Author Topic: BETABRITE SCROLL SIGN IN ARCADE OS (Read 22009 times)

Chazz · « **Reply #80 on:** August 24, 2005, 02:02:40 pm »

I have another question... how do I connect the sign from the RS232 port to a COM port? Is there a cable I can either buy or build?

Silver · « **Reply #81 on:** August 24, 2005, 02:28:35 pm »

Quote from: mccoy178 on August 24, 2005, 12:21:52 pm

Silver, what do you think about this issue:

Quote
Can I get the betabrite to change with each emulator? As it is now, I have to select a game first in the next emulator to get the switch.

When I launch mamewah, the emulator running has its message sent, but not when I switch emulators.

I'm guessing that this is because Mamwah has not been setup to send out the message on an emu change. I will email Minwah and ask about this.

Silver · « **Reply #82 on:** August 24, 2005, 02:30:35 pm »

Quote from: Chazz on August 24, 2005, 02:02:40 pm

I have another question... how do I connect the sign from the RS232 port to a COM port? Is there a cable I can either buy or build?

rs232 is basically a protocol - it is used by the com port to send serial data. (Our messages in this case).

What type of connector is on your sign? Some signs have there own com port, or its not hard to make one/get one made...

mccoy178 · « **Reply #83 on:** August 25, 2005, 11:46:09 pm »

Silver, what did minwah say?

Silver · « **Reply #84 on:** August 26, 2005, 07:01:05 am »

He can't actually remember how its setup up at the moment, but he has promised to take a look when he relesases his next beta (it will be v1.62b2).

We'll have to try that one I think.

Chazz · « **Reply #85 on:** September 09, 2005, 06:46:35 pm »

I've got my sign all set up now and I can send messages using the AlphaNet software it came with, but I can't send any messages in DOS or Mamewah. Anyone have any tips on what I could be missing?

Thanks a million!!

Silver · « **Reply #86 on:** September 10, 2005, 08:24:46 am »

There settings in the ini files in mamewah where you can specify the directory of all your LCD files, as well as the com port settings you are using.

Check earlier in this post/other post I think it was mentioned.

mccoy178 · « **Reply #87 on:** September 10, 2005, 12:11:53 pm »

Has anyone had the opportunity to see if the betabrites are working properly in the new mamewah 1.62? I have set up the program to an extent, but I keep waiting out the betas as there are new ones often. I just wanted to make sure that the sign is changing when the emulator was changed. Thanks fellas.

Chazz · « **Reply #88 on:** September 10, 2005, 01:00:42 pm »

This is how I have my COM1 set in DOS:
Status for device COM1: ----------------------- Baud: 9600 Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Timeout: OFF XON/XOFF: OFF CTS handshaking: OFF DSR handshaking: OFF DSR sensitivity: OFF DTR circuit: ON RTS circuit: ON

I've added these lines to my MAMEWAH.INI file
lcd_com_port 1 lcd_settings 9600,n,8,1

And these lines in my MAME.INI file in the INI folder in MAMEWAH:
lcd_display_file_path d:\neogeo\mameplus\lcd lcd_fe_text GAME OVER

am I on the right track?

Silver · « **Reply #89 on:** September 11, 2005, 09:54:20 am »

Looks promising. If you mean "pure" dos rather than a dos box, then I'm not sure exactly what you need - for example I know that in XP it is possible to just wire up the 'send' wire on the com port and it will still send it. I suspect that in DOS the rs232 connector would have to be fully wired, but I'm not completely sure.

The lcd_fe_text may not work as you have it, as you will probably have to send 'control characters' along with the text for the sign to understand. This can be done - there is a post somewhere in here or the other thread about someone having success with this. Newer versions of Mamewah (the current beta's) have changed so that the lcd_fe_text can be kept in a seperate file like all the others (this is useful as it can be tricky to include control characters inside mamewah's ini file. However, as mentioned, it can be done for betabrites)

If you open a dosbox, can you copy a text file (or lcd file from my program) to the sign? eg "copy test.lcd com1:".

I presume you are using the right settings as the alpha software works.

Make sure you can get it working just by copying a text file to the com port before you try with mamewah (where there is more to go wrong!)

Chazz · « **Reply #90 on:** September 12, 2005, 07:13:57 am »

SUCCESS!!!
Title works perfect! Controls work perfect! Looks amazing! Thanks for all the hard work Silver!

(pics coming soon!)

Silver · « **Reply #91 on:** September 12, 2005, 07:16:10 am »

excellent glad to hear it - dis you have a 2 line display? does it use both?

