Lightgun to USB

[Zebra]

Jaybee on the arcade controls forum is working on a similar project to get guncon 1 working with any pc and any resolution. Might be of interest.

I think his project was creating a diy camera based gun (like a diy Wii remote or Aimtrak). It would only use the shell from a Guncon 1.

The guncon 1 and 2 are real light guns. The tech only works on a CRT monitor. The limitation re using one on a higher res CRT monitor is the chip which isn't fast enough in a Guncon 1 for anything higher than 15khz.

The only real light gun I/O boards I know of that work in 480p and above are the USB2Gun (from America's Army) which works up to SVGA, the Act Labs guns which work up to 1600p and potentially the USB gun I/O from the Friction conversion kit.

 

[Zebra]

Care to share how you managed this? All the links and info I can find are abandoned and dead.

and here's the code for easy access:

White_ghost on the Arcade Controls forum was the one who wrote the Guncon 2 drivers for Windows. You'll have more luck getting what you need there.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=154492.0

I use my USB2Gun to use arcade Light guns on a Windows PC. I also have an Act Labs gun. I use Sega arcade IR guns in Windows and various positional guns using a UHID from Ultimarc.

I'm pretty well covered with these so I never spent much time using my Guncon 2 on my PC. From what I remember, it was a pain in the ass to install the drivers but works OK (in 15khz only).

Also, using this adapter, my Guncon 1 works in Windows (in 15khz only) without any further drivers. It outputs like a regular analog controller:

It's worth noting that it's probably not going to be possible to use only one type of gun (if it's a real light gun).

Arcade games that didn't use a real light gun (I.e. positional gun or Sega's IR guns etc) don't usually work that well with a light gun. You're not going to be able to play Terminator 2 or Alien 3 with a Guncon 2 or Act Labs gun.

The light gun won't track for machine gun fire if it only flashes once when you pull the trigger.... So, you're going to need a set of positional guns and / or some Sega (or Namco) IR guns too.

 

[MickyMac]

White_ghost on the Arcade Controls forum was the one who wrote the Guncon 2 drivers for Windows. You'll have more luck getting what you need there.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=154492.0

I use my USB2Gun to use arcade Light guns on a Windows PC. I also have an Act Labs gun. I use Sega arcade IR guns in Windows and various positional guns using a UHID from Ultimarc.

I'm pretty well covered with these so I never spent much time using my Guncon 2 on my PC. From what I remember, it was a pain in the ass to install the drivers but works OK (in 15khz only).

Also, using this adapter, my Guncon 1 works in Windows (in 15khz only) without any further drivers. It outputs like a regular analog controller:

It's worth noting that it's probably not going to be possible to use only one type of gun (if it's a real light gun).

Arcade games that didn't use a real light gun (I.e. positional gun or Sega's IR guns etc) don't usually work that well with a light gun. You're not going to be able to play Terminator 2 or Alien 3 with a Guncon 2 or Act Labs gun.

The light gun won't track for machine gun fire if it only flashes once when you pull the trigger.... So, you're going to need a set of positional guns and / or some Sega (or Namco) IR guns too.

Jaybees Crt2gun project is using the actual guncon1 with no modifications and uses a crt:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=164657.0
Apparently it supports any resolution. It can track without flashing in the demo YouTube videos somehow too. No release date yet but it certainly looks promising.

His other DIY project gun4ir is well received but that one does involve a modified guncon shell using ir tech. Far more accurate than an aimtrak a close range however.

The aimtrak gets a lot of bad reviews online but I think it works well as long as the gun is 1.5 to 2 metres away for the sensor.


Zebra - Can you tell more about the sega ir arcade integration with uhid? Are you talking about naomi ir sensors around the screen and the Sega arcade gun? If so you are the first person I've heard of using this setup. Pity the sensors and guns are so expensive.
And well done in getting a usb2gun board. That is a super rare item.

My setup is
1. Aimtrak
2. Guncon1 with the EMS adapter (15k only with groovymame and windows 7)
3. Actlabs (1x ray gun and 2x red arcade looking guns).

Would love a usb2gun but doesn't look like that will ever come up for sale. Following this thread and jaybees crt2gun thread closely though!

 

[bobbydilley]

It can track without a white flash due to the fact that what is displayed on the screen is bright enough anyway.

If you’re playing a game which has a lot of dark scenes it’ll probably start to struggle a lot, so the flash is required in most games to give a uniform level of brightness to track regardless of the scene!

 

[Zebra]

Jaybees Crt2gun project is using the actual guncon1 with no modifications and uses a crt:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=164657.0
Apparently it supports any resolution. It can track without flashing in the demo YouTube videos somehow too. No release date yet but it certainly looks promising.

His other DIY project gun4ir is well received but that one does involve a modified guncon shell using ir tech. Far more accurate than an aimtrak a close range however.

The aimtrak gets a lot of bad reviews online but I think it works well as long as the gun is 1.5 to 2 metres away for the sensor.


Zebra - Can you tell more about the sega ir arcade integration with uhid? Are you talking about naomi ir sensors around the screen and the Sega arcade gun? If so you are the first person I've heard of using this setup. Pity the sensors and guns are so expensive.
And well done in getting a usb2gun board. That is a super rare item.

My setup is
1. Aimtrak
2. Guncon1 with the EMS adapter (15k only with groovymame and windows 7)
3. Actlabs (1x ray gun and 2x red arcade looking guns).

Would love a usb2gun but doesn't look like that will ever come up for sale. Following this thread and jaybees crt2gun thread closely though!

Yes, Sega IR guns are the ones with the 10 led boards around the screen. Sega used them in every arcade shooter since House of the Dead 2.

