The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls

Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 06:59:43 am

Title: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 06:59:43 am
I am at work and been notified from home that it has arrived, that was fast. Now what i might need help on is,
can i use those namco guns for time crisis 123? need help deciding, which one i should get and from where, i am in uk?

also from the board do i just need to connect the 4pin molex connector from the pc power supply, will this be enough for the
recoil to function?

Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 07:23:54 am
Something like these, do u guys it will connect http://www.arcadespareparts.com/arcade_parts/shooting_parts/time_crisis_gun_assembly/13199.html (http://www.arcadespareparts.com/arcade_parts/shooting_parts/time_crisis_gun_assembly/13199.html)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: BadMouth on September 09, 2011, 09:16:55 am
Assuming you bought the conversion kit, the gun part # it calls for is a Happ gun.
I'm not sure if they are interchangeable with Namco guns.
http://service.globalvr.com/aa.asp (http://service.globalvr.com/aa.asp)

Recoil will require a 24v power supply.

EDIT: This manual seems to have the most info:
http://service.globalvr.com/downloads/aa/040-0143-01_Americas_Army_Manual-web.pdf (http://service.globalvr.com/downloads/aa/040-0143-01_Americas_Army_Manual-web.pdf)
It's for the non-conversion version.  Looks like the original game came with happ guns.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 09:59:15 am
where can i get 24v power supply that will connect to it?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: BadMouth on September 09, 2011, 10:08:12 am
where can i get 24v power supply that will connect to it?

The original happ one is 5 Amp.
I got a cheap one off ebay, but I'm using it for steering wheel feedback.

You might be able to get a wiring harness from Global VR that would make connecting it easier.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 10:18:45 am
kinda getting confused, sorry for this not really technical about these things. So will need a separate power supply to connect to 24v pin, if so can u show me something on ebay that might work?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: BadMouth on September 09, 2011, 10:45:22 am
kinda getting confused, sorry for this not really technical about these things. So will need a separate power supply to connect to 24v pin, if so can u show me something on ebay that might work?

Just type in 24V power supply.  Anything 5A and up will work.
Here is the happ one:
http://na.suzohapp.com/powersupplies/80021600.htm (http://na.suzohapp.com/powersupplies/80021600.htm)

If you're in the U.S., order it from Divemaster in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum.
He can sell you the guns too, but they aren't cheap.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: bkenobi on September 09, 2011, 12:28:03 pm
Unless you are using this on an arcade board, what use is the recoil?  Does MAME or any other emulator have the capability to fire the needed signal to the board to start/stop recoil/vibration?  I suspect this could be done with MAMEhooker, but I've obviously never tried.  Just curious.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 09, 2011, 06:42:00 pm
lol good point, but still want the possibility to use so want to get everything setup, well i am home but it is late so tomorrow will have a look.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: Siris on September 09, 2011, 09:26:24 pm
Maybe I'm mistaken but I would assume the recoil is triggered any time the trigger is pulled?
It's not like a steering wheel where feedback would only be felt in extreme turns or what not, it's a gun you fire it you should feel it!

Just my 2 cents
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 10, 2011, 03:45:58 am
i am also assuming  when hooked up to windows it should detect it as a joystick with force feedback, so could tets it in the joystick control pannel.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 10, 2011, 11:27:23 am
ok found a laptop 24v 6am power supply/charger it also has the 2 pin connector so i connect it in straight away :P now i need the guns
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 11, 2011, 11:33:59 am
quick update, connected usb2gun to pc via printer cable window 7 detects to gun joysticks and i have the option to calibrate them. Obviously i have no real arcade guns at the moment
all i need is to get them but finding them hard. I want to try to get the namco guns if anyone can help.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: Q*Bert_OP on September 11, 2011, 03:22:24 pm
quick update, connected usb2gun to pc via printer cable window 7 detects to gun joysticks and i have the option to calibrate them. Obviously i have no real arcade guns at the moment
all i need is to get them but finding them hard. I want to try to get the namco guns if anyone can help.

http://na.suzohapp.com/amusement/optical/pb030314100.htm (http://na.suzohapp.com/amusement/optical/pb030314100.htm)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 01:46:30 pm
Hi guys just another quick update:

I bought some namco guns setted everything up in widnows 7, it detects them as gamepads and the crosshair moves when i move the gun,
When i shoot at the screen it register as button 1, if  i shoot off screen it register as button 2. The screen flashes when i shoot.