I seem to recall changing the defaults to use all the lines (as it should not be an issue if its only 1 line) but can't quite remember....

Chazz · « **Reply #92 on:** September 12, 2005, 07:35:43 am »

Both lines on the sign work. If the title is too large for one line it's split into two lines which looks very nice. If the title fits on one line, then the title is on the top line, and the first line of the controls is on the second line, then the following controls show up using both lines.

I'll have some pics tonight (I hope) that will show what it looks like.

I'd still be interested in having the title of the game only on the first line while all other info scrolls vertically on the second line.

So what's in the future for this project? Anything we can do with the History.dat file? Sometimes there's some interesting trivia and info in there.

Thanks again!

Silver · « **Reply #93 on:** September 12, 2005, 08:24:37 am »

Ah good....

Well I'm happy to keep tweaking things as people request - also it looks like theres a strong possibility I may get my hands on a betabrite in the next couple of months... which will really help for adding/sorting out any issues with signs like yours.

I've got a couple of requests I'll be working on when I get time:

Add support for Crystalfontz LCD (in progress)
Adding ArcadeOS support to non-betabrite displays.
Adding option to NOT display the game name (only makes sense when you see the pics of the guy with a betabrite AND an LCD on his cab - very cool)
Adding support to control different lines independantly.

My main issue at the moment is time, and the fact that as this program was originally a quick and dirty app for my little old LCD, and I'm not the worlds best programer, the code is pretty messsy - its' half branched for each display, and half not. Works ok, but then gets really confusing when I try to tie in things like ArcadeOS output... that'll teach me...)

kenmelk · « **Reply #94 on:** November 01, 2005, 11:00:13 pm »

ok I need help i cannot get my beta brite 1040 to work with MAMEWAH. I used silvers directions to get all the files setup and they are all good, i have a full LCD file now. I have used the MAMEWAH config tool to setup mamewah, and have my com port setup like this: 9600, even,4,1
I changed my MAMEWAH ini config file path to my LCD directory, and NOTHING...It is really frustrating me here!
Also silver, i have not forgotton you, i will get your sign out to you ASAP.

Thanks,
Ken

Chazz · « **Reply #95 on:** November 02, 2005, 06:12:26 pm »

I've also run into another problem.

I had my two line Alpha sign running perfectly, but I'd rather use this sign for another project I'm working on, and use my ProLite sign with Mamewah to display the game title since I only need one line to do that.

The sign works perfectly with the TruLite software, but nothing is working with Mamewah.

Is there some settings I should be using with the LCD Gen program to make it work with this sign?

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks!!!
~ Chazz

kenmelk · « **Reply #96 on:** November 02, 2005, 06:38:30 pm »

Hey Chazz, can you email me a copy of your MAMEWAH.ini file and your mame.ini file for teh sign you had working? maybe your INI config will get my sign working?? I really do not know what else to do. It should be working and all i get is the beta brite "default"startup thing. PLEASE someone help me here as I REALLY WANT to get this working as it is my LAST thing to complete my project!

Thanks,
Ken

Chazz · « **Reply #97 on:** November 02, 2005, 07:09:15 pm »

Hi Ken,
Here's my Mamewah settings

This is in my Mamewah.ini file:
lcd_com_port 1 lcd_settings 9600,n,8,1

This is in my mame.ini file in the ini folder in Mamewah:
lcd_display_file_path d:\neogeo\mameplus\lcd

I'll be around the computer most of the evening, so let me know if there's anything I can do to help get you going.

Silver · « **Reply #98 on:** November 02, 2005, 07:56:57 pm »

Chazz - the Prolite sign is not a betabrite and uses a different protocol, hence the lcd files for a betabrite won't work with it.

I can take a quick look to see if the protocol is available and easy to addt...

Chazz · « **Reply #99 on:** November 02, 2005, 09:06:31 pm »

Thanks for taking a look into this for me Silver.

http://wls.wwco.com/ledsigns/prolite/
This site has a ton of info on the ProLite that might be of some help. (including some cheesy graphics I did for the ProLite signs).

Thanks again Silver!!

kenmelk · « **Reply #100 on:** November 02, 2005, 11:03:48 pm »

Ok, I am beyond frustrated with this thing already. My INI matches yours and i still get nothing on my sign. My LCD directory is full of LCD files, my sign is hooked up and nothing!! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!! I am ready to throw this thing off a freaking bridge!!!! Man all i want is a scrolling Marquee and NOOOOOOO...it's gotta fight me tooth an nail!! Chazz thanks for the help, if you figure anything else out let me know!!

