Fundamentals
The most important thing to understand about light guns is they only need to read the sync signal. They are not injecting any data into the video or any other weird stuff. They simply need the sync frames to coordinate the data that is captured by the lens and sent over the USB/Controller port wires.
Once you understand this point it becomes a lot more clear how and why light guns can be connected in certain ways.
Connecting Light Guns to your CRT
RGB via SCART
In most cases you will need a specially-made cable which has a "composite breakout" or "sync breakout" cable on it for attaching light guns. Retro Gaming Cables makes them. If you have soldering skills you could make your own by taking an RCA female plug and wiring it to pin 20 of the SCART connector.
If you are trying to do this with a Playstation 1 or 2, see the note below for an easy and cheap workaround.
RGB via BNC
If you have a professional monitor which has outputs tied to the inputs, you can plug your light gun into the output port. If this gives you sync problems (because the output is unterminated), you will need to figure out a set of adapters to allow you to plug in the light gun inline with your sync cable before it reaches the CRT's plug. This can be done with a combination of BNC gender changers, BNC to RCA adapters, and a Y or T splitter.
If you are trying to do this with a Playstation 1 or 2, see the note below for an easy and cheap workaround.
RGB or YPbPr via RCA
If your light gun has a T adapter (meaning one side is female and one side is male), you can simply plug it between the sync and your CRT as you normally would. If you are using a source that doesn't output sync (or you are using YPbPr), plug your light gun between the green (luma) plug and your CRT.
If your light gun doesn't have a T adapter and just has one male end to it, you will need an RCA Y-Splitter to give it a place to be plugged in between your luma/sync connection and the CRT. These can be found on Amazon.
S-Video
You cannot add a light gun to an S-Video connection easily. The luma part of a signal would work fine for it but a standard S-Video cable does not break apart luma and chroma to two plugs. You can buy an S-video breakout cable and then an S-Video combiner cable and put the light gun between the two on the luma connection.
If you are trying to do this with a Playstation 1 or 2, see the note below for an easy and cheap workaround.
Composite
For composite video you simply add the lightgun plug inline between your composite plug and the CRT. If your lightgun does not have a T-adapter, you will need an RCA Y splitter cale.
Playstation 1 & 2 Info
The easiest way to connect a light gun is via a special adapter called a "lightgun adapter". They are basically chinese clones of an old OEM Sony accessory that is hard to find - in this case they work perfectly and can be found on Amazon for less than $20.
They basically tap into your existing multi-av cable to give you a a composite and stereo output. You simply plug your light gun's yellow plug straight into the composite output and you're good to go. RGB SCART cable users get the added bonus of a stereo breakout from this adapter.
Guncon 1 vs. Guncon 2 vs "Normal" modes
Namco lightgun games require Guncon support from the lightgun in order to work. There are many 3rd-party lightguns which support either Guncon 1, Guncon 2, or both.
- Guncon 1 mode is to be used for Playstation 1 Namco games.
- Guncon 2 mode is for Playstation 2 Namco games.
- "Normal" mode (or if your gun doesn't have any mode switch at all) is for non-Namco games on either console.
Note: Playing Playstation 1 games on your PS2 still means your lightgun should be in Guncon 1 mode. It's specific to the console the game was made for, not the console version you are using to play.
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