# Smash TV Arcade - Epic Discovery - You won’t believe this!

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-11-23  
**Duration:** 9m 58s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQt-Q8Fe1vc

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## Analysis

Jon documents the restoration of a Harry Williams arcade cabinet that was previously converted into a 60-in-1 multi-game machine. He discovers the original Smash TV artwork is preserved under layers of black and white paint and successfully restores the cabinet by reorienting the vertically-mounted 25-inch CRT monitor back to horizontal, fabricating replacement support boards, and sourcing reproduction artwork and control panel components.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The cabinet was converted from original Smash TV to a 60-in-1 multi-game cabinet, with the monitor rotated 90 degrees and two support boards removed — _Jon explains the original monitor mounting boards were removed when converted to 60-in-1, and the monitor was mounted vertically instead of horizontally_
- [HIGH] Original Smash TV artwork is still preserved beneath the black and white paint layer and can be revealed using Citrus Strip — _Jon demonstrates the artwork preservation on both sides of the cabinet after stripping paint with Citrus Strip product_
- [HIGH] A 25-inch CRT monitor removal is a two-person job but Jon completed it solo, though with difficulty — _Jon repeatedly emphasizes the task should be two-person work and notes he 'broke that bottom board off' during solo removal_
- [HIGH] Jon fabricated replacement support boards from lumber purchased at Lowe's, cut to 25 inches using a circular saw — _Jon shows the wood purchase, cutting process, and installation of L-brackets for reinforcement_
- [MEDIUM] The CRT monitor test showed functional display with minor horizontal size adjustment needed — _Jon notes 'the horizontal size needs to be adjusted' but describes the image as 'looks like maybe okay' and 'doesn't look too bad'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I gotta be real with you. I wasn't sure I wanted to take on this project. But when I realized it was an original Smash TV, I loved that game so I figured, Jon, hey, what the heck."
> — **Jon**, approx 1:45
> _Jon's motivation shift upon discovering the arcade was an original Smash TV rather than a generic conversion_

> "I honestly, I can't even begin to tell you how much I dislike. I'll never know who it is, but how much I dislike the person that turned a Smash TV into a 60-in-1."
> — **Jon**, approx 3:30
> _Strong emotional reaction to the arcade's previous modification, though he reframes it positively as preservation work_

> "A 25 inch monitor. You can do a 19 by yourself, but 25s can be really heavy. And I'm stubborn and I'm gonna do this stuff by myself."
> — **Jon**, approx 2:45
> _Jon acknowledges the physical challenge but insists on solo completion, establishing a running theme of the video_

> "I have a history of not being the best with woodworking. So something minor like this is a big win for me personally."
> — **Jon**, approx 5:20
> _Jon demonstrates self-awareness about his skill gaps and celebrates small accomplishments as growth_

> "I'm the power tool master now man that's it just give me a anyways you guys know what's up it's a really clean it's a it's a pretty easy cut"
> — **Jon**, approx 5:00
> _Humorous self-deprecating comment about his power tool abilities after joking about his prior struggles_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jon | person | Content creator (RetroRalph) documenting arcade restoration project; demonstrates DIY arcade repair and restoration skills |
| David | person | Seller at Tee'd Off Tucson Pinball who sold Jon the Smash TV arcade cabinet; identified the cabinet's original game |
| Mark | person | Gave Jon the circular saw used for cutting support boards as a Christmas gift |
| Scarlet Sprites | person | YouTube content creator who documented their own Smash TV arcade restoration project with different challenges |
| Matt Scott | person | Operator of Game On Graphics, provides custom arcade control panel overlays and artwork reproduction services |
| Tee'd Off Tucson Pinball | organization | Arcade/pinball venue in Tucson where Jon acquired the Smash TV cabinet from David |
| Escape Pod | organization | Vendor providing reproduction arcade artwork including monitor bezels, marquees, and cabinet side art |
| Game On Graphics | organization | Custom reproduction artwork service operated by Matt Scott, specializing in control panel overlays |
| Smash TV | game | Original arcade game housed in the Harry Williams cabinet; Jon's restoration target, motivating his decision to restore the cabinet |
| Harry Williams | company | Manufacturer of the original arcade cabinet frame/body that housed Smash TV and was later converted to 60-in-1 |
| Citrus Strip | product | Paint stripper product used by Jon to safely remove black and white paint layers without damaging original Smash TV artwork |
| RetroRalph | organization | Jon's YouTube channel documenting arcade restoration and retro gaming projects |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Arcade cabinet restoration techniques, Smash TV arcade history and preservation, CRT monitor installation and orientation, Reproduction artwork and control panel sourcing, DIY woodworking and cabinet modification
- **Secondary:** Arcade cabinet conversion and modification history, Vintage arcade games preservation

