Below is a small sampling of restorations that I have performed. Please visit the rest of my website for more pictures, including games in my personal collection. I can provide a quote for anything from minor repairs to complete "Grade-1" restorations. My abilities include Solid State and Electro-mechanical repairs. I work on Solid State and Vacuum Tube amplifiers for jukeboxes and radios. I can also repair other items like antique clocks, phonographs, music boxes and Lionel trains. I hold a degree in Electronics and teach the same at my local community college. I troubleshoot down to the component level using the oscilloscope and other test equipment. In addition, I was a "tool and die" machinist for six years. I have a metal lathe, milling machine, gas and arc welders, and a full array of wood working tools in my shop. I can manufacture many metal, wood and plastic parts that are no longer available for your machine. My labor rate is $60 per hour for all services.

This is the finished cabinet, after painting and re-assembly. Kasco #3

This is a close up of the robber's car. The gangster in the left rear seat is a replacement. I searched the internet and hobby stores to find a suitable replacement for the missing mobster. The rest of the car is all original. Notice the "grain of wheat" light bulb in the white section of the car's rear end (just under the right side gangster's machine gun). This lamp periodically flashes during game play to simulate the bad guys shooting at you. Also, when you score a hit by shooting at these bad guys from your police car (using the gun mounted on the front of the cabinet), the gangster dressed in blue will slump over as if he's been hit. You can watch this action by clicking on the the video link below. The sounds of screeching tires, racing engines, breaking glass, crashing cars, machine guns and a woman's scream are all recorded on an 8-Track tape player.

CLICK HERE for a short video of the Kasco Untouchable game in action. You will need a media player that can show ".AVI" files (Windows Media Player will work).

Note on playing AVI files: If you have a firewall on your computer, like ZoneAlarm, you may need to disable it or check its settings if this video does not play. If your firewall is blocking this download, it will open Windows Media Player when you click on the video link above, but then it will give you an error message that says "it cannot find the file" or "the file does not exist." Please be patient, the video may take a minute or two to download before it begins to play.

Mechanical Musical Instruments

This is an antique disk music box made by the Regina Company in the late 1800's. It holds twelve 27" diameter metal disks and plays them one at a time. The disks are stored in the lower section of the cabinet in a rack. The rack moves forward and back to place each disk inline with the "bedplate" and "combs" (which are the actual teeth that get plucked to make the sound). Each disk is raised and clamped to the bedplate for playing (in the upper section of the cabinet). The machine is run by two giant spring wound motors, one to run the disk changer mechanism and one to spin the disks while they are playing.

These two pictures show one small assembly inside the music box, which is called the "governor." Its function is to mechanically regulate the speed of the spring motor. The Regina 27" Changer music box has two motors and two governors inside. One motor and governor set is used to power the disk changing mechanism. The other set is used to play the disk. The first picture here, shows the individual governor pieces after cleaning and inspection. The second picture shows the full assembly after being put back together and mechanically adjusted.

Various pieces of the changer mechanism before cleaning and during prep for new paint.

Please contact me if you have similar repair needs. I can provide you a quote for anything from the smallest adjustment all the way to a full restoration as shown here.

Solid State Replacements for 8-Track Tapes

I restored a Sega Moto Champ for a customer in June, 2008. This game, like most '70s vintage games, uses an 8-track tape player for its game sounds. Moto Champ uses two tracks on the tape. One track has engine sounds which simulate the roar of the motorcycles. The second track has a trumpet fan fare song that is played when a free game is won. This game was missing its tape deck. Pictured here, is a solid state replacement that I designed. This replacement contains all of the original game sounds which I recorded into special integrated circuits after cleaning up the original audio tape to remove any clicks, pops, dropouts, and other unwanted imperfections. It connects into the existing wiring harness in place of the original 8-track tape deck. No additional wiring or game modifications are required. My replacement unit duplicates the operation of the original tape deck in every way. I can adapt this sound unit for any game that needs a replacement. If your tape deck is old and tired, or completely MIA (missing-in-action), contact me for pricing and additional information. My sound units cost between $500 and $1200 depending on the complexity of sound in a game (IE: the number of individual tracks used on the original 8-track tape and the sequencing of when those tracks are played).

