Main > Main Forum
Wells Gardner U3100 vs PC-monitor -worth it?
Carsten Carlos:
Hi!
While making some progress with my cabinet-plans, I wonder if I'll be satisfied with an PC-monitor, or is it worth to get a Wells Gardner U3100 (19")?
Unfortunately I need it shipped to Germany, I'm not that sure if it makes the whole way without getting broken. :(
Is the look that different / has someone a good picture of this monitor in action? Are there less rotation-problems as with the normal PC-monitors?
Last but not least, it would be very nice if someone could throw me the dimensions over - especially the depth of the chassis, so I may have a look how to actually fit it in the cabinet.
Many thanx in advance!
Carsten
Carsten Carlos:
Oh, just forgotten, I just wonder which scanlines-mode in the actual MAME-version is the most realistic?
I can't find anything similar to the method of the older versions, and all that I tried are very blocky. ???
Android:
If you are in Germany, why don't you try www.hantarex.co.uk instead? That will save you a ton of cash in shipping and reduce the risk of damage during shipping.
-- Android
Frobozz the Mad:
You're in luck, because I JUST got my WG U3100 in yesterday and decided to plug it in and test it out.
First, here are some facts about degaussing / monitor rotation I saw.
The WG U3100 has a degaussing coil, but it only fires on start up, after at least 30 minutes of no power.
Screen discoloration from rotation happens just as much as with PC monitors. If the monitor degausses itself though, there is not problem afterward, the picture is correct. But if you like to change games often from hoz to vert, buy a degaussing wand.
Next, the WG U3100 comes with a HORIZONTAL mount, NOT a universal mount. This may make it tricky to rotate, especially if you're like me and want to mount it at about 30 degrees.
If you're using MAME32, you may need to play around with screen mode settings to get it to display on the monitor properly. I needed to try Spy Hunter about 15 times before I got it to come up at all, and another 5 to get it correctly.
Also, NO scanline modes seem to work with the WG U3100. The picture it produces is generally too low-resolution to do this.
BUT! The picture looks absolutely fantastic! First game I started up on the thing after plugging it in was Donkey Kong, and it LOOKED like the Donkey Kong I remember. While it doesn't have scanlines, it DOES have a very large, almost pixelated display. Everything about it seems to "feel" right. I'm very happy with my choice.
I then tried newer games, like Dark Stalkers and KoF2000, and they displayed fine.
Also, it should be noted that the yoke of the WG U3100 is turned VERTICALLY. Thus, tt scans in COLUMNS rather than ROWS. This makes it look REALLY GOOD as an arcade monitor.
Dimensions I needed as well. As soon as I unpacked the thing, I measured it.
Unfortunatly, I left my measurements at home, but I'll tell you what I can remember:
All units in inches. Sorry my german friend, but as an american monitor, it was made using old american units.
From edge of monitor glass to the top of the nuts in the mount (monitor bezel depth) 3/4 inches (I measured this for the thickness of the wood to use for the big circular disk around the screen.)
Width across the bottom mounting plate: 18.5 inches (Width of the bottom of the "drawer" the monitor will sit in. Also, the main peice the monitor gets bolted to. Most mounts are on the underside.)
Width (roughly) from bottom of side plate to top of side plate: 15 inches. (Measured this for the height of my side-walls of the "drawer". The triangular side plates have LOTS of holes in them for easy mounting.)
Length from top of nuts in the mount to a point at the rear of the monitor clearing the yoke: About 15 inches.
(This is my measurement for the depth of the "drawer". To complete the wooden "drawer" / box the monitor will sit in, a final peice will be added across the back (18.5 x 15), though if you're making a "spool" type rotating mount, you'd use a disc.
Let me go home and confirm these measurements though. I was slightly dissappointed that it had no universal mount, but I can make a box-like wooden enclosure to rotate it in.
I hope those dimensions made sense to you :)
Carsten Carlos:
Hi Frobozz, thanx for the long message, it really helps me very very much! :D And was very interesting to read - hardly can't await to have such a baby. :)
I'm currently getting pretty used to multiplicate everything I read with 2,54 - the dimensions are really helpful!
When I take the U3100, I could make the cabinet 3-4 inches more slim compared to a typical PC-monitor - that's another pro for the Wells-Gardner!
You said there are no scanlines but it looks more pixelated (and realistic, what's most important :)) - how is that meant? I guess there isn't that blockiness of a normal PC-monitor, and there is something like a bit of "black" space between each pixel, so to say?
Well, if you might have a digicam and have some time left, could you please make a photo (detail would be enough) runnning Donkey Kong (one of my favorites) or anything else? Anyway, I'll have a look at your confirmed measurements.
My best regards,
Carsten
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version