Aim Trak question

[gman314]

I am thinking of installing the Aim Trak light gun module in my cab.  Now I know that the sensor bar can be installed behind glass, but will it still work if it is also installed behind a paper bezel?  I really do not want it to be visible.  It will not mesh well with the look of my cab.  Thanks.

[angryred]

I sliced slits in my cardboard bezel, then poked the LEDs through from behind. The LEDs aren't really noticeable, and the bezel hides the LED circuit board.

[smalltownguy]

I sliced slits in my cardboard bezel, then poked the LEDs through from behind. The LEDs aren't really noticeable, and the bezel hides the LED circuit board.

That's exactly what I did too. Here's my AimTrak thread. I put mine in a sega light phaser. You can see how I handled my LED bar with my bezel.

p.s. No jokes about my tiny screen I'm working on a  21" rotating monitor setup.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=97057.msg1022898#msg1022898

[gman314]

That is really cool how you modded the Sega Light Phaser with the Aim Trak.  Still though, my main concern is having glowing LEDs poking through my bezel.  I have a custom made vinyl bezel sandwiched in between a piece of plexi glass and a poster board.  I'm not saying that I won't go through with it, but it would pain me to have to cut holes into it.  I really hope that I could think of some way around it.  Will the gun absolutely not work if the LEDs are obstructed by the bezel?

Also, I could use some opinions concerning what the best lightgun is to mod.  In addition to actual performance, what gun is best physically suited to be dismantled and modified with the aim trak (in other words, what will give me the least headache).  The Sega and NES guns are great, but I'm probably shooting for something slightly more modern with a few additional buttons.  Thanks.

[Ginsu Victim]

That is really cool how you modded the Sega Light Phaser with the Aim Trak.  Still though, my main concern is having glowing LEDs poking through my bezel.

They don't glow.

[gman314]

Really?  They appeared to be lit in a video that I saw.  But my main concern is poking holes through the bezel, and to figure out what specific gun to mod.

[smalltownguy]

Really?  They appeared to be lit in a video that I saw.  But my main concern is poking holes through the bezel, and to figure out what specific gun to mod.

They only appear to be glowing on the video I shot b/c my video cam uses a CCD (like a digital camcorder). The camera's eye can see the LED's, but the human eye cannot.

[angryred]

Really?  They appeared to be lit in a video that I saw.  But my main concern is poking holes through the bezel, and to figure out what specific gun to mod.

They only appear to be glowing on the video I shot b/c my video cam uses a CCD (like a digital camcorder). The camera's eye can see the LED's, but the human eye cannot.

Just to clarify, the LED's are infrared, so you'd need a camera that can pick that up. Like smalltownguy alluded to, I used a digital camera to make sure they were working and was like, "oh wow, THERE they are!".  Against my black glittered bezel behind clear glass, you can't see them at all unless you shine a light on them.

The only problems I had with mounting the LEDs on the back of the cardboard bezel were that the plug connection on the circuit board is on the side that faces the bezel, so the board doesn't really want to sit completely flat (fixed with a spacer); and depending how the USB cable hangs, it can pull on the board and skew the aim of the LEDs (fixed by bending the lights). Actually, that digital camera will come in pretty handy when aiming the LEDs; hold the camera where you're going to be holding the gun, and it's easy to see whether or not you're getting nice bright light aimed at that spot.

You won't regret getting one. It's a very flexible piece of hardware, and really, if you have the switches, you could mount it in your favorite super soaker if you wanted to. Add to that that my experiences with Andy's support have always been positive, and I'm again very satisfied with another Ultimarc product.