Cruis'n USA with an LED monitor!! pics, video

[ArcRevival]

I am on the verge of going this route for one of my Cruisns. As mentioned by several, would never do it to an 80's game but on these driving games it makes sense.

Would love to see some pictures of the install if possible and know the model number of the TV.

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

Re: 80's games.

At present, there are enough parts around. Eventually, we'll have to do it, or not play them anymore. CRTs are becoming harder and harder to find.

How many threads have I read where "I can't get X part" or "I can't find a fly for this monitor?"

Too many. The day is coming soon - we'll need to adapt to the new stuff, or learn to play blind games.

 

[keithsarcade]

I am on the verge of going this route for one of my Cruisns. As mentioned by several, would never do it to an 80's game but on these driving games it makes sense.

Would love to see some pictures of the install if possible and know the model number of the TV.

I have posted most of the pictures already in this thread. The TV I used is an Insignia NS-29L120A13 29" LCD TV. Best Buy just discontinued it. They have another Insignia 29" but it has a DVD player built in and is more expensive. But the one I got fit perfect as I mentioned. You can get anything in there really as long as it isnt over 28" wide. You just need to make sure whatever you use has a VGA input. Some of the newer models are doing away with that port for some reason. To get power to the TV I just took an old household extension cord, cut the recepticle end off and spliced it into the power connector for the original monitor. The TV I used will turn on with the game and alway's goes right to the last channel you left it on (VGA in this case).

The mounting was easy. Use pegboard. There's 6 existing bolts in the cabinet (3 top, 3 bottom) where the original monitor mounts. Use those same bolts to mount the pegboard. I had to expand a few holes but it works great. Same goes for mounting the TV directly to the pegboard, just get some of the right thread screws at your hardware store (I went to Ace) and again expand holes and make larger holes for ventilation and for cords to feed thru. The pegboard is a little flimsy but when the TV hugs the glass it's solid. Pegboard also makes it easy to ensure you are mounting the screen dead center and straight.

Also as mentioned in my video, expand the power cable so that you can make adjustments to the converter from the front. Once you have your settings the way you want them then you can mount it wherever you want to in the cab (mine's mounted in the back). The converter saves all your settings so you shouldn't need to worry about that.

Hope this helps.

 

[monster kong]

lcd conversion

great job.
id like to see how you mounted from the inside exactly. ur mounting ideas sounds better than what i have did.
ive converted quite a few machines with lcd with my own "recipe" and id love to see how you mounted yours.
also, its best to get a lcd or led PC monitor instead of a tv as all tv's wont turn on automatically as u found out when you were testing the "unplug while its on method" at the store...lol
i used to do the same thing..
also, many PC led or lcd frequency can drop down low enough to do med res or even standard res with no need for a converter believe it or not.
i have had great success needing no converters with acer and asus lcd.
i buy the 27 inch lcd or led for games that have stock 25 inch or 27 inch tube monitors.

if u only have the rgb wires, you can buy a vga male terminal and figure out the vga pinouts and solder your rgb wires accordingly..
then, voila...ur cab has a vga connector ready to plug into an lcd.

 

[Rampage1968]

I just converted one of my cruis'n world cabinets using the GBS-8220 converter and a new Vizio 29" LED LCD TV. I am very happy with the results. Huge improvement over the original CRT monitor.

To keep the image stable I had to use the 800x600 setting. Is this normal? I tried to set it to 1360x768, but it would overheat and the image would fade and distort. I did set the clamp settings as recommended, but it could not maintain the higher resolution. I also tried 1024x768, but it left a vertical black strip on the RH side of the TV, even when the TV was selected to stretch the image. Adjusting the converter's horizontal stretch did not fix it.

What is everyone using for output resolutions?

 

[Gumbo]

LOVIN this thread - keep it alive! I have a SF RUSH and RUSH Rock. The rock monitor is running great but the SFR fades out and has vertical lines. Weve played with all the adjustments and it just doen't seem fixable. My pal thinks I should pull the chassis and have it gone over by a tech. I'd rather swap in a flat panel and be done with it. Now i just need to figure out what monitor and converter. Reading thru these 5 pages has made my day already! KONGman I'd like to learn more about the PC conversions - maybe start a thread on it when you have time?

 

[ArcRevival]

I bought a 26" flat screen to put in one of my Cruisns. I will see how it goes. Looks like there is room to mount it in front of the old monitor mounts ?

 

[mlenardon]

I would not recommend using extension cords for any type of wiring that is very against codes. Splice an original monitor connector to the end of the TV cord or wire in a proper plug in the cab. Other than that there are several fighting and driving games that LCDS would be fine in.

Michael

 

[DarrenA]

About the Above post^^ I agree about extension cords. But why would you even need one?? Every one of these TV's (monitors) I have ever seen had a 3 prong PC style plug on them. Lop the male end off and wire it direct to the power block. They sell 6' PC power cords so..... Just my 2 cents

 

[keithsarcade]

How is that against code? It's the same gauge wire going to a safe transformer and fuse block. Furthermore we're not talking about building a house. We're talking about wiring up an LCD in an arcade game.

