Supergun help

[nightstalker100]

Gettin out the console game for a while - only a few titles i'm interested in amid the torrent of generic crap and endless updates. Am looking for some home arcade gaming, a purer pleasure with the view to eventually purchase a cabinet. In the meanwhile however i'd like to purchase a supergunn to use on my tv and was wondering if anyones got some good advice on model type, things to look for, points of technical interest etc. Even some good links would much be appreciated.

cheers fellas

[Baseley09]

The Mak Mini sold on ebay for a BiN of around ?70 will see you fine, it looks redimentary, and it is really but does everything you'll need it too at a low price and small space.

[nightstalker100]

Yes ive seen the mak mini, but i read somewhere it doesnt work with a neo 4 slot. Also heres a noob question - since a some arcade motherboards have pad imputs and the supergun does aswell, which ports do i use?

[vertigo]

Where did you hear that some arcade motherboards have pad inputs?

A few fun facts to get you started.
Superguns and their sticks/pads are most often wired to home NeoGeo pin standard and are designed so that they're just like a console to the general user. You plug in your stick to port 1, insert a credit with the credit button and away you go. The innards handle all the wiring of what control goes where. The JAMMA port has P1 and P2 controls for a stick and 3 buttons as standard.
The JAMMA standard was created for exactly that reason, up until 1986 there was no standard way of wiring an arcade cabint, so every time an operator wanted a new game they'd have to either ship out the old cabinet and ship in the new one or spend time with the operator manual and wire the new game into their generic cabinet.
Most Superguns come with places to attach wires from looms for games that have more than 3 buttons.
Some Superguns also have button 4 wired directly onto the JAMMA connector as the NeoGeo MVS used a spare option pin on the JAMMA connector as button D. This made it even easier for operators to install instead of having to add a wire from the connector to the 4th physical button on the control panel.

Games will only have extra input ports on their PCBs if they're for 3 or 4 players. This is where you need to start working things out for yourself. Or asking questions that are specific to the game you want/have

If you're going to buy a game that needs more than 3 buttons you'll want to make sure it comes with a loom (wiring bundle) for the extra buttons so that you can attach them.

When you're going to buy a game, you need to check (use MAME!) that the video syncs at somewhere between 59 and 61Hz otherwise your TV's mostly likely to be unhappy running it and won't sync. My Wardner board syncs at somewhere around 59Hz and while my TV does handle it fine, the picture is shifted downwards by about an inch.

Basically, if you're not sure about anything else, feel free to ask because there are a few people on here who own Superguns and a few more that own actual cabinets, so we can all help you out.

[Baseley09]

Yes ive seen the mak mini, but i read somewhere it doesnt work with a neo 4 slot. Also heres a noob question - since a some arcade motherboards have pad imputs and the supergun does aswell, which ports do i use?

If for example its an MVS with ports, you can use either. A 4 slot works fine with Mini Mak, I have this ste up until recently, the only draw back is there is no button to change which slot is in use, tho one could be added easily, or all you need to do is prod 2 pins next to each other on the jamma connector with a bit of metal (to make contact between the pins).

[kernow]

if you plug the joystick into the MVS system itself, the select button will switch between games, maybe thats unibios only though.

[Escape-To-88]

Well worth having a bash at making your own mate, think i made my first for around ?25.00! You learn a hell of a lot, and Ive been able to fox all sorts of probs (as well as blown boards up!). Its a great way to learn a lot, and the jamma looms are simple as hell to make. I prefer to make my own as the ones you can purchase, in my experience, tend to be pretty duff.
Good luck! Have fun!

[vertigo]

I only have a mini 1-slot, which is why I wasn't aware of the joystick ports, but tbh you might as well either buy or make a super gun that has universal ports on the front so that you don't limit yourself to only MVS.
As Escape-To-88 says, they're quite easy to make, you're essentially just joining two points with a wire over and over again, throw in a PSU, credit and service switches and some pots to adjust the colour and you're away.

