did the issue of Light Gun gaming on an HDTV ever get solved?

[Edmond Dantes]

So,

After years of service, my CRT television finally blew a fuse. Actually, when I looked up the symptoms, sites claimed it could be just a capacitor issue... but I don't know if I could fix that myself, and this is one of those huge TVs that is hard to move so sending it off to be repaired is out of the question.

So its looking like it might finally be time to just plug my old consoles up to an HDTV, which my dad conveniently has one sitting around.

Now, I really only have three light gun games I occasionally break out: Duck Hunt and To the Earth (both for NES) and Time Crisis (PS1).

This is more a "curiosity" thing admittedly, as I don't play light gun games that often and to be honest, I'm sure using emulators could provide a sort-of-workaround.... but I would like to know if a solution that would allow a NES Zapper or a Namco Guncon to work on an HDTV has been found?

Anyone know?

Thanks in advance.

[gbpxl]

Yes. IIRC someone modified a Duck Hunt cartridge to be able to be used on an plasma/LCD/LED/OLED display. that's all I know

capacitors tend to be the scapegoat for every single internal problem with electronics

[Edmond Dantes]

Yes. IIRC someone modified a Duck Hunt cartridge to be able to be used on an plasma/LCD/LED/OLED display. that's all I know

capacitors tend to be the scapegoat for every single internal problem with electronics

FWIW my CRT TV is an Apex, I think 30-40 inches but I don't know the model number. The problem is I tried to turn it on, it did this thing of rapidly turning itself off and on and now any time its even plugged in the TV makes this beep-beep-beep noise and refuses to listen to any button inputs.

Fixing it would be an easy solution if I could, although some things about this TV were starting to annoy me for awhile anyway (before this issue, some buttons wouldn't work... for example turning the volume down only worked on the remote control, while I had to use the TV to turn the volume up). That and how heavy this damn TV is (meaning if I ever move I'll have to leave it behind anyway) probably makes it more trouble than its worth.

[Greg2600]

Simple answer is no, I never got anything to work on anything I own. Best advice, keep a CRT.

[YoshiM]

I think fceugx emulator for Wii allows you to use the remotes as light guns. For actual hardware…I didn’t see anything concrete available. Projects yes….actual products, no. Hyperkin was working on such a product but no word on it.

[Gameguy]

FWIW my CRT TV is an Apex, I think 30-40 inches but I don't know the model number. The problem is I tried to turn it on, it did this thing of rapidly turning itself off and on and now any time its even plugged in the TV makes this beep-beep-beep noise and refuses to listen to any button inputs.

Fixing it would be an easy solution if I could, although some things about this TV were starting to annoy me for awhile anyway (before this issue, some buttons wouldn't work... for example turning the volume down only worked on the remote control, while I had to use the TV to turn the volume up). That and how heavy this damn TV is (meaning if I ever move I'll have to leave it behind anyway) probably makes it more trouble than its worth.
It may be possible to repair the TV as it sounds like a problem with the circuit board rather than with the picture tube, you may be able to remove the circuit board from the TV and try to just have the components tested and repaired that way rather than bringing the whole TV somewhere else. I've never opened any TV personally as I'm nervous of the high voltage with CRTs but looking online there's various videos showing TV repair. I don't know how good a brand Apex is or how much is worth spending on it to get repaired so that's something else to consider.

I actually have a Toshiba CRT with some failing capacitors I should look into getting repaired, I just haven't bothered at this point. The exact problem I'm having is a common issue with this model and videos online show the exact problem being repaired so it should be possible, if I can find someone local who can help with it.

[gbpxl]

Retro Tech on Youtube is a great resource for CRT repair. The main danger with TVs is that they need to be discharged in order to be worked on safely. so if a guy knows how to properly discharge the monitor, that cuts down the risk of shock, but Ive still gotten zapped even after a discharge

[Edmond Dantes]

My dad happened to have an LCD television around he gave me, so I can play games and watch movies on that. As for light gun gaming... well I don't do that often, but I think what I'll do is get a small-scale TV, one that is easily carried and has RCA ports (needed because the Namco Guncon actually plugs into the yellow jack).

Of course, the other option would be if any light gun games get re-released on Switch. I've also heard of light guns meant for emulators like MAME, and I think these basically work like wiimotes. Which the only thing I've heard bad about that is they're not as fast or accurate as genuine light guns, but I mean, at least with this option I could play a non-crap version of House of the Dead 1 (the only game in the series to never get an arcade-perfect home port, only a cut-down Saturn and PC version).

