2013 Midwest Gaming Classic

Bowling, Defender, Gyruss, and Starfire
Bowling, Defender, Gyruss, and Starfire
Klax and Pole Position
Klax and Pole Position

RETRO Innovations will be traveling to Brookfield, WI this weekend for the 2013 Midwest Gaming Classic.  We’re simply attending, not manning a store table, but feel free to email us if you’d like to place an order for pickup and skip the shipping costs.

Since we don’t have enough things to keep us busy, we’ve been on an arcade machine buying spree over the last few months, picking up:

Asteroids
Asteroids
Shoot the Bull Darts
Shoot the Bull Darts
  • a KLAX upright conversion, in great condition
  • a Pole Position, in good condition, working, but missing a few sound effects
  • a non working asteroids, in rough condition
  • a Shoot the Bull game in a Ms. Pac Man cabinet
  • Some Championship Bowling ROMSTAR game, in a Super Pac Man cabinet (purchased for the cab, monitor and wiring).
  • a Gyruss, complete and working
  • a Defender, with monitor issues
  • a StarFire unit, in a Defender case, with PCB issues (but, partially working)

Since our goal is to see if there are product opportunities in game restoration for RETRO Innovations, buying machines that need help seemed appropriate.  KLAX was a fluke, as it’s in great condition, but the others all need some TLC for optimum operation.  To start that process, a trip to MGC is required.  We know the Ms. Pac Man needs to be converted back, and that requires some parts (we have a known working PCB for the game already).  Asteroids might be beyond help, and so might be parted out, while the Pole Position just needs some TLC on the PCB and general cleaning.

It’s an interesting exercise, and they should be fun to play… err test!

PS/2 Encoder Units Shipping!

Fully Assembled PS/2 Encoder with IDC Connector
Fully Assembled PS/2 Encoder with IDC Connector

Both complete and kit-based PS/2 Encoder units are now shipping in the RETRO Innovations store.  We made some last minute firmware enhancements, and are shipping with an upgraded microcontroller, the Atmel ATMEGA168 (16kB of FLASH ROM, the current firmware needs only ~4kB).

The web site will shortly be updated with pinouts and configuration notes.  Stay tuned!

PS2Encoder Available for Order

PS2Encoder PCB
PS2Encoder PCB

Just a quick note that I’ve received the first batch of PS2Encoder PCBs and have placed them in the store. Assembled units might take a few weeks, but kits should be available in a week, and PCBs are available now. The firmware might yet have a bug or two, so I encourage initial buyers to be somewhat technically savvy, in case reprogramming is needed.