AtariJim.. rest in peace

[number six]

Got a few messages on this from different sources so it appears to be true.

AtariJim has passed away.

For those that don't know, Jim was an old school Arcade / Pinball repair guy and one of the corners of this community. After the arcades died out he started doing a lot of work for collectors and quickly became the go to tech in the area.

He was definitely a unique individual but his talent was amazing. I've seen him take a board, bend it a bit.. use some sixth sense of his then know what the problem was without even having to actually fire it up. I lived about 5 minutes from him and many times I'd drop something off only to get a call before I got home that he had already fixed it.

Jim loved to share his knowledge, you'll see his posts on our repair forums pretty frequently. He didn't suffer fools so make sure you ask a sensible question.. but if you did he usually had an answer. He also did some really great Q&A panels at the early GameWarp shows.. I do how those on video tape somewhere.

I'm sure he's playing his Class of 1812 in the sky now, I know this community lost something we'll never get back.

[leewoo]

This is truly sad. He was a tech wizard to say the least.

My first arcade in 2010 (Mortal Kombat II that I still have today) had monitor issues shortly after buying it. Took it to him from a suggestion and he had it fixed before I even left his garage.

RIP

[Taygeta]

When I first got in the hobby while living in Plant City Jim was my go to guy for anything pinball tech related.

As others have said he was truly gifted when it came to repair, I can’t say I’ve met anyone since that had his level of knowledge.

We’ve lost a legend

[hawknole]

Sorry to hear, a good summary number six, sad

[Rich Jax]

What?!? 
Jim was one of most talented repair techs I’ve ever met.
He will be sorely missed.

[ibis]

Ive had the pleasure of knowing Jim for almost 20 years now.  He was rough around the edges but once you got to know him he was a sweet man who absolutely loved life and his family.  We would talk football, fishing, fireworks(one of his passions) cruises(he took several cruises a year) and family for hours.  I never left his garage ONCE without learning something new.  And if you showed a true interest in what he was saying/showing you about your busted game, he went out of his way to explain everything he was doing in detail.  I did get the pleasure of stumping him once, and that is NOT an easy thing to do.  I had a Williams Flash and the MPU was sending out a strange signal and the game was not booting up.  6 hours later, he found the crystal was bad, something he says he rarely ever runs into.  We lost an incredibly intelligent and talented friend within our hobby.  Godspeed you cranky goat!  Thank you for being a wealth of knowledge and friendship all these years!

[BigMatt]

RIP fellow tech never met him always heard good things.

[RussG]

No way ! I am beyond depressed and sad now.
What a terrible loss for the village and his family.
Jim was am amazing guy and will be sorely missed by so many!
 

[taz]

Unfortunately, it's true.  My girlfriend lives on the same street, so I had already heard that he was in Stage 4 cancer.  As everyone here has already said, he was an amazing technician, and as rough as sandpaper until you broke through his grouchy force field.  I still remember calling him for status of a game and going to voice mail, listening to his long and crazy answering machine message.  Jim was a hoot and often times seen wondering around in a speedo after hanging out in his pool!  He totally shopped out my STTNG bringing it back to life, and while in his garage I saw his amazing work on a Scared Stiff that was sent from far up north for him to bring back to life.  He had that kind of far and wide reputation.  He was generous with his neighbors and known for putting tree fruit at the end of his driveway for anyone who wanted it.  I live 2 miles from his house and brought him over one day to look at an old Batman Forever.  By the way, that took a lot of convincing because he preferred games brought to him.  He violently jerked the playfield out and within 60 seconds figured out the problem.  He was that amazing! 

[HammysHangout ( Hammy )]

His wife has reached out and working on sorting out liquidating his games/parts, please respect the family, she will reach out to me when she is ready, Celebration of life will be during FPF, but as soon as I have the details I will share it, I will be leaving FPF to attend and then returning to FPF.

[Big Al]

RIP AJ…

I 1st met Jim in the mid to late 90’s when he was a manager for Gameroom Superstores f/k/a: Apollo Amusements.  They had a smaller warehouse near the Sarasota airport in the airport mall.

He was a “real” arcade tech and “real” arcade manager.  He was extremely brilliant at anything arcade related.  I could honestly listen to him for hours.  He would post on RGVAC / Usenet back before the BBS and was a great resource to all.

Jim helped me run my small but full scale route almost 2 decades ago but geez’ it seems like yesterday.

He was hands down the smartest tech I’ve known in 30+ years of collecting.

I was and still am very appreciative of all his contributions to the hobby and the coin-op industry.

I’ll have a cold Yuengling a little extra early for ya’ tomorrow Jim.

Big Al

[Marcel G]

I never met the guy, but always heard he was truly a good tech.
Sending my condolences to his family and friends.

[RussG]

His wife has reached out and working on sorting out liquidating his games/parts, please respect the family, she will reach out to me when she is ready, Celebration of life will be during FPF, but as soon as I have the details I will share it, I will be leaving FPF to attend and then returning to FPF.

FPF should have something in honor or him during the event for those that want to attend.  Only fitting.

[owlnonymous]

It saddens me to hear this but I know the cancer was bad. My thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time.

Atari Jim was such a character. I learned so much from watching him bring countless games back to life.

Who would have known that this tough biker wearing cut-off jean shorts drinking a beer at 8am would all grow on us and give back so much to the community.

In memory of Jim, may he rest in peace. He will be deeply missed.

[k7]

RIP, atari jim. godspeed.