New Sync Strike - Available Now!

[cyberaxe]

spent most of yesterday getting a working disk of the 240p test suite, after an hour of two calibrating the results aren't bad, colours washed out on snes but i discovered i was using my n64 cable without the resistors so i'll have to recheck, the Dreamcast logo and bios screens are not full height though for some reason.

I took some pics of the results and will post them when i get a chance.

I don't have a 6v power supply i can use for the sync strike but i tried powering it from the scart of the dreamcast and still got an RGBS signal even though that should have put it in RGBHV sync mode from what i could gather from the first post (i'm using the breakout cable from the sync strike to the gbs 8220)

Edit:
Couldn't find the cable i normally use for my SNES but i used my GameCube Scart and the Colours were brighter.

[joeh]

I have a US Model 2 Saturn with a SCART cable on the way. I'm looking at picking up a Sync Strike and a GBS8200 in order to connect it to a computer monitor. Since I'm from the US, I'm not too familiar with the SCART interface. Will it provide enough power to run the Sync Strike and the GBS8200, or will I need to purchase power adapters for one/both of the them?

Here is the SCART cable I ordered: http://www.segastyle.com/store/index.ph ... duct_id=81

[blizzz]

You will need a power supply for the GBS8200. The Sync Strike should work with the power from your SCART cable. If it doesn't get enough power from SCART, you can use a simple 2 wire cable from the GBS to the Sync Strike's screw terminal.

[joeh]

Thanks. Any recommendation for a power supply for the GBS?

Would something like this work? http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-2-1 ... wer+supply

[cyberaxe]

Thanks. Any recommendation for a power supply for the GBS?

Would something like this work? http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-2-1 ... wer+supply

That should work fine, as it's center posibive which is what you need and a minimum of 2 amps (my 1.5a adapter made a high pitched squeeling sound when connected to the gbs8220)

I've got a 2.6 amp adapter hooked up to mine now but it worked fine with 2amps, even when using the cable form the 8220 to power the sync strike off the same adapter.

[joeh]

Thanks. Any recommendation for a power supply for the GBS?

Would something like this work? http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-2-1 ... wer+supply

That should work fine, as it's center posibive which is what you need and a minimum of 2 amps (my 1.5a adapter made a high pitched squeeling sound when connected to the gbs8220)

I've got a 2.6 amp adapter hooked up to mine now but it worked fine with 2amps, even when using the cable form the 8220 to power the sync strike off the same adapter.

Thanks. I had ordered one through Ebay, but the seller hadn't included a PS with the GBS. I looked around the house and found an adapter. Plugged it in, but the GBS would lose signal every 2 seconds or so and the board was getting warm. Saw that the adapter was 12V instead of 5V. Scrounged around the garage and found a 5V adapter from who knows when that fit. It puts out 2.5 amps and now everything is working great.

[blizzz]

I looked around the house and found an adapter. Plugged it in, but the GBS would lose signal every 2 seconds or so and the board was getting warm. Saw that the adapter was 12V instead of 5V. Scrounged around the garage and found a 5V adapter from who knows when that fit. It puts out 2.5 amps and now everything is working great.

You're very lucky that you didn't fry the GBS. Normally 12V will kill 5V gadgets almost instantly.

[joeh]

I looked around the house and found an adapter. Plugged it in, but the GBS would lose signal every 2 seconds or so and the board was getting warm. Saw that the adapter was 12V instead of 5V. Scrounged around the garage and found a 5V adapter from who knows when that fit. It puts out 2.5 amps and now everything is working great.

You're very lucky that you didn't fry the GBS. Normally 12V will kill 5V gadgets almost instantly.

That's what I had thought, so I googled GBS8200 with 12V PSU and found a couple of sites mention that it would indeed work with a 12V PSU, just not for an extended period of time. I didn't think that I had a 5V PSU and wanted to make sure that everything was working OK as I'm going out of town for a week or so. Impatience got the best of me. Luckily everything worked out in the end.

[Stainomo]

Just got a syncstrike in but no luck getting it to work.

Pal Gamecube - official RGB cable - Sync Strike, no picture and no led

But seems there are some components missing on the PCB D1-D2-D3 are missing and they seem to be used in the power circuit. No battery for my multimeter so i can't measure the voltage at the chip nor can i see how the circuit works (bit unclear following the traces)

It's a newer revision without the sync jumper. Anyone here with such a syncstrike? Am i missing some components?

