This is the way I priced things out when I had a Furniture repair business. Overhead Rent, Electricity, Heating, A/C, insurance, transportation, Water, internet, tools @20% everything you have to pay each month figure how much the coast is per year divide by 2000 (the amount of workable hours in a year) then take the amount of money you would like to make per year and do the same thing. Add those numbers together and that is the minimum per hour rate for each of you. Now you have to keep time sheets (the amount of time you spend to make repairs with a description of what the repair was. Overtime you will be able to make accurate estimates. And last but not least material, the best way that worked for me is this Material Cost, Divided by the profit you want to make divided by the quantity purchased. So let's say you purchased a bag of 100 pins, cost was $42.36 you want to make a profit of 35%. that would be 42.36/65= $65.16 per bag of 100 or $0.6516 each if you take the bag at $65.16 and subtract 35% ($65.16 X .65 = $42.36)
Like you said, even though it was a short repair time, your experience made it a short time. Your time and experience is valuable and should be compensated as such. Most places charge a minimum of labor for the first hour then a reduced rate per hour after that.
I find crimping connector pins like this weirdly enjoyable, I think it’s the way the crimp tool so neatly bends the metal around the wire and the wire sheath to make a nice strong connection. The way they lock into the connector is nice too, it feels like a really professional job afterwards. 😂
Yeah, I was gonna say, that crimp tool is really neat. I probably could use one of those for my electronics projects. Looks like the one they linked on their website is $20, which would make it reasonable to get for even occasional use.
One thing I liked about stargate is that you could put more than just 3 initial letters and the fire button would scroll between screens when in idle demo mode . LoL !! I was really good at stargate and even better at defender . I could turn over the scoreboard to zero and still continue to play ... Stargate - I never turned over - but usually had the high score all the time ...
Copper pins. They were before the prices for copper went sky high. Now they use whatever the silver is. I don't think it is all aluminum. It is a cheaper metal. The copper was great but it corroded if it was exposed to any moisture. Green is a dead giveaway for copper I would recommend you tell him to get a dehumidifier for the game room and lower the humidity level in that room. It is a balance between not too low and not too high. I keep it very dry but it causes a lot of static. I have wiped out so many electronics and computers with just a touch and the big blue static discharge from my fingers.
Snip it. Strip it. Crimp it. * one * * at * * a * * time * people ... don' t be cuttin' all those same colored wires at the same time! 😲 Looks and works a lot better without the green icky connectors! Another job well done! 😃 Had to edit because I want * for emphasis not bold text 😅
I remember when the videogame manufacturers put the reset switches on the coin doors . Same as Tilt on a pinball machine - kick it and lose your credits ... LoL !!
Stuff always becomes difficult when you demonstrate to someone else . Normally everything would go really smooth when you are just doing your thing and no one one is watching or you set expectations higher than usual . I use to experience it a bunch when working on folks cars years ago .
Early 80's @ Cal Poly SLO near the bowling alley I played Defender, then Stargate way too much. BEST GAME EVER! Save your men after they're taken by invaders, catch them mid-air for more points. It depends on your local economy but $300-500 to get my Stargate back working, who cares. Highly specialized skills. If they can't afford it, I'll buy it.
Same here. I was a teenager back then and failed miserably with Defender / Stargate / Missile Command. Only one of my buddys was good at it, he had the reflexes of a wet electrocuted cat. He also was the only one who used illegal "substances" back then, dunno what they were, but they sure did help.
Treat yourself like a plumber. Some jobs go for bids or estimates, others are billed time and materials. Last plumber I hired wanted 150 for the first hour and 125 for each subsequent hour and then they charged about 15% extra over for parts.
I loved Williams back in the day . They were the newcomers and their quality was equal or better than their competitors ... even on the pinball machines - just as good as Bally's and Gottlieb
I didn't realize stargate was a `1981' machine, I checked this video out because I hoped in had something to do with the "Stargate" movie, or "Stargate SG1", or "Stargate Atlantis", or "Stargate Universe". The last 3 were TV shows in the late 90's
Never had an opportunity to play Stargate back in the day - none of the usual suspects in my area had one. Played the heck out some Defender though - not that I was ever ANY good at it. That machine ate so many of my lawn-mowing money quarters.
I need a stargate. Got to find one in WA. Yes those crimpers are very cool. I got it from your site from your guys suggestion a couple years ago. :) Yes very very hard game. The damn baiter will kill you dead. Oh and don't shoot your people LOL.
That's $100.00! I have both a Defender and a Stargate and I suck at both of them. Those mighty William's sounds are my favorite ever! Those games were quarter guzzlers. Eugene Jarvis was and is a genius. Iconic and forever awesome. I recently had to re-pin and entire Pacman edge connector and all the control connectors to an original Gauntlet. The Gauntlet uses .100 pins. Tedious and time consuming! Great video, and that 4600 looks like a Boss!
That's what I thought, but I have the skill level to do those repairs. So, that's about the most I would pay some one else to repair it. It's an 1980's game should we charge 1980's prices?
That green on the cable/pins likes like the same green I see on some other types of plastic coated cables where the plastic actually breaks down and that green stuff leaks out of the plastic insulation. Hard to know on the video, but it doesn't look like the classic green crust corrosion
There's something to this....that green stuff is actually on many of the different connectors(functional ones!)...I've cleaned it out and I don't think it's corrosion....seems like some kind of coating IMO.
Cutting the wrong end of the connector (well the end that would have made it a bit easier) was just what I would have done, all day long. I did chuckle, cheers for the video, entertaining as always.
Other repair techs use Lacquer Thinner to clean the IC chip sockets, IC chip pins and cleans off the PCB board traces, have you tried using Lacquer Thinner to do this on arcade pcb boards and pinball game pcb boards?
How much is a BB size piece of silver worth? Then consider the cost or a dental filling; Bottom line is not about what is actually done, but rather knowing how to do it.
Should get the old power supply working, because original. I think I saw the original transistor heat sink in there too. power supply, Power Supply, POWER SUPPLY, amirite?
Depending on the cost of the parts. I would say between 150 and 200 for the cost of that repair. It's not what you did, or how long it took, its having the experience and the tools to do it.
Parts (not much) but the labor for repinning those four connectors. As an electrician with lots of low voltage time, that $150 number is very accurate, and totally fair.
Before I watch the video, I'm gong to take a wild guess - it's running original hardware that crapped out? I'd rip everything out of that and run it off a pi and a new lcd.
Stargate was way harder than Defender. Defender, roll the game all day long. Stargate, not even close. Missile Command, Centipede, a couple more games harder than Defender.
I was always a fan of the game (that and Defender), but I SUCKED at it so bad. I was always envious of the kids that could rip on this game. :( As for cost of repair? Depends on the area really. My area that repair could easily be $500. Two local shops charge $200 to just put it on the bench, and a $125/hour for labor for repairs. First hour of work is $325. Then again, my area also has a "Bronco" Pinball machine that has been trying to be sold for $5900 that needs new back glass (it is probably 50% flaked off based on the picture), and is noted as "Non-Functioning, parts are missing". The guy puts it up about once a month to 'refresh the feed" and it has a "Stop lowballing, this is a very sought after machine". no...no it isn't.
