at Atari from it’s meteoric rise to it’s ultimate fall. It also gives you great historical insight into the personalities that ran the company. Even though the book is kind of dated now, it’s still very interesting read.

Buy Zap: The Rise and Fall of Atari from Amazon.com now!

Gaming Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools (Simon Carless, 2002): I guess I should be forthcoming as to why I have included this book on the list. It just happens to contain a tip on my freeware application MARRT (MAME Adult Rom Removal Tool). Besides that, however, Gaming Hacks covers a very diverse range of topics from arcade games all the way to modern consoles. Pretty much everyone will find a tip that they can use regardless of the type of gamer they are. A great collection of tips and very useful.

Buy Gaming Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools from Amazon.com now!

Well, those are some of our recommended books about arcade games. Are there any books that we left out? Please leave some comments below and let us know.

Replacing A Coin Door Lock

Tim Peterson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:00:50 +0000

So you just bought your first game from the arcade auction but it’s locked and their was no key provided. You might be tempted to just pry the door open but that usually tears up the cabinet. In this post, we will discuss how to remove and replace a lock from a coin door without doing damage to your arcade cabinet.

Replacing A Coin Door Lock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg394ECGnGc

Here is an illustration to show some of the parts of a lock that you might not be familiar with.

Arcade cabinets typically have locks on the back, coin and service doors to keep people from gaining access. While these locks can vary in size, we will be covering 7/8″ locks in this post because it is the most common. Most of the locks on your arcade cabinet can be removed easily without doing any damage. Since not all of us our connected enough to know a locksmith, we’ll discuss how to remove the lock using a drill and a flat head screwdriver.

First, find a drill bit that’s about the diameter of the key hole on the lock you want to remove. Place the bit in your drill and lock it in place. Now it’s time to drill out the lock. Start drilling into the key hole of the lock applying consistent pressure to move the drill bit forward. This will drill out the pins that the lock uses to identify that you have place the right key inside of it.

Once you get about 3/4 of the way through the lock or when you feel the lock break loose, stop drilling the lock and get your screwdriver. Insert your flat head screwdriver into the now drilled into key hole and attempt to turn it just as if it were the key. Sometimes this is successful and sometimes it’s not. Just continue drilling until you get all the way through the lock which should drop the cam (or lock bar) and allow you access to the cabinet. You may have to gently pry the door open at this point but it should require a lot less force than if you had not drilled the lock at all.

Now that you have the door open, it’s time to take off the lock. Some tools you will need to accomplish this are a 7/16″ nut driver (brown) or Phillips head screwdriver and a 7/8″ Socket. Use your nut driver or screwdriver to take off first nut or screw attached to the lock barrel. You should now be able to easily slide off the cam and the stop cam (or pac man) washer. Make sure you save these pieces as they can come in handy for other projects. Take your 7/8″ socket and unscrew the barrel stop that attaches the lock to the cabinet. You should now be able to remove the lock from the door.

Next, we need to get a replacement lock for our door. You can get new locks from Bob Roberts, Happ Controls or Home Depot. Bob Roberts has some excellent information on his site that can help you select the right lock for the job. Check out this information at http://www.therealbobroberts.net/camlocks.html.

Once you have your new lock, we can now put it on your door. Take the barrel stop off of your the barrel of your new lock. Put the barrel through the door and screw the barrel stop back on to attach the lock to the door. You can use your 7/8″ socket to tighten it down. Take the cam stop washer and place it on the barrel the way you want the lock to turn. You should be able to play with it and your key to get it the way you want it. We usually set it so that you turn the key to the right to unlock it. Finally, take the cam and line it up with the barrel, tighten it down with the nut or screw that comes with it and you’re done. You have now successfully installed a lock in your door.

While the sizes and positions of locks might be different, this method of lock installation pretty much works for any lock. Being able to drill out and replace locks will help you a lot as you continue to work on arcade games. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions by posting some comments below.

Adjusting A Coin Mech

Tim Peterson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:00:21 +0000

We know that many of you are hobbyist and are probably not too concerned about whether or not your coin mechs are working. If you’ve ever thought about owning your own arcade or starting your own route, however, this will be absolutely essential to your success. Here are some tips for adjusting a coin mech.

Adjusting A Coin Mech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09J4fO1yC8w

You want to start off by first removing the coin mech from the arcade game. This is accomplished in a variety of ways depending on how the coin mech is positioned. For instance, a Ms. Pac Man cabinet has the front of the coin mech positioned opposite the door. There are two metal latches located at the top of the coin mech that you have to push down, pull the top of the coin mech towards you, then slide the bottom out of the holder.

Another common configuration is where the coin mech is positioned with the front facing the right. In this position, a metal bar typically holds the side of the coin mech with a clip at the bottom. Undo this clip and remove the metal bar holding in the coin mech. After removing the clip, you should be able to slide the side of the coin mech held by the bar to the right. Once this side is free, pull the other side out of the holder to successfully remove the coin mech.

