TechnoFreek's Atomiswave Journey

Hey all,

A long time in the making but I can finally unveil my restored Sammy Atomiswave SD cab. I originally bought this cab in October 2012 from Jeff (digitalsystemsdesign). It wasn’t in as good a condition as I had anticipated so over the last two years I’ve gradually been tinkering at it and collecting parts which culminated in a complete restoration.

This is my first and only cab (until I get bigger house that is!) and when it arrived it was pretty dirty with some serious rust. I knew ultimately a professionalrespray was going to be the only way to fix it no matter how much I cleaned the rest of the cab.

My approach to this refurb was to the keep the end result as authentic as I could, reusing the existing original parts and installing NOS as much as possible. The rust around the base had to be treated that and meant that the inside had to be sprayed to maintain consistency and neatness.

Overall I’m very pleased with the results. The rust has been dealt with exceptionally well. There are one or two very small chips on the body which could have benefited from better attention during the respray process but they’re not really noticeable to anyone but me!
I have a few pcbs of games I played back in the day but mostly I’m running a pc with Hypersin and groovymame for horizontal. If I ever rotate the monitor it will be Mala and groovymame.
Massive thanks goes to monstermug on Jamma+ for his excellent technical knowledge and advice on cab prep, paint and finish. It was a steep learning curve for me but I wouldn’t have achieved this result without his virtual help!

I’ve created a very amateurish slideshow video on YouTube of some very amateurish photos that documents the last two years from arrival and setup through to the strip down and restore. For convenience I’ve included a few before and after pictures.
If anyone wants any specific images or advice just let me know!

Before:


After:


Slideshow:


Lastly, here is a list of everything (I think!) I had done with the cab for reference.

NOS – Original manufacturer parts
Repro – Non-original or reproduced parts by me or another supplier e.g. online store, forum member
Assume all parts not replaced were cleaned thoroughly by me!

Main body, control panel, speaker grills, bezel and doors professionally resprayed locally
RAL 9016 Gloss - Main body, control panel, speaker grills and front doors
RAL 9016 Matt - Rear Door
RAL 9005 Gloss - Bezel
PSU cover, coin chute, coin chute guide and chassis tray resprayed by me
Etch primer
Monitor chassis serviced by gunblade/grantspain
Casters - NOS
Leg Levellers - Resprayed by me
OFF-ON Sticker – NOS
Standard Jamma Sticker – Repro, chrisgonz1 & muddymusic (Jamma+)
Locks – Repro, Arcadeshop.de
PCB Mount Board – Filled and sanded by me
Water Covers – Repro by me
Coin Cup and Flap - Resprayed by me
Coin Mech – NOS
M.S. Coin Guide – NOS
Coin Meter Sticker - NOS
Coin Return Rod – NOS
Coin Guide – NOS
Actuator Cover - NOS
Side Art – NOS
Indoor Sticker – Repro, jasenscustoms.com
100Kg Sticker - Repro, jasenscustoms.com
Voltage Warning Sticker - NOS
Last Sticker on Back - NOS
Carry Handles – NOS
Control Panel Hinge – NOS
Coin Entry Plate – NOS
Coin Entry Bezel – NOS
Instruction Strip Glass – Repro, local glass shop
Instruction Strip (Atomiswave) – NOS
Instruction Strips (Game Specific) – Repro, jasenscustoms.com
100 Yen Sticker – NOS
Fluorescent Bulb - NOS
Illumination Panel – NOS
Marquee Holder – NOS
Marquees – Repro, Spectre (arcadeotaku), muddymusic (Jamma+)
2 Player Panel – Repro, mr^o^big (neo-arcadia.com)
2 Player Overlay – Repro, muddymusic (Jamma+)
Buttons and Sticks – NOS
Ashtray – cools (arcadeotaku)
100 Yen Coins – jasenscustoms.com
Volume Control Knobs – Ebay
Various Screws and Bolts - NOS

To Do List
Finish the two player panel. I already have a working repro two player panel but muddymusic is doing some work on a new overlay for me.
Replace water cover behind the control panel. The material I got off eBAY doesn’t want to bend which I need it to do to replicate the original. It was fine for either side of the chassis tray as those pieces was flat and just had to be cut to size. Having said all that I don’t think these covers exist on the Egret 2.
Investigate coin entry bezel paint. The NOS part I got from Taito is a light grey colour but the original Atomiswave is a dark grey. Undecided about this, I might leave well enough alone.
Reproduce missing Jamma sticker that sits below the Taito Corporation plate underneath the control panel. muddymusic has this on his to do list for me!
Design some generic non game specific Atomiswave marquee. Again muddymusic has this on his to do list.
I might also consider performing the monitor brightness and colour adjustments as per the Arcade Otaku wiki but I think the image is actually ok for now.
I sprayed a few bits myself such as the leg levellers and instruction strip stoppers. Might have another go at them to get a better finish.

nice job!
Congrats!

You made a great job on your cab!

Well done!

Thanks for sharing!