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Project Naomi Triple Threat: Restoration and Double Sit Down Conversion

Geadas_

Beginner
Joined
May 2, 2020
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Location
Portugal
Hi! Thanks for clicking.

Backstory:

I've been looking for an Naomi Universal for more than 5 years. I was ready to pull a trigger on one machine back in 2020, days before that thing happened. So the deal fell through. Actually I'm glad, since it lacked a lot of stuff but for 250€ it wasn't all bad.

Cut to last week. After a few drinks, I was talking to my great friend about wanting two Naomi Universal's and convert them to Net City's. Well, he also wanted an machine, so a few days later and we are looking to get 3 machines. The deal was made a week later and now we are proud owners of 3 Naomi Universals! Two for me and one for him (one is not working and its missing parts), which I will also be restoring (trying my best!)
Original arcades are getting rarer by the week on this side of Europe, so all things considered we got a good deal on them They are missing some stuff, that hopefully the owner can provide since it was supposed to be there.
We got an acquaintance to help us transport the machines in his potato transport van and for now they are located in the storage shed, next to last years wood. They will be taken apart and restored and moved to home when completed. Not sure where I'm gonna put my two machines, since I live in a tiny and old apartment. 3rd floor and no elevator. But that's for future me to figure it out! Wife aproves, so it's all good! :thumbsup:

So, here they are:

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So... since we didn't get the keys and none of the machines had one, getting inside the control panel to see the buttons and sticks, make monitor adjustments or even to remove the back monitor case was a no go. Thankfully we got the key yesterday and there's some good news and bad news. From left to right, from now on they will be called: Number 3, Number 2 and Number 1.

The good/bad:

Number 3:
The g
ood:
  • Almost no rust
  • Metal panels are straight
  • Not too yellow
  • Sun PSU and Sega I/O
  • No cracks on plastic panels
  • No holes for cigarette holder or stupid coin up buttons
The bad:
  • Sanwa chassis :unsure:
  • The image is blurry and pops. It gets better after a while
  • American style joysticks and buttons. Unknow brand
  • Stupid metal plate on the control panel.
  • No topper
  • Noisy PSU fan
  • Missing coin mech
  • No keys
  • No audio on left speaker
The plan:
  • Respray
  • Recap the monitor
  • Recap the PSU
  • Turn the 2L6 panel to and 2L12 panel
  • New art
  • Topper
  • New Sticks and buttons
  • New stickers
  • (I know my friend, so I'm guessing the whole nine yards...)

Number 2:
The g
ood:
  • Metal panels are straight
  • Not too yellow
  • Sega I/O
  • No cracks on plastic panels
  • No stupid coin up buttons
  • Sanwa Sticks and Seimitsu buttons
  • Left and Right speakers work
  • Coin mech
The bad:
  • Sanwa chassis :unsure:
  • Monitor geometry is horrible. Will adjust soon (I have the key now)
  • Stupid metal plate on the control panel and on the base.
  • No topper
  • No Sun PSU
  • Rust on the base of the machine
  • No keys
  • Dirty as hell!
  • Control panel has holes on the bottom!
The plan:
  • I would love a better monitor. Something tri-sync would be awesome.
  • Paint and restore
  • Sit down conversion
  • Net City themed! ( except monitor, and visual diferences of course)
  • Topper
  • Convert the control panel to an 2L12 with new buttons and sticks
  • Yoko orientation
  • Make it play JVS, Jamma and PC
Number 1: This one is a doozy!
The g
ood:
  • Seimitsu sticks ( Ls-33)
  • No holes on the bottom of the control panel
  • No stupid coin up buttons
  • It has a monitor ( vertical collapse)
  • Sun PSU (unknown state)
The bad:
  • Sanwa chassis :unsure:
  • The monitor bezel is for an curved monitor
  • Base metal cover is dented like hell
  • No topper
  • Rust!
  • No keys
  • Dirty as hell!
  • Metal bar covering the coin box
  • No Sega I/O
  • Missing coin mech
The plan:
  • I would love a better monitor. Something like an Nanao.
  • Paint and restore
  • Sit down conversion
  • Topper
  • Net City themed! ( except monitor, and visual diferences of course)
  • Tate!
  • Single player panel with new stick and buttons

I hope this mega project helps me improve my skills and gain more experience with this hobby that fascinates me. I have some arcade boards* (almost all broken 8)), Mister, Mame and a Supergun. But I wanted to take the next step, and the Naomi Universal seemed like a great choice. Candy Cabs are very rare around here! Our market is niche.

