Questions that do not deserve a thread

[cicada88]

I am learning how to solder to get into installing mod chips and making audio and video mods to my consoles when needed.

Can anyone recommend a good type of solder to buy in the US for this type of use?

Also, I need some "wires" to perform an audio mod to a model 1 Mega Drive. I don't really know what to call this stuff. Do I just buy some kind of spool of it? Recommendations of a quality product?

You're generally looking for 60/40 tin/lead or 63/37 tin/lead for electronics. You can buy it at most Radio Shacks (if they're still around), Fry's Electronics (if you live near one) or even online.

I'm unfamiliar with the MD audio mod, but 28AWG solid core (other people may recommended stranded) wire maybe a starting point. I've seen them called jumper wires or hookup wires though.

Thanks. Your information gave me a lot better idea of what I need to order.

[BuckoA51]

I'm looking for power adapters for my Gensis model 1 and CD (which use the same one) but the official power cables are very expensive. Are there any good replacement power cables?

In case someone reads this in the future or was wondering: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-AC-Adapter- ... 43cf79f7b1

Works for 3 things, cheap, 200 sold so it must work well.

I Tested the one from Retrogamesupply and found it to work perfectly, no picture noise added at all http://www.videogameperfection.com/2014 ... ve-review/

[hector]

My SNES scart cable goes through my sync strike and the sync strike's D-sub15 output goes to my PEXHDCAP. I recently bought a PVM and I want to be able to play on it as well while recording with PEXHDCAP. Is there a way to use the sync strike's screw terminals to output to my PVM, and if so how do I do that?

[GenesisBits]

What settings are you guys using to get XRGB-Mini screens from Elgato Capture HD?

My Mini is looking pretty poor on my Elgato side of things (looks fine on my TV). I've messed with numerous settings but nothing seems to "click".

Here is a screencap from Sonic 2. 720p/Picture Mode/V-Line On
http://i.imgur.com/ErKYPwV.jpg

As you can see, it just looks awful. Here it is a picture from the TV
http://i.imgur.com/qCQJ6ER.jpg

I've seen people post excellent pictures from the Elgato and Mini so I'm not too sure what's up here.

Thanks!

[blizzz]

I want to buy a modded PSone (slim). My main goal is to play NTSC er.. backups. Are there different popular chips or are all / most consoles running the same (MM3?) chip? To keep it simple I want to buy a PAL PSone that is already modded. Are there any easy tests to make sure that it can boot NTSC games without disc swapping?

Or would I get better compatibility if I modded my SCPH-90004 PS2?

[Xan]

What do you need a PSone for? I think that console looks awful, maybe it's just a personal thing. You can get modded "fat" PS1s for quite cheap and I haven't heard about any modchips where disc swapping would be needed. If you want it to be perfect you need an actual NTSC console though, because of that slight output rate mismatch between a modded PAL console and a NTSC one.

Thinking about it, in that case a PSone would have an advantage because of the external PSU, but it's really trivial to swap the internal PSU of a PS1 for a 230V one. I'd also probably avoid modded PAL PS2s for NTSC PS1 games as I've had issues myself there.

[BazookaBen]

I want to buy a modded PSone (slim). My main goal is to play NTSC er.. backups. Are there different popular chips or are all / most consoles running the same (MM3?) chip? To keep it simple I want to buy a PAL PSone that is already modded. Are there any easy tests to make sure that it can boot NTSC games without disc swapping?

Or would I get better compatibility if I modded my SCPH-90004 PS2?

Not sure why you're interested in modding. PS1 is probably the cheapest used console on the planet right now. Just order one from the US for $5

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacement-Son ... 53fea41de4

[Smashbro29]

I want to buy a modded PSone (slim). My main goal is to play NTSC er.. backups. Are there different popular chips or are all / most consoles running the same (MM3?) chip? To keep it simple I want to buy a PAL PSone that is already modded. Are there any easy tests to make sure that it can boot NTSC games without disc swapping?

Or would I get better compatibility if I modded my SCPH-90004 PS2?

There's PSIO coming soon but it doesn't look too promising right now. Only takes SD cards, requires the I/O port.

http://ps-io.com/

I have a question, I recently got a Japanese PS1 on the cheap and the power socket is a different shape than my US one, I know they're common cables but I can't find any with that weird shape.

[ApolloBoy]

I have a question, I recently got a Japanese PS1 on the cheap and the power socket is a different shape than my US one, I know they're common cables but I can't find any with that weird shape.

Seriously? That particular cable is common as hell, go to any Goodwill and you're bound to come across a bunch.

[Smashbro29]

I have a question, I recently got a Japanese PS1 on the cheap and the power socket is a different shape than my US one, I know they're common cables but I can't find any with that weird shape.

Seriously? That particular cable is common as hell, go to any Goodwill and you're bound to come across a bunch.

