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PS2 Guncon2 PCB to Original Namco Arcade Gun mod


mR_CaESaR

Question

Has anyone here by any chance modded their Namco arcade gun to work with a guncon2 for ps2?

 

I would love a time crisis cab or a point blank cab, but unfortunately, I just don't have the room or can afford one at present.

 

The next best thing is to mod my astro city to play ps2 namco light gun games!

 

Enter my inspiration

 

 

I'm now in the process of trying to begin this mode, but before I worry about the solenoid, first things first is to "convert" the Namco gun for the PS2 using the gcon2 pcb!

 

Looking at the video, it seems pretty "easy" in terms of wiring up the +5v, GND, optical line and trigger line and the gcon2 works with the "namco" optical component without any "mods"

 

Sourced out a gcon2

 

http://i.imgur.com/72j6Ecpl.jpg

 

Taking it apart is pretty self explanatory and I ended up with the main PCB

 

http://i.imgur.com/a5UeRz2l.jpg

 

Using the trusty multi meter, I found what I believe to be the trigger wire

 

http://i.imgur.com/SjiYQsul.jpg

 

The GND and +5v

 

http://i.imgur.com/yZ0h6Wwl.jpg

 

And what I believe is the Optical line

 

http://i.imgur.com/JmYSqcIl.jpg

 

Note, I have removed the optical sensor from the PCB

 

http://i.imgur.com/Gq10s7Zl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/aSuj0jXl.jpg

 

I connected the following:

 

  • +5v from the gcon2 pcb to the +5v line of the namco gun (goes to the optical sensor - red)
  • GND from the gcon2 pcb to the GND line of the namco gun (goes to the trigger micro switch and optical sensor - black)
  • Optical sensor line from the gcon2 pcb to the Optical sensor line of the namco gun (white)
  • Trigger line from the gcon2 to the trigger line of the namco gun (blue)

 

I'm not sure if there's anything else that I've missed, but for the life of me, I can't work out why the namco gun doesn't work. The video appears to show it should work seamlessly but when I try and calibrate the Namco gun on the PS2 (gcon2 calibration screen), nothing registers.

 

The PS2 definitely recognises the gcon2 and it did work prior to removing the shell and sensor.

 

I'm hoping someone on here has previously done this type of mod or is very familiar with the gcon.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

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Last "progress" post of the Namco project... all the circuitry is now complete! (although if I press the trigger too fast on single shot mode, it fails to engage the recoil and causes it to misfire)

 

Switching between the two seems to work

 

 

Now I need to put it all in a nice little project box and also fix the jitter on calibration.

 

I tested time crisis 2 and it worked a treat after the initial calibration.

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Interference be gone!!!

 

 

So different from when I first made the mod.

 

 

I purchased a new Namco Optical sensor and the only difference is there's a capacitor in between the GND and +5v lines of the original namco optical sensor. My one with the interference doesn't have the capacitor - I originally removed it on the logic of "i'm only extending what was on the guncon2" not realising I required the cap.

 

http://i.imgur.com/FeUk3FKl.jpg

 

So I can now confirm I have a perfectly working Guncon2 on a Namco Arcade Gun with rapid and single fire recoil!

 

Massive shout out to Syntax for sharing the schematic - I don't think he's on these forums though.

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Cleaned up the gun.. Unfortunately it didn't get rid of the discolouration

 

http://i.imgur.com/AVwX0W2l.jpg

 

Also cleaned up the solenoid by soaking it in degreaser.

 

http://i.imgur.com/dcN6MdJl.jpg

 

Problem I had was it was soaked overnight and as a result it corroded. Fortunately soaking in vinegar for a couple of hours removed the corrosion and I greased it up with some silicone grease and she came good!

 

 

To clean the build up, I ended up creating a project box to store the gun driver and guncon 2 pcb. The switch is on the side (to go rapid or single)

 

http://i.imgur.com/W068gCtl.jpg

 

I put a 2.1mm dc connector and a DB9 connector too to make it all neat (db9 has the 6 pins to the Namco gun and 2 pins to the pedal).

