Ultracade Universal Video Converter

[opt2not]

Just bumping this up for the select few of us that own this wonderful little board.

Emph, looks like some of the images are 404 there bud.

This thread is still a great resource for info. Love the UVC!

[_rm_]

Just bumping this up for the select few of us that own this wonderful little board.

Emph, looks like some of the images are 404 there bud.

This thread is still a great resource for info. Love the UVC!

Yup, i also started looking for some info about these kind of devices and can't see the pics in this thread

[emphatic]

Damn, I should have snagged them and hosted them myself. I don't even remember who it was that posted them other than that he was living in Japan.

[opt2not]

Damn, I should have snagged them and hosted them myself. I don't even remember who it was that posted them other than that he was living in Japan.

Looks like you still have them on your site:
http://www.emphatic.se/?p=139

[emphatic]

Damn, I should have snagged them and hosted them myself. I don't even remember who it was that posted them other than that he was living in Japan.

Looks like you still have them on your site:
http://www.emphatic.se/?p=139

Thanks. I'll update this thread if I remember to tonight.

[emphatic]

Updated the image links in the first post to my privately hosted ones.

[opt2not]

Thanks buddy! It's good to keep this one alive. There's not much info out there these days for this awesome board.

[gonemad]

Time to dig up an old thread, but I just purchased one of these and I am trying to hook it up to an Electrohome G07 19" monitor. Has anyone used one of these devices with this model monitor, how should the sync be hooked up and any certain dip settings?
Edit: I think I have the sync figured out, but now have a slow roll in it that won't stop, can't seem to lock in the picture but can come very close though.

[emphatic]

Sorry, I only have experience with NANAO MS9 monitors with this device. I soldered both of the sync lines to the JAMMA VIDEO SYNC from the UVC, thus combining them. You have no issue with rolling screen when using JAMMA PCBs?

[gonemad]

Sorry, I only have experience with NANAO MS9 monitors with this device. I soldered both of the sync lines to the JAMMA VIDEO SYNC from the UVC, thus combining them. You have no issue with rolling screen when using JAMMA PCBs?

I'm thinking this could be along the same lines. This monitor is completely rebuilt and works perfectly with other games. I will try that and report back. Thanks for the response.

[opt2not]

From what I remember, you'll need to wire the G07's sync wires based on what you set your UVC to output (use the dip switches to configure sync output).





These pics are taken from here: http://arcadecontrols.com/BBBB/sync.html
There's some good information on sync output that you can read through.

You can set the UVC to output separate H&V sync, then make sure you set the wires on the G07 chassis to the proper polarity (which can also be set on the UVC).

[gonemad]

From what I remember, you'll need to wire the G07's sync wires based on what you set your UVC to output (use the dip switches to configure sync output).





These pics are taken from here: http://arcadecontrols.com/BBBB/sync.html
There's some good information on sync output that you can read through.

You can set the UVC to output separate H&V sync, then make sure you set the wires on the G07 chassis to the proper polarity (which can also be set on the UVC).

Yes, I did come across this. I did get it figured out. I had to turn dip 7 and 8 off and hook only one sync wire from the harnness, (the yellow one IIRC) and connect it to only the V sync (center pin) on the smaller 3pin sync connector of the monitor. This fixed the slow roll.

[emphatic]

Great!

[opt2not]

Yes, I did come across this. I did get it figured out. I had to turn dip 7 and 8 off and hook only one sync wire from the harnness, (the yellow one IIRC) and connect it to only the V sync (center pin) on the smaller 3pin sync connector of the monitor. This fixed the slow roll.

Awesome, good to hear!
Just for posterity's sake, dip-7 off is setting the vertical sync to negative polarity, and dip-8 off ensures separate h & v sync output.
Glad it all worked out for you. Post some pictures of it running!

[gonemad]

Yes, I did come across this. I did get it figured out. I had to turn dip 7 and 8 off and hook only one sync wire from the harnness, (the yellow one IIRC) and connect it to only the V sync (center pin) on the smaller 3pin sync connector of the monitor. This fixed the slow roll.

Awesome, good to hear!
Just for posterity's sake, dip-7 off is setting the vertical sync to negative polarity, and dip-8 off ensures separate h & v sync output.
Glad it all worked out for you. Post some pictures of it running!

Here's just one of it working. I have to now wire up the ipac and some sound and that's it. the rest is just cosmetic, as you can see by the top, the rest of the cab has been completely done over.

