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Moving an arcade cabinet up some stairs
Question from Adam: Hi,
I am the proud owner of my very first arcade cabinet. It’s a Simpsons arcade cabinet.
I was looking around for general arcade repair blogs, and yours came up right away. I’ve been looking through a lot of these instructional videos and I’m sure they’re going to come in handy!
One issue I’m having with it is that it’s just slightly too wide to bring up the stairs normally. I did some measurements, and it looks like I’ll be able to get it up my stairs and through the door if I turn the cabinet upside-down (since it’s much thinner upside-down).
To get some of the weight out, I will be following your directions (Replacing An Arcade Monitor) for removing the monitor.
My question: aside from making sure any loose pieces are secured, is it generally safe to turn an arcade cabinet upside down? Is there a way to do this safely so that nothing gets damaged? Is there anything specific I should do (aside from removing the monitor) to make sure the unit doesn’t get damaged?
Any help you can provide would be great.
Adam
1 answer
Response from Jonathan: Adam,
Congratulations on your first arcade game! I’m sure it’s will be the first of many to come.
As for your question, you’re actually the first person we’ve encountered that has wanted to move an arcade cabinet upside down. We definitely would advise you to take out the monitor as it adds quite a bit of weight to the cabinet. You will also need to make sure that all of the components are secure. Most operators do not take the time to secure the parts inside the cabinet (such as power supplies, isolation transformers, marquee lights, etc.). Please make sure that these are secure.
We would also recommend trying to remove the control panel. This should be a relatively simple process as control panels are usually only held on by a couple of bolts. Of course, removing the control panel should make the cabinet as a whole slimmer since they tend to stick out quite a bit on 4 player cabinets. You might even be able to move the cabinet up the stairs on it’s back once you remove the control panel. If not, at least you will make the cabinet lighter.
We have also featured your question on episode 25 of our Q&A podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your question. Thank you for your question and good luck with moving your arcade cabinet.
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