 

http://i.imgur.com/33vr0DJl.jpg

 

This method makes the Namco gun totally stock as I simply unplug and she's set to to go back in an arcade cab.

 

http://i.imgur.com/1kjhlRhl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/VWRdsGNl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/xfxfvJrl.jpg

 

And of course, the end product with the first test on TC2 with the foot pedal.

 

Edited by mR_CaESaR
fixed youtube links appropriate for this forum
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Interference be gone!!!

 

 

So different from when I first made the mod.

 

 

I purchased a new Namco Optical sensor and the only difference is there's a capacitor in between the GND and +5v lines of the original namco optical sensor. My one with the interference doesn't have the capacitor - I originally removed it on the logic of "i'm only extending what was on the guncon2" not realising I required the cap.

 

http://i.imgur.com/FeUk3FKl.jpg

 

So I can now confirm I have a perfectly working Guncon2 on a Namco Arcade Gun with rapid and single fire recoil!

 

Massive shout out to Syntax for sharing the schematic - I don't think he's on these forums though.

 

Glad you got it sorted but I did actually mention this on the 1st page, you was extending the optical sensor signal path but took the 5V and groudn from somewhere else entirely.

 

It looks like you're taking your 5V and ground from elsewhere on the PCB and not where the optical sensor was originally fitted and by doing so you are missing out parts of the circuit (looks like a cap and a resistor).

 

Was unable to find a guncon 2 schematic but take this guncon 1 for example

 

https://leandre.hexeo.be/2015/11/18/namco-npc-103-teardown/

 

Had you wired to pins 23 (+5V) and 28 (ground) you would of cut out R1 and C4.

 

Identify 5v and ground for points 1 & 3 then connect up to them and retest.

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Glad you got it sorted but I did actually mention this on the 1st page, you was extending the optical sensor signal path but took the 5V and groudn from somewhere else entirely.

 

I had run the gnd and 5v from the optical sensor all 3 points.

 

My problem was all related to me ripping out the capacitor (thought it was a resistor) from the Namco optical unit..

 

It still didn't make sense to me as to why it was interfering though as I simply extended what was on the guncon 2.

 

Ill accept that I probably never will with my limited knowledge :)

 

End of the day, it works and that's all that matters.

 

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

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I had run the gnd and 5v from the optical sensor all 3 points.

 

My problem was all related to me ripping out the capacitor (thought it was a resistor) from the Namco optical unit..

 

It still didn't make sense to me as to why it was interfering though as I simply extended what was on the guncon 2.

 

Ill accept that I probably never will with my limited knowledge :)

 

End of the day, it works and that's all that matters.

 

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

Did you change the wiring from this picture?

 

http://i.imgur.com/yZ0h6Wwl.jpg

 

The 5V and ground there are not from the optical sensor supply (points 1 & 3), this was the problem. The namco optical pickup has the capacitor on the board with the sensor but the guncon 2 has the capacitor mounted on the driver board its right there on the line to point number 3. Not knocking your work as it's great what you've achieved based of some random schematic on the internet, just trying to provide the info for clarity for anyone else who comes looking.

 

Very clean install with that box and connector as well, like the plug and play setup, even though you may never plug it back into a cabinet still nice and clean.

 

Is that the PS2 crisis zone?

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Did you change the wiring from this picture?

 

http://i.imgur.com/yZ0h6Wwl.jpg

 

The 5V and ground there are not from the optical sensor supply (points 1 & 3), this was the problem. The namco optical pickup has the capacitor on the board with the sensor but the guncon 2 has the capacitor mounted on the driver board its right there on the line to point number 3. Not knocking your work as it's great what you've achieved based of some random schematic on the internet, just trying to provide the info for clarity for anyone else who comes looking.

 

Very clean install with that box and connector as well, like the plug and play setup, even though you may never plug it back into a cabinet still nice and clean.

