Powerstrip + JPAC @ 15khz 640x480

[s34n]

Hi There,

Firstly, I want to say i've been looking through these forums for an answer to my question now for a while, but I just can't seem to get it to work properly.

What I have:
Cabinet: DDR Euromix 2 Cabinet [Korean]
Screen: Sambers Hantarex POLO 28 STAR [EUROPE] (service manual)
System: eX5-300S Mini ME PC [Intel 865G Chipset/ICH5] onboard video (website)
IO Card: J-PAC
Software: Powerstrip

Questions
1. I need to output at 15khz 640x480 as this is what the monitor supports. I'm having trouble setting up my powerstrip to configure this, and the default profile for '640x480i (arcade)' isn't there... what are the settings I need? Im not sure what the vertical refresh rate would be, is this done on a ratio? and the UI looks very overloaded with functions, it's insanely hard to figure out what all the settings mean!

2. I'm configuring powerstrip on a VGA monitor, so when I try and setup a profile for 15khz it automatically switches to that output.... my monitor gives me a nice message saying the output is out of range (which is what I expected) but how do I then blindly shut it down, save the settings; so I can test on my arcade monitor?

3. How do I determine weather my video card is capable of this output? Is there a tool to use?

4. I hear that on bootup it will output at 31khz until powerstrip has kicked in... so i will have to run the system off an independent power lead from the cabinet... is there a way to get around this?

apologies for the questions, I just wanted to clear a few things up.!

Thanks

[zelony]

First, the JPAC protects the monitor during boot up, so no need to have a seperate power supply for the monitor, the screen will be doubled side by side.  I have a JPAC in my daughter's cabinet hooked to a standard arcade monitor and I use soft15KHz to get the appropriate resolution.  I also use GameEx in arcade mode and it looks great at 640X480 interlaced.

I suggest you download soft15KHz, it is easy to use and has worked flawlessly for me for almost 2 years now.

[s34n]

Sorry I should have said in the post that I've tried soft15khz and all the options are disabled...

I've tried it on another system and it works, so that suggests it doesn't like my video card! This is why I resorted to powerstrip. If I need a new video card, I would get an ArcadeVGA, so I can eliminate the software completely... but then it defeats the software solution and the saving of some money.

Plus I really want to understand how this works!

[zelony]

Have you updated the drivers on your current video card.  It is worth a try before you buy a different one.

[s34n]

yeh, I have the latest and greatest...

but i really want to try with powerstrip, but im having the problems as outlined in my first post

[DillonFoulds]

Have you -downgraded- the drivers for your video card?

Your video card is listed as "Intel Extreme Graphics 2". Kind of generic sounding, I'd guess Soft-15KHz support will be hit or miss with it, and you might have missed.

The only two things i could suggest would be try different drivers, or try a different card all together.

[s34n]

thanks for the help so far, i've made progress as of last night...

1. The version of powerstrip I had didnt have the "640x480i (arcade)" profile, but the latest trial version did... the problem with the trial version is that its set at 31khz until i close the "tip of the day", and i'd have to do this blindly on my cabinet.

2. I copied the profile from the trial version and put it into my current version and the video card accepted the new resolution (so the current video accepts it, good!).

3. So now I know my current graphics is compatible, I can set the profile up... (the problem is, when i set it up, my vga monitor goes out of range, so i had to memorize the keystrokes to save the setting for next time and shutdown the computer) is there any easier way of doing this??

4 (the question!). Now the setting is saved and it auto-boots into the correct setting, I hooked the J-PAC upto my PC... but for some reason, when its hooked up (hooked up by either VGA, PS2 or both) the pc flashes on for a second, then goes off again... I have to physically unplug the computer before I can try again, and it still continues to do this... when i disconnect the J-PAC, the PC boots fine... so for some reason, either the J-PAC is not getting the signal it needs, so something else is happening. The lights on the J-PAC light up, so its not a power issue... has anybody else had this before??

[DillonFoulds]

Hmm... sounds like you're getting bad voltage off the J-pac. You're saying you can fire up your pc, j-pac connected, and it cuts out after a half second split, and then it won't boot until you unplug and plug it back in? Sounds like the atx voltage failsafe is tripping on your motherboard.

I'm not familiar with using a jpac myself, but does it need an external power source? Maybe try disconnecting everything from your jpac, plug in only the pc (not even arcade monitor) and see if it boots, then add in the monitor, etc. etc. one at a time testing, maybe something's shorted out elsewhere?

[Jack Burton]

I could swear another person on this forum had the exact same issue with a pc and a j-pac.  Try searching the forum for your model of computer and see if someone has solved the issue.

[s34n]

i'm not sure what i've changed, but it appears to be switching on all the time now.  

however, the last time I tried, my monitor doesn't appear to be working anymore... a strange popping sound is coming from the back.

So I connected a standard VGA monitor to the external VGA-out, and I don't get any signal at all.... so the JPAC still isn't working properly. Here's what i've tested...

This is what was already in the machine... the PC runs linux and auto-boots into 15khz... there's encryption too, so I couldn't really modify this a great deal.
[PC] >>connects>> [ITG-IO] >>connects>> [Jamma Connector]
[PC] >>connects>> [ITG-IO] >>connects>> [Audio]
[PC] >>connects>> [ITG-IO] >>connects>> [Cabinet Lights]


so to replace the ITG-IO, I used a J-PAC with a whole new PC.... the existing PC is swapped for this.
[PC] >>connects>> [J-PAC] >>connects>> [Jamma Connector]
[PC] >>connects>> [Audio]

(i need a light controller for the lights, but they aren't really required for this.)

The PC is connected to the J-PAC by USB and VGA... the J-PAC gives a green and orange light, so its getting power... the main monitor doesnt work, so I hooked up the VGA monitor on the VGA-out socket on the cabinet and nothing...
The first setup works okay with ITG-IO, the external monitor gets power; and as it just goes through the JAMMA (no other wires apart from lights); its something to do with the J-PAC??

can anybody shed any light on this? been scratching my head for a while!

thanks

sean