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Jon expresses frustration with the previous 60-in-1 conversion but frames the restoration as redemptive preservation work. Strong enthusiasm for Smash TV nostalgia and genuine pride in completing restoration tasks, particularly the woodworking and monitor reinstallation. Self-deprecating humor balances the emotional investment.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Arcade restoration content creators (Jon/RetroRalph and Scarlet Sprites) documenting similar projects and cross-promoting community support (confidence: medium) — Jon recommends viewers watch Scarlet Sprites' completed Smash TV restoration video and encourages audience engagement
- **[restoration_signal]** Original game and artwork successfully preserved through careful restoration rather than conversion to modern replacement (confidence: high) — Jon states 'I don't need to put on reproduction artwork because the original artwork's under there' and focuses restoration on returning cabinet to original Smash TV configuration
- **[product_strategy]** Discovery of original arcade artwork preserved under paint layers, enabling authentic restoration without reproduction decals (confidence: high) — Jon demonstrates with Citrus Strip revealing original Smash TV artwork on both cabinet sides

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## Transcript

Hey babe, what are you working on? I'm super excited. So I went down to Tucson and I picked up this arcade from David. It was a Williams cabinet and he said it used to be a Smash TV. And I was like, oh that's cool. But I didn't realize something until I brought it home and I was looking at the side of it and I'm like, oh my gosh, I think the Smash TV artwork is still there. So I'm using a product called Citrus Strip to take off a layer of black paint so I could see if I could preserve the real artwork underneath it. And if you look, like, come in here. Like, if you look, like, I'm able to, you know, with a little bit of work and effort, reveal the actual artwork, you know, that's underneath here, and it's actually preserved. Like, the black, yeah, the black paint has actually preserved it. So, like, I just love this because I'm able to keep the original artwork. It takes a lot of work, and obviously I'm going to have a lot of black paint, but look at what happened on the other side. Like I was able to do the whole entire thing on the other side. I don't know if you can get in there, but you might have to jump over a couple things. But yeah, you can see it's all, I've been able to do the whole entire thing. That is so cool. Yeah, so I have a lot of work to do obviously this this cabinet was kind of a mess the screen was turned vertically And it was turned into this multi-cabinet. So i'm just excited that i'm going to be able to actually preserve I'll be able to preserve it and restore it back to what it was and I don't need to put on reproduction artwork because The original artwork's under there Guys, I gotta be real with you. I wasn't sure I wanted to take on this project But when I realized it was an original smash tv, I loved that game so I figured, hey, what the heck. So the monitor, first of all, is mounted vertically. Someone converted this to a 60 in one and they removed the two boards on the top and the bottom. And those boards would have been where the original monitor mounted in a horizontal fashion. So I got to replace those boards. So we're going to need to figure that out, how to get replacement boards in. And we're going to have to pull out this beast of a monitor and turn it back horizontal. So what I'm going to suggest here is if you're going to remove this monitor, a 25 inch monitor. You can do a 19 by yourself, but 25s can be really heavy. And I'm stubborn and I'm gonna do this stuff by myself. And you know, I don't know. It's just the way I am. So I decided to do it by myself. I pulled it out okay but I broke that bottom board off I didn really know whether or not I was gonna be able to do it without breaking that off but that okay It a support for the monitor bezel That be easy to put back on And you can see by my face this was a job that really should be for two people What the hell? I honestly, I can't even begin to tell you how much I dislike. I'll never know who it is, but how much I dislike the person that turned a smash TV into a 60 in one yeah yeah and they built all this this nonsense inside the cabinet that i have to get rid of now but you know what if we didn't do this there'd be no smash tv this would be a 60 in one so i'm gonna look at it positively and just say look we're doing a good thing despite the frustrations that it might be causing me okay so we got to measure these little cross areas so we figure out what we need to buy exactly at Lowe's. So I'm going to get two pieces of wood, make sure that they'll fit in here, and then I'm just going to cut them to size. So those are the two boards that I bought at Lowe's, and because I need to cut them 25 inches, I needed two of them in order to make that happen. So we're going to cut it real quick here, and this is a saw that actually Kim got me for Christmas. So see, I can use power tools. You guys are always giving me crap. It's taking me a little bit to line it up but you know i got this what could possibly go wrong i'm the power tool master now man that's it just give me a anyways you guys know what's up it's a really clean it's a it's a pretty easy cut it's just two cuts and then we should be good to go and as long as i'm actually halfway decent at measuring things the outcome should be um that this fits and we're good to go. So let me finish up here and then we'll go back and see if it fits into the cabinet. