Question about a monitor from a MACE:dark age cabinet

[Solstar]

I've bought a mace:teh dark age cabinet and i wanted to use it with my pc..the monitor for now.but since its not a very recenet games,like chirio cabinet etcmit doesn't have a vga port..or so i think,bevcause i have to get the cabint later today.looking at the spec of the Seattle atari hardware,i think that i have to build my iown video adapter.i found online some various schemes but i was wondering if they will work.my video card is a geforce 8800 gt,it has vga and dvi output

[Kevin Mullins]

You'll need to find out exactly what make/model monitor you have before you can tell exactly what you can do with it.

But yes, you can either make your own cable from an old vga cable cut off an old pc monitor, or just buy one for like $12.00 pre-made.
http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=2

[Solstar]

hmm exactly where i can check the brand of the maker on the monitor?aren't (most) monitors all the same,"portwise"?i mean they should all have the same red green blue cables plus the the ones for the vertical\horiz sync?

[Kevin Mullins]

hmm exactly where i can check the brand of the maker on the monitor?

Look for any names or numbers on anything EXCEPT the back of the tube.
Or post a pic up here and maybe we can identify it.

aren't (most) monitors all the same,"portwise"?i mean they should all have the same red green blue cables plus the the ones for the vertical\horiz sync?

Most....yes.
But that doesn't tell you what all resolutions your particular monitor may be capable of.
Just good info to know before you start running signals to it and can't figure out why it won't get a good picture or something.

[Solstar]

i've been busy lately so that's why i'm replying now..i willtake some pics later when i willbe back home,but after some research online,i found out that the monitor is exactly the same as the ones mounted on all the atari cabinet of that era (1997-98).i found a video on youtube that shows a San francisco rush cabinet,and the monitor is the same;connected to a sort of "video card",so i was wondering if there's a different procedure for making a vga cable for it

[Kevin Mullins]

SanFrancisco Rush's typically came with medium resolution Neotecs.
Pinout should be the same as most arcade monitors.
But you'll still have to buy or build a "breakout" cable to go from your vga source to the monitor itself.

[Q*Bert_OP]

I have a dedicated prototype Mace game. It has a standard resolution Neotec monitor in it. The serial number tag on the neckboard and chassis match the cabinet serial, so I believe them to be original. Since Mace is on Seattle based hardware, I'd be surprised if it can't run Mid-res as well as STD-res.

[Solstar]

I have a dedicated prototype Mace game. It has a standard resolution Neotec monitor in it. The serial number tag on the neckboard and chassis match the cabinet serial, so I believe them to be original. Since Mace is on Seattle based hardware, I'd be surprised if it can't run Mid-res as well as STD-res.

hmmm so it won't work on pc?

[Kevin Mullins]

You'll need to use software with your video card or something like an ArcadVGA video card to force resolutions that the monitor is capable of, but yes, it can be done.
There's plenty of writeups around here for this sort of thing.

The number one thing is you still need to absolutely identify what monitor you have before anyone can give you specific advice.

[Solstar]

ok i finally had some free time to dedicate at it..and ..it doesn't work.i plug it in,i turn it on,both fans start and work perfectly,but there's no sign of the monitor to turn on..and strangely enough,there's no sign of the game running either.i mean,the speakers works,because i can her the "shhhh" sound ,but i can't hear any sound,like if the game isn't started.i checked the fuse on the monitor,and its ok,also checked the signal coming through the power supply with a tester,and again,it works.i'm starting to think that maybe there's something wrong with the board of the game itself.when i turn it on,ther e's a green little light near the processor ,and the 2 red lights wich led me to think that maybe something is not right.any help?

[Solstar]

ok here's the photo,i think that the cable that i have to use is in between that mess that connects to the board..am i right?

[Kevin Mullins]

The Video Input cable is the one you would need to make up to go to your PC in order to use that monitor. But you will need to run at lower resolutions than what the PC is generally set at. You will need 15khz or 25khz modes.

As for the game (MACE) not coming on, I would first check the power supply voltages going to the game board.

By the way - You have a Hantarex Polo 28 monitor in there.
http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/Hantarex%20Polo.pdf

[Solstar]

thanks for the reply,those highlights are very useful :9 as i wrote on the other forum,i'll pos ta video about it later today