N64 to XRGB3 ... can't get simplest configuration to work ..

[swcdx]

I cannot get my XRGB3 to output to a 1600x1200 LCD panel with my N64 as the input.

The N64 is stock - no mods. I am using the plain old AV cable (yellow cable + red/white audio).

I have set the resolution of the XRGB3 to 1600x1200 and I can see, and use, the on-screen menus just fine.

I connect the yellow video cable from the N64 AV connector to the "VIDEO IN 1" input on the XRGB3, then I turn the N64 on and ...

I won't say that *nothing* happens - the black screen changes to a mostly black screen with a lot of dark blue smears on it ... but there is no picture and if I wasn't paying close attention, I would say that nothing happened.

What am I doing wrong here ? This should be the very simplest configuration - stock N64 plugged in with the AV cable ...

Thank you.

[nmalinoski]

Have you confirmed that the N64 works?

[Steamflogger Boss]

Have you confirmed that the N64 works?

Also try other composite sources and/or cables into that input of the XRGB3.

[swcdx]

Have you confirmed that the N64 works?

Also try other composite sources and/or cables into that input of the XRGB3.

Yes, thank you - it would indeed be good to troubleshoot by ruling out both the source and inputs ...

The trouble is, I don't think i have any other composite video sources, nor do I have any other composite input devices

I will have to see what I can come up with ...

[swcdx]

EDIT: OK, progress ... I connected the SHVC-010 to the front 21pin and it works. After turning on the N64 there is a lot of interference and screen tearing, and the XRGB3 reports that it keeps switching back and forth from 15khz to 31khz, but then it "settles down" and things look just fine.

So I think the 21pin on the front is not fried.

Why does the XRGB3 have all that weird output in the first 10-20 seconds after game is powered on and then "settles down" ? (the game is mario 64, FWIW)....

EDIT2: after a while the bad output comes back ... keeps switching between 15khz and 31khz and blue "no input" screen. But when it's not doing that, it seems to work just fine ... (am outputting over DVI to NEC 1600x1200 monitor).

I can't imagine a fried 21pin input would show me anything at all so I am thinking this is just a bad SHVC-010 cable ?


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original post:



OK, the composite video IN ports on the xrgb3 are now proven to be good (I plugged in a wii over composite video and it worked).

It's all coming back to me now ... I think the N64 was modded for RGB output but I never got around to buying the 21 pin RGB (japanese, not euro) cable to connect them.

I *do* have one of the old SHVC-010 cables for SNES but I don't know if it has the bad caps or not and I guess I also need to slightly modify the pins to get the SYNC right, correct ?

*AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT* I sort of remember trying a different 21pin cable on this XRGB3 and maybe I fried the 21pin input with a euro cable at some point.

So, what I think I would like to do in an effort to save TIME is ...

1) can someone give me a link to an off the shelf japanese 21pin RGB cable that has the proper SYNC pins for XRGB3 and I will just buy that right now.

2) Just in case my 21pin input on the front really *is* fried, can someone also point me to the VGA <--> 21pin adaptor that I can use to plug in RGB onto the back "VGA" connector ?

If I buy those two parts I can be sure that at least one of those inputs will work ....

Thanks.

[Fudoh]

Why does the XRGB3 have all that weird output in the first 10-20 seconds after game is powered on and then "settles down"

this shouldn''t happen with a proper signal. It means that the signal is having a grounding issue or is miconfigured (like caps where no caps belong). I could imagine that the way the RGB mod was done on your N64 does conflict with the SFC RGB cable and the system's composite output.

[swcdx]

Why does the XRGB3 have all that weird output in the first 10-20 seconds after game is powered on and then "settles down"

this shouldn''t happen with a proper signal. It means that the signal is having a grounding issue or is miconfigured (like caps where no caps belong). I could imagine that the way the RGB mod was done on your N64 does conflict with the SFC RGB cable and the system's composite output.

OK, thank you.

Just to be clear, there was never any success with the composite output on the N64 - it was when I switched to the RGB output (using the SFC RGB cable) that things "worked" but with that weird delay before it "settled down".

So with that in mind, could I get a recommendation as to where I can buy the correct two parts:

1) 21pin japanese RGB cable for the *front* of the XRGB3 with proper SYNC setup for N64

2) the proper cable, or adaptor, to plug RGB into the back "vga-style" input on the XRGB3 (just in case I ever need to use that)

Thanks.

[Fudoh]

1) 21pin japanese RGB cable for the *front* of the XRGB3 with proper SYNC setup for N64

that's a bit harder said than done unless you know what your existing RGB mod did to the sync. The cable you're using (if it's not modded) uses the composite video output pin for sync and it utilizes capacitors on the RGB lines.

Now it's possible that the composite video output pin on your N64 has been modded to output some other kind of sync. Also there's a good chance (especially with the classic RGB mods for the N64) that you need a cable without additional components (in your case without caps). On my jp RGB modded N64 for example the SFC cables does not work. This really depends on what the modder had in mind.

2) the proper cable, or adaptor, to plug RGB into the back "vga-style" input on the XRGB3 (just in case I ever need to use that)

the filtering differes from input to input. Check the Wiki on the junkerHQ website for details.

[swcdx]

1) 21pin japanese RGB cable for the *front* of the XRGB3 with proper SYNC setup for N64

that's a bit harder said than done unless you know what your existing RGB mod did to the sync. The cable you're using (if it's not modded) uses the composite video output pin for sync and it utilizes capacitors on the RGB lines.

Now it's possible that the composite video output pin on your N64 has been modded to output some other kind of sync. Also there's a good chance (especially with the classic RGB mods for the N64) that you need a cable without additional components (in your case without caps). On my jp RGB modded N64 for example the SFC cables does not work. This really depends on what the modder had in mind.

Can I just buy both ? Or all three ? How many possible (likely) combinations will there be ? I would prefer to just buy two cables and see which one works ... clearly the SFC cable does not work properly ... so how many options are left ?

Thank you.

[Fudoh]

your best option would be to open the N64, take a few pictures and post them here.