CLICK HERE to view the complete installation and Owner's Manual for the S³-02 unit.

Bally Space Flight 8-Track Replacement Unit

The 1969 Bally Space Flight game uses a very special 8-track player. The tape contains a momentary burst of 1kHz tone that is placed on the tape every 18.5 seconds. This tone burst is not heard through the speaker. Its purpose is to synchronize the entire game. An analog PCB inside the tape deck detects the 1kHz tone and sends a signal to the game. This signal causes the lunar module to start its decent towards the moon's surface. Without this tape and the tone detector board, the game won't run! Of the four Space Flight machines that have passed through my shop, only one had a good working tape deck. Pictured here, is a solid state replacement unit (model #S³-01) that I designed. The unit is run by a microcontroller that replicates all of the original 8-track functions. It plugs into the existing connector in place of the original 8-track tape deck. No additional wiring or game modifications are required. There are 42 different messages contained in the solid state audio chip, for a total of eight minutes worth of sound. Each message is the voice of the launch Commander in Houston, TX. I cleaned up the original audio file to remove all unwanted imperfections. The cost for my Solid State Sound (or "S³") Replacement Unit is $1,129.00 plus shipping and insurance. Each one is hand assembled and programmed, taking two full days to complete. It is then fully tested and comes with a one year warranty. Quantity discounts apply for buying two or more as this reduces my labor time.

CLICK HERE to view the complete installation and Owner's Manual for the S³-01 unit.

This video shows the game in action with my S³-01 unit installed. As the video explains, I have added several features to this board that were not possible in the original 8-track. A brief message plays when the game's main power switch is turned on. This lets you know that the board is up and running. There are diagnostic modes that play all eight minutes of audio messages at once, or play each message separately. I really like the "Attract Mode" sounds that many older pinball machines have, so I added the feature to this replacement unit. Every few minutes, a five second audio file is played while the game is idle. I picked 18 different clips that are part of complete messages. The microcontroller plays one of these clips every few minutes. For those who do not share my enthusiasm for game attract sounds, this feature can be disabled by removing one jumper. I also added indicator lamps that monitor the game while it's being played. There are three signals that this unit monitors/controls. When a game is started, 110VAC is sent to my board. This voltage was originally used to power the 8-track tape motor. I detect its presence and start playing a message from the audio IC chip. A neon lamp on my board illuminates, to show the presence of 110VAC. At the start of each message, an output signal (called "CUE") is sent from my board to the game, and starts the lunar module's decent. A yellow LED on my board illuminates to show that the CUE output signal is being sent. The third indicator on my replacement unit is a green LED that lights up if it receives the "OK" input signal from the game. This OK signal indicates that the landing was successful. My microcontroller is programmed to play the main "Decent" message at the start of each landing attempt, and then play either the "Abort" message or the "Landing OK" message, as appropriate. The audio files are retrieved from the solid state audio chip and played together as one seamless audio file.

SPACE FLIGHT PARTS FOR SALE:
Used DT-1704 Vacuum Fluorescent Display tubes for Space Flight. $38.00 each or two for $60.00.
Each tube is tested good and guaranteed to work.

Vinyl instruction decal. Apply to your existing metal plate in front of the moon's surface, $32.95.

Reproduction upper glass. Looks exactly like the original except made from Lexan plastic, $289.00. Made to the correct full size of 6"x30", but you must reuse the existing metal edge-trim pieces from your old glass. Shipping and insurance is extra on all items.

