Where would you hook a computer up to a monitor? (forgive my n00byness)

CandyIsDandy

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Alright, I may or may not be close to buying a Sega Blast City, and I just need to know one thing: how would I go about hooking up my laptop or desktop tower to my cabinet? I've heard somewhere that since it has a 31khz monitor it has a vga input, but where would I find that? Thanks.
 
mr_b

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There is a vga cable. If there isnt a cable youll find a vga input on the side of the monitor chassis.

Just be sure to keep the reolution to 640 x 480
 
CandyIsDandy

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mr_b said:
There is a vga cable. If there isnt a cable youll find a vga input on the side of the monitor chassis.

Just be sure to keep the reolution to 640 x 480
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Oh I see, it's on the chassis. I'm guessing that that means I'll have to discharge the monitor every time I want to do that, huh :/
 
pulstar

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If the cable isn't there, you only need to connect it once and then disconnect it from the PC if you wanted to use, say, a JAMMA PCB. That's as long as the monitor has auto switching sync (which, if the monitor is original, it probably is).

You'll also need a J-Pac or something similar to get the PC using the stick/buttons for controls.
 
CandyIsDandy

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pulstar said:
If the cable isn't there, you only need to connect it once and then disconnect it from the PC if you wanted to use, say, a JAMMA PCB. That's as long as the monitor has auto switching sync (which, if the monitor is original, it probably is).

You'll also need a J-Pac or something similar to get the PC using the stick/buttons for controls.
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Why does everyone say J-Pac? Isn't I-Pac good enough and easy enough, or is there an extra step? I've heard somewhere that I-Pac requires you to build a fingerboard for it, but J-Pac doesn't. I've only heard that in one spot though, so I don't know what to think. Also I don't know what a fingerboard is yet :P

Lemony Vengeance said:
No.
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Oh really? I didn't know it was safe to plug something into the chassis while it was still electrically charged. I'm guessing that I will have to plug it in without touching it though, and that could be tricky depending on how tight the port is. How does that not fry the computer?
 
pulstar

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I say J-Pac just because it'll be easier (you won't have to do any extra wiring) and it has a fail safe if it detects a resolution higher than 640x480, but an I-Pac will do, but like you say you'll have to wire up a fingerboard yourself. A fingerboard is basically a JAMMA edge.

It's fine to unplug/plug stuff like RGB cables/VGA cables into the chassis as long as the power is cut. The dangerous part of the chassis when the power is off is the anode cap, and you shouldn't be anywhere near that to change the cables. But like I said, just plug the VGA cable in once and unplug it from the PCB/J-Pac whenever you want to use just the JAMMA edge.
 
CandyIsDandy

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pulstar said:
I say J-Pac just because it'll be easier (you won't have to do any extra wiring) and it has a fail safe if it detects a resolution higher than 640x480, but an I-Pac will do, but like you say you'll have to wire up a fingerboard yourself. A fingerboard is basically a JAMMA edge.

It's fine to unplug/plug stuff like RGB cables/VGA cables into the chassis as long as the power is cut. The dangerous part of the chassis when the power is off is the anode cap, and you shouldn't be anywhere near that to change the cables. But like I said, just plug the VGA cable in once and unplug it from the PCB/J-Pac whenever you want to use just the JAMMA edge.
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Alright, now I'm really confused on how the J-Pac works. I haven't really found a way to use J-Pac that I understand, so could you or someone else explain it to me? I didn't even know that you needed to plug it into jamma or vga.
 
cdamm

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it goes from your controls to the computer. you wouldn't use jamma if you are using a computer.

also. use an xp machine if going the computer route. (for native 640x480).
 
pulstar

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cdamm said:
it goes from your controls to the computer. you wouldn't use jamma if you are using a computer.
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You would still need to connect the jamma harness to the j-pac and then from there connect It to the computer via the USB. With the i-pac it would be wired straight to the buttons/sticks of the cab and into the computer via USB again. Seems like so much more hassle to use an i-pac in a cab to me, though.

I definitely agree with using Xp.
 
CandyIsDandy

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pulstar said:
You would still need to connect the jamma harness to the j-pac and then from there connect It to the computer via the USB. With the i-pac it would be wired straight to the buttons/sticks of the cab and into the computer via USB again. Seems like so much more hassle to use an i-pac in a cab to me, though.

I definitely agree with using Xp.
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Wait, so if it goes into jamma for setting it up to the buttons, then what happens for buttons 4 5 and 6? would I need some kick harness for the J-Pac? And still, what's the point of having a vga port on the J-Pac?

Edit: Also, from what you were saying earlier, does that mean that I can touch the chassis all I want without discharging it? You said the only dangerous part is the cap, so is it only really necessary to discharge the monitor when you're trying to take the whole chassis off?
 
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pulstar

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From what I remember, with buttons 4-6 there are screw terminals, so you'd have to make up some kick harness adapter for it. With the j-pac you plug the vga from the pc into it and it is all routed through to the jamma harness. This is for monitors that don't have a vga port (like native 15khz monitors on most cabs). You can ignore that because your blast should have a vga port.

Yep, I've (like most members here) had to change jumpers on the chassis to change from 15khz to 24khz and the like without discharging the monitor (making sure the power was off, of course), just don't mess with the anode cap and you'll make it in one piece.

You only need to discharge the monitor when you need to remove the chassis from the tube. The only part you need to discharge is the anode cap.
 
CandyIsDandy

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pulstar said:
From what I remember, with buttons 4-6 there are screw terminals, so you'd have to make up some kick harness adapter for it. With the j-pac you plug the vga from the pc into it and it is all routed through to the jamma harness. This is for monitors that don't have a vga port (like native 15khz monitors on most cabs). You can ignore that because your blast should have a vga port.

Yep, I've (like most members here) had to change jumpers on the chassis to change from 15khz to 24khz and the like without discharging the monitor (making sure the power was off, of course), just don't mess with the anode cap and you'll make it in one piece.

You only need to discharge the monitor when you need to remove the chassis from the tube. The only part you need to discharge is the anode cap.
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Thanks! I get most of it now, but really quick, what're the 2 SPRK markings for on the J-Pac? It's under 2SW8 and above GND on the lower half. https://www.ultimarc.com/images/jpac.jpg
 
pulstar

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Going from memory, I'm sure that's so you connect speakers/an amp and get stereo sound (you only get mono sound from the jamma edge).
 
CandyIsDandy

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pulstar said:
Going from memory, I'm sure that's so you connect speakers/an amp and get stereo sound (you only get mono sound from the jamma edge).
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Thanks, I think that's all I need to know now on the subject. Since I don't want to make a new thread for this question though, I'll just ask it here: do you know how much the monitor weighs?
 
kuze

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kuze

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CandyIsDandy said:
That's completely safe, right? Have you rotated it this way? How long does it usually take you to rotate it?
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Maybe not 'completely' safe as I've heard of someone necking their tube, but the cage around the monitor mostly protects it.

I have rotated mine with the cab standing up, as well as on its back, but I always have a second person help me because I want to be extra careful.

Rotating the monitor is a bit of a pain and something you will not want to do very often. Optimally it is best to buy two Blast City cabs and keep one in tate and one hori.
 
CandyIsDandy

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kuze said:
Maybe not 'completely' safe as I've heard of someone necking their tube, but the cage around the monitor mostly protects it.

I have rotated mine with the cab standing up, as well as on its back, but I always have a second person help me because I want to be extra careful.

Rotating the monitor is a bit of a pain and something you will not want to do very often. Optimally it is best to buy two Blast City cabs and keep one in tate and one hori.
Click to expand...

What does necking it mean?
 
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