New light gun vendor selling fully assembled AIM-Traks in other housings

[BadMouth]

I was looking up information for a project and came across www.arcadeguns.com

They are Ultimarc AIM-Traks in different housings, already assembled.


I hadn't seen the place mentioned on the board anywhere.
Looks like they're out of Nebraska.
Interesting.  I know a lot of people have been asking for a fully assembled solution.

[mdoggie]

Is this a good deal for a set? I'm probably adding a set of light guns to my cabinet in a few months, and was wanting to get something above NES Zapper level I can't tell from the manual on their website if that part in front of the trigger is a "reload" mechanism, or its just part of the plastic casing. Also, I'm guessing this gun provides no recoil emulation as it doesn't mention anything about it.

[BadMouth]

I can't tell from the manual on their website if that part in front of the trigger is a "reload" mechanism

You would be able to configure it as whatever you want with The Aim-Trak utility software.
http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak.html
Personally, I think it's odd that they didn't put a button on the side of the barrel.
I like the look of the Ultimarc housings better.
The white triggers and buttons make these guns look cheaper than they should.
I also don't know why they'd bother making white guns and not black ones.  
Must be a big Wii fan or have gotten a deal on white plastic.

Is this a good deal for a set?

It seems in line with the going rate.  It's about the same as buying the parts from Ultimarc
http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=7&xPage=1, but it's already assembled.
They're a little cheaper than the Act Labs guns http://www.act-labs.com/products/gun1.htm,
but those are a true light guns and require a CRT monitor to work.

something above NES Zapper level

Actually the NES Zapper was a true light gun and accurate down to a pixel (as are the Act Labs guns).
True light guns also do not require you to stand as far away from the screen.
The downside is that they only work on CRT monitors and they won't work very well on games that
originally had mounted positional guns (Terminator 2, Revolution X, etc).

I use a set of old act labs ray guns that I bought off fleabay for $30 each.  
Wish they looked cooler, but I've been very happy with them for what I paid.  
I also have the small silver pistol that they made for a while as a spare, but it isn't very comfortable in the hand.

If you want to get edumacated about light guns, read up here:
http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Light_gun
Skip down to "How Light Guns Work" to get to the point.

[smalltownguy]

If they work as advertised, that's a great price. The time and effort required to properly mount the aimtrack is worth that much.

[divemaster127]

I also sell the fully assembled ultimarc guns all ready to go. I have a couple of sets ready to ship
dm
arcadeemulator.net

[NoBullMAME]

So, these come with the aimtrack PCB and sensor, correct?
If so, that's not such a bad deal. If they had these molds custom made, then they paid a pretty penny. Though I'm not sure these are really custom made just for the aim track.

There's two things I don't like: 1 white triggers. I can live with it, but black or dark gray would have looked a lot nicer.
2. What's up with trying to trademark "Arcade Guns"--no prior use their-J/K

[smalltownguy]

I think they're trying to trademark the name 'Arcade Guns' with the use of a cab in place of the 'R.'

[NoBullMAME]

I think they're trying to trademark the name 'Arcade Guns' with the use of a cab in place of the 'R.'

That would make more sense. I did a little research and it looks like they did try to trademark the term "ARCADE GUNS" in all CAPs, but were denied. I didn't see any new app for a cab in place of the R, but I'm not great at searching the trademark database so it could be.

Anyway, looks like a new company. I'm willing to cut them some slack, don't trademark common arcade terms, lesson learned.

http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=85045864

http://www.trademarkia.com/arcade-guns-85045864.html

[Donkbaca]

Meh...guns dont look that great in my opinion, and I don't think setting up an aimtrak in a shell is really that hard. That being said, it's always great to have options

[GreatLamer]

Ultimarc sells the sensor per pcb? If so there is a letdown selling 2 gun with one sensor.

[Dazz]

Ultimarc sells the sensor per pcb? If so there is a letdown selling 2 gun with one sensor.