Yeah I know, just playing it safe. Japanese system and all that thought it might be something special.

[blizzz]

There's PSIO coming soon but it doesn't look too promising right now. Only takes SD cards, requires the I/O port.

I was actually waiting for PSIO. They were aiming for a release in early 2014, but it's taking longer than expected. Also it does require internal modding now, which I didn't know until a couple days ago. My goal is to buy a PSIO and get a proper NTSC PSX eventually once PSIO has been out for a while. I don't want to buy the first revision only to find out that it has some kind of bug that will be fixed in a second revision.

In the mean time I want a cheap console to play some NTSC games. It should also be able to play backups, seeing as many PS1 games cost more than a new AAA release for PS4.

Not sure why you're interested in modding. PS1 is probably the cheapest used console on the planet right now. Just order one from the US for $5

That auction is $5 + $42.95 shipping + $9.11 taxes for me. And I would have to wait a couple weeks. Twice the price of a modded PAL console for me. Also the backup thing.

What do you need a PSone for? I think that console looks awful, maybe it's just a personal thing. You can get modded "fat" PS1s for quite cheap and I haven't heard about any modchips where disc swapping would be needed.

I'm not a big fan of both PS1 designs. I've read that the (slim) PSone has less problems with the laser and it's smaller, so I'll buy that one. Upon reading a bit more I found out that the MM3 modchip can't play imports (without boot disc), but the "OneChip" can. I guess I just have to ask the sellers if they know what chip is in it or if they played imports themselves.

I'd also probably avoid modded PAL PS2s for NTSC PS1 games as I've had issues myself there.

Thanks for that info. A slim PS2 would be the best looking solution, but it looks like it's easier and better to buy a PSone.

Edit: Got an offer for a modded PSOne with OneChip

[Xan]

FWIW, I've heard the exact opposite, namely the 700x-750x laser assembly being considered the most robust and the PSone laser being low quality. I guess it's not like there is a mass demise of PSone consoles, so it's probably not too bad.

Also, the market situation for PS1 games is rather delightful especially compared to Nintendo systems. You can easily buy most AAA games for under 30 EUR (either NTSC or PAL). Strongly disagree with that comment, the PS1 is probably the best classic console to collect for right now.

[blizzz]

Maybe I need to search a bit more. On first look it seemed like Einhänder and Symphony of the Night were both rather expensive. Ofc it doesn't help that I have to import everything, but I'll keep my eyes open.

[Xan]

You can also check out rarityguide.com for a quick idea. For Einhänder I just went with the NTSC-J version as it obviously isn't a text heavy game. Costs only a fraction of the NTSC-U game.

[blizzz]

Somethings borked with eBay.de. When I search for Einhander it only shows me one offer for 69,80€ world wide. When I check the usual Japanese stores I find it for a couple bucks. Searching on eBay.co.uk gives me a lot more offers and cheaper prices. Weird. Guess I'll just use the UK site then.

[Jonst]

On the Xbox 360 version of ddp doj, is the old version black label?

[panzeroceania]

two questions.

1.) what would be the best cheap line doubler to get in the US to get a Sega Saturn to connect to a VGA monitor. I'm thinking one of the extron units would be ideal, any particular model number?

2.) what CRT monitors can play nice with sega model 2 and model 3 mid res 24khz resolution.

[Smashbro29]

What's important anyway is the board revision, maybe you have read this already; http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread ... m-bad-ones
This thread describes the strengths and weaknesses of each board, it's a good start to see what mod is worth doing or not.

I followed this and bought it.

http://www.retrorgb.com/genesisversions.html


Seems like a safe bet honestly. I'll upload a clip of its audio when I get a shot.

True to my word here are some clips (make sure to watch it in 1080p @60fps):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlz_9YD ... redirect=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vu8TkT ... e=youtu.be

[Carmen]

Unfortunetly, I'm not very tech versed But I am wondering about this as my CRT had a problem today. Say I'm in a situation where I can't have a CRT. I want to enjoy PS2 and pre-PS2 systems at at least S-video (and without having to do extensive mods to get systems to display RGB), and without any lag. What are my options? I've been reading a lot about upscalers and while making an image look better, I don't know how they deal with lag...

Sorry for such a simpleton question.

[Fudoh]

I don't know how they deal with lag...

if you connect a 15khz source to a LCD, then the signal needs to get digitized, deinterlaced and scaled. This takes time and TVs don't pay attention to fast processing. A video processor does the same, just externally and is most often considerably faster than your TV on its own. It will also look better.

[amaradona]

two stupid questions:

1/How difficult would be to get an alternative firmware for the xrgb mini?
I am thinking about different profiles for each console or inputs etc...
I am sure we could work on crowdfunding for that if technically possible.

