Supergun Building

[SegaAges]

Ok, so I have been away for awhile, but in my journey away, I managed to meet a friend that is incredible with a soldering iron.

I really want to finally get my stv and Steep Slope Sliders going, but I have no room for a cabinet and not quite the money for a SuperNova or something.

I was thinking of building it with the help of my buddy. The thing is, I need some good instructions as to what I need to buy, what to solder to what, and maybe some good direction from one of you guys that has done it before.

Now I found a random doc on the internet that says how to do it, but I want as much information as possible about this before I start buying stuff and soldering it together.

Also, if you guys know of any good sources to where I can purchase some stuff, that would be awesome.

I have heard this can be done with a pc power supply or just getting a arcade power supply. I have about 7 or 8 extra pc cases laying around from old computers I have, so I could always convert an old computer case to a super gun (which would be pretty awesome).

If you guys could give me some parts sources, and maybe some good sources I should be going to, to find out exactly how to do this, as well as maybe some good tips. I have not decides, but I will probably end up using an old monitor I have laying around for this (better resolution than a tv). Some of the instructions I found talked about converting this for a European tv, but I live in America, so converting it to a European Scart (I believe) would not help me much.

One thing I have not been able to find any information on is how to connect the joysticks/buttons. I found multiple sources saying there are different kinds, and I am looking for some buttons and joysticks that will last, but doesn't have to be made out of pure diamonds chiseled from a rare charcoal that can only be found in one country.

I should say, that I want to, basically, make a home ST-V. Yes, I know I own the Saturn version of Steep Slope Sliders and the Saturn version of Die Hard Arcade, but as we all know, it is much funner to play the original thing. I am not getting a cabinet because of size constraints.

[Lucifersam1]

Good luck on your project. I would get a commodore 1084 multisync monitor (probably ebay is a good place to start). It will accept the 15khz signal from a Jamma game via the harness. I *think* it will also do medium res. You will need to get your hands on a Jamma harness.. should not cost more than $15 on ebay. Once you get that, you just need the pinouts (you will have the RGB and a ground going to the monitor via the harness.. you can just get the monitor pintout online and strip the wire). If you do not want to make it look good, you could simply do it without a case and then just build a control panel. The joystick/buttons are just wires coming off of the harness (do a google search for the pinouts). You can use a PC power supply. Just need to hook up, as I recall, a +5, ground, and -5 volt wire (I think it was a red, a black and a yellow from the PC power supply.. it's been a long time since I made a supergun though). I made mine using the poormans method.. it looked like shite, but it worked well :)

Buttons and stuff can be bought on ebay or on Happ.

I am sure I am leaving out a lot, but if you have any questions, just drop me a PM. Good luck!

Ok, so I have been away for awhile, but in my journey away, I managed to meet a friend that is incredible with a soldering iron.

I really want to finally get my stv and Steep Slope Sliders going, but I have no room for a cabinet and not quite the money for a SuperNova or something.

I was thinking of building it with the help of my buddy. The thing is, I need some good instructions as to what I need to buy, what to solder to what, and maybe some good direction from one of you guys that has done it before.

Now I found a random doc on the internet that says how to do it, but I want as much information as possible about this before I start buying stuff and soldering it together.

Also, if you guys know of any good sources to where I can purchase some stuff, that would be awesome.

I have heard this can be done with a pc power supply or just getting a arcade power supply. I have about 7 or 8 extra pc cases laying around from old computers I have, so I could always convert an old computer case to a super gun (which would be pretty awesome).

If you guys could give me some parts sources, and maybe some good sources I should be going to, to find out exactly how to do this, as well as maybe some good tips. I have not decides, but I will probably end up using an old monitor I have laying around for this (better resolution than a tv). Some of the instructions I found talked about converting this for a European tv, but I live in America, so converting it to a European Scart (I believe) would not help me much.

One thing I have not been able to find any information on is how to connect the joysticks/buttons. I found multiple sources saying there are different kinds, and I am looking for some buttons and joysticks that will last, but doesn't have to be made out of pure diamonds chiseled from a rare charcoal that can only be found in one country.

