Cloning the Gamecube component cable

[bobrocks95]

Supposedly the Framemeister works with the ULL version if it's running in 480p according to Extrems. I can't confirm that in any way but try running it in both 240p and 480p, which requires booting a regular game first and selecting to disable and enable progressive scan respectively.

[Unseen]

GCVideo-DVI 2.2, now with:

• Infrared remote support (alternative to Pad)
• Wii support (don't even think about it unless you found that soldering the Paddata-Via on the Cube was really easy)

Oh, and no - I don't have any videos or screenshots available and I can't make them any time soon because my Dev-Wii is a wiring mess and the board is currently on the Cube for the final "did I break anything"-checks.

[BuckoA51]

Nice work Unseen, thank you!

[Ikaruga11]

Amazing work, Unseen!

[juji82]

Thank you Unseen!

[bobrocks95]

Awesome work Unseen! Can you detail at all the heuristics of knowing if the Wii is in Gamecube mode or not? I believe you said the audio sampling rate changed between Wii and Gamecube. Does the Wii report in any way that it's switched to Gamecube mode?

[Unseen]

Can you detail at all the heuristics of knowing if the Wii is in Gamecube mode or not? I believe you said the audio sampling rate changed between Wii and Gamecube. Does the Wii report in any way that it's switched to Gamecube mode?

It is indeed the audio sample rate - the Gamecube uses 54MHz / 1124 (ca. 48042 Hz), the Wii uses 54 MHz / 1125 in Wii mode and switches to the Gamecube frequency in GC mode. GCVideo just does an even/odd check on the number of 54MHz clocks between two edges of the LRClock signal.

If Nintendo didn't have that bug in the Gamecube or if they hadn't decided to fix it on the Wii, the mode detection wouldn't even be needed in GCVideo.

Actually I could even detect if the FPGA is connected to a Gamecube or Wii based on the audio signals, because the Wii sends 32 bits per sample instead of 16 and I have no idea why - the data is just duplicated. However, since Wii and Cube use different voltages for their signals, that detection suffers from exactly the same problem that a system detection would be useful for. =(

[bobrocks95]

Thanks for sharing Unseen. I'm sure at some point someone will make a ribbon adapter cable like the UltraHDMI has to make soldering easier. I'm guessing it's straight to the GPU pins?

[Unseen]

Thanks for sharing Unseen. I'm sure at some point someone will make a ribbon adapter cable like the UltraHDMI has to make soldering easier. I'm guessing it's straight to the GPU pins?

Almost all signals come from the AV encoder chip and if it weren't for the three audio signals and VData 0, all signals would come from a single side of the chip.

I wonder how hard it is to solder a standard 0.5mm flat flex cable to the pins of the AV encoder - it would reduce the number of "annoying to solder" (no convenient test pads or THT pins) signals from 12 to 4.

[noonan2678]

Anyone interested in building and installing one of these for a fair price?

[Guspaz]

BadAssConsoles will, once he finishes hand-soldering the things. Why he decided to hand-solder such a huge number of boards himself instead of just paying the factory to do it for him is beyond me...

[bobrocks95]

BadAssConsoles will, once he finishes hand-soldering the things. Why he decided to hand-solder such a huge number of boards himself instead of just paying the factory to do it for him is beyond me...

It's been frustrating to watch all that, since his board was supposed to be out in January, and then more recently about a month ago. In short he doesn't think the quality of fab houses is up to snuff, so he opted instead to hand-solder ~40,000 SMD solder points.

He of course has the skills to do it, but I really wonder how much was saved or how much higher the quality will be.

Price is supposed to be $50, or $65 with a flex cable and adapter board that matches with the pins on the bottom of the digital port (so no wires are necessary). I'd say the cleaner installation would warrant the extra $5 over the Pluto which I believe is $60.

[Guspaz]

I don't know why he'd think fabs weren't up to snuff, you would think machine-placed surface mount components would be better done than hand soldering in bulk, and other similar products like the hidefnes aren't having any issues with that. Besides, he's trying to make a living doing this, which you would think would put a much bigger premium on his time. He's not making a living while he's spending months hand-soldering the things instead of selling them and moving on to the next product.

[RGB32E]

He's not making a living while he's spending months hand-soldering the things instead of selling them and moving on to the next product.

From what I have gathered he's kind of a masochist (and a "megalomaniac")! Hand assembly is fine for prototyping, or simple small batch stuff. Then again, from Bob's interview it sounds like he doesn't need to earn an income, so it doesn't really matter how long it takes him. Hell, he wouldn't even OSH Park his SPDIF mod for the GCN (original design not created by him). Thankfully someone else provided a project for the equivalent circuit about a month ago that I need to order, assemble, and install in 3 GCNs!

[Ikaruga11]

BadAssConsoles will, once he finishes hand-soldering the things. Why he decided to hand-solder such a huge number of boards himself instead of just paying the factory to do it for him is beyond me...

I think it's pretty cool he's doing everything by hand. That's a huge undertaking, and deserves major props and recognition. The board would like be more expensive and lower quality if he paid a factory to do it for him.

