what supergun should I buy?

aha2940

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I'd say if you want a customized SG, Xian Xi is the man. If you just need an SG to play, with no customization at all, the ones sold by RGB are great. I have one, it plays perfectly everything I've thrown at it, using a little PVM monitor.

Regards.
 

Electric Grave

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RGB's SG is button programmable, a huge asset in my book.
 

aha2940

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RGB's SG is button programmable, a huge asset in my book.

Absolutely correct. I just forgot about it because I do not use the feature, but it's great for those who need it. Also, IIRC RGB is in Italy, so shipping to the UK may be less expensive than from the US.
 

Electric Grave

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Using Neo CD pads on karnovs with the right button layout...priceless.

Edit: you can still get the db15 palms and use them in any given supergun or neo tough, so there are ways...
 
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hardyhell

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thanks for mentioning it ballz.

also of note there is a pretty good video coming out soon thats a supergun showdown between mine, the mak, and jasens. but also shows the pluses and minuses of each one vs the others. i'll post it up when its up.

Do you still make these superguns?
 

Catoblepa

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I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but I guess it's better than opening an identical one ;)

I'm looking for a no-frills supergun to test a bunch of jamma boards from different ages... an old Super Mario Bros, SNK (pre-Neo Geo) Search and Rescue, Konami System GX, CPS1 and so on. I already have a power supply, and a couple of Neo CD pads; I don't have 6 button games, so I don't need more than four. RGB video only is fine, I'd use an old Philips CRT.

The Windy was highly recommended, but now the site is closed... forever, I'm afraid. You guys talked about RGB (that button programmable supergun), and if the guys are located here in Italy it would be perfect... do you have a link for that?

The MAK Strike and the ProGramer are also two possible choices, and if they both ship from Europe it would be great for reducing costs... but what's the better one? Anyway, I'm open to any suggestion, thanks a lot in advance ;)
 
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ShootTheCore

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Catoblepa

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So the RGB is the famous HAS Supergun... I've been after that one since I saw it on a youtube video (from Game Sack, a good channel) but I'm afraid the guy doesn't take preorders anymore.

At this point, I think I'll go with the MAK Strike from ArcadeForge: the Minigun looks good but I don't have time to assemble all that stuff myself.

And I'll stay away from the Retroelectronik one, thank you very much for the advice! ;)
 

Atro

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Sincerely, if you have time... nothing beats your own.

The build is a bit time consuming, but it's not hard to do at all. And on top of that, you're in Italy. Just make it Scart RGB and you're good to go.
 

Catoblepa

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Sincerely, if you have time... nothing beats your own.

The build is a bit time consuming, but it's not hard to do at all. And on top of that, you're in Italy. Just make it Scart RGB and you're good to go.

You're probably right, but I really don't have much time for this... since I only need a supergun to test boards (I'd rather play them in a cab), I wanted to skip all the online research and buy a good finished product. ;) It's lazy, I know, but when you have a nightmare-inducing backlog of pinball machines to restore, you try to cut corners where you can!
 

awbacon

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So the RGB is the famous HAS Supergun... I've been after that one since I saw it on a youtube video (from Game Sack, a good channel) but I'm afraid the guy doesn't take preorders anymore.

At this point, I think I'll go with the MAK Strike from ArcadeForge: the Minigun looks good but I don't have time to assemble all that stuff myself.

And I'll stay away from the Retroelectronik one, thank you very much for the advice! ;)

The Retroelectronik one is fine...not great...but fine. I keep meaning to upgrade it but it hasn't given me any issues to date so I keep putting it off. Maybe I am just one of the lucky ones who got a good revision, as I've read some people have bad solder work or cold joints. Yeah they don't handle TTL vs 750 Ohm correctly, but I fixed that myself.

Not a recommendation at all for that particular supergun. I wound't roll the dice on getting a "good one" or not. Just saying what my experience was. Only reason I bought it in the first place was it was the only in stock supergun when I was working on a project that needed one
 

titchgamer

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I have a retroelektronik one to.

The supergun is fine and gave me no issues when I built it into a case.
Played everything I have tried on it thus far and is easy to make controllers and kick harnesses etc for.

But their customer service is utter shit.
That may be to generous though as its non existent.....
 

Neo Alec

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The Retroelectronik one is fine...not great...but fine. I keep meaning to upgrade it but it hasn't given me any issues to date so I keep putting it off. Maybe I am just one of the lucky ones who got a good revision, as I've read some people have bad solder work or cold joints. Yeah they don't handle TTL vs 750 Ohm correctly, but I fixed that myself.

Not a recommendation at all for that particular supergun. I wound't roll the dice on getting a "good one" or not. Just saying what my experience was. Only reason I bought it in the first place was it was the only in stock supergun when I was working on a project that needed one
I'm surprised you didn't build your own. :)

I'm still using the ugly one I built in 2005, except I removed the s-video/composite encoder and added the cap and resistor for the TTL sync.
 

awbacon

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I'm surprised you didn't build your own. :)

I'm still using the ugly one I built in 2005, except I removed the s-video/composite encoder and added the cap and resistor for the TTL sync.

