So I have a KI2 cabinet I bought back in like 2002 that is in pretty damn good shape. The past 7 years it’s literally just been sitting in my garage. My monitor does however have an issue with it that just happened out of nowhere like 5 years ago while I wasn’t around and it was on. It is a bit dimmer than it should be.
However, I’ve recently thought about moving it into my basement and making it a mame cabinet with a pi2jamma connector. One of the problems is going to be getting it into my basement because it’s so damn heavy. Here are where my questions come in…
Anyone know how much an arcade monitor weighs? I am thinking about taking the monitor out in order to make maneuvering it into my house easier, if it’s significant. I don’t know the exact weight of the cabinet, but according to the arcade flyer, Killer Instinct 1 cabinet is 400lbs and I’d guess the KI2 one is pretty much identical.
Anyone know where to buy replacement arcade monitors in case I end up not being able to figure out what is wrong, and I want to completely replace it?
I tried googling both of these and just didn’t have much luck finding anything.
Thanks.
EDIT:
Here is the flyer for KI and this is where I got the weight from.
Assuming it’s a 25” monitor, it’s going to weigh around 75-80 lbs. My guess is that your monitor is going to need its capacitors replaced. New monitors are hard to come by since nobody makes CRT’s anymore. I suggest going over to the KLOV forums for more advice. https://forums.arcade-museum.com/
Thanks. I will check that out. I think at 80lbs it would be worth removing to get the weight of the full cabinet down quite a bit. I could probably even completely remove the control panel now that I think about it.
Do you know if removing the monitor is basically just unscrewing the brackets holding it in, and unplugging the plugs, and thats it? Everything I’ve searched for never shows any videos on removing a full monitor, just removing the chassis.
EDIT:
Hah damn I actually have an account there and posted about the color issue back in 2013.
Yup, unplug the monitor and you can remove the monitor from the frame. Monitors have brackets that attach to the frame. Once you have the monitor out, I would remove the chassis and have Buffet repair it. You might spend $100 or so, but he’s an expert on that sort of thing.
I get a bit confused by the terminology because I consider “monitor” to be the tube and everything, where as in his post he specifically calls out the tube. Is the term “monitor” really just the chassis that connects to the tube when people refer to it in arcade terms?
Yup, +99% replacing with a cap kit will fix monitor synchronization, colors, brightness and folding, etc. What you want is a “cap kit” for your specific monitor. Many companies sell them and I believe ( @armi0024 ) at paradise arcade shop does (or at least did). They also have a tech on staff that can do the work. Not sure if it’s drop off only or you can send in just the monitor boards these days but it’s worth asking.
Is the “cap kit” something that anyone with decent soldering skills can fix? Is it easy to diagnose it too or is that something that someone more skilled with tools would need to do?
Okay great thanks. I’m going to mess with it a bit tonight and see if I can take it apart. Need to take some measurements first though to be sure it will fit properly in my basement. I also put up my sons little bouncy house and not sure if they can both fit in the same area.
Completely unrelated to the actual conversation here, but a bouncy house and an arcade cabinet sounds like the GREATEST BASEMENT EVER.
It would definitely put my game-room basement to shame.
LOL. Well my basement is already pretty badass, this is just to add more fun to it. It will only be 1 cabinet, but I plan to buy pi2jamma and make it a mame cabinet.
Here is a pic of the current setup. As you can see barely on the right side, you can see the bouncy house. It takes up a lot of the empty space on that side but I just measured and I think I can make it work.
How the hell am I supposed to get the monitor out of here when the back half of this can’t be taken off?
You can see from the 2nd pic that I believe it is those metal brackets need to come off, however I simply don’t have access to that with the rear panel on. I mean maybe I can, but then how would the monitor actually come out?
In this pic here, the top of the pic is the rear top left side of the monitor where it screws in to the cabinet, so it’s really tight up there too just due to the angle of the cabinet.
Not sure what you mean, I already have the control panel off. I was taking about the monitor.
Turns out I was doing it all wrong. I took the bezel off and the 4 screws holding it were super obvious. So I just had to disconnect some wires and take pics so I know where they go back, and I got it out.
Another quick question that is somewhat related - what is the name of the piece that is the width of the cabinet that has the 3 screws on it, that you unscrew to slide the glass out? Mine has some paint chipped off and is rusted so I’m thinking of just getting a new one, but not sure what to look for.
N/M I found it in to the manual PDF. Looks like it is “Glass Retainer Bracket 01-13943”.
Have you ever done a cap kit replacement? I am pretty comfortable soldering but I have never soldered capacitors. I’ve just soldered doing PSX mod chips, making joysticks, etc.
I am just curious if it’s really the same basic thing. I saw the monitor I have has like 30+ capacitors on it though, so that could be some time consuming shit lol.
EDIT:
Paradise Arcade does sell the cap kit for my monitor too. Only $10.
Oh, I’ve done much, much, much more than cap kits!
Caps swaps are easy and you can hit youtube for a video to boost your confidence. Take lots of pictures of everything from different angles before you start in case questions pop up during the install. You are also correct in that the task is time consuming and not technically challenging. (read: boring)
The only real critical concerns are:
Install same value caps as you remove (higher voltage rating is OK but you need the same capacitance value - usually listed in uF)
Install polarized caps in the correct directions (typically marked with either a large black stripe for negative but occasionally the positive terminal depending on who laid out the pcb and type of cap)
Use a good quality soldering iron (pencil / station) and do not over heat the pads to the point the adhesive breaks down and the copper traces float free of the pcb.
Best to remove one cap at a time and replace before advancing to the next. This will reduce mistakes on your first attempt.
Yeah I saw a video on youtube and it seemed straight forward, just kinda tedious. I also don’t know if I have the exact tools. He was using something to desolder that got the solder off of the PCB and it like stuck to this little strip of something he had. I have never used that stuff before and not sure what it is.
One thing I am concerned about is getting the actual chassis disconnected from everything. The whole thing where you have to get the power out of the monitor kind of scares me a bit as I don’t have the tools to do that really. I didn’t even do it when I removed my monitor because it had been turned off for some time and from what I read, they lose the voltage over time.
I just feel like I have to be super delicate with all of this stuff because I don’t want anything to be ruined lol.