(I have the powersupply just not very certain which wire is ground and 5V so not going to risk it untill i get a battery for my meter)

[Stainomo]

And ignore my previous question, found the following picture



Which show a working sync strike without those components, hope i can get it to work with the 5V PSU.

[claushingebjerg]

Hi.
My question might have been answered before, but i did'nt have the patience to trawl through 15 pages. I hope its ok.

I bought the sync strike to hook up SNES, PS1, PS2 and the likes to my Sega Astro City 15khz arcade monitor via Jamma.

I already had a JPAC, so i thought that would be the perfect match as the sync strike outputs throught DB15 and JPAC takes DB15 in.
But it doesn't work... Just getting a dark, rolling monocromish image.

So my question is, what's the best way forward?
Im thinking a DB15 out of the sync strike to a Jamma finger board...
Would that work? And could anyone point me to some pin diagrams/drawings for doing this?

Or do any of you have a different approach to this?

Sorry for being a total noob

[mybook4]

Thanks. Any recommendation for a power supply for the GBS?

Would something like this work? http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-2-1 ... wer+supply

That should work fine, as it's center posibive which is what you need and a minimum of 2 amps (my 1.5a adapter made a high pitched squeeling sound when connected to the gbs8220)

I've got a 2.6 amp adapter hooked up to mine now but it worked fine with 2amps, even when using the cable form the 8220 to power the sync strike off the same adapter.

Thanks. I had ordered one through Ebay, but the seller hadn't included a PS with the GBS. I looked around the house and found an adapter. Plugged it in, but the GBS would lose signal every 2 seconds or so and the board was getting warm. Saw that the adapter was 12V instead of 5V. Scrounged around the garage and found a 5V adapter from who knows when that fit. It puts out 2.5 amps and now everything is working great.

I wanted to post this message in case others had a similar issue. I had a very similar sync signal issue (my GBS-8220 would lose sync every 2 seconds or so). I was using a 5V power supply though (rather than 12V). The supply I was using was only rated for 1.5A. Prior to encountering the issue, the 1.5A supply had been working well (no sync issues) over the past 6 months or so. I tried a 5V 2A power supply and the issue was resolved (no more sync issues). My guess is that the 1.5A supply was starting to wear out since it was working outside of its normal range.

[emuola]

Hi.

Having problems with my Sync strike and my latest buy Sony Bwm20-f1e. I bought a vga to bnc (RGB HV) cable, but I think the Monitor does not get any sync. The Sony wants Composite sync and I've measured that the white bnc connector is pin 13 on the vga connector on my cable (csync/vsync). So I've connected the colors and the white bnc to the monitors corresponding inputs.

I noticed that my Sync strike (bought many years ago) does not have any switch/jumper for csync/vsync and the current models do :/ What should I do to get the sync working with my monitor? I have tried 2 different 5v psu:s also. I haven't used the sync strike for years, but it did work before. Unfortunately I cannot test the sync strike with anything as I don't have any suitable display.

Here's (bad quality) picture of my Sync strike. I hope it helps.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=C ... file%2cjpg

[f5k]

Hi. im new here so please forgive me for my english but to the point what breaings me to this forum. i have a samsung monitor with tv tuner but picture anything other that hdmi/vga is scaled in edge adapting algoritm so picture from ps2/ps1 looks fake. I thinking about buy this sync strike, plug scart rgb and output to vga in tv and be free of this phony picture. but i read that any scan converters and procesors do aditonal lag and i dont want that and dont even know if ps2/ps1->sync strike->tv trough vga would work propely. i want to play my old consoles besides ps3/x360.
help.

[GeddonArchon]

Just ordered one of these with the us power supply. I have a rgb modded n64 but it does not output +5v to scart pin 8. It does work using a snes luma scart cable to xrgb mini but does not work going from scart to bnc breakout with a sync cleaner to an extron switch. So the sync strike sounded like a nice solution so I won't have to open the n64 and try to get +5v output. I should be able to run into the sync strike and power the sync strike itself and pass r,g,b,csync on to my extron switch. Even though it is becoming easier to find csync cables and builders who will install a sync cleaner into a console scart or bnc beak out cable, I'm glad a device like the sync strike exists. It looks to be an excellent tool for troubleshooting and providing a solution for a problem like I'm having with this n64.

