Tubes in early video arcade games.

[Jayce]

I had an interesting trip today to drag home a 1973 Tennis Tourney arcade game. While visiting the guy, he showed me his two (two!) Computer Space arcade games. The first coin op video games ever made. These just used GE televisions inside and they appear to be full tube units that use compactrons. I guess it was cheaper in the early years to just modify an off the shelf TV for these and the Pong systems. Well, my Tennis Tourney has a hybrid tv set in it. Missing two tubes, but it is a Ford-Philco set. Looks like they took a 22/23 inch floor model with a metal case, removed the legs and back, and then modified it to work in the game. I even found the manual in there for the set! Kind of a neat blending of my two main interests. Tube radios/TVs and arcade games.

[Marsupial]

I really like early videogame arcades. Some of them, even in the late 80s, were using vectorial monitors similar to oscilloscopes.
Yes, the earliest ones were using TVs, just like modern point of sales or ATM machines use retail off-the-shelf computers; its cheaper for them that way. It never occured to me that they would use tubes. It makes sense.

You know the most common maintenance on arcade machines and mainly on their monitors is exactly the same as the stuff we do on radios: recap ;)

Do you have lots of arcades machines?

[Jayce]

I currently have ten video arcades and three EM type arcades. Sadly, most of the video ones need work. Only got two left on the wish-list and then I quit on that collecting. It can get rather expensive!

[Marsupial]

Expansive, time consuming and it would also require a LOT of room.

I have two MAME machines, but there's a few titles I would like to get the real deal Computer Space is one of them. baby Pacman, Star Wars and spy hunter are others. I'd also like to get some pinball. Had one of them at home as a kid, and pretty much stopped playing when it broke, and now that arcades are disapearing from Montreal.

[Jayce]

The two games I have on my wish list are a Star Wars cockpit style and a Computer Space. I actually have a Baby Pac, but it has a board issue.

[Marsupial]

SW cockpits are almost as rare as a 4-player pong coffee table or a computer space.
I'd settle with a working yoke on a generic cabinet... lol.