I may build one soon. I'd like to do an AIO double fight stick enclosure with a custom supergun inside. Honestly it's deciding on the form factor that is keeping me from the project at this point in time.
 
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Honestly I've found the process of buying a supergun a little confusing.

The overwhelming consensus seems to be: Buy a HAS, do not buy anything else other than a Minigun or maybe a MAK. But I've also seen lots of recommendations for Sentinel, Windy, etc.

Unfortunately, Windy don't exist anymore, Sentinel is out of production, Minigun is being made in tiny batches by seemingly random people (especially if you're a newbie like me, who doesn't recognize the bigger names in the scene yet, so you won't know if it's been made by some rando or a reputable person) and the MAK.

So, best I can tell right now the only options are

Retroelectronik
Minigun (if you build it yourself, or lucky enough to get a pre-built)
MAK
A custom from someone like JNX who I hadn't heard of until this morning.
Build your own.

More than happy to be corrected if I'm wrong and there are more available. ebay seems to have a lot of no-name ones that look and sound pretty dodgy and ship out of china, I'm not counting those. If you trust those, you can hop on ebay and get a supergun for as low as like 10 euros. But I wouldn't be comfortable putting a 10 euro no-name piece of equipment near the OSSC I bought just last week.

I decided to go with a Retroelectronik Progamer, and then immediately started to doubt that as I researched the thing a little deeper. I am pretty concerned about the RGB and Audio output not being properly attenuated as was brought up by RGB, is mentioned in a fair few threads, twitter arguments, and a few youtube videos. I'm not an electronics engineer, but I can totally believe that a malfunction could result in a fried OSSC or a GScart if those voltages are sent directly across. I don't have a GScart, but I do intend to use this stuff with a brand new OSSC. So now I'm frankly too scared to even plug the thing, unfortunately I bought it through their website and not ebay, so I don't know if it will be easy to return.

So I hopped back on ebay and bought the only pre-built Minigun I could find in the UK. I got lucky from the sounds of it. Only problem is, now that I don't trust the Retroelectronik DB15 converters (pinout is different to neogeo and undamned, but in general I just don't trust it, so I'll only be using the converters with the retroelectronik, on a CRT, keeping it well away from my OSSC) so looking into controllers proved to be confusing as well for someone who doesn't have stuff laying around from the NeoGeo era.

Undamned's DB15 converter seems to have been out of stock for a while, which seems to leave the only option right now to be buying something like a Mayflash stick and gutting it and wiring it to DB15 yourself... Or maybe a Genesis pad or buying a NeoGeo stick is easier, I dunno, I need 6-buttons and will only use a stick though as I play a lot of Capcom fighting games. So there might be cheaper options that I didn't find.

Only other option I could find was Brook's NeoGeo converter. However, this seems to have pretty negative reviews compared to his other products, which surprised me. And I can't find anywhere if it supports 6 buttons, doesn't seem like it does it's not really designed for supergun but for NeoGeo. So, I bought one anyway just to have a quick way of using a controller. It might be a good option if you want 4-button though, as it sounds like a firmware update solved some issues with not saving button remapping.

I opted to grab some DB15 connectors and buy a Mayflash 500 to gut when I have time later on, but it didn't feel like a good option, felt expensive and isn't an option if you can't do a bit of soldering.

Looking for the 8-pin mini-din stuff was a little confusing as well, it only seems to be 'standard' if you're very familiar with the framemeister, so I don't honestly know why it's the chosen connector for the Minigun (I'm not particularly knowledgeable, so that's not necessarily a criticism, there may be very good reasons, but it made finding adapters very difficult). I bought the scart to mini-din cable designed for the framemeister from RetroGamingCables and there doesn't seem to be any circuitry in it so I'm hoping it will work in reverse (I haven't plugged it in yet, so if anybody knows for sure, I'd appreciate the info)

So, yeah that was my experience buying a supergun right now, May of 2020 as a newbie. I've owned a JAMMA cab for a few years, but I've never dabbled in superguns until I wanted to capture video recently, and didn't want to mess about with direct capture from my Sega NNC.

I would readily have dropped whatever the price is for a HAS (I literally don't even know how much it costs, there's no shop and pre-orders are closed) but it wasn't an option and I have no idea when it will be. I'll wait for one, while using the Minigun in the meantime, but it does seem like options are pretty limited right now for newbies, especially if you can't solder or feel confident re-wiring a few cables/connectors.

The other thing I will note, is if the Minigun seller I got mine from lists more on UK ebay, he states it 'comes with a power supply' but this wasn't true, it came with a 6-pin connector that splits out into wires you need to attach to screw terminals on a JAMMA power supply. So I had to order a JAMMA power supply as well. Not a problem, just, order both at the same time if you go that route to save you waiting. It also doesn't look like the one in that twitter thread, it's very very similar but without the number display (I assume for voltage). It was sold as Advanced Minigun but, I don't know for sure if it is, or what version. Board just says 'minigun supergun' and 'advanced edition' on the underside and it has a THS7374 sitting in the middle, it's shorter than the one in that twitter pic too. I'm guessing I have the V1

edit:
I'm actually considering buying the 2.5 off ebay, does anybody know if the 2.5 is significantly different other than the voltmeter? Or am I good with the one I have?
 