I got the info from Twistedsymphony's thread on this site. Just search for "Sega type 2 guns" and you'll find it. He did all the initial work and an excellent write-up.

The general point is that they output like regular analog joysticks. They can be connected to a UHID instead of a JVS board and used on a PC like this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gx00X9qgzM


They certainly aren't a cheap solution but they have several key advantages over other options:

They don't use a camera so you can use them at arcade-like distances from the screen. They're accurate and reliable (after time spent on an initial calibration). You can aim line of sight without constantly having to re-calibrate like you have to with Aimtraks (or Wii remotes).

You can also use them on a whole lot of real PCBs as they're used in most HD arcade shooters. They can also be used for all positional gun games.

Most importantly, they're real arcade guns so they're noticeably higher quality than all consumer guns where they always cheap out to keep costs down.

I own most of the currently available guns aside from this year's efforts. I used to spend a ridiculous amount of time and money on this because I was never happy with the products. Now I don't need to. I'm happy with what I have (finally).

I consider it money well spent because I actually use my Sega IR guns, my USB2gun and positional guns. I regret my Aimtrak purchase more because it sits unused in a box.

This is why I'm not up to speed on the latest DIY efforts anymore. I haven't even logged in to the arcade controls forum in over a year. Previously I'd have been all over these efforts. I consider it a good sign that I lost interest.

Still, any innovation that keeps interest in the genre alive is a good thing.

BTW there's a USB2Gun for sale on eBay right now.

 

[purbeast]

I figure I will bump this instead of creating my own thread. Hopefully someone with some knowledge can help me out with this one here.

I have a Friction I/O board and tested it out with my MAME PC that I have Hyperspin setup in, and I kind of got it tracking. One monitor it tracked OK and one monitor I couldn't get it to track at all, which happened to be the same monitor that Friction in general would not track with - so I'm guessing it's the Friction IO board.

So I got a USB2GUN board and basically have it connected the same way - VGA in/out going to it, USB plug going to PC, and powered with the PSU. I see 2 solid red LED lights on it so I know it's getting power.

However inside of Windows, it's not finding it. I looked at all the jumpers and everything is set correctly. I don't see anything at all in the device manager. I also noticed when I remove the USB plug, the screen goes all weird, which is very odd to me and not what I would have expected.

With the Friction board, even with no guns attached, it would show up in device manager as a controller named CRTGUN and would have 2 guns on it if the guns were attached. Also, with the Friction board, just pressing the trigger at any point would cause a screen flash in Windows.

But again, I am not seeing anything at all with this with the USB2GUN board. I don't see any screen flash and I don't see it in device manager, which makes sense as to why the guns aren't causing flashes.

This is a Windows 10 machine. So could that be the problem that it's "too new" of an OS or something? I'd think it would be backwards compatible and work but so far I can't find anything. It also isn't connected to the internet but I would think even if it found the new device and couldn't get drivers, it would still show up as "unknown" or something.

Later I then tested this on my other Windows 10 desktop and same thing - it just doesn't show up. I didn't have VGA cables going through it or anything, just the USB cable going to the PC. I noticed when I pulled the USB plug out the monitor did not get all weird like it did on my arcade cabinet with the PC hooked up there, but I am not surprised since the video wasn't being routed through it.

One thing to mention I guess is that the manual says to plug the USB2GUN board into a PCI USB card and NOT directly to the motherboard. I do not have a PCI USB card and am plugging directly into the motherboard, and on my desktop, I tried plugging into the front of the PC. Could this potentially be the problem? Has anyone plugged it directly into the USB ports on the motherboard? I read the reason for using the PCI card was due to possible static shorting or something along those lines though, not because it won't work on there.

I also have the one with the JAMMA edge connector. I had to change 2 jumpers to tell the board to get power from the AUX PSU plug instead of the JAMMA edge. I know there is an earlier version that doesn't have the JAMMA edge connector as well and am assuming the newer one works just like the old one.

I purchased this from someone who said it was working when pulled so I am taking his word that it worked fine.

Is there something I am doing wrong and something I have to do to get it to show up?

Thanks.

 

[tangodownNZ]

Purbeast. I don’t know what you are talking about.
But. I did what zebra done. I use a ghost squad gun, a ghost squad gun sense board, LED screen array, a ghost squad fuse board, a ne555 and a U-HID Nano from ultimarc. Connect that all up and your good, haha
I would try a different board and see if that works. Then you can eliminate the board as the issue. I assume you are running to PC through a U-HID

 

[tangodownNZ]

Zebra, Your youtube video inspired me to make a lightgun machine and connect it to a U-HID.

I have successfully completed it. The hardest part was actually the recoil.

I copied you as much as I could with the ne555.

I hooked the recoil signal wire to the uhid. But I could not figure out how you got the uhid to see the trigger signal and send it back out of the uhid via the recoil signal wire.

Most people had no idea what I was talking about. But I know you would.
I ended up using the LED function in the uhid config utility to send the 5 volt signal to the recoil signal wire. But I really want to know how you did it.

I’m not sure you are on here anymore. It looks like you haven’t been on since 2021, so I hope you are ok

 

[purbeast]

Purbeast. I don’t know what you are talking about.
But. I did what zebra done. I use a ghost squad gun, a ghost squad gun sense board, LED screen array, a ghost squad fuse board, a ne555 and a U-HID Nano from ultimarc. Connect that all up and your good, haha
I would try a different board and see if that works. Then you can eliminate the board as the issue. I assume you are running to PC through a U-HID

I ended up getting another board without the JAMMA edge and it works no problem.

So based on that, I believe the one newer revision with the JAMMA edge does not work with Windows like the earlier revision without the JAMMA edge. The guy who gave it to me had tested it in America's Army before he sent it to me so it worked for him.