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Sentinel Supergun - Prototype

Bit of a progress update:

Prototype PCBs have landed in Australia, waiting for them to make their way to me. I don't foresee any problems with the design, I've been through three prototype stages and am confident that all the kinks have been straightened out. Four units will be going out for testing / review, have included RetroRGB in the lineup this time around.

Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have a working unit in hand and begin sending out the review units. From here I'll commence bulk ordering and assembly. I plan on getting the first ten units available for sale before the end of this year, will take a break over the Christmas period and go full steam ahead from mid January next year.

I'm scrapping the older design and solely going with the newer layout, referred to as the gold edition. Aside from the restructured layout, the other significant changes are:

  • 4 layer PCB with gold immersion finish.
  • RGBS buffered by THS7374 with switch to toggle the LPF.
  • Dipswitch to toggle buttons 4,5,6 on/off from the jamma edge.
  • 3/4 player controller hat now available as a separate accessory. Includes a pre-built harness for CPS2. Other harnesses are entirely possible however at this stage I won't be making them.
  • 4 x separate video hats available. Composite video and s-video with 3.5mm audio jack, composite video with RCA audio jacks, s-video with RCA audio jacks and VGA with 3.5mm audio jack.
As I'm drawing ever so near to production and sales, I've implemented a quality control system and serial number system. I've also established pricing which is as follows:

SUPERGUN:
  • 1 x assembled supergun
  • 1 x video hat of your choosing (listed below in the 'ACCESSORIES' section)
  • 4 x brass standoff feet
  • 1 x arcade PSU harness
  • Worldwide registered shipping
  • $185 AUD / $135 USD / €120 Euros
* Payment to be made in Australian dollars. Other currencies listed only for reference and may alter pending the exchange rate.

ACCESSORIES:

* No additional shipping charges when purchased with a supergun.

* Spend $75 or more on accessories with the purchase of a supergun and receive a $25 discount.

* Prices listed in Australian dollars.

  • Composite and s-video with 3.5mm audio hat - $25
  • Composite video with twin RCA audio hat - $25
  • S-video with twin RCA audio hat - $25
  • VGA with 3.5mm audio hat - $25
  • Sega Mega Drive / Genesis 6 button controller adapter - $25
  • Super Nintendo controller adapter - $25
  • 3P/4P adapter with CPS2 harness - $25
  • CPS1 kick harness - $10
  • CPS2 kick harness - $10
 
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So more less if i get the supergun then get all the hats and the 3/4player adapter and the kick harness for cps1 and cps2 that's 220 usd then? not bad. Also are you wires for the kick harness and power supply similar to the HAS?
 
Great price and features! Awesome job!!! :D

Just to double check two points
-Are you saying it's $135 USD shipped?!
-Are the accessory prices listed in AUD/USD/etc...?

Edit: Noticed the answer to my second question in the original post hiding in the section above. Cool!
 
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mugen_ketsueki said:
So more less if i get the supergun then get all the hats and the 3/4player adapter and the kick harness for cps1 and cps2 that's 220 usd then? not bad. Also are you wires for the kick harness and power supply similar to the HAS?
Click to expand...
Australian dollar pricing:

  • Supergun
  • Complimentary VGA video hat
  • Shipping
  • $185
  • Composite hat - $25
  • S-video hat - $25
  • 3P3P adapter - $25
  • CPS1 harness - $10
  • CPS2 harness - $10
  • Total: $280
  • Minus $25 discount for spending $75 on accessories
  • Total: $255 AU / $185 USD
Kick harness from HAS is compatible, power harness is not compatible.
Rotanibor said:
Great price and features! Awesome job!!! :D

Just to double check two points
-Are you saying it's $135 USD shipped?!
-Are the accessory prices listed in AUD/USD/etc...?
Click to expand...
Yes the price includes shipping. The accessories are listed in Australian dollars.
 
No Plexiglas, still haven't gotten around to organising that.
 
Some renders:

SUPERGUN-FRONT.png
SUPERGUN - REAR.png
SUPERGUN-DIMENSIONS.png

Last image shows hole dimensions if someone wants to make an acrylic bottom plate. Board dimension is 130mm x 60mm with 4 x 3mm holes offset by 2.875mm from each corner.
 
Hell yessss

Might have 4p Gundam working by my birthday! :)
 
Frank_fjs said:
No Plexiglas, still haven't gotten around to organising that.
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that the final kit would include the plexi and I think it should be part of the supergun itself to give it a bit of protection.

It seems to be time consuming to go around looking for plexi makers and spend an afternoon driving to one to get one made.

A comparable pricing to HAS for just the supergun, the 2 kick harnesses and the mega drive adapter is already at $230. HAS with the same items (Saturn adapter vs Megadrive) comes out to $266 (incl plexi) ex shipping.

Once you start to add the

  • Supergun - $185 AUD
  • Composite hat - $25
  • S-video hat - $25
  • CPS1 + 2 kick harnesses - $20
  • mega dive adapter -$25
Discount? $255
No plexi.

Am I right on this or have I confused myself or missed something?

This is not an attack on Frank or anything, no hate here at all. I am trying to figure out the costings on this. When this was announced this was touted as a low cost supergun with good quality and most of the trimmings at good pricing. The same setup is not far off the price of the HAS.

I do see that there are the hats allowing different output options adding to the cost but still, unless I am wrong on this I feel the price is too close to HAS for what was sold as low cost alternative.
 
