gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thread

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Valandil
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Valandil »

Awesome, thank you superg!
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

Diggs wrote:Hi! I wonder if theres any status update on 5.3 sales? I'm very tempted to buy one, but a bit uneasy since last update was back in the beginning of january and point of contact is this thread afaik.

I have, maybe a bit "tricky" setup, and I'm not very deep into the technical sides of these things, so I will add a support question as well.

My current setup:
Bang & Olufsen MX7000 + a BeoCenter 1
PAL Nintendo Wii with the PAL-specific RGB scart from retrogamingcables.
NTSC-J Super Famicom with RGB scart from retrogamingcables
NTSC-J Dreamcast, waiting for retrogamingcables to stock up RGB scart
NTSC-U NES, still on composite, but debating rgb mod it

I'm not very afraid that the gscart wont support all of them, but my concern is if I have to take some caution in regards of the settings. This setup, when swapping between consoles. The PAL specific rgb cable for Wii the most. I use my softmodded Wii to run NTSC gamecube games. This, out of the box with the RGB cable gave me some headache as it was only displaying black and red picture. LUCKILY there was a setting in Nintendont to Force PAL60 (with an deflicker option) to solve this and get a steady picture at least. Could this cause issues if I'm not switching settings on the gscartsw when swapping consoles?

Again sorry about this maybe noob question. Hope I can get a clear answer on this topic, and of course if it's OK to place an order now withouh having to wait in vain.
If you read this thread backwards you will see some recent updates. Like couple of posts back.
There shouldn't be any problems given that your cables are fine. PAL60 is not a problem and changing console output settings on the fly is not a problem either.
Kinesis
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Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:42 am

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Kinesis »

Hello, I placed an order yesterday for a Gscart ,from reading the recent posts ,there should be enough to fulfill my order?
Thank you in advance
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

Kinesis wrote:Hello, I placed an order yesterday for a Gscart ,from reading the recent posts ,there should be enough to fulfill my order?
Thank you in advance
Yes, I have here much more units than pre ordered. When I ship all pre-orders, I change my store page to "in stock". Just be patient.
Diggs
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:15 pm

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Diggs »

superg wrote:
Diggs wrote:Hi! I wonder if theres any status update on 5.3 sales? I'm very tempted to buy one, but a bit uneasy since last update was back in the beginning of january and point of contact is this thread afaik.

I have, maybe a bit "tricky" setup, and I'm not very deep into the technical sides of these things, so I will add a support question as well.

My current setup:
Bang & Olufsen MX7000 + a BeoCenter 1
PAL Nintendo Wii with the PAL-specific RGB scart from retrogamingcables.
NTSC-J Super Famicom with RGB scart from retrogamingcables
NTSC-J Dreamcast, waiting for retrogamingcables to stock up RGB scart
NTSC-U NES, still on composite, but debating rgb mod it

I'm not very afraid that the gscart wont support all of them, but my concern is if I have to take some caution in regards of the settings. This setup, when swapping between consoles. The PAL specific rgb cable for Wii the most. I use my softmodded Wii to run NTSC gamecube games. This, out of the box with the RGB cable gave me some headache as it was only displaying black and red picture. LUCKILY there was a setting in Nintendont to Force PAL60 (with an deflicker option) to solve this and get a steady picture at least. Could this cause issues if I'm not switching settings on the gscartsw when swapping consoles?

Again sorry about this maybe noob question. Hope I can get a clear answer on this topic, and of course if it's OK to place an order now withouh having to wait in vain.
If you read this thread backwards you will see some recent updates. Like couple of posts back.
There shouldn't be any problems given that your cables are fine. PAL60 is not a problem and changing console output settings on the fly is not a problem either.
Thanks for the reply boss! I did infact put up an order just mins after posting here anyways, had a good hunch ;) Cheers from Norway.
Parodius79
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Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:45 pm

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Parodius79 »

Hi there. Could someone here help a fellow user of the awesome gscartsw?

