WTB Candy Cab!!!

[shaeri87]

Hey Guys ,

I have been searching and searching for anyone who is selling Candy Cabs around Southern California. I am looking for one that is in great condition (not a fixer upper) that is working, doesn't need replacement parts, no monitor burn, low usage, etc. I know they are very hard to come by, and the fact that I want one in good shape, makes it even harder, however, I'm new to this arcade machine world, and this is going to be a surprise present for my boyfriend.

I want to be able to play multiple games, so from the research I have done, I will need a CPS2 Multi-Kit. Is that the same thing as a multi-cartridge? I clearly could use some help with the arcade machine lingo... sorry, I have just started doing my research, and am slowly learning. One of the games that I must be able to get a hold of is Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, so if anyone knows where I can get it, please let me know.

If anyone knows where I can get a Candy Cab in Southern California, I would really appreciate any information. I have searched on e-Bay, Craigslist, and other arcade vendors in the area.

I am on the hunt for a SNK Super Neo 29 Candy or something similar to that. I really like the graphics on the Neo 29, and the colors, but I'm open to any Candy Cab that is in good working condition.

If anyone has any insight into the Candy Cab world, or knows where to get one in So-Cal, I would love your input! Thanks Guys!

~Shaeri

 

[ekorz]

Looks like you found kc's thread. I hear he's a good guy to work with; you can email him also kcarcadegame@sbcglobal.net. Nice surprise!

 

[shaeri87]

Thank you ekorz, really appreciate your help and for providing his email. I am a total noob when it comes to purchasing an arcade machine, and since this is a surprise, I can't ask my boyfriend for help, lol! He's really gotten back into playing his favorite games from when he was a kid again, since a bunch of 80's/90's arcades popped up in our area, so I thought, why not get one for the house? So I'm trying to get all the advice I can get from you guys who know a thing or two about arcade machines! Thanks for your help!

 

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

"this is going to be a surprise present for my boyfriend." this part made me LOL and I was like.. hey do you happen to have a cute sister because I would like to be surprise with a Neo candy cab

I have not seen a Neo candy for a while... but based on what you are describing maybe Ken might be a good option if KC can not help.. He is not in your area but people say that Ken's cab are good and he makes sure that they are fully working.


Thegameroon
ken@thegameroom.com

 

[shaeri87]

Thank you SNK-NEO-GEO, appreciate the alternative contact. Do you know where Ken is located? The arcade down the street from my house just got a Neo Candy like the one in my profile pic, in great shape too, but they won't tell me who their vendor is... boo...

 

[jassin000]

Just my 0.02$ here... But Neo Candys don't make for good Capcom (you mentioned CPS2 Multi) cabs.
The reason being Neo-Geo only had/uses 4 buttons where as Capcom (and all fighting games made by) use 6 buttons.

You will have to manually add/wire the missing buttons by drilling 30mm holes into the control panel and making a kick harness.
Again just my opinion here but... Drilling up an original Neo Candy control panel is WRONG/UNFORGIVABLE!

If you simply must get a Neo Candy, and you simply must play 6 button Capcom boards in it...
Get a reproduction panel (I believe Jasen still makes/sells these) and have at it, let no harm come to original panels/parts.

 

[shaeri87]

Thank you for the tips jassin000, appreciate the input, because I am a noob here. I would definitely not want to modify the machine by having to drill holes. I was at the arcade down the street from my house, and they have a Super Neo 29 Candy, and it had like at least 6 buttons, maybe even 8, come to think of it. It didn't look like they modified it, but maybe I just wasn't paying that close attention. I will definitely take that into consideration though, when I look into other Candy's because yes, you are right, it has to work for fighting games, specifically Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. I need to figure out where to get that board as well, if you know anything about where to get it, that'd be awesome. Thank you!

 

[jassin000]

maybe even 8, come to think of it. It didn't look like they modified it

If it had 8 it was for sure drilled/hacked up (even Vewlix panels only have 7, 4x3 array).
I've never seen an official factory Neo Candy panel with 6, but I suppose it COULD (I really doubt it) be possible SNK made one to support operators looking to convert.

