WOW New LightGUN Info !!! Woot!!! :)

[Howard_Casto]

Just saw this thread... nice to know that after nearly 7 years of me saying infared is the ONLY way to have a universal lightgun some company thought of the free advice I've been giving out.  (Yes I mean you act-labs... I literally told you how to design the frikkin gun and you went with traditional technology anyway.  )

People have been making IR tracking guns for much longer than 7 years.

For the pc?  No they haven't.  They have made ir 3d devices before, but they are hardly a gun due to the odd method of aiming used.  (3dzonemaster comes to mind)  Not sure what you meant by that comment. At the time when the act-labs guys popped in with their pc gun idea (horrible idea btw considering most of us use tvs or arcade monitors and at best it's psuedo compatable with the latter) I told them to do what namco did in the arcades and make an ir device so it would work on all monitors. I was promptly ignored and scoffed at by everyone.

[darthbane2k]

However, I need to start considering mounting options.. anyone know where I can get a holster and extra durable cabling?

Happ controls sell holsters: http://www.happcontrols.com/amusement/optical/96075016.htm

They dont supply to the UK anymore though right, I mean they dont supply small orders...

[Silver]

Is there a maximum screen size for the led rig?  The reason I ask is I would think at projected sizes the top-left corner might be so far from the bottom-right that it might not be able to track properly. 

For up to 32" screens you put the stands to the side of the monitor. For 32-60" projected, they actually recommend placing the led stands inside the projected image. Sounds weird I know but if you look at the videos on there site they have a huge projected image of some HOTD clone with the LED stands attached to the wall in middle. It looks like accuracy even for that large image is not an issue, although someone will have to test...


Well my package has arrived a couple of hours ago, but me being at work means All work and no Play make Jack a Dull boy.... not back home for around 7 hours or so, but have a camera and will put up a bunch of pics then unless someone else already has.

[Silver]

They dont supply to the UK anymore though right, I mean they dont supply small orders...

Try ponyboy or someone else in the buy/sell forum who sell Happ products. Not only at a discount from happs prices, but reasonable shipping too! And you don't have to spend

[JoyMonkey]

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but will these work if the LED stands are mounted behind the monitor bezel behind the glass?

I'm thinking of something kind-of like this drawing, but the monitor bezel would butt-up to the screen, so the LED stands would be completely isolated.

[darthbane2k]

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but will these work if the LED stands are mounted behind the monitor bezel behind the glass?

I'm thinking of something kind-of like this drawing, but the monitor bezel would butt-up to the screen, so the LED stands would be completely isolated.

bear in mind that the LED stands are 3cm thick.

[JoyMonkey]

bear in mind that the LED stands are 3cm thick.

I'm not asking 'if the LED stands' will fit. I'm asking if they will work if they're completely cover up.

[Silver]

I'm not asking 'if the LED stands' will fit. I'm asking if they will work if they're completely cover up.

If you mean so that they are completely covered by your solid monitor bezel, then no I expect they will not work. Although they are infra red, i think you need to think of them like a normal LED. The light from these LED's must be visible by the gun. So you could put the stands completely behind your bezel, and then make small holes in the bezel over the LED's. This would be quite unobtrusive I think.

RE: glass over monitor. I think it will work, but it needs to be tried (or someone with experience of infra red LEDs can coment) to know for sure. I can see it reducing the range. One concern would be reflections interfering.....

[darthbane2k]

bear in mind that the LED stands are 3cm thick.

I'm not asking 'if the LED stands' will fit. I'm asking if they will work if they're completely cover up.

Probably not. If its infra red. If it was just glass covering the stands then maybe, however if its a bezel of somesort it might not work. Im considering this based on the principle of a Television and remote control.

[darthbane2k]

I'm not asking 'if the LED stands' will fit. I'm asking if they will work if they're completely cover up.

If you mean so that they are completely covered by your solid monitor bezel, then no I expect they will not work. Although they are infra red, i think you need to think of them like a normal LED. The light from these LED's must be visible by the gun. So you could put the stands completely behind your bezel, and then make small holes in the bezel over the LED's. This would be quite unobtrusive I think.

RE: glass over monitor. I think it will work, but it needs to be tried (or someone with experience of infra red LEDs can coment) to know for sure. I can see it reducing the range. One concern would be reflections interfering.....

Silver, you bought one right?

You based in the UK?

[Silver]

Yeh, UK based. Bought and arrived and waiting at home for me to unpack when I get home from work today. (they actually attempted to deliver it on tues, so already 2 days late...).