Thanks everyone in advance,
Ken

Chazz · « **Reply #101 on:** November 03, 2005, 07:16:39 am »

Hi Ken,
Have you checked your COM1 port settings? It should look something like this:
Status for device COM1: ----------------------- Baud: 9600 Parity: None Data Bits: 8 Stop Bits: 1 Timeout: OFF XON/XOFF: OFF CTS handshaking: OFF DSR handshaking: OFF DSR sensitivity: OFF DTR circuit: ON RTS circuit: ON

kenmelk · « **Reply #102 on:** November 03, 2005, 07:19:45 am »

hey Chazz, how did you get that status of your com port?

Chazz · « **Reply #103 on:** November 03, 2005, 07:22:08 am »

Ken,
Go into DOS and type:

mode com1:9600,n,8,1

kenmelk · « **Reply #104 on:** November 03, 2005, 05:34:18 pm »

ok Chazz, i checked out the status of my com1 port, amd got teh exact thing you got. I still have no idea what the heck is wrong.

mccoy178 · « **Reply #105 on:** November 04, 2005, 01:58:57 am »

Ken,
Here is my mame.ini inside of mamewah:

### 000_mame.ini (mamewah v1.61) ###

emulator_title M.A.M.E.

### List Generation Settings ###
rom_path C:\mame\roms
rom_extension zip
dat_file
nms_file
catver_ini_file C:\Mamewah 1.61b\catver\catver.ini
list_generation_method rom_folder_vs_listxml

### Execution Settings ###
emulator_executable C:\mame\mame.exe
commandline_format "[rompath]\[name].[romext]"{dosbox}{nosafelaunch}
alt_commandline_format_1 [name]{autodosbox}{nosafelaunch}
alt_commandline_format_2 [name]{autodosbox}{nosafelaunch}
game_specific_config_path

### Artwork Locations ###
artwork_1_image_path C:\mame\Snap
artwork_2_image_path C:\mame\marquees
artwork_3_image_path C:\mame\titles
artwork_4_image_path C:\mame\cpanel
artwork_5_image_path
artwork_6_image_path
artwork_7_image_path
artwork_8_image_path
artwork_9_image_path
artwork_10_image_path
movie_preview_path C:\mame\movies
movie_artwork_no 1

### Screen-Saver Settings ###
enable_music_in_screensaver 1
saver_type launch_scr
movie_path C:\Mamewah 1.61b\ssmovie
movie_fullscreen 1
quit_delay 30
wrapper_executable
wrapper_commandline_format [name]
scr_file C:\Mamewah 1.61b\ssmovie\ms_pacman.scr

### External Application Settings ###
ipc_file_or_path
app_1_executable c:\j5viewer\j5.bat
app_1_commandline_format [name]
app_2_executable
app_2_commandline_format
app_3_executable
app_3_commandline_format
auto_launch_apps 0

### Additional Settings ###
music_path
lcd_display_file_path C:\mame\Betabrite\lcdpath
lcd_fe_text ]!?00]"AAArcade Games Select Game]$ Mame

### Settings used by MAMEWAH ###
current_list 1

Here is my mamewah.ini:

### mamewah.ini (mamewah v1.61) ###

### (Global) Screen-Saver Options ###
delay 300
slide_duration 3

### Audio Options ###
enable_sounds 1
sound_volume 100
music_path
enable_music 1
music_volume 100

### Movie Options ###
intro_movie_file
exit_movie_file
keep_movie_preview_aspect game_aspect
delay_before_movie_preview 2
music_movie_mix merge
movie_volume 100

### Misc Options ###
layout Current
ctrlr
wrap_list 0
remember_current_game 1
keep_image_aspect 0
refresh_images 0
correct_orientations horizontal
safe_mode 0
show_cursor 0
keyboard_led_states -,-,-
winipac_file
mamewah_ipc_file
lcd_com_port 1
lcd_settings 9600,n,8,1
exit_action choice
app_to_run_on_exit

### Settings used by MAMEWAH ###
current_emulator 005_playstation
locked 0
last_ipc

I hope this helps

kenmelk · « **Reply #106 on:** November 04, 2005, 10:14:39 am »

Ok, I think i have found the problem, I edit the mame.ini file in mamewah to reflect teh lcd path and text, i save it. then i run mamewah, and still nothing happens, when i exit out of mamewah, i got right to teh INI folder in mamewah and look at the mame.ini file, and it DOES NOT have teh lcd path and text in it. Now my question is why? How do i get the mame.ini file IN mamewah to save the changes for teh lcd i put it in? eveything else is on teh money, i have the com setting in my mamewah.ini and they saved no problem, I just need to figure out how to get the changes for the lcd to save in the mame.ini file in mamewah. Any ideas here guys? I think this is it, and if i can get over thiis hump. i think i am done, i have got everything working great, and i love it, this is the last and final piece to this puzzle! Please help me figure this out!

