Author Topic: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver  (Read 15701 times)

Superully

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[Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« on: May 25, 2010, 11:12:59 AM »
from my let's play ball roadtrip there was still a night driver waiting for me at sascha's place and because holidays are always a great time for roadtrips, i finally made an appointment to bring the game home.

here's what's coming up  :arrow:



a beautiful warm summer day - and not a hell of a roadtrip monster ahead of me



since this is a trip for a real arcade b/w classic, i'm going to present it to you in true night driver style!

ladies and gentlemen, buckle up and start the engine  8)



let's maneuver that racing car to the starting line



here we go, the avenue of trees leading out of my home town - isn't it just beautiful?  :-*



time to speed up on the motorway



it's a public holiday in germany, which means no trucks and pretty deserted highways - everyone's probably just lying outside in the sun!



the newly-constructed rhein-neckar soccer stadium



crossing the rhine river into the bordering German state of Rhineland-Palatinate



arriving at sascha's place, the night driver is still in the garage where i left it more than three months ago. sascha was kind enough to give it some protection and to lift it off the ground to prevent moisture from damaging the bottom. thx a lot!  :spaceace:



this is probably the first time i'm having a real close look at the machine, because the last time it was just about loading and unloading - much more fun to do this when it's warm outside!



the cab is in pretty good condition - i wonder how this is going to look once i've cleaned it up and treated it with cockpit spray!



the coin insert label says "1 german mark" and there are stickers on the inside labelled in german, which means this cabinet must have been on location in germany originally. after a detour to the netherlands, its now back to its homeland. the routes that those cabinets sometimes take are a mystery ... but fun to explore.



sascha is inspecting the board - looks extremely clean except one minor burn mark at one of the connectors!



on the inside, the cabinet is EXTREMELY clean. i would not have expected that from a game which is missing the backdoor and which has been standing around for a couple of years!



we're doing some preliminary work on the cabinet before powering it up for the first time in forever, like installing a plug, cleaning the edge connector and checking the fuses. sascha also suggests to exchange the "big blue" for a "big black", so here we go ...



start the countdown - time to plug in the game!



the white security switch is being pulled out



a short "crash sound" can be heard



ignition sequence started



and look what we've got on the screen  :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:



the picture is shaky, a little bit out of focus and distorted, but HEY, this game is almost 35 years old and hasn't been turned on for a looong time. i would have expected it to be dead, so this is golden!!! btw, before you ask: playing around with the monitor's potis brought some improvement, but it's still far from perfect. nervertheless, i'm thrilled ;D

time to head home with the night driver in the back of my car



tunnel ahead



weeeaaahhhh - winding roads  8)



here's how it always ends  :arrow:



one country, two counties, 457 kilometers, 8 hours 44 minutes on the road - this roadtrip is OFFICIALLY OVER!  
« Last Edit: May 25, 2010, 11:14:50 AM by Superully »
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

baritonomarchetto

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2010, 11:39:58 AM »
A little cleaning, some de-rusting and a cap kit will give that machine a new life! Nice catch "Ultra"Ully!
"A true Gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved"

Superully

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2010, 01:32:23 PM »

oh, i forgot to mention: we were able to add credits and start a game, but the controls were not responding. we realized that the gas pedal wasn't working properly, that is: it was stuck! turning the steering wheel didn't provide any results on the screen at all - the car just kept on driving straight forward. i'll have to do some further investigation once the machine has moved up to the front of the restoration line, but this might take a while ...  ;)
all i need is ... PONG - and a select few others: TOUCH ME, DRAGON'S LAIR, JOUST, ROBOTRON, MR DO, SAN FRANCISCO RUSH THE ROCK!!!

level42

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2010, 02:01:57 PM »
Maybe the controls are disconnected ? ;D

Really funny pics ! :D  :spaceace:

It actually was powered up the first time I had a look at it at the seller's place, but the picture was just a bunch of unsynced stuff then. So I figure there was a pot that had to be adjusted ?
Anyway, be glad because that's why I probably got the lower price ;)

Congrats, hope to play it at your place this summer !

scr33n

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2010, 02:13:45 PM »
Nice story and nice pics  :-* :-*

Thanks Ully  :spaceace:
PROJECTS FROM SCRATCH:

Galaga - PacMan - Donkey Kong Red Cab - Track & Field Upright - Tempest - Burgertime - Gyruss - Defender - Track & Field Cocktail - Robotron 2084

RESTORATIONS:

Q*bert - Timber

Etienne MacGyver

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2010, 11:20:45 PM »
I always enjoy your way of writing, thats really adapted to the theme

Looks great for a 35 year old machine

im sure you'll get it up and running with the controls

thanx for sharing ully !

Muerto

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2010, 10:58:17 AM »
nice catch! love the BW pictures! great story!

Laschek

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2010, 01:03:24 PM »
Boy, I'm really glad that it's out of my garage. I was so tempted to move it into my secret basement and make up a story of the arcade mafia stealing it  ;D

DarthNuno

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2010, 06:16:16 PM »
Wooow... and the game is also working  :o Congratulation... a real great piece from the arcade video game history  :-*
I remember trying that game back in the days, but I've never had the opportunity to play it nowadays  :-\ I mean I've seen the original cabinets several times during my last holidays in USA... but the game wasn't working  :-\

Great pictures (it reminds me my 'Double Invasion RT'), great story, great Road Trip Name  :P ... thanks -once again- for sharing it here  :-*

For course, all the honors  ;)  :arrow:



 :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:

level42

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2010, 11:18:07 PM »
The last time I saw a ND was on my UK "air"trip. Wasn't working either....it looks like Ully has regained some luck in the arcade hobby ;)

I clearly remember playing Datsun 280 ZZZap though in my very first "arcade" at the camping site....it seemed like magic compared to the mechanical racing games that were there too.

It generally played like a mechanical racing game of that time, in that you have a set time, you race, and it's over when the time ends. On ND you can gain some time IIRC, but only 1 time. Still, this is pretty frustrating for us now.

A lovely piece for your B/W collection however !


Sonic 1992

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Re: [Roadtrip] Day Trip for a Night Driver
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2010, 01:19:45 AM »
The last time I saw a Night Driver, it was a sitdown, with a glittery sliver finish..  Sooo long ago..

Great find!   :D