Star Wars cockpit... operation back to life ^^

[DarthNuno]

Ok first of all, don't miss out the HUGE roadtrip done to bring back the cab' from UK to Belgium     



A must see !!!       

So the cab' is empty :

- No XY (vector) monitor
- No PCB
- No power supply

This game is one of my all time favorite games , and each time I'm playing on my mame cab, I play Star Wars with the trackball...

Now, I've got the real arcade cab' and I really want to play Star Wars with the flight yoke, inside the cockpit.

I know XY vector monitors are quite rare to found nowdays, especially outside the States    Same problem for a working pcb 

So I'm starting the quest for xy monitor & pcb but I'll put a raster monitor, and emulates the PCB with mame  :idea: , as I said, I don't want to wait severals month to have true XY monitor + pcb and watch an unplayable arcade game like Star Wars   

I'm lucky    Yesterday I've found this :



   25" tv, second hand of course, for only 60€ 

Ok, I'm removing all the useless parts 



...really lucky    This TV model includes all the pot' needed to set the picture size, like a true arcade monitor 



... frightening isn't it     



Yes, I've to cut the sides, or it won't fit ...



Ok, now the size is ok 



Here's the 'monster' open :



...the bezel.. I've to clean it 



Hey, by the way, I didn't test the TV        Let's see if it's working  :
Well, I'm sure the seller won't get back that 'half' of tv now 

Let's plug a game cube, and of course Rogue Squadron     



   OK, the TV is fine    Let's see how to fix the TV inside the cab...

[DarthNuno]

... and I place the tube inside the cockpit  



Yeezzzzz, the image is really good      



Now have a look at all this stuf running in this VIDEO

https://www.dragonslairfans.com/starwars/cockpit.wmv

The monitor is not fixed yet... this will be the next step...        

[DarthNuno]

Ok, let's remove the monitor and see how the flight yoke is fixed...



It's easy... only few screws



...exactly two from the back, and three more in the front... I remove the yoke  in order to clean it, and prepare the 'hack'    

[DarthNuno]

And here we go with the CRT fixation inside the cab.

I'll use pre-drilled common metal pieces...



I'm lucky... the distance between two holes fit perfectly  



Cool, I've an easy access to the TV...



... and I also found a good place for the computer :



   

[DarthNuno]

...removing the marquee :



Two speakers... behind the player head, inside the cockpit :



... and two others speakers under the seat :



Opppss... a lot of dust...

Let's clean up a bit...  

[DarthNuno]

OK, the next step is : How to use original Star Wars yoke on a computer  :  :  :

I 've founded the solution on the 1UP's ARCADE website here : http://www.1uparcade.com

I'll hack a Microsoft Dual Strike Strike joysitck  :idea:  :idea:  :idea:  



Following the GREAT tutorial from the 1UP website, here we go  

Yeps, I pick up one on ebay    



...opening the 'thing'...



... the 'brain'...



...the hard part is here : removing the pot'
 



... The flight yoke... is ready to rise again      



I put everything together, and if it works, I'll do a better job...
   




YYYeeeehhhaaaaaawwwww... it works      



Ok, so I arrange all the wires properly ...



I've to remove the monitor, in order to fix the flight yoke unit...



... and...

It's still working  




Let's try something... mhhhhh    up & right ?




Yeah Baby Yeah      

I've now to prepare another computer, because the one I would like to use has some problem with ... the USB port  

Stay tuned      

[DarthNuno]

... and now... this game is now rising again      








Stay tuned for a video of the game... played      

[DarthNuno]

For the fun, have a look at a funny video quickly done with a friend, in order to test our brand new Force FX LightSabers        

Check it until the end... Star Wars cockpit inside, of course        

Right here :        https://www.dragonslairfans.com/starwars/lightsabersdemo.wmv

 

[DarthNuno]

2 years and half later... back on this 

I really love my Star Wars cockpit, fully playable and very fun to play... but now I would like to start the aesthetic restoration. As you will see, there is still a lot of work to do on this one 

The plexiglass roof of the cockpit is broken, see 



Opps... sorry for the dust on pictures 

OK, now let's see how to remove it.

Three screws on the top...



...now removed :



2 x 2 more screws here :



Three screws on that metal plate, on the marquee...



...and 3 screws under the marquee :



After removing the marquee :



A first screw here :



...and the second one :



...and this is it. Now I can easily remove the roof :



The damages  :





It shouldn't be a a difficult job for a plexiglass specialist : cutting a sheet of plexiglass and bend it proper... it just need the right tools to do it.

[subzero1970]

USE THE FORCE NUNO   cant wait to see this one fully restored

[atarikid]

You can do this yourself. Just make sure you can get hold of Polycarbonate (with the right color - mostly this color is called PC Smoke). PC can be bend cold (you do not have to heatup).
With PMMA (Acryl) you have to heatup the plate otherwise it will break.

Visually there is no difference between Polycarbonate and PMMA ... so choose PC. It's also very cheap and can be bought everywhere (Gamma, Brico, ....)

[DarthNuno]

Just make sure you can get hold of Polycarbonate (with the right color - mostly this color is called PC Smoke). PC can be bend cold (you do not have to heatup).

Wow... I never heard about 'Polycarbonate'  What is that exactly ? Do you have some picture of that ?
Thanks for tip... it would be an issue maybe ?

[DarthNuno]

YYYYYYYYYEEESSS 


Thanks to Level42 

There'll be a new top plexi on the cab ... very soon

Sneak Preview :





All the story of this by André, right here 

Aghhhh... I can't wait to have it 

[DarthNuno]

OK, I finally have access again to the cab 

Well, I mean I can see again ... the dark side of the cockpit   



I call it 'dark side' because that side was usually hidden. In fact that side uses to be against the wall. That explains the scratches   





Closer...



But the worst is ... the water damages on the base   







Mwwwell, go back to the light side :



The side arts are ok for me, but some water damages too 





There is also some rest of scotch tape ?

[level42]

Can't wait to see the new perspex on this.......shame about the water damage.