More Aimtrak Questions - Cabinet Mounting Options

[JamesRIves]

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm considering purchasing pne or two Aimtrak guns for my cabinet, but before I do so, I'll need to determine whether I can successfully mount the sensor bar.  A couple years ago, I bought one of the de-cased sensor bars from Ultimarc, but I never got around to experimenting with it.  It's been sitting in a box.

A few questions for Aimtrak users and/or Ultimarc.
 
1) I realize most people mount them on top of the monitor, but for a variety of reasons, my only viable option would be to mount it on the bottom.  Is this an option?  Is it comparable to a dophin bar, which offers an option to mount it in either location?  Or would performance be severely impacted if I were to mount it towards the bottom?

2) Does the sensor bar have to be mounted in a certain manner?  Ideally, I would want the side with the single LED to be mounted on the left (which would allow the sensor bar USB cord to come out the bottom of the unit and into my cabinet), and the side with the multiple LEDs to be mounted on the right.  Would this work, or is this upside down?

3) Is there any way to test whether the LEDs are working without actually hooking up a gun?  As mentioned, my de-cased sensor bar has been sitting in a box for quite some time, so I'm not 100% sure it works.  I thought had heard you can see whether the LEDs are lit by taking a picture of the unit with a cell phone while it's powered, but I tried that and couldn't see any indication that the LEDs are active.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Jim   

[Titchgamer]

1) the bar should be mounted above the monitor. The AT’s beam angles up ever so slightly.

2) can’t remember which way up the bar is mines mounted inside my cabinet case but if its to short you can extend it.

3) you can test if the IR is working by looking at it with camera but I don’t think it works if the camera has a IR filter.

Never tried it personally...

[JamesRIves]

Thanks.  Disappointing that there's no way to mount it below the monitor.  That's pretty much a deal killer for me.  I'd have to make some serious mods to my cabinet to mount it above the monitor.

Thanks again.  Appreciate the update.

Jim

[Titchgamer]

When I mounted mine I literally cut a slot just bigger than the bar then filled and painted it.
You wouldn’t even notice it unless you look for it!

[JamesRIves]

Ironically, I was thinking about doing something very similar.  I was thinking about incorporating the sensor into molding I could place at the top of the plexi that covers the monitor (under the marquee).  My concern is, I think this would result in the sensor being angled upward.  From what I've read, it's critical to position the sensor correctly.

Thanks for sharing this suggestion.

Jim

[Titchgamer]

Yes you need it flat and as close to the top of the monitor as you can get.
Mine is mounted between inky and the asteroids logo.

When I cut the hole for mine I forgot to take into account the angle of the wood so I flattened the bottom edge before filling and painting the newly exposed wood then mounted and sealed it in place.

Its also behind some smoked plexi but that was removed at the time of the pic.

[JamesRIves]

That's nice work.  You're right -- you would never notice it unless you were looking for it. 

The Aimtrak sensor bar must be less forgiving that the Dolphin bar.  I've had great luck with mounting the Dolphin bar below the monitor (there's a switch on the Dolphin bar sensor that lets you toggle back and forth between above or below the monitor).  I've actually found it to be more responsive on the bottom of the monitor, and it was much more convenient for me to place the sensor there.  In fact, I can use a cheap wireless sensor bar designed for the wii (it's powered by batteries) and merely place it near the front of the control panel and remove it when I'm not using it.  It works perfectly, but the batteries don't last all that long.  With that said, I understand the Aimtrak sensor is designed to be far more accurate than the Dolphin bar, but I'm still surprised there isn't a way to mount it below the monitor instead of above it. 

I'm actually having fairly good luck using the Dolphin bar, wii remotes, and cheap wii guns (there are many different types available for next to nothing on ebay) for light gun games.  The only downfall is that this setup doesn't allow you to calibrate the guns.  You have to adjust your distance from the cabinet to get close to a "line of sight" view, but when it comes to light gun games, I'm not looking for perfection... just a fun experience.  I'm not sure investing in the Aimtrak rig would be that much of an improvement since the basic technology is similar (mouse emulation), and none of these options come close to replicating the pixel-perfect results obtained from the old (now unavailable) Act Labs guns designed for CRT monitors.  I only use CRT monitors in my cabs, so if I ever get the opportunity to grab one of the Act Lab guns off ebay, I plan to jump on it.

Thanks again!

Jim

[Titchgamer]

I never used the act labs so cant really comment.

But I do have a large collection of old consoles and light guns as well as newer versions that work with LCD such as the topguns.

I think people tend to have narrow memories of the older light guns.

People say they were pixel perfect, reliable, never lost calibration etc but its not really true.

The only gun I have ever used that never lost calibration was the old NES zapper which of course never needed to be calibrated :p

I own light guns for the SNES, Mega Drive, PS1 & PS2 and they all occasionally loose aim a bit.
Usually when you have aimed off screen or bad lighting etc.

But to come back to the Aim traks yes they suffer the same issues, And are more prone to lighting issues but the one advantage of them over pretty much any other light gun I have ever used is that they can be calibrated on the fly at any time!

But Once Set I never even re-calibrate mine!
Just stand in my usual spot and they good to go

[JamesRIves]

Good points.  I'm sure I'll cough up the dough eventually and buy the Aimtrak.  It seems to be the best option available at present.  Once I get the bug and take interest in a new toy, I usually end up making a purchase eventually.  I'm sure everyone on this forum would agree that it becomes an addiction of sorts!

Thanks again for the feedback!

Jim

[nipsmg]

When I mounted mine I literally cut a slot just bigger than the bar then filled and painted it.
You wouldn’t even notice it unless you look for it!

how in the hell are you using that aimtrak in a room with that many windows.  Mine hopelessly jumps and screws up with that much background light.

[Titchgamer]

When I mounted mine I literally cut a slot just bigger than the bar then filled and painted it.
You wouldn’t even notice it unless you look for it!

how in the hell are you using that aimtrak in a room with that many windows.  Mine hopelessly jumps and screws up with that much background light.

Its not in there anymore, Was just in there for the rebuild