[GeddonArchon]

A few questions. Are the RCA audio jacks inputs or outputs? I'm guessing inputs but I can't seem to find an answer on the site. Also this leads me to ask is there any English documentation for the device? I don't see any sort of manual or pinout diagram. I suppose it is pretty straight forward but I like to review manuals and docs before I get a device so I know exactly what I want to do when I receive it.

[blizzz]

The RCA jacks are outputs. SCART and power is input, the rest output. There's no manual that I know of, but the Sync Strike is pretty self explanatory. The only problem I see is the polarity for the power input, but it won't break if you plug it in incorrectly.

[nesboy43]

I wonder if I am having a power issue. I am from the US and am using the provided PSU/Adapter with Black and White going into 5V and Black going into GND.

I am using my PVM 20L5's RGBs outputs which I have a breakout cable plugged into (4 BNC (RGBs) cords, 2 RCA audio cords (not hooked into anything)) that goes to a SCART Female plug. From there I use a Male to Male SCART cable to go into the Sync Strike. Now, in all my testing and even swapping for different cables, I could not get the SyncStrike to work with the PVM 20L5 outputs.

However, if I plug my game system's SCART cable directly into the sync strike (aka not going through the PVM at all), it will work perfectly regardless of which way the switch is pressed.

Normally (no SCART power), if I hit the switch one way it will light up (power on).

However when SCART that isn't coming from my PVM's outputs (aka carrying power) comes in, it is lit up at both positions.

The same set of PVM outputs work fine for component. Does this sound like some sort of power issue? Anyone know what the problem might be?

[werk91]

I am posting my question here as I didn't get an answer in the Scart Switchers thread. Recently I have been reading a lot on RGBs, since I want to take the output from the Sync Strike but use a normal Scart output as opposed to the DSUB-15 port on the board.
The Sync Strike's screw terminals offer R,G,B, V and C. From my understanding they should be enough to properly connect a Scart cable on the other end that I can use to connect to my HDTV.

After some scouting the internet I found this forum thread that has explanation on how to do this with the terminal outputs :

Sync Strike_------------------------------------------------------__Scart

R,G,B_-------------------------------------------------------------__R,G,B
V (vertical sync 5v -> couple of 100 Ohm resistors) _--------__Pin 16 (the blanking, under 3v -> RGB mode)
C (composite sync 1v)_------------------------------------------__Pin 20
GND_--------------------------------------------------------------__Pin18 and also 4,5,9,13,17

As someone who has never soldered a solderless way to achieve this will be preferred. Last night I spliced an old PS2 Scart cable and connected the RGB, the yellow cable from Pin 20(to C terminal), the cable from pin 16 to V terminal, and the black one to GND (That particular PS2 Scart cable didn't have all those pins required for ground but pin 18 and another one definitely).

First I tried my PS2 in the SyncStrike and plugged my new hacked cable into the TV: Picture was stable and looked right in terms of colours. Then was the Wii going to the same TV : Stable picture with right colours all throughout except the top which has a moire (wavy) effect. I guess the sync isn't quite right here.. Then I tried with my MD2 which already has a CSYNC cleaner inside the Scart cable : Stable picture on one HDTV (newer one) but on an older one the picture keeps jumping from left to center every few seconds. Another sync issue I presume.

It seems I got somewhere but not with the desired result. Is there anything I can buy and repurpose so that I get the same good picture with all my consoles ?
I have seen Scart to RGBHV BNC cables that I can cut the ends of, but the Sync Strike has no H terminal..
What about those cables: SCART TO 4 BNC RGB COMPOSITE SYNC, Male RGBS break-out SCART to 4 x BNC + 2 x RCA ? Will it even work with only the C terminal ?

[vol.2]

Hello, I recently purchased sync strike and I'm having trouble with my setup.

I'm using PS2 to sync strike to extron rgb203 to pvm2030 (via DB25).

I am getting tearing/flagging at the top of the screen when I attempt to use ADSP with my extron RGB 203 interface. This is the reason I purchased the sync strike, because the Extron interface requires clean sync. I am using PS2 scart power, so 5v. I read that I may need more than 5v for sync strike, but I get a steady red LED, and the screen is okay below the very top portion. Also, the image becomes steady if I turn off ADSP on my extron interface, but it disables the HV controls, which is the whole point of what I was trying to do.
Can anyone help me? Is this a sync issue?


Here is a link to the screen tear. It's only the top inch or so.

