New Virtual On Cabinet Restoration

[RetroNick]

Hello all! Brand new to the forums here as I've just recently acquired a new Virtual On cabinet after playing the original and VOOT on the Saturn and Dreamcast for all these years. I'm going to be restoring the thing over the next few weeks as it was formerly in a roller rink where it got its butt kicked by little kids and teenagers for years, and post my progress here (once I actually have time to really work on it that is).

Before I get started though, I did have a few basic questions for any master restorers around these parts if you've got a second.

- First off (and this is going to identify me as a gringo right away), is there a way to set the thing to "Free-Play", so save me from reaching into the coin-op tower and hitting the service button? I went through the menus and didn't see anything, but I could just be daft.

- Second, as you can see in the picture, the slave site is riding WAY higher than the master site despite both sides resting on their casters. I can't tell if my floor is just that un-level (I don't think it is), or if we have put the thing back together completely the wrong way (had to disassemble it to fit it down the stairs).

Everything else is pretty straight-forward. Waiting for my security bits to come in so I can clean up the twinsticks on each side and replace the bulb in the slave maquis.

Thanks in advance!

[twistedsymphony]

Welcome to the club (of VO arcade machine owners) I'm new here but I joined because I just bought one myself a couple of weeks ago

Mine is still in pieces because I want to do some of the harder to get to restoration work before I put it back together... so I haven't done this myself but according to the operators manual (here: http://www.sauservice.com/manuals/Virtu ... l/VO0.html)

for free play you'll want to go to the "coin assignment" sub menu and use "Setting #27"
http://www.sauservice.com/manuals/Virtu ... /VO23.html

The only games I've ever heard of not having a free play setting are really old (early 80s and older) machines. And even those machines generally have rom hacks available to add in a freeplay mode.


As for your unevenness... there are 8 leveling feet (one in each corner of each side... it looks like the feet up under the monitor side are what is out of whack. I would lower thepink side as much as possible and then raise up the blue side to match.

More importantly there should be 8 bolts (4 on each side) that connect the coinbox to the two units (you will need to take off the back of the coinbox to get to at least 2 of these bolts). Then there is a mounting plate (with 4 bolts) that connects the backs of the two machines higher up... so I would make sure all of this stuf is bolted together properly first.

Obviously if you want to use the player shield you'll want to bolt that in place before you attach the two machines more permanently.

If you have any other arcade questions let me know, I worked in an arcade repairing machines for a number of years and I'm just getting back into it. I'm nearly finished restoring a Killer Instinct 2 machine and Virtual On is my next project.


I will say your machine looks like it's in really excellent shape, certainly better condition than mine

[RetroNick]

Thanks for the advice!

I actually bought the darned manual and didn't see "Free-Play" under coin assignments. NOW I DO . I also had no idea it was available online (despite having looked for it). Can you tell I'm a console collector in unfamiliar waters?

I took a closer look at the thing and I'm thinkin' I just didn't bolt it back together properly since I've raised all the feet since that last photograph. Ah well, gotta get some muscle over here to hoist 'er up and bolt it into place properly.

Thanks for your offer of advice! This is my first cabinet ever (decided to aim high and grab my favorite), so any help is greatly appreciated. I'm thinking of leaving the privacy screen off since my little one loves playing the game and I like to reach over and help her (she's almost 2 so it's more pull on the sticks and hit the buttons).

There's one more small issue that I hadn't mentioned. The fan on the box containing the board is making a terrible clunking sound and running intermittently. Is this just a standard PC fan, because I've got a bunch of those I can swap in?

Thanks again for your help.

Welcome to the club (of VO arcade machine owners) I'm new here but I joined because I just bought one myself a couple of weeks ago

Mine is still in pieces because I want to do some of the harder to get to restoration work before I put it back together... so I haven't done this myself but according to the operators manual (here: http://www.sauservice.com/manuals/Virtu ... l/VO0.html)

for free play you'll want to go to the "coin assignment" sub menu and use "Setting #27"
http://www.sauservice.com/manuals/Virtu ... /VO23.html

The only games I've ever heard of not having a free play setting are really old (early 80s and older) machines. And even those machines generally have rom hacks available to add in a freeplay mode.


As for your unevenness... there are 8 leveling feet (one in each corner of each side... it looks like the feet up under the monitor side are what is out of whack. I would lower thepink side as much as possible and then raise up the blue side to match.

More importantly there should be 8 bolts (4 on each side) that connect the coinbox to the two units (you will need to take off the back of the coinbox to get to at least 2 of these bolts). Then there is a mounting plate (with 4 bolts) that connects the backs of the two machines higher up... so I would make sure all of this stuf is bolted together properly first.

Obviously if you want to use the player shield you'll want to bolt that in place before you attach the two machines more permanently.

If you have any other arcade questions let me know, I worked in an arcade repairing machines for a number of years and I'm just getting back into it. I'm nearly finished restoring a Killer Instinct 2 machine and Virtual On is my next project.


I will say your machine looks like it's in really excellent shape, certainly better condition than mine

[twistedsymphony]

I honestly haven't looked very closely at the fans used but it can most likely be replaced with a 12V PC fan. (I recommend ball bearing fans for arcade machines)

some games use AC power fans, these are generally the same mounting size as PC fans but use 120V AC, you can generally get these on eBay for around $15.

you'll likely have to cut off the old fan connector and splice in the new one, I've never seen any of these fans use a standard PC connector.

[RetroNick]

That's definitely true for the fan at the far back of the unit (splicing it that is).

Thanks again for your advice. I'm going to take another look at everything and see what I need to buy to get this thing running nice and smooth.