No, you can buy the 2nd gun without the sensor.  Both guns can operate using the same sensor.

[GreatLamer]

I see. But if Ultimarc sells the sensor per PCB and this shop sells the two gun with only one and priced up, it's disgusting me... And, why not get 2 sensor for the two gun, I may be play on two television, two different place... for example.

[Donkbaca]

Dude, you don't need 2 sensors, have you been to ultimarc's website?

The price is about the same as if you were to buy the aimtraks and the gun kits from ultimarc, you would just be saving on the time to put it together, which really isn't that hard or complicated, plus I think the aimtrak shells are better looking.

Personally, I went with the yobo 2 guns for my shells, they were only like 10 bucks a piece and have a 5v motor that you can hook up to provide vibration feedback.  Not as cool as a solenoid type kickback, but super simple to set up and cheap.  I set up my guns for a total of about 100 bucks, I think they look better, they are heftier because of the motors and provide some feedback when I shoot.  I think that is the way to go, personally, but hey, to each his own...

[NoBullMAME]

Dude, you don't need 2 sensors, have you been to ultimarc's website?

The price is about the same as if you were to buy the aimtraks and the gun kits from ultimarc, you would just be saving on the time to put it together, which really isn't that hard or complicated, plus I think the aimtrak shells are better looking.

Personally, I went with the yobo 2 guns for my shells, they were only like 10 bucks a piece and have a 5v motor that you can hook up to provide vibration feedback.  Not as cool as a solenoid type kickback, but super simple to set up and cheap.  I set up my guns for a total of about 100 bucks, I think they look better, they are heftier because of the motors and provide some feedback when I shoot.  I think that is the way to go, personally, but hey, to each his own...

Did a quick search, but I couldn't find a post about the yobo shells? Can you post a link or a website?
Thanks

[Donkbaca]

they aren't shells, they are the yobo guncon2 ps2 controllers, I used them for my shelss using this awesome tutorial

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=101016.0

I found the guns at VP games for like 6 bucks each at the time, I think they upped the prices and they are around 10 bucks or so each.  You just take apart the guns, paint them how you like and put in the aimtraks.  It takes a little bit of effort, but its not hard, and I think the guns look and feel good.  They are cool because there are a ton of buttons on them so you can put the reload button under the trigger, on the bootom of the gun, on the side of the gun or on the little slide thing under the barrel, or you could wire it in parallel to any combination of those buttons.  Plus the vibration feedback is a plus as the motor in the handle adds a little bit of heft to the gun..  Like I said, it won't give you an arcade type kick back recall, its about the same or probably slightl little less than the vibration in an xbox 360 controller, and you can turn it off if you don't like it.

[NoBullMAME]

they aren't shells, they are the yobo guncon2 ps2 controllers, I used them for my shelss using this awesome tutorial

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=101016.0

I found the guns at VP games for like 6 bucks each at the time, I think they upped the prices and they are around 10 bucks or so each.  You just take apart the guns, paint them how you like and put in the aimtraks.  It takes a little bit of effort, but its not hard, and I think the guns look and feel good.  They are cool because there are a ton of buttons on them so you can put the reload button under the trigger, on the bootom of the gun, on the side of the gun or on the little slide thing under the barrel, or you could wire it in parallel to any combination of those buttons.  Plus the vibration feedback is a plus as the motor in the handle adds a little bit of heft to the gun..  Like I said, it won't give you an arcade type kick back recall, its about the same or probably slightl little less than the vibration in an xbox 360 controller, and you can turn it off if you don't like it.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out; it's a lot cheaper than gutting two Happs guns!

[Donkbaca]

If you need any help or info let me know.  I think I got the guns from VP games.  The guns are kinda an ugly orange, but I think they look good when painted

[ArcadeGuns]

I was looking up information for a project and came across www.arcadeguns.com

They are Ultimarc AIM-Traks in different housings, already assembled.


