Repairing the arcade outlets:

So, part of the fun of owning an older home is the challenge of dealing with yesterday’s technology.  The problem with my game room is the fact that the outlets are straight out of 1964.  This means that they are basic two-prong outlets and are not the three-prong, grounded style.

I have found that many of my arcade games do not like working properly without a grounded circuit to plug into.  What I am having to do now is get under the game room (fortunately there is a 4.5-foot-tall crawl space area to access under the arcade) and install ground wiring to all the arcade outlets.  Grounding means to have wiring hooked to something like the incoming water main of the house, etc.

Of course, along with adding the wire, I must install new three-prong outlets throughout the arcade.  There are currently about six outlets that I need to refresh with new hardware. 

This must be done not just to play some of the games, but also so I can test the repairs that must be done.  Currently both pinball machines must be repaired, and I have three arcade cabinets in the middle of modification or repair.  So you can now see how crucial it is to update the arcade outlets!