[Super Monkey Balls]

The Maks are great. Only drawback being no connector for kick cables for Capcom 6 button fighters. If you're feeling flush buy a Sigma or Boardmaster. The Japanese make some belters. VGI stock a lot lately. Pricey though:

Pana Custom Long Japanese Supergun System - LOWER PRICE Pana Jap Console - ?249.00
Pana Twin MP-92 Japanese Supergun System - LOWER PRICE Pana Jap Console - ?249.00
Sigma AV3000 Japanese Supergun System + 2 Joysticks - LOWER Sigma Jap Console - ?299.00
Sigma AV5000 Japanese Supergun System *Uses Neo-Geo Sticks* Sigma Jap Console - ?239.00
Sigma AV7000 Japanese Supergun System + 2 Joysticks NEW/MINT Sigma Jap Console - ?365.00
Sigma Ranjin (Thunder God) Japanese Supergun System Sigma? Jap Console - ?259.00
Vega 9000DX Japanese Supergun System (Boxed) Vega Jap Console - ?319.00
Vega Jr. Japanese Supergun System Vega? Jap Console - ?299.00
Wintechno Play2 Supergun System Wintechno Jap Console - ?199.00



klov.com is a great resource for looking up your favourite games to check they're JAMMA and standard res (and hence Supergun friendly).
There are a few more handy arcade related links on my homepage <--

Gettin out the console game for a while - only a few titles i'm interested in amid the torrent of generic crap and endless updates. Am looking for some home arcade gaming, a purer pleasure with the view to eventually purchase a cabinet.

I've been there. You'll never look back. Welcome to real gaming

[vertigo]

At those prices you might as well make your own.
25 quid for an arcade PSU or less if you just use a PC AT, a few quid for enough wire, a few more quid for some switches and ports and SCART connector and a box to put it all in, a couple of good sticks and a few hours of your time and you're there.
I reckon nice parts for a super gun shouldn't cost you upwards of 50 quid if you're going for a nice swank project box too.

[nightstalker100]

The Maks are great. Only drawback being no connector for kick cables for Capcom 6 button fighters. If you're feeling flush buy a Sigma or Boardmaster. The Japanese make some belters. VGI stock a lot lately. Pricey though:

Pana Custom Long Japanese Supergun System - LOWER PRICE Pana Jap Console - ?249.00
Pana Twin MP-92 Japanese Supergun System - LOWER PRICE Pana Jap Console - ?249.00
Sigma AV3000 Japanese Supergun System + 2 Joysticks - LOWER Sigma Jap Console - ?299.00
Sigma AV5000 Japanese Supergun System *Uses Neo-Geo Sticks* Sigma Jap Console - ?239.00
Sigma AV7000 Japanese Supergun System + 2 Joysticks NEW/MINT Sigma Jap Console - ?365.00
Sigma Ranjin (Thunder God) Japanese Supergun System Sigma? Jap Console - ?259.00
Vega 9000DX Japanese Supergun System (Boxed) Vega Jap Console - ?319.00
Vega Jr. Japanese Supergun System Vega? Jap Console - ?299.00
Wintechno Play2 Supergun System Wintechno Jap Console - ?199.00



klov.com is a great resource for looking up your favourite games to check they're JAMMA and standard res (and hence Supergun friendly).
There are a few more handy arcade related links on my homepage <--



I've been there. You'll never look back. Welcome to real gaming

Yeah i've seen these at vgi and like they say "they put most european superguns to shame". Bloody dear though! Really not keen on modern gaming and feel the to need to return to a more rewarding hobby. Sick to the teeth of buying "essential" titles only to sell them the next day cos they offer nothing new or unique, plus some pcbs and mvs carts are as cheap if not cheaper than new releases. Check killercabs everyday and realise youre a member there - great site, just need to get round to registering and embarking on this journey!

Does anyone have any links to guides on supergun construction?

cheers

[vertigo]

How to build a super gun:

Find a JAMMA pinout and a SCART pinout and join the relevant wires. You'll be wanting to connect to the SCART IN pins, not the OUT ones, coz those are for outputs from the socket at the TV end, not the connector.

Find out what the NeoGeo stick pinout is as this is used as a general standard with super guns, wire up two DB15s to that standard that run to the JAMMA connector and then get something like either two NeoGeo sticks/pads or two DC sticks or your pad of choice and disconnect the internal chip and wire the controller's inputs per-button to DB15 connectors too.

Add a connector that runs to buttons 4,5 and 6 of your stick for extra buttons, something like a little 6-hole block that has screws on to tighten wires temporarily into is best, you can get all your bits from Maplin or similar.

Don't forget to attach credit and test buttons to your JAMMA connector.

Now stick it all in a nice box and you're done.

You can get all your required pinout info from gamesx.com, if you don't see it down the side check the hardware book link.

Make sure you earth everything. It took me ages to work out why my AT PSU wouldn't start up, then I realised I'd not attached the very small green wire to Earth.

Sorry, forgot to add in the cost for a JAMMA connector. Another few quid or so

Truly it is not hard and it's much more satisfying than plunking down ?250 for, especially as super guns in America can be found for $250, so buying one in the UK is like asking to be ripped off.
It's tempting me to get down to Maplin and buy enough parts for 3 machines and get into production myself.