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Author Topic: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1  (Read 6966 times)

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vargas14617

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usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« on: October 07, 2019, 07:41:46 pm »
I have a usb2gun pcb when connected to pc gun 1 only works on x axis no y axis movement  gun 2 is fine.  I swap the guns same issue.  I am running a windows 7 pc.  tried it on xp machine and it worked.  Is there something I can do to get them to work in windows 7 or do I have to start over and use windows xp? 

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2019, 01:47:37 am »
Following on from PM, it’s confirmed by others to work on XP and I have it working on 8.1. At least one other has tried Windows 7 but ran into problems with Calibration and Resolution according to original thread, not sure what the final outcome was.
Can anyone confirm they have this working in Windows 7 please?
It might be quicker to cut your losses and start again in XP or if possible upgrade to 8.1 and hopefully keep the work you’ve done so far on your system.

vargas14617

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2019, 08:00:05 am »
Following on from PM, it’s confirmed by others to work on XP and I have it working on 8.1. At least one other has tried Windows 7 but ran into problems with Calibration and Resolution according to original thread, not sure what the final outcome was.
Can anyone confirm they have this working in Windows 7 please?
It might be quicker to cut your losses and start again in XP or if possible upgrade to 8.1 and hopefully keep the work you’ve done so far on your system.

I see you say your running 8.1. Your original post is what inspired me to try this. So you switched from xp to &.1 did you notice any difference?  I will upgrade to 8.1 and report back.  Thanks a million.

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2019, 08:14:08 am »
It was the initial plan but I never actually tried it on XP... can’t remember why I decided to go for 8.1  :dunno

vargas14617

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2019, 10:36:16 pm »
It was the initial plan but I never actually tried it on XP... can’t remember why I decided to go for 8.1  :dunno

Tried windows 8.1. Noticed better tracking in gun 1.  But sometimes tracking in the calibration window would jump and I could not get the crosshairs into to bottom corners consistently. Is this normal?  I have not tried a game yet.   Next is to try a mame game. Any suggestions which to try first?

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2019, 02:02:36 am »
It’s normal to not to be able to get right into the corners because windows sees the guns as analog controllers, which have a circular range of motion, but you should be able to get very close to the corners to a point where it won’t make much of a difference.
The jumping can be nullified in the calibration. Have a look at the image attached. I had a similar image set as my wallpaper for calibration in windows. This image is an example of if the crosshair jumps when it gets to the right hand side of the screen. The black square is the screen, the blue square is the aim movement of the guns of which to follow during calibration. Follow this blue square 5 times or more in the 1st calibration screen but when getting to the corners follow the red arrows a few times to get into the corners. The blue cross shows centre of shot for 2nd calibration screen. If the crosshair jumps at other sides of the screen instead, rotate image to suit.
Regarding MAME, make sure your MAME resolution is the same as your windows resolution or calibration will be off in games. Also, adjust MAME.ini settings as per in the original thread.
Lethal enforcers doesn’t have a calibration menu but has a shot test screen where you can shoot each square on the screen to see how close your windows calibration is.

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2019, 02:15:49 pm »
I am taking delivery of an America's Army cab next week so I'm sure I'll run into some of these issues. My main Groovymame pc is Windows 7 but I have an Xp one somewhere.

Did any of you try the Compatability mode in Windows? The one for "devices that worked in previous versions of Windows". It seems odd that gun 2 would work fine but gun one would only work for one axis. Usually, when peripherals are not compatible, they don't work at all. You often can't even get Windows to recognize them.

I currently run Windows on my GM pc in 480p while most games are 240p or 480i. I have a tri-sync monitor but it sounds like this will create issues if I allow res switching for each game.  What res do you guys run yours in?


Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2019, 02:52:20 pm »
Nope, never tried compatibility mode.
I use 640x480 resolution.

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2019, 04:57:49 pm »
Nope, never tried compatibility mode.
I use 640x480 resolution.

OK I'll experiment a little and see what I can get working. My Windows 7 PC is the highest spec one I own and, ideally, I'd like to try the USB2Gun board with later games in Teknoparrot too. My understanding is that Teknoparrot doesn't work too well with anything older than Windows 7.

