GunCon2 driver here!!! (Bacon is tasty)

[IntruderAlert]

Analogue composite sync signal converter

That would suggest this is the component list

C1      22 uF 10V electrolytic
C2      22 uF 10V electrolytic
R1      2.2 kohm
R2      2.2 kohm
R3      1.8 kohm
R4      1.8 kohm
R5      2.7 kohm
R6..R8  47 ohm
U1      74LS86 or 74HCT86
T1      BC 547
T2      BC 547



That is somewhat different from the one on smogs site!?

Add to the component list in the image two 2.2uF / 16v capacitors (C1 e C2).

this is where smog got the circuit from
http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/vga2rgbs.html
looks like smog made a few errors in transposing
I'll ask him about it but you'd most likely be best off using the original circuit

Hey Smog,
We were discussing the circuit on BYOAC
Looks like there are a few differences between your instructions and the original found here:
http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/vga2rgbs.html

The original component list mentions 2 - 22 uF 10V electrolytic capacitors but you say to use two 2.2uF / 16v capacitors

The original mentions two 2.2 kohm resistors, two 1.8 kohm resistors and one 2.7 kohm.
You say to use 5 - 2.2 kohm resistors instead

Did I wrote 2.2 ? Yes you are right, but I made a mistake. I used 22 uF / 16 V capacitors NO 2.2uF .
As for the resistors. I built the circuit with 5 x 2.2 Kohm resistor and I am sure it work.

So the list of component is :

5 x 2,2 Khom resistors
3 x 47 Ohm resistor
2 x 22 uF / 16 v capacitors
1 x 74LS86
2 x BC547 ( Or any other NPN cheap transistor)
SmogDragon
13 Maggio 2005 - 00:01 - link

So follow the first diagram on this page:
http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/vga2rgbs.html

You can use five 2.2 kohm resistors instead of the two 2.2 kohm resistors, two 1.8 kohm resistors and one 2.7 kohm mentioned there.

Or just build according to the original specs

either one should work

[hulkster]

um, so i guess this wont work if you have a vid card with svideo?

[MiKman]

Is it possible to turn off the cross hairs in Mame?

[MiKman]

um, so i guess this wont work if you have a vid card with svideo?

Yes it does I hacked a cable to put out  pin 1 & 3 to a rca this works perfectly.  Check on about page 3 for a post from brandon on how to do this...

[IntruderAlert]

according to the link I posted above.. pin 3 carries the luminance and the sync.. so in theory you could connect the s-video from PC to TV as normal and tap off of that pin and connect it to the Guncon2.  of course the guncon would also have to be grounded so I'm guessing that would be pin 1 according to the pinout..  I really hate to cut up an S-video cable just to try this...   

1   Y ground
2   C ground
3   Y (luminance+sync)
4   C (crominance)

Feels weird quoting myself.. but anyways...

Here's a little illustration for how I plan to connect my PC to my TV using S-video but also connect the Guncon2.  NOTE:  I haven't tested this yet.  although it should work I'm not responsible for: ruined cables, video cards, TV, lightguns, house fires, domestic disputes, abdominal cramps, explosive diarrhea, etc etc.. In other words.. try this at your own risk  

Basically the idea is to slice open the insulation on one end of the s-video cable exposing the wires.  Then using a multimeter, determine which wires are pin 1 and pin 3.  Then using an old RCA cable and splicing it in to the s-video while making sure the wires stay intact and nothing is shorted.  Then tape everything up.  Then you should be able to connect the guncon2 to the RCA while having the svideo connected to the TV.  I'll be building one of these cables myself in a day or so for those of you that would rather wait until I've tested it. 

P.S.  The color of the wiring in the pic means nothing..

[brandon]

um, so i guess this wont work if you have a vid card with svideo?

Yes it does I hacked a cable to put out

[IntruderAlert]

Hi all,

Sorry I won't come out whit a new version as I hoped. It's 4:30 AM and I will be working tomorrow in the morning so I cannot find this damn stupid bug that is driving me crazy in the new driver ...

