From max@hitl.washington.edu Fri Oct 15 16:26:37 PDT 1993 Article: 10483 of sci.virtual-worlds Path: news.u.washington.edu!stein1.u.washington.edu!scivw From: Max Minkoff Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: TECH: VictorMaxx Stuntmaster Pinouts Date: 13 Oct 1993 23:32:29 GMT Organization: None given Lines: 114 Approved: scivw@u.washington.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <29i36d$4nv@news.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu Originator: scivw@stein1.u.washington.edu Dear sci.virtual-worlds readers, As many of you may already know, the VictorMaxx Stuntmaster HMD has begun hitting the shelves nationwide over the past few weeks. It is a low resolution, bi-ocular monoscopic display (two eyes, one screen) intended for use with Super NES and SEGA Genesis retailing for about $200. Within the coming months we will be coming out with higher resolution monocular and bi-ocular HMDs for use with PCs and compatibles as well as Nintendo, SEGA, and other platforms. Our top of the line binocular, high-res HMD with tracking is expected to sell for well under $500. We have already received calls from people who want to use the Stuntmaster with their PCs, etc. While we didn't design the Stuntmaster for PC applications, we want to encourage creative solutions using VR and our headsets. To save people time and effort in reverse engineering the pinouts for the Stuntmaster, we'll provide the pinouts and some notes both at the end of this posting and as an addition to the FAQ. Furthermore, if there are other specific questions regarding the use of the Stuntmaster that I can help you with, please get in touch with me at . VictorMaxx would like to help support the VR community as best we can. This includes not only technical support in the use of our products, but in the development and licensing of VR technology and products that you would like to bring to the marketplace. If you would like to discuss current VictorMaxx products, suggest new products, or bring us new ideas or technology, please feel free to contact me at the address above. Parts for an adapter from the 15-pin connector on the Stuntmaster to NTSC, power, and joystick should cost about $15 from Radio Shack. This assumes, of course, that you have an NTSC convertor for your PC. Alternatively, you can purchase an adapter by contacting . The price is expected to be somewhere between $30 and $40. REMEMBER! The Stuntmaster is an NTSC device: You must have a VGA to NTSC converter to use it with your PC. Future versions specifically made to work with the PC will not need this kind of adapter. NTSC adapters typically cost somewhere between $150 and $300. Technical Specs: Resolution: 240x86 color triads Field of View: 17 degrees Weight: ~2.5 pounds These are the pinouts for the VictorMaxx Stuntmaster: Pin # Super NES mode SEGA mode 1 +6V 2 Gnd 3 Data SEGA R in 4 Clock N/A 5 Latch SEGA L in 6 Gnd 7 Vcc (+5V) N/A 8 N/A 9 Gnd 10 Video in 11 Data SEGA R out 12 Latch SEGA L out 13 Gnd 14 Audio L 15 Audio R NOTES: 1. The Stuntmaster issues a "left" signal when the player turns his/her head to the left and a "right" signal when the player turns to the right. 2. There are two modes - scroll mode and scan mode. In scroll mode, the Stuntmaster will issue a directional signal as long as your head is turned off of center. In scan mode, a signal is issued as long as you are turning your head. When you stop turning, the directional signal stops. E.g. if you are in scan mode and you turn your head 30 degrees to the left, a left signal will be issued all the while that you turn through those 30 degrees, but will stop signalling when you stop turning. When you then turn back to the right, right signals will be issued, even though your head is to the left of center. SEGA only supports scan mode, but Nintendo supports either mode (use dip switch 3 to control mode - on is scan, off is scroll). 3. The sensitivity adjustment controls how many degrees you need to turn your head to issue a signal. 4. Super NES uses serial communication. There are three lines: Latch, Data, and clock. Data uses a 16 bit word, turning bits on and off to signify the state of the various button inputs. This word, containing head tracking information, is then sent to the CPU on pins 11 and 12. 5. SEGA Genesis uses multiplexed (2x4) parallel communication plus two independent lines for up and down. The right and left are sent to the CPU on pins 11 and 12. For more information on the SEGA and Nintendo protocols, please refer to the appropriate resources. Hope this helps!! Max ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Max Minkoff 3501 Woodhead Drive, Suite 3 Director of VR Technologies Northbrook, IL 60062 VictorMaxx, Inc. (708) 291-7666 max@mcs.com (708) 291-1378 (fax)