General Arcade & Retro Chat' Special Championship Edition

Steve X2

A handy tool to have when checking magnetic levels/interference is your phone. Grab yourself an app that will read the magnetometer data in the phone and get scanning. You're searching for apps that mention tesla/emf/magnetometer, plenty of free ones.

Here's a basic one reading normal background levels:


Next to my Stream Deck:


And next to my subwoofer:


Or you can get an more advanced app like below(same 3 data readings as above):

o1s1n

Just gave that app a go and it works fantastically! Will be trying that out when I get home around my cabinets.

DaveyDave

Not to sound stupid or anything, but would magnetic shielding help? Is that a thing people can do? I remember looking at some 2.1 computer speakers a few years ago and the sub wasn't shielded so you weren't supposed to place it beside a computer.

Jack burton

Pretty sure any a particular type of metal sheeting works well for shielding with consoles anyway. Same work for a crt?

Shapey Fiend

I got my Mister a couple of days ago. Absolutely love it the sound and picture are fantastic.

I've been working my way through loads of weird SNES JP exclusives I've not played before. King of Demons is my main highlight so far. Deae Tonosama - Appare Ichiban is also really compellingly daft despite being a bit janky.

o1s1n

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

I got my Mister a couple of days ago. Absolutely love it the sound and picture are fantastic.

I've been working my way through loads of weird SNES JP exclusives I've not played before. King of Demons is my main highlight so far. Deae Tonosama - Appare Ichiban is also really compellingly daft despite being a bit janky.

Funnily enough that's the game in my Snes at the moment, playing a good bit of it the last week. Really really like it.



Kind of half tempted to pick up one of those Mister yolks...

Retr0gamer

I hate that game.

I hate that I paid so much for a bare cart and the bastards rereleased it a few months later.

o1s1n

Swap your bare cart original for my lovely fully boxed reprint? :pac:

Tom Mann Centuria

Towards end of last month I got a pm on here, out of the blue asking did I want a ZX81. It was the first computer in my house, and I loved playing on it, and watching my brother play. So I said, yep would absolutely love it, how much? They wouldn't take a penny for it, not even postage. Sent it to me, and not only the computer, half a dozen games, a nifty keyboard overlay and loads of Zx computing magazines. A fair few quids worth if they'd have sold them.

So they told me in advance it wasn't working, so I sent it off to a great bloke I have chatted to on faceache groups and he's soldered stuff for me before and I asked if he'd repair it for me. He did, he comp modded it, he even repainted the lettering, installed 16k onboard memory, repaired the power supply and even included an adapter so I can use my Speccy power supply with it (if I ever want to add peripherals for the extra ooomph). He posted it off, I asked how much I owed, because there was a fair bit of work and little bits and bobs that needed replacing. He wouldn't take a penny either. So I have a fantastic little machine that arrived today, for nothing, along with a load of extras, that didn't cost me anything. Both these people who I've never met, didn't even let me pay for postage.

With work being a grind the last few months this has all meant the world to me these last few weeks. First weekend off for a couple tomorrow so I'm going to enjoy playing some great (in their own special way :pac:) games on my new ZX81.



Tl;dr There's still some really generous and lovely people in the world.

MrVestek

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Towards end of last month I got a pm on here, out of the blue asking did I want a ZX81. It was the first computer in my house, and I loved playing on it, and watching my brother play. So I said, yep would absolutely love it, how much? They wouldn't take a penny for it, not even postage. Sent it to me, and not only the computer, half a dozen games, a nifty keyboard overlay and loads of Zx computing magazines. A fair few quids worth if they'd have sold them.

So they told me in advance it wasn't working, so I sent it off to a great bloke I have chatted to on faceache groups and he's soldered stuff for me before and I asked if he'd repair it for me. He did, he comp modded it, he even repainted the lettering, installed 16k onboard memory, repaired the power supply and even included an adapter so I can use my Speccy power supply with it (if I ever want to add peripherals for the extra ooomph). He posted it off, I asked how much I owed, because there was a fair bit of work and little bits and bobs that needed replacing. He wouldn't take a penny either. So I have a fantastic little machine that arrived today, for nothing, along with a load of extras, that didn't cost me anything. Both these people who I've never met, didn't even let me pay for postage.

