The current scene for a returner

[MrBob]

Hey all,

How are things for someone looking to return to the hobby? I would love to replace an Egret II I foolishly sold some years back but it seems at a glance that cabs in general are like hen's teeth? Is that a fair assessment? Is it cyclical or has this been more long term? Thanks!

[sven666]

Selling an egret 2 today is a pretty firm statement to never look back im afraid...

[garrz32]

Hey MrBob, welcome back!

Not to rub salt into the wound, but I actually bought your cab and still have it to this day. The bad news and you better take a seat while reading this.

You're going to need deep pockets to get one back ( if you can actually find one for sale ) like 6-8 times more than the one you sold. Expensive hobby to start up again even the games are commanding mental prices

[geotrig]

yeah funny old world these days in any hobby and or collectibles in general and not just arcade world ,as sven say selling any cab now is prettu much getting out ,
For arcade stuff people seem to be holding on to cabs more so now knowing that they are slow to come up again if they change their mind and especially on a few sought after models ,but they do still come up just a bit slow they last few months ,all that is still required is a bit of patience !! The days of the constant chopping and changing seems to have stopped , e2's are still as scarce as ever on sales threads. so much so they've made e3's valueble !

Try mo he might have something although i think its mostly vewlixs these days

[Rossyra]

If you can reduce your expectations to something like an Astro, you will probably have an easier ride.

[MrBob]

Hey MrBob, welcome back!

Not to rub salt into the wound, but I actually bought your cab and still have it to this day. The bad news and you better take a seat while reading this.

You're going to need deep pockets to get one back ( if you can actually find one for sale ) like 6-8 times more than the one you sold. Expensive hobby to start up again even the games are commanding mental prices

That's good to hear honestly that you are still enjoying it.

I will keep my eye out and I understand the price has increased alot.

[MrBob]

If you can reduce your expectations to something like an Astro, you will probably have an easier ride.

Thanks sound advice I'll keep my eyes open.

[Neo'nate]

If you can reduce your expectations to something like an Astro, you will probably have an easier ride.

Ouch! No way . . . I've been searching for a decent Astro for literal years. No chance. Another forum member pipped me to one that eventually surfaced last year.

[arcnl]

Depends on what you're after.
1. arcade purist who can't live without original stuff? Suck it up and pay insane money to some **** who will make a spectacular profit on it
2. less purist but still wants CRT? Pick up a good CRT TV for 50 quid or so, and connect pcb's (point 1 valid for PCB's too) or groovymame/mister/rpi
3. don't even want a CRT? Just spend the money on a nice OLED tv and game on that

Personally i'd say you're either mental or an investment banker (or possibly both) to go after a cab and pcb's in 20223

[cools]

Zero latency innit.

[nem]

but it seems at a glance that cabs in general are like hen's teeth?

That's not exactly true. There's more cabs in the West than ever before.

The problem is that in the last five years people with deep pockets and zero patience entered in to the hobby. If you have public offers of £5k for an Egret 2, who in their right mind would sell one for 2k? Plus, if the price tripled in five years, what's the price going to be in another five? So unless you really, really need to sell something, you're just going to hang on to it. Collecting dust? It's an investment!

IMO keep an eye out for a project cab. Those can still be found for a decent price. Bonus, the skills you pick up while working on a project cab will inevitably pay off when you run into issues down the line.

Zero latency innit.

Modern LCDs are like 3-4ms. Even daigo couldn't tell the difference.

[MrBob]

Thanks for all the feedback. My second option was grabbing a Mister and doing something with that so might be a short term option.

[cools]

MiSTer is great for simplicity and console/computer stuff but GroovyMAME (GroovyArcade) has significantly more arcade variety, and *far* superior options for running both on a CRT and in tate mode.

Wish I liked playing the old stuff on flat panels but it's not the same, a CRT just does a better job with them despite all the faff with setup and adjustments.

[geotrig]

but it seems at a glance that cabs in general are like hen's teeth?

That's not exactly true. There's more cabs in the West than ever before.

The problem is that in the last five years people with deep pockets and zero patience entered in to the hobby. If you have public offers of £5k for an Egret 2, who in their right mind would sell one for 2k? Plus, if the price tripled in five years, what's the price going to be in another five? So unless you really, really need to sell something, you're just going to hang on to it. Collecting dust? It's an investment!

IMO keep an eye out for a project cab. Those can still be found for a decent price. Bonus, the skills you pick up while working on a project cab will inevitably pay off when you run into issues down the line.

^
this is very true , I would say slighty over 5 years ago this started happening but heyho ....It still doesnt sit right with me that e2 sells for 2k never mind more !

[SuperPang]

It's not all about greed or impatience. There's a supply and demand issue as Japan has all but dried up. Decent cabs on Yahoo go for a pretty penny now.

[SuperPang]

Unsure who would want a crt nowadays ugh

[Tomdominer]

Is there a guide to fitting a MiSter with an adapter to an arcade cabinet, like a Astro City?

[LarsVegas]

I'm sorry to tell, but my opinion is that there are to many people nowadays that see Hobbys as an investment. I liked to play on original hardware but in the end I kept only fighting games I really love and see me playing only on a PC connected to a vewlix and off cause there is frame delay, but it's more fun to compete. For my crt cab I use groovymame, ideal to have all games available and for 12 days in a year to play i don't need lying around PCBs of insane value, the fun is the same even with 2 frames delay. And to be honest I'm afraid of a dying crt. What is the value of an egret with a dead tube in five years?

[Pete]

As a returner also I'm happy I got my grail cab that I didn't get last time, JPN Sega Lindy & glad I waited as the upgraded screen is lovely.

[thegreathopper]

Is there a guide to fitting a MiSter with an adapter to an arcade cabinet, like a Astro City?

No guide needed the Mister just plugs on top of Invizm’s Jamma adapter and works, it’s great!

https://irkenlabs.com/jamma-expander/introduction/