Questions that do not deserve a thread

[vol.2]

Quick soldering noob questions:

I want to install a Mega Amp board in my Model 2 Genesis, so it's dealing with through-hole components mostly. What size wire and solder would be ideal?

The guy who made the board recommended 26-28 AWG wire, so I was going to grab a spool of 26 AWG (and a smaller pair of wire strippers). I have 20 or 22 AWG lying around, should I go ahead and go for the recommended smaller size? I'm guessing it would be easier to work with.

I also have 0.032" (0.812mm) solder- do I need to go smaller on it too? I saw lots of people recommending 0.032" for PCB work, and I see that solder sizes don't go nearly as small as wire sizes do, so I feel like it's fine?

I think your supplies are fine. If anything, do yourself a favor and try it out on an old piece of junk pcb before you work on your kit. You'll know if stuff if there right size of you can work with it.

[vol.2]

How can I fill in a scratch on my BVM-20F1U's screen protector?

In the plastic bezel? You can use epoxy. JB weld comes in a stick. You can add color to it so that it matches.

If you're talking about glass, then I have no idea.

[bobrocks95]

Quick soldering noob questions:

I want to install a Mega Amp board in my Model 2 Genesis, so it's dealing with through-hole components mostly. What size wire and solder would be ideal?

The guy who made the board recommended 26-28 AWG wire, so I was going to grab a spool of 26 AWG (and a smaller pair of wire strippers). I have 20 or 22 AWG lying around, should I go ahead and go for the recommended smaller size? I'm guessing it would be easier to work with.

I also have 0.032" (0.812mm) solder- do I need to go smaller on it too? I saw lots of people recommending 0.032" for PCB work, and I see that solder sizes don't go nearly as small as wire sizes do, so I feel like it's fine?

I think your supplies are fine. If anything, do yourself a favor and try it out on an old piece of junk pcb before you work on your kit. You'll know if stuff if there right size of you can work with it.

That's a good idea, I think I have a broken graphics card lying around somewhere, I can just remove a couple capacitors and try soldering the wire I've got in. That pretty much mimics what I'll be doing to install the Mega Amp. Thanks for the idea!

[Chomolonzo]

Somewhat convoluted post here...

I live in Australia and all of my systems are PAL.

I have an Extron Crosspoint on the way so I can link up all my old consoles to my BVM-A20F1M monitor without having to plug-unplug stuff all the time. Now, the thing I'm still kind of unsure about is exactly how to go about connecting things up. As it stands, this is what I'll have and how they'll be connected:

NES (NESRGB modded) - should I use a SCART cable or the component add-on? I only ask because I already have male-male component cables and the add-on is cheaper than the SCART cable.
SNES - SCART
N64 (N64 RGB modded) - SCART
GameCube - component
Wii - component
Possiby a PS1 - SCART

Now, I'm aware PAL systems don't use csync - luma or something is used instead, and the Extron has a fit if it doesn't get csync like the kids at school when I don't let them have computer time. Does that mean that I'll need to have sync strippers on all of the RGB SCART cables in order for them to work properly with the Extron? Will I need to do anything to the component cabled systems to get them to play nice? Or do the systems with the RGB mods solve the csync problem somehow? If that's the case, do I simply need to replace the luma sync SNES SCART cable I already have with something else, or slap a sync stripper on it?

To make this easier for this ding-dong, does anyone have a link to the exact cables I'd need for these systems that I could just buy and no longer worry about, or is opening up existing cables and installing sync strippers unavoidable?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Chomolonzo]

Somewhat convoluted post here...

I live in Australia and all of my systems are PAL.

I have an Extron Crosspoint on the way so I can link up all my old consoles to my BVM-A20F1M monitor without having to plug-unplug stuff all the time. Now, the thing I'm still kind of unsure about is exactly how to go about connecting things up. As it stands, this is what I'll have and how they'll be connected:

NES (NESRGB modded) - should I use a SCART cable or the component add-on? I only ask because I already have male-male component cables and the add-on is cheaper than the SCART cable.
SNES - SCART
N64 (N64 RGB modded) - SCART
GameCube - component
Wii - component
Possiby a PS1 - SCART

Now, I'm aware PAL systems don't use csync - luma or something is used instead, and the Extron has a fit if it doesn't get csync like the kids at school when I don't let them have computer time. Does that mean that I'll need to have sync strippers on all of the RGB SCART cables in order for them to work properly with the Extron? Will I need to do anything to the component cabled systems to get them to play nice? Or do the systems with the RGB mods solve the csync problem somehow? If that's the case, do I simply need to replace the luma sync SNES SCART cable I already have with something else, or slap a sync stripper on it?

