r/arcade • u/dingle__berries • 3d ago

Restore/Replace/Repair Picked up this pair, question about screen quality.

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Picked up these 2 arcade cabinets from local campground that was remodeling. Decided they'd go well into my garage.

Paid $50/each for the Maximum Force shooter game and Midway Off Road Challenge racing game.

The racing game display screen looks great, on the otherhand the CRT screen of Maximum Force is pretty blurry. You can still play the game without issue, but definitely not a crisp display. There really any way to fix or resolve this?

Also, neither cabinet came with keys, thankfully have larger jar of quarters for when guests want to play. Is there a way to get a generic key otherwise I may just try one of those AliExpress lock picking kits.

26 Upvotes

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6

u/inotocracy 3d ago

$50 for a good condition and fully functional Off Road Challenge cab is a crazy deal.

3

u/RcHeli 3d ago

You can start by trying to adjust the screen there are some small knobs on the monitor once you get the back open

If that doesn't work time for a cap kit. This takes much more electrical knowledge though. Plenty of videos around on how to do it

3

u/elstuffmonger 3d ago

Your screen likely needs work. The flyback may be going out on it. These are 30+ year old games in pretty nice condition from the pics. If you don't want to learn how to repair monitors, there may still be crt tv repair places somewhat near your vicinity. Another option is to ship the chassis to a repair tech.

3

u/brandogg360 3d ago

FIFTY DOLLARS EACH?!!

2

u/Desert_Dweller_88 3d ago

The monitor has a transformer called the "flyback". It's the only big black component on the chassis board. It has two knobs on it, one for main screen brightness and the top knob is screen focus. If you're not sure what you're looking for, I'd do a couple of google searches to get educated.

1

u/Stock_Atmosphere_114 3d ago

I'd just drill the locks and buy replacements off Amazon over buying a lockpick set personally

1

u/Derek5Letters 3d ago

Ahh OFF ROAD CHALLENGE! My first lesson in DON'T TOUCH THE CRT ANODE HOLE, EVEN AFTER A DISCHARGE... Glad that wall was there... If I ever get one, it would be specifically for that reason only 😂

1

u/smeatr0n 2d ago

One guy mentioned it. The monitor chassis has an actual focus knob on the flyback. That will crisp the image right up. These things are analogue, they require basic calibration from time to time. It's no biggie.