By 8 O'clock that evening, three big burly guys pull up in front of my building in a beater white van with my "new" game strapped on the roof! It took all three of them to
disengage the game cabinet from the van's rusted body, and wheel it up to my place. Thankfully, it fit in the elevator. I'd already paid some extra to have it delivered, but it was
a warm evening, so I opened my refrigerator to the group. Two of the guys were given beer, and the "designated driver" chose milk. Half a carton, and right out of the carton too.
(Don't worry, I let him open a new one and drink out of it.) ;-) Still a good trade though. A few beers and some moo juice. I couldn't have towed the machine behind my wheelchair from Capitol Hill to downtown Seattle, let alone get it up inside my building
and in/out of the elevator.
The next morning when *I* was sobered up (remember, I bought this game on my birthday, and I always go out and get hammered
on that day!) :-), I took the back off to check out the insides to be sure nothing fell off or worked loose on its bumpy ride on the top of that van.
Nope, everything looks fine - just needs a little vaccuming & dusting, as you can see by that very dusty tag hanging from the very dusty wiring harness.
This game was originally supposed to be named Satan's Power as the tag shows. Other units are known to have Satan's Master tags,
though when the actual production started up, Satan's Hollow was the final name.
Later that afternoon, while searching for information on where to buy coin-op parts, I came across the K.L.O.V. Message Board, and that started the 'ol fire burning again.
I quickly located a source for the parts I needed: a "cap kit" for the monitor, a fluorescent lamp & starter for the marquee light, and wedge base bulbs for the coin door lights.
Although I worked in the arcade industry for many years, my talents have lain dormant for many more years afterward, so I needed to brush up on some of the technical aspects
specific to coin-operated arcade games from the early 1980s. It's like riding a bike: once you learn, you never forget; though you might get a bit rusty if you don't ride that bike
for ten or fifteen years. :-O
The rest of this page will mostly be pictures. The story has been told, the fire has been restarted. Now I have a strong urge to acquire more of these old timey coin-ops.
I would love to have a Sega "Astro Blaster", a Williams "Stargate", an Atari "Tempest", and a Sega "Star Trek" (among others) before I'm old and gray.
Side art from the upright version of Satan's Hollow.
This is a game manufactured in 1982 by Bally-Midway. It is your basic shoot 'em up with a few extras.
This picture shows the blacklight bulb glowing just above the control panel.
The joystick in my Satan's Hollow is the original; many of the machines in existence
use an aftermarket joystick which is black and doesn't glow under the blacklight.
This shot also shows the streaking & bleeding on the monitor; evidence it needs a "cap kit".
I have the cap kit; I now just need to break enough time free for me to install it. :-O
If I get rid of the big table, the shelf above the rat cage, and all the damn insulators; I could
probably squeeze several more upright video games in this pitifully tiny excuse for a living room.
Another shot of the game in its present location.
And there you have it. For now, anyway.
In the future, I will take pictures when I install the cap kit and do any other repairs. Of course, I can't get too involved in this, or I wouldn't have time to get any
work done, break the vaccume cleaner or flush foreign
objects down my toilet anymore. (Careful, that last one says some very naughty things out of the speaker!)
Update 10-21-04: I moved on 10-10-04, and picked up the last van load yesterday (10-20-04). I had to leave my Satan's Hollow upright at my old location, so I no longer have it.
Copywrong (C) 2002 Craig S. Johnson.
All photos are original, some may be found on KLOV as I provided them with cabinet and other photographs for this game.
Last September, I saw this thing sitting on a sidewalk in front of a junk shop just east of downtown Seattle.
Since moving to Seattle in the mid 80s and having to leave all of my games in Alaska because I couldn't afford to have them shipped with me, I've wanted a game or two
in my house. You see, I used to be in the "biz", so to speak. I ran the family arcade in Alaska, and also did all of the maintenance and conversions for that arcade. And when
I moved to Seattle, I worked at Music-Vend for a short time, also working with video games and pinball machines. So it's only natural that I'd want my own arcade game at home.
The "real thing", not some Colecovision knock off with a floppy joystick and a fuzzy picture on a junk TV set and crappy sound coming from a tinny 2" speaker. This is the real
thing, and nothing can truly substitute for that true arcade look and feel.
The next morning when *I* was sobered up (remember, I bought this game on my birthday, and I always go out and get hammered
on that day!) :-), I took the back off to check out the insides to be sure nothing fell off or worked loose on its bumpy ride on the top of that van.
Nope, everything looks fine - just needs a little vaccuming & dusting, as you can see by that very dusty tag hanging from the very dusty wiring harness.