To make this easier for this ding-dong, does anyone have a link to the exact cables I'd need for these systems that I could just buy and no longer worry about, or is opening up existing cables and installing sync strippers unavoidable?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

OR do I simply get whatever SCART cables are easiest, then buy however many of these I need for however many SCART cables I have?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201732388945 ... EBIDX%3AIT

[zimes]

Is there anyone who has used the Sony PVM 20L1? What are your thoughts about it?

[atheistgod1999]

How can I get rid of tiny rolling hum bars (only one on screen at once) on my PVM-1354Q? On my PS1 in RGB, it goes up. On my NES-101 via RF demodulated with a TU-1041U to composite, it goes down. Can anyone help me?

[redcage]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone knows whether it's normal for a PVM-6041qm ( or PVM-5041q) to have strong vertical scan lines instead of the normal horizontal ones. I have some other pvms like the PVM-9L3, PVM-14L5 and they all have the normal horizontal scan lines. One doesn't really see it from far but if u get close (A very likely thing to do since the monitor is only 5") is quite visible. It's as if I had rotated the monitor to do Tate viewing :p

Thanks !

[atheistgod1999]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone knows whether it's normal for a PVM-6041qm ( or PVM-5041q) to have strong vertical scan lines instead of the normal horizontal ones.

That's impossible, unless the monitor was flipped on its side.

It's as if I had rotated the monitor to do Tate viewing

Either you have and don't realize it, or it's something other than scanlines. Can you provide pictures?

[redcage]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone knows whether it's normal for a PVM-6041qm ( or PVM-5041q) to have strong vertical scan lines instead of the normal horizontal ones.

That's impossible, unless the monitor was flipped on its side.

It's as if I had rotated the monitor to do Tate viewing

Either you have and don't realize it, or it's something other than scanlines. Can you provide pictures?

Having a bit of problem putting up images properly, Please click on thumbnail to view a larger picture.



You can clearly see the vertical lines even from my less than optimal shooting. In any case, I had a look at a screenshot from Ebay on a similar model and I see it's showing vertical lines as well. I guess it's meant to be like that ?

[bobrocks95]

What's the TVL (TV Lines) on it? I believe the TVL is usually really low on the 5" PVMs, like 250. It can be thought of as the limit on horizontal resolution of the tube- a higher TVL will make it look like a single painted horizontal line, while a low TVL will show as segmented stripes like on yours.

EDIT: I see yours is 250 TVL. So despite the small size it's still a really low TVL, and unfortunately looks kind of segmented.

[redcage]

What's the TVL (TV Lines) on it? I believe the TVL is usually really low on the 5" PVMs, like 250. It can be thought of as the limit on horizontal resolution of the tube- a higher TVL will make it look like a single painted horizontal line, while a low TVL will show as segmented stripes like on yours.

EDIT: I see yours is 250 TVL. So despite the small size it's still a really low TVL, and unfortunately looks kind of segmented.

Yeah that's right ! It's only 250 TVL I had thought that it would be OK on the account of the size of the screen. Oh well, it's still not too bad a monitor. At least I know it's not broken ! Thanks for the input !

[bobrocks95]

What's the TVL (TV Lines) on it? I believe the TVL is usually really low on the 5" PVMs, like 250. It can be thought of as the limit on horizontal resolution of the tube- a higher TVL will make it look like a single painted horizontal line, while a low TVL will show as segmented stripes like on yours.

EDIT: I see yours is 250 TVL. So despite the small size it's still a really low TVL, and unfortunately looks kind of segmented.

Yeah that's right ! It's only 250 TVL I had thought that it would be OK on the account of the size of the screen. Oh well, it's still not too bad a monitor. At least I know it's not broken ! Thanks for the input !

Yeah I would have thought the same, that being 5" it would easily compensate for the smaller TVL. I don't quite understand how TVL is measured, but below a certain point it may just be visible no matter what the screen size is.

[Jademalo]

Hey! Been away from retro stuff for most of the year, been stupidly busy. Finally had the time to start catching up, and hot damn have I missed a lot!
Got quite a few small questions, so I figured posting them here would be best.

