Battlezone Undergoing Restoration

The Atari Battlezone I acquired a few years ago is finally being restored. I was pleased to discover during the restoration that the cabaret is the less common International version that was made in Tipperary, Ireland. Board repairs, a cap kit for both the monitor and deflection board, rebuilding the power brick, tweaking of the joysticks and a good cleaning are all nearing completion. Nothing is being left to chance. Battlezone is almost ready for the "battle zone” of Tranquility Base Arcade!

1980 Atari Battlezone Cabaret

I recently acquired a 1980 Atari Battlezone cabaret. I had always wanted to add a Battlezone to the Tranquility Base Arcade but had pretty much run out of room. The cabaret model nicely solved that problem! Approximately 15,000 Battlezone games were made but only 2,000 of them were the cabaret model so it is fairly uncommon. Since the game was in storage for decades and is not working it has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1976 Midway Sea Wolf

After a lengthy search I recently acquired a 1976 Midway Sea Wolf. I vividly remember this game being larger than life as a kid and after moving it into the arcade with the help of a friend my back will never forget that it still is! Sea Wolf is historically important, as it is the first arcade game to display a high score. Since the game was in storage for decades and is not working it has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1981 Atari Asteroids Deluxe

An Asteroids Deluxe has been added to Tranquility Base Arcade! This is the sixth and final game of the "time capsule games" I purchased a little over two years ago. The game was in storage since 1983 and the condition is simply amazing! Even though Asteroids Deluxe is considered to be a disappointing sequel to the smash hit Asteroids, it is a very fun and fast paced game...and most importantly...I am a HUGE fan of it! Asteroids Deluxe has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

Tank Undergoing Restoration

The Atari/Kee Tank I recently acquired is being thoroughly gone through before it is subjected to the rigorous environment of the many arcade enthusiasts who frequent the Tranquility Base Arcade. Board repairs, monitor rejuvenation, cap kit, cleaning, tweaking have all been completed .Nothing is being left to chance. Here she is just after I installed the rebuilt Motorola XM 701 monitor. Tank is almost ready for battle!

Go For Landing!

What in the world is going on at Tranquility Base Arcade? Houston, are extra games landing? Some people say the original lineup is always the best but in the case of Tranquility Base Arcade the lineup keeps getting better and better! A home use only Sprint 2 along with an excellent condition Asteroids Deluxe and a Kee Tank have been unable to stay in orbit and have been pulled in. How is extra room being created? I have no idea but I hope the patrons of Tranquility Base Arcade like the new additions!

1976 Atari Sprint 2

I recently acquired a HUO 1976 Atari Sprint 2. Sprint 2 was my favorite game as a kid so when I began collecting arcade games I started to search for one. Over the years I found several of them but they usually were in poor condition so I was extremely pleased to find such a nice example. This particular game was purchased new along with several others by a wealthy businessman for his home game room. Due to the current poor economic conditions, the gentlemen liquidated some of his assets, which included the contents of his now vintage game room. The game appears to
have seen very little use and is in near mint condition. Sprint 2
is historically important, as it is the first driving game to use a microprocessor. The game does not work and has been sent to
the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1974 Atari Tank

In a great act of “Arcade Friendship” Steve MacDonald drove this Tank game all the way from Denver, Colorado to Detroit, Michigan which is believed to be around 8,000,000 miles one way! Tank is historically important as it is the first arcade game to use ROM. This particular example, which appears to have been last incensed in Texas in 1978, is in outstanding condition thus making it a true collector’s gem. The Tranquility Base Arcade will be purposely rearranged to make a special spot for this very special game.
“Tanks” again Steve!!!

1980 Midway Rally-X

I pulled Rally-X out of storage and sent it to the Repair Station. Rally-X was displayed at the 1980 Amusement Machine Operators of America show alongside Defender, Pac-Man and Battlezone. As unbelievable as it seems now, Rally-X was thought to be the hit among the four games! Unfortunately, Rally-X became a little more than a footnote in arcade history and is best remembered for the game’s distinctive soundtrack. To make room for Rally-X, Kangaroo was taken out of the current rotation moved to the Annex. The game has not been turned on in about 25 years so a thorough inspection is required.

