GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

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Gunstar
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Gunstar »

Nice write up, captaineos.

I wonder if it's worth Rama starting a new thread where he has control of the first post to put all this info in one place, there's lots of useful info and tips scattered through the thread like Syntax splitting the CLK0 pad to better place the optional 1nF cap.
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maxtherabbit
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by maxtherabbit »

Syntax wrote:Pin 40 is not connected to anything and is on the corner, I don't know why everyone is lifting it.
+1

by lifting you're sacrificing mechanical stability for... nothing
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Syntax
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Syntax »

And another thing to note is Rama did say use enameled magnet wire 32awg but standard 30awg insulated or similar is fine.
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manuelink64
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by manuelink64 »

captaineos wrote:The Is Si5351 Clock Generator board is controlled by I2C to output precise frequencies from <8KHz up to 150+ MHz. Input VCC is 3-5v and output is 3vpp. The GBS-Control firmware automatically supports this board when installed as follows:

......
To test the clock generator is working, open the GBS Control web gui. Go to Preferences and scroll down to Activate FrameTime lock. Press on the FrameTime Lock button and the console will read “Active FrameTime Lock not necessary with external clock gen installed”. Video output should be pristine as always.

[/img]
what is the purpose of this mod? :?:
looks neat.
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Syntax
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Syntax »

Removes screen tear.
rememberizer
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by rememberizer »

So I did the clock gen mod and the CPS2 magically became stable! It's not just for screen tearing!! Holy crap! Been struggling with this for so long and now I finally got Arcade capture down!

I even did it twice on two different boards - the other one being an HDMI GBS. In both cases, CPS2 was perfectly stable!
rama
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by rama »

Thanks for adding the notes, captaineos!
https://github.com/ramapcsx2/gbs-contro ... tall-notes
(And reminder to everyone that the Wiki is open to all with a Github account :))

It really doesn't matter whether the clock carrying wire is enamelled or whether it has some other insulation.
It just needs to be lightweight, short, and somehow protected against touching other connections.

Lifting the edge pin or not is also up to choice. Some might find it easier to solder to a lifted pin, to avoid solder bridges.
A dab of glue is probably a good idea on such an install.

rememberizer:
That's really odd that using the clock gen fixed stability.
Might be some bug ><
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

I've used gbs cfw on cps1 and cps2. I have stability issues through a retrotek supergun., but no problem with direct feed from a cps2 av io (effectively a direct connection from arcade rgbs to gbs and overly bright but that's a separate issue and stability is good.

The retrotek sync line has a 680ohm resistor on it. I swapped for a 470ohm and added a 22uf cap but it didn't make any difference.

I also have no problem going through a mak strike supergun to gbs.

So I suggest it might be ultimately caused by the supergun.

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rama
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by rama »

Yeah, it sounds like a problem with the retrotek.
It would be great to figure out what it is though, as it could be a combination of that sync signal and something gbscontrol gets wrong.

But as long as there's always some kind of workaround.. :)
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

So I decided I'm no longer keen on the "twist-on" method for jumpering ground to sync with a 100 ohm resistor. I'm sure with enough turns on each leg, there's little chance of intermittent lack of contact, but it's always in the back of my mind. I prefer something a little more structurally sound.

Great Plains Electronics sells the 5-pin plugs and pins. Solder the resistor into 2 pins, insert them at the ground and sync positions, and voila.
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Last edited by NoAffinity on Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

Whoops, double post, sorry about that.... :oops:
Last edited by NoAffinity on Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rama
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by rama »

Add a switch next! :p
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Gunstar
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Gunstar »

NoAffinity wrote:So I decided I'm no longer keen on the "twist-on" method for jumpering ground to sync with a 100 ohm resistor.
I was thinking the same, felt a little loosey-goosey. I like what you came up with!
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kitty666cats
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by kitty666cats »

Hehe, I'm dumb - I forgot the output was either RGBHV or YPbPr, whether 15kHz or not. I got very confused earlier! Time to dust off the ol' Extron sync combiner :P
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

So, I'm having an issue with one of my boards. Component input is working, but I'm having trouble with P10 (VGA) in and P11 (RGBS/RGBHV) in. See below. First screenshot is Dreamcast to VGA in. Second two screenshots are Genesis to RGBS in. The light on the esp flickers momentarily, and then goes away, for both of these inputs. With Saturn and SNES, I get no image, not even garbled.
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I swapped in my other GBS board, on the same power supply, sources and input cables, output cable, sync-to-ground jumper. All is well with the other board. I also re-flashed the esp, with no change.

I also confirmed that the HSYNC pin has continuity to R21, C33, R34, R54 - these are the only places I could find that pin connecting to on my working board and confirmed it on the board that is acting up.

