Polo hanterex to mame question

[mrmikey73]

Hi, I'm new but have reading quite a bit on here to see how to convert my arcade to mame. Right now I have a hanterex polo 25" monitor running a xxxx in 1 with no problems. I have a video card and just ordered the amp with breakout cable red green blue etc..  I really don't want to ruin my monitor so my question is, this sounds a little to simple am I missing a step? There is a transformer running it at least it looks like that's where the power comes from when I flip the switch on top of the arcade. I read someone mentioned a switch on the monitor for 15 or 31hz I didn't see one one mine but could have missed it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm new to the arcade world. Thanks, mike

[Bramlet]

if you are running in 15khz mode and you send regular 31khz signal it is supposed to be potentially damaging.

So, you need either a video card that outputs in 15khz mode (Arcade VGA)

Or software that outputs a 15khz signal. (Soft15khz)

If you use the software and a breakout cable you must wait until your computer has booted up and is outputting 15khz signal before you turn on arcade monitor. To verify your software is setup correctly, you hook it to regular screen, you should see the boot screens normally and then lose the signal completely whence the computer loads your operating system.

Or if you can in fact switch to 31khz mode you could just use regular video card with no software.

[mrmikey73]

Ok sounds like pretty much what I was thinking. I don't see a switch on the monitor so it's probably just a 15hz. So I was told I will have a on board video card is there a way to check to make sure I'm outputting only 15hz? Also on the back of my monitor there is red green and brown. Is it safe to assume brown is blue? Also the monitor on back says H.S. or comp v.s. b.g.r. Does this mean anything I should know? Thanks just don't want to blow my monitor.

[Bramlet]

I don't think its safe to assume anything. you should have red, green, blue, sync, and ground.

The brown could be your blue or it could be your sync or ground you will have to check the writing on your circuit board and perhaps find the manual.

[mrmikey73]

I looked at the manual and they don't mention a brown wire. I see on the back of mine red green brow black white. Seems like it should be brown equals blue since the black is ground but I would hate to hook it up wrong.

[Bramlet]

BTW you can hook it up without one of the color signals at first. If you are sure white if sync and black is ground, you can hook up everything except brown. If everything works except the color blue you know brown is your blue. I don't know what will happen if you mess up here, so try to be sure you get the sync and ground wires correct. The color carrying wires can get switched around among themselves without damaging anything.

I had a problem with no red so I switched green and red wires to test it out.

[mrmikey73]

Ok I'll try that didn't know I could do that. I was told the computer I was getting had on board VGA card so im planning on hooking it up and trying it first and seeing if it true before I go and buy one or use the software. Can this be damaging if I do it this way and there is no converter? Thanks for your help!!

[Bramlet]

Use Soft15Khz and make sure your computer no longer works correctly with a regular monitor before you hook it up to arcade monitor. Even then the boot process will still be sending damaging 31khz to your arcade monitor. Make sure that you are sending 15khz signal before you turn on arcade. if your computer still boots up and works normally on your regular monitor don't hook it to the arcade.

You are going to want to download the correct drivers for your new computers graphics. It needs to be installed for soft15khz to work. if you want to go back you can reinstall these drivers and it will delete soft15khz and you can go back to using it with a regular monitor. You don't want to get stuck where you have set your pc to output in 15khz mode and then your arcade monitor doesn't work, then you have no way to reinstall the graphics driver and get it working with regular monitor.

[MTPPC]

If you use a J-PAC to connect your cabinet to the computer, it has a switch on it for 15khz monitor only. If that switch is set, your 31khz will be split into a left and right images. I don't know if you have a jamma cabinet, but if you do, the j-pac is certainly the way to go.