I should say, that I want to, basically, make a home ST-V. Yes, I know I own the Saturn version of Steep Slope Sliders and the Saturn version of Die Hard Arcade, but as we all know, it is much funner to play the original thing. I am not getting a cabinet because of size constraints.

[SegaAges]

Should I just do a google search for all of the pinout stuff, or is there a better place to check that out?

[Lucifersam1]

Try this link for the jamma pinouts: http://www.coin.demon.co.uk/jamma.htm
As for the monitor, if I recall, it uses a VGA connector, so you can just search google for the VGA pinout. It has been years since I have seen on of these so my memory is fading. I hope that helps somewhat.

[BrianDH]

Try this link for the jamma pinouts: http://www.coin.demon.co.uk/jamma.htm
As for the monitor, if I recall, it uses a VGA connector, so you can just search google for the VGA pinout. It has been years since I have seen on of these so my memory is fading. I hope that helps somewhat.

Actually, the 1084 I have uses a 6-pin DIN for RGB... I think the pinout is at http://pinouts.ru/Video/C1084a_pinout.shtml.
I don't think the HSYNC is needed (because I don't remember building a sync separator.)

The easiest way to hook it up is to get a Commodore 64 disk drive cable off eBay, and a 6-pin DIN female connector (I think) to attach to your JAMMA setup.

[SegaAges]

Actually, the 1084 I have uses a 6-pin DIN for RGB... I think the pinout is at http://pinouts.ru/Video/C1084a_pinout.shtml.
I don't think the HSYNC is needed (because I don't remember building a sync separator.)

The easiest way to hook it up is to get a Commodore 64 disk drive cable off eBay, and a 6-pin DIN female connector (I think) to attach to your JAMMA setup.

Wow, I was told about Commodore 64 stuff helping me out with this, but I didn't think a disk drive cable would help. I am going to see what I can find.

All I do is hook my jamma setup to this, and then I can just use the c64 DD cable to connect the setup to a vga monitor?

Also, I was planning on making my own custom joysticks/buttons setup (whatever the technical term is called). How hard is it to connect that stuff, or better yet, will these pinouts that I havent looked at yet inform me of what to hook where?

[BrianDH]

All I do is hook my jamma setup to this, and then I can just use the c64 DD cable to connect the setup to a vga monitor?


No, not a VGA monitor.... the 1084 is an RGBA monitor. That's the easiest sort to hook up to a JAMMA-compatible arcade game. If you get a different type of RGBA monitor (other than the 1084), you'll need a different cable. If you get a VGA monitor, you'll probably need to do something more sophisticated, since (my understanding is) many VGA monitors cannot sync to a lower-enough resolution for most arcade games.

As for other pinouts... if you get arcade controls, the JAMMA pinout will tell you how to connect them. If you want to use something else (I used Saturn controllers), you'll need to adapt them somehow.

[SegaAges]

No, not a VGA monitor.... the 1084 is an RGBA monitor. That's the easiest sort to hook up to a JAMMA-compatible arcade game. If you get a different type of RGBA monitor (other than the 1084), you'll need a different cable. If you get a VGA monitor, you'll probably need to do something more sophisticated, since (my understanding is) many VGA monitors cannot sync to a lower-enough resolution for most arcade games.

As for other pinouts... if you get arcade controls, the JAMMA pinout will tell you how to connect them. If you want to use something else (I used Saturn controllers), you'll need to adapt them somehow.

Ok, and out of curiosity (and since I own multiple tvs), what type of stuff would I have to do in order to hook up jamma to a tv. I know that most tv's have a lower resolution than a monitor.

I do know that I would have to do extra stuff, but what would I hook the wires up to in order to get some type of rgb cable to hook to a tv?

I got one monitor off of eBay, but that is for another project I am doing, where I am going ben heck style and making a Dreamcast laptop, so , basically, I am trying to do this with as little money as possible, and buying more wire and reading pinout charts I am more than happy to do.