Which version of the board to you have, the dedicated vga cab or the kit version?  Is there a vga, EGA, CGA switch on the pcb?

Does the USB2Gun generate it's own flashing when you pull the trigger or do you have to rely on the game having it already? If it's the latter then it's all a none issue as almost all light gun games in mame are 15khz.

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2019, 01:34:39 am »
I have the dedicated version in an America’s Army cab.
The flash is created by the usb2gun.

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2019, 11:42:32 am »
I have the dedicated version in an America’s Army cab.
The flash is created by the usb2gun.

So do you have to turn off flashing in real light gun games that already have their own flashing?

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2019, 12:42:35 pm »
Nope, I don’t turn the flash off

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2019, 01:05:57 pm »
Nope, I don’t turn the flash off

Did you ever figure out how to drive recoil from the USB2GUN board (for games other than America's army)? It's not a big deal for me to just use relays and NE555 circuits (like I do for my PS2 recoil guns) but I was wondering if it could be driven from games in mame.


Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2019, 02:07:21 pm »
Yep I used MameHooker to do this.
Info is in the usb2gun thread in my signature.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2019, 03:22:57 pm by Jollywest »

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2019, 09:24:12 pm »
I got my USB2GUN board setup to test it out today and it works just fine in Windows 7 for both player 1 and 2. Here is a video of me testing it on my Windows 7 laptop in vga mode:



I have to say, I'm impressed with the accuracy and general design quality of these Happ guns. They work at least as well on my PC as my Guncon 2 Time Crisis arcade gun does on my PS2. It may even work a little better. I only had to calibrate it once in Windows and it was dead on in every game I tried in mame.

It even works with positional gun games and it retains most of it's accuracy which I didn't expect:



The crosshairs only moves when you pull the trigger though, so it's a shame they can't be turned off like they can in real light gun games.

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #15 on: December 07, 2019, 01:48:30 am »
Nice work!  :applaud:
The crosshair will move on lighter parts of the screen without pressing the trigger, try the ‘N.Y. Captor’ MAME game and you’ll see what I mean.
If only there was a way to have it track on darker parts of the screen too :cry: ... that’s well above my tech knowledge level though unfortunately.

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2019, 08:41:34 am »
Nice work!  :applaud:
The crosshair will move on lighter parts of the screen without pressing the trigger, try the ‘N.Y. Captor’ MAME game and you’ll see what I mean.
If only there was a way to have it track on darker parts of the screen too :cry: ... that’s well above my tech knowledge level though unfortunately.

I have a pair of Rapid Fire PCBs made for these Happ guns. They are made to add auto fire to arcade games that only allowed semi auto but they will do the same thing in Mame with a USB2GUN. It will make it keep flashing when you move the crosshairs. They are easy and cheap to find on EBay. The problem, as anyone who has played Crisis Zone on the PS2 knows, the flashing can get a bit much in full auto games.. Still, it doesn’t bother me in Op Wolf and nothing beats a real light gun.


This isn't the model I have but I assume it does the same thing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-RAPID-FIRE-II-Auto-Loader-Type-1-Area-51-Maximum-Force-FREE-SHIP/263294408053?hash=item3d4d91d575:g:~KkAAOSwisVZrFco

Another option might be to move the trigger microswitch in front of the recoil solenoid so it is pressed by the solenoid plunger. This would make full auto recoil produce auto fire on-screen too and have the added benefit of making the recoil match the number of shots precisely.

The “ultimate gun cab” I am building has 3 positional arcade guns on a pedestal, 4 real light guns (2 Time Crisis recoil guns and 2 rifles) and a pair of Sega type 2 IR guns (from HOD4) so I have all (or most) bases covered. Most games work best with the same type of gun tech as the original cab.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2019, 04:00:21 pm by Zebra »

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2019, 03:46:39 pm »
Nice work!  :applaud:
The crosshair will move on lighter parts of the screen without pressing the trigger, try the ‘N.Y. Captor’ MAME game and you’ll see what I mean.
If only there was a way to have it track on darker parts of the screen too :cry: ... that’s well above my tech knowledge level though unfortunately.

