Building a Supergun (how to mod controllers)

[coreycorey2000]

I've decided to build a Supergun. But I'm not sure what I want to do about the controllers/joysticks. I might as well build it as compatible as possible. So I need to make 6 or 8 button joysticks/controllers.

Does anyone know where to find directions on how to mod a Genesis 6 button or saturn controller to work with a Supergun? Could I set it up to use one of these controllers but also build joysticks at a later time that will work as well?

And if anyone has found a good place that shows how to build a supergun that would be great.
I've checked out
www.multimods.com/sgun
http://chadsarcade.co.uk/oldsite/Sup...ergunIndex.htm
http://cps2shock.retrogames.com/jamma.html
http://www.sgrepository.com/modules/newbb/

aswell as forums here, digitpress, neo-geo.com shmups.com and anywhere else i could think of.

I'm not very skilled electronically so the more step by step description I can find the better. I have an AMiga RGB monitor. So I don't need to bother with a RGB encoder from what I can tell. This should cut down on the price.

Any help anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[mairsil]

You can get a LOT of information on controller hacking and superguns here:

http://www.arcadecontrols.com
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com

[n-y-n]

I still think Chad Gray's site is one of the best step-by-step supergun guides.

http://chadsarcade.co.uk/oldsite/Sup...ergunIndex.htm

[the_steadster]

I was planning to build one a while back, but somehow never got around to it, I did however draw up some plans which I posted here
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ead.php?t=6200

Mine is set up for SCART, but you could always change that.
The saturn and Mega Drive controllers would be hard to use as the signals are encoded (i.e. it is not one pin per button), which would mean you would need to decode them at the console, which would be slightly tricky.

[n-y-n]

I was planning to build one a while back, but somehow never got around to it, I did however draw up some plans which I posted here
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ead.php?t=6200

Mine is set up for SCART, but you could always change that.
The saturn and Mega Drive controllers would be hard to use as the signals are encoded (i.e. it is not one pin per button), which would mean you would need to decode them at the console, which would be slightly tricky.

Saturn would need decoding (good luck on that), but you can use megadrive 3-button without decoding or anything. 6 button needs decoding. The site i mentioned earlier has a schematic for that too though.

I prefer to just mod some nice arcade sticks myself.

[arnoldlayne]

I have the same problem also...My arcade woes are more than just a headache at the moment, it's a nightmare in the corner of my living room im trying to ignore :(

--

Step 1: Obtain working arcade cabinet - 6 buttons/Happ

ProbleM: Monitor breaks in transit. Arcade machine not working.

Step 2: find someone able to fix it - He comes round, spends hours (and hours messing with the monitor only to declare it broken beyond repair)

Step 3: Locate Supergun PCB, the same as is being discussed here(wired for Megadrive controllers/w/Scart).

Step 4: remove monitor completely and insert 21" TV (It was a 25" monitor previously)

Step 5: This where im at now - the sound is wired up to the Supergun and works great but the picture is a mess and nothing else works. Bits and pieces lying around everywhere around the living room.

The fact that the controllers for the megadrive/genesis are standard connections is very reassuring but for the life of me im still unsure of why the picture is not working. My suspicion is that the person repairing it has fried part of the supergun pcb.....?

Can anyone here confirm they have done this before with the controllers? Was it easy (im envisaging just soldering wires from a>b

Best of luck.

[Smithy]

Stupid question, but are you connecting the supergun to your TV via SCART? Not all TVs that have SCART are RGB... =/

[n-y-n]

If youre not too handy with soldering scart connectors etc i suggest you get a nice clean and cheap supergun pcb like this one looks like :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arcade-supergu...3150QQihZ016QQ

Note, i dont have any experience with these, they just look good and cheap to me and come with all the shit pre-soldered. Hook up controllers et voila.

Modding controllers is extremely easy. Connect the appropriate wire to the wire on the joystick. f. ex. the pin for "Button A" on the jamma harness goes to button A on your controller, etc etc for all buttons. Connect the ground and go. Your controller would end up looking something like this:

http://www.xerxes3rd.net/albums/genX..._PCB_1280W.jpg (xbox though, just meant as an illustration)

[arnoldlayne]

The arcade supergun pcb on eBay (posted above) is the same as the one i have here.

I decided to have a look at the set up just now. I plugged it all in and you can see each pcb boot up okay but the image is repeated a zillion times over in thin strips scrolling along the screen. I can tell the pcbs work okay as the i can tell that underneath the colour schemes are correct.

Is it possible the tv isn't rgb? is this usually what happens?

Im going to try another tv set right now....see what happens.

::::EDIT::::

It worked!! I tried a more recent TV set and the picture displayed perfectly. - I know sound is working great- Now all i need to do is get the controls wired up correctly.

Thanks a million to all who have replied above - You dont realise what a huge relief this is for me!

About an hour ago I was considering the prospect of selling the cabinet on eBay. I take my hat off to you all!! (if i had one ;))

:::: EDIT 2::::

The controllers are definetely as described above on these supergun pcbs. No fancy tricks (connect a > a, b > b, etc...) I just noticed the controller socket was dissconnected. I connected it just now and the controls work fine.....Well, they go up and down but im sure the electrician hasn't wired up left/right and the coin slots correctly. He's back on Sunday so I should be good to go v.soon.

----


btw/ is there such a thing as a jamma extension cable? the supergun is incredibly small making it very hard to put pcb's in the cabinet. Ideally i need a lead i can plug into one end of the supergun and the other end into a pcb. I have looked but i got confused...if someone can see one on eBay - plz post a link or pm me.

Also, i dont want to hijack this thread (which is more about controls than my headaches....) apologies in advance. If mods feel its too off-topic then let me know! I dont want to cause any upset.

Peace Out...

(and shake it all about...)