I just got a MSX2+ (an upgraded Philips NMS 8245) and I wanted to connect it, along with my other retroconsoles and computers, to my B&O MX7000 CRT via the gscartsw RGB switch, using the AV out of the MSX with a male-to-male SCART cable.

However, I only get a black screen with rolling green lines - nothing else. My other consoles play absolutely fine through the gscart. Also, when I connect the MSX directly to my TV, it does not have any issues: pristine RGB signal. When I toggle the Gscartsw dipswitches (sync regeneration, sync on green), no results. I have used various SCART cables - from cheap to expensive - and the result is the same.

Anyone else have experiences with the gscartsw and the MSX? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
naz
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by naz »

Hi, I would like to use only one power supply for a gcompsw and a gscartsw lite (the power consumption is around 100 mA each with a 500 mA power supply, so it should be fine).

I think it should be like this:

1: Use the power supply that came with the gscartsw lite
2: Connect the power supply to a power splitter (2.1 mm female to two 2.1 mm males)
3: Add a 2.1 mm to micro usb adapter to one of the males.
4: Connect the miscro usb to the gcompsw
5: Connect the free 2.1mm male to the gscartsw

Here are links for the splitter an adapter:

Power Splitter:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Power-Split ... 1438.l2649

2.1mm to micro usb adapter:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Barrel-Jack ... 20f1bb99f0


Is all the above ok?? or am I missing something??

Thanks
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

naz wrote:Hi, I would like to use only one power supply for a gcompsw and a gscartsw lite (the power consumption is around 100 mA each with a 500 mA power supply, so it should be fine).

I think it should be like this:

1: Use the power supply that came with the gscartsw lite
2: Connect the power supply to a power splitter (2.1 mm female to two 2.1 mm males)
3: Add a 2.1 mm to micro usb adapter to one of the males.
4: Connect the miscro usb to the gcompsw
5: Connect the free 2.1mm male to the gscartsw

Here are links for the splitter an adapter:

Power Splitter:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Power-Split ... 1438.l2649

2.1mm to micro usb adapter:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-Barrel-Jack ... 20f1bb99f0


Is all the above ok?? or am I missing something??

Thanks
No, it's not ok. The MicroUSB voltage is +5V and 2.1 barrel plug is +9V. The range is a bit wider for gscartsw_lite but not wide enough and you risk killing your gcompsw with 9V power supply.
You can share the power supply if both gscartsw and gcompsw have microusb (newer gscartsw does).
naz
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Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 5:26 pm

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by naz »

Good thing I ask (thanks). I'll keep boths and just get a new power sucket.

Cheers
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

I dropped off most of the gscartsw orders yesterday.
The March 15-23 orders will be shipped tomorrow.
gscartsw is in stock.
JickMagger
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by JickMagger »

i get a green stripe that scrolls up the screen when i have 2 gscartsw daisy chained together. this only occurs when there is no sync and no console is powered on. unplugging the green line to the monitor removes this bar. is this somethign i should be worried about? when a console is on everything works wonderfully, i just want to make sure im not harming anything when everything is off.
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

JickMagger wrote:i get a green stripe that scrolls up the screen when i have 2 gscartsw daisy chained together. this only occurs when there is no sync and no console is powered on. unplugging the green line to the monitor removes this bar. is this somethign i should be worried about? when a console is on everything works wonderfully, i just want to make sure im not harming anything when everything is off.
I'll just copy-paste my email reply here:
"When no console is turned on and you see something on your monitor (lines, flickering, garbage etc), it means that one of your inputs is providing something on the sync line. That can be RGB2COMP, that can be COMP2RGB because Mike defaults to logic high when nothing is turned on. There can be other equipment which does it. Unplug all your inputs one by one until this disappears, this way you can identify which input is giving you trouble. Neither gscartsw nor gcompsw provide any sync if nothing is turned on."
That's purely cosmetic issue which is safe to ignore.
bulbafett
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by bulbafett »

I just got mine in the mail and I'm super excited to hook it up.