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Moving right along now, I'm going to take the two beams or crossbars and make sure they fit okay. They were pretty snug. I measured them almost exactly to size, so I had to bang it in just a little bit, but it was perfect. It gave a nice snug fit on both the bottom one and now we'll take care of the top one. The top one was a little bit more stubborn when I put it in The top one I had to use a mallet to get it into place But the good news is the sizing was right The measurements were right And you know I know it seems kind of minor, but I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for this. I have a history of not being the best with woodworking. So something minor like this is a big win for me personally. And so I'm going to take it. I'm taking the win on this. And yeah, it might seem a little bit crazy because it's literally just a straight cut, but hey, sometimes you got to be proud of yourself for these little accomplishments. Getting out of my comfort zone a little bit. But anyway, so I got the two cross beams in. They look pretty good. The only thing I want to make sure we do here is we're going to put these L brackets in. The reason why I want to put these in is because obviously with the weight of the monitor, I want to make sure because it's not obviously now the original boards, I want to make sure that it's reinforced so we don't have any problems in the future. God forbid the monitor fell out, fell to the ground or something. We want to avoid that at all costs. So now I'm going to take the monitor chassis and put it in, make sure it's all fitting okay and it's lined up all right. And once I feel like it's in a good spot, then I'm going to screw it down. I'm going to screw this thing down and make sure that it looks like it's aligned because obviously I want to make sure when I put the monitor bezel and all that stuff in, it's going to fit without an issue. Okay, so we're just going to screw this thing down really quick, make sure it's good, nice and tight. And then once that's done, we're going to just put the monitor back in. Again, I'm going to be stubborn and do it myself. It really should be a two-man job. But like I said, I'm a stubborn guy and I want to do it and I can't wait. Roundhouse Rudy, I could have called him up, but I was like, you know what? I got this. What could possibly happen? Nothing. It was uneventful. So I put the monitor in, lined it up okay, and it fit great. So I'm pretty proud that that we were able to get the monitor back without really any issues so it's pretty straightforward and honestly it's not that bad it seemed like a daunting task at first but it was my first time doing something like this and and honestly it was pretty easy okay I got the CRT in and this is just preliminary testing sorry I don't have my good microphone I'm doing this kind of ad hoc but anyways um I don't know I So I put the bad dude's PCB in there just to do a test. So let's see if it fires up. I don't know, the quality of the CRT was questionable. It might need a recap but let see Let see if it actually works okay I see an image which is good yeah it looks like maybe the horizontal size needs to be adjusted but overall seems okay so for right now let's just kind of go with that yeah it doesn't look too bad it's also really good shit anyways yes it's dirty yeah all right guys that about wraps up this video I'll show you a couple more outstanding things that we're gonna get to in part two of this video one is this control panel as control panels been completely destroyed I was able to get a nice reproduction control panel from a seller on Etsy it's already pre-routed out on the back for all the Wiko joysticks I'm going to put into it so that's really great I got some artwork from escape pod so if you're looking for reproduction artwork for your arcade cabinet projects this is actually the monitor bezel the protective coating still on it and then I also have the marquee right here so the marquee looks really nice again that's a skate pod and then the other thing I wanted to tell you it's inside the house but I also have the artwork for the control panel the control panel overlay that's from game on graphics So that's Scott over at Game On Graphics. He's really great too. And I'll have links in the description to all these vendors. Now, if you're really interested in my project, you'll also want to check out my buddy Scarlet Sprites. He just did his. It's all completed. He did a great video documenting the process. He had his own set of challenges different than mine. His monitor was actually correctly in the correct orientation. So that was good, but he had some problems with the PCB. And he'll talk about that all in his video. So definitely go check out Scarlet Sprites and check out his video and show him some support. If you enjoy his content definitely consider subscribing as well. So anyways, let me know what you think about this project Give me a thumbs up consider subscribing to the channel put your comments below I want to hear from you. Did you love smash TV growing up? Was this one of those like nostalgic titles for you like it was me I'd love to hear from you and that's it for now guys. We will see you on the next one Thank you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 19ed429c-bf81-4db2-bb42-505f0704c940*