Questions that do not deserve a thread

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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

i want to utilize the horizontal center knob on my pvm 2030. in order to do this, i have to feed it a ttl signal; it does not function with an analog rgb input.

can i feed my pvm 2030 a 15khz rgb signal via the ttl inputs on the db25 connector and still get a usable picture?

https://www.manualowl.com/m/Sony/PVM-20 ... =17#manual
speedlolita
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by speedlolita »

I have a Qanba Q4RAF and plan to add a DB15 so that I can use it with my HAS supergun.

My question is: should I wire 5V between the DB15 connector and the Qanba’s PCB? In my head I’m thinking it isn’t necessary as the HAS is reading pure signals.
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FinalBaton
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by FinalBaton »

vol.2 wrote:i want to utilize the horizontal center knob on my pvm 2030. in order to do this, i have to feed it a ttl signal; it does not function with an analog rgb input.

can i feed my pvm 2030 a 15khz rgb signal via the ttl inputs on the db25 connector and still get a usable picture?

https://www.manualowl.com/m/Sony/PVM-20 ... =17#manual
Interesting... I have a Sony with the 34-pin connector and on mine the horizontal center knob works when plugged through it :| don't know how differently those buttons are wired on the 2 sets.
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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

FinalBaton wrote:
vol.2 wrote:i want to utilize the horizontal center knob on my pvm 2030. in order to do this, i have to feed it a ttl signal; it does not function with an analog rgb input.

can i feed my pvm 2030 a 15khz rgb signal via the ttl inputs on the db25 connector and still get a usable picture?

https://www.manualowl.com/m/Sony/PVM-20 ... =17#manual
Interesting... I have a Sony with the 34-pin connector and on mine the horizontal center knob works when plugged through it :| don't know how differently those buttons are wired on the 2 sets.

the h canter knob on the PVM 2030 has "digital RGB" printed underneath, and sure enough, it doesn't function with an analog signal on any input. (at least on mine)

for one thing, the analog rgb mode (set at pin 9) switches the input to C sync (or sync on green with a switch) and the low state switches it to H and V sync on different pins. the V only pin is TTL level only so it says

in order to try it, ill have to make an appropriate db15 to. db25 cable. i guess ill try that, and ill play with the peak control on my extron

hmm, are there any commercially available db15 to db25 cables that will just do it for this? prob not. sigh
RottenToTheGore
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by RottenToTheGore »

Using my CDX through the OSSC I noticed a lot of video...noise? Not sure of the term I'm looking for but kinda fuzzy, rolling up the screen, most noticeable on solid backgrounds. Confirmed the cable isn't an issue (Hooked a Genny 2 up with the same cable and didn't have the issue).

Any idea what could be causing this? I'm using an official PSU for the CDX as well.
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geiger9
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by geiger9 »

I posted about my Sony 14L5 a while back but never really found the time to mess around with it. The problem is that the flyback needs to be replaced. Forgive my ignorance on the matter, but would I need to find the exact part number for a replacement? If I can get another flyback with the same specs, would that work as well? Assuming the physical dimensions are near the same I suppose.
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vol.2
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by vol.2 »

geiger9 wrote:I posted about my Sony 14L5 a while back but never really found the time to mess around with it. The problem is that the flyback needs to be replaced. Forgive my ignorance on the matter, but would I need to find the exact part number for a replacement? If I can get another flyback with the same specs, would that work as well? Assuming the physical dimensions are near the same I suppose.
most times i look at a flyback transformer, there's a part number on it.

however, doing that sort of repair without experience is iffy. you should at least understand that it is risky. if you touch the wrong bits you can electrocute yourself. i believe that procedure involves taking off the annode with a screwdriver (or special tool) to discharge it

sorry if yhis is unwanted caution, but i would feel bad not saying it
Ikaruga11
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Ikaruga11 »

I'm thinking about buying some EverDrive flashcarts from Krikzz on Black Friday. However, I'm worried about potential future hardware revisions that would make anything that I buy now obsolete.