Amplifier Repair

Jukebox enthusiasts will recognize this as the arse end of an AMI Continental II "Stereo Round" jukebox. In this picture, I had just finished a complete rebuild of the tube amplifier and I am checking its frequency response with a signal generator and O-scope. The Stereo Round is a unique design because the speakers for the left and right channels are mounted opposing each other, on the left and right sides of the cabinet (so they face away from each other). In order to re-create the true stereo sound of the 45RPM records being played, it is necessary to place this jukebox firmly into the corner of a room at a 45 degree angle to the walls. This causes the sound waves that emanate from the cabinet sides to bounce off the walls and travel into the center of the room in parallel which each other and thereby create stereo sound. In addition, these stereo speakers are out of phase with the large woofer that is located in the front base of the cabinet. This phase mismatch is necessary so that the lag created by bouncing sound waves off of the walls will be compensated for, and corrected, in the final (cumulative) sound waves that reach your ears. It's a rather bizarre approach to stereo acoustics.

Slot Machine Restoration

These are before and after pictures of a slot machine from the 1930s, made by the Mills Novelty Co. It is called an "FOK Vendor" (which stands for Front O.K. Vendor). This machine vends a roll of mints for each nickel played, it was a way to get around the gambling laws of some states because you "got something for your money" so it wasn't a "gambling device" (that's what the manufacturer claimed, most law enforcement officials didn't agree...). This slot machine also tells your fortune by lining up words of a complete sentence across the three reels. Each spin of the reels lined up different parts of the sentence to form your complete fortune.

Here's something you don't see everyday. It's a Watling "Rol-A-Top" slot machine in the original shipping crate! (a rare item indeed). This belonged to a married couple in my area. They thinned out their collection before moving to another state. They had me sell their excess inventory (including this slot machine) on Ebay. I charged them my hourly labor rate to take pictures, write up detailed descriptions, list the items on Ebay, collect the money from each sale, then package and ship each item.

Pneumatic Gambling Games

This is a payout gambling machine from the 1930s. It's called Paces Races. I restored this machine for a customer in Beverly Hills, CA. The game uses an electric motor to pump a set of pneumatic bellows, which creates a constant vacuum that runs the entire game. You can watch three videos of the game in action by clicking on the links below. The position of each horse as they move alone the track, is determined by holes punched in a piano roll. The roll is pulled over a tracker bar in the same fashion as player pianos of the same vintage. As the holes in the paper pass over the tracker bar, air is sucked into various valves that open and cause larger bellows to collapse. These larger bellows are linked to the horses and cause them to jump or gallop towards the finish line. Many other things are happening inside this game, and it's all driven by vacuum! The game is a payout slot machine with jackpot feature. You win the jackpot if your horse comes in first, has 30-to-1 payout odds (set at the start of each game, after the horses take off running), and if the "lucky fortune wheel" (which also spins after game start) lands on a horseshoe symbol with the word "Winner" written on it.

Paces Races uses a set or fourteen rubber bumpers which act as cushions or shock absorbers for the wooden racks that advance the horses. The thicker bumpers go on the inside and the thinner bumpers go on the outside as seen here. I sell brand new bumpers, shown in the first picture, for $26.95 per full set of 14pcs, or $19.95 for two or more sets.

I have posted three videos on YouTube that walk you through the operation of Paces Races and show the game in action. The video seen here is Part 1.

CLICK HERE for Part 2.
CLICK HERE for Part 3.

Electro-Mechanical Arcade Games

This is a payout gambling machine from 1974. It's called the Quarter Horse Derby. I repaired this machine for Todd MacCulloch who played basketball for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2000 to 2003. The game uses an electro-mechanical computer to randomly choose a winning horse for each race. The machine also picks new odds that each horse will pay, which is displayed on the rotating red Odds Drum in the headboard. The decorative backglass that covers the headboard was removed in this picture. When all of the bets have been placed and the game is started, the horses race around the track with an actual type of galloping motion as they "jockey for position" with each other. Only towards the home stretch does the preselected victor emerge from the pack and pull ahead to clearly become the winning nag. You can watch two videos of this action by clicking on the links below.

