21 replies to this topic

[MTPPC]

Let me first apologize for offending anybody's sensibilities WRT converting a machine that could have likely been "saved". I spent about a month trying to rustle up a power supply so I could begin to determine what all was damaged when the previous owner replaced the fuses with foil and the transformer melted down. I found a different complete, working Galaxy for $400 and decided my electronically burned out unit would be much more valuable to me as a simulator. I'm sure not all the electronics were toasted, but I refused to start shotgunning a bunch of parts at what likely would cost triple a superior replacement. Many said I should trade it for a stripped cab or build a flatpack. Stripped cabs are like hen's teeth around here and flatpacks are too much work and money. I decided to do what was best for me, my time and my wallet. I surely would have traded this machine out for another standard cab, but it took me over half a year to find this one. I enjoy and appreciate the genuine patina of 30 years of abuse and will keep the original paint as-is.

 

This machine will have a slightly recessed playfield, a borderless backglass and a 12" laptop LCD DMD. No force feedback.

 

How I got it:

 

 

 

Time to get started:

 

 

Burnt transformer:

 

 

Front of cabinet and coin door:

 

 

Cabinet cleaned out:

 

 

 

Packed up for the day:

 

 

 

I will use this post to document the components of the project.

 

Galaxy Pinball Machine from local sale                      

Westinghouse 39" LED EW39T6MZ from Best Buy  

Westinghouse 32" LED UW32S3PW  from Best Buy

Intel Core i3-2120 3.3Ghz LGA1155 CPU                 
ULTRA LSP750 750W ATX POWER SUPPLY      

Gigabyte Intel Z77 CrossfireX ATX Mobo              

Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1600MHz                  

Galaxy Nvidia Gforce GTS250 DDR3  #1                   

Galaxy NVIDIA GTS250 GDDR3   #2                         

Kingston 64GB SSD                                                    

Encoder (AVR Minimus)                                              

Fused Power Jack                                                       

Laptop LCD Panel (12.1")                                           

Laptop LCD Controller                                                

LCD Mounting Supplies                                              

Rosewill Fan Newegg                                                 

Misc Electrical Plunger Sw                                         

USB Cables                                                                

1”x2”x8' Ace Hardware                                               

Speakers Ebay                                                          

Lepai Amplifier Ebay                                                 

Cam Lock                                                                  

Edited by MTPPC, 27 January 2020 - 02:15 PM.

[nebrunner]

Congrats on your score, that is an incredibly beautiful old cabinet!

[chas]

you have got to kidding.

the owner used foil for a fuse?

omg.....

Edited by chas, 22 February 2013 - 05:43 AM.

[MTPPC]

you have got to kidding.

the owner used foil for a fuse?

omg.....

Yes. This is how its done:

 

[Shakenbake]

sadly I've seen that many of times.

[jeepguy81]

Ha that's pretty special right there. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[chas]

you have got to kidding.

the owner used foil for a fuse?

omg.....

Yes. This is how its done:

 

i know how it is done.

seen it before in cars in the fuse box and some other things.

there are 6 fuses.

2 have foil.

does the board have a short on those circuits or was the owner totally clueless?

[MTPPC]

Yesterday I made a big mess with the router to fit the 32" monitor in  the back box. The hardest part was cutting the top off the back box in a way that I could reuse it. I didn't get any pictures of cutting ott the top, but got some of the routering:

 

 

 

The TV fit quite nicely:

 

 

Next up was hacking the power button on the backglass. Surface mount boards are hard to work on, but I got lucky and scored on my first try:

 

 

 

 

A view from the back:

 

 

Now I am trying to decide if I need to put glass over the TV. It looks really good without it and I think I can make a nick looking transition from a wood speaker/dmd grill to the actual TV:

 

 

 

How it looks with 4:3 image:

 

 

Now I am stumped on how to hack the 39". I can't get it open and don't know what i'd find if I could. I'm thinking about a linkage that physically pushes the power button and starts the computer and the BG TV at the same time.

[nebrunner]

I would go with glass or plexi over the backglass monitor.

[MTPPC]

Thanks to shakenbake, I got my playfield hacked and mounted in the cabinet. Computer parts arrive tomorrow or the next day. Hope to have a working simulator by the weekend. The last technical challenge will be constructing the speaker grill and mounting the 12.1" laptop screen. Does anyone happen to know the aspect ratio of a modern dmd?

[bob78954]

Looking good, Thats how I built my backbox (except I just cut in half and scabbed around the 32'' flat). I used the exact same brand of flats as you did..nebrunner is right just a piece of .090 plexiglass works great to cover BG monitor. You can get it Lowe's for around $20.00

[MTPPC]

I got my laptop LCD in. A small groove routered into the backbox bottom should make for a perfect fit:

 

 

All the computer components are in but the SSD. I installed XP Pro, all the updates, the 2 video cards and drivers and VP, FP and HP all onto a spare drive. I'm going to use easus diskcopy to copy this drive to the ADATA 32GB SSD when it arrives. I'm also waiting for the controller for that laptop LCD so I'm just using a monitor for now:

 

[Nemo]

So you've "hacked" the 39" i presume for the power button, did you decase it to fit your cab ?

That's a Stern Galaxy from 1980, what is the internal width from sidepanel to sidepanel, and

how much clearance is there ? This as i'm contemplating on fitting a Williams System 11 cab

with a 39" LED panel and i still have to figure out if it will fit !

[MTPPC]

The case is a hair under 20.5" inside. The TV does not have to be decased. The clearance is maybe 1/16" total.

[Nemo]

Thanx ! 

[MTPPC]

Change of plans: I'm going to use a spare 15" LCD for the 3rd monitor. I realized if I take the speakers and the mounting post socket off the back of the TV, the DMD screen will be recessed by less than an inch. I expect the final dmd size will be about 12"x3" instead of 10" x 2.5". I may even use a 17" once I get to fitting it.

[MTPPC]

Things are coming together quite nicely. I am fighting with a flaky SSD, but otherwise, the cabinet and backbox interiors are done. I got some photos:

 

The backside of the power fuse/jack/switch

 

 

The encoder and amp:

 

 

The external USB/headphone jack:

 

 

The coin, escape and power switches in the bottom of the cabinet:

 

 

The plunger switch:

 

 

The power cords mounted on the side of the cabinet:

 

 

And the Playfield TV mounting with the PC beneath:

 

[Nemo]

As for many SSD issues, please DO enable AHCI in Bios/Uefi, mostly this is left to SATA mode causing problems.

 

Love the plunger switch, easy and effective !

[MTPPC]

I resolved my SSD problems by replacing the ADATA with a Kingston. I used Easeus Diskcopy to dump the disk and then used gparted to align the SSD. I installed a 120mm fan in the original speaker hole underneath to push air through the box. It seems to be enough and it's wired to the mobo header so if the computer demands more cooling, it will speed up the fan. The next task was to make the DMD grill. I had never done any routering like this before, so the results were a little less than acceptable. Because of this I just nailed it in with a brad nailer and didn't use any glue. Perhaps some day I will build another or order on made on a CNC. The other option is to install some 6.5" automotive speakers and use their grills to cover the holes. For now I used the backside of some fake crushed velvet fabric to line the speaker holes.

 

At any rate, the remaining tasks are:

 

1. rework the coin mechs and wire them into the encoder.

2. wire 5 volts to the lightbulbs in the coin door.

3. Cut a piece of black styrofoam poster board to fill in the area between the playfield and the back box.

 

[Nemo]

It's all coming together, i like the "big" speakers in the grill !