With work being a grind the last few months this has all meant the world to me these last few weeks. First weekend off for a couple tomorrow so I'm going to enjoy playing some great (in their own special way :pac:) games on my new ZX81.



Tl;dr There's still some really generous and lovely people in the world.

You know... I've actually experiened that with The Blast City stuff too.

I've had a number of people on Instagram really interested in the refurbishment work that I'm doing.

I've had offers from people sending me free J-Pacs to free 100 yen coins for the coin mech etc. I've even had people going out of their way to DM me to give me various bits of advice with things I'm stuck on etc.

People can be so generous when they see somebody take up a new hobby like this and, like you, no matter how much I protested they won't take a penny!

It's the small things like this that can really restore your faith in humanity!

MrVestek

Replacement starter and flourescent tube came this morning.

I saw a cable inside the cab that looked like it had been disconnected and it had me worried that maybe the lighting rig wasn't actually getting power anymore.

Decided to do a quick probe and...



Ok... so it's not the full 100v but that might not be an issue. Swapped out the starter bulb... no signs of life. Swapped out the flourescent tube and...

....LET THERE BE LIGHT!



Happy out! Now all I need is some new artwork and she'll look the part.

Still waiting for wiring looms to arrive so that I can take full advantage of the new two player control panel layout.

sniper_samurai

Picked up a couple of these in B&Q for €16 each yesterday.

https://www.vikingdirect.ie/en/really-useful-paper-wrap-box-and-storage-trays-22-litre-p-5581017

Great size for any games, films or books you need to put in storage.

Goes to show how expensive Viking are though that they're a few cent off being €10 more each there :pac:

Jack burton

Mortal Kombat film is out in a few days. I'm super excited and can't wait to see it.

Watched this video earlier during a coffee break

https://youtu.be/V3FEYDSqGNs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FEYDSqGNs

Skerries

Doge

Check out these Arcade1up big shticks, only available in black!

TechnoFreek

That picture of the giant joystick taken in the Brazzers House?

CiDeRmAn

I just wish I could buy the Atari Pong table from them, but they don't ship here, and I don't want it enough to feck about with a forwarding service

Doge

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I just wish I could buy the Atari Pong table from them, but they don't ship here, and I don't want it enough to feck about with a forwarding service

You're right, I had a look out of curiosity.

Seems there's options for the Street Fighter cab now when there wasn't much before.

Colonel Panic

I’ve just lost my mind and bought a Famicom Disk System and the hateful Super Mario Bros 2.

I think I just wanted it under the Famicom for the sake of it. I have an Everdrive so can play the games no problem.

I see they can be modded to write full disks. Must look into getting some of the kiosk disks!

MrVestek

Doge wrote: »

Check out these Arcade1up big shticks, only available in black!

Erm... why tho?

CiDeRmAn

I'm not sure who would be into this, new releases on the 2600, but Champ Games are selling some of their roms on their new site.
https://champ.games/galagon
They've a few demo games to try, to see if your hardware is compatible, and so far my Harmony cart is working just fine.
I have Scramble by them and it's fantastic, remarkable to see it running on a 2600!
Their conversion of Robotron is amazing as well, but the rom of it is not for sale yet.
However, another favourite of mine, Galaga is available for €20, or rather it's called Galagon here.
I played the demo and, again, you would doubt your own eyes that this is running on a 2600, though I think there is a little bit if assistance coming from some Arm supported bankswitching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWtN3bm_Hfw

CiDeRmAn

As it happens, seeing as I was turning on the 2600 anyway, to try out my new game Galagon... digital only this time so via my Harmony flashcart but I will get the physical version soon, I decided to have a go at a few other things.

Scramble, as I mentioned above, is another Champ games title and, somehow, I have the full version on the Harmony cart, and it is stunning.
Visually is it incredibly close to the arcade original, with only the lack of smoothness in the scrolling being the tell-tale.