I hadn't seen the place mentioned on the board anywhere.
Looks like they're out of Nebraska.
Interesting.  I know a lot of people have been asking for a fully assembled solution.

EDIT: Do they work as close to the screen as they are depicted on the front page?  

I was just reading through the blogs and came across this one. As a part of the Arcade Guns Company, I’m excited to see all the comments and interest surrounding Arcade Guns light guns! When making these light guns our main goal was to create something fresh and new so that people could have more choices when it came to light guns for the PC. I just thought I would add some comments for those of you that would like additional information and to answer some of the questions posted here.

First off we have been huge fans of Ultimarc for as long as we can remember! They have always made killer products which is just one of the reasons we use the Ultimarc Aim-Trak Sensors in our light guns. They work flawlessly and are extremely reliable, so we figured there was no need to reinvent the wheel! Our light guns were built around the AIM-Trak sensor, meaning they fit perfectly in the nose of the gun. We mounted the sensor as close to the front of the gun as physically possible while hiding the electronics. This was done by angling the nose slightly at a curve so that the sensor was not being “blocked” at the top or sides. You get 100% of the camera sensor’s viewing angle.  This is impossible to achieve with ANY other enclosure which will always block the sensor one way or another resulting in you having to stand further away from the screen than necessary. Either that or the AIM-Trak camera module can hang out of the nose of the gun exposing the electronics, which is silly to think about. We also use Cherry Brand switches for all the buttons and trigger which gives our light guns a long life span. They also have a more pleasant sounding click when pressing them and of course they offer excellent response speeds.

There was also a comment about an all black gun. We had originally intended on making all black guns however there is a pesky law here in the United States which makes it illegal to transport black toy guns that resemble a real gun unless the nose of the gun is bright orange. I’m not sure if that would be a hot seller or not, let me know if that is appealing to anyone! Plus, we are about having fun and playing old school games, not making toy guns that could potentially be mistaken for a real gun by law enforcement. There is also the fact that traditional Arcade guns were Blue, Red, Orange, Green and Purple which is why we went with two of these colors. As far as white goes, the pictures on our website don’t do them justice. They actually look amazing in front of a black arcade machine and in our live-person survey they ranked very high! Plus, why not!

 A comment was made about recoil and we are looking into it! We have been toying with the idea since the beginning of our design work but haven’t agreed on the correct or best implementation yet. Typically recoil in Arcades requires a large power source which isn’t cost effective when trying to keep the price as low as possible for our customers. What we should be able to do is add rumble in the handle of the gun with a circuit board. We ultimately want to have the game control the rumble and not just have it rumble each time you pull the trigger. This is just one hurdle since most emulated games haven’t implemented the code to communicate this feedback to the light gun controller yet. However if we can pull it off, it would probably encourage the MAME developers to add that functionality. So, with this all in mind we planned ahead and have an empty place in the handle where this can be mounted specifically for this purpose. So look for this upgrade in the future.

In addition, we wanted to add that most games offer off screen reload which means that you can point the gun away from the screen and pull the trigger to reload the gun. Only a few games that I know of don’t support this feature. In those cases the small or large button can also be used for reload. I prefer the small button since it is right next to my finger on the handle and is very easy to use. All the buttons can be accessed easily with one hand while holding the handle.

One last comment before I sign off. Having the buttons/trigger be one color and the gun halves be another was actually more expensive than having a single color light gun. This is due to the fact that two plastic injection molds were required to do this instead of one.  Also, white plastic isn’t cheaper to produce than any other color choice. This is where I would welcome your comments. Would it be better to offer an all Red or an All Blue light gun instead of having white buttons and triggers?  This could easily be done if there is a demand for that. We really love reading all the comments and hope you will stop by our website www.arcadeguns.com and shop with us! After all our customers make us who we are! If you would like to reach me directly please email me at eric@arcadeguns.com for any additional information or comments. Game on!

[BadMouth]

I was wondering if the vendor would show up.  
Welcome.