Now that we have removed the coin mech from the arcade cabinet, we can move on to adjusting the coin mech. Most of the coin mechs that you encounter are going to be configured for quarters (25 cents). Find the screw located at the top of the mech that controls the tension of the coin mech on the coin. Tighten this screw all the way down by turning it to the LEFT. Then, place a quarter in the coin slot at the top of the mech, the quarter should get stuck. Now, slowly turn the tension screw to the right until the quarter falls through. Give the screw an extra 1/2 turn to the right to make sure that it will fall through smoothly in the future.

Once you have adjusted your coin mech, place it back in the arcade cabinet in a similar manner as you removed it. Now, test it with a quarter and see if it works. If it does, you’re good to go.

There are several other types of coin mechs that you might encounter as well. Another common type is a double or dual coin mech. These are usually signified on the cradle of the coin mech with the letter D. These coin mechs can take quarters or 0.984″ tokens which are the most common token size.

Our favorite coin mechs are made by a company called Imonex®. These coin mechs are extremely fast, extremely accurate, and hardly ever jam. They do cost more than a standard coin mech but they will save you a lot of time in the long run. Imonex® coin mechs are available from Happ Controls.

Knowing how to adjust a coin mech will get you well on your way towards owning your own arcade or route location. Coin mechs, when adjusted properly, will make sure that you don’t miss out on a sale just because someone couldn’t put a quarter in.

Where To Buy Arcade Parts

Jonathan Leung — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:30:03 +0000

Let’s face it, it’s not like you can go down to Home Depot and ask the guy if he has a joystick for a Ms. Pac Man machine. Odds are that he might not even know what a Ms. Pac Man is! There are some places, however, that carry many of the parts that you will need when repairing arcade games.

Happ Controls (http://www.happcontrols.com): Happ Controls is probably the most well known arcade parts manufacturer in the world. Many of the parts from other dealers, such as Bob Roberts and Arcadeshop Amusements, are actually Happ Controls parts but they get a discount because they buy in such large quantities.

Betson Enterprise (http://www.betson.com): Betson Enterprise, like Happ Controls, is also an arcade parts manufacturer. While they seem to be a little more expensive than their competition, they have some convenient warehouse locations so you tend to get your parts faster.

The Real Bob Roberts (http://www.therealbobroberts.net): Bob Roberts has been selling arcade parts to enthusiasts for years. Even going through Hurricane Katrina has not stopped him from providing top quality parts at discounted prices. If you want to use a Credit Card or Paypal for payment, however, you might want to move on to another dealer.

Arcadeshop Amusements (http://www.arcadeshop.com): Arcadeshop Amusements is a great place to get arcade parts. They pretty much sell everything related to arcade games. You can even order a full cabinet kit in case you want to build a brand new game. Unlike Bob Roberts, they do accept credit cards. Definitely check them out.

Twisted Quarter (http://www.twistedquarter.com): Twisted Quarter is a great vendor for just about anything you’re looking for. They have great prices on power supplies, game locks, joysticks, monitors and lights just to name a few things. Their web site is easy to navigate and they take Paypal for your convenience.

Mikes Arcade (http://www.mikesarcade.com): Mikes Arcade is a great vendor for those hard to find Nintendo parts. They are also an excellent technical support resource. They offer joysticks, trackballs, control panels, JAMMA adapters along with our favorite item: the Nintendo to standard monitor inverter board.

Cointech Gameroom Supplies (http://stores.shop.ebay.com/COINTECH-GAMEROOM-SUPPLIES): Some good friends of ours located in the Dallas area, Cointech Gameroom Supplies is yet another dealer for Happ Controls parts. They have an eBay store but you can also check out their physical location at Six Flags Mall in Arlington, TX.

Well, those are some of the popular places to buy arcade parts from. Where do you buy your parts from? Did we leave one of your favorite dealers out? Please leave some comments below and let us know.

Your First Arcade Toolbox

Tim Peterson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:55:25 +0000

So, you want to repair arcade games but you don’t know where to start? Well, it might be good to make sure that you have the tools you need before you get started. In this post, we are going to discuss what tools you will need if you plan on repairing arcade games. We are going to go into detail on each of these tools and give you links to where you can buy these items if you are interested. If you would prefer a quick overview of this post instead of reading the whole thing, you will find two videos embedded after the break. Let’s get started shall we…

Your First Arcade Toolbox (Part One)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5W3Rg_BA6s

Your First Arcade Toolbox (Part Two)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2tdQ_9qmEc

Tools Featured In Your First Arcade Toolbox (Part One)

Digital Multimeter: A digital multimeter is a must-have tool when you want to repair arcade games or any electronic devices for that matter. Make sure you get one that provides a beep when testing continuity. We’ll talk about digital multimeters and how to use them more in future posts.