This picture shows the mechanism below the race track that makes the horses move. Each horse is connected to a separate chain. All chains are driven by large plastic wheels. The wheels have notches around their outside diameters. Relay armatures will momentarilly fall into these notches during a race and cause the horses to abruptly stop, then start moving again. This is what causes them to gallop while they race around the track.

The metal plate with all the holes in it, seen just to the right of the chains, is the starting gate. Each chain has a while peg mounted on it. When the pegs contact the starting gate as the chains rotate, this aligns each horse to the starting position. Then, when the race is started, the gate swings open and lets the horses move around the track. After all horses have cleared the starting gate, it swings closed and then waits for the winning horse to finish the home stretch and contact a bar and microswitch, located on the vertical edge of the gate. This ends the race.

Here is the electro-machanical computer and controller that sits in the lower cabinet.

CLICK HERE for a very short video of the horses approaching the starting gate when the first coin in played. You will need a media player that can show ".AVI" files (Windows Media Player will work).

CLICK HERE for a longer video that shows a full race sequence of the Quarter Horse Derby machine.

Note on playing AVI files: If you have a firewall on your computer, like ZoneAlarm, you may need to disable it or check its settings if this video does not play. If your firewall is blocking this download, it will let Windows Media Player open when you click on the video link above, but then it will give you an error message that says "it cannot find the file" or "the file does not exist." Please be patient, the video may take a minute or two to download before it begins to play.

I wrote an article on the restoration of the Quarter Horse Derby and the Kasco Untouchable. The article was printed in the Feburary and March 2007 issues of Gameroom Magazine.

CLICK HERE to view the complete text from this article, along with all of the pictures that appeared in Gameroom Magazine.

In addition, I video taped the restoration of the Quarter Horse Derby game and created a one hour long DVD. This video is a step-by-step tour through the mechanical and electrical circuits inside this unique machine. It describes the game's operation from start to finish. It also shows many of the problems that this game had, and how I repaired them. Included on the DVD, is video of the horses racing around the track while I narrate the action and explain the sequence of events that the game progresses through. This video is available on DVD+ format for $20.00 plus shipping. Contact me for more info.

Penny Arcade Games

This is a penny arcade shocking machine from around 1904. "Electricity Is Life", made by the Mills Novelty Co. You drop in a nickel, grab both handles and slowly turn the handle on the right. As you rotate the handle, an electric shock is delivered to the handles. The voltage starts out low, but increases as you crank the handle. I can only turn it about half way before I have to let go (ouch). I repaired this machine for a customer in Jan. 2007. It's powered by a single 1.5V #6 dry cell battery. The mechanism is very ingenious. The coin (a nickel) actually closes the electrical circuit and allows current to flow. The battery voltage is stepped up to a shocking potential (pun intended) by a "step-up transformer," of which the secondary winding is connected to the handles. The transformer is the skinny rod, which is vertically mounted in the center of the machine, as seen in this picture. There is a brass sleeve that covers the transformer shaft. As you rotate the handle, this sleeve will slide down the shaft and cause the following to occur: At the start of the game when the handle is up-right, the brass sleeve is covering the transformer windings and shunting the magnetic field. Therefore, the output voltage is low. But as the handle is rotated, the sleeve will move down the shaft and uncover the transformer, which allows the magnetic field to grow, which in turn delivers more "life giving electrical stimulus" (IE: a good old fashion zap) to the person willing to deposit his nickel and hold on....

All of my repairs include sophisticated and rigorous testing to insure proper operation.

Sometimes, the battery of tests are quite shocking !
(But I always get a charge out of my work...)

Please contact me if you have any questions,
or visit my main webpage at http://www.GameRoomRepair.com for more information.
Thanks for your visit.

Cosmetic Restoration