Ultimarc Aimtrak and LCD angle

[Richardgregory]

I am thinking of purchasing a light gun for my cab but my cabinet(LCD) is not an upright straight verticle config but is the LCD is at an angle like in an original QBert.

Would I have any issues?  Do I need to mount the gun sensor directly on top of the LCD inside the plexi or would I be able to mount it outside the plexi flushed higher up from the LCD such that it's kind of hidden as it high up of the edge of the plexi (where it reaches to the top of the cab)...above the yellow line of the bezel as in the pic.

[nugarp]

I would think it wouldn't work as well, given that the rectangle it is expecting is more of a trapezoid when you throw in an angle.

That said, it's probably possible to adjust on the firmware level, but I'm not sure if it's ever been attempted or if Andy has thought about it.

[yotsuya]

I wouldn't. If it's a cab you're MAMING, just fix the monitor tilt. It's an LCD, so space shouldn't be an issue. Get it as vertical as you can.

[Richardgregory]

I wonder what angle I should be mounting the sensor on the lcd....should I mount it such as I would if the monitor was standing verticle but just angle the sensor enough such the front would aim straight as if there would be a person standing in front?

[PL1]

AFAIK, hold the gun at the height and distance from the screen you will be calibrating and firing from and aim at the center of the screen.

Ideally, a line from the sensor in the gun to the center of the screen should be close to perpendicular to the screen.

Angle the LED bar to point at the sensor in the gun.

http://www.ultimarc.com/aimtrak_module.html

the 6 LEDs should be carefully bent so thay are approximately aimed at the gun when the gun is held in the rough position of operation.

Scott

[Richardgregory]

Thanks!!!!  So I should be able to remove the sensor PCB from the housing, and mount it verticle on my monitor. I will probably drill 5 holes and feed the LEDs through.

[dkersten]

It is actually not a sensor, it is just some IR LED's.  So as long as the gun has a clear view of all the LED's in the bar, you should be OK.  The angle of the screen shouldn't pose much of an issue as the calibration sets the left and right extremes and then the height.  The problem with calibration is when you are off center, at which point the bottom corners can be way off.  Any way you do it, the distance you are from the light bar and the height at which you play with it will make huge differences in the calibration.  I found that I needed about 5 feet between the light bar and the gun to get a decent calibration.  However, my light bar is recessed (flush mounted), and that may be the reason I have to be so far back.

[yotsuya]

I  , I think he's still going to have issues with that angle of his LCD if he keeps it at that tilt.

[dkersten]

It will certainly make aiming more difficult as the screen will look "shorter" from a few feet back, but as long as he is centered on the screen when calibrating and has line of sight between the gun and the light bar, and is a sufficient distance away, he shouldn't have issues.  But it might be hard to stand a few feet away and still see that screen, so I can't say whether it is a good choice of cabinet for guns.. From my experience, I highly doubt he could hold the gun only a foot or two away from the screen and have any kind of decent calibration, and much of the screen probably won't even be within the range of the gun that close. 

[Richardgregory]

Thanks guys!  Well I went out today to a Ultimarc reseller and picked up the Aimtrac.  I dismantled the sensor to extract the circuit board and sensor LEDs so I could mount it compact on top of my LCD. I will need to redo my bezel As the black paint blocks the sensor.

But I shifted the plexi up a bit as a proof of concept and it works nicely!!!  I was very surprised that it worked so well. The only thing I needed to do was bend the LEDs a bit but other than that I was shooting away.

I guess I will use a bit of Velcro at the bottom of the circuit board to the monitor. Not sure how else otherwise. I currently used electrical tape to hold it but the heat from the monitor is kind of making the tape "melt"

Well, lots of work to do still but at least I didn't lose my money or return it and pay a restocking fee.