2/Is there any device able to create or emulate stronger scanlines on consumer CRT TV?
I have not been lucky with the pvm route and prices here in Europe are crazy high.
On the other hand crt tv are cheap but I like stronger scanlines.
I dont want to go thru the console emulation route...

[Wargo]

I'm not sure if this is the best thread to post this in, but I'm having some issues with low audio volume from SCART cables, and I wanted to see if this is something anyone else has encountered.

I recently bought some Euro SCART cables from retro_console_accessories on eBay for the SNES, Genesis, Saturn, and Neo Geo, and I'm trying to use them with a SCART to component converter and an audio breakout device. The picture coming out of the converter is perfect, but the audio from the breakout device is either extremely low or non-existent. Here is the audio device I'm using:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scart-to-Audio- ... 338000fd5c

I actually tried another similar device to this and had the exact same problem. I don't believe the problem is with the RCA audio cables I connected to the audio breakout, since I've used them with the head phone jacks on the Genesis and Neo Geo and got perfect sound. I'm also sure I have the in/out switch in the correct position.

I've tried googling this, but haven't found anyone else with this issue. Since it's happening with multiple consoles and SCART cables, my first thought is the issue was with the audio breakout, but since I've had the issue with more than one of these devices, I'm not really sure where in the chain the problem is occurring. I'm new to RGB, so I'm just wondering what my next step should be. Is it common for people to attached these audio breakout devices to an audio amplifier? Should I try cables from a different seller? I haven't spent a ton of money on this stuff yet, but I'm at the point where I don't want to spend much more unless it is sure to work.


Thanks

[Carmen]

I don't know how they deal with lag...

if you connect a 15khz source to a LCD, then the signal needs to get digitized, deinterlaced and scaled. This takes time and TVs don't pay attention to fast processing. A video processor does the same, just externally and is most often considerably faster than your TV on its own. It will also look better.

Hey Fudoh, thanks for your reply! I saw your extensive video on the XRGB scaler in an in-depth interview you did with a site (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). I do understand that a scaler converts the image very quickly so that the TV doesn't have too. I guess I should rephrase my question then, are there monitors that, if fed in a 480i signal (which is what the upscaler convert to, if I'm not mistaken), don't have any lag whatsoever? I'm sorry if that sounds very silly but my experience with non-CRTs is very lacking, and about every time I've dealt with a LCD (whether it be the LCD monitors they run Tekken tournaments on in the US or the LCD monitors that my local arcade's IIDX machine is hooked up to) it feels a little laggy, and not quite right

[Ed Oscuro]

The scalers convert from 480i, not to it. Lag-free monitors...well, there are monitors now that are coming close to lag-free, but we won't get there. In fact there might be some signal delay on CRTs. It's going to be unnoticeable on all sets but HDTV CRTs, however.

For flat-panel displays with little lag...I'd look up various models mentioned here, and the Input Lag Database is another good source. You will want to look up reviews from sites like TFTCentral, Prad.de, (many need to be translated) if you can to get a more rounded look at a monitor, and it might also be good to look at a site like Blur Busters (though that's more focused on modern video sources).

[Unseen]

In fact there might be some signal delay on CRTs.

There is always the flight time of the electrons from the neck of the tube to the phosphor coating at the front. ;)

[Ed Oscuro]

I assume we're talking about nanoseconds at worst (through the circuitry, which is really simple on even high-end sets). You're right, I shouldn't make this sound problematic when it's not going to be in most cases. HDTVs with frame doubling seem to be another thing, but I think even those aren't really likely to be bad by average modern consumer HDTV standards.

[BazookaBen]

I've always assumed SD CRT's operate at the speed of light.

I've noticed with my Sony HD CRT, lag is pretty noticeable with 480p in widescreen mode. For some reason 4:3 isn't very laggy at all. I never really tested 15hz before I gave it away.

1080i is the only mode that's instantaneous, since that is the native resolution.

[blizzz]

Speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s. The speed of electrons in a CRT is in the range of 10^7 m/s. You can calculate how much input lag that causes for the several cm distance they travel inside the tube.

[Ed Oscuro]

Speed of signal transfer in copper is something like 8/10th the speed of light, and while I'm sure the ICs involved are very simple, circuit paths inside them can sometimes be actually quite long.

I thought I saw something about lag on CRTs once but it wasn't really hard-hitting stuff. Obviously nobody's really thought to look into it, and if they did it probably was like "how are we going to test this?" There's, like, oscilloscopes that are "faster than the speed of light," but when it gets right down to it - not really.

[BazookaBen]

Speed of signal transfer in copper is something like 8/10th the speed of light, and while I'm sure the ICs involved are very simple, circuit paths inside them can sometimes be actually quite long.

For all intents and purposes, that is hapenning instantly. Like quicker than it takes your retina to send another chemical pulse to your brain.