[squallrs]

Hello all,
Do you know where i can buy one ?
Impossible to find on ebay or other website...

Thanks for answers

[emphatic]

Hello all,
Do you know where i can buy one ?
Impossible to find on ebay or other website...

Thanks for answers

Your best bet is to save a search for Ultracade on eBay. Once in a while, they do pop up.

[aoiddr]

I got a UVC this week, and I'm having a problem with the picture rolling when I hook it up to my Sega Astro City. I've tried turning the Vertical Hold knob on the chasis remote board, which will slow the rolling, but won't ever completely stop it. It also has several lines in the image (parts of the UVC display image that are out of place).

I'm trying to run it 15khz. So my dip switches are set to:
1 = on
2 = [tried both on and off]
3 = on
4 = on
5 = on
6 = off
7 = off
8 = on

In terms of LED lights, the D9 led is off in that group of 4 by the dip switches.


Thoughts? o_O

[emphatic]

I'm trying to run it 15khz. So my dip switches are set to:
1 = on
2 = [tried both on and off]
3 = on
4 = on
5 = on
6 = off
7 = off
8 = on

Try turning the DIP #8 off, at least to try it. If that doesn't change anything, try the other SYNC DIPs. How did you connect the video to your monitor, JAMMA fingerboard? If so, did you combine the SYNC wires off the connector you have on your UVC, or just wire one of them to the JAMMA VIDEO SYNC?

Dip switch settings
1 Splash Screen Display
· *On = When the uVC is synchronizing, the splash screen is displayed
· Off = When the uVC is synchronizing, a black screen is displayed
2 Output Delay Scan Lines (if tearing appears on the bottom of the screen, increase the delay lines, if the top of the screen is wrapped around to the bottom, decrease the delay lines)
· *On = 8
· Off = 16
3 Output Display
· *On = Low Res (CGA) 15.75KHz
· Off = Medium Res (EGA) 24.5KHz
5/4 Input Resolution
· *On/On = Auto Detect
· On/Off=VGA (640×480)
· Off/On=SVGA (800×600)
· Off/Off=XGA (1024×768)
6 Horizontal/Composite Sync Polarity
· *On = Positive
· Off = Negative
7 Vertical Sync Polarity
· Separate Sync
*On = Positive
Off = Negative
· Composite Sync
*On = Always Low
Off = Always Hi
8 Sync Output Signal
· On = Composite
· *Off = HV Sync Separate
*denotes default settings

[aoiddr]

Try turning the DIP #8 off, at least to try it. If that doesn't change anything, try the other SYNC DIPs.

Yes, I tried turning Dip 8 off, and fiddling with the 6 and 7 dips. The only thing I really noted was that certain dip settings make the UVC splash screen appear on the left side of the screen, and Dip7 Off makes the image show in the middle of the screen. The rolling and lines are still there, though.

How did you connect the video to your monitor, JAMMA fingerboard? If so, did you combine the SYNC wires off the connector you have on your UVC, or just wire one of them to the JAMMA VIDEO SYNC?

Yes, I used a connector to loop the H to the V. And the combined V Sync wire goes to a fingerboard.

[aoiddr]

Update:
I tried the UVA on my Dance Dance Revolution machine (Korean cab) and it has the same scrolling problem. I can get it to somewhat stabilize, but it still rolls. The picture is all wavey and there are some slanted lines visible (see image below as I'm not sure how to describe it).

[emphatic]

In my case, I joined the sync signals too, so I'm not sure what could be the problem. IIRC, all LEDs are lit up on my UVC though, maybe it's not getting enough juice?

[aoiddr]

In my case, I joined the sync signals too, so I'm not sure what could be the problem. IIRC, all LEDs are lit up on my UVC though, maybe it's not getting enough juice?

Okay, this is really weird.
I have a separate power supply rigged up so I can plug in power hungry PCBs, so I plugged the UVC into that and my Sega Astro City's picture was totally stable. Hook it back up to the Jamma harness, and it rolls. Jamma harness was giving it 5.15v. The dedicated power supply was only giving it 5v, so I even tried a little over 5.10v and it didn't give any of the noise like seen on the Jamma harness. The 4th light on the LED never came on, though.


However, what I'm really trying to hook-up is my DDR machine (so I can use an NTSC Wii on it with a VGA cable). The dedicated power supply does give it a non-rolling picture, but the trade off is that the picture is now extremely degraded with a noise visible. And there's a portion at the bottom of the screen where it's distorted.

