Arcade Monitor + Mac

[JoshuaMiller]

Hey-

I'm a noob who is converting a SFII Hyper Fighting Cabinet into a MAME cab.  I want to use an old Mac G4 that I have lying around to run MAME, but cannot figure out how I will need to connect the existing monitor.  As far as I know, ArcadeVGA cards are PC only.  Are there any adaptors/cables that I can use, or am I stuck having to put in a TV or Computer monitor?

Is the ArcadeVGA necessary for displaying the cpu info on the monitor, or is it mostly to adjust the resolution for each game?  Can't I find a software solution for the resolution issue?

I'm sure that I will have several questions, as this is my first time wiring arcade hardware.  Any help that I can get will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-

--Joshua--

[Harry Potter]

I have a feeling you're outta luck dude with the arcade VGA. No Mac support.

Your best bet would be to get a VGA to SCART RGB converter which would then let you hook the mac up to the monitor.

I'm not sure if something like that exists but google is your friend. 

Edit: Here's somthing that would be perfect (Prices are in Australian dollars by the way)
http://micronica.com.au/catalog/mc3000/

[JoshuaMiller]

Thanks, Harry.  I was afraid no one would reply out of disdain for the mac platform.  Is it sufficient to use a cable-style hookup from cpu-arcade monitor?  If the signal is converted to the proper resolution, I can't see where I would have much of a problem, but I don't know much about monitors.

Thanks-

--Joshua--

[ashergrey]

Hey there Josh... my first post here.  I'm currently working on a project which will be powered by a G4 Mac mini.  One thing to be aware of is that OSX has a minimum resolution limit which may restrict the ability to play old arcades at their native resolutions.

I've been looking into a piece of shareware called SwitchRezX which may get around this... I'm not positive though.  Hope that helps some.

[Harry Potter]

Actually, forget that dinky little device.

Here's a much more suitable converter:
http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/96058300.htm

This will allow you to convert the signal straight from your Mac (Any VGA source as well) into something an arcade monitor can recognise.

[JoshuaMiller]

Actually, forget that dinky little device.

Here's a much more suitable converter:
http://www.happcontrols.com/monitors/96058300.htm

This will allow you to convert the signal straight from your Mac (Any VGA source as well) into something an arcade monitor can recognise.

Thanks, man.  That first thing looked pretty crappy, but the converter from Happ seems to be perfect.  (too bad it's $225!)  It's pricy, but it may be my best option.

Thanks-

--Joshua--

[Harry Potter]

More and slightly cheaper:

http://www.highway.net.au/parts/converters/2019.html

Dunno if it's more reliable than the Happs unit though.

And it's in Australia to boot. 

[JoshuaMiller]

Can I get by with some sort of breakout cable?

http://www.ultimarc.com/JShopServer/section.php?xSec=2

(Second one down)

--Joshua--

[Harry Potter]

Unless the Arcade monitor can handle 31Khz frequencies (and from the sounds of it, it probably doesn't, unless it's a D9200), you're stuck with scan-rate conversion.

The options I presented to you are still cheaper than building a PC for the purpose (Unless you already have one). If you can get your hands on a good PC (P4/AMD sort of thing) cheap, that may be a better option.

If you still have your heart set on the Mac, converters are your only option, unless someone knows how to hack Mac video hardware to display lower frequencies.

Good luck. 

[JoshuaMiller]

It seems that the Aussie version ($108) is my best bet, but it says that it needs 5 volts of DC power.  What kind of battery is that?  Would I need to hook it into the power supply with some sort of adaptor?

thanks-

--Joshua--

[Harry Potter]

That's easy. Your arcade machine should have a power supply which supplies both 5 and 12 volts. All you have to do is tap the 5 volt line and you're off.

These boards are made to work with arcade hardware so it should be sweet.

Anyone else wanna throw their in their opinion on this?

[JoshuaMiller]

Thanks for all your help and know-how, Harry.  I'll let you know how it works out for me.

Thanks-

--Joshua--