[Restoration] Veni, Vidi, Vindicators

[Superully]

thx andré, that looked as if it had been in nice shape. do you remember how much the seller was asking?

[level42]

Not much, not much at all....I would have given it for it....if I had the space....

I think maybe 200 or so, not 100% sure...

[Etienne MacGyver]

For what it's worth: The Vindicators that was for sale a couple of years ago over here in Holland. I took the pics with my phone so lousy quality.

Just for what it's worth:

thats worth alot to me, because it showes how the sideart needs to look on the side i need to reproduce.

It looks like i need to vector the pics that Ully provided, and then i have the other side in vectors.
after that is finished i need to copy everything and "mirror" it, since its flipped compared to the source i have here..

so it is very valueable!

[Etienne MacGyver]

Fred (Arcadefever) has one   

Looks like fred can use some sideart as well 

[Superully]

got a call from the powdercoater today: "your videogame parts are ready for pickup!"

so after a short roadtrip here's what i came back with









AWESOME!!!

the next thing to do is check those Omron B3G-S switches





can those switches be checked out of circuit with a multimeter? if so, how? would be cool if i could get some input here! thx guys

btw, i've ordered the screws from modelfixings in the meantime, but haven't heard zip yet. are those guys always so uncommunicative? they haven't answered a single one of my emails to them so far ...

[Etienne MacGyver]

i guess you need to put the meter in diode mode (beep) and put each terminal on a soldered pin and then push the button

if everything is correct you should hear a beep  

By the way, that powdercoating stuff looks super !

[Superully]

i guess you need to put the meter in diode mode (beep) and put each terminal on a soldered pin and then push the button
if everything is correct you should hear a beep  

thx etienne, i'll try that tomorrow, too late now to dig the stuff out. looking forward to the weekend, some nice things are going to happen ...

By the way, that powdercoating stuff looks super !

i'm always thrilled how great that stuff looks when it returns from the powdercoater (and how nice the prices are). the people there are so friendly, this time i got the pieces in a box labeled "videogame parts"

[Superully]

the restoration continues ...

let me start this section of my resto thread with a picture of the beat-up backdoor grill that was on the cab and the freshly powdercoated grill i got from pat - lovely, isn't it?



moving on to the board on which the light fixture is attached - slightly crooked!



the whole board needs some fixing, so i'm removing it from the cab



in detail



too many holes in there and the part where the ballast was attached seems to be burned



clear burn marks after removal of the vinyl



the entire stripped board with the unnecessary holes already filled and the important holes marked



fresh vinyl applied, holes punched



as for the fixture itself: it wasn't working and neither the replacement of the starter nor the tube changed that, so i had to place an order ...



inside, three brand-new ballasts (it can't hurt to have spares, can it?)



old vs new



and a first test outside the cab



on to those flawed omron switches



function test with the multimeter set on continuity



to beep or not to beep - that is the question



after testing 24 switches



labelled and packed for later use



to be continued ...

[Etienne MacGyver]

Sjeez, those switches do have a high faillure rate ! , 1 out of 4 is broken !  

perhaps carefully opening one of the broken ones is an option ?
Or are they hermeticly sealed / glued ?
maybe there is a option of repairing the mechanism inside since they are expensive as i have heard..

[Superully]

perhaps carefully opening one of the broken ones is an option ?
Or are they hermeticly sealed / glued ?
maybe there is a option of repairing the mechanism inside since they are expensive as i have heard..

you can open them and try to repair them, but for now i only need sixteen - and those i have. i'll keep the others as spare parts for a potential later repair.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Ah, i thought you needed all of them, my bad..

[Womble]

you can open them and try to repair them, but for now i only need sixteen - and those i have. i'll keep the others as spare parts for a potential later repair.

Yes and no, you can open the switch body easily enough, but the actual switch contact is enclosed inside one of the parts inside, you cant get to the bit where metal touches metal at all.

I would also bet that once you have your controllers built you will find some of those buttons just stop working, then when you get them back out they pass the beep test, only to last 15 minutes back in the controller. Am ditching all of mine as they are dreadful dreadful switches, I have some clicky switches of the same design to use thankfully.

[Superully]

I have some clicky switches of the same design to use thankfully.

where did you get those from? are they of the same size and do they fit into the controllers?

[Dazza]

Squirt some switch cleaner in them. Works wonders that stuff!

[level42]

Mmm, normally not a big fan of that stuff, but in this case it can't hurt to try.