Tron (1982 Midway Mfg.)
Click on Marquee for KLOV listing.
The Story: I think most everyone knows about the cult classic status of Tron and that it's based from the movie of the same name put out by Walt Disney. In fact, the game and movie were being produced simultaneously, Walt Disney and Midway were working together in an effort to gain attention in both the box office and arcades. Remember, this was before the big crash, arcades were at the peak of their popularity back then. While I was too young in 1982 to experience the phenomenon, I had heard of Tron (obviously) and had previously experienced it in MAME. While I always thought the game was good, it never really made it to my "wanted list", and it usually merits a hefty price. I never planned on owning one, but now I do. And while I am a "proud owner" and have no plans to sell, this game is definitely turning into alot of work and alot of holes in the pocketbook.
The Score: Originally listed on STL Craigslist for $500. The seller describes the game as fully working and in decent overall condition. He mentions that the monitor sometimes takes about 20 minutes to "warm up" and that the side art and CPO are worn. The game is about 2 hours away, and while $500 doesn’t sound bad for a Tron, it’s still alot of money to spend on a game, especially when it needs help. I kick the tires and spend lots of time talking it over with the seller. He later decides to mention that he also "had" a sound issue with it some time ago, but that he replaced the speakers and hadn’t had a problem since. With all that said, we agree on $350 and he graciously held the game for me until the weekend when I can make the trip. A nice gesture indeed, too bad he wasn’t completely honest about the condition. I had another game called "RoadBlasters" at the time which was near and dear to me, but it had to go to make room & funds for this purchase.
We make the trip, and upon arrival he tells me the sound just went out. Of course. After playing around with a few wires and turning the game back on, the sound comes back. OK, it’s probably just a loose connection or bad solder joint, no big deal, probably an easy fix, right? Now the seller did previously mention some worn side art and a worn CPO. What he didn’t mention was a crack in the translite and the artwork lifting from the marquee. There was also minor swelling on the bottom of the cab. The coin door was complete but very rusty, the reject buttons were so bad they were rendered useless. Oh well, that’s what I get for buying a game sight unseen. At that point, I had made the trip and I wasn’t going to try to haggle anymore, he had already come down by $150 and that was his rock bottom price. Not my best deal, but oh well, that’s the chance you take sometimes. Tron still merits a good chunk of change, even today. And with hype of the new movie coming later this year, who knows what the value might jump to?
The Service: The monitor would originally show nothing but a solid vertical line on cold start. The previous owner said it would "warm up" after 20 minutes or so, but I found a slight tap of the cabinet would produce a picture. I pulled the chassis and looked for bad solder joints, which I did find a few. But I had also found that the chassis had a small crack in the corner that had been patched previously. I reflowed all those joints and bridges and added a few more for good measure. After all that, it just wouldn’t work, nothing but that solid line no matter how long I left it on or how many taps I gave it. A forum member once again to the rescue with a recapped replacement. The marquee and translite lamps were having trouble lighting up, new starters fixed that. None of the fuses inside the game were correct, so I replaced all of them with the proper values and also replaced one of the fuse blocks. I have completely sanded down the coin door and gave it a paint job, all is well there.
I was hoping the sound issue would be something simple. Just my luck, I found the SSIO to be the culprit (part of the boardset). I waited patiently for a fully working boardset to come along at a decent price, and after awhile a working and recapped boardset popped up on the forums. I didnt hesitate to sell my boardset to raise funds for this one. It arrived working, but with a couple of minor issues. But the seller was a class act all the way, and I eventually ended up with a perfect boardset as well as an extra working chipset, including a freeplay chip. Awesome. Now I can finally say I have a fully working Tron.
I also added a blue light cycle topper from gamestencils.com and mounted a blacklight right behind it. As if this games needs more blacklights. Most recently, I installed an MCR switching power supply adapter and ATX power supply, eliminating the need for the older linear style power supply. I also replaced the Marquee with a reproduction Encom Marquee.
It's still got a ways to go, but I'm slowly working towards a respectful restoration.
Update: This game now has a nice monitor tube with no burn. I have also replaced the cracked translite with a good used piece, replaced the CPO with a new one and replaced the joystick insert with my own custom touch. My plans now (when time & funds permit) are to sand & repaint the cabinet & replace the T-Molding.
The Score: Originally listed on STL Craigslist for $500. The seller describes the game as fully working and in decent overall condition. He mentions that the monitor sometimes takes about 20 minutes to "warm up" and that the side art and CPO are worn. The game is about 2 hours away, and while $500 doesn’t sound bad for a Tron, it’s still alot of money to spend on a game, especially when it needs help. I kick the tires and spend lots of time talking it over with the seller. He later decides to mention that he also "had" a sound issue with it some time ago, but that he replaced the speakers and hadn’t had a problem since. With all that said, we agree on $350 and he graciously held the game for me until the weekend when I can make the trip. A nice gesture indeed, too bad he wasn’t completely honest about the condition. I had another game called "RoadBlasters" at the time which was near and dear to me, but it had to go to make room & funds for this purchase.
We make the trip, and upon arrival he tells me the sound just went out. Of course. After playing around with a few wires and turning the game back on, the sound comes back. OK, it’s probably just a loose connection or bad solder joint, no big deal, probably an easy fix, right? Now the seller did previously mention some worn side art and a worn CPO. What he didn’t mention was a crack in the translite and the artwork lifting from the marquee. There was also minor swelling on the bottom of the cab. The coin door was complete but very rusty, the reject buttons were so bad they were rendered useless. Oh well, that’s what I get for buying a game sight unseen. At that point, I had made the trip and I wasn’t going to try to haggle anymore, he had already come down by $150 and that was his rock bottom price. Not my best deal, but oh well, that’s the chance you take sometimes. Tron still merits a good chunk of change, even today. And with hype of the new movie coming later this year, who knows what the value might jump to?
The Service: The monitor would originally show nothing but a solid vertical line on cold start. The previous owner said it would "warm up" after 20 minutes or so, but I found a slight tap of the cabinet would produce a picture. I pulled the chassis and looked for bad solder joints, which I did find a few. But I had also found that the chassis had a small crack in the corner that had been patched previously. I reflowed all those joints and bridges and added a few more for good measure. After all that, it just wouldn’t work, nothing but that solid line no matter how long I left it on or how many taps I gave it. A forum member once again to the rescue with a recapped replacement. The marquee and translite lamps were having trouble lighting up, new starters fixed that. None of the fuses inside the game were correct, so I replaced all of them with the proper values and also replaced one of the fuse blocks. I have completely sanded down the coin door and gave it a paint job, all is well there.
I was hoping the sound issue would be something simple. Just my luck, I found the SSIO to be the culprit (part of the boardset). I waited patiently for a fully working boardset to come along at a decent price, and after awhile a working and recapped boardset popped up on the forums. I didnt hesitate to sell my boardset to raise funds for this one. It arrived working, but with a couple of minor issues. But the seller was a class act all the way, and I eventually ended up with a perfect boardset as well as an extra working chipset, including a freeplay chip. Awesome. Now I can finally say I have a fully working Tron.
I also added a blue light cycle topper from gamestencils.com and mounted a blacklight right behind it. As if this games needs more blacklights. Most recently, I installed an MCR switching power supply adapter and ATX power supply, eliminating the need for the older linear style power supply. I also replaced the Marquee with a reproduction Encom Marquee.
It's still got a ways to go, but I'm slowly working towards a respectful restoration.
Update: This game now has a nice monitor tube with no burn. I have also replaced the cracked translite with a good used piece, replaced the CPO with a new one and replaced the joystick insert with my own custom touch. My plans now (when time & funds permit) are to sand & repaint the cabinet & replace the T-Molding.