Would it be better to offer an all Red or an All Blue light gun instead of having white buttons and triggers?  This could easily be done if there is a demand for that.

Having the triggers the same color as the gun would look also look cheap.  
Like NoBullMAME said, dark grey or black triggers/buttons.  
It's a small thing that makes no difference in cost, but makes a big difference in the perceived quality of the gun.
Consult us next time.  


FYI,
Andy just announced AIM-Trak firmware that adds an output for recoil.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=109142.0
It sends a pulse if the trigger is pulled while pointed at the screen, no need for the game or MAME to support recoil.

I'm not sure how much extra $$$ the average person would would fork over for recoil, if anything.
There's an option to create a survey on the forum that could be useful in determining that.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

+1 on the black and/or dark grey triggers/buttons.

Also if you plan on selling the shells + wiring harness minus the bar and aimtrak module, there would probably be some interest in that as well.

I recently purchased two aimtrak complete kits and they don't quite fit in my existing holsters, and I'm not wild about the sound of the buttons.

I would love to see the shells, buttons, and wiring harness available.

[ArcadeGuns]

We just placed an order for black buttons and triggers from our plastic manufacturer. It will probably be a couple of weeks before we receive them.  At that time we will post both white and black options on our website. We are also considering offering just the gun housings (with wire harness, buttons, ect) so that you can add your own AIM-Trak modules if you want. Choices are always a good thing!  Thank you all for the great input!

[Dartful Dodger]

Speaking of choices...
A rifle/shotgun option would be nice.

[pinballwizard79]

I just bought a new control panel & 8 skateboards, damn now I have to wait a month or two before buying these 

The white triggers look fine to me, I think its a cool contrast. Gonna order two blue guns as soon as the wife forgets my recent purchases (6-8 weeks)....maybe recoil by then?

[GreatLamer]

Much gaming video needed on the arcadeguns website, for example the operation of Remington Slam Hunt Africa in joystick mode because only joystick supported in 2-3-4 player mode plus a mouse! House Of the Dead III do the same thing...

[ArcadeGuns]

We are working on adding some videos to our website which will be mostly instructional. Also, we have fully tested House Of the Dead III in two player mode with our light guns in mouse mode. There are instructions on how to set it up in the User Manual located here: http://www.arcadeguns.com/download/ArcadeGunsUserManual.pdf. We have also tested many other PC light gun games with great success! We are collecting this information and hope to post it on our website shortly.

[GreatLamer]

Ok. But what I want to see is this gun how accurate in Joystick Mode? Very much game allow to play P1 mouse and P2 game pad. In that case, ACTLabs troubleshooter doesn't need if the gun usable via joystick/game pad.

[ArcadeGuns]

Ok. But what I want to see is this gun how accurate in Joystick Mode? Very much game allow to play P1 mouse and P2 game pad. In that case, ACTLabs troubleshooter doesn't need if the gun usable via joystick/game pad.

So here is the deal with mouse and joystick mode. Both have the same accuracy and both function in absolute mode which is the only way an absolute pointing device can function. Many joystick games function in relative mode, meaning if you had a joystick with the pointer starting at the center of the screen, then pushed left and then released it would not return to the center again. Only games that return to the center of the screen will work correctly in absolute joystick mode. Mame supports this, but many PC gun games do not.  PC gun games still work best in mouse mode. I hope my explanation makes sense.

[Donkbaca]

makes sense to me.  Its the same reason 2 lightguns don't work in Model 2

[GreatLamer]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know that. So this joy option isn't a big deal as seen.

[DeLuSioNal29]

OK, I finally did it.  I bought two aimtraks.  And also the Yobo guns based on the positive notes on this thread about force feedback.  Thanks Donkbaca.  Hopefully they'll come out good.  I also bought "vinyl dye" to paint them black with blue and red buttons.  Vinyl die is supposed to chemically bond with the plastic so it won't flake off with use.  We'll see...