[Xiaou2]

 Joymonkey,

 You could probably either punch little circles that allow the leds to 'see' thru the bezel..  or maybe,  you could rip the led boxes appart and attach the leds to the bezel without the box.   

 Being that the spacing might be important, you could possibly saw the entire front mounting plate off, and all the rest gets tossed away.   Then mount the thin frontplate w/ leds behind the bezel.. with the holes to allow infered to pass thru.

 Not sure if any electronics are in the bases.. but probably not much if anything at all.  Could always be wired to a roomier place in the cab if needed.

[darthbane2k]

Yeh, UK based. Bought and arrived and waiting at home for me to unpack when I get home from work today. (they actually attempted to deliver it on tues, so already 2 days late...).

Did you order from liksang?

How long did it take?

Was it parcelforce who attempted delivery?

[ErikRuud]

Photos of the gun itself.

[ErikRuud]

More photos of the gun.  The second gives a size comparison to the newer ActLabs gun.

[ErikRuud]

I held the sliding part back for this photo.

This is the recoil action.

[ErikRuud]

Still more photos of the gun.

[darthbane2k]

this is awesome, thanks for these

[ErikRuud]

I'll have to try a little later to post the led stand photos.

I'm getting a message that says the upload folder is full.

[Silver]

Did you order from liksang?

How long did it take?

Was it parcelforce who attempted delivery?

PlayAsia. (used them before)

Ordered Saturday 21st, left HK Monday 23rd, attempted delivery at my door Tuesday 24th.

I used the UPS option, so it was an UPS delivery.

[darthbane2k]

I'll have to try a little later to post the led stand photos.

I'm getting a message that says the upload folder is full.

dang!

cant u use imageshack.us ?

[ErikRuud]

Can you guys get some pictures online of you actually holding/playing the guns. I would like to see things such as the thickness and slack of the cable etc

The cable is at least 8ft long possibly 9ft.  I'll measure it out tonight.  The thickness is about the sames as your average mouse or usb device.

[Santoro]

I'm not asking 'if the LED stands' will fit. I'm asking if they will work if they're completely cover up.

Infra-red is basically light, so these are not going to work through anything opaque.  They might work through tinted glass, which is what I am hoping to achieve. 

I went cheap on the shipping so it is going to be a while before I am able to test.

[ErikRuud]

I'll have to try a little later to post the led stand photos.

I'm getting a message that says the upload folder is full.

dang!

cant u use imageshack.us ?

Here is a photo page I just put together.

[ErikRuud]

Is there a maximum screen size for the led rig?  The reason I ask is I would think at projected sizes the top-left corner might be so far from the bottom-right that it might not be able to track properly. 

For up to 32" screens you put the stands to the side of the monitor. For 32-60" projected, they actually recommend placing the led stands inside the projected image. Sounds weird I know but if you look at the videos on there site they have a huge projected image of some HOTD clone with the LED stands attached to the wall in middle. It looks like accuracy even for that large image is not an issue, although someone will have to test...


Well my package has arrived a couple of hours ago, but me being at work means All work and no Play make Jack a Dull boy.... not back home for around 7 hours or so, but have a camera and will put up a bunch of pics then unless someone else already has.

The FAQ page says

Recommend screens size is 14-60 inch, which is the best for the LCD TopGun. For screen of size 14-60 inch, please place the LED stand beside the screen as the the figure below

and

Q7) How should I set up the LED stand if my projector is larger then 60 inch ?

A) If your screen is between 60-120 inch, you can put the LED stand in the middle of the  screen as shown in the picture below :

[Minwah]

The guns seem to be a modified version of this (I have one for Xbox):

http://www.idealo.at/preisvergleich/OffersOfProduct/294279_-xbox-beretta-92fs-thrustmaster.html

Seems like they just added the laser sight part.  Also, while this one above looks as tho it should have recoil (you can see the seperate parts of plastic, there isn't actually recoil at all.)  Looks like this one will be redundant now anyway...but FWIW the one I have has a pretty good feel and is very accurate.

[Minwah]

Here is a photo page I just put together.

Cool, thanks   But the main question...so how are you finding the gun with MAME??

[ErikRuud]

Here is a photo page I just put together.

Cool, thanks   But the main question...so how are you finding the gun with MAME??

Read my earlier post on page 4 of this thread.

I had issues with the drivers, and I am currently using Acorn's driver.  I did not get it to work correctly in MAME due to the resolution changes.  Can somone remind me how to configure MAME to use only one resolution?