Buy the Craftsman Digital Multimeter from Sears.com now!

Nut Drivers (SAE and Metric): Most of the arcade games that you encounter are going to use 1/4″ nuts with bolts somewhere on the cabinet. The most common place for this is on the control panel to hold down a piece of plexiglass. While SAE is more common, if an arcade game is from another country it might use metric instead which is why it’s always good to have both.

Buy the Stanley 6-Piece SAE Nut Driver Set from Amazon.com now!

Buy the Stanley 7-Piece Metric Nut Driver Set from Amazon.com now!

Needle Nose Pliers: Needle nose pliers are a necessity when working on arcade games. Many times you will come across a tight situation where regular pliers just won’t cut it. Make sure you have a pair of needle nose pliers in these situations as they will save you a lot of time and probably a headache as well.

Wire Cutters: The first time you open up an arcade game from an auction you never know what’s going to be in there. It’s always good to be prepared with a pair of wire cutters so you can clean up any extra wires or rewire problem areas.

Buy the Stanley 4-Piece Pliers Set from Amazon.com now!

Buy the Stanley 6-Piece Bi-Material Mini Plier Set from Amazon.com now!

Monitor Discharging Tool: The combination of a lamp/extension cord and alligator clips might seem pretty simple, however, it can save your life! Just cut and strip the cord, solder alligator clips to each end, tape up the ends where you soldered and your done! Make sure to get a long, insulated flat head screwdriver to attach this to when discharging a monitor. Watch our post on how to Safely Discharge An Arcade Monitor before trying it yourself!

Buy the 12 pc 2″ Insulated Alligator Clips Set from Amazon.com now!

Wire Strippers: From time to time you might find a wire in an arcade game that doesn’t have enough bare wire showing to reattach it to it’s correct location. Stripping the wire with a good pair of wire strippers can give you that extra bit that you need.

Buy the Automatic Wire Stripper from Amazon.com now!

Molex Crimpers: Many arcade games contain Molex connectors in them. These connectors contain pins that must be crimped around the wire. These crimpers are essential to making sure that you crimp these pins around the wires correctly.

Buy the D-Sub Pin Crimper from Radioshack.com now!

Electrical Tape / Flashlight: Remember, DO NOT get cheap electrical tape! It will come back to bite you! Stick to the good brands like Scotch or Duct and you’ll be fine. Also, remember that arcade games are dark so keep a good flashlight with you at all times.

Buy the Scotch Electrical Tape Set from Amazon.com now!

Buy the Stanley Tripod LED Flashlight from Amazon.com now!

Tools Featured In Your First Arcade Toolbox (Part Two)

Soldering Iron: Make sure that you get a decent soldering iron even if you don’t plan on using it all of the time. It’s good to stick to major brands like Weller and Metcal when selecting an iron. For the beginning arcade technician, I recommend the Weller SP40LK Soldering Iron Kit. This iron is the one I started out with and is great for basic arcade repair. The kit also comes with multiple tips to make sure the iron fits any task.

Buy the Weller SP40LK Soldering Iron Kit from Amazon.com now!

Solder (Rosin Core): When you go shopping for solder, you will notice that there are many types and sizes available. Make sure you get rosin core solder in a small diameter (preferably 0.05″ to 0.062″). The amount that you get (usually in ounces) is up to you. NEVER use acid core solder for electronics!!!

Buy the American Terminal Rosin Core Solder (4 oz) from Amazon.com now!

Soldering Station: It’s also a good idea to pick up a soldering station along with your soldering iron. This will give you a safe place to store your soldering iron while it’s hot. Most soldering stations also come with a sponge so you can remove excess solder from the tip. Make sure that you wet the sponge before you start using it!

Buy the Cables To Go – Soldering Station from Amazon.com now!

Desoldering Iron: Desoldering irons can be very handy for quick removal of parts from an arcade board. They are basically the combination of a soldering iron and desoldering pump. You can buy the desoldering pump separately, however, having a desoldering iron is more convenient than having to use the soldering iron/desoldering pump combination in most cases.

Buy the ECG 45 Watt Desoldering Iron from Amazon.com now!

Desoldering Braid (Solder Wick): When you are trying to desolder delicate parts on an arcade board, desoldering braid or solder wick typically works better than a desoldering iron. It allows you to get into tight places where a desoldering iron might be too big for the task.

Buy Tech Spray No-Clean Desoldering Wick from Amazon.com now!

Well, now you know what to put in your first arcade toolbox, however, knowing what to put in your toolbox is just the beginning. Watch for more posts and videos on how to use these tools to diagnose and repair your arcade issues. Good luck on repairing your arcade games in the future.