Re: New vector monitor design.

Mark Jenison wrote:
>
> On May 23, 4:39pm, Zonn wrote:
> > Subject: Re: New vector monitor design.
> > At 03:54 PM 5/23/97 -0800, you wrote:
> > >I'll go ahead and toss this out again since I think it was only Joel and I
> > >talking about it *long* ago.
> > >
> > >I have an old B/W 12" monitor that came out of a bootleg Asteroids
> > >Cocktail. The interesting thing about it is that there are *very* few
> > >parts on the board. What the designers did, was use a pair of those
> > >STK0080 (I think that's it, it might have been the STK0050) audio amps for
> > >the deflection drive. (Think about 2"x3" hybrid package thing, they're in
> > >NTE/ECG/etc if you want to look them up.)
> > >
> > >The STK0080 are these big SIP package integrated audio amps like you'd find
> > >in a Fisher or low-end Sony consumer Receiver/Amp. Built in heat sink,
> > >etc. Put a (small) input voltage in one side, get bigger voltage and lots
> > >of current on the other side. Really easy to use. It makes a lot of sense
> > >actually-- you've got high current, reasonably fast transient response,
> > >overcurrent protection, over temp protection, etc.
> > >
> > >They run off of a + and - 30V supply. I keep meaning to trace through the
> > >board and figure out the exact schematic, but I have all these other
> > >projects...
> > >
> > >Anyway, Joel and I were thinking that this type of drive system along with
> > >a stand-alone HV supply based on some super-common/cheap HVT would be
> > >pretty cool. Neither of us wanted to/knew how to do the yoke design
> > >though...
> >
> > Didn't the Vectrex also use Audio Amp modules to drive the yoke?
> >
> > The only requirement on the module (beside current/voltage ratings), would
> > be that's it's feedback input be available on a external pin so that you can
> > run it in a current feedback mode instead of the standard voltage feedback
> > mode used to drive loud speakers.
>
> I know this is a little off topic, but apparently Rick Schieve once talked to a
> guy who worked at a planetarium which had a laser projection system, and the
> guy was interested in setting up Star Trek and playing it inside the
> planetarium. A 5 foot Klingon would look pretty cool! And hook up an audio
> system, and you've got the best vector game platform you can find! :-)

I toyed around with that idea last year. I think I told this story before
on a similar thread in RGVAC but...

I work with Videotopia and was there for the duration of it's showing at
the Carnegie Science Center in Pgh. the center has an omnimax theater
where they show 3-D lasershows nightly. I got to know the laser
projectionist pretty well, and were were playing around with the laser
system...it uses a 4 watt krypton (?) laser and split the beam into four
colors: red, Green, blue and one other color, I seem to recall it was not
white but I could be mistaken. anyway the inputs were like 10v P-P for
the laser bench (each beam had it's own galvo's and some kind of
intensity control, I dont know if it was an iris or what) but we devised
a voltage divider network on this PC card that dropped into the card cage
of the laser decoder box (the show is stored on S-VHS tapes, the video
signal holds the laser info) and all we had to do now was strip some
parts out one of our extra Tempest machines and make a 100 foot long
snake so we could put the control panel on the "hump" in the middle of
the theater (where the projector comes up) and play away! we basically
had it ready, but the laser projectionist (LASER Chuck!) got into some
trouble that is not related in any way to this project (but I cant go
into the details) but we could not go ahead with it. Bummer. I was
looking forward to playing Tempest on a 150' screen! we were soooo close
too.
We didn't know if the galvo's could keep up with the game (we wanted to
do Star Wars, but that would obviously overtax the galvos), but I guess
that would be dependant if the vectors reset at the center of the screen
each time. Atari games do this right? what about SEGA? at any rate, I
never had the chance to find out. :(

if anybody has an extra $250k laying around to buy a laser projector
system, you should give it a whirl!
 
we could also have tapped into the sound system for the sound too, they
had 8 or 10 channels (the laser booth only had access to 4 of the main
channels though) each with 2,500 watts of power running through these
huge JBL speakers behind the (acoustically transparent) omnimax dome.
I dont know if it would have done any justice to Tempest's cheesy sounds
though....maybe through an EQ.

they had a planeterium also which used a very high power B/W Vector
projection system. but I never tried anything with that stuff...
the guys that worked in there weren't cool enough. :>

Jeff
Received on Tue May 27 18:44:59 1997