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah people who worked on changing the timing in the Duck Hunt rom wouldn't fix the issues for all those other games. If you wanted to play Guncon, Super Scope, Menacer, Light Phaser, other Zapper games you'd have to hack each and every rom then play it via a flash, burn or ODE device. Sounds like a hassle. But I guess it would be the future-proof equivalent of translating all the Japanese RPGs into English. It may seem like a lot of work but it needs to be done someday. The only other option is to release 3rd party guns for every system that correct the delay somehow on their own.

[Az]

Of course, the other option would be if any light gun games get re-released on Switch. I've also heard of light guns meant for emulators like MAME, and I think these basically work like wiimotes.

I have a couple Ultimarc Aimtrak guns, one in a Guncon shell and one in a generic Time Crisis pistol shell. Got them to use in an arcade cabinet that the CRT was dead in, and I replaced it with a cheap flatscreen.

My original purpose was to use with MAME, but ended up using them more as a PS2 Guncon. They won't work on PS1 games, but work fine on almost all PS2 games designed for the Guncon 2. I really don't have any complaints on them.

Never tried the NES stuff, but I really like SMS gun games and have played them emulated on a Wii. It's not quite as bad as you think, being that the crosshair stays on screen you can just shoot from the hip and not worry about line-of-sight aiming.

[YoshiM]

I have a couple Ultimarc Aimtrak guns, one in a Guncon shell and one in a generic Time Crisis pistol shell. Got them to use in an arcade cabinet that the CRT was dead in, and I replaced it with a cheap flatscreen.

My original purpose was to use with MAME, but ended up using them more as a PS2 Guncon. They won't work on PS1 games, but work fine on almost all PS2 games designed for the Guncon 2. I really don't have any complaints on them.

Never tried the NES stuff, but I really like SMS gun games and have played them emulated on a Wii. It's not quite as bad as you think, being that the crosshair stays on screen you can just shoot from the hip and not worry about line-of-sight aiming.
I never tried, but can the cross hairs be turned off? I wonder how it would play with those pistol grip shells that the Wii remote can slip into.

[Az]

I never tried, but can the cross hairs be turned off? I wonder how it would play with those pistol grip shells that the Wii remote can slip into.

Not sure if they can be turned off or not on those emulators.

I've got a few of those pistol grips. Even with the fancy pants Nuby model (I forget the name) but I end up just using a generic Zapper shells instead due to trigger finger fatigue. Most add an additional spring with a huge amount of travel on it.

As far as gameplay using a gun attachment isn't as bad as you'd think. Most games you can calibrate the line-of-sight aiming then turn the crosshair off. At that point it's pretty good as long as you never move from your original standing or sitting position you had when you calibrated it.

[Edmond Dantes]

Hey guys... not related to the Light Gun question, but to the "HDTV" part....

Did anyone else have an experience, at first, where it seemed like the TV was playing tricks with your vision?

It's hard to explain, but I played Puyo Tetris 2 on Switch and for some reason kept making mistakes, it was like I was seeing stuff that wasn't there. At times it just looks weird to me (nothing is actually wrong with the TV though, it's sort of like what happens when you get new glasses, so it makes me wonder if I'm just having trouble adjusting like the old codger I am).

[Jorpho]

I see someone already mentioned the AimTrack. I first read about it in this amateur cabinet recreation:
https://boingboing.net/2019/09/10/homearcade.html


Did anyone else have an experience, at first, where it seemed like the TV was playing tricks with your vision?
Does your TV feature motion interpolation features? You might have to switch it off in the options.

[gbpxl]

Its called CineMotion on my TV. I turn all that crap off.

[leatherrebel5150]

I didnt see this mentioned but for those interested this project has been going on for a while. Using light guns on a flatscreen.
https://github.com/charcole/LCDZapper/issues/1

There is also the Sinden light gun for Mame that is supposedly better than any of the alternatives

[Greg2600]

I didnt see this mentioned but for those interested this project has been going on for a while. Using light guns on a flatscreen.
https://github.com/charcole/LCDZapper/issues/1

There is also the Sinden light gun for Mame that is supposedly better than any of the alternatives

Interesting project, but that would need to be readily available for most of us, who are not capable of building it from scratch. In my case, it would have to be something I can return, because every product I have purchased previously has failed to work.