 

Is that the PS2 crisis zone?

 

Yeah I moved it to the 3 points as part of the trouble shooting.

 

I went on the logic of "extending the optical sensor", but I still dont know why I needed the capacitor on the Namco sensor and I'm sure I never will lol

 

Only used the 5v from the USB to the gun driver.

 

I will eventually update the first post with a lessons learnt as I also needed a diode from the guncon2 trigger back to the dpdt switch due to a number of misfires when using the single shot.

 

I reached out to syntax and have been actively chatting with him since taking on this project and he was the one that pointed out the diode requirement.

 

He himself has now revisited his own project and updated the schematic to v2 removing the relays and let the mosfet deal with the solenoid (much much much cleaner than what I can ever come up with and multi console modular)

 

https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=62723

 

I'm slowly building a second gun driver and will use schematic v2 and compare the two (once I get my second gun).

 

Yes, you're correct, I'll probably never put it in an arcade cab, but in the event I sell the gun off, atleast it's still "stock"

 

Regarding crisis zone, yes, ps2 version. The whole Namco library I have is ps2 - gunvari collection (time crisis 1, gunbullet 1, 2 and 3), time crisis 2, time crisis 3, ninja assault, vampire night and crisis zone. I have Virtua Cop elite edition, but I haven't even turned it on yet lol

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

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Yeah I moved it to the 3 points as part of the trouble shooting.

 

I went on the logic of "extending the optical sensor", but I still dont know why I needed the capacitor on the Namco sensor and I'm sure I never will lol

 

Only used the 5v from the USB to the gun driver.

 

I will eventually update the first post with a lessons learnt as I also needed a diode from the guncon2 trigger back to the dpdt switch due to a number of misfires when using the single shot.

 

I reached out to syntax and have been actively chatting with him since taking on this project and he was the one that pointed out the diode requirement.

 

He himself has now revisited his own project and updated the schematic to v2 removing the relays and let the mosfet deal with the solenoid (much much much cleaner than what I can ever come up with and multi console modular)

 

https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=62723

 

I'm slowly building a second gun driver and will use schematic v2 and compare the two (once I get my second gun).

 

Yes, you're correct, I'll probably never put it in an arcade cab, but in the event I sell the gun off, atleast it's still "stock"

 

Regarding crisis zone, yes, ps2 version. The whole Namco library I have is ps2 - gunvari collection (time crisis 1, gunbullet 1, 2 and 3), time crisis 2, time crisis 3, ninja assault, vampire night and crisis zone. I have Virtua Cop elite edition, but I haven't even turned it on yet lol

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

Ah fair enough then, at least it all works well.

 

Yeah moving from relays to mosfets will reduce the size of that lot dramatically! You need to get a second setup now for 2 player!

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Ah fair enough then, at least it all works well.

 

Yeah moving from relays to mosfets will reduce the size of that lot dramatically! You need to get a second setup now for 2 player!

That's the plan!

 

2p point blank is what I want... And 2 gun vampire night :)

 

Also looking for a second pedal.

 

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

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Very good work, mR_CaESaR!

 

I will rebuild the solenoid driver myself drawing a PCB. That's the exact reason I registered into this forum: Do you have a link to the original design of syntax, or means of contact? Is he/she a member here? Sadly I wasn't able to find him/her here yet. But the way you reference him/her, gives me hope.

 

It would be splendid if I got his/her blessing to release the PCB variant of the design as open source.

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Very good work, mR_CaESaR!

 

I will rebuild the solenoid driver myself drawing a PCB. That's the exact reason I registered into this forum: Do you have a link to the original design of syntax, or means of contact? Is he/she a member here? Sadly I wasn't able to find him/her here yet. But the way you reference him/her, gives me hope.

 

It would be splendid if I got his/her blessing to release the PCB variant of the design as open source.

 

 

There you go :)

 

I made contact with the man himself... feel free to hit him up :)

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Wow... I was already impressed by the recoil driver itself, but that post you have linked is amazing.