Is it possible for the Everdrive 64 to get savestates? Do you think the Everdrive 64 v3.0 can be improved any further?
What about the SD2SNES, EverDrive N8 Famicom, EverDrive-GB X7, EverDrive-GBA X5, and Mega EverDrive X7?
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

GeneraLight wrote:I'm thinking about buying some EverDrive flashcarts from Krikzz on Black Friday. However, I'm worried about potential future hardware revisions that would make anything that I buy now obsolete.

Is it possible for the Everdrive 64 to get savestates? Do you think the Everdrive 64 v3.0 can be improved any further?
What about the SD2SNES, EverDrive N8 Famicom, EverDrive-GB X7, EverDrive-GBA X5, and Mega EverDrive X7?
The only thing I can really speak to is that, to my understanding, the SD2SNES hardware is finalized and won't be changed/updated; that's why there was, for a while, some question as to whether it would actually support Super FX or SA1 games; so, I wouldn't expect there to suddenly be another SD2SNES revision.

Plus, if you're worried about what might come next with hardware revisions, you're always going to be putting off getting one in favor of the following revision. Personally, I would just get whichever EverDrives I want, and, if some groundbreaking revision appears in the next year or so, I'd order that and sell my existing one (likely here at shmups).
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Lawfer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Lawfer »

GeneraLight wrote:I'm thinking about buying some EverDrive flashcarts from Krikzz on Black Friday. However, I'm worried about potential future hardware revisions that would make anything that I buy now obsolete.
krikzz mentioned that he plans to update all his Everdrives to be on the same level as the Mega Everdrive X3/5, the Master Everdrive X7, the Everdive-GBA X5 and the Everdrive-GB X3/5/7, meaning better technology from the X line, however who knows when that will be.

So the current Nintendo 64, NES/Famicom, Game Gear and PC Engine might get better Everdrives some day, the Megadrive/Genesis, GBA, GB/GBC and Master System already have the newest stuff.

GeneraLight wrote:Is it possible for the Everdrive 64 to get savestates?
Savestates? I am not sure what that is but you can save your game just like on a regular N64 cartridge with an Everdrive v3 since there is a battery in there, for the game that require a memory card you would need a memory card.

GeneraLight wrote:Do you think the Everdrive 64 v3.0 can be improved any further?
In terms of hardware it's already good, if there are any additional firmware updates just download it and put it on your SD card that's it.

GeneraLight wrote:What about the SD2SNES, EverDrive N8 Famicom, EverDrive-GB X7, EverDrive-GBA X5, and Mega EverDrive X7?
If you are asking which is the best in my opinion it goes like this:

Best for SNES: SD2SNES
Best for Famicom/NES: Everdrive N8 (not like there's much else to choose from)
Best for GB/GBC: Either Everdrive-GB X5 or X7, whatever you prefer
Best for Genesis/Mega Drive: Mega Everdrive X5
Best for Nintendo 64: Everdrive64 v3
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

Lawfer wrote:
GeneraLight wrote:Is it possible for the Everdrive 64 to get savestates?
Savestates? I am not sure what that is but you can save your game just like on a regular N64 cartridge with an Everdrive v3 since there is a battery in there, for the game that require a memory card you would need a memory card.
Save states in the sense of cloning RAM and system state in order to resume processing at a later time, much in the same way save states in emulators function.

All I know is that the EverDrive 64 currently does not have this functionality; the closest functionalities to that, which aren't even along the same lines, are its built-in SRAM support, so any saves that would be on the cartridge, like with Super Mario 64, get backed up to and reloaded from the SD card; and the memory pak backup feature.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Lawfer wrote:krikzz mentioned that he plans to update all his Everdrives to be on the same level as the Mega Everdrive X3/5, the Master Everdrive X7, the Everdive-GBA X5 and the Everdrive-GB X3/5/7, meaning better technology from the X line, however who knows when that will be.

So the current Nintendo 64, NES/Famicom, Game Gear and PC Engine might get better Everdrives some day, the Megadrive/Genesis, GBA, GB/GBC and Master System already have the newest stuff.
But the Mega EverDrive X7 is already better than the X5 and X3. The EverDrive-GBA X5 doesn't have save state functionality, and the EverDrive-GB X7 is better than the X5 and X3, obviously.
nmalinoski wrote:Save states in the sense of cloning RAM and system state in order to resume processing at a later time, much in the same way save states in emulators function.

