Supergun Help Needed For Project I'm Starting

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GnarlyDan

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I'm a Noob to building Superguns, but want to give it a shot and build a couple of units to try out, and hopefully have success. I'd be very gratefull for any answers to these questions.

1) I've been Scanning the Internet for "Begginers Building Guides for Superguns", and was wanting to know which in your opinion are the best Sites? Web Links would be great!

2) Im going to be building up a small selection of Tools/Equipment to do these Projects and was wanting to know what to include? Would i benefit from buying a Dremel Tool to handle the Case work etc?

3) Is there anywhere in U.K that i can get good Enclosures/Cases from?

4) As this will be my first attempt at building a Supergun, would it be better to go with a Plastic Style Case, as opposed to an Aluminium/Metal Style Case i was set on building?

Thanks in Advance for any input,
Dan :)
 
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Lashujin

Lashujin

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Raz had a good guide but I can't remember the link

*Here it is*
 
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G

GnarlyDan

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Thanks for Links guys. What about tools? Am i best getting some kind of Dremel tool for the case work etc? Would that be sufficiant?
 
dannywhac

dannywhac

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For plastic cases I just used a crappy 'engravers kit' for £8 from woolworths, but these won't do for anything more sturdy - it's dremel and the price tag unfortunately......
Oh yeah, and Maplin does a good selection of cases at decent prices and nearly all the components you need ;)
 
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G

GnarlyDan

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dannywhac said:
For plastic cases I just used a crappy 'engravers kit' for £8 from woolworths, but these won't do for anything more sturdy - it's dremel and the price tag unfortunately......
Click to expand...
Yeah, i guess Dremels the route to take, especially as i want to mess around with the idea of Aluminium/Metal Casing.
 
Yodd

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Best thing to do before you start spending money on tools that you may, or may not need is to determine what exactly you are building.


What options, inputs and ouputs are you going to have on it?

Will it be a more compact unit that has the jamma edge mounted to the side of the unit, or a larger device with a Jamma harness coming out of it?

Are you going to use an external PSU or some type of internal unit?

Stuff like this.



Tools that I generally advise.

Decent soldering Iron. Something in the 15 to 25 watt range. Note:Soldering iron, not soldering Gun. Those things are for cables the size of your fingers and are way overkill for this kind of work.


Unitbit. A stepped base drillbit thats good for a multitude of sizes from very small (say, 1mm or so) upto maybe 25mm or better. Excellent for drill holes for jacks, knobs and the like. No need to have a dozen different bits plus these things typically cut though metal and plastic with ease.

962153_lg.gif
 
dannywhac

dannywhac

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If me memory serves theres a Maplin in Leeds, if not theres one in Hull just down the M62 - or use their online catalogue - its a bit tricky tho'....
 
G

GnarlyDan

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So what would be the best order to do things? Get the Case and attach up all the Switches/Sockets etc first, then go onto the complex wiring job? What kind of Soldering Iron would i need, as my generic, cheap one just died! What other tools am i looking at having to invest in?
 
stuffmonger

stuffmonger

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GnarlyDan said:
Yeah, i guess Dremels the route to take, especially as i want to mess around with the idea of Aluminium/Metal Casing.
Click to expand...
IMPORTANT!!! >>> DON'T I repeat DON'T GET A DREMEL 400XPR MODEL!!! They are the first model built since Dremel started outsourcing their labor to Mexico. I have one, and it broke within 15 minutes of use. I am not nearly the first person who has had this issue. Dremel's website has a forum where owners can talk to each other, and right after I bought mine, I started noticing way too many "my 400xpr broke :crying: "'s, and ">>>>: ["'s. STAY AWAY FROM THE 400XPR!!!
 
stuffmonger

stuffmonger

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GnarlyDan said:
So what would be the best order to do things? Get the Case and attach up all the Switches/Sockets etc first, then go onto the complex wiring job? What kind of Soldering Iron would i need, as my generic, cheap one just died! What other tools am i looking at having to invest in?
Click to expand...
I've got a HAKKO 936 that I love, and cherish... it ran me about $90 though.
 
