Dig Dug
Working on small things, monitor ID and photos of Dig Dug
Last night I did some things with the game.
I took out the Land Sea and Air board that was in the game (Taito game, not Atari unfortunately), which meant taking off a little block of wood as well. I took the Dig Dub PCB I had out to the garage to compare connectors, and it doesn’t look like it is exactly the same. There was an auction that ended today for an uncut Dig Dug harness, and I won so I have it just in case I need it.
I took some photos of the machine for the interested trader tonight as well, some close ups of the different pieces, some of the blemishes as well as the good stuff like the marquee and bezel. This morning I made up a list of my costs that I have put into the machine so far to see what my totals are.
Tonight I also got the monitor number down (20 – EZY) so I could order a cap kit. I found that the cap kit, according to posts on the Google forum and other places, is interchangeable with the (20 – EZV), so I placed an order with Bob Roberts tonight for that cap kit, and sent out payment this morning. He emailed me back tonight to say that he cross shipping the parts and I could have them as early as Friday.
Found out that my trade with this game would depend a ton on it working, this is a big deal in this instance even though I have everything, so I am trying to get my butt in gear to get it up and working as best I can.
Possible trade involving Dig Dug?
Got back out into the garage tonight to do some quick things with the Dig Dug. There might be some interest in a trade with the machine, so I took the bezel out (Now that the weather is going to be permanently warm) and put it in, and clipped some wires to the extra buttons that were on the Land Sea and Air control panel, installed a black button where one was missing, and placed the new control panel on the machine. I then took some photos of it, looks pretty cool to see all of the stuff there at least temporarily. Pretty close to being done now that I have the pcb in my possession. Just would take a weekend to get running, which I don’t seem to have right now.
Cleaning Dig Dug control panel
Took a moment to setup and spray the Dig Dug control panel tonight with the Orange cleaner and degreaser. From what I had remembered Richard telling me, I was supposed to let that sit for awhile, probably hours, then come back to it and wipe it down. I must not have heard him right, because of course it dried, and even though wiping hard with a cloth got some dirt off, it didn’t appear visibly too much different.
I spray it again, thinking I would come back to it and wipe it down wet, but I never did get back to it.
Value of a Dig Dug PCB
I was organizing information that I had taken over the past couple of month from ebay on pricing for Dig Dug PCB boards. Obviously, the market will ebb and flow, and it is ebay, so you have to consider that some people may big less because they have to add shipping to the board, but this is what I found for final prices and current market value of Dig Dug PCB boards.
Note: If it says “Not Working” that may mean that the board was sold as is, not specifically that it was pointed out as non working.
Dig Dug PCB eBay Pricing Results
- Nov. 2006 1 – $40.99 (Works)
- Dec. 2006 1 – $51.51 (Works)
- Dec. 2006 2 – $28.05 (Works)
- Dec. 2006 3 – $55.00 (No Bids)
- Jan. 2007 1 – $22.53 (Non Working)
- Jan. 2007 2 – $47.00 (Works)
- Jan. 2007 3 – $43.65 (Works)
- Jan. 2007 4 – $42.99 (Works)
- Jan. 2007 5 – $13.50 (2 boards Non Working)
- Feb. 2007 1 – $44.00 (Works – High Score Kit Also)
- Feb. 2007 2 – $51.00 (Works)
- Feb. 2007 3 – $9.95 (Non Working)
- Feb. 2007 4 – $9.95 (Ended Early)
- Feb. 2007 5 – $41.00 (Works)
- Feb. 2007 6 – $10.49 (Non Working)
- Feb. 2007 7 – $9.99 (Non Working)
- March 2007 1 – $9.00 (Ended Early)
- March 2007 2 – $20.50 (2 boards Non Working)
“Citrus Cleaner” for arcade control panels
Stopped by Home Depot tonight after dinner and picked up some of Zep’s Cleaner and Degreaser, I called Richard to make sure it is the right stuff. Supposedly this work loosen up and ground in grime, and also give a control panel a great shine, not to mention make it smell nice:)
Here is a photo of what that looks like here on the right. He also recommended Mr. Clean’s magic eraser, so if this doesn’t work that is what I am going to try next.
Working on Dig Dug control panel, sanding carriage bolts
Worked today a little more on the control panel. I kept using the Simple Green and scrubbing away at the base of the control panel and the black spray paint. I feel like I got a little more of it off, but not very much. Plus, the area around it is turning a shade of black from the dirt and grime in general, so I may need to find out something else to clean this off.
When I spoke with Richard Ford today, he recommended that I get one of the Orange cleaners, a Citrus type cleaner, and let it set on the panel. He said not only should that citrus work in and loosen that up, it should also clean off the rest of the control panel and give it a great shine.
I also took the time to track down and prep some bolts that go in the control panel to hold on the joystick. I had a couple kicking around, they are those short carriage bolts that are so hard to come by. The heads on a couple of them were rusted so I sanded them down before I put them in the game to give it that small extra touch of making it look new.
Dig Dug Project Restoration & Repair
Welcome to my restoration / repair notes for my Atari Dig Dug machines. Over the course of my ownership I had a lot of problems with these two classic arcade machines. One Dig Dug started as a Land Sea and Air Squad, painted solid black. I restored that Dig Dug completely from the ground up, tracking down parts on ebay and through other arcade collectors over two years. The second Dig Dug was a nicer cabinet that I bought with the intention of trading. Both Dig Dugs gave me PCB and power supply problems right before I sold them to collectors in Indianapolis and Kentucky.
So, I hope these repair and restoration notes help you with your Dig Dug. I love comments, so leave me one even though I no longer have these games. You might be able to help someone else, especially those of us who hate those dang Atari power supply boards.