All I know is that the EverDrive 64 currently does not have this functionality; the closest functionalities to that, which aren't even along the same lines, are its built-in SRAM support, so any saves that would be on the cartridge, like with Super Mario 64, get backed up to and reloaded from the SD card; and the memory pak backup feature.
Yes, this. I did some research and apparently save states are not possible on the Nintendo 64 hardware due to the way it's architecture works.

http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=1547.0
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Lawfer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Lawfer »

GeneraLight wrote:But the Mega EverDrive X7 is already better than the X5 and X3. The EverDrive-GBA X5 doesn't have save state functionality, and the EverDrive-GB X7 is better than the X5 and X3, obviously.
That would be the natural assumption due to the fact that it is the "X7" higher number means better right? Well in that particular case it is not so, the Mega Everdrive X5 is better than the X7, the X3 and X5 models are using better and newer designs than the older X7 model, the issue with the X3 is that it does not have a battery, so X5 is the better choice.

However it seems that to you "emulator-like saves" means better, correct? Then yes in that case the X7 would be "better", however aside the save thing, the Mega Everdrive X5 is better than the X7 and as I said for the Everdrive-GB either the X5 and X7 would be fine, it depends on your tastes, as someone who does not care at all about the emulated saves function, I would get the X5, if someone likes the save function then they would get the X7.

The Everdrive-X5 is the only model available, so save function or no, there isn't much else to choose from.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

Whether the Mega EverDrive X5 or X7 is better is up to the buyer and his/her needs or desires. The model comparison on the product page for the X7 shows that it has quite a number of features over the X5 and X3 beyond save states, none of which are negated by virtue of the X5 and X3 simply being newer; so, if there's anything in that X7 column that you might want or need, then the X7 is probably better for you, and, f you don't need any of those features, then you can certainly save some money by picking up the X5 or the X3.

Unless there's something I'm missing where the X5 or X3 somehow perform better than the X7.
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Kez
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Kez »

The X5 was deemed to have better electronic design by DB Electronics last year during the controversial flash cart exposé.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

Kez wrote:The X5 was deemed to have better electronic design by DB Electronics last year during the controversial flash cart exposé.
That's great, but how does a better electronic design make the X5 an overall better product than the X7 when the X7 is ostensibly the more capable device?
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by thebigcheese »

nmalinoski wrote:
Kez wrote:The X5 was deemed to have better electronic design by DB Electronics last year during the controversial flash cart exposé.
That's great, but how does a better electronic design make the X5 an overall better product than the X7 when the X7 is ostensibly the more capable device?
Well, if it doesn't kill your console, I'd say that makes it better. I believe that was the point of that whole fiasco.
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Kez
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Kez »

nmalinoski wrote:That's great, but how does a better electronic design make the X5 an overall better product than the X7 when the X7 is ostensibly the more capable device?
I agree with you on that. This is the only reason I can conceive of (beyond price, obviously) that someone might forego the X7 in favour of the X5. People put differing weight on these findings, so I can see why someone might decide that the perceived risk outweighs the benefits of the X7.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

thebigcheese wrote:
nmalinoski wrote:
Kez wrote:The X5 was deemed to have better electronic design by DB Electronics last year during the controversial flash cart exposé.
That's great, but how does a better electronic design make the X5 an overall better product than the X7 when the X7 is ostensibly the more capable device?
Well, if it doesn't kill your console, I'd say that makes it better. I believe that was the point of that whole fiasco.
After reading the latest about the issue (if you can read through the personal jabs), and watching a nice, relatively-plain-English video on the subject, there isn't any risk to these consoles as far as I can tell. The primary concerns, which I believe are power leakage back into the console and out-of-spec/overvolted operation, seem to be unfounded.

