Weird Light Gun Issues

[Torr]

About 10 years ago I threw away my original light phaser. The nose sight was cracked off, therefor the barrel was held together with electric tape, and the pyramid shaped thingy was missing off the back.

Plus on top of all that it always shot to the right, and some games just flat didn't work.

 

Today. I bought another light phaser. Looks great. It always shoots to the right, and some games just flat don't work.

Apparently that old one DID work, as ugly as it was.

 

What's going on here?

 

In fact, there's even an extra wrinkle I skipped over... something strange happened BEFORE I noticed that this phaser too had the same trouble as old betsy...

 

I had my SMS hooked up with an A/V cable I got from somewhere in China on eBay within the last 5 years. Its works great. Gives a beautiful picture.

When I first hooked up the 'new' light phaser and tested it out (with Safari Hunt) it kept registering everything as an off-screen shot. It would let me select Safari Hunt on the boot up menu, because you just have to pull the trigger, but at the actual title screen it would just flash white with every shot, and you must shoot the screen to begin play.

Tried every cart I had. No go. I was bummed.

Then I thought... maybe, just maybe, that cheap aftermarket A/V cable has something to do with the Light Gun not registering. It DOES handle the video data.

So I hooked it up with just an RCA cable using an RCA/Coaxial adapter (screw RF Switchers!)... and the phaser worked!

That is, it worked as well as I mentioned above.

of the games I have:

Safari Hunt - Shots register SLIGHTLY to the right

Shooting Gallery - Shots register SLIGHTLY to the right

Gangster Town - Shots register MORE to the right

Rambo III - Shots only register in ONE spot to the left and down a bit from center screen

Rescue Mission - Haven't got a shot to register, (but I also gave that game the least amount effort/testing)

 

So what could be happening here? What is that cheap A/V cable doing to the video signal so that light gun shots won't register AT ALL.

I'm sure it's the A/V cable because the phaser works when I use RF, and I'm VERY (but not 100%) sure I used to have an original Sega A/V cable back when I had my original light phaser. I know I used an A/V cable, and it was old then.

 

Now, I've had 2 guns with the same issue on the same system... sounds like it could be the system itself.

Also, my SMS often gives a VERY scrambled picture (even with A/V cables) and I have to give it a little tap (or a GOOD tap ) to straighten it out; I feel like a character in an old Archie comic, smacking a TV to straighten the picture!

When I used the RF port.... ohmygod... it was hideous... just hideous... I think the RF port got toasted at some point...

First I thought no wonder my shots are in accurate... the friggin' screen is a hazy/fuzzy blur of interference.

BUT then I remembered, even with an A/V cable that worked, the old light phaser STILL had the same issues...

 

Could there be something on the motherboard that gets toasted, that, while leaving everything else working fine, will screw with Light Gun accuracy???

 

Guess I'm gonna have to get me another SMS and find out!

Edited June 30, 2017 by Torr

[CatPix]

What TV do you use? CRT or LCD?

The console doesn't "read" any feedback from the TV. So your cable shouldn't be any trouble. If it's a CRT, is it recent? TV sets from the 2000's act like LCD in that the picture from A/V output is digitalized to be filtered. That would cause delay in the display, causing your gun to register hits being shifted on the side like you mention.

RF being more noisy they might not apply so much filtering because it would degrade picture quality rather than improving it.

[Torr]

The TV is a CRT.

Sanyo.

From Wal-Mart... same day Resident Evil 4 hit the GCN; I waited for EBGames to open, then went and bought a nice (HAH!) TV to play it on!

 

So yup, it's modern...

 

I also have a memorex I can try... it's a vcr/tv combo unit... just checked the back... says manufacture date, October 1999

I'll give it a try

 

 

 

As for this quote... my issue is backwards... i get NO shot recognition with the A/V cable, and maligned shots with the RF

 

TV sets from the 2000's act like LCD in that the picture from A/V output is digitalized to be filtered. That would cause delay in the display, causing your gun to register hits being shifted on the side like you mention.

RF being more noisy they might not apply so much filtering because it would degrade picture quality rather than improving it.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Torr

[Torr]

She shoots like a dream on the Memorex!

 

I'm sure I would have tried it on this TV eventually... but I always thought all CRTs were made the same, well, untill you hit the fancy CRTs with VGA and HDMI inputs

But I figured otherwise all cheap standard CRTs would built pretty much the same..

Something to keep in mind when scavenging... light gun games are a part of keeping a CRT in my collection!