I would note that "playing arcade games at home" and "recreating the arcade experience at home" are two very different things. I only have a supergun, no interest whatsoever in getting a cab, and have been playing dozen or so boards for over a year now without having a soldering iron or any kind of meter, and everything's working fine (knock on wood).
In the event of board problems I'll ask for help from people I know are very knowledgeable about these things and probably sent the boards to them to get fixed.