[Minwah]

Read my earlier post on page 4 of this thread.

My apologies, I had read it this morning but didn't think it was you for some reason (if that makes sense).

I had issues with the drivers, and I am currently using Acorn's driver.  I did not get it to work correctly in MAME due to the resolution changes.  Can somone remind me how to configure MAME to use only one resolution?

Sure, edit mame.ini and set 'resolution 640x480' or whatever you like.  Alternatively from a commandline you can do it like this:

mame opwolf -r 640x480

[ErikRuud]

That's what I thought it was supposed to be, but DuckHunt keep coming up at a much smaller resolution.

[edge]

I received my 2 guns yesterday.  Ordered on Monday afternoon from PlayAsia, shipped on Tuesday, receieved on Wednesday am.

I only had about 30 minutes last night, so I quickly velcroed the 2 LED strands to the side of my LCD.  The LED strands are very light in weight.  Pay close attention to which strand you put on left/right side (see pic on back of box). 

I ran into a lot of issues with the drivers/EMS software.  I will post some questions later this morning (work is getting in way!).

Here are my picture contributions...

LED strands velcroed to side of 19" LCD:


Closeup of strand:

[Warborg]

I received my 2 guns yesterday.  Ordered on Monday afternoon from PlayAsia, shipped on Tuesday, receieved on Wednesday am.

Which shipping method are you using to get them delivered so quickly?

[Farmboy90]

Which shipping method are you using to get them delivered so quickly?

If you go to play-asia, add one to your cart and try to checkout it seems to only offer 2-3 day delivery options.  In other words I don't think there is a way to get them "slowly" from play-asia.  Lik-sang may be different though.

And play-asia ships either UPS or DHL (can't remember now), so I don't think there will be issues like the one RandyT eluded to.

[Minwah]

That's what I thought it was supposed to be, but DuckHunt keep coming up at a much smaller resolution.

Do you have 'switchres 1' set in mame.ini?

[edge]

I received my 2 guns yesterday.  Ordered on Monday afternoon from PlayAsia, shipped on Tuesday, receieved on Wednesday am.

Which shipping method are you using to get them delivered so quickly?

On Monday afternoon, on the playasia site, these guns were shipping within 24 hours.  Unfortunately, the site now shows "Usually ships within 1-5 days".  

As for shipping options on playasia, there were only 2: UPS or some local courrier (never saw name before).  I chose UPS.

[ErikRuud]

That's what I thought it was supposed to be, but DuckHunt keep coming up at a much smaller resolution.

Do you have 'switchres 1' set in mame.ini?

I'll have to check when I get home tonight.  Which way should it be set?

[Farmboy90]

That's what I thought it was supposed to be, but DuckHunt keep coming up at a much smaller resolution.

Do you have 'switchres 1' set in mame.ini?

I'll have to check when I get home tonight.  Which way should it be set?

[no]switchres

        Enables resolution switching. This option is required for the
        -resolution option to switch resolutions in full screen mode. On many
        modern video cards with hardware stretching support, there is little
        performance penalty at higher resolutions, so it is nice to be able to
        get rid of the monitor resync time when you run in full screen mode.
        This is also useful on LCD displays with a fixed resolution. The
        default is ON (-switchres). This option requires -ddraw.

[RandyT]

And play-asia ships either UPS or DHL (can't remember now), so I don't think there will be issues like the one RandyT eluded to.

I don't expect there to be issues with 3 or 4 of units being shipped either.  When you start talking half a pallet full, then you might be talking different shipping methods.  It pays to be certain.  Trust me.

RandyT

[Warborg]

Which shipping method are you using to get them delivered so quickly?

If you go to play-asia, add one to your cart and try to checkout it seems to only offer 2-3 day delivery options.  In other words I don't think there is a way to get them "slowly" from play-asia.  Lik-sang may be different though.

And play-asia ships either UPS or DHL (can't remember now), so I don't think there will be issues like the one RandyT eluded to.

If you order only 1 there is a 3rd option of standard postal service, if you order 2 or more then there is only UPS and DHL.  I was looking at ordering one, that's why I was asking (as in, wondering if the cheapest option in shipping was still relatively quick).

[ahofle]

Has anyone tried simultaneous 2 player games?  Does the 2nd gun use mouse3 and 4 so the buttons can be assigned in MAME?  If so, I'm selling my ACT labs TV out USB hairdriers for $600 on ebay and buying two of these.