Cool thread. If I got rid of my pinball machines, I'd be compelled to replace them with Egret II cabs and my favorite CAVE shmup PCBs. I really love Dodonpachi, Mushihime-sama Futari, Raiden Fighters, Dangun Feveron, Guwange. I don't have any dedicated cabs at the moment, but I own an assortment of US or region-free Xbox 360 titles and a HORI RAP VX-SA controller. I'd love to TATE my PVM-2030, but it hates being rotated. Degaussing, whatever, can't help it.

Chosen_S, I love your custom shmups Vewlix-clone. I saw it on the shmups forum a long time ago and drooled. I'm getting a CNC machine soon, so maybe I'll eventually design and build one of my own.

I ran across this article the other day on how to build a computer perfect for 240p CRT play that may be of use to someone: http://wavebeam.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-groovycube-diy-console-that-plays.html

For those of us that don't have space for a real candy cab, this guy makes miniature turnkey bar top replicas. If you don't mind LCD, these seem perfect for yoko shmups like the Neo-Geo titles, Mars Matrix, Deathsmiles, etc. He has a Vewlix-style bar top in the works that I think can go tate.

https://www.facebook.com/multigamesystem/

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I was planning on showing off a Sony PVM-14M2U 14" CRT monitor I bought on eBay that I would keep permanently rotated for TATE shmups play, but UPS mangled it (was advertised shipping FedEx, who I trust more).

The seller put it in a box filled with shipping peanuts, but it's essentially a 45lb weight that was free-floating in a big box. It probably should have been secured in place by sheets of styrofoam like other CRTs I've bought off eBay in the past. There was also no "This side up" indicator on the box, so it arrived on my doorstep sideways.

The front casing has separated from the main body, and a chunk of it broke off. Looking into the chunk, the screw posts that secured the front to the rest of the unit have snapped apart. The power button doesn't function when I plug it in, and I can hear bits of something loosely rattle around inside the case when I move the unit around. I might be able to fix it so that it is operational again, but even if I do, the monitor's structural integrity is shot and there'd be no way I could use it on its side. Plus it's all busted-looking now.

I sent a message to the seller. I'm hoping for a refund and that they aren't going to make me pay to ship it back to them.

Yeah, totally. But professional CRTs in this area are hard to come by now. There were tons available five years ago, now they hardly appear on Craigslist, and when they do they're way too expensive. I bought my PVM-2030 from a production company's Craigslist ad for $20. Now on eBay, I see several sold listings of that same model for hundreds, at least three for $500+. I see one PVM available on Craigslist right now, and I've been watching for months, and it's $500. The only other I've seen in the past year was a 14" model for $400.

I may have to give up my PVM elitism and buy a nice consumer SDTV with component input from a thrift store.

It looks like the Lindbergh is built on traditional PC components, with an nVidia graphics card. I did a little Googling around and didn't see any indication that you couldn't plug this into any TV or monitor that has a VGA input.

Based on the YouTube videos I've seen of it so far, this system's fan is LOUD.

I got a full refund on the smashed PVM from eBay. Since I have more curiosity than sense, I opened it up to see if I could get it running again. The condition is worse than I figured. For some reason, Sony made the whole bottom and front support structures out of plastic, so it only happens to hold itself together at this point.

The plastic parts that make up the power button are ruined. I had to fish out the power switch PCB, which had broken loose, from around the monitor tube after removing the power supply. Luckily, the plastic parts of the power switch just throw a couple metal switches mounted on the PCB to turn the unit on or off. I flipped the switches to connect the circuit and am going to leave it that way, so it can't be turned off.

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I also carefully removed any loose bits of plastic and other debris that scattered over the PCBs.

I reconnected the power supply and hooked up my Dreamcast and powered it on. It works! The geometry is perfect. Much better than my PVM-2030 at least. It's a real shame what happened to this unit.

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I don't know if I'll be able to fit it back together with the metal casing again. Because the front end can no longer support the full weight of the tube and the fit in the case is so tight, I worry that the neck board will get snapped in reassembly against the back panel. If I can figure out how to store it safely for a while, I will try to keep it and then design and CNC a wood housing for it like a bartop arcade cabinet.