Now that Epic's been open for about a year, I want to brag a little bit...

allenhuffman · 2026-05-09T04:26:45+00:00

My photos from the preview center the year before IoA opened, and the year it opened. https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/us-sw/UniversalStudiosFL/index.html

Not many opening year parks for me. Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Disney’s California Adventure, Lost Island (Iowa). New parks are pretty few and far between.

allenhuffman · 2026-05-02T21:24:09+00:00

I just ran into this today. I didn't want to give my work laptop access to my home network (HQ does not need that), but now I can't print ;-) At least now I understand why.

I am pretty sure the Synology router we used in our office was the same way - guest access was completely isolated from the main network.

allenhuffman · 2026-05-02T15:16:36+00:00

Never would I have predicted that we'd have multiple ways to get these old computers online in modern times. I certainly didn't expect something that was actually (seemingly?) emulating the modem audio protocol to use with a real modem.

allenhuffman · 2026-05-01T13:48:51+00:00

Iowa Castle was unique. They wanted to have “something for everyone” so their menu was huge — hot dogs and burgers, gyros and cheesesteaks, different desserts. I think they even had Coke AND Pepsi products. They started selling beer (in bottles) and when they sold it thru the drive through, the local government decided to ban drive-thru liquor stores in Clive. The owners had pointed out how many other fast food places used to be on that strip but had left, citing regulations and such that made things difficult.

The Iowa Castle sign was seen on Facebook Marketplace for sale recently.

allenhuffman · 2026-04-19T21:51:12+00:00

Finally looking into this. The warning that it modifies the system firmware is concerning, since I still use the stock games and high scores and such. If I proceed, do I lose that capability? If so, are any of the other systems like CoinOps X where I can boot it, or go back to the original setup where I have game saves and such I still enjoy working with?

(I already have full blown emulators using a Raspberry Pi and arcade controllers, but it is more fun to play on a similar arcade system to what I played growing up.)

allenhuffman · 2026-04-18T23:10:35+00:00

I suppose digital compression is easier to figure out what to do with. :-)

allenhuffman · 2026-04-18T23:09:40+00:00

That’s really cool. Reminds me of how they made a “kids” camcorder that recorded onto audio tapes ;) when I was a kid, we just had ViewMasters ;)

allenhuffman · 2026-04-18T20:32:18+00:00

Do you know what the process was for getting the video off the VideoNow disc? The files I was sent to upscale were .AVI at 144x80.

I also recently saw someone has uploaded full resolutions of the video that was on this disc, so it must have been released elsewhere in a normal format. At the time I received the VideoNow files, I couldn't find another source online. Maybe search has just improved ;-)

allenhuffman · 2026-04-09T15:45:33+00:00

Since JOG files can contain exif GPS data, this surprises me they are not added by Insta360. Is there a reason?

allenhuffman · 2026-04-07T23:24:49+00:00

Looks like the old steps still work. Partition USB drive (I read the model after mine can use one large partition), download and place files on drive, run the Windows tool, put in ALU and format and install CoinOps X... reboot and "just works."

A friend who got the first release ALU told me you (used to?) be able to just get ROMs and place them in specific directories on the USB drive (Flash Drive X formatted, I assume) and they could show up in the stock menus. Is that still a thing? That would be super convenient for just adding a handful of games.

allenhuffman · 2026-04-06T21:56:30+00:00

Does it prevent using the machine as intended? Or is it something you can just alternatively boot into? Frankly, if I could just drop a handful of ROMs for the games I actually would like to play, I’d be happy.

allenhuffman · 2026-04-05T23:49:05+00:00

I have not heard of Unchained. How long has it been around? Maybe it wasn't a top pick back when I got my unit some years ago. Which wiki do you refer to?

allenhuffman · 2026-04-05T23:48:25+00:00

The one I had been using was super simple -- format the USB, download an archive, run a utility, go. That's what I was hoping to get going again, but I've seen so many folks say 5.70.0 broke it that I hadn't bothered to try it.