The only problem i have i can't seem to get the recoil/ff to work, i am just using a laptop charger 24v 6a it has adaptors on it.
So i take of the daaptor and it has a 2 pin connector which i drectly connect to the board.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: Franco B on September 14, 2011, 02:11:14 pm
Where did you get the Namco guns from? I'm after some so I can buy some Point Blank PCBs.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived?
Post by: BadMouth on September 14, 2011, 03:35:15 pm
Hi guys just another quick update:

I bought some namco guns setted everything up in widnows 7, it detects them as gamepads and the crosshair moves when i move the gun,
When i shoot at the screen it register as button 1, if  i shoot off screen it register as button 2. The screen flashes when i shoot.

The only problem i have i can't seem to get the recoil/ff to work, i am just using a laptop charger 24v 6a it has adaptors on it.
So i take of the daaptor and it has a 2 pin connector which i drectly connect to the board.

It may require some kind of signal from the game.
Hopefully you can find an input somewhere that triggers it.
If you do, then you have an led-wiz or something send the signal whenever button 1 has been pressed.

If not, then you could bypass the usb2gun and have led-wiz or whatever trigger a relay or transistor that's connected to the recoil solenoid.

One of my projects that's not getting done is adding an aim-trak to a happ recoil gun.
The last transistor I tried couldn't handle the power.  I picked up some beefier ones and might get a chance to try them tonight.

How about posting some pics of this stuff?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 04:35:52 pm
will do next 2 days :P
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 04:36:26 pm
franco here:http://leisureservices.biz
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 04:42:44 pm
the strange thing is when i connect the laptop charger i can hear a weird clicking noise coming from it (the charger)?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 04:56:27 pm
some quick video i did earlier today, shows board

24v power connector usb2Gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w36VQe0IQng#)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 14, 2011, 05:03:38 pm
guys can you read the this

http://nanotechent.s3.amazonaws.com/support/OptiGun-User-Guide.pdf (http://nanotechent.s3.amazonaws.com/support/OptiGun-User-Guide.pdf)

it is the original nanotech mnual ofr the opticgun now usb2gun.

if you read pages 13-14 it has this usb packet info about ff setup. Anyone know wat this is?

Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 06:57:20 am
Hi guys, ignoring the reocil foor now, I have tried pc versions of the house of the dead 2 and 3 and the aiming seems erratic. It keeps going to the lower screen,
in the game caliberation the tracking seems fine i.e in the box the cursor seems to track where i point the gun. But for some reason the games just don't track well
they either keep going to the left or right or up and down i have to drag the gun somewhat. I am testing this on my crt monitor for now.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 01:09:52 pm
tested on my arcade monitor still doing the same thing, what is going? this thing is ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- lol wasted alot of moneyz :P
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 15, 2011, 01:30:50 pm
Did you calibrate it in windows (under game controllers)?

My guess would be that you have to point the gun along the edges of the screen.
I had to do that with my positional gun before calibrating it in game.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 02:16:39 pm
yes i did it in the game controllers.

but in any game or mame it is erratic?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 02:24:26 pm
problem is how do i caliberate it in for say house of the dead3 for the pc?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 15, 2011, 02:37:45 pm
problem is how do i caliberate it in for say house of the dead3 for the pc?

Does that game work with joysticks?

Even if it does, the joystick control probably isn't set up for absolute coordinates.
You might try a program like Joy2Mouse to make the gun appear as a mouse.
(It will need to be in absolute mode)
Those programs won't work with the standard build of MAME though.