Tearing https://imgur.com/gallery/dxU2V

[Fudoh]

I *think* it's a monitor issue. Or to be more precise a compatiblity issue between the Extron's sync output and this particular PVM.

You can try to connect the PS2 via component (just switch it to YUV in the menu), use the same cable. This way you get Luma on the G pin and the Extron can treat that like Gs (Green with sync) and output extract sync from that. You might be able to pinpoint the problem (but of course you won't get the right colors).

On the other thread you wrote that you tried changing the output sync polarity. This should reverse the function of DDSP switch as well. The switch will do the 480i/240p conversion as well. Do you want the Extron to output 480i from 480i titles or do you want it for that 240p trickery ?

[vol.2]

I *think* it's a monitor issue. Or to be more precise a compatiblity issue between the Extron's sync output and this particular PVM.

You can try to connect the PS2 via component (just switch it to YUV in the menu), use the same cable. This way you get Luma on the G pin and the Extron can treat that like Gs (Green with sync) and output extract sync from that. You might be able to pinpoint the problem (but of course you won't get the right colors).

On the other thread you wrote that you tried changing the output sync polarity. This should reverse the function of DDSP switch as well. The switch will do the 480i/240p conversion as well. Do you want the Extron to output 480i from 480i titles or do you want it for that 240p trickery ?

I'm actually playing mostly ps1 games on it with 240p only. I would ideally like the flexibility of 480i for certain PS2 titles, especially for games like metal gear solid 2&3. I could live with ps1 at 240p, PS2 games at 480i, but would love to get scan lines on my fighting games and shooters.

Also, when I reversed sync polarity with extron, I did not notice a difference, but I was playing Tekken 2 ps1, which I think is already 240p, so that is normal I think.

Edited: You mentioned SOG, I could try to output SOG from my extron because my PVM 2030 can take that with a switch. There is a toggle switch for sync on green.

Also, I'm not shy about opening up the PVM. Maybe it's the hfreq adjust pot?

Thanks for your feedback.

[Fudoh]

ou mentioned SOG, I could try to output SOG from my extron because my PVM 2030 can take that with a switch.
Also, I'm not shy about opening up the PVM. Maybe it's the hfreq adjust pot?

I don't know, but I can imagine that different sync signals will give you different results. I can imagine that even the c-sync output will bear different results than using H/V from the Extron and combining them yourself.

On my BVMs I tried to use use RGsB instead of RGBs whenever possible, and while (I think) you don't have that option on the PVM, I would try all other options.

[vol.2]

Okay, I started a separate thread about the extron-pvm2030 issue.

I have a couple sync strike questions though, if anyone knows.

1. are the RGB + Audio binding posts on the side of the sync strike inputs or outputs? They are described on the arcade forge site as "terminals" but not ins or outs.

2. what's the pinout on the DE15 connector? is it feeding V sync on the V sync pin as well as composite sync on the H sync pin? is there a diagram out there somewhere?

3. it seems like there are three sets of solder pads on the surface which could be jumped. I can't quite follow the traces, but it looks like maybe power for at least one of them. anybody know what those jump?

[traal]

Hi, I just received my Sync Strike, but it doesn't seem to be outputting csync at all to my OSSC. I've tried a csync cable (this one) from my PS2 and I also tried my Sega Genesis (Mega Drive). Both work fine connected directly to the OSSC. I'm using the 5V power adapter (a multimeter verifies that it's putting out 5V) and the green light is on. The OSSC is in RGBS mode on AV3 which is the DB15 connector. The VGA cable works elsewhere. What am I doing wrong? What kind of test can I do to make sure the Sync Strike is working?

Edit: Test #3 was an Amiga 500+ -> RGB-to-SCART cable -> Sync Strike -> HD15 cable -> OSSC, vs. Amiga 500+ -> RGB-to-HD15 adapter -> same HD15 cable as above -> OSSC. Again the sync signal seems to be completely blocked by the Sync Strike, unless I'm doing something wrong?

[evilsim]

I like the Sync Strike, so I built a replica. It has all the same circuitry as the "real mccoy" but includes an 8 pin mini din input socket too, also obviously it is not as pretty as the Sync Strike is. I found I needed sometimes to have TTL csync instead of just csync for inputting into my Startech PEXHDCAP60L and also sometimes my OSSC using AV3 (db15) RGBs input was picky too. Apparently the LM1881 outputs TTL csync ; but I could be wrong there.. The datasheet doesn't state that it outputs TTL sync, just csync... http://etim.net.au/nesrgb/rgb_connector.htm Tim Worthington explains a little about TTL sync and how some devices need it due to them lacking their own circuitry to adjust for the non TTL clean sync.