Thanks again,
Ken

Chazz · « **Reply #107 on:** November 04, 2005, 10:24:08 am »

umm, what does 'teh' mean?

Minwah · « **Reply #108 on:** November 04, 2005, 11:25:55 am »

Quote from: kenmelk on November 04, 2005, 10:14:39 am

Ok, I think i have found the problem, I edit the mame.ini file in mamewah to reflect teh lcd path and text, i save it. then i run mamewah, and still nothing happens, when i exit out of mamewah, i got right to teh INI folder in mamewah and look at the mame.ini file, and it DOES NOT have teh lcd path and text in it.

The ini files are only text files. Open the file in notepad, make the changes, save and close. If it won't save the file must be read-only, but in which case you would get a message to say so.

kenmelk · « **Reply #109 on:** November 04, 2005, 11:29:45 am »

it will not save it, and it is not read only. I checked via the properties thingy. I have edited it many times and everytime i REOPEN it, it reverts back to NOT having the LCD file path and the LCD text thing. I am stumped here, I have EVERYTHING working great now, i just need this one little thing!

Chazz...Teh...The...just a very late and tired typest!

Minwah · « **Reply #110 on:** November 04, 2005, 11:31:38 am »

Quote from: kenmelk on November 04, 2005, 11:29:45 am

it will not save it, and it is not read only. I checked via the properties thingy. I have edited it many times and everytime i REOPEN it, it reverts back to NOT having the LCD file path and the LCD text thing. I am stumped here, I have EVERYTHING working great now, i just need this one little thing!

I can't think of any reason for text files not to save. Make sure you've restarted your pc and also try a different text editor.

As a last resort I suppose you could transfer the file to another pc and see if that works.

kenmelk · « **Reply #111 on:** November 04, 2005, 11:38:27 am »

ok, now this is really goofy, I just edited it again but NOT the lcd thread, just some other changes, i saved it and those changes WERE saved, it seems it is JUST the LCD file and text lines that will not save! Man this is weird!

Silver · « **Reply #112 on:** November 04, 2005, 12:06:51 pm »

Make sure mamewah is not running while you edit it....?

Chazz · « **Reply #113 on:** November 04, 2005, 01:31:42 pm »

Hi Silver,
Did you get a chance to check out any of the info from that site on the ProLite sign? Is this do-able? Anything I can do to help?

(not trying to be a impatient pest, just a curious pest

)

I'm on vacation next week so this would give me something to do.

Thanks a billion!

kenmelk · « **Reply #114 on:** November 04, 2005, 04:45:15 pm »

Ok, i solved teh saving the INI file by using teh "Save as" command, so all my INI are the way they should be, however i still cannot get teh beta brite to work. Anymore ideas?

mccoy178 · « **Reply #115 on:** November 04, 2005, 05:37:51 pm »

I would try to send a signal to the betabrite through another program. I believe it was netcat who first mentioned this on here. If you search, you should be able where he linked to a home made page that you could see what he used to test it.

Chazz · « **Reply #116 on:** November 05, 2005, 09:19:44 am »

Hey Ken,
Are you sure of your COM settings for the sign? On my Alpha sign it's 9600,n,8,1 but on my ProLite it's 300,n,8,1. I think Netcat mentioned his sign was 4800,e,7,1

Do you know what model number your sign is? Do you have any other software that you use the sign with? Do they have settings for the COM port there?

Have you tried sending one of the LCD files to the sign in DOS? I think the command is COPY file.LCD > COM1
This might confirm that you have the settings in Mamewah wrong.

Chazz · « **Reply #117 on:** February 16, 2006, 06:24:06 pm »

Hey guys,
Just wanted to thank everyone for all their help getting my signs set up. Here's a few pics of what I've been doing with them.

mccoy178 · « **Reply #118 on:** February 16, 2006, 06:56:31 pm »

Wow! That is freaking awesome! Great job man! Aces!

Chazz · « **Reply #119 on:** February 16, 2006, 08:05:48 pm »

Here's a page with all the graphics I've done for the bottom sign.. The top sign uses the lcd files and shows the name of the game.

http://ca.geocities.com/lithiumdesign@rogers.com/lcdart/lcdart.htm


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