The Gauntlet Legends - Mame/Dreamcast project ...and finally back to GL :-)

[DarthNuno]

...WOW, it's been a while about this cab...  

Well, here's a must-have for this cab :



     

[DarthNuno]

Ops... it's been a while 

I forget to mention something... this is now a Mame / Dreamcast cab 

So how to put a Dreamcast inside this cab ?

The dreamcast is able to send a 640 x 480 signal via a specific cable/adapter : Dreamcast to VGA 

Ok, let's try that on a pc monitor :



Nice 

Because I'm using a Universal Converter for the Gauntlet Monitor -who accepts such VGA signal-, I can't resist to try that on the cab 



I was a little bit worried because I'm already using a converter (Happ Universal Video Converter), and now, I add an other one on the chain...

To be clear : Dreamcast -> [VGA/adapter to VGA] -> [Happ Universal Video Converter] -> 24Khz Gauntlet monitor 

But it looks very good :







OK, but I don't want to play games with Dreamcast pads of course 



Let's hack the dreamcast pad :



Closer...



The panel... what a mess  :



OK the idea is to use a switchbox in order to select Dreamcast or Mame.

Here's the switchbox for the controls :



Let's prepare the first pad :



Closer...  :



The second pad :



Closer...



Go back to the control panel. The main cable goes to the controls (joystick/buttons) on the panel.

The A position goes to the IPac4, the B position goes to the two hacked Dreamcast pads :





I place the switchbox behind the coins door... easy access :



And also the Dreamcast, because I have to access it when I need to change games of course 



Note that I'm using another swithbox for the video 

Power On... it's working Yeah 















and of course : GAUNTLET LEGENDS ... Dreamcast version... and Arcade accurate...





...The Circle is Now Complete 

[Musaic]

unbeliveable

[scr33n]

Great Darth !!!

This is my project (only in Italian for now ...  sorry - I promise a translation  ), a few days ago I did the same thing on my cab from scratch.... take a look:

http://arcade.forumup.it/viewtopic.php?t=1183&start=75&mforum=arcade


Dreamcast and Playstation 2 joypadhack for Shoot'em Up only, I'm a fan of these games (from Galaga to Ibara  )

Great the idea of the switchbox - thanks


Ciao!!!

[DarthNuno]

This is my project (only in Italian for now ...  sorry - I promise a translation  ), a few days ago I did the same thing on my cab from scratch.... take a look:
http://arcade.forumup.it/viewtopic.php?t=1183&start=75&mforum=arcade

Opps, too bad we can't see the pictures on the Italian forum (it requires registration) 

But I agree with you : Dreamcast shoot'em'up are *amazing* : ikaruga, under defeat II 

I guess I'll catch an Astro City in the Nuno's Lair v2 with a vertical setup monitor only for playing these great games 

[JimmyU]

Do lightgun games work on your setup Nuno?  I've heard that changing your refresh rate (from 60 or 50 Hz to 24 Hz) can screw up lightguns.

[scr33n]

Opppssssss............ sorry for that....

now it' ok:

Ps2 Joypad hack: (an old ps1 joypad, very simple to hack  )





Dreamcast Joypad hack:



With Playstation 2  I use Hdloader (no disk swap  ) - see the list - great shoot'em up, but with Dreamcast no way ... only disks swap (but for games like Ikaruga and Under Defeat ... no problem  :



Some random games pics, the control panel is white because i'm still waiting the print from Mamemarquees.....  :


IBARA:

 
IKARUGA:


RAIDEN 3:


and UNDER DEFEAT:



Darth where do you think to find a japanese cab like Astro city or my favourite Egret II (my personal dream  ) ?

I know that some guys from killercabs.com import sometimes these cabs.....in UK ... maybe another trip under the sea? 
 

Ciaoo!!

[DarthNuno]

Do lightgun games work on your setup Nuno?  I've heard that changing your refresh rate (from 60 or 50 Hz to 24 Hz) can screw up lightguns.

Nope, I never try to hook a light gun on that cab'... Like you said, I thing it shouldn't work too because of the Vga to 24Khz Converter and/or the 24Khz monitor frequence  But only a live test will give the answer 

[DarthNuno]

Thanks for the pictures Scr33n  Very nice shot'em'up setup  Congratulation for your work 

I see very otfer Astro City cabs or Naomi cabs on ebay, but I have also some contact in UK & France with 'collecto/friends' who are specialists in Japanese cabs 

[Wassymac]

I'm way late to the party but just wanted to mention this is one of my favorite projects I've seen (mainly because it's one of my favorite cabinets).  Great work keeping all original parts in tact and your Dreamcast mod is slick!

I'm curious how the monitor and UVC have held up after a few years of use?  I may be acquiring a GL cab myself for a similar project and wanted to confirm that the UVC is a quality product at a steep price $225.

Thanks for any info

[DarthNuno]

I'm curious how the monitor and UVC have held up after a few years of use?  I may be acquiring a GL cab myself for a similar project and wanted to confirm that the UVC is a quality product at a steep price $225.
Thanks for any info

Hello Wassymac,

This setup is still up & running fine after few years  And I thing the UVC is really an amazing product. Having the possibility to input a signal via a DB15 VGA is a great thing, especially if you want to play other games than Mame (PC games or even Better : Dreamcast via VGA adapter like I did). The only minor default I would say about the UVC is : the output of the black color on scren is not a deep black. A little bit too luminous IMO...but it very minor  ...ah and yes... an other default is ... THE PRICE of course

So If you catch a Gauntlet Legend with a medium resolution monitor, you cannot go wrong with the UVC 

[Wassymac]

Thanks for the reply.  It helped to hear that it's still functioning well.  I did end up picking up the used GL cabinet and now have a pc driving the monitor using the uvc.  I made an ugly looking cable with parts taken from my newly acquired (but very broken) NBA Jam cabinet (about to be a GT Fore cabinet).  To my surprise the thing nearly worked out of the box (I just had one dip switch on the uvc backwards initially) and I am VERY impressed with the image quality. 

Now it's time to start designing the control panel...I'm just pumped the UVC & the medium res WG Monitor worked out so well

Thanks again for the great info!

[guinea13]

What game is this?  I can't remember for the life of me.

Ok few 'in game' pictures :

/quote]

[DarthNuno]

What game is this?  I can't remember for the life of me.

Ok few 'in game' pictures :

/quote]

Hello guinea13,

It's Rolling Thunder 

And the world record champion on this game is a member here  It's Dazza 

See this topic 



 

[guinea13]

Thanks,

That has been bugging me for a while.