[bobrocks95]

Badassconsole's board is available now for anyone that was waiting on it. Board only is $50 and ships immediately, a pack with a flex cable for a cleaner/easier install and what looks like a 3D printed enclosure for mounting the board/output port is $65 and ships mid-October. Install services are also offered for $35.

http://www.badassconsoles.com/gcvideo-1/

Of course I want to thank Unseen again, the DVI version of GC-Video really came out almost 2 years ago, and personally I've just been waiting for a cleaner install method than the Pluto board. I'm not really sure if it was worth the wait, but oh well, it's out now!

[mickcris]

thanks for the heads up. pre-ordered a D EZ pack. was trying to decide between that one and AD (which would have everything) but probably would not use the analog output over HDMI anyways. Looks like it will be a fairly easy install.

[Einzelherz]

So, uh, could I use this to place YPbPr on the multi out like I've been wanting to for ages?

Looks like yes with just the pcb, so that's good.

[bobrocks95]

So, uh, could I use this to place YPbPr on the multi out like I've been wanting to for ages?

Looks like yes with just the pcb, so that's good.

Yeah, you could still get the flex cable too and just ignore the mounting hardware too if it's worth $15 to you.

[sofakng]

Can anybody explain more about the GCVideo support for the Wii?

According to Unseen, GCVideo-DVI 2.2 added Wii support but he said it's very difficult to solder. I'm interested in this because I might want to use my Wii instead of buying a Gamecube and having HDMI instead of Component is very appealing!

Also, if it's that difficult to solder I wonder if BadAssConsoles would perform the same mod on the Wii? However, the alternate pin locations don't look too terribly difficult but I haven't looked so I guess they are extremely tiny?

EDIT: I am a little concerned though because the readme says, "It is not recommended to make this modification."

[Einzelherz]

So, uh, could I use this to place YPbPr on the multi out like I've been wanting to for ages?

Looks like yes with just the pcb, so that's good.

Yeah, you could still get the flex cable too and just ignore the mounting hardware too if it's worth $15 to you.

I didn't think about that stuff. I couldn't see a list of the included parts anywhere. I just have no use for the new ports.

[bobrocks95]

Can anybody explain more about the GCVideo support for the Wii?

According to Unseen, GCVideo-DVI 2.2 added Wii support but he said it's very difficult to solder. I'm interested in this because I might want to use my Wii instead of buying a Gamecube and having HDMI instead of Component is very appealing!

Also, if it's that difficult to solder I wonder if BadAssConsoles would perform the same mod on the Wii? However, the alternate pin locations don't look too terribly difficult but I haven't looked so I guess they are extremely tiny?

EDIT: I am a little concerned though because the readme says, "It is not recommended to make this modification."

GC-Video works right now with the Wii, though fitting a Pluto board into the Wii looks like it will require a bit of cutting on the heatsink (it's unexplored territory right now really).

If you're not comfortable doing fine pitch soldering or don't want to modify your heatsink, I'd wait for someone to come out with a flex cable solution, or to offer install services. Badassconsoles will offer one at some point, but who knows who will be the first to offer a board.

[BONKERS]

So, uh, could I use this to place YPbPr on the multi out like I've been wanting to for ages?

Looks like yes with just the pcb, so that's good.

So can we use this board now with RGB cables to get component out of the multi out?
If you will>Board wired to Multi out>RGB Cable >RGB to BNC adapter>BNC adapter to RCA ?

I just want Component out of my cube for GBI without spending 200$

[parodius]

D EZ Pack ordered as well

[Einzelherz]

So, uh, could I use this to place YPbPr on the multi out like I've been wanting to for ages?

Looks like yes with just the pcb, so that's good.

So can we use this board now with RGB cables to get component out of the multi out?
If you will>Board wired to Multi out>RGB Cable >RGB to BNC adapter>BNC adapter to RCA ?

I just want Component out of my cube for GBI without spending 200$

It looks like it. My plan is to send the Y, Pr, and Pb lines to G, R, and B respectively on the standard pinout since they're unused. Then I'll get a donor component cable since they're dirt cheap and graft a multi AV plug on to it.

The only thing I'm not 100% on after reading the setup guide is if you need to do anything special with the Mode point to get YPrPb.

[mvsfan]

Im excited about this but the analog kit at 72.00 is a bit on the expensive side.

i was hoping he could offer a kit for about half that, like his MD/Wasp combo, but i understand. Fpgas cost a lot.

[lechu]

Im excited about this but the analog kit at 72.00 is a bit on the expensive side.

i was hoping he could offer a kit for about half that, like his MD/Wasp combo, but i understand. Fpgas cost a lot.

Still about a third of the cost of the component cables.

[mvsfan]

that is true. component cables just keep going up too.

I think for now i will stick with s-video, but this is a planned future upgrade for me.

great kit.

[bobrocks95]

Im excited about this but the analog kit at 72.00 is a bit on the expensive side.

i was hoping he could offer a kit for about half that, like his MD/Wasp combo, but i understand. Fpgas cost a lot.

Eh, you could get the analog board only for $57 and wire it up to the multi-out. Not a huge improvement, but I think any cheaper than that and you'd have to build a board yourself.

[lev11]

Love the 'big balls' warning in the badass install guide on attempting to remove the digital port with a dremel.

I wonder why the flexcable routing is not in the guide, especially for the rear mount when not removing the digital port.

Edit: chipquik mentioned later in guide.