Has anyone used a lightpen on Amiga?

[ferix]

Hi all
As you know, Amiga computers have direct support for lightpen into the hardware.
Has anyone tried one on his amiga?
I'm thinking on build one, but I don't know any software for It.
Could you point me any tool/software for lightpens?

[zipper]

http://main.aminet.net/pub/aminet/util/sys/Lightpen.lha - but it's really old...

[ferix]

Hmmm... thanks. It would be useful for testing the hardware.
But I was thinking on real applications, like painting sotware, etc..

[RobertB]

I'm thinking on build one, but I don't know any software for It.

There was the Flexidraw lightpen and program for the Amiga.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
http://www.sccaners.org

[Khephren]

Hmmm... thanks. It would be useful for testing the hardware.
But I was thinking on real applications, like painting software, etc..

I have a Trojan lightpen, it just takes over from the mouse. It works with all programs that support the mouse. All paint and 3d packages support it. It's quite precise, has two buttons on it. But it gets tiring quickly. I ended up getting a Tabby graphics tablet, and then a wacom. Outline sketching with the lightpen are still cool though, then I switch to the tablet for the rest.

It uses the tv phosphors to draw. It won't work on black areas of the screen (at least mine won't). You will need to turn the brightness up, so that black areas are a dark grey. I don't think it will work on an LCD.

[Gilloo]

Work only with CRT screens (=> don't work on modern LCD!!).
In fact the electronic beam hits a sensor in the pen, and can determine where is the spot on the screen.
It is not really cute to use. It might not work on all screen resolutions: 320x256 in PAL (320x200 in NTSC) should work, even in overscan, but with interlace, the lightpen is not able to make difference between odd or even lines.
With higher resolutions, a lightpen is not enough precise to draw anything.
Mouse or tablet are done for that job.
That why lightpen is not really usefull on Amiga...

[ferix]

I know It only works on CRT screens, and I know It's not the best technology...
But I want to try It, and build a lightpen is easy... so, why not?

[hardlink]

Hi all
As you know, Amiga computers have direct support for lightpen into the hardware.
Has anyone tried one on his amiga?
I'm thinking on build one, but I don't know any software for It.
Could you point me any tool/software for lightpens?

They are easy to build, but always check your local thrift store first If you just want to experiment, lightguns work on a similiar principle, and you used to be able to cheaply find lots of them from old game consoles in thrift stores, yard sales, etc. They can be converted for direct Amiga use as a lightgun for Actionware games:

http://www.amigans.net/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=160&cid=3

If it works and you like it, you should be able to hack the innards into a pen sized housing.

Come to think of it, I may have an Actionware Amiga lightgun somewhere in the boxes; hmmm.

[scuzzb494]

Hi all
As you know, Amiga computers have direct support for lightpen into the hardware.
Has anyone tried one on his amiga?
I'm thinking on build one, but I don't know any software for It.
Could you point me any tool/software for lightpens?

I have a few of these. Great fun in there day...

http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com/amiga/a_scuzz_may09/a_scuzz_may08_95.jpg

I always found drawing direct more accurate, and scanning stuff in .

scuzz
http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com

[motrucker]

I used a light pen years ago. I used it so much that I mounted a monitor in a desk top, with the screen facing up to use it.
Most of this was done on a C-128 (believe it or not!) but it spilled over to the Amiga too.

All in all a good drawing tablet is a much better option.