Out with the old ...

I've been really frustrated lately because it seems nothing wants to work properly. Damn you, Murphy! My two biggest problems (so far, anyways) have been the monitor and I-PAC control board. The monitor is just plain shot and I don't think there's much use in trying to get it repaired. As for the I-PAC ... who knows?

The remedy for the monitor situation was to take a ride over to our local Best Buy and pick up a new 20.1" LCD monitor. It looks great!

Compare the top picture (new monitor) to the previous monitor image:

Click image thumbnails for bigger pics.

Yep, its like night and day.

Here's a few more pics of the new monitor:












The game plays back real clean. The darkness and ghosting in the above images is from the camera and doesn't represent what the monitor is actually displaying (quality-wise). It was a wise choice to upgrade the monitor, especially considering 20" monitors are the norm in Dragon's Lair cabinets. Now what to do with the extra 0.1"? Hmm...





The I-PAC board is a whole different issue altogether. It worked fine, then all of a sudden it didn't. I really don't know where the problem lies. The original I-PAC was connected via a PS/2 cable to the PC. I ordered a new one, connecting via USB, and it works like a charm. I might check out the PS/2 I-PAC on the Marvel cabinet to see if it works. If it does, who knows ... maybe there will be a third cabinet on the horizon.


Long story short, the Dragon's Lair arcade cabinet works! I still need to replace the monitor plexi, since the first one cracked from bringing it inside after sitting outside in extremely cold weather (around -12°F) for a few hours. That's easy enough. I'm much more concerned with wiring the scoreboard. Yes, that still has me quite nervous. At least I get to play Dragon's Lair in all its arcade glory for the time being.