Would be nice if Krikzz and René could come to an agreement, but that's up to them, and their feud doesn't seem to have any bearing the safety of EverDrives or other flash carts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by bobrocks95 »

Lots of mudslinging back and forth on that one. I think the fact that the newer Everdrives have proper voltage translators kind of points to it being a design flaw Krikzz already acknowledged he should fix- overvolting the flash chip may not hurt your console, but it doesn't make me feel great about how long the flash cart will last.

Didn't people have problems with that new Famicom 8-Bit Music Power cart being the typical Chinese bootleg running at 5V? That video's description reads:
If you try drive 5v logic into a 3.3v supply you can cause damage, however no bootleg cart does this. Whether it be Chinese bootlegs, Everdrives, ElCheapo's or high quality reproductions, careful consideration has gone into their design despite what some may say.
But I remember people having trouble running 8-Bit Music Power because of its voltage design and having to solder stuff to the board?? Or was it some unrelated issue?
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

bobrocks95 wrote:Lots of mudslinging back and forth on that one. I think the fact that the newer Everdrives have proper voltage translators kind of points to it being a design flaw Krikzz already acknowledged he should fix- overvolting the flash chip may not hurt your console, but it doesn't make me feel great about how long the flash cart will last.

Didn't people have problems with that new Famicom 8-Bit Music Power cart being the typical Chinese bootleg running at 5V? That video's description reads:
If you try drive 5v logic into a 3.3v supply you can cause damage, however no bootleg cart does this. Whether it be Chinese bootlegs, Everdrives, ElCheapo's or high quality reproductions, careful consideration has gone into their design despite what some may say.
But I remember people having trouble running 8-Bit Music Power because of its voltage design and having to solder stuff to the board?? Or was it some unrelated issue?
I was previously unaware of the 8-Bit Music Power thing. I found some information in a thread on famicomworld.com, and I found PCB photos in a review of this cart on aaltomies.wordpress.com, both of which suggest the cart is poorly-designed; something about a combination of non-5V-tolerant flash chips, a low-quality mapper, and a flawed PCB layout, as well as not having been tested with legit Famicom/NES hardware (supposedly only tested on clone consoles).

IANAEE, but, as far as I can tell, this cartridge wasn't designed to appropriately accommodate the differences in voltages, and either that or a different problem resulted in the cartridge not working in original hardware. There are one or two reports in that Famicom World thread that mention hardware failures, but there are no further details regarding precisely what failed or how (I believe this was also the case regarding the db-electronics article); I see more reports of the cartridge simply not functioning or not functioning as expected on original hardware--not without modification, anyway.

Contrast that to the Mega ED X7, which has been sold continuously for a number of years now with no concrete evidence (that I've seen) of it causing hardware failures, either by the console or the ED itself. The redesigns seen with the Mega ED X5 and X3 absolutely could be seen as an admission of a design flaw with the older Mega ED v2/X7, but any possible damage it could cause seems to me to be blown way out of proportion.
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Lawfer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Lawfer »

thebigcheese wrote:Well, if it doesn't kill your console, I'd say that makes it better.
Haha yeah, also recently krikzz released the Master Everdrive X7 that one won't kill your console either (unlike the older model).

bobrocks95 wrote:Lots of mudslinging back and forth on that one. I think the fact that the newer Everdrives have proper voltage translators kind of points to it being a design flaw Krikzz already acknowledged he should fix- overvolting the flash chip may not hurt your console, but it doesn't make me feel great about how long the flash cart will last.
Most of the newer Everdrives from the X line (with the exception of the Mega Everdrive X7) fixed all the problems that older models had, not to mention they are far more performant than older models due to better design and electronics, krikzz mentioned that he wanted to update all his Everdrives to that newer standards, so that would mean that the Everdrive for the N64, Famicom, GameGear and PC Engine will eventually be upgraded, he just recently did just that for the Master System Everdrive (despite the fact that he said that the Master System was the system which had the least sold units of Everdrives).
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by maxtherabbit »

if you look at the actual article on dbelectronics' site, he says the mega everdrive x7 is not optimal but not outright dangerous. IIRC the exact wording was "use sparingly"

in my opinion the X7 may have a nominally shorter service life, but it's not a realistic danger to the host machine
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by nmalinoski »

Lawfer wrote:...krikzz mentioned that he wanted to update all his Everdrives to that newer standards, so that would mean that the Everdrive for the N64...will eventually be upgraded...
I imagine a redesign of the EverDrive 64 would be low-priority. According to that original db Electronics article, both the N64 and GBA are native 3.3V; so this whole 3.3V/5V issue doesn't apply, right?