 

With your blessing I will put together a PCB design for people that want one, have money but can't figure out how to use stripe boards. I put the files on the Internet for free for anybody to grab and print.

 

I have a little YouTube Show about light guns. I will make an episode about the driver for sure. The design is so freaking modular it will be suitable for a astonishing number of guns. I stumbled across this while planning to make a similar gun system for PS1 and PS2 (just Namco compatibility is planned/wanted... more of a purist thingy).

 

Thank you and mR_CaESaR so much, man. This is so cool to the world of light gun enthusiasts!

 

Edit: Your design shown in this thread uses two MOSFET whereas your design at shmups.system11 uses just ones. Which design do you think is better?

 

Edit2: Just started drawing: How sweet! Your second design isn't using SSR anymore!!! =)

 

Edit3: Are you sure the pin out on the IPS12CN10L is correct on your scheme? You connect the minus pole of the 24 VDC PSU to "source" rather than "gate"?

Edited by Boojakascha
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Caution, this board doesn't seem to work yet. Possibly I just lack the diodes at the original Namco solenoid unless it's built into the solenoid. As I recall on the outside is a single diode connecting the two terminals of the solenoid. But for my understanding, could somebody tell me whether I read the schematic correctly:

 

- The timer ICs are not connected to the logic GND but to the Gnd of the 24 V PSU (the minus terminal)

- The normally high trigger signal is connected to either Gnd of the 24 V PSU (the minus terminal) which causes a short circuit or to the minus of the solenoid. This connection of the trigger signal depends on the DPDT switch, as the trigger signal is connected to one of the two common terminals ©

 

Maybe my Solenoid just lacks the diodes... it is a original Namco one... I recall it has input and output interconnected by one single diode.

 

With kind regards

Ben

 

EDIT:

I confirm it had something to do with the diodes... with them in place at full auto solenoid is active all the time and at semi auto the slide moved when pulling the trigger, but stays active, rather than getting timed... Has anyone an idea?

 

EDIT2: When adjusting the potentiometers one of the timers started smoking!

Edited by Boojakascha
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Haha. I haves recently opened and cleaned my light guns. Basically own at least 2 of every crt version and a fair few aftermarrkets. I'm interested in what you are doing cause they all have room for some solenoids.

 

Sent from my HTC 2PZF1 using Tapatalk

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Caution, this board doesn't seem to work yet. Possibly I just lack the diodes at the original Namco solenoid unless it's built into the solenoid. As I recall on the outside is a single diode connecting the two terminals of the solenoid. But for my understanding, could somebody tell me whether I read the schematic correctly:

 

- The timer ICs are not connected to the logic GND but to the Gnd of the 24 V PSU (the minus terminal)

 

Looking at the schematic, the NE555 timer IC should be connected to a point of the MOSFET (leg 3)

 

- The normally high trigger signal is connected to either Gnd of the 24 V PSU (the minus terminal) which causes a short circuit or to the minus of the solenoid. This connection of the trigger signal depends on the DPDT switch, as the trigger signal is connected to one of the two common terminals ©

 

Maybe my Solenoid just lacks the diodes... it is a original Namco one... I recall it has input and output interconnected by one single diode.

 

The Namco gun has two diodes. One is on the connector and there is another one underneath the electric tape.

 

Looking at your PCB, you don't have any additional requirements for a diode. I'm not really a super technical guy when it comes to PCB design so I don't really know 100% but as long as that diode is place on the actual trigger line on the dpdt switch, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

EDIT:

I confirm it had something to do with the diodes... with them in place at full auto solenoid is active all the time and at semi auto the slide moved when pulling the trigger, but stays active, rather than getting timed... Has anyone an idea?

 

I had a similar issue and mine fix was due to the way I was wiring up my 24v.

 

Read from post 31.

 

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php/93819-PS2-Guncon2-PCB-to-Original-Namco-Arcade-Gun-mod?p=1175491#post1175491

 

EDIT2: When adjusting the potentiometers one of the timers started smoking!