The First And The Best

After a difficult and lengthy repair job, I have finally fixed Defender. Defender is Williams best selling arcade game and is widely regarded as one of the most popular video games ever. In stark contrast is Williams first video game, a long forgotten Pong clone named Paddle-Ball. Harry Williams, the founder of the Williams Manufacturing Company was best known for inventing the “tilt” mechanism for pinball machines. I thought it would be an interesting tribute to Harry to stand The First next to The Best.

1980 Williams Defender

I brought Defender out of storage and sent it to the Repair Station. Defender is generally regarded as the first video game to feature horizontal scrolling. It is also thought of as one of the most difficult games to play. Despite that criticism, Defender sold over 60,000 units and is considered an all-time classic. The game is completely dead so I will have to go through it thoroughly in order to find the exact problem.

1971 Midway Wild Kingdom

I have been looking for an electromechanicanal gun game for some time as they are among the first arcade games that I remember playing. Recently, I was lucky enough to acquire a Midway Wild Kingdom gun game. The owner claimed the game had been in his family for almost 40 years and believed his father purchased from a local arcade along with two other games for their home game room. The game needs several minor repairs and a good cleaning so it has been sent to the Repair Station.

Good Move Space Cadet

Finally! After a lengthy repair job, I have fixed Gorf and put it in the arcade. The game was purchased from the daughter of the original owner’s and is in excellent condition. I would like to say thank you to fellow collector Scott Z. for allowing me to use his Gorf boardset in order to help narrow down various problems. Bad RAM and bad chips on the pattern board were among the culprits that kept the game from working. Long Live Gorf!

Goin' Berzerk

I finally had a chance to add my Berzerk PCB Repair Log to the site. You can find it here. To my knowledge, it is one of the very few Berzerk Repair Logs on the entire Internet! Hopefully, it will help someone fix or maintain their game. Watch out for Evil Otto!

Breaking Out Breakout

I acquired Breakout last November and finally had a chance to send it to the Repair Station. Early indications are that it has a PCB problem. Once the game is repaired, the Tranquility Base Arcade may have to be rearranged to make room for this arcade classic!

1981 Midway Gorf

I pulled Gorf out of storage and sent it to the Repair Station.
Gorf, which stands for Galactic Orbiting Robot Force, is generally regarded as the first videogame to feature multiple levels. The game is also among the first to feature synthesized speech. The former owner told me the game may have a joystick problem so I
will pay close attention to that area during the restoration process. Long live Gorf!

There Is Another.....

Last fall I acquired a Paddle-Ball game. The game is a simple Pong clone but it represents Williams first venture into the video game market. Since the game was made by Williams, I figured everything from the manual to the schematic to various parts would be in ready supply. I was wrong – I could find only one other example in existence! Recently, another Paddle-Ball came to light. The game was owned by Gary Hecht of Springfield, New Jersey. Gary sold his Paddle-Ball earlier this month but was kind enough
to send me a few pictures of the game before it was picked up by
the new owner. Thanks Gary! If anyone else has a Paddle-Ball or any information about Paddle-Ball, please contact me!

Reunited

Last summer I acquired six games from the daughter of the original owners. You can read the story of the games here. Among the games were Pac-Man and Berzerk. After I finished restoring Berzerk, I placed it next to Pac-Man. It was the first time in almost 25 years that both games worked! The original owners numbered the games one through six. Pac-Man is number one while Berzerk is number six. Four games to go before the row is complete!

Rare Control Panel Found

I recently acquired an original Williams Paddle-Ball control panel.
I was thrilled to get this, as parts for Paddle-Ball are virtually non-existent. Besides my game, I know of only one other. I plan on mounting the control panel on a plaque along with a copy of the flyer as well as a brief history of the game.

1980 Midway Space Encounters

I pulled Space Encounters out of storage and added it to my row of black and white games. I repaired the game several months ago
but still need to make a few minor adjustments. You can read the Repair Log here. Space Encounters was one of the last black and white games made and by most accounts it's late release date of 1980 made it largely unsuccessful. The game's obvious Star Wars tie-in, strange sound effects and flashing strobe light all make it
a classic appreciated by video game collectors everywhere!