Thoughts?
rama
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by rama »

I'm sure you've checked the usual, 100 Ohm resistor, cables okay, all external parts in order? :)

It's unlikely to be software related, that much I can tell.
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maxtherabbit
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by maxtherabbit »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VOsOuQ5mhM

lag numbers are looking pretty fucking choice :mrgreen:
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DrLilo
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by DrLilo »

Hi all. Not sure if this is the right place to ask for help. Trying to put one of these together. I uploaded the firmware to a NodeMCU Module ESP8266 ESP-12E and it all seeeeems to be working (960p picture on screen). However, while I can see the gbscontrol WiFi network and connect to it with the "qqqqqqqq" password, neither http://gbscontrol, http://gbscontrol.local nor http://gbscontrol:80 work on my phone or laptop when connected. I tried re-uploading the sketch, using the "generic" board settings from the tutorial, but that didn't change the result. Any troubleshooting steps on getting the Web UI to work would be appreciated, as the default settings are a bit limiting.

Thanks guys
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Gunstar
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Gunstar »

maxtherabbit wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VOsOuQ5mhM

lag numbers are looking pretty fucking choice :mrgreen:
"Fastest downscaler available" Nice!

@DrLilo - I think that was the case for me too and so how I got access was inputting the ip address directly into the search bar iirc
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

@DrLilo if connecting directly to the ESP's wifi, you open a web browser and go to 192.168.4.1

Once you've done this and are controlling it directly, you can go to 'system' and join it to your wifi. Once joined to your wifi, then you access via any of the url's you've mentioned.

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DrLilo
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by DrLilo »

Gunstar wrote:inputting the ip address directly into the search bar iirc
NoAffinity wrote:open a web browser and go to 192.168.4.1
Thanks a million guys worked a treat. :D
hellbelly
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by hellbelly »

For a while now I’ve been gathering parts to make one of these, I already had some gbs8220 boards from messing around years ago.

Thank you rama for such a cool project! Gives good results and is fun to build too :)

Whilst waiting for the ESP8266 board to arrive, I did all of the essential and recommended mods from here https://github.com/ramapcsx2/gbs-contro ... od-Library (first column ! and O) and I installed the Si5351 Clock Gen too.

Just a couple of quick questions

1. On the Si5351 board, what is the reason that we don’t use the VIN and instead solde directly to a capacitor?

2. Does anyone else’s 8220 board run quite warm? Not just the chip with the heatsink, but the whole board?

Thanks again.
Pete
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NoAffinity
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by NoAffinity »

Clock gen board power input location recently discussed. It avoids on board regulation and the recommended location is best to ensure no difference in potential.

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hellbelly
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by hellbelly »

NoAffinity wrote:Clock gen board power input location recently discussed. It avoids on board regulation and the recommended location is best to ensure no difference in potential.

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Ta. Sorry, I’ve been reading this thread for a long time and hadn’t seen that. Sometimes I think you look so long for something you go blind to it!
Fluor
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by Fluor »

Hi all, I've asked this in the github page but I wanted to confirm since I saw some people trying to achieve the same thing.

I want to get an analog signal from an old graphics card in my PC and downscale it to 240p YUV/YPbPr to use in a consumer grade 15khz crt tv.

Is anyone currently working on something like that? I've saw some people connecting it to PVM/BVM but that is "easier" in the sense that it can use RGBHV or RGBS potentially. I want to know if this board + the custom firmware can work as a transcoder from RGBHV or RGBS to YUV/YPbPr while downscaling it from 480p to 240p.

The whole thing is that if it downscales to 240p properly without lag, it would effectively make it way better than trying to use the CRT_Emudriver solutions that output native 240p by the shear fact that that solution would be much more difficult to replicate, compared to the fact that windows 10 can only output 480p at a minimum.

Any and all help with this particular task is greatly appreciated. I want to have a confirmation that this is possible before I commit to buying a board.

Thank you very much.
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DrLilo
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by DrLilo »

Hi again guys.

Quick question: Can the GBS Control accept 480p signals through the D-Sub port? 480p is working great through the component rca jacks, but I'm getting a jumbled image from the D-Sub. Does that input expect 15hkz only?
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manuelink64
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by manuelink64 »

DrLilo wrote:Hi again guys.

Quick question: Can the GBS Control accept 480p signals through the D-Sub port? 480p is working great through the component rca jacks, but I'm getting a jumbled image from the D-Sub. Does that input expect 15hkz only?
Yes and no, D-Sub accepts EGA,VGA modes, so required separated sync (V/H) @31.4KHz signal
480p component ≠ 640x480p VGA
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DrLilo
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by DrLilo »

manuelink64 wrote:D-Sub accepts EGA,VGA modes, so required separated sync (V/H) @31.4KHz signal
480p component ≠ 640x480p VGA
Shouldn't that mean the VGA input from a Dreamcast would work? Not getting that result here atm.
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by hellbelly »

For the benefit of someone who comes along searching...

I think my GBS board was running warm due to a dodgy PSU.

When I started testing with more games and systems, I started to notice some waviness on very white screens. Very similar to a problem I had with a Mega Drive which was down to the PSU.

Still impressed with this. In fact, it allows me to play my CMVS on my Sony TV which is really picky, couldn’t do this through my OSSC no matter what setting I changed.

Pete
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manuelink64
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Re: GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

Post by manuelink64 »

DrLilo wrote: Shouldn't that mean the VGA input from a Dreamcast would work? Not getting that result here atm.
the VGA output from a Dreamcast should work without problems (it's full VESA compliant), but depends on:
- The VGA dongle itself
- The game, not all games support VGA mode
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