Dremacast in cab?

[daikiki]

Hi everybody.

I decided to build a cab because I was talking with a friend about how cool it would be to be able to play Gauntlet Legends on a cab. Now, several months later, the cab is complete, and don't get me wrong. It's a total blast to play. But I still can't play Gauntlet Legends. So now I'm sad.

The best solution would appear to be getting a dreamcast in there somehow. I suspect it would be easy enough to pipe the video out into a tv card and display it on my vga monitor that way. That leaves me wondering how to hook up the control panel. I'm using a minipac right now. Is there a way to have the controls wired to a DC and PC simultaneously? I wouldn't mind using some kind of switch, I guess, but I'd much rather be able to switch 'on the fly'. Emulation still isn't really an option, right?

Any advice would be more than welcome.

[seanp]

You can do some quick searches, but this is easier than you think.  The dreamcast outputs VGA natively...  you can find the VGA output boxes for the dreamcast on ebay for cheap.  Wiring up the controllers to both the pc and the dreamcast is definitely do-able - the danger seems to be in providing the ground wire for the two of them.  I've got mine plugged into a 24-pin switchbox (like a printer switchbox), so just turn the knob from one to the other to switch...  Some people have mentioned trying an "auto-sensing" switch. 

[Goz]

I've got two DC cabs (one horizontal and one vertical). One is using hacked pads and the other is using an Xarcade BYOA kit. both using VGA adapters. One monitor is VGA and the other is 15Khz using a hacked VGA cable.

A Dreamcast in a cab is a beautiful thing... And Gauntlet Legends plays great..

-Goz

[daikiki]

I'm looking at this dreamcast x-arcade kit. I guess this might do the trick, if the output on a minipc is somehow compatable with it. Any insights into that. Alternatively, I guess it would be possible to just resolder a standard controller.

What if I wired a hacked controller to the CP and isolated the two circuits with diodes on both sets of connectors, and then put a two way switch on the ground line? I'm pretty sure that would prevent me from blowing anything up, or is my electrical knowledge sorely lacking here? How about dual pole microswitches. Does such a thing exist?

Thanks for the tips guys. This is beginnning to sound fairly doable.

[pmc]

It sounds like a standard controller hack and switch (or unplug-plug technique) is simpler. The DC is never connected to the IPAC/PC so you don't have to do anything electrically complicated.

HarumaN will hack the pads for you if you want. All you have to do is come up with the arrangement for switching the CP between the DC and the MAME.

Search in consoles for lots of discussion on this topic.

I don't know much about the x-aracade product.

-pmc

[seanp]

I went with the simplest solution - my knowledge of electronics is next to minimal.  Direct wiring to power sources, or to switches, I can do.  Designing small circuits or using other electrical components in my wiring, I'm clueless.

I would think you'd be better off going without the x-arcade parts.  the gamepad hack is fairly simple, and if you're not comforatable with soldering there's folks here who will do that part for you for a minimal charge.  The X-Arcade sticks are presumably the same as Happ's cheapest sticks, and some claim that they are less quality than that.  For the price they charge, you could build your own with the parts you wanted, and have flexibility to change later, for about half the price.