How are you dealing with changes in resolution? My America's Army cab came with a Wells Gardner quad sync so I'm assuming yours is the same. Obviously the usb2gun board has a switch for CGA, EGA and Vga modes but it seems like you have to set it up and calibrate the gun for just one mode.

I run my groovymame PC on a tri-sync arcade monitor so the default is running Windows in 480p. Most light gun games in groovymame switch to a 15khz mode but not all. Are you choosing to run it all in CGA mode or have you found a way to play EGA games in 384p without re-calibrating?

Jollywest

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #18 on: December 11, 2019, 12:40:17 am »
I must run it all in CGA mode as I never have to recalibrate the guns.

bimm25e

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2019, 09:36:10 pm »
I'll gladly buy it from you, I have been looking for one of these for years.


Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2019, 09:07:11 pm »
I'll gladly buy it from you, I have been looking for one of these for years.

No chance. I'm being buried with mine (along with my crt monitors). I searched ebay and Craigslist every day for years to find an affordable America's Army cab that was close enough to pick up. I'm sure Jollywest is the same. Once you see how much better these work than any other PC gun product, no real light gun fan would part with it.

Your only chance is to find a seller who doesn't know of it's value and potential. The guy I got mine from thought he'd done well to off-load a broken America's Army cab for $400. I was thrilled to get a cab, a working quad-sync curved CRT, the USB2Gun and two working Happ guns for that amount. I don't care if I never fix the original America's army PC.

I would say this though, the USB2Gun is not unique in terms of an arcade gun I/O that outputs an analog X Y signal. It's just easy to use as it outputs on a USB cable out the box. If you use an Apac or Uhid, there are a number of other gun I/O boards that could be made to work with a PC.

bimm25e

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2019, 10:52:39 pm »
Thats cute but I wouldnt pay more than $500

Sold Nov 19, 2019
Global VR America's Army Arcade Game Complete Not Working
Pre-Owned
$399.99
2 bids


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F162727007845

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2019, 01:42:25 pm »
Thats cute but I wouldnt pay more than $500

Sold Nov 19, 2019
Global VR America's Army Arcade Game Complete Not Working
Pre-Owned
$399.99
2 bids


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F162727007845


That's the one I bought.

I've never seen another go for less than $1000 and I've been looking for years. Most sellers ask for north of $1500 and if you're not lucky enough to live close, it's another $350 -$500 on top for freight.

You used to be able to buy a replacement board from Global VR for $350 but now they are sold out, never to be made again.

If you ever find another AA cab for less than $1000 you should snap it up if you really want one. There was another game released in 2011 with a USB gun I/O called Friction but I've never seen a used one. It was / is sold as a $2000 kit for arcade owners looking to get new life out of older gun cabs. I'm not sure if those i/O pcbs work on Windows PC's though. Other USB gun I/O boards like Target Terror apparently don't.

bimm25e

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2019, 07:46:24 pm »
I respectfully disagree.

Id never pay more than $500 for that game. I have passed 3 opportunities to buy them,  1 off a retired operator in Myrtle beach, 1 at an auction in rochester, and 1 at an auction in Coney Island, the auction ones sold for about 350. Never made an offer to the operator but considering i got a mario bros widebody there for $150, I probably could have got the AA for a song

Zebra

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Re: usb2gun pcb and windows 7 No y axis on gun 1
« Reply #25 on: December 17, 2019, 02:07:16 pm »
That's a fair point. The guy I got mine from bought it at an auction (broken). I don't know what he paid but it sounded like they were a good place to buy broken cabs for far less than Ebay prices.

Why would you pay $500 for a USB2Gun though if you can get an America's Army cab for $350? You could probably get it for free by selling the monitor and cab and just keeping the gun board. The quad-sync Wells Gardner CRT monitors in AA cabs can fetch $350 (or more) on ebay.

How do you find out about arcade auctions? My only real sources for used arcade stuff is ebay, Craigslist and forum classifieds. Getting a good deal on anything desirable usually involves waiting a long time. I wouldn't mind checking out some auctions.