I have a couple of versions of Pac-man and are remarkable, in an 8kb version and the 4kb port, the latter of which is an impossible feat made real, as the original port to the 2600 was awful while this one is... well, I will post two videos up and you can see for yourself.
There is some flickering, but it is much less intrusive during play and it is great to play

Old and busted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPpgt0s70U

The new hotness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYuBcuvIww

MrVestek

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

As it happens, seeing as I was turning on the 2600 anyway, to try out my new game Galagon... digital only this time so via my Harmony flashcart but I will get the physical version soon, I decided to have a go at a few other things.

Scramble, as I mentioned above, is another Champ games title and, somehow, I have the full version on the Harmony cart, and it is stunning.
Visually is it incredibly close to the arcade original, with only the lack of smoothness in the scrolling being the tell-tale.

I have a couple of versions of Pac-man and are remarkable, in an 8kb version and the 4kb port, the latter of which is an impossible feat made real, as the original port to the 2600 was awful while this one is... well, I will post two videos up and you can see for yourself.
There is some flickering, but it is much less intrusive during play and it is great to play

Old and busted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPpgt0s70U

The new hotness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYuBcuvIww

Anybody know of any Tekken Tag boards for sale?

I see one or two on eBay but was looking for more maybe based in UK or Ireland.

Where would be some good places to check do you know?

Colonel Panic

Maybe try UKVac or ArcadeOtaku sale/wanted forums.

Relikk

Looking to move some stuff on in the next while and I'm just looking for some advice on whether I'm in dreamer territory with regards to the asking prices.

Unboxed near mint NEC PC Engine Super Grafx with 1 x standard two button pad and 1 x 6 button Arcade pad, RGB SCART cable, PSU and a Terraonion Super SD System 3. Was thinking about €400 - €450?

Boxed Nintendo Virtual Boy (box is good, console itself is near mint) with V-Tetris, Power Tap, SNES PSU and a non-working FlashBoy+ that could be sent to Richard Hutchinson for repair. Was thinking €350 - €400?

Unboxed AV modded Nintendo Famicom (yellowed), PSU and an Everdrive N8. Maybe €80 - €100 for those? Famicoms seem to be going for cheap lately.

I'd like to move my Vectrex on as well, but I need to troubleshoot it as it wasn't powering on the last time I checked.

Colonel Panic

Can't comment on the SuperGrafx price, but is that the one that looks like an Alien face hugger?

The Famicom price is a good deal inc the Everdrive N8!

CiDeRmAn

Relikk wrote: »

Looking to move some stuff on in the next while and I'm just looking for some advice on whether I'm in dreamer territory with regards to the asking prices.

Boxed Nintendo Virtual Boy (box is good, console itself is near mint) with V-Tetris, Power Tap, SNES PSU and a non-working FlashBoy+ that could be sent to Richard Hutchinson for repair. Was thinking €350 - €400?
.

Would you consider selling the non-working Flashboy+ separately?
Asking for a friend....

Relikk

Colonel Panic wrote: »

Can't comment on the SuperGrafx price, but is that the one that looks like an Alien face hugger?

It is. Aside from the way it looks (which I think is awesome) it's the best standalone PC Engine version to get, and supports the entire HuCard library. The PC Engine and Core Grafx I & II boards are very tightly packed and as a result you get a lot of noise in your video and audio. The Super Grafx doesn't have those problems as the board is bigger and the components aren't so close together.

Not my pic, but it's more or less this set up: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdztQsbV4AIhoUZ.jpg

That has video coming out of the Super Grafx but audio coming out of the SSDS3. You can take both out of the SSDS3 itself. Some people had RGB mods on their Super Grafx and use that configuration.

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Would you consider selling the non-working Flashboy+ separately?
Asking for a friend....

I don't see why not, but let me think about it.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy

Something for Ciderman to buy and sell again? :pac:

The Queen's golden Wii is now up for sale - priced $300,000
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-04-28-the-queens-golden-wii-is-now-up-for-sale-priced-usd300-000

CiDeRmAn

Relikk wrote: »

I don't see why not, but let me think about it.

I've emailed Richard over the years, actually had an original Virtual Boy cart back in the day but, due to lack of use, sold it on...
Now...
I want another!!

There is a lovely, waaaay over engineered one on the market right now, which has the game selection menu as well as an active game label, right on the front of the cart!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeHDNrNqIX8