Updated 16/9/24

This is a fantastic entry point for a machine project; a Nintendo Space Fever cocktail cabinet which has already been restored by a friend to an incredibly high standard. All that remains is to add some working electronics. Special thanks to Ace1942 for the skill and attention to detail which poured into the restoration of the machine you see here.

This story began innocently enough, some time ago as I was asking around for an empty cocktail cabinet to install my repaired Omori Shuttle Invader PCB into. That's a rare and obscure Japanese Invader 'clone' which I thought would be impossible to find an original cabinet for so I broadened my search to any similar machine which could be adapted to suit.

Said friend had the makings of a Space Fever cocktail machine which was surplus to requirements, as it was in rough shape and incomplete I had no reservations about converting it to a different game, tidying it up to a useable state along the way. When he offered to do some of the cabinet repair work in return for some PCB repairs I had recently completed I gratefully accepted.

I soon realised that my idea of repairing a machine to useable condition and his vision of a museum quality restoration were vastly different and the machine which began as a pile of crap was already shaping up to be 'too good' for a conversion to some other game. I began to look around for some genuine Space Fever PCBs.

As these things somehow fall into place I found a number of non-working Space Fever PCBs which could hopefully be repaired. Meanwhile he spotted a non-working, original Shuttle Invader machine which had come up for sale. I jumped on it and from that point the Shuttle Invader and Space Fever had become separate projects in their own right.

That was a little over 12 months ago and since then I've managed to repair two sets of Space Fever PCBs, one colour and the other Black and White as well as the second Shuttle Invader PCB from the non-working machine. So now I have 2 working PCBs for that machine as well - but getting back to Space Fever, here is the machine as I've received it.

The cabinet looks spectacular having been blasted and powdercoated, new coin door made from scratch, control panels polished with new graphic overlays. The top has been repaired, relaminated and trimmed with new edge veneer.

Inside, important details such as original operating notes in Japanese text have been retained. The legs have been stripped, repainted and aluminium feet polished, the monitor frame and mounting panels for the game PCBs have also been restored or made from scratch.

Aside from the cabinet itself I've received some original electronics including the transformer and linear power supply, Black and White CRT and monitor chassis. These are in 'as found' apparently very poor condition so the first step will be to assess these original components to see if any can be repaired and retained.

If original components can't be repaired or exact replacements found I may substitute a more modern component for example a switchmode power supply in place of the notoriously bad original Nintendo unit but will try to ensure any modifications are completely reversible without any cutting, drilling or changes to the overall appearance of the machine.

16/9/24

To be continued...

Web Resources (External Links) -

Space Fever (colour version) interconnection pinouts - CrazyKong.com

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