ArcadeVGA or monitor cable hack?

[Magnet_Eye]

Ok, I just picked up a cabinet with a 25" arcade monitor I am going to "mame" and wonder what the best option is for hooking this up to PC. I could get an ArcadeVGA, or just get the basic video cable with amp from ultimarc for $16.

Why pay $87 for ArcadeVGA when I can just use an adapter cable? What are the benefits, if any? Do I even need the amp or can i just hack a monitor cable? It has a Red, Green, & Blue, plus an E and an S wire next to the RGB ones. I think E is ground, and S is sync.

Also, how do you power the monitor? Do i need to keep the arcade power supply in there just for the monitor to work? or is there another option? I do notice on the board is labeled AC 110V and it has what looks like a power cord (2 wires) coming off it, and it goes nowhere..someone cut the wires. Is this a power option?

Oh, BTW my monitor is a "Pentranic" brand model A89PNT30X. Never heard of it, but Happs has them listed:
http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/49305500.htm

One last thing, the monitor has some at that infamous discoloration in a corner, like it was near a magnet or something. What can i do for this? Degauss?

[rchadd]

do some research on this board (see monitor FAQ) and ultimarc website

Std Resolution monitor require 15Khz signal

ArcadeVGa card outputs 15KHz signal

Regular VGA cards do not (because they intended to be used with PC monitors)

Some VGA cards with hacked bios can ouptut 15Khz

There is windows software (and a DOS Utility driver) you can run to make certain VGA cards output 15KHz

AdvanceMame aparantly can make certain VGA cards output 15KHz

[rchadd]

also you might need to use a isolation transormer for that monitor.

[Magnet_Eye]

yeah i did research, but there's so many variables, it gets confusing sometimes.

[M3talhead]

Below is a quote I took from my project thread. Someone asked me a similar question and to tell you the truth, this is probably the easiest (and cheapest) way to go. The whole thing took about 10 minutes to rig up and it works flawlessly.

If you're using an AVGA card, the only thing you need to worry about it where your R,G,B,Ground, and H/V sync will go in relation to both plugs. I used the following diagram for my cable splice.

VGA Pin #                            Monitor's wire harness                 
1 - Red - Red (1)
2 - Green - Green (2)
3 - Blue - Blue (3)

6 - Red Ground   \
7 - Green Ground \
8 - Blue Ground    +--- Black (4) -- Ground
10 - Ground         /

13 - H Sync \____  White (5) -- Combined HV Sync
14 - V Sync /

Look very closely at the end of a computer monitor's 15 pin D-sub connector. You will see (starting in the upper left corner) sequential numbers going from left to right. These identify the pin # of the PC monitor's wiring, which I've identified above. Pins 5, 9, 11, 12, and 15 are not used in this splice, so dont worry about them. After you remove the cable from the old PC monitor, use a digital multimeter and starting with the #1 pin on the 15 pin D-sub, check wires at the end for continuity. Write each color wire down and what pin it is wired to. Once you have everything mapped out, solder your monitor's video cable to each of the corrisponding wires.

Make sense?

[AceTKK]

yea, the ArcadeVGA and the adapter cable are meant to be used together, not one or the other.  If you want to forego the ArcadeVGA card you'll have to either run AdvanceMAME or Powerstrip in order to convert the video signal into something the arcade monitor can display.  Either way requires a fair amount of research and configuration.  I'm planning to just buy the ArcadeVGA to avoid the headaches.

-Ace-

[Magnet_Eye]

ok, sounds like the ArcadeVGA is what I am gonna do then. I'll just get the adapter cable from ultimarc for $6 at that time.


What about the power for the monitor?

What can I do about the discoloration on it?

[M3talhead]

What about the power for the monitor?

What can I do about the discoloration on it?

Post a picture of the cable you're talking about. If we see what it is you're looking at, maybe we can identify it.

As for the discoloration, there are plenty of threads on degaussing monitors. That model should already have a degaussing coil around the frame, but if it doesn't, you can make your own using instructions found on Oscar's website . There are detailed instructions on how to use a degaussing coil or wand here

[Frosty]

Sorry for the slight thread hijack, but....

M3talhead, quick question:

How important is it to combine the RGB grounds to the main ground when hacking a VGA cable?  I've hacked my own cable, but used only one ground (d-sub pos. 10, I believe) as the ground wire and left the RGB grounds off.

The monitor, BTW, works perfectly.  Is this something I should do for the 'long run'?

That being said, I'll throw this out there, too:  What are the advantages/disadvantages of combining the HV sync?  I separated mine for my connection, and again--works fine.

Thanks...
Frosty

[M3talhead]

I went ahead and grounded my RGB wires anyway. If it works for you, cool. I just did it to cancell out any possibilities or unknowns when/if I have any video problems later on down the line.

[SirPeale]

There are quite a few video cards that will output 15KHz signal with no issues.  Problem is there aren't Windows drivers that do this (with a couple of rare exceptions) but DOS Mame and ArcadeOS (or Kymaera, if it gets fixed) will do these modes with no issues.

I was told that the video amp from Ultimarc doesn't make the video signal 'safe' like the J-PAC does, but I have had *no* issues with it, the signal is chopped from the get-go.