Bezel (n) - The (usually) decorative glass that covers the monitor of a video game.

Cab (n) - Cabinet.  A cabinet is the housing for the video game.  It is usually made of some sort of wood and is generally quite heavy.  Cabinets come in several flavors:  Cabaret, Cockpit, Cocktail and Upright.

Cabaret (adj) - A mid-sized video game cabinet.  Generally about one-half to two-thirds the size of an Upright cabinet.  May also use a smaller monitor than it's upright counterpart.

Cap Kit (n) - A kit comprised of capacitors of various sizes which, once installed, is intended to repair a monitor.  May sometimes contain transistors.  Also known as a Monitor Get Well Kit.

Cockpit (n, adj) - A cabinet specially designed so that the player can sit inside and be surrounded by the game.  Probably the heaviest of all cabinets.

Cocktail (adj) - A table-sized cabinet with a flat, glass top.  May have a smaller monitor than an Upright or Cabaret cabinet and will usually have controls for two players.

Control Panel (n) - A piece of wood, metal or plastic to which buttons, joysticks, and/or trackballs are mounted for the player's interaction with a given game.

Conversion (n) - Any game that resides in a non-original cabinet.  Many games were sold only as kits...therefore, less popular games were converted to these newer (and usually less popular) games.

CPO (n) - Control Panel Overlay.  This is a sheet of artwork that covers the control panel of a video game cabinet.

CPU (n) - Central Processing Unit.  The CPU is the brain of the game.  Example of common video game CPUs are the 6502a and the Z80.

Crackhead (n, adj) - My personal description of any person, collector or operator, who installs incandescent light fixtures into cabinets or drills holes in cabinets.

Dedicated (adj) - A game residing in its original cabinet.

Distributor (n) - a person or company who sells video games and pinball machines and associated parts.  May also be an operator.

DMM (n) - Digital Multimeter.  A device for reading voltage, current, resistance, and sometimes capacitance of a circuit or component.  Some can also be used as a continuity tester. 

FA (n) - Forward Air, a shipping service that was, until recently, a very popular and inexpensive was to ship video games and pinball machines over long distances.

Feedback (n) - a rating system used by e-Bay.  People who have previously done business with a given buyer or seller on e-Bay have the opportunity to leave remarks regarding their transaction.  Other auction sites use a similar system.

KLOV (n) - The Killer List of Video Games.  A huge database of video arcade games with pictures, descriptions and histories.

MAME (n) - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.  A neat piece of software that, with optional ROM downloads, allows your PC to emulate any number of video arcade games.

Marquee (n) - The plexiglass, glass or plastic header, generally backlit, installed into the top of a cabinet.

MIB (adj) - Mint In Box.  Any part or game that has yet to be removed from its original packaging.

NOS (adj) - New Old Stock.  This adjective applies to any part that is original equipment that has not been (hypothetically) used.  A NOS part will usually be a direct and exact replacement.

Operator (n) - A person who places video games and pinball machines in establishments in order to earn a profit.

PCB (n) - Printed Circuit Board.  Most video game motherboards are referred to as PCBs.  Strictly speaking, any circuit board with electrical traces can be referred to as a PCB.

Repro (adj) - A reproduction part.  May or not be similar to the original.  Many control panel overlays are repros.

RGVAC (n) - Acronym for the newsgroup rec.games.video.arcade.collecting.

Side Art (n) - Decorative artwork seen on the side of arcade cabinets.  Side art can either be painted on, silk screened on, or be in the form of a large sticker.

Snipe (v) - The act of placing a bid on e-Bay at the very last minute with the express intent of preventing any other bidders to out bid you.

Sniper (n) - A person who places a bid at the last possible moment with the express intent of preventing any other bidders to out bid him or her.  

Upright (n, adj) - a full-sized video game cabinet.

VAPS (n) - The Video Arcade Preservation Society.  Here you can register your games and see other video game collecting related information.