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Sentinel Supergun - Prototype

Frank_fjs said:
Also adding another device to the chain adds the possibility of something going wrong. What if the extension uses crumby wiring, poor quality wiring on the power lines, has a loose connection or is simply wired incorrectly?

The supergun is 130mm x 60mm and only weighs a few hundred grams.
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For me its the possibility of someone putting weight on the supergun as they connect and disconnect USB cables from the decoders and such. For me a short extended harness just makes it so the supergun isnt connected to the board at all. Even if it does have feet, I rather be safe than sorry.
 
With pcb feet there will be no strain put on the board.

Also using an extension cable kind of defeats the purpose of me spending countless hours hand routing traces to isolate and insulate power, video, audio lines etc. Probably won't make any difference though when you consider how messy wiring is inside of a cab.

Each to their own. I'm not making longer kick harnesses so people using extension cables will need to sort something out. Connectors are standard and easy to buy so perhaps people can crimp their own harnesses if they require longer lengths.

Wiring isn't cheap and there's already 3m of wiring used for a CPS1 kick harness. Make up 10 harnesses and there's 30 metres of wire gone.
 
PCB feet on the Sentinel is fine. No need to add anything else to the chain. I too was worried about this initially but it's great to line up the pins and have it sit perfectly flush. Even with the bigger stacks like the M72 it's just fine and sits very sturdy, an extension would just add unnecessary mess.

I've tried the following systems on the Sentinel with no issues whatsoever -- @xodaraP, could you please add to the list?

Capcom CPS-2 / CPS-3
CAVE 68000 / CV1000
Data East ARM6 / Simple 156 / Night Slashers
IGS PGM / PGM2
Irem M72/M84/M92
Namco System 1
Neo Geo MVS
Sega System C2 / 16B / ST-V
Sony ZN-2
Strata
Taito G-Net / F2 / F3 (sync issues only on Framemeister)
Toaplan Version 1 / 2
 
The Spaniard said:
Frank_fjs said:
Also adding another device to the chain adds the possibility of something going wrong. What if the extension uses crumby wiring, poor quality wiring on the power lines, has a loose connection or is simply wired incorrectly?

The supergun is 130mm x 60mm and only weighs a few hundred grams.
Click to expand...
For me its the possibility of someone putting weight on the supergun as they connect and disconnect USB cables from the decoders and such. For me a short extended harness just makes it so the supergun isnt connected to the board at all. Even if it does have feet, I rather be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
I've been doing this quite a lot while testing. Because the height of the boards matches with PCB feet installed, you're not putting any additional strain on unplugging or plugging things in. Just shifting the board around on whatever surface you have it on :P
 
Boards I've tested other than those listed by @djsheep

Midway Wolf Unit - UMK3, Rampage World Tour
Midway Y-Unit - MK2
Midway Wolf Unit Modified - Killer Instinct
Sega System 32 - Spider-Man
Konami GX - Asterix
Jaleco - Cybattler
Capcom CPS1 - SF2WW
Capcom CPS1.5 - Warriors of Fate

Boards I've tested in common
Neo Geo MVS
Capcom CPS2
Irem M92
Sega System 16B

Future tests:
Capcom CPS3 - Third Strike (@Frank_fjs is sending a kick harness and I'll be able to play it then)
Other stuff
 
Frank_fjs said:
Could you elaborate on the F3 -> Framemeister sync issues @djsheep? I thought it worked barring audio?
Click to expand...
It doesn't sync well at all and is all screwy and flickering, and to top it all off there's no audio :(

I'll make a video when I get some time again with it, but this is a known issue on the F3 and nothing to do with your Supergun at all: Possible to Mod a Taito F3 Board for Better Sync Compatibility?

I've tried turning off auto sync and adjust the sync levels to no avail. Maybe someone on this forum has some recommendations when I step to this again?
 
Boards I've tested:

MVS
CPS1
CPS2
ST-V
PGM
F3
System16
Atomiswave
Shadow Warriors
Robocop
Bad Dudes
Double Dragon
Yie Ar Kung Fu
Moonwalker
Street Smart
60-in-1
Vendetta
 
Only issue I had with F3 is on a commodore 1084 monitor. Disabling sync attenuation solves the issue. Monitors are designed to handle TTL sync, some even require it, frustrates me that all these new devices explode with proper sync signals.
 
Unfortunately not. I've emailed heaps of suppliers and have other people working on it but no leads as yet.

I'm still going to design the pcb and get it working with a controller extension cable.

Big news coming up in the supergun department. I will wait until I have boards in hand before the reveal but something new and exciting is coming...
 
I think people will be pleased. I took onboard all the feedback and incorporated it all in, added some extra features, and have a very clean layout with easy accessibility to all connections.
 
Another update on the testing. Everything's been working sweet with the RGB out the Sentinel. No complaints. Just lots of fun!

I received a Video Hat and CPS-2 Kick Harness from @Frank_fjs on Friday-- The hat was super easy to install and is basically plug and play and screw ;)

The test boards/kits for today were: Capcom CPS-3 Multi, Irem M72 Multi, Taito F3 Multi and Oriental Legend 2 PGM2.

Firstly, I tested composite on the PVM and a Sony Wega with fantastic results as documented already by @xodaraP -- I think Composite is great to have on a Supergun as not everyone has access to anything but, I certainly didn't when I emerged in this hobby, and the Sentinel is a great and easy to use Supergun for beginners.

Next up, S-Video. Tested on the PVM with simply amazing clarity and colours. I love my RGB, but the S-Video on this is 95% of what a RGB signal would offer. It's ever so slightly softer than RGB and superb.

Finally the best news of the whole testing today. As you've read numerous times Taito F3 struggles with upscaling devices (OSSC & Framemeister), Instead of RGB (which wasn't working), I plugged in the S-Video and RCA Stereo Audio into the Framemesiter and viola! The F3 works! This is excellent news as it was the only thing that was bothering me. Here's a video of the F3 running on the Framemeister and various photos. Enjoy!


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