[Lucifersam1]

You would need a RGB to NTSC converter. Jrok makes them: http://www.jrok.com/hardware/RGB.html. There are others out there as well, just try a google search.

[Flack]

I'm getting ready for bed but if you search the forums for "supergun" you will find a zillion links, plus I remember at least two different members building really nice ones and documenting the entire process.

[SegaAges]

I'm getting ready for bed but if you search the forums for "supergun" you will find a zillion links, plus I remember at least two different members building really nice ones and documenting the entire process.

Ok, I am working on multiple projects at once, so once I start ordering up more parts for this, I am going to search the forums and check back here if there are any unanswered questions.

My project I am working on now:

Dreamcast Laptop Ben Heck Style. I got a cheap monitor from eBay that works, and once I get that and test it (since I already own a VGA Adapter, I will make my case.

[Captain Wrong]

I'm getting ready for bed but if you search the forums for "supergun" you will find a zillion links, plus I remember at least two different members building really nice ones and documenting the entire process.

*waves*

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00093.htm

The only addendum I'd make to that is I ended up going with a Jrok after the converter I had made crapped out on me. Should have gone with the Jrok in the first place, but I set a goal for going as cheap as possible and that's exactly what I got. :D

EDIT: I too have an ST-V and if that's all you're going to use this for, things literally couldn't be easier. Just buy a JAMMA harness, use the PC power supply, get a Jrok, figure out what you want to do for controllers and then it's literally as easy as connecting wires. I made mine a bit more complicated as I wanted to "future proof" it as much as I could. I've never regretted that, though it required a bit more planning and I still have to get under the hood every now and again. Flipside is, I've been able to use this with my ST-V, 2 slot Neo, Taito F3 and Raizing and Cave boards with no problems. I even built a box to switch all the inputs around correctly for the one six button fighter I own. Truthfully though, if you build a very simple supergun, unless you are getting into CPS2, or a multi slot Neo, you should be good with almost any JAMMA board out there.

[SegaAges]

The best resource I found was a post I started 2 years ago. Well, I forgot I posted that. It's a good thing I got a friend who solders now.

It also depends on how much fun I have with my DC Laptop on if I use Stylene again for my supergun.

CW was correct in a post a long time ago. Uh, why should I be paying for just a box full of wires when all instructions can be found with a little searching.

[SegaAges]

*waves*

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00093.htm

The only addendum I'd make to that is I ended up going with a Jrok after the converter I had made crapped out on me. Should have gone with the Jrok in the first place, but I set a goal for going as cheap as possible and that's exactly what I got. :D

EDIT: I too have an ST-V and if that's all you're going to use this for, things literally couldn't be easier. Just buy a JAMMA harness, use the PC power supply, get a Jrok, figure out what you want to do for controllers and then it's literally as easy as connecting wires. I made mine a bit more complicated as I wanted to "future proof" it as much as I could. I've never regretted that, though it required a bit more planning and I still have to get under the hood every now and again. Flipside is, I've been able to use this with my ST-V, 2 slot Neo, Taito F3 and Raizing and Cave boards with no problems. I even built a box to switch all the inputs around correctly for the one six button fighter I own. Truthfully though, if you build a very simple supergun, unless you are getting into CPS2, or a multi slot Neo, you should be good with almost any JAMMA board out there.

I am going for ST-V/full on JAMMA PCB's and eventually, when I can afford it, Naomi 1/2. If I use a JAMMA converter kit with a Naomi 2, would I even need to do anything else with the supergun besides, possibly, adding more buttons?

[SegaAges]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Arcade-supergun-motherboard-for-jamma-classics-Mk-I_W0QQitemZ250284169765QQihZ015QQcategoryZ575QQrdZ 1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2e m122

What is the deal with these?

I tried posting in the eBay forum, but apparently it is the wrong forum. I appologize for posting in 2 places, but that post has been in there for awhile with no response, so I am assuming it is the wrong place.

Anybody know anything about these? The price is nice, and leaves for pretty much just buying other parts, but I do know that the most expensive part would be the video, but it looks like they do that here (I can buy a converter for 9.99 usd).

