Has Anyone Ever Used This VGA to RGB Video Converter?

[bungy]

I have a brand new Dell Vostro 230 that won't even boot with ArcadeVGA 3000 and the monitor is standard CGA.  I have contacted Andy at Ultimarc, and he thinks it is a compatibility issue with Dell.  I don't want to use Soft15kHz because it seems like a configuration nightmare.  The only two options I see are 1) get a VGA monitor (prefer not to), and 2) convert the VGA signal.

Has anyone ever used the following converter or had any experience with it?  It's pretty cheap, but any input on how it performs can help me avoid another dead end.

http://www.arcadespareparts.com/arcade_parts/video_converter/vga_rgb_cga_video_converter/12215.html

[bungy]

I posted in the main forum to reach a wider audience since I'm just looking for general info.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111513.0

[HaRuMaN]

That looks interesting... 

[lilshawn]

i would just go ahead and try soft15k... it's free and if it doesn't work its no big deal.

free is better than paying any day of the week.

[bungy]

i would just go ahead and try soft15k... it's free and if it doesn't work its no big deal.

free is better than paying any day of the week.

I don't believe I even have a compatible graphics card.

[lilshawn]

it does support all kinds of nforce and ATI cards as well as a bunch of old school ones...

the dell vostro 230 has a nvidia video chipset. It might work. try PM'ing SailorSat and ask.

also here:
http://community.arcadeinfo.de/showthread.php?t=8170

[boardjunkie]

Could be interesting, but there's no manual there to read and the "specs" don't tell what the output voltage is and exactly what is adjustable. If it is intended for SCART use then its pretty useless for arcade monitors.

"Insufficient data at the moment Starchild" - Ace Frehley

[lilshawn]

Could be interesting, but there's no manual there to read and the "specs" don't tell what the output voltage is and exactly what is adjustable. If it is intended for SCART use then its pretty useless for arcade monitors.

"Insufficient data at the moment Starchild" - Ace Frehley

i don't see SCART mentioned anywhere on the page. although it appears the the output is NTSC/PAL switchable.

though i do find it funny that the "Full Kit" photo doest't include instructions of any kind.

[MonMotha]

It's got a whole lot of pots an the classic Chinese "arcade video" output that isn't actually used on any arcade game I've ever seen (though, to be fair, I don't own any Chinese games).  Good chance the video output levels are adjustable.  Even if not, many arcade monitors can handle the 0.7-1Vpp signals that are PC standard if you turn the contrast way up, but some start to streak/bloom/halo.

Regardless, it certainly doesn't seem targeted at SCART users.

[grantspain]

used one of these to get me out of a problem,they are not great-the picture will lack definition and colour

[bungy]

I did order one of these and it came straight from Hong Kong, and it does work for my purpose.  Like grantspain said, it lacks definition and color, but it's very usable.  It has an on-screen menu for adjustments and I was able to tweak it and make it look pretty good. I had to hack the included harness to hook it up to a WG4900 and I had to tap into the PC's 5v line.

The included instruction sheet is mostly useless engrish.

[HaRuMaN]

  or it never happened

[tcancian]

Let's say you want to emulate Neo-Geo. Neo-Geo games run at 320x240 non-interlaced. What the converter does is to pick 640x480 non-interlace and interlace it. Not only would you not get the original picture with scanlines (though you can add then through MAME) but it would have A LOT of flicker. Why don't you assemble a new and cheap Intel Atom based PC with PCI-Express and use the ArcadeVGA 3000 at it? But if you're not willing to build a new setup just for MAME then maybe it's worth it. The scaling from 320x240 to 640x480 is quite obvious.