@Frank_fjs discontinued the lower cost silver version in favour of development of the gold version

The HAS is shipped from Europe which is as I understand it around $60. The Sentinel is Australian made so is much more accessible for those in Australia and NZ. The Sentinel is smaller than the HAS and supports S-Video.

They’re 2 different products with different features and the Sentinel is still a lower cost alternative.

The plexi was always going to be optional and still will be when it’s made, but any production effort on a plexi has instead been put into additional work on the Supergun itself

I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with this, plexi or not.

Also, the VGA connector and shipping is being included.
 
The Sentinel has gone through MANY different incarnations and tests. The final product strays from the original model first teased on these forums, not by its execution but in the quality of the PCB and parts. This costs money and time in R&D.

As far as I can recall, it's never been said that the final kit would include a plexi? I don't even think any of the testers have bothered making one. While it might look nice, I've think it could also be unpractical on PCBs such as Taito F1 dual layer boards which would mean dismantling the Supergun to play.

It's not really the thread to be price checking and comparing. The way I see it is that both Superguns are 2 distinctively different (and awesome) products in line with each other. The HAS is great. The Sentinel is great. It's Coke vs Pepsi, just choose your preference at this point.

ONLY for the sake of providing precise information let me correct your pricing estimate a little though:

HAS
HAS V3.2 supergun - 122 EUR
CPS1 kick harness, 45cm long (colours may vary) - 8 EUR
CPS2 kick harness, 25cm long (colours may vary) - 8 EUR
RGB to Composite Video/S-Video adapter. Based on the popular Sony CXA2075 IC - 35 EUR
Sega Saturn to JAMMA joypad converter - 32 EUR
+ Postage: (Approx?) 30 EUR
+ 4% PayPal Fees
Total: 244.4 EUR / $383.2 AUD (converted with XE.com)

SENTINEL
Sentinel including S-Video & Composite Hat + Postage - $185 AUD
Mega Drive Adapter- $25 AUD (used for comparative purposes, HAS quote is with the Saturn adapter)
CPS-1 Kick Harness - $10 AUD
CPS-2 Kick Harness - $10 AUD
Total: $230 AUD / 146.6 EUR

That leaves you with ballpark $153 AUD / 97 EUR to spend procuring a Plexi if you're making fair comparisons based on plexi/no-plexi (not features).

If a plexi sandwich is something the community wants, I can go to my local plastics guy that does my marquee holders and get something nice whipped up and talk to @Frank_fjs about it for ya'll.
 
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Original idea was a minimalist low cost design. However people wanted more and I listened and responded. The bare PCB alone is $40, shipping to most countries is $28, let alone cost of parts and assembly time. I'm making a lot less on these than I should be so if anything the price will be going up, not down.

I can still produce a budget supergun, in fact I already have and sold them for $40 AU posted, but that's an entirely different conversation.

To clear a few things up re pricing:

The price includes worldwide registered shipping.

One video hat of your choice is included. I've just designed a hat with combined composite and s-video output too so no need for a separate hat for each.

Arcade power supply harness is included for those who don't wish to utilise ATX.

Spend $75+ on accessories with purchase of a supergun and receive a $25 discount.

So let's look at what you get for the base price of $185 AU:

Assembled supergun
Composite / s-video hat
Arcade PSU power harness
Brass standoff feet
Free registered shipping
---------------------------------------

Let's add 2 x Mega Drive controller adapters, 1 x cps1 kick harness and 1 x cps2 kick harness:

Mega Drive adapter $25
Mega Drive adapter $25
Cps1 kick harness $10
Cps2 kick harness $10

Total: $255

Best of all, one can add any other accessory for free as this will trigger the $25 discount.

So, for $255 AUD / €162 Euro / $185 USD, you get:

Assembled supergun
Arcade PSU power harness
Composite / s-video hat
Brass standoff feet
Mega Drive adapter x 2
Cps1 kick harness
Cps2 kick harness
Free VGA hat for spending $75 on accessories
Free tracked shipping

Show me a cheaper option...

Re Plexiglass, it may be something I look into in the future. I don't have a laser cutter so can't produce them on my own.
My arcade boards all have PCB feet, the supergun is compact and lightweight and with the included standoffs sits at the same height as an arcade board with PCB feet. Plexiglass adds very little benefit to me personally so it's not something I'm focused on. Perhaps someone from this awesome community will fabricate something, just as they have done for the F3/CPS2 multis etc. :)
 
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Super newbie question here, if i were to buy one of the mega drive adapters, could you also put a super nintendo adapter say for port 2 and then use whichever you wanted to, or swap them out if they are just plugged in for variety? Im new and getting into the arcade scene so still learning alot and have had alot of problems getting a supergun to get started out, so very interested.
 
Controller port 1 is mapped to the player 1 inputs of the arcade game, as controller port 2 is mapped to the player 2 inputs.

So if you wanted to control player 1, you will need to insert whichever controller you wish to use in the player 1 connector of the supergun.

You can use any combination of controllers / adapters you like. There are also other third party adapters available that are fully compatible, such as the wonderful Undamned USB decoders, 8bitdo Bluetooth receivers, Tototek Playstation adapters etc.
 
Oh nice, thank you very much for the information then, when you are ready to start taking orders should i follow this thread or do you have a twitter or page to follow?
 
Never seen anyone pricing with worldwide shipping included. And given this is a premium product - that price including shipping is a steal.

@Frank_fjs is it possible later of having a component hat? Ofcourse depending on the demand - because a lot of CRT TVs have component in which I felt was a good alternative to RGB. Not sure if this was left out purpose and I missed the post.
 
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$185 usd shipped is really good price for all that. Ill take the full package.
 
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