Any electronic wiz's out there?

[Abomination]

A guncon2 driver was just made and in that post it was brought up the problem on some aftermarket guns that the USB port wasnt enough juice to make the toy's on the guns work (force feedback ect) and that they needed to be pluged into a ps1 or ps2 to get the extra juice to work right.  There is a link in there to a wiring schematic that someone worked out to get the extra 9v to the right wire (not sure if it does anything else worthwile) but unfortunatly I'm completely incompitent when it comes to electronics.

I figure my only choice is to have someone build a circit for 2 guns for me or ebay a used ps1 and use that (seems like a waste).  If someone is willing to build that circut for me (from what they said its very inexpensive and simple if you know what your doing) I would be willing to compensate you very fairly for your time and you would probably open up a niche market for yourself, any takers?

[Samstag]

Is there some reason you can't just use a 9v wall wart?

[Jess--]

My thoughts exactly samstag

[mahuti]

What exactly is a 9v wall wart?

[versapak]

What exactly is a 9v wall wart?

It is just a nifty lil name for the typical AC/DC converter.




Big head on those things is like a wart sticking out of the wall.

[Samstag]

Sorry I thought that was the most common name for them.

I would refer to it as just a 9v power supply, but for some reason that confounds and intimidates people.  Then I say, "you know, a wall wart" and they relax and say "oh ok I probably already have one of those."

[AceTKK]

a simple 9v battery might do the trick too.  Depending on how often you play gun games it might or might not last awhile.

-Ace-

[Ed_McCarron]

Isn't the power provided by a USB connection 5v?

If it is, you SHOULD be able to break the pin 1 connection in the cable.  Keep the Ground, data +, and data - lines straight thru.  Supply your own 5v power supply on the device side of the cable.  Tie the power supply ground to the USB ground.

Make sure that the 5v supply supplies enough current for your needs.

Unless the remote device has some kind of regulation, I'd be afraid to put 9v in to it.

Theory only there...

[Ed_McCarron]

Wait... why reinvent the wheel.

Shouldn't a powered USB hub do this???

[tivogre]

The guns need +5 AND +9 volts.

Unless you want to cut the PS2 connectors off of the guns, you will need to splice +5V and +9V into a PS2 extension cable (with one end cut off) for each gun.

The "circuit" you need is really just taking +5V, +12V and Ground from a spare hard drive connector, and converting the +12V to +9V with a voltage regulator chip.

At that point, the +5V, +9V and ground can be fed into the PS2 cable(s) for connection to the gun(s).

While the chip is inexpensive, it isn't readily available at most walk-in places.  You'll also need some wiring, a piece of PCB, a hard drive "Y" cable, and a couple of PS2 extension cables.

All told, the parts can be had for about $15-$18, if you can find them, and can find used PS2 extension cables.

[Ed_McCarron]

Ah, the missing piece of the puzzle.  I assumed it was a USB only connection.

Where does the signal to fire the solenoid come from?  An auxillary contact on the trigger or software?

[Abomination]

This is the schematic off of the website they put up for the driver



Im trying to get a plug and play option to hook up two guncon2 compatible lightguns into a molex and usb port.  It looks simple and im sure it is but if someone could combine this schematic and a female port of a ps2 into some kind of a project box for 2 light guns it would be the ideal solution.

Like I said im willing to buy a box like that (will cost less than a ps1, used or not) and someone could setup a nice little niche market for themselves.

[tivogre]

Here's your approximate costs (assuming you aren't building hundreds of these and buying in bulk):

PS extension cords:  2 for ~$7.00
HD Power "Y":  ~$2.00
Wire:  ~$1.00
Voltage Rectifier:  ~$3.00
PCB:  ~$1.00
Project Box:  ~$3.00
Misc: (Shrink wrap, solder, etc.) ~$1.00

So, just in parts, you're looking at about $18.00 for the "plug and play" box you asked about.

Add someone's time rate and a bit of profit on the parts;  I think you'll see that it is NOT MUCH cheaper than a used PS ONE.  Unless you can do it yourself, or are willing to pay more "just to have" the custom solution, it's not worth it.


I couldn't make and sell one for less than $40.00 without feeling charitable.  THEN I'd have to worry about warranty, service, and customer support issues...

You can see why no one is knocking down the door on this "niche market" where there MAY be 10 customers at the moment.

In all seriousness, this is an EASY project to put together; this is BYOAC.  I'd recommend either rounding up the parts and making it yourself, or going with a PS ONE off of e-bay.

I'm working on a photo documentary / tutorial on building this (and the guncon / JPAC circuit) for my web site.

[versapak]

The guns need +5 AND +9 volts.

Unless you want to cut the PS2 connectors off of the guns, you will need to splice +5V and +9V into a PS2 extension cable (with one end cut off) for each gun.

The "circuit" you need is really just taking +5V, +12V and Ground from a spare hard drive connector, and converting the +12V to +9V with a voltage regulator chip.

At that point, the +5V, +9V and ground can be fed into the PS2 cable(s) for connection to the gun(s).

While the chip is inexpensive, it isn't readily available at most walk-in places. You'll also need some wiring, a piece of PCB, a hard drive "Y" cable, and a couple of PS2 extension cables.

All told, the parts can be had for about $15-$18, if you can find them, and can find used PS2 extension cables.

I thought all GunCon 2 compatible guns were USB.

[tivogre]

Some guns have features that require the PS power connections to work (recoil, laser site, etc.)  Other guns won't work AT ALL if the PS power isn't connected.

They do still need the USB connection for data flow.

Notably, the "Scorpion 3" guncon2 compatible gun requires the PS Power to work AT ALL.  It includes a laser site, but no recoil, and is consistently reviewed as one of the most accurate and issue-free guns for this application.

[versapak]

Some guns have features that require the PS power connections to work (recoil, laser site, etc.) Other guns won't work AT ALL if the PS power isn't connected.

They do still need the USB connection for data flow.

Notably, the "Scorpion 3" guncon2 compatible gun requires the PS Power to work AT ALL. It includes a laser site, but no recoil, and is consistently reviewed as one of the most accurate and issue-free guns for this application.

Ahhhhhhhh

I C


Carry on then.

[Abomination]

Here's your approximate costs (assuming you aren't building hundreds of these and buying in bulk):

PS extension cords:

[tivogre]

Yeah.  It's funny how all those little $1-$3 parts add up.

I ended up buying my parts from several different places, because I couldn't find one place that sold, or had everything in stock.

I'll definitely include the source list I used with the tutorial.