Act Labs Light guns and Calibration Issues

[DigitalAce7]

Hi,
My problem is this: I have 2 Act-Labs Light guns and whenever I try to calibrate them, they stop working completely after calibration.  The cursor jumps to the same spot no matter where I point the gun.  If I reset the computer or just unplug the usb and plug it back it, they work ok until I try to calibrate them again.  It seems like the calibration isn't working at all.  Has anyone had a similar experience and fixed it?  Thanks in advance,

    - DigitalAce7 

[DynamiteSJ]

any word on this? i am interested in buying one of these

[BamBam]

I have purchased two and have yet to get them to work with my MAME/MALA setup on WinXP.
I hold off on any negative comments until I have had time to mess around with it further.

[DynamiteSJ]

what kind of a monitor are you using?

[DigitalAce7]

I am using a Wells Gardner D9800 monitor.  It is behind plexiglass also in my cabinet.  But it works well just off about an inch.  It's only after calibrating that it doesn't work.  Any theories??

[u_rebelscum]

What res and refresh rate are you running the monitor at?  Which guns did you get ("TV" vs "usb")

If you have the TV guns, you need to run the monitor at a TV res and refresh rate.  If you have the non-TV guns, you need to run the guns at VGA-like PC res and refresh rates (aka not arcade original).

Maybe.

[BamBam]

I have the PC light guns and a Samsung Monitor behind 30% gray glass at 1024X768. Still no love here. 

[Derrick Renaud]

Try without the tinted glass.  I never had any luck with the guns when using tinted glass.

[BamBam]

Try without the tinted glass.  I never had any luck with the guns when using tinted glass.

I'll give that a try.  I am using MAME 1.09 which is stable on my system.  Even mapping within MAME is a problem.  For example when trying Terminator Judgement Day, I press tab to access controls for that specific game.  When I select P1 Button 1 to map it, and press the trigger on my gun, it registers as Mouse 2 Button 1 and Mouse 2 Button 2 at the same time.  My trackball is Mouse 3 and my Spinner is Mouse 1??  Is there something MALA that needs to be changed?
I have accessed the game to see if the trigger works and all I get a flash on the screen when I pull the trigger.  It does not fire or reload or anything when it flashes.

[shardian]

I steered clear of dual guns because of the apparent problems with them. I got an older PC version gun from a friend, and it works great.

[doctorhifi]

I guess I'm one of the few that likes the ACT guns.  I have two of the TV guns and they work great for me on the games I like to play (Area 51, Maximum Force, House of the Dead, etc).

I second the suggestion to stay away from tinted plexiglass...that's what I was using originally and it caused all kinds of issues.  Went to clear glass and all was well.

[mytymaus007]

how do you think the acts lab light gun will work with a regular dell 15 inch pc monitor, Im thinking it might be a little to small. has anyone tried this and how accurate would it be with pc monitor on a desk with nothing in front of it

[Derrick Renaud]

I am using MAME 1.09 which is stable on my system.  Even mapping within MAME is a problem.  For example when trying Terminator Judgement Day, I press tab to access controls for that specific game.  When I select P1 Button 1 to map it, and press the trigger on my gun, it registers as Mouse 2 Button 1 and Mouse 2 Button 2 at the same time.  My trackball is Mouse 3 and my Spinner is Mouse 1??  Is there something MALA that needs to be changed?
I have accessed the game to see if the trigger works and all I get a flash on the screen when I pull the trigger.  It does not fire or reload or anything when it flashes.

Use a newer version of MAME.  That stuff was broken after 106 or so during Aaron's input re-write.  I fixed it in the spring, but I can't remember when.  Should work fine in the newest MAME.

[shardian]

how do you think the acts lab light gun will work with a regular dell 15 inch pc monitor, Im thinking it might be a little to small. has anyone tried this and how accurate would it be with pc monitor on a desk with nothing in front of it

It is not very easy to be accurate on a 17" screen at my desk, so you will have a really rough time on a 15" screen.