Mad Catz popularized 8 buttons (4x4 array) with their TE/SE line of fight sticks.
This layout was never used in actual arcades/arcade games, often times the 4th/8th button is a shortcut to pressing all three previous buttons.

 

[twistedsymphony]

See it in Person:
If you can I'd highly recommend going to visit KC's wearhouse to look at his cabs. Also depending on how soon you need it, you can see if any Captain's Auctions are going on and try to buy a cab there.

We're we're dealing with 15-20 year old machines that were imported "great condition" is highly subjective and subject to unique interpretations. Your best bet is to go someplace and make that judgement first hand.

The biggest thing to look out for is how well the monitor works. really what you're buying is a big fancy box for a monitor, it's the most complex and expensive electrical part of the cabinet. Most of the rest of the electronics are fairly simple and much cheaper to fix or replace. Beyond the monitor just consider cosmetics... is the artwork all there and in good condition? are any of the plastic parts yellowed or cracked? does it have a marquee holder? does it have the original locks?

What Cabs to look for:
I would highly recommend seeking out one of these cabs:
Taito Egret II
Taito Egret 3
Atomiswave SD
Konami Windy II
Sega Blast City
Sega Net City*

The Taito cabs are highly sought after and usually go for big money, but the Sega cab are typically the easiest candy cabs to find but that also means it's very easy to find parts and information them should you need it. There are lots of other great candies out there but the Sega and Taito are the one's you'll run into most frequently.

Also all of those cabs I listed use the same shape control panel which is the most widely used candy cab panel design. This means if you happen to buy a machine with a 1 player 3 button panel, it's not too difficult to find and install a 2-player 12 button panel. This also means that if you were interested in swapping out the panel for say a trackball or spinner panel to play those games, you could do that with far less trouble than you could with most other cabs.

All of the Cabs I've listed above have "tri-Sync" monitors. that means they can play games that output 15KHz "standard resolutions" (most JAMMA games like Stret Fighter II and 3, Mortal Kombat etc.), 25KHz "Medium Resolutions" (fairly uncommon but used by Sega Model 2 and Model 3 games like Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 3) as well as 31KHz "VGA Resolution" games (like Sega NAOMI for things like Marvel vs Capcom 2, Guilto Gear, and Capcom vs SNK).

There are some other good cabs that you might run into such as the
Sega Astro City, but this lacks a Tri-Sync so it will prevent you from playing some newer games, as well force you to run some games (like those NAOMI titles I mentioned) at a lower resolution.

ASega NAOMI Universal is a great cab too, and looks just like a Net City, except these are VGA only cabs, meaning you wont be able to play older lower resolution games (like Street Fighter II and Street Fighter 3)

*One other note about the Net-City, this is what's called a "JVS" cab meaning it's wired for more modern games that don't use a JAMMA connector. it can still play older games but you'll need a conversion harness or JAMMA adapter to make them work.

 

[jassin000]

The Taito cabs are highly sought after and usually go for big money

KC will hook you up with a (beatup) E2 right now... for 22hundo.

It's got a "sweet" external volume pot drilled into the side of it, increasing its value exponentially.

I would highly recommend seeking out one of these cabs:

Taito Egret II
Taito Egret 3
Atomiswave SD
Konami Windy II
Sega Blast City
Sega Net City*

Yup I couldn't agree more T, you nailed that list...
Maybe add a Vewlix to it with the disclaimer that LCD cabs and JAMMA generally don't mix (unless you are crazy like me).

 

[shaeri87]

Thanks jassin000, interesting, I will definitely look more closely at the panel the next time we're at the arcade. I can snap a photo and post it on here if you're interested.

Thank you very much TwistedSymphony for all of that information, and for taking the time to include links of all of those Cab's you recommend. I have contacted KC, and he said he has one JAMMA 2-player (don't remember the name), and he's getting some Aero City's in next week I think. Have you been to KC's warehouse before? Are you local? I will definitely go out there to check it out soon. In the meantime, I've requested him to send me some photos. Thank you for all the tips on what to look for, I really appreciate it, since I'm basically just learning this stuff on my own right now. From what I've read up on online, it said to definitely be wary of monitor burn like you mentioned, since these are very old machines. I've seen some video's on youtube about how to bleach the bezel if it's gone yellow, but I just don't think I will want to have to deal with that. I have also contacted Captain's Auction's, so they know what I'm looking for as well. Have you dealt with them? Thanks again for your help!

