xrgb2+ crt monitor and Guncon2?

[ddraigcymraeg]

Hello,
Firstly, just wanna say,  great site!  B)

My question is, has anyone gotten a ps2, dreamcast, saturn or xbox lightgun to work through an xrgb2 + on a CRT monitor?

I just got an XRGB2+ and I am testing using Times Crisis3, Guncon2 with an A/V connection with the display on my CRT monitor, but with no luck.

I've read that straight RGB connections do not work with light guns either.

Basically I want the best video quality for all my 6 consoles, but still want to play light guns.

Thanks for any responses.

[ddraigcymraeg]

My guess is that CRT monitors are not compatible with console light guns  

[NFG]

All monitors are CRT monitors, unless they're LCD or plasma (or something else weird).

The XRGB doubles up the signal and the new screen is drawn twice as fast as the old one, so the light gun will never work; it's counting pixels half as fast and gets confused.

[Guest]

cheers for the reply.
I'd previously read up on how a console assumes a draw frequency for the display to calculate where the gun is pointed, and I see that the vga frequency is at least twice this at 30hz horz scan rate so this makes sense.

I did read though that someone (Dave K) over at arcadecontrols.com managed to get a guncon2 to work with vga and upscanned at 640x480 @60Hz with an XRGB2+, just by maxing brightness and contrast of 'the monitor'.
see bottom of page:
http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_consoles.shtml

It looks like vga is going to be real pain to get all my lightgun consoles to work properly on, if at all as you say (besides DC vga). Will try Dave K's suggestion tonight and post here if it worked on my monitor btw.

I wanted vga/svga support mainly as I was going to run high end PC games on the same monitor.

[Martin]

Most Lightguns have trouble at working ith a refresh rate higher than 60-70Hz
Because the fast refresh "scatters" the beam from the gun.

[ddraigcymraeg]

thanks for the info Martin.
Yep it appears that the faster vga refresh rate does just that.
I didnt bother testing the Guncon2 calibration as I got a hold of Area51 for my saturn and tested it with a lightgun through my xrgb2+ and when I fired at the middle, the fire dots were spread on either side of the screen equally.


Luckily I have a sony trinitron 24" TV I can sacrifice for my console arcade which does make the games look great in s-video mode. Looks like I'll be returning the XRGB2+ which is a fantastic product, but the trinitron solution is cheaper than buying an RGB monitor and then hacking RGB outputs.

thanks again for the help guys!

[davidleeroth]

While I have my doubts about  this working with XRGB-2, it's interesting nonetheless.

[Guest_ddraigcymraeg]

I agree it is. I noticed a gun off of lik-sang.com as well which is compatible with 100Khz tvs. Sounds like they do some sort of processing inside the gun to compensate for the refresh rate of the screen.
Oh well too bad it isnt compatible with my other consoles.

btw got a reply from Dave_K from arcadecontrols.com:

'PS2 GunCon2 lightgun games (like Time Crisis 2, and Vampire Night)
both work when upscanned via the XRGB2.  PSX lightgun games are not coded to
work with progressive displays....I imagine the same is true for Saturn lightgun
games.  They simply won't work when upscanned.  Dreamcast lightguns will work
right out of the box in VGA (via the VGA box).
   
Regarding the VGA monitor, you have to make sure the contrast and brightness is
cranked to 100% in order for the lightgun to calibrate properly (see the white
flasing screen).  Some monitors that are old/worn out, will not be bright enough
to work.  I have a 36" VGA monitor from Gateway, and it works for PS2 and DC,
but not for Xbox.  go figure....
   
Anyway, if you want one setup to play all psx/ps2/dc/saturn/xbox lightgun games,
then I recommend playing through a standard resolution arcade monitor (15khz
RGB).  It will cost you about the same as an XRGB2 anyway.
   
-Dave'

for anyone curious.

[Guest]

It's here!!! It's $50 but it's here!!!

World's First Light Gun for any TV including Plasma, LCD, Projection, HDTV and CRT
http://erealgames.com/ecommerce/os/catalog...0c14b58c114a114

Spread the word!

Alternatively... if you trust Wal-Mart you can try:
Mad Catz Light Blaster PS2 [for ~$10]
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2697515
"Compatible with PS2, PS one and PlayStation light gun games. Uses new technology that works with all HDTV, LCD and rear projection televisions"

[kway]

what wire/pluge do i need for me to use crt as my tv to play with my ps2?