WTB: ArcadeVGA AGP Card (the older versions)

apocalypto

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Hi, I am trying to find one of the older ArcadeVGA cards as my computer cannot handle the new one (no PCIe slot).

Thanks!
 
Just find a radeon card and use soft15hz software to flash the bios on the card so it ouputs CGA

The only downside with that is the 15hz doesnt kick in till windows loads. The monitor is hit with 30hz~ when the bios is loading etc and can damage the screen from what I've read.
 
Just buy the VGA to CGA converter. It is way cheaper than any 15K video card. I paid $35 total for mine about a year ago.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=31601&d=1270865631

It displays crystal clear. It will display everything including the bios and loading screen. No need to worry about monitor damage. Just plug it into the VGA output and 5volt power and then RGB directly to the CGA monitor and you're good to go. It also has a VGA pass through if you wanted another monitor for some reason.

Hong Kong, but worth the small wait:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VGA-RGBS-CGA-AV...0705997170?pt=Video_Games&hash=item3cb349d172
 
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wow that's very interesting, this is the first time i've seen these.

So just to clarify, I connect the cable from my monitor to that white block at bottom left of your picture? I have a Sanyo 20EZ Monitor and just had a look and cannot work out which cable that is....any pointers on how to find that?

Where is that 5volt power cable coming from? And is that just to power that converter board?

Then I connect a double ended VGA cable from that converter board to the connection on my PC graphics card?

Any requirements on the graphics card? I believe the one I have is a 256mb, not sure what chipset though.

Thanks!
 
It's very easy. The converter board needs 5V to power it. You can grab that from the PC's power supply, if that is what you are using. I still had my arcade switcher in there so that is where I grabbed my 5V from.
The CGA video out on the converter board is just 5 pins. You can get a harness made, but I just soldered wires to mine. From right to left is RED, GREEN, BLUE, GROUND, SYNC. Those wires go directly to the CGA monitor chassis video input. My Wells Gardner 25" needed the "SYNC" wire from the adapter to go to both negative H Sync and negative V Sync on the chassis.

Plug the converter to any VGA video card, does not matter how new. I would keep the resolution way down though because small text is hard to read on a CGA monitor. I think my Windows is set at 640 X 480.
 
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OK I think I'm almost there :)

I'm trying to get my head around the wires connecting the converter board and the monitor, please forgive me.

1. I still cannot locate the Video In on my monitor chassis. Am I looking for a molex connector attached to several colored wires? I cannot see a group of wires that look similar to the one you have connected to the converter board. I tried tracing cables going from my donkey kong pcb to the monitor but the only ones that looked similar went into the power supply.

Here are a couple of photos of my monitor chassis. Maybe you would be able to show me where the video in is:

Thanks again
 

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The converter's RGB output goes into the CGA monitor/ chassis video input. Which is labeled "Signal Input" on the Main PWB board (chassis). When hooking it up, make sure you hook up Red, Green, Blue, Ground, Sync in the correct order on the Sayno 20EZ. The pin header is BA2. Shown here in bottom left. BA2: Pin1: Green, Pin2: Red, Pin3: Blue, Pin4&5:Ground, Pin6: Sync.

sanyo_20ez_cap_map1Medium.jpg


SanyoBoardControls.jpg
 
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That cable looks like it might be fine, not sure on the exact size though. Plus it's using the arcade standard, not the 20EZ pinout - don't go by the colors on the cables. The 20EZ chassis' pinout again is: BA2: Pin1: Green, Pin2: Red, Pin3: Blue, Pin4&5:Ground, Pin6: Sync.

Here is the exact cable. You could chop one end off and solder it to the VGA to CGA adapter/converter.

http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=MONCBLNIN
 
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ok thanks for that. It's a bit more than I wanted to spend on a cable but if it does the job effectively its worth it.

I'll order one of those and that converter board now.

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I'll probably make a post on here with a guide about it for others to find easier.
 
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