 

[rewrite]

Not mine, but here's one local to ya:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/6014311109.html

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

I think the Neo Candy you saw did have 8 buttons but only 4 for each player. Capcom fighters need 6 buttons for each player. Good luck with the hunt. If I was on the West coast I'm sure I'd have several candies already.

 

[Mitsurugi-w]

Not mine, but here's one local to ya:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/6014311109.html

I would buy that if it was close by! But might be a bit much work for her to get it up to CPS2 status.

 

[twistedsymphony]

Have you been to KC's warehouse before? Are you local?

I live in New Hampshire, so definitely not local; and I've never been to KC's warehouse. I have purchased from him before though and had cabs shipped across country.

KC can be difficult to communicate with and his pictures aren't always the best, but he is one of the few people that regularly has candy cabs in stock and for (usually) fair prices. The problem is he get's them off the ship from Japan and then just sells them without any clean up and very little testing, so in order to get a good working cab from him without any surprises you really need to see them in person.

he currently has both Sega Blast Citys and a Sega Net City on his ebay page:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/kou_cheu/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

The net city looks a little rough but the blast city could be nice (hard to tell from the pic)

You're lucky to be in cali... that's probably the best place in the world to find candy cabs outside of Japan. Do some craiglist searches as well !

 

[shaeri87]

rewrite: Wow! Thank you so much for finding that! That's a really good price too! Like insanely good! Really appreciate the help!!!

Mitsurugi-w: Thank you for your input! Since it only has 3 buttons, how hard would it be for me to get it up to CPS2 status? Judging on the photos, can you tell anything about the condition, or how I can switch out the panel so that it has 6 buttons?

 

[jassin000]

Have you been to KC's warehouse before? Are you local?

Both my Vewlix cabs came from KC, I didn't have a luxury of seeing them in person beforehand however (I'm very NOT local).

Not mine, but here's one local to ya:
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/vgm/6014311109.html

I'm not even a CRT kinda guy... And I would (run not walk) to pick that up today, zero questions asked!

Since it only has 3 buttons, how hard would it be for me to get it up to CPS2 status?

You can get official 6-button panels for Aero's, they are a little hard to come by nowadays, but not too bad.

To wire up the extra buttons simply get and connect one of these.

 

[shaeri87]

jassin000: OMG really?!? Ahhh, I hope he responds to my email then! The price is amazing, and it looks like it's in great shape. I'm just concerned about getting it up to CPS2 status, like Mitsurugi-w said. I would have to get a 6 button panel, and a kick harness? Or something like that right? How easy is that?

twistedsymphony: I see, you're in NH, dang! Must have cost you an arm and a leg for the shipping! Thanks for the link to his e-bay! Yeah I've been searching on craigslist, and rewrite just sent me a link to that Aero-City which is an insane deal! I really hope I get a response! I'm just worried about how I'm going to get it hooked up for fighting games. I guess I can just get it, and worry about that later, but it is possible right?

 

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

If your man only play 15kz stuff EgreetII works great but they do not do 31khz.. Systems like Naomi that output to 15khz do not look good or right.. There is also you man's cab body preference, not all cabs look at like.. For me, I only love one type, the Egreet 2/3 and Atomish AD line. Since I play a lot of Naomi and Taito type x2 and a lot of 15khz CPS1/2, NEOGEO and I am a CRT kind of person Egreets 3 is what I am hunting for

 

[shaeri87]

jassin00: Thanks for the help!!! That's a really dope panel! Thank you for sending me a link to one of those harness's I would need, that really helps me!

SNK-NEO-GEO: He plays anything, but he has been dying to play Marvel Superheroes vs. Street Fighter, and he's really good at fighting games in general. He has never even mentioned what his cab preference is, but I totally understand what you mean. I love the look of the Super Neo 29 like in my photo, because I like the colors, but I mean, since he's a guy, maybe he would like that Aero-City one from the craigslist post rewrite sent. Thanks!