One of the first issues I noted with the pole position machine was the condition of the screen acrylic and it’s lack of proper artwork. I wanted to address this as a priority, but it has taken a little bit of time to get around to it. This was the state of it when I first picked it up:
screen
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Deciding on what to do with the screen took some time. There were basically 4 clear options i could choose from.
1) LCD PC Monitor. The Multiboard has a standard 15 pin monitor connection on the board, so hooking up an LCD screen would be no problem. The pros here are they are easy to get, not too expensive, thin and light. The downside here is the cab would lose some authenticity. I would expect to pay around $120 – $160 depending on size and brand.
2) VGA PC Monitor (CRT). As mentioned for the LCD, I could use the 15 pin monitor cable. The positives here are its more authentic, even cheaper and pretty easy to come by (thanks to eBay and hard rubbish collections). Image quality will be fine although not the best
3) CRT Arcade monitor. The most expensive option, but one that would delivery the best, most authentic results. But yes, expensive. In the range of $500+ entry level.
4) TV + Chassis. Image quality here would beat the entry level arcade monitors, and the chassis would set me back around $250. A bloke on the aussie arcade forums does them up and provides all support required. I would need to do some wiring here, so there is more work involved. On the up side I have a 68cm TV sitting around doing nothing I could use.
Ordered by price (approx):
1) CRT ($10)
2) LCD ($130)
3) TV + Chassis ($250)
4) Arcade CRT ($300+)
Ordered by quality:
1) Arcade CRT
2) TV + Chassis
3) CRT
4) LCD
I decided to do some hunting around on ebay to see what sort of price I could snag a 19″ or 21″ CRT monitor. Given their size, it would be pick up only, and have to be close by. I managed to come by one – a 21″ for just 99 cents. So I grabbed it. My real decision in the end was between the TV + Chassis and CRT. CRT won out in the end because of the price difference. For what I want, with the old school games on the JAMMA board – the CRT should be fine image quality wise. And for under a $1 – hard to beat price wise 🙂
Not the best picture – but a quick snap after bringing it home. I will remove the stand before using it as I doubt I will need it.