The main features will be buttons remapping and manual adjusting of calibration values for people that had no luck with selfcalibration (it works quite nice too me however)... control panel is working and functional now (and it looks soooo nice ). I'll probably release a new version of Driver tomorrow in the late evening.

See ya

Postato da: SmogDragon a 04:21 | link | commenti (1)

http://lightgun.splinder.com/post/4761522

[Billkwando]

now back to the topic...

LMAO!!!!!

[AlanS17]

Wrong voltage? Does it need a boost?

[IntruderAlert]

.. the bacon??

[AlanS17]

Good bacon doesn't need a boost. I was refering to the signal in the line. 

[IntruderAlert]

Did you build the circuit?
if so, what parts did you use?
are you still trying to make it work with the PC monitor or what?

[AlanS17]

15.7 khz is very unlikely on most all PC monitors.. however that is the sync rate of an arcade monitor and since you said you have several then what would be easier is to get you Videocard to operate at arcade monitor freqs.

[IntruderAlert]

the composite sync goes to the composite connector on the gun

[AlanS17]

the composite sync goes to the composite connector on the gun

Oh! Is that all it takes?? I didn't realize the composite sync carried all the other parts of the signal (or maybe it just doesn't need them). I don't know.

[Flinkly]

i know i should probably post this over on splinder, but could we posibly include a calibration button like the act labs gun has?

[IntruderAlert]

Smog's supposed to post a new version of the driver this evening with a control panel for calibration

[Smog]

Hi all,
it is time to me to post on this thread.

i think the post title is a bit misleading

Yes I suppose you are right, however I do not really agree with this :

but it sure as hell doesn't work

I've never said it is finished but your words are a bit unpleasant for the driver. It works like a charm on my cab.

when someone figures out the circuit for the arcade monitor and gets it right (from testing for reals), please post the correct diagram and list of materials for us all.

I REALLY don't understand what you need more to build the circuit men. All the info and schematics are on my blog. What else do you need ?

You have the RIGHT schematics on splinder.
You have the RIGHT component list.
You even have a PCB layout ready to be printed (or copied by hand).

The only thing that was mispelled were the two 22 uF capacitors (it was indicated as 2.2 in text and as 22 in the PCB image. 22uF is the RIGHT value).

I stated more than once that you have to take the component values I said and the diagram I showed you. No need to go around and looking for that circuit elsewhere, this can only confuse you.
So, hope to be clear this time, here is once again the complete list of components. Referring to diagram on splinder :

R1 = 2,2 Kohm resistors
R2 = 2,2 Kohm resistors
R3 = 2,2 Kohm resistors
R4 = 2,2 Kohm resistors
R5 = 2,2 Kohm resistors

R6 = 47 Ohm resistor
R7 = 47 Ohm resistor
R9 = 47 Ohm resistor

[IntruderAlert]

Welcome Smog!

[vibez]

Welcome smog. Sorry for my problems with the circuit. I ended up looking at other sites & got confused. I spent today studying the diagram & i'm ready to build

[Billkwando]

i know i should probably post this over on splinder, but could we posibly include a calibration button like the act labs gun has?  i know we don't need all those dang buttons from a guncon gun, so i figure we could use on to do the same thing as the act labs gun.

I already suggested this over at splinder, which is why I suggested everyone go over there an read all the comments.

I think smog's method will probably be a permanent solution anyway. There's no need to calibrate every 5 minutes when you use the gun on PS2, so it shouldn't be necessarily necessary  to have calibration buttons on the gun itself.

i'm glad to hear that this might come to fruition soon, but i think the post title is a bit misleading

ARE YOU SAYING BACON ISN'T TASTY?!?!?!? *pulls out flamethrower*

[Flinkly]

dang, now i feel bad.