Do they show up as joysticks in MAME?
If so, do you have the deadzone set to zero?
...only have the axis assigned (not axis+ and axis-)?

tested on my arcade monitor still doing the same thing, what is going? this thing is ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- lol wasted alot of moneyz :P

You bought a part to an arcade machine.  I'm sure it works perfectly in that arcade machine.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 02:57:59 pm
house of the dead 3 does support joysticks will try your suggestions.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 03:53:56 pm
ahh man i tried joy2mouse still erratic keeps running but abit better.

i am starting to think there is alot of lag.

this is so hopeless.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 15, 2011, 04:19:15 pm
badmouth do u wanna come around and help me play around with this thing, where abouts do u live?
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 15, 2011, 04:45:22 pm
badmouth do u wanna come around and help me play around with this thing, where abouts do u live?

Sounds kind of creepy when you put it like that.

I have my own unfinished gun projects to contend with, so....no.

I'd give up on the PC games and try to get it working in MAME first.
The pc game supporting joysticks just means that the crosshairs should move in the direction you move the gun,
it doesn't mean that the crosshairs are going to line up with where the gun is pointed.  (It would surprise me if it did)
The joystick option was made to be played with joysticks, not guns that are seen as joysticks.

Make sure you have joystick enabled in the MAME ini
set deadzone to zero
set joystick saturation to 1 (100%)

I'm assuming that this thing is only sending location data when the trigger is pulled,
(not sure how that would work in windows joystick calibration though)
so you'll probably have to map the axis in MAME the same way light guns are set up:
http://www.act-labs.com/LightGunSetUp/LightGunSetUp.htm (http://www.act-labs.com/LightGunSetUp/LightGunSetUp.htm)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 16, 2011, 04:47:25 am
k will try this today.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 16, 2011, 03:43:21 pm
wow badmouth looks like that did the trick. I haven't followed all the settings for act labs but i put deadlok to 0 at saturation 1 and helped it seemed.
I played time crisis 1 in mame did the gun caliberation and seems to work ok. Although the cursor is abit shaky it doesn;t go everywhere :P
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 16, 2011, 03:50:12 pm
Do the crosshairs move as you move the gun or only when you pull the trigger?

(I'm trying to figure out exactly how this thing works)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 16, 2011, 04:27:37 pm
The cursor moves when i move the gun. The cursor is abit shaky and when i go above half way the monitor it accekerates really fast. If below the half way seems to be smooth.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 16, 2011, 04:37:49 pm
The cursor moves when i move the gun. The cursor is abit shaky and when i go above half way the monitor it accekerates really fast. If below the half way seems to be smooth.

Interesting.  I'm not aware of any optical light guns that work that way....yet this does...and with the standard guns no less.

Since it's tracking as a joystick, you could try tinkering with the analogue sensetivity in the MAME "in game" menu.
That might help the jittery crosshairs.  
Digital speed and digital ??(can't remember) in that same menu only effect key presses being substituted for analogue controls.
They won't have any effect.

Not sure what to make of it moving faster depending on which part of the screen you're on, but I guess as long as it goes where you point it......
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: BadMouth on September 16, 2011, 04:41:54 pm
Also make sure that you don't have axis + and axis - mapped to anything.
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 16, 2011, 06:28:38 pm
will do this tomorrow will make video aswell :P
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: lodoss118 on September 17, 2011, 07:02:52 am
Tried tinkering around and nothing really worked. What i found out is that if there are light colours it seems to work better.
If darks colours like black are shown then it looses accuracy?


Here is a video:

namco and usb2gun time crisis 1 mame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qoMiO2aUTc#)
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: Siris on September 17, 2011, 09:25:45 pm
Maybe it's just the angle of the camera but that doesn't seem to be tracking correctly at all.
I'm curious would the game be playable if you turned off the crosshairs or would you miss every time???
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: vargas14617 on October 07, 2019, 09:29:03 pm
I know this old but you need xp not windows 7 per global vr
Title: Re: usb2gun seems like it has arrived --- UPDATED ---?
Post by: slizzap on October 29, 2023, 09:44:18 am
Old thread, but just in case someone else comes along looking for info, it works perfectly fine on Windows 7.