Anyway my DIY job works nicely. Now my Startech and my OSSC are happy with all my consoles, all via RGBs on AV1 or RGBsV on AV3 via my replica. I guess going a bit further and using an additional el4511 and 7374 RGB amp like the X-Sync might be overkill..

The term RGBsV does not exist but that's what it is.. You know.. RGB + s (csync on pin 13 of db15) + V (vertical sync output from LM1881 on pin 14 of db15). I don't know if the vertical sync even gets used or not by OSSC or Startech capture card.

Incidentally my Framemeister did not have problems syncing anything at all.
The OSSC on AV3 did have problems before and the Starttech capture card did before too, using .142. drivers on W10 x64.

[TobiasRieper]

I have been having trouble with my Sync Strike / GBS8220 /SLG 3000/ PS1 / PS2 / N64 setup . I get a really dark screen the rest of the picture is OK. I can turn brightness up on the TV and the scaler to max and it's still dark.

I have a 5v 2a DC power supply with the ground and positive wireside connected from the GBS8220 to the screw terminals on the strike. I am using RGB cables Sync through luma for the consoles (from retro gaming cabkes) . The 64 is RGB modded I did it myself with etim s board. I've connected the PS2 through component on the scaler and I get a wonderful picture with 60hz and 50hz games.

I've tried taking the SLG out of the mix but doesn't affect it. I've also tried switching between scart and psu power on the strike. Theres no other switches or Jumpers that I can see on the unit. The image is just so dark it's unplayable. I'm really hoping someone could help. Thanks

[evilsim]

TobiasRieper,
ive bought and modded a lot of the GBS-8200 boards (added a SCART socket and LM1881 stripper) and once I had a board which just was dark - this turned out to be a faulty GBS-8200. I tried changing the brightness etc on the GBS OSD to highest and it was still dark.

Alternatively you could try a different N64 SCART cable but since its happening with PS1/2 and N64 via their respective SCART cables it could be the GBS which is faulty for you too. The only was to determine this would be to buy a new one. Luckily I had a few GBS-8200's available at the time and I could send the seller pics to prove that the one unit I had was indeed faulty. There is always a small %age of faulty things from mass production / production lines. Hope you can get this sorted, the image on those GBS units is pretty slick (for its price)

As for this particular forum post though, there is really no way the SyncStrike could be causing you any of this darkness grief.

[TobiasRieper]

Evilsim,
Thank you for your help. You are indeed correct it's the GBS board. I've checked the whole setup over again and just by chance I noticed 3 little pots by the VGA port. I turned them all the way to the right even darker image so I turned them all the way left and hey presto! A nice bright clean, crisp image. After 3 hours of messing about I finally have a decent picture on NTSC games just got to do the copper foil trick for the PAL games snowyness.
Cheers mate I'm really pleased with the image that the board provides. Much better than those little black box converaters!

[P.H.U.]

Can someone confirm the following since much of the info and photos of this device seems to contradict itself or is inconsistent:

Are the screw terminals on the right side of this photo OUTPUTS or INPUTS?



If the screw terminals are OUTPUTS, is there a Video Ground (VGND) terminal? Because this photo shows what I believe to be VGND after R, G, B terminal outputs.



But the schematic doesn't show VGND as being available as a screw terminal:



Nor does this one (only R, G, B, H, V, C, Aud-L, Aud-R):



If there is no VGND on the terminal blocks, is the recommended way to wire up VGND to solder a wire from from pin 17 SCART solder pin? Or should I use use a VGA terminal breakout block to extract VGND?

Since I am a bloke from the US, I am hoping to adapt the function of this device to interface my consoles via SCART to my 15khz JAMMA arcade monitor (aka: CGA/Standard Res). Typically, these monitors require R, G, B, C-Sync, VGND so the VGND question is important to know.

There is mention here that the video signals are amplified. If so, is this regulated for all different consoles and outputted at a consistent level? What are those voltage levels?

Last thing, I think this will work for my needs. I wish this had is pots for CONTRAST/BRIGHTNESS however.

Thanks!