I glanced through the first few and the last few but couldn't easily find an answer. I need a male to make cable to hook this into the upscaler I use for my TV. I can buy cable but most places show out of stock or month+ delivery time.

I have a few old cables i can cut up and 1 or 2 SCART connectors from old projects. Is there a schematic for the male to male cable?
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

bulbafett wrote:I just got mine in the mail and I'm super excited to hook it up.

I glanced through the first few and the last few but couldn't easily find an answer. I need a male to make cable to hook this into the upscaler I use for my TV. I can buy cable but most places show out of stock or month+ delivery time.

I have a few old cables i can cut up and 1 or 2 SCART connectors from old projects. Is there a schematic for the male to male cable?
retro-access.com opens order purchase window only for an hour or something, everything is made to order so I suggest to check their website for the instructions how to order. You want a good cable not to have audio buzz caused by poor shielding. Other than that, SCART male-to-male is pretty straightforward, you will need to directly wire RGB pins and ground and cross wire composite sync and audio left / audio right wires (input to output and vice versa), check connector pinout and you will understand.
ldeveraux
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by ldeveraux »

bulbafett wrote:I just got mine in the mail and I'm super excited to hook it up.

I glanced through the first few and the last few but couldn't easily find an answer. I need a male to make cable to hook this into the upscaler I use for my TV. I can buy cable but most places show out of stock or month+ delivery time.

I have a few old cables i can cut up and 1 or 2 SCART connectors from old projects. Is there a schematic for the male to male cable?
Just get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/KabelDirekt-Multi ... B01DYELZXE
Diggs
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Diggs »

ldeveraux wrote:
bulbafett wrote:I just got mine in the mail and I'm super excited to hook it up.

I glanced through the first few and the last few but couldn't easily find an answer. I need a male to make cable to hook this into the upscaler I use for my TV. I can buy cable but most places show out of stock or month+ delivery time.

I have a few old cables i can cut up and 1 or 2 SCART connectors from old projects. Is there a schematic for the male to male cable?
Just get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/KabelDirekt-Multi ... B01DYELZXE

Maybe dumb question - but does every scart cable like this support RGB? Just figured i would need 2x for both outputs on the gscart lol. I'm a bit confused with this. I run RGB scarts from my consoles, do I need RGB scart to scart from gscartsw to monitor/upscalers too right?
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

Diggs wrote:
ldeveraux wrote:
bulbafett wrote:I just got mine in the mail and I'm super excited to hook it up.

I glanced through the first few and the last few but couldn't easily find an answer. I need a male to make cable to hook this into the upscaler I use for my TV. I can buy cable but most places show out of stock or month+ delivery time.

I have a few old cables i can cut up and 1 or 2 SCART connectors from old projects. Is there a schematic for the male to male cable?
Just get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/KabelDirekt-Multi ... B01DYELZXE

Maybe dumb question - but does every scart cable like this support RGB? Just figured i would need 2x for both outputs on the gscart lol. I'm a bit confused with this. I run RGB scarts from my consoles, do I need RGB scart to scart from gscartsw to monitor/upscalers too right?
They usually are fully wired. KabelDirect cables are RGB wired for sure because I use one here.
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Link83
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by Link83 »

superg wrote:The MicroUSB voltage is +5V and 2.1 barrel plug is +9V. The range is a bit wider for gscartsw_lite but not wide enough and you risk killing your gcompsw with 9V power supply.
You can share the power supply if both gscartsw and gcompsw have microusb (newer gscartsw does).
superg, this post made me curious - is the +9V rail used directly by the gscartsw_lite, or is it internally stepped down to +5V?

I only ask as i'm planning to use a gscartsw_lite daisy chained to a gscartsw v5.3, and i'm wondering if there might be an easy way I could free up a plug socket by somehow using +5V to power the gscartsw_lite as well.