Are these worth it? Less wires for me, less money for me to spend, but do these suck butthole?

[Goblin]

The only addendum I'd make to that is I ended up going with a Jrok after the converter I had made crapped out on me. Should have gone with the Jrok in the first place, but I set a goal for going as cheap as possible and that's exactly what I got.

I'd probably second this statement. I pulled my supergun out last night after a few years of non-use and my homemade NTSC converter started to flake out on me too. There is still video, but the colors are somewhat off and there is some interference in the signal. If I recall we built our superguns about the same time.

I used the AD724 IC for the converter and etched my own PWB for it. I built the converter more for the experience then anything else, and I too was trying to be as cheap as possible in the construction. Luckily I made mine modular with terminal posts for all the connections so I can easily swap out my converter for the Jrok at anytime and there is plenty of room in the box.

I used a PC power supply which can be remoted from the project box that contains all the interface connections and attaches to the JAMMA harness. Where I was using it in my workshop this setup made the most sense, but I could easily build it into a wooden case for a more finished look if I wanted to. For the controls I used a Blaze PS1 arcade stick that I rewired to go to a DB-25 connector. It always worked beautifully for me, so last night it was disappointing to see the video not where it used to be. I may open it back up and reflow the solder joints in case something got cold, but even as is it is still sufficient for me to test and troubleshoot boards. I just MAME'ed my cabinet so this is now the only method I now have to play/test my boards. Once they are sold this will be too. It was fun to build, but I've found the storage of the blaze stick to be a pain.

[SegaAges]

Do you know much about these things?

I just randomly started seeing them.

[Captain Wrong]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Arcade-supergun-motherboard-for-jamma-classics-Mk-I_W0QQitemZ250284169765QQihZ015QQcategoryZ575QQrdZ 1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2e m122

What is the deal with these?

I tried posting in the eBay forum, but apparently it is the wrong forum. I appologize for posting in 2 places, but that post has been in there for awhile with no response, so I am assuming it is the wrong place.

Anybody know anything about these? The price is nice, and leaves for pretty much just buying other parts, but I do know that the most expensive part would be the video, but it looks like they do that here (I can buy a converter for 9.99 usd).

Are these worth it? Less wires for me, less money for me to spend, but do these suck butthole?

I don't know about these personally. The price is dirt cheap though, it might be worth a gamble. Bear in mind, from this picture, it looks like you're pretty much stuck with a three button controller though. I don't know if it would even be possible to hack a different controller in there.

I understand why they went with Megadrive/Genesis controllers, but that's a huge minus in my book. I would have done what I did on mine which was to make them NeoGeo compatible. Yes, the controllers would cost about double the price of this 'Gun (for a pair) but they'd be a lot better and they'd be four button controllers. The controller thing almost makes me wonder if this isn't aimed more at someone who just needs a test rig as opposed to someone who wants to play boards.

I'm not sure what the ICs are for on that board. I thought with an SCART connector, you could essentially take the RGB right through so I don't think they're for video conversion. Odd.

[SegaAges]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NeoGeo-MVS-and-JAMMA-Arcade-supergun-motherboard-MK-II_W0QQitemZ250283723105QQihZ015QQcategoryZ575QQrd Z1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2 em122

That one utilizes 6 button


I don't know about these personally. The price is dirt cheap though, it might be worth a gamble. Bear in mind, from this picture, it looks like you're pretty much stuck with a three button controller though. I don't know if it would even be possible to hack a different controller in there.

I understand why they went with Megadrive/Genesis controllers, but that's a huge minus in my book. I would have done what I did on mine which was to make them NeoGeo compatible. Yes, the controllers would cost about double the price of this 'Gun (for a pair) but they'd be a lot better and they'd be four button controllers. The controller thing almost makes me wonder if this isn't aimed more at someone who just needs a test rig as opposed to someone who wants to play boards.

I'm not sure what the ICs are for on that board. I thought with an SCART connector, you could essentially take the RGB right through so I don't think they're for video conversion. Odd.