:: Ms. Pac Man - Diary of a Renovation ::

[arcadecollection]

hi

my ms pac man

Serial number is  30994 

a bit lower than yours

This machine has stood in idaho usa
I read this on te paper inside the machine
where the serial number stood.
Do you know where your machine stood in the past?

[arcadecollection]

but a shame and very sad the young woman at the counter didn't even have an idea of what this is... 

Yes, that is the *sad* part of the story 

Bruno, are putting in a real Ms. Pac Man PCB or running MAME in it?

I'll try to catch the real board, but I know it'll be very difficult  Ms Pac Man is a very expensive board... mostly only available in US ... high shipping cost + incoming taxes  I already spent a fortune on other boards and I'm tired to spend so much money for finally have non working games 

i find working ms pac man pcb for $58.  for my ms pac man machine plus $40 for schipping
on ebay.com and its works great,it not so expensive

[DarthNuno]

For this renovation, I won't use a computer with the classic  *Arcade Perfect When It's Well Tuned (tm)* Setup : Dos/AdvMame/RGB. 

It's so hard to find a Ms Pac Man working here in Europe...and working for more then few hours without spending $$$ + $$$ SO what ?

Well ... there is an other solution ...and NAMCO approved 

I've got this flyer since a while... 



...but now, I've got the also the board   



Yes, this board plays Ms.Pac Man... in its original way... and it's made by the creator... NAMCO

This board will be 1000x more reliable than the original one... and I'm comfortable with this ... this is NAMCO made 

Look at the size of the board... All in my hand... like the Holy Graal   



Namco loves details  On the other side of the board, a galaga ship   





I can't wait to end of the renovation of the Ms. PacMan cabinet, I've to try this board!
Easy, it's a jamma board, so let's plug it in my PacMan cab, jamma too and currently playing the Namco Classic Collection Volume 2, features Pac Man of course 

Power on   



GREAT... I Love it 



Here's what happens when you press start button (It's currently set on Free Play) 



Of course, Galaga won't be playable because It'll be a Ms Pac Man panel...

No, I only need MS PAC MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN         



Ready!

Ok, let's remove this board... and start to work on the cabinet   

[Blanka]

Do you have a link to a seller of these boards?

[DarthNuno]

Do you have a link to a seller of these boards?

I got it from ebay US.

The average price for such board is between $200 and $300. Quite expensive  ...but let's hope reliable for many years to come 

There is one for sale right here.

[WunderCade]

I got it from ebay US.

The average price for such board is between $200 and $300. Quite expensive  ...but let's hope reliable for many years to come 

There is one for sale right here.

May I ask why you didn't just order a "bullet-proofed" (refurbished) original Ms. Pac-man PCB off US eBay? It would've had the original intro screen with the 1980 Midway Mfg. logo AND it would've been half the price you paid. Also, since you're not using the Galaga game, you paid a premium for it needlessly. You also could've purchased to Pac to Jamma adapter.

 

[DarthNuno]

May I ask why you didn't just order a "bullet-proofed" (refurbished) original Ms. Pac-man PCB off US eBay? It would've had the original intro screen with the 1980 Midway Mfg. logo AND it would've been half the price you paid. Also, since you're not using the Galaga game, you paid a premium for it needlessly. You also could've purchased to Pac to Jamma adapter.

Hi WunderCade, and welcome here 

Well, in short... I've already spent a lot of $$$ in some previous projects for 'working/refurbished' old boards (Battlezone, Galaga, Galaxian...) ... and I really had no luck  : most of them were nonworking, or had a lot of problems 
Most of original 'classic' boards cannot be founded here in Europe... So, I've to get them from US... labeled 'working board' has a price (check the price for a working MS Pac Man board)  Add shipping cost to Belgium ... add incoming taxes + extra shipping cost... and you have a big amount of € 
I'll be more comfortable with this 'Class of 81' Reunion board'... because I'm almost sure it won't break soon (but who knows ?) 
But when the renovation will be done, I could give a chance to a vintage Ms. Pac Man board + a jamma adapter of course, but the priority for me now is : start & finish the cabinet renovation 

BY the way, do you know where I can found a "bullet-proofed" Ms PacMan board, off ebay of course ?

[WunderCade]

BY the way, do you know where I can found a "bullet-proofed" Ms PacMan board, off ebay of course ?

If you want a guaranteed, bullet-proof board, then Peter Hingston in the US is the man to contact.

Here you go:

Here is his website.

I have bought from him and he stands by his work...and no, I am NOT Peter Hingston...lol

[level42]

Why not a 48 in 1 Bruno ?  Much cheaper, plays the original game code and not the "almost but not quite the same" on that Namco board, which is still emulation too.

Seriously, you had a couple of bad experiences with boards. Either I've been very lucky or you have been very unlucky, since my boards run 100% reliable. Galaxian, Mario Bros, Missile Command, Centipede (true, after 3 parts repaired) SW (OK, in all honesty I've had to replace 2 VG-Rams on that, but it's SO easy)....

I hope one day you realise that no restoration is truly complete without the original board in it.
I understand why you do it though, and there ARE good alternatives (like Jrok's multi-williams which is NOT emulation).

And I say this with a ton of respect for all the fabulous work you do on all your cabinets, please let that be clear !!!!!
 
But you know......emulation.....it's nice and stuff, but in the end it feels like sex with a condom.........

[DarthNuno]

Why not a 48 in 1 Bruno ?  Much cheaper, plays the original game code and not the "almost but not quite the same" on that Namco board, which is still emulation too.

Seriously, you had a couple of bad experiences with boards. Either I've been very lucky or you have been very unlucky, since my boards run 100% reliable. Galaxian, Mario Bros, Missile Command, Centipede (true, after 3 parts repaired) SW (OK, in all honesty I've had to replace 2 VG-Rams on that, but it's SO easy)....

I hope one day you realise that no restoration is truly complete without the original board in it.
I understand why you do it though, and there ARE good alternatives (like Jrok's multi-williams which is NOT emulation).

And I say this with a ton of respect for all the fabulous work you do on all your cabinets, please let that be clear !!!!!
 
But you know......emulation.....it's nice and stuff, but in the end it feels like sex with a condom.........

Check this post André    DEBATE : original boards vs re edition boards vs boot vs emu vs nothing?! (no offense at all my friends  )

[scr33n]

Bruno .....

news about the restoration of this beautiful  MsPac cab?

I'm so curious .....

 

[DarthNuno]

  Nothing has been done yet 

This one is on the 'queue' for the moment...

[scr33n]

   
Hey Bruno, that's where hidden your Mspacman cab 

In your famous restoration room:




News?

 

[DarthNuno]

   
Hey Bruno, that's where hidden your Mspacman cab 

In your famous restoration room:




News?

 

Well Done 

Well, nothing has been done yet  ... still on my huuuuuuuuuuuge to do list, in the waiting line 

[Nic-fryer]

Wow! It's been 3 years, how she doing?