Or might it be possible to use something like this:-
https://www.pololu.com/product/2116
To step up +5V to +9V, with a 2.1mm barrel plug on the output to connect to the gscartsw_lite. Perhaps this could allow me to use the same +5V USB power supply with both a gscartsw_lite and gscartsw v5.3, or is there a potential this could cause interference in the gscartsw's video output? Would the gscartsw_lite have enough filtering on the power input to handle any potential added ripple/noise?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated :)
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

Link83 wrote: superg, this post made me curious - is the +9V rail used directly by the gscartsw_lite, or is it internally stepped down to +5V?

I only ask as i'm planning to use a gscartsw_lite daisy chained to a gscartsw v5.3, and i'm wondering if there might be an easy way I could free up a plug socket by somehow using +5V to power the gscartsw_lite as well.

Or might it be possible to use something like this:-
https://www.pololu.com/product/2116
To step up +5V to +9V, with a 2.1mm barrel plug on the output to connect to the gscartsw_lite. Perhaps this could allow me to use the same +5V USB power supply with both a gscartsw_lite and gscartsw v5.3, or is there a potential this could cause interference in the gscartsw's video output? Would the gscartsw_lite have enough filtering on the power input to handle any potential added ripple/noise?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated :)
gscartsw_lite is internally using 3 power rails: 5V, 3.3V and 1.8V. There is 9V->5V voltage regulator first.
Step up should work given that your power supply can provide enough current. Of course I am against internally modifying the switches because I won't be fixing that later ;). The best you can do is external 5V->9V step up microusb->barrel adapter.
eatnooM
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by eatnooM »

Is it expected that my audio levels seem higher when going through the gscartsw than feeding SCART directly to my TV? I've noticed some distortion as a result of this. It's more noticeable when using my Nintendo consoles than with a PS2 (both using cables from RetroGamingCables).
carlocgc
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:58 pm

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by carlocgc »

Hi I placed an order a few weeks ago, I assume there is no email confirmation or anything? Is there a way to confirm the order is recieved,
Sorry if this asked in this thread somewhere
Thanks
QuestForTori
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Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:21 pm

Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by QuestForTori »

I just got my gscartsw today, and I think it's already defective right out of the box, sadly. Every single cable I have tried has the same issue where the output is only green and terribly de-synced, even with sync regeneration turned on. I have tried CSync and Sync-on-Luma SCART cables from RGC, Insurrection, and Retro Access, between my N64, Saturn, PS1, PS2, and MiSTer, and they all only display in green and with no sync. Is the switch broken already? D:

Image
magus90
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by magus90 »

Hey Guys,

I have the original Gscart Lite. Barrel plug.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a power supply for it? I seem to have misplaced it while moving unfortunately.

Thank you,
ldeveraux
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by ldeveraux »

magus90 wrote:Hey Guys,

I have the original Gscart Lite. Barrel plug.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a power supply for it? I seem to have misplaced it while moving unfortunately.

Thank you,
See 2 posts above yours. It's a 2.1mm barrel connector, 9V
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

magus90 wrote:Hey Guys,

I have the original Gscart Lite. Barrel plug.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a power supply for it? I seem to have misplaced it while moving unfortunately.

Thank you,
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... JA/5023722
magus90
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by magus90 »

superg wrote:
magus90 wrote:Hey Guys,

I have the original Gscart Lite. Barrel plug.

Could somebody point me in the right direction for a power supply for it? I seem to have misplaced it while moving unfortunately.