dannywhac

dannywhac

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As Broken said, planning is the best way - it took me three attempts before I got a decent supergun :( Maybe start by getting these tools:
1. A soldering iron - about a tenner from Maplin, for a 15w thin tipped model.
2. Solder
3. About 10m of shielded wire (24/0.2) just in case.
4. A power supply - you can use an old AT (not ATX) computer PSU, if its just for MVS you'll only need +5v and +12v (although you don't necessarily need the +12v depending on you MVS model). If you're making a universal one, you'll need the -5v as well.
5. A 28X2 jamma edge connector.
6. Think about connectors - for the power, video out (no worries as it'll be RGB, so a good old scart lead will do).
7. Some cable ties.
8. Not essential, but you can get a cheap multi-meter with a continuity test on it - it might save a lot of heartache.....
9. Then you've got the buttons and joystick connectors- a better guide for starting out is:
http://chadsarcade.co.uk/oldsite/Supergun/Whatyouneed.htm
Read through all the guide on there, produce a ghetto supergun, then you'll have a better grasp for your final boxed project.
Hope this helps,
Dan.
 
A

Amano Jacu

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broken said:
Unitbit. A stepped base drillbit thats good for a multitude of sizes from very small (say, 1mm or so) upto maybe 25mm or better. Excellent for drill holes for jacks, knobs and the like. No need to have a dozen different bits plus these things typically cut though metal and plastic with ease.

962153_lg.gif
Click to expand...

I've never seen something like this. How does it actually work? I don't see how to select the hole size, sorry if this is a stupid question...
 
Yodd

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Amano Jacu said:
I've never seen something like this. How does it actually work? I don't see how to select the hole size, sorry if this is a stupid question...
Click to expand...


You keep drilling till you reach the desired size.

Basically as you drill the hole it will gradually get larger and larger as you push the bit in. You can look at the side of the bit to determine how big the hole is.

They make very clean round holes.
 
stuffmonger

stuffmonger

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dannywhac said:
4. A power supply - you can use an old AT (not ATX) computer PSU, if its just for MVS you'll only need +5v and +12v (although you don't necessarily need the +12v depending on you MVS model). If you're making a universal one, you'll need the -5v as well.
Click to expand...
AT power supplies don't have a -5 tmk. It's also not hard to modify an atx psu so that you don't need a switch (one wire soldered to bridge two contacts [I've done it... and I was fishing around and experimanting as the guide I was using didn't specify exactly what to connect to where, and it was still easy])
 
dannywhac

dannywhac

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stuffmonger said:
AT power supplies don't have a -5 tmk. It's also not hard to modify an atx psu so that you don't need a switch
Click to expand...
The couple I've used had one coming from the 'white' cables from the AT PSU's - didn't realise that they didn't all come with em. Where do you bridge to get ATX PSU's to run without the motherboard connector?
 
G

GnarlyDan

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Posts
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broken said:
Best thing to do before you start spending money on tools that you may, or may not need is to determine what exactly you are building.


What options, inputs and ouputs are you going to have on it?

Will it be a more compact unit that has the jamma edge mounted to the side of the unit, or a larger device with a Jamma harness coming out of it?

Are you going to use an external PSU or some type of internal unit?

Stuff like this.



Tools that I generally advise.

Decent soldering Iron. Something in the 15 to 25 watt range. Note:Soldering iron, not soldering Gun. Those things are for cables the size of your fingers and are way overkill for this kind of work.


Unitbit. A stepped base drillbit thats good for a multitude of sizes from very small (say, 1mm or so) upto maybe 25mm or better. Excellent for drill holes for jacks, knobs and the like. No need to have a dozen different bits plus these things typically cut though metal and plastic with ease.