 

I haven't made the V2 schematic yet, but Syntax would be your best bet. That's definitely something that shouldn't happen!

 

Edit: Looking at your PCB design again, I'm not sure if your mosfet is wired up correctly. Based on my transisitors I've got and spec sheet of it, you need to inverse your legs around so that your top leg is the one connecting to the resistor and the bottom let connecting to the 24v

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Sadly Eagle is occupied for 48 h+ now since I render Gerber files for a NES gun. But I now rendered the schematic over a funky website instead:

schemeweb.gif

 

Looking at the schematic, the NE555 timer IC should be connected to a point of the MOSFET (leg 3)

 

I connect the output over the DPDT to the Gate (pin 1) of the MOSFET. Besides this, pin (3) source of the MOSFET connects to the Gnd of the timer & to 24 minus (Gnd) which also strangely directly connects to the trigger signal (depending on the DPDT setting). Concerning the pin swap you suspect: What is leg 3 in your understanding? Source? It would be lovely if everything boiled down to a pin swap... I was hesitant to draw it that way in the first place, but Syntax told me in a PM that he double checked...

 

Edit3: [syntax,] Are you sure the pin out on the IPS12CN10L is correct on your scheme? You connect the minus pole of the 24 VDC PSU to "source" rather than "gate"?

 

The Namco gun has two diodes. One is on the connector and there is another one underneath the electric tape.

Good to know, thanks =)

 

Looking at your PCB, you don't have any additional requirements for a diode. I'm not really a super technical guy when it comes to PCB design so I don't really know 100% but as long as that diode is place on the actual trigger line on the dpdt switch, it shouldn't be an issue.

Cool. I have that one in place.

 

I had a similar issue and mine fix was due to the way I was wiring up my 24v.

Very calming to hear that it can be fixed^^

 

I haven't made the V2 schematic yet, but Syntax would be your best bet. That's definitely something that shouldn't happen!

I pm'ed him yesterday. With a bit of luck he will see it and answer.

 

Edit: Looking at your PCB design again, I'm not sure if your mosfet is wired up correctly. Based on my transisitors I've got and spec sheet of it, you need to inverse your legs around so that your top leg is the one connecting to the resistor and the bottom let connecting to the 24v

Great. I will order some more timers and test this as soon as I receive it. Should be around the end of the week.

Edited by Boojakascha
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Parts arrived and I carried on trying. I carried on trying. I just inserted one timer IC1 (semi auto) and tried the NFET both ways. Now the gun won't fire. I see two possibilities:

- The timers are in resonance with each other.

- The gun is broken now.

I wait an see for Syntax. I have sent him two boards so he can check.

 

If this can't be figured out I think I will start making a similar Design myself.

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Thanks a lot. Your help is much appreciated. I think however I confused you with the pad geometry. It doesn't imply any identity. Just the labels do. The DPDT is wired to the board, not soldered onto the board. I have sent a PM which goes into each comment you have made.
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So I compared your suggestions and translated it for the situation on my board.

The most important thing:

- I read your original scheme that you connect the second common of the DPDT with the minus pole of the 24 VDC PSU rather than with the Gnd of the gun! I thought it is just connected the case of a pressed trigger. Do you mean it is supposed to be connected all the time? Wouldn't that short circuit it?? It is normally high!

 

Lesser important things we actually don't really have a discrepancy but you explained simplified to save time:

- Common 1 is connected over R4 to FET leg 1 (G) and not directly

- Semi setting of common 1 connects it not solely with the output of one timer, but also to FET leg 3 (S)

- Common 2 is connected over a diode with the trigger signal

- Auto setting of common 2 connects it not just to FET leg 2 (D) but also to the solenoid minus terminal

- Semi setting of common 2 connects it not to Gun Gnd but 24 VDC Gnd, and just while pressing the trigger to Gun Gnd (see first mentioned point)

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