VGA/CGA Converter Identification Help

[Maphreal]

Howdy!

So I recently acquired a free CGA/VGA converter board of some sort, from a friend who got it from a guy who got it from a guy, etc, etc.

I cannot dig up -any- info on it, as the manufacturer decided it was a great idea not to include any pertinent information on the board itself.

The best thing I can find is this Alibaba listing, which, as with many Alibaba listings, has a description that doesn't make sense in any language. It's also super helpful that it shows pictures of 3 totally separate boards.

Here is the specific board that I have:



And here is the Alibaba listing if it could possibly help: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-sale-Specilized-CGA-EGA-YUV_60313238354.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.LgJ8hn


If anyone could link me to some literature or at least tell me what exactly this thing does (CGA to VGA or VGA to CGA?) it would be greatly appreciated. I've got a cabinet with an arcade monitor, and if I could save a buck by hooking up my mame PC to it that would be super groovy. I don't want to hook anything up without know if it'll explode or not.

Thanks!

[P.H.U.]

Those are all over eBay with literature. Search for "CGA converter". You'll have to match listing pictures to your board from the auction listing, then read the listing details.

But, don't bother. The best way to hook a PC up to an arcade/monitor is to buy an older Radeon HD4350 (recently, you can use newer boards) and run Calamity's hacked CRT Emu drivers. These graphics cards can be picked up for about $20. Details can also be found on the GroovyMAME sub-forum.

[Maphreal]

Those are all over eBay with literature. Search for "CGA converter". You'll have to match listing pictures to your board from the auction listing, then read the listing details.

But, don't bother. The best way to hook a PC up to an arcade/monitor is to buy an older Radeon HD4350 (recently, you can use newer boards) and run Calamity's hacked CRT Emu drivers. These graphics cards can be picked up for about $20. Details can also be found on the GroovyMAME sub-forum.

Thanks for the reply, but I've done that. I've looked through every single listing for every variant search of "cga converter" I could think of. This one just isn't being sold anymore; I'm guessing it's an older model.

I've read that about the hacked Radeon drivers, but I do want to explore my options.

[Thenasty]

to me from the labels I see, it will take CGA or EGA res and output it to VGA res.

If so, it means take your ARCADE PCB games which could be CGA or EGA and display it on a VGA Monitor.

[DeLuSioNal29]

to me from the labels I see, it will take CGA or EGA res and output it to VGA res.

If so, it means take your ARCADE PCB games which could be CGA or EGA and display it on a VGA Monitor.

This is correct.  That board will only covert signals from an actual arcade board to a higher resolution VGA monitor.  Not the other way around.  (Having a high res video card to lower res arcade monitor will not work).

You have a few options:
- Buy an ArcadeVGA (around $100).  You'll need to install this into your PC and replace your existing video card or onboard video.
- Buy a cheap ATI card ($20).  Either A) Install the CRT Emu driver and GroovyMAME as mentioned above or B) Install Soft-15KHz  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,66402.msg671351.html#msg671351

Good luck!

DeL

[Maphreal]

I thought that was gonna be the case. Thanks for the help. I already got a Radeon HD 4550 on the way since I needed a card anyways, figured I'd cover all my bases.

Does anyone know if I'll have to amplify the signal off the 4550? Signs point to yes, but I don't like making purchases without knowing for sure.

Thanks again.