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CORY

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That's one hell of a 2nd post man, thanks for sharing your experience.
 

titchgamer

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Yeah I would be very carefull with most superguns if you intend on putting them near a OSSC.
I only ever play on a CRT tv so never been a issue for me and the retroelektronik.

As for controller there is a few options, Personally I built my own using a empty project stick case (which you can buy cheap from ebay) and a stick and buttons obv connected all up to a db15 cable.
The other option is to get some of the DB15 to PSX controller adapters, These ones have a good rep as far as I am aware: http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=50
I have 2 brand new in my spares but never used them due to building my own in the end :p
 
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That's one hell of a 2nd post man, thanks for sharing your experience.

I'll be sure to report how it all goes once all the equipment arrives, too.

Yeah I would be very carefull with most superguns if you intend on putting them near a OSSC.
I only ever play on a CRT tv so never been a issue for me and the retroelektronik.



I'm hoping that if I can't return the retroelectronik (I don't need 2 superguns right now, and I intend mainly to stream through an OSSC), I can at least use it to play games on my CRT or as a test-bench piece of kit. I'm afraid to hook it up to my OSSC, but, I've only heard of I think two cases of people saying it killed theirs (which is still more than enough to put me off) and the GScart supposedly will be ruined by it pretty much guaranteed, because of the strong audio signal it's not designed to carry. But again, I'm not remotely an expert, this is just stuff I've read from conversations involving people like RGB and SmokeMonster.

The Minigun (and if I could get one, the HAS) both have a video chip in them that from what I gather, provides enough protection. I'm not a video or electronics engineer, but it seems like it buffers your OSSC from the raw output from the RGB on the JAMMA connector, protecting it and pulling those voltages down to SCART specification.

So, finger's crossed it's safe, cos the Minigun is getting hooked up to the OSSC as soon as all the pieces of the chain arrive :P

Thanks for the info on controllers. I'm personally ok building stuff, it's just a mild pain, and I wish more options were readily available, as I already have controllers I like to use, PS4 controllers and fight sticks etc. Especially as there are good ones out there, Brook and Undamned seem to do great work (I've never owned an undamned, but I've played on his CPS2 consolized board at super turbo tournaments a lot and it's a marvel)

I really wish the Brook converter was just a generic USB to DB15 rather than NeoGeo specifically, though. I'd happily have paid 80 bucks for it like I did my PS3/4 to Dreamcast which basically made the Dreamcast playable again for me, because I personally can't use the Dreamcast controller comfortably.
 
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titchgamer

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I'll be sure to report how it all goes once all the equipment arrives, too.





I'm hoping that if I can't return the retroelectronik (I don't need 2 superguns right now, and I intend mainly to stream through an OSSC), I can at least use it to play games on my CRT or as a test-bench piece of kit. I'm afraid to hook it up to my OSSC, but, I've only heard of I think two cases of people saying it killed theirs (which is still more than enough to put me off) and the GScart supposedly will be ruined by it pretty much guaranteed, because of the strong audio signal it's not designed to carry. But again, I'm not remotely an expert, this is just stuff I've read from conversations involving people like RGB and SmokeMonster.

The Minigun (and if I could get one, the HAS) both have a video chip in them that from what I gather, provides enough protection. I'm not a video or electronics engineer, but it seems like it buffers your OSSC from the raw output from the RGB on the JAMMA connector, protecting it and pulling those voltages down to SCART specification.

So, finger's crossed it's safe, cos the Minigun is getting hooked up to the OSSC as soon as all the pieces of the chain arrive :P

Thanks for the info on controllers. I'm personally ok building stuff, it's just a mild pain, and I wish more options were readily available, as I already have controllers I like to use, PS4 controllers and fight sticks etc. Especially as there are good ones out there, Brook and Undamned seem to do great work (I've never owned an undamned, but I've played on his CPS2 consolized board at super turbo tournaments a lot and it's a marvel)

I really wish the Brook converter was just a generic USB to DB15 rather than NeoGeo specifically, though. I'd happily have paid 80 bucks for it like I did my PS3/4 to Dreamcast which basically made the Dreamcast playable again for me, because I personally can't use the Dreamcast controller comfortably.

Well good luck with the return, That is my only bad thing to say about retroelektronik, their customer service is total ass.
Still waiting for a reply to the email I sent them about the DB15 pin out when I first got mine!

Thankfully google turfed up the info I needed at the time!

Anyways the other good thing about building your own is they can be used with other systems or reconfigured if required.

I have 2 6 button setups that are both DB15 and work with my CMVS, NGCD and my super gun. :)
 
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