[Billkwando]

dang, now i feel bad............there are so many people that post abuot this and alot don't seem to know what they are talking about

*watches him dig deeper hole*

[Flinkly]

hey now...you yourself state things you've heard and then say that your no expert, so we shouldn't listen to you. 

also, what i mean by "not knowing what they are talking about" is that no one has actually made the circuit yet and used it, we're all basing this circuit working on a website from a guy in another country...at least i haven't heard someone say they made it yet.  i'd just like to know that the cost is worth it (cause it actually works) and that it won't screw up the gun or the monitor by sending some freak signal through something that wasn't made to handle it.

[Billkwando]

hey now...you yourself state things you've heard and then say that your no expert, so we shouldn't listen to you.

[Billkwando]

Wait, aren't you the same guy who was nitpicking about the fact that it's called "recoil" and not "kick"??

Might be time for a hobby?

[vibez]

Ok, i've nearly built the interface. (using a solderless beadboard for now) How do I attatch this to my arcade monitor? I guess I need some sort of passthrough box? I'm using an arcadevga & j-pac. I take it this will work with the non-official guncon2 compatible guns?

[AlanS17]

Ok, i've nearly built the interface. (using a solderless beadboard for now) How do I attatch this to my arcade monitor. I'm using an arcadevga & j-pac. I take it this will work with the non-official guncon2 compatible guns?

If you're talking about video to the monitor:
Video is part of the JAMMA standard. If your arcade monitor was already wired for JAMMA, then just plugging the JAMMA harness into the J-Pac will wire up the system for video.

However, the video is split between the monitor and the gun. Which source are you talking about?

[vibez]

well at the moment the monitor plugs into the jpac then the jpac plugs into the arcadevga. where do I plug the the guncon vga plug into?

[IntruderAlert]

you mean the guncon composite plug right?
you'll connect the center connection to the composite sync coming off your circuit that you made
the outside connection to ground

[vibez]

maybe i'm not getting this. the circuit  is to convert the guncon2 composite plug into a correctly sync'd vga connector that plugs into the graphics card?

The actlabs guns have a passthrough box. so it sits between the monitor & graphics card

so where do I plug the vga connector into?

[hulkster]

well i think ill just wait until someone comes out with a gun that already has all the hook ups and stuff built in it.  hacking = not good enough for me :-)

[IntruderAlert]

maybe i'm not getting this. the circuit  is to convert the guncon2 composite plug into a correctly sync'd vga connector that plugs into the graphics card?

The actlabs guns have a passthrough box. so it sits between the monitor & graphics card

so where do I plug the vga connector into?

[AlanS17]

LOL your diagram is so much prettier than mine. You beat me to the post, too. I was just about to put one in when I saw that.

At least we're on the same page. Mine is identical to yours.

[AlanS17]

Ok, vibez, this is how it goes:

The circuit pretty much replaces the pass-through box.

And you're thinking backwards. The gun isn't sending a signal from the RCA cable. It's receiving a signal.

The only signal it's sending is through the USB cable back into the PC.

[IntruderAlert]

well i think ill just wait until someone comes out with a gun that already has all the hook ups and stuff built in it.  hacking = not good enough for me :-)

http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/lightgun1.html

[AlanS17]

Actlabs = ugly and expensive 

[brandon]

Also, the reason for constant calibration is due to a change in frequency for the monitor...or something.

[AceTKK]

I'm going to be using an ArcadeVGA -> standard-res arcade monitor.  My concern is about the need to recalibrate when switching games.   If, for example, Area51 runs @ 368x240 and Sharpshooter @ 320x256 (these numbers are totally made up btw) wouldn't it be safe to say the calibration data would be incorrect when switching between them?  Many people buy and use ArcadeVGA cards so each game runs in it's native resolution and scan frequency.  I'm not willing to use 640x480 for everything, nor can my monitor even display it. 

I agree that an easy, inobtrusive recalibration function is necessary (like the ActLabs solution) before this driver is a viable option for me.

-Ace-

[brandon]

I'm going to be using an ArcadeVGA -> standard-res arcade monitor.