Image of DDR machine screen problem:



Curious if I should try hooking one of the Jamma's other Ground wires to the Video Ground...?

[emphatic]

Curious if I should try hooking one of the Jamma's other Ground wires to the Video Ground...?

It's worth a shot. Weird is the word.

[lettuce]

Can the UVC be used to protect a 15khz arcade monitor from boot resolutions from a PC, for a MAME project....or is the J-PAC a better method??

[emphatic]

Can the UVC be used to protect a 15khz arcade monitor from boot resolutions from a PC, for a MAME project....or is the J-PAC a better method??

A J-Pac is a much better solution due to availability and price. And AFAIK, the UVC can't passthrough a 15kHz signal trough the VGA connector.

[aoiddr]

Anyone know what makes the D9 LED come on?

"D9 (furthest from DIP switch)
o All clocks successfully locked in FPGA (including input video clock)"

[emphatic]

Anyone know what makes the D9 LED come on?

"D9 (furthest from DIP switch)
o All clocks successfully locked in FPGA (including input video clock)"

I'm guessing it won't come on unless you feed the UVC a supported signal in 60hz?


Bits from the manual's troubleshooting part that might be important:

Image on the monitor keeps cycling:
· Verify that you have the proper output mode with DIP switch 3
· Change the sync signals from composite to separate (or vice versa) with DIP switch 8
· Change the sync signals from positive to negative (or vice versa) with DIP switches 6 and 7

Image on monitor is stable but top of screen is displayed on bottom, or bottom of screen is “torn”
· Change the input to output delay with DIP switch 2

Image is good, but intermittently goes back to the “splash” screen
· Some consoles have been found to have unstable synchronization; ensure you have v2.1 of
the firmware or later (version is shown on splash screen)

^^As your UVC has the 2.04 firmware, maybe the console you're using has unstable synchronization? Or are you just hooking the UVC up with nothing else right now, working on getting a proper splash screen?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I recall having problems with my uVC (version 2.04) to work properly with an Egret II candy cab setup when I first got it (in dealing with the screen sync issue, scrolling screen and whatnot) -- took a while to get it to settle down & behave instead of acting up/work properly as it was meant to be. Meant having to fiddle around with the dip switch settings and finding the "sweet spot" that, eventually, solved the problem.

It turns out that I need to use (at the very least) two rubber bands triple-looped to extert lots of pressure on the right side of the uVC pcb to the Jamma edge 56-pin interface, otherwise it won't power up/boot up (found out by trial & error). The left side of the uVC doesn't need any rubber bands applied to it whatsoever but just only the right side -- why is that? It could be how Taito manufactured the jamma interface with 'em Egret IIs as they're quite an odd/finicky candy cab when running certain PCBs & the like. Strange but true.

As it is, the uVC is the only one that requires triple looping of rubber bands to give it some juice, or else, it's no dice -- no other standard jamma PCBs in my arcade PCB stash require such triple-looping of rubber bands to get 'em to power up/boot up (otherwise, board flexing issues will occur in the nearby future and that would be running into/encountering another set of problems down the road for affected/said arcade PCB). Hmmm..... When the uVC is working at 100%, it's pure gravy/smooth molasses from there on.

I primarily use a Japanese region 360 Slim console with the appropriate 3rd-party Monster Game produced 24K gold plated 360 VGA cable hooked up to the uVC & it works wonders as intended (and the screen resolution set to 640 x 480).

Yes, Monster Game (gaming console division of parent company, Monster Cable) did manufacture such a thick & heavily endowed beefed up 360 VGA cable back in 2005 for sale at retail back in the day -- makes using a 1st-party Microsoft produced 360 VGA cable (with it's minimalist overall presentation) look like child's play in retrospect. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MONSTER-GAME-GA ... SwPYZU5d-X

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[aoiddr]

^^As your UVC has the 2.04 firmware, maybe the console you're using has unstable synchronization? Or are you just hooking the UVC up with nothing else right now, working on getting a proper splash screen?

Yeah, I had only been trying to get a proper splash screen. I was able to get the D9 LED to come on when I fed my Wii's VGA signal to the UVC.

I'm not sure how to describe this noise pattern, though. Any ideas on how to clear this picture quality up? I've tired flipping DIP2 and DIP 6/7/8, but it still stays noisy. It's like a fence moire pattern that washes over the screen diagonally.