DeLuSioNaL29

[Donkbaca]

Like I said, don't expect the guns to be rocking in your hand, but the added heft of the motor is nice, and the vibration is akin to a xbox 360 controller

[ArcadeGuns]

Good news everyone! We now have the black buttons and triggers in stock. They look really nice! I will be posting pictures shortly. For now if you select any one of our gun kits you will have the option of selecting either White or Black buttons/trigger. I also added an option for cased IR sensor bars or no case. I'm still a big fan of the white buttons/triggers but choices are always a good thing.  Thanks again for all your input!

http://www.arcadeguns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

[ArcadeGuns]

We now have DIY light gun housing kits available for those people who already own an AIM-Track sensor and want a nice gun housing! The kits come almost fully assembled!



http://www.arcadeguns.com

[lodoss118]

How about some recoil or vibration for next release, the arcade guns with black triggers look really nice

[DataWest]

The black triggers are a great improvement. I might pick these up for my cabinet.

[ArcadeGuns]

Hi everyone! CheapSkateGamer.com recently did a full blog review on our light guns along with a YouTube video! I encourage anyone who is interested in Arcade Guns Light Guns to view the video and read the full blog review posting! Thanks again for all the great comments here on this forum and via email!

Enjoy!

YouTube Video:

Blog Review: http://www.cheapskategamer.com/pc_game_stories_and_news/true-light-gun-support-for-pc-gaming-the-arcade-guns%E2%84%A2-product-review/

[BadMouth]

Stick around and hang out for a while. 

Are the black triggers making a noticeable difference in sales or are you selling just as many white ones?

[ArcadeGuns]

Stick around and hang out for a while. 

Are the black triggers making a noticeable difference in sales or are you selling just as many white ones?

Actually, yes!    The black buttons/trigger are quite popular! I believe 60% of our sales now come from the black set while the other 40% are for the white set! When all said and done, the black sets are very popular! Thanks for suggesting it! 

[mrchrister]

Hi, I own an EMS Topgun II and wonder if its time to upgrade... The gun works nicely but I have to go away very far from the screen!
How does AimTrak compare to this?

[chepin]

Speaking of choices...
A rifle/shotgun option would be nice.

I used Cabela's Top Shot for the PS3 with the Aim Track.



The stock extends, the scope moves up and down the barrel, and the pumping the forearm can be used as a reload button. I was lucky to find two broken units on ebay for this mod.

[Dan_Dan_91_07]

I will be getting a lightgun soon.

I'm not 100% certain which brand to get ATM, I need to spend a bit more time reading what I can about the various options, I think I will end up going for an Arcade Gun's ready made one though - with a black trigger!

To repeat an earlier posters question however, are there any plans to include force feedback? If you are, I may wait in till this has been done... I think it'll make playing much more fun!

[ArcadeGuns]

We have been looking into different methods to add recoil to our light guns. After much research and testing with both solenoids and vibrating motors, we are leaning more towards using a vibrating motor to add rumble. The solenoids that we have tested cost too much (price wise) compared to the performance that they offered. The vibrating motor that we are looking into is relatively inexpensive and is quite effective! We hope to start selling them in the coming months. We don't have an exact release date, but once we have a better estimate we will announce it here on this forum!

[ArcadeGuns]

Hi, I own an EMS Topgun II and wonder if its time to upgrade... The gun works nicely but I have to go away very far from the screen!
How does AimTrak compare to this?

The AimTrak works much closer to the screen than the Top Gun. This does make the AimTrak more desirable for Arcade Cabinets or playing on a home computer! Plus the AimTrak light bar sits nicely on top of your monitor rather than having two light bars like the Top Gun.

[SNAAKE]

just got mine(2 days shipping). looks great. didnt hook it up yet.

its smaller than standard guncon2 which is perfect. and very sturdy and not cluttered at all. only 2 other buttons. only thing they can do to improve is is adding some kind of built in recoil feature that activates when you pull the trigger. that would amazing. especially something like the namco arcade guns with "kickback".