And, as an owner of an EverDrive 64, the current iteration feels plenty performant. Perhaps I'm just short-sighted in this regard, but what else could be improved with the ED64, besides maybe swapping the full-size SD slot for a MicroSD slot and maybe adding a button combination to change 64DD disks?
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Lawfer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Lawfer »

nmalinoski wrote:And, as an owner of an EverDrive 64, the current iteration feels plenty performant. Perhaps I'm just short-sighted in this regard, but what else could be improved with the ED64, besides maybe swapping the full-size SD slot for a MicroSD slot and maybe adding a button combination to change 64DD disks?
Update it to the current standard in terms of electronics, design and performance. The design and technology behind the older models is pretty dated in comparison with the improvements krikzz has brought forth in the last year.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Man, this is making me want to wait until next year's Black Friday sale.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by maxtherabbit »

GeneraLight wrote:Man, this is making me want to wait until next year's Black Friday sale.
tbh I would be shocked if the carts for sale next year were not just the exact same things he has now
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Ikaruga11 »

maxtherabbit wrote:
GeneraLight wrote:Man, this is making me want to wait until next year's Black Friday sale.
tbh I would be shocked if the carts for sale next year were not just the exact same things he has now
Yeah, you're right. I passed on getting them in 2016 and 2017. I'm not sure how much has changed since 2016. What EverDrives do you think are safe to use and won't likely get an update? I'll probably get an SD2SNES.
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by maxtherabbit »

GeneraLight wrote:
maxtherabbit wrote:
GeneraLight wrote:Man, this is making me want to wait until next year's Black Friday sale.
tbh I would be shocked if the carts for sale next year were not just the exact same things he has now
Yeah, you're right. I passed on getting them in 2016 and 2017. I'm not sure how much has changed since 2016. What EverDrives do you think are safe to use and won't likely get an update? I'll probably get an SD2SNES.
the only current productions ones I don't consider safe personally would be the game gear and master system

as for updates, we can only speculate, but the SD2SNES is supposedly "final" and the mega everdrive x3/x5 will probably not be updated - I'd imagine the game boy variants are also final

EDIT krikzz just tweeted out a minute ago the super ever drive was just updated - and I can see level translators on the cart :mrgreen:
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Lawfer
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Re: Questions that do not deserve a thread

Post by Lawfer »

GeneraLight wrote:Man, this is making me want to wait until next year's Black Friday sale.
But we don't know when or if he will ever release Everdrives for the N64, PC Engine, Game Gear and Famicom/NES using the technology from the X series.

GeneraLight wrote:I passed on getting them in 2016 and 2017. I'm not sure how much has changed since 2016.
Alot actually, many Everdrives got upgraded from Flash to PSRAM Technology (the X line), the issue with the 3.3v and 5v was fixed on newer models, quite a few Everdrives had hardware revisions etc

GeneraLight wrote:What EverDrives do you think are safe to use and won't likely get an update? I'll probably get an SD2SNES.
Not likely to get an update? Nobody knows that, there might always have newer models or newer revisions in the future.

You should be good getting the following now:

SD2SNES
GBA X5
Master Everdrive X7
Mega Everdrive X3 and X5
GB X3, X5 and X7

That's it.

Everdrives for the Nintendo 64, Game Gear, PC Engine, Famicom/NES are older designs who haven't gotten a new model in a while, these COULD get a newer model later as krikzz expressed that he would like to upgrade all Everdrive to the current technology, however nobody knows when or if though.

maxtherabbit wrote:the only current productions ones I don't consider safe personally would be the game gear and master system
Master Everdrive X7 got released recently.
Last edited by Lawfer on Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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