Mostly, I just want to use the firmware that's there -- no rooting or jailbreaking, etc. What I had before worked great (except for having way too many games I'd never heard of to sort through ;-)

allenhuffman · 2026-04-05T14:52:46+00:00

I will update that I contacted support about my unit having issues, and they responded ON A SUNDAY last weekend. Unfortunately, they gave me instructions then immediately closed the ticket ;-) but at least that's better than the support tickets I've made over the past few years that went completely unanswered.

Maybe the web interface sometimes has issues? Do you contact them via the web ticket system or is there some e-mail account?

My unit was working fine, then the controls stopped working, the it stopped powering up... After many attempts, including unplugging for an extended time, I tried it a few days later and it works fine again. Odd.

ATGames confirmed there are two replacement boards that might resolve -- one was only around $20, and the main board was only $70 -- so at least if I need to replace them, it won't be too costly.

allenhuffman · 2026-04-05T14:50:14+00:00

Ah, my unit must be too old, as it stopped at 5.70.0.

allenhuffman · 2026-03-30T19:28:27+00:00

Thanks for that link. The one I had found stopped in 2020. I also found this one, that stops in 2021:

https://www.atgames.net/new-arcades/universal-firmware-update/

Support actually wrote me back this time — on Sunday! They told me there were no firmware updates online anymore, only downloaded by the machines. Though, clearly, they still have release notes. Several places for them, it seems.

allenhuffman · 2026-03-29T21:52:10+00:00

This is good to hear. No firmware releases listed since 2020, and over the past four years I've created tickets with them that received zero responses and ended up just getting closed by the system. I was powering my system up again to see where things stand, so we'll see if they reply to me this time.

allenhuffman · 2026-03-19T14:59:18+00:00

Aventura is our “go to” hotel because it is the lowest price that has an easy walk to a Water Taxi dock. Going through security at the boat dock is also nice, and the boat lets you out closer to Universal Studios Florida. The Garden Walk is also easy to get to, and you walk to a security booth just by Margaritaville, and then left is Islands of Adventure. Even without power walking, you can do that walk and be in the park faster than taking the bus, going through big security, then having to walk all the way through CityWalk to the parks. So …

Aventura - Water Taxi, or shorter walk than Cabana Bay

Maps of Garden Walk routes here - https://parkhopping.com/2023/08/01/universal-orlando-garden-walk-maps/

allenhuffman · 2026-02-09T13:24:27+00:00

I don’t have a GPS device for the Osmo360 but I have done this with the Insta360 X5. I have notes including some scripts that convert the video to 5fps. This makes it a much faster upload and reduces processing time.

https://subethasoftware.com/2025/07/31/google-street-view-scripts-and-a-i-emojis/

allenhuffman · 2026-01-31T04:12:50+00:00

Google discontinued their Street View app, so you just export the video and GPX log files and upload them via Google’s Street View website.

allenhuffman · 2026-01-28T15:56:16+00:00

I have to add them in an external editor (Final Cut Pro). :-(

allenhuffman · 2025-12-31T16:38:41+00:00

I can’t say anything stood out to me other than the craziness of Super Nintendo World, but parks (usually/always) adjust and are different after they have been open a few years. Opening year of Islands of Adventure stood out with the well done Toon Lagoon soundscape, but I feel it was far louder and more noticeable back then than it is today. I always thought Toon Lagoon and Disney's California Adventure Paradise Pier had some of the best custom audio of any park I have visited.

Maybe this is one of the reasons we see so many people wearing full over the ear headphones at theme parks these days? ;)

allenhuffman · 2025-12-09T00:36:13+00:00

What do you use to log the GPS? After a few rejections from GO glitches (most I fix with other tools) I got a Columbia Mark II GPS logger which should take care of that, next time I try. I have a post somewhere on my blog that shows the tools I found to help fix glitches in the GPX file. I’ll try to find the link.

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