1980 Midway Pac-Man

This past year I had the opportunity to procure several very special arcade games from the daughter of the original owners. You can read the story of the games here. Among the games I acquired was the game - Pac-Man! Last week I had a chance to pull the game out of storage and send it to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1975 Fascination

I recently acquired an old Pong clone cocktail made by Fascination Ltd. Not much is known about the game and what is known comes from the few flyers that exist. I doubt there were too many arcade games wrapped in vinyl but I now own one! The game uses a 12" Hitachi TV for a monitor and appears to be for 2 or 4 players. Anyways...it is not working but appears to have a very simple PCB that I can hopefully repair. The game has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1976 Atari Lemans

I finally had a chance to put a game in the newly finished room! I remember playing Lemans quite a bit as a kid as was thrilled to finally acquire one this past summer. When I purchased the game it was completely dead and in need of total restoration. You can read the repair log here. If you want to learn more about Lemans as well as see the game in action, please click here.

Let There Be Black Light!

The black lights have been installed. I put four fixtures in the new room and the effect is outstanding!

Change?

You can't have an arcade without quarters so the first thing I installed was this vintage Ardac change machine. The machine works perfectly and accepts one or five dollar bills. The unit is mounted on a small file cabinet which I use to store the keys to the games, manuals and other arcade related paperwork. If you wish to learn more about the change machine as well as see a short video of it in action, please click here.

Carpet

Carpet installation is complete! Room transformation is almost complete as well. Over the next few weeks I will begin to move some of the games in...can't wait!

Ceiling

The final step before having the carpet installed is done! The ceiling took approximately 3.5 hours to complete. I remembered all the time savers from the earlier ceiling install and they proved to be a big help. Finally, a nice and clean looking room! The carpet guys will be coming early tomorrow morning. The games currently in "winter storage" are looking forward to their new and much warmer environment!

Trim

Unexpectedly, the carpet installers informed me that they are coming this Saturday so the pressure is on! I have completed the baseboard and chair rail molding as well as the doorway and radiator trim. All nails have been patched and painted over. I have one day, Friday, to complete the entire ceiling! Wish me luck!

Look Up!

Well...maybe look down for now. I measured the ceiling and figured out the amount of material required. The pile represents all the trim needed for the room as well as the material for the ceiling. I went with the direct mount 'CeilingMAX' system because my basement has a very low ceiling.

Blue And Orange Too!

Two coats of paint have been applied and the room is starting to take shape. Black light carpet has been ordered and should arrive in about two weeks. The addition of chair rail molding along with trim work around the doorways and radiator is next.

Primer

Three coats of mud have been completed. The walls were sanded to make everything smooth and now a coat of primer has been applied. The next step is to mix up some color and get rid of the hospital appearance. The midnight oil is burning....

Bonus Area!

I decided to expand the second arcade room into a small area located next to the stairway. By measuring, it appears that I can fit an additional three or four games in this space!

Mud and Tape

The first coat of mud and tape is complete. I plan on doing two additional coats. I also sanded the radiatior and put on a quick coat of primer. Nothing beats watching mud dry...except for paint!

Taking Shape!

I started hanging the drywall. I am doing 1/2 sheets due to the difficulty of carrying a full sheet down my tight stairway. I'll cover the seam with chair rail molding just like in the other room.

Drywall

I picked up the drywall for the arcade today. The composition of drywall must be changing as I get older as I believe the sheets are now made out of lead! Carrying two sheets around at a time is but a distant memory for me.

1976 Atari Breakout

I also acquired a 1976 Atari Breakout. Breakout was an important game in Atari's history and was designed by the legendary Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The game has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

1973 Williams Paddle-Ball

I recently acquired a 1973 Williams Paddle-Ball. Paddle-Ball is a Pong clone and was Williams first entry into the then burgeoning video game market. Up until that time, Williams had only made pinball machines. Some of this is evident as Paddle-Ball is the only video game ever to have a tilt switch! The game has been sent to the Repair Station for diagnosis.

Black Lights

The black lights have arrived! The fixtures are wall mountable, 28" long and come complete with the bulb. These are the exact same fixtures I used in my original arcade room.

Let There Be Light!

Recessed lighting has been installed as well as four new electrical circuits. Dedicated 15 amp circuits will have no more than three games per circuit. Outlets were added near the ceiling for the black lights and I added another outlet in the original arcade room for more black light!

Starting Construction

The tear out is now complete. I feel like I removed over 1,000 finish nails from the ceiling! The 'outside wall' insulation is in place. I added a new electrical circuit with two outlets on that wall. Studs are going up as well. Progress is very slow and I do a little bit here and there when I have a free hour to spare.

Before

The plan for the second arcade room is finally beginning to take place. After a massive clean out effort I'm left with the following space. The plywood ceiling needs to go along with the dried out insulation above it. I also need to redo the electrical to allow for additional outlets as well as recessed lighting. The plan is to match the current arcade room with similar construction in this one.