Monitor/Video Card Compatibility - Need Help!

[rgn22]

First, let me just say I am a newbie and I don't know all the terms, so I apologize if all of this is basic.

I recently hooked up my computer to my mame cabinet which uses an arcade monitor. My video card is a Matrox Mystique, which does support VGA. I am getting a signal, but it is very garbled and I cannot get the horizontal or vertical holds under control. The closest I got was the video slowly scrolling both up and across.

I am not sure if it a setting on the video card, windows, or what. I will take a picture of this later and post it here if it helps.

ANY advice (and please, use layman terms) would be appreciated. I am not a novice with computers, but I am new to mame and arcade monitors.

[rampy]

Missing some info.

How did you hook it up to the arcade monitor?  VGA cable hack?

Which brand/model arcade monitor?

What did you do with the sync wires and which connectors on the arcade monitor did you stick it on.

What are you using to make the Matrox card "talk" to the arcade monitor at the lower frequency it needs (i.e. little program you run in DOS, or whatnot to force it... ie..  mon-arc  plus... did you check out all the info at pc2jamma page

*shrug* need more info as to your approach... it sounds like a sync problem or you just need to spend more time fiddling with vhold and hhold if it's rolling in two directions... *shrug*

how aobut a picture of the screen?

Rampy

[rgn22]

Missing some info.

How did you hook it up to the arcade monitor?  VGA cable hack?

Which brand/model arcade monitor?

What did you do with the sync wires and which connectors on the arcade monitor did you stick it on.

What are you using to make the Matrox card "talk" to the arcade monitor at the lower frequency it needs (i.e. little program you run in DOS, or whatnot to force it... ie..  mon-arc  plus... did you check out all the info at pc2jamma page

*shrug* need more info as to your approach... it sounds like a sync problem or you just need to spend more time fiddling with vhold and hhold if it's rolling in two directions... *shrug*

how aobut a picture of the screen?

Rampy

Thanks for replying.

The connection is a VGA cable hack. I actually rewired it and was able to produce a stable horizontal and vertical control. I posted a picture of where I am at now. The screen is not centered as you can see, and when I try to run MAME32, I get more H-hold and V-hold trouble. I have a Sharp XM-2001N arcade monitor.

I have read info about "smoothing" or other software that can get this under control, but nothing that can run under Windows. I do not want to run DOS based MAME.

If you could expand a little more on making the video card "talk" to the monitor, I would appreciate it. I have done some research, but I may not be looking in the right places.

[rampy]

i'm confused... just for your reference -> download/save/print your monitor manual

normally one needs to (unless they are using an arcadeVGA card) to use some piece of software ... or hardware (like a JPAC from ultimarc) to make sure you don't send 30khz (vga signal frequency) to an arcade monitor which expects 15khz...

Normally this is done in DOS as it's usually notoriously difficult to accomplish in windows =P  How did you (if you did at all) change windows to output/display for your arcade monitor?  

If you insist on using windows you can try using an application called "powerstrip"  (search this forum for more info or google)... it's a shareware app that lets you tweak your desktop resolution into all sorts of modes (including the coveted  arcade frequencies - but takes some tweaking)

uhm... I'm not sure what you're next best step would be.  The arcadeVGA card from ultimarc.com , if you can spring for it, does make things MUCH easier as it outputs the proper/expected 15khz and is programmed to display all the original arcade resolutions.  It also displays windoze on an arcade monitor if that's your thing =P

One thought is to check out advancemame but that can be a hairying experience...

I've got another idea... I'd ask that you consider trying DOS as it's better suited or has better tools for displaying on a arcade monitor... (as archaic as command line entry can be sometimes)

there's a bootable CD called "fraggle's boot CD" or the like, maintained/created by a mamer called "las vegas" i believe... that contains tools and a process to get someone going with a DOS install, basic mame install, arcadeos, and stuff on an arcade monitor.  

It can/will wipe/format your partition as it's made to make a clean, bootable dos partition that's supposed to be idiot proof (but really it's stilll kinda dicey propositiion)

*shrug*  let me know if you're using a jpac or some software wizadry or just driving the hell out of your monitor =P

Rampy

[rgn22]

Thanks so much for the advice. No need to be confused though, I am admittedly clueless. Just found out about MAME about a month ago. I am going to buy an ArcadeVGA card and try that.

Thanks again.

[rampy]

while your shopping... may i suggest a video amp from their site too?

Sometimes monitors appear dim when driven by a VGA card and the video amp cranks the 1 volt that comes out of the VGA card and puts out the 5volts most older Arcade Monitors expect...

Some monitors (notably modern WellGardners) will happily take either 1v -  5volts... (and therefore NOT need a video amp)

it certainly looks like your display is plenty bright being driven by your current card, but you may consider shlopping the extra 15 dollar item in there as if things are too dim later you'll feel silly paying 12 dollars to ship a 15 dollar item later... Know what i mean?  On the other hand you might not "need" it...

*shrug* the video amp has no bearing on anything except the brightness of the picture displayed so ... totally up to you.

Good luck!

rampy