NES Zapper as Light Gun?

[Xb0x3r]

Is it possible to use the old NES Zapper as a light gun? Or even at least to be used for Vs. Duck Hunt (I love that game).

[Turnarcades]

Probably not, at least not without stripping the internals and replacing them with technology similar to those found in PC light guns, as old zappers like the NES one work by sensing the light emitted by a CRT screen.

As far as my knowledge goes, PC lightguns use sensor bars to map a screen size, then detect the gun's position within that 'frame' and feed it back to the PC.

I'd love someone to tell me otherwise though, as the Zapper is a symbol of the classic age.
At very least, it should be easy to rip out and swap out parts with the LCDtopgun or similar...

[LingPanda.]

Ask and you shall receive!

http://www.zero-soft.com/HW/USB_ZAPPER/

[Xb0x3r]

I've found this in the archives. How can I wire this up properly? For example should both the purple and  the blue wires be hooked up to two button presses?

[Howard_Casto]

No, no you can't. 

The zapper is basically two switches.  An actual switch (for the trigger) and a light sensor that sets the other line low when light is detected.  A bit of timing is also involved.  The nes zapper can't work as a mouse like modern pc lightguns, it can only determine if it is pointed at something white on a crt tv screen.  So while you can certainly hook one up, as of now at least, there aren't any emulators that support it.