 

[srarcade80]

How is that against code? It's the same gauge wire going to a safe transformer and fuse block. Furthermore we're not talking about building a house. We're talking about wiring up an LCD in an arcade game.

I think its unclear on how the extension cord was used, maybe theres some confusion. In any case, I always fall back on this old standby on any job: "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right" -Hunter S Thompson

 

[twistedsymphony]

Maybe I'm missing something buy why wouldn't you just use a purpose build arcade LCD like this: http://www.wellsgardner.com/products/details.asp?sPartNum=WGF2679-SSAS25B

instead of trying to shove an HDTV in there?

I realize the store bought LCD is probably cheaper but I'd venture a guess that the WG model above looks/works better, they even sell bezel kits so the bezel sits flush with the flat screen.

 

[ccosby]

Maybe I'm missing something buy why wouldn't you just use a purpose build arcade LCD like this: http://www.wellsgardner.com/products/details.asp?sPartNum=WGF2679-SSAS25B

instead of trying to shove an HDTV in there?

I realize the store bought LCD is probably cheaper but I'd venture a guess that the WG model above looks/works better, they even sell bezel kits so the bezel sits flush with the flat screen.

While that screen has come down in price it is still a good bit more expensive. Depending on the cabinet the bezel kit may not work anyway so one will have to make their own.

 

[keithsarcade]

Agreed. When I was looking at LCD's they were still running around $450 plus shipping, and that's minus the bezel kit. After taxes and shipping I spent around $240 on the TV, adapter and VGA cable.

With that said, I do believe you get what you pay for and the WG is likely a better alternative if you want to spend the money on it.

 

[twistedsymphony]

I think my biggest issue with the widescreen solution is you're always going to be downgrading the size.

if the game had a 25" 4:3 originally you would need a 30.5" 16:9 LCD to maintain proper height or a 28.25" 16:10 LCD

where the OP went with a 26" 16:9 it's effectively a 21" 4:3 monitor now assuming maximum height and the width scaled to match
you can run the calcs here:
http://www.draperinc.com/projectionscreens/CustomSizeCalculator.asp

The problem is that most widescreens, even 16:10 (which is slightly more desirable for these situations) are too wide once you're going for something large enough that you can maintain the original size.

For instance: I looked into replacing a 25" 4:3 CRT with an off the shelf LCD. HansG makes a 28" 16:10 LCD, which would allow me to maintain a full 25" 4:3 image... however the screen is 26.26" wide and the space between the sides of the cabinet is only 25.5" maybe you could pull it out of the case and free up some space but it would be extremely tight.

 

[Blades]

Just as a note.... The above TV that the OP uses would work great for the Sit-Down model of Crusin, but if you have a Stand-up model like myself. You are limited to finding a monitor or TV that is no more than 25" wide. Otherwise it won't fit.

Just an FYI for anyone with a Crusin USA standup model.

Carry on....

;

 

[doodlesdaddy]

Wow, this thread wont die!! As the thread starter a couple years ago, I just wanted to update that it is still working flawlessly, absolutely not one problem. Screen has always powered right up, converter board has done the same.
In my experience, any old crt medium rez monitor would have needed some attention in all this time, and I also think this LED screen picture is 150% better image.

Just an update, since this thread has stayed alive these last couple years!!

 

[ArcRevival]

Today I installed my LCD in my cruisn sit down. It powers on and holds the VGA setting as needed. I had to adjust the clamp as mentioned and then picture looked great. Got it mounted in, still need to finalize the install. I got a converter board that came without a power cord, just soldered a wire on and ran it to the +5 . I had the game running next to a stand up cruisn with a rebuilt Neotec and the side by side comparison really showed how great the LCD looks.

The monitor is on sale for $129
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex&#...HDTV/5211645.p?id=1218625309626&skuId=5211645

 

[ArcRevival]

Here are some pics of my install.

I used the original brackets in their original positions and put metal pieces to bolt the monitor to.

I tapped into the +5 at the molex from the power supply to power the converter board. I pulled out one of the +5 pins, cut it off, twisted the wires together, crimped on a new pin and put it back in the housing.

I cut the end off the power cord for the new monitor and crimped on pins and put a molex on it to plug into the original monitor power cord.

Fired it up, did some adjusting ( make sure you adjust the clamp on the converter board) and it looked pretty good.

Picked up a piece of black heavy construction paper/poster board from Target for 77 cents, it was the perfect size. I did not have to cut the width or height, just had to cut out the middle. Looks a little amateurish but not too bad.

 

[FrizzleFried]

I'm just really sensitive to the squish/stretch... it would drive me nuts. I so wish there were 26" 4:3 LCD monitors out there... cheap.