I'll be starting with Number 1, as it's the worst one and with my new skills the others will become easier.



* I own: 1 NeoGeo MV1FZ (Watchdog error), 1 NeoGeo MV1B (Watchdog error), 1 bootleg Tetris (broken and since its a bootleg its almost impossible to find information), 1 broken Golden Axe: Revenge of Deathadder ( posted here asking for help, wasn't able to fix it. At least for now. I will try again soon) and finally one working IGS PGM (no games at least for now).
 
Number 1

This is how it arrived:

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IMG_3345.jpg
IMG_3346.jpg
IMG_3344.jpg
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IMG_3384.jpg

As you can see, I've got a long road ahead... but I'm confident that I can make this waaaaaay better that it is now.

The teardown begins:
Took around 3 hours to tear it all down. Since it's my first time I took loads of pictures and labelled every connector that is unknown to me. Also got the manual for future reference, to check for missing parts like bolts.

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Took the control panel home. Tore it down and gave it a bath. This thing was nasty!!
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3D Printed some bolt covers:
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I do have some questions that hopefully someone can answer:

  1. What is the reference color for the Naomi Universal? I'm thinking Sega used something like RAL 9003 (Signal white). Has anyone color matched the paint? and for the plastic parts? I will go to several paint stores to find the best approximation of the color. *EDIT* A: It's Ral 9016 (Signal White).
  2. What are the oficial color of the buttons for an six button Naomi Control panel? Green and Pink like the Astro City or something else?
  3. And how about Net City? Red and blue?

Hopefully more updates as soon as I get the paint reference! Cheers!
 
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Nothing wrong with the Sanwa chassis on these. Part and parcel, and they’re fine to me.
Thanks! From what i've read, the Toshiba tube with the Nanao chassis was the way to go. Sadly none of the machines had the monitor I wanted.
 
I have 6 or 7 of the E31S chassis here. They are ok and easy to rebuild, but the flybacks commonly fail and the replacement teknoservice flys don't work properly. The Sanwa PFX chassis are trisync and will drop right on the curved tube + yoke and are much more reliable, but they cost an arm and a leg nowadays.

The plastic color on our New Net City cabs is identical to the Blast City color from what I saw. I went to a paint shop and found a 98% match here https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/blast-city-net-city-paint-code-crack-repair-log.27029/
 
Update.

The work continues on Number 3. Did the Sit down conversion. Took the Naomi's legs to an metalwork shop and asked them to chop the legs 338mm.
They did it for 10€, cheaper than to buying an aluminium blade.

It fits like a glove!

IMG_3453.JPEG

IMG_3452.JPEG


Then I did the interior holes. I did alright. Went to Fusion 360 and did some covers to clean-up the rectangular hole.

IMG_3463.JPEG


Hopped on Fusion 360 and using the template from Slagcoin, I designed a jig to convert the panel from a 3 button to 6 button.
Made two jigs, one for Player 1 and other for Player 2. The are the same, the only diference is the angle.

IMG_3441.JPEG


Bought an 29mm circular hole saw. And then widened it to 30mm using a step drill bit.
Stripped the paint and this is the finished product:

IMG_3471.JPEG


For now I will focus my attention on the front panel.
The panel is in poor condition, two major cracks, holes and yellowed.
This is what I have to deal with...
IMG_3457.JPEG
IMG_3445.JPEG
IMG_3449.JPEG

IMG_3451.JPEG

I'll have to design some reinforcement parts in Fusion and insert some new M4 brass inserts.

Wish me luck.

I have 6 or 7 of the E31S chassis here. They are ok and easy to rebuild, but the flybacks commonly fail and the replacement teknoservice flys don't work properly. The Sanwa PFX chassis are trisync and will drop right on the curved tube + yoke and are much more reliable, but they cost an arm and a leg nowadays.

The plastic color on our New Net City cabs is identical to the Blast City color from what I saw. I went to a paint shop and found a 98% match here https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/blast-city-net-city-paint-code-crack-repair-log.27029/

I couldn't find a paint shop that carried that color reference, so I used the RAL catalogue.
I was able to match the color, RAL 9016 Traffic White. This was what probably what the factory used when painting the machines. I didn't take a picture of the match, but was right on the money.

Also replaced one of the monitors for an Toshiba+Nanao combo.
The monitor on Number 1 also bit the dust, so it is also going to be replaced. Hopefully.


That all for now. Cheers
 
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