Thank you,
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... JA/5023722
Thank you so much SuperG. The first gen GscartSW i have is still going strong 5 years later, absolutely love your products dude.
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

eatnooM wrote:Is it expected that my audio levels seem higher when going through the gscartsw than feeding SCART directly to my TV? I've noticed some distortion as a result of this. It's more noticeable when using my Nintendo consoles than with a PS2 (both using cables from RetroGamingCables).
There is an internal audio amplifier in the newest switch version but it shouldn't dramatically affect the audio level, it's still line in / line out.
carlocgc wrote:Hi I placed an order a few weeks ago, I assume there is no email confirmation or anything? Is there a way to confirm the order is recieved,
Sorry if this asked in this thread somewhere
Thanks
Most likely your order is already shipped. If you don't have paypal email notifications enabled, log in to your paypal find the switch transaction and check the assigned tracking number.
QuestForTori wrote:I just got my gscartsw today, and I think it's already defective right out of the box, sadly. Every single cable I have tried has the same issue where the output is only green and terribly de-synced, even with sync regeneration turned on. I have tried CSync and Sync-on-Luma SCART cables from RGC, Insurrection, and Retro Access, between my N64, Saturn, PS1, PS2, and MiSTer, and they all only display in green and with no sync. Is the switch broken already? D:

Image
That's very entertaining? D: Sadly.
I bet you gotta learn some RGBS basics and how to use your PVM.
Also I suggest to work on your attitude a bit, might help.
KekGs
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by KekGs »

Hello

I created this account for a few questions that maybe someone can help me, maybe even the creator of the gscartsw

So far i've been playing on a PS2 console connected to my OSSC, the cable i've been using is a Playstation 2 PS2 RGB SCART PACKAPUNCH cable sync on luma

OSSC -> HDMI Splitter.

HDMI Splitter Output 1 = Monitor
HDMI Splitter Output 2 = Capture Card. (Streaming on Twitch) Magewell USB Capture card. Better than Elgato for the OSSC. I even ordered a Datapath e1s, which I probably wont be able to use.

I bought a CRT TV 2 days ago. Bang Olufsen MX8000

I wanna add this to my "chain" and figured I need a Scart Splitter. I presume the gscartsw will handle this for me?
And i will need 1 more scart cable between gscartsw - MX 8000 of course.

Any specific cable for this?

So in the end i will replace my HDMI splitter with the gscartsw

I think i got it all in here.

Would love to hear if this would work for my setup
eatnooM
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by eatnooM »

superg wrote:There is an internal audio amplifier in the newest switch version but it shouldn't dramatically affect the audio level, it's still line in / line out.
I ended up breaking out audio from the SCART and recording on my PC to test this a bit more. It's harder to perceive in other games but I seem to have stumbled upon a worst case scenario in the Chain reaction SMW romhack (https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a ... s&id=18669) - the title music sounds great - like this when I plug my SCART directly into the TV, but comes across quite distorted when i add the gscartsw to my setup - here is the result.

I'll have a crack at troubleshooting the issue a bit more over the weekend but short of trying a different power supply and SCART cable, I'm not sure what else I could try.
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superg
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Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre

Post by superg »

eatnooM wrote:
superg wrote:There is an internal audio amplifier in the newest switch version but it shouldn't dramatically affect the audio level, it's still line in / line out.
I ended up breaking out audio from the SCART and recording on my PC to test this a bit more. It's harder to perceive in other games but I seem to have stumbled upon a worst case scenario in the Chain reaction SMW romhack (https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a ... s&id=18669) - the title music sounds great - like this when I plug my SCART directly into the TV, but comes across quite distorted when i add the gscartsw to my setup - here is the result.

I'll have a crack at troubleshooting the issue a bit more over the weekend but short of trying a different power supply and SCART cable, I'm not sure what else I could try.
I hear the difference in your captures.
NES audio output in general is a bit louder comparing to anything else. Could be a combination of things like NES, higher volume romhack and audio amplifier. Don't think power supply will change anything. Would be interesting to check it on the scope, what's on input and on output. Multiplexer range is quite wide, -5V..5V so it shouldn't crop anything there so the only thing that could theoretically distort is the amplifier.
Is gscartsw v5.3 the only switch you own?
Anything non standard in your setup like modded audio outputs etc?
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