962153_lg.gif
Click to expand...
Thanks for Advice. Im getting my "Main" unit made by D_Lite (Dean) as i had way to many Complex ideas to fire out and i wanted someone who had experiance to take it on for me and put the ideas into reality. The one im going to make is a simplish unit, but still capable of playing the Majority of formats (CPS2, Naomi, Jamma, MVS etc). I want to go the route of using a Jamma Loom as im not keen on the idea of resting the SG upto the Board/PCB using a built in connector, as i would of thought the weight of the SG may put stress on the Board/PCB. Also, i would be putting things (Books etc) under the SG if the Board/PCB height was different and that would look kind of amataur. What you guys think?
 
A

Amano Jacu

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AT psu usually delivers -5V, what they don't deliver is 3.3V, something ATX do.
To switch on an ATX psu you need to bridge a cable from the main mobo connector to ground, can't remember which one, saw it on a guide in the net.
 
G

GnarlyDan

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stuffmonger said:
IMPORTANT!!! >>> DON'T I repeat DON'T GET A DREMEL 400XPR MODEL!!! They are the first model built since Dremel started outsourcing their labor to Mexico. I have one, and it broke within 15 minutes of use. I am not nearly the first person who has had this issue. Dremel's website has a forum where owners can talk to each other, and right after I bought mine, I started noticing way too many "my 400xpr broke :crying: "'s, and ">>>>: ["'s. STAY AWAY FROM THE 400XPR!!!
Click to expand...
Thanks for advice, ill avoid that! Are the Cordless units best, or am i better going Old Skool Cord kind?
 
dannywhac

dannywhac

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Amano Jacu said:
AT psu usually delivers -5V, what they don't deliver is 3.3V, something ATX do.
To switch on an ATX psu you need to bridge a cable from the main mobo connector to ground, can't remember which one, saw it on a guide in the net.
Click to expand...
Ah, cheers for that - I've got about 5 old ATX's kicking around from work.....And thanks for the link :glee:
@Gnarlydan - I use a dremel with a cord - the cordless would be nice, but then you've got recharging etc, handy tho' if you want to drill in the back of a car ;)
 
G

GnarlyDan

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dannywhac said:
If me memory serves theres a Maplin in Leeds, if not theres one in Hull just down the M62 - or use their online catalogue - its a bit tricky tho'....
Click to expand...
Yeah theres a Maplins still in Leeds. Ill be goin there alot over past month or so! One thing i dont see that Maplins stocks is good Enclosures/Cases. Do you know anyone who sells nice ones?
 
stuffmonger

stuffmonger

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dannywhac said:
The couple I've used had one coming from the 'white' cables from the AT PSU's - didn't realise that they didn't all come with em. Where do you bridge to get ATX PSU's to run without the motherboard connector?
Click to expand...
Picture73.jpg

that resistor in the middle of the pic is my mod. The green wire that is shorting the connection is the pc on wire (should be pin 14) You can also make a bridge from pin 14 to any ground wire in the psu to get around the switch. By modding an atx psu, you'll also have the 3.3v supply needed to run the naomi ;)

edit... well... I think it's pin 14... I could be wrong though... I cut off the conector, so I can't really trace it back...
 
Last edited:
dannywhac

dannywhac

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stuffmonger said:
that resistor in the middle of the pic is my mod. The green wire that is shorting the connection is the pc on wire (should be pin 14) You can also make a bridge from pin 14 to any ground wire in the psu to get around the switch. By modding an atx psu, you'll also have the 3.3v supply needed to run the naomi ;)
Click to expand...
Cheers - saves on having to buy a dedicated PSU I'll be breaking out some green wire this evening :glee:
As for cases - just did a quick google, and found these, although they're probably too robust, and I've never ordered from them:
http://www.distel.co.uk/asps/results.asp?CAT=84001
Some of the cases I've used included and old Atari 2600 junior (best use for 'em ;) )
 
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