1. Has the bug I found with the XRGB Mini's colour decoding been fixed yet? It looked like there was something in the patch notes to do with it, and that's awesome if it has.
2. I've been reading up about the OSSC, and it looks awesome. Does it have to be paired with a DVDO, or would running it through the Mini's HDMI in suffice? What exactly are the benefits of the DVDO?
3. I know it's a polarising issue, but does the OSSC have the ability to change the width of the image so that SNES pixels can be correctly square and display at 8:7? Yoshi's Island drives me insane with the ovals on 4:3, and while I'm not going to look for an argument over what is correct, it's nice to have options.
4. I'm correct in thinking the Mini is still much better for 480i sources, yeah?
5. How is the OSSC for 480p sources? Is it a clean image that I can scale in post when using it to record footage? I've always been told that the Mini's 480p was bad, but I had decent results from my Wii.

Thanks!

[bobrocks95]

I think your supplies are fine. If anything, do yourself a favor and try it out on an old piece of junk pcb before you work on your kit. You'll know if stuff if there right size of you can work with it.

Wanted to thank you for this, practicing on a broken GPU was really helpful (and incredibly frustrating for the first hour or so until I figured things out). I do need smaller wire so I can properly use it on through-hole stuff, but the solder size doesn't seem to be a problem at all.

Hey! Been away from retro stuff for most of the year, been stupidly busy. Finally had the time to start catching up, and hot damn have I missed a lot!
Got quite a few small questions, so I figured posting them here would be best.

I can answer those last couple.

4. I'm correct in thinking the Mini is still much better for 480i sources, yeah?

Definitely, unless you want to prioritize lag over image quality. The Mini looks great for 480i sources.

5. How is the OSSC for 480p sources? Is it a clean image that I can scale in post when using it to record footage? I've always been told that the Mini's 480p was bad, but I had decent results from my Wii.

Everything I've read says the digitization looks really nice, and it's full 4:4:4 processing and everything. There's also a x2 mode for 480p sources, but it's unlikely to work with most TVs and might not look great for 3D games.

[Jademalo]

4. I'm correct in thinking the Mini is still much better for 480i sources, yeah?

Definitely, unless you want to prioritize lag over image quality. The Mini looks great for 480i sources.

5. How is the OSSC for 480p sources? Is it a clean image that I can scale in post when using it to record footage? I've always been told that the Mini's 480p was bad, but I had decent results from my Wii.

Everything I've read says the digitization looks really nice, and it's full 4:4:4 processing and everything. There's also a x2 mode for 480p sources, but it's unlikely to work with most TVs and might not look great for 3D games.

Sounds fantastic, thank you!

Having the choice between the mini and the OSSC for 480i sounds good then, good to know lag has been prioritized over the highest quality deinterlacing. That's certainly not something I've come across before =p
I really wish there was a solid 1080p60 capture card that could do 4:4:4 to take advantage of that processing, last time I looked they were getting into cinema grade with price tags to match.

Thanks!

[Guspaz]

Which is not to say that the OSSC is bad for 480i. It doesn't try to produce a higher resolution image like the Framemeister does, but instead displays alternating scanlines offset by one line every other field, and the end result looks a lot like how 480i looks on a CRT. It's less pleasing than something handled with more sophisticated deinterlacing, but it's certainly usable.

[Jademalo]

Oh, so is it a simple bob? Is the temporal resolution properly preserved?

[Einzelherz]

What's the TVL (TV Lines) on it? I believe the TVL is usually really low on the 5" PVMs, like 250. It can be thought of as the limit on horizontal resolution of the tube- a higher TVL will make it look like a single painted horizontal line, while a low TVL will show as segmented stripes like on yours.

EDIT: I see yours is 250 TVL. So despite the small size it's still a really low TVL, and unfortunately looks kind of segmented.

Yeah that's right ! It's only 250 TVL I had thought that it would be OK on the account of the size of the screen. Oh well, it's still not too bad a monitor. At least I know it's not broken ! Thanks for the input !

Yeah I would have thought the same, that being 5" it would easily compensate for the smaller TVL. I don't quite understand how TVL is measured, but below a certain point it may just be visible no matter what the screen size is.

Sony generally released the dot pitch with their TVL counts which would give an idea of the relative sharpness on many models.

[vol.2]

I think your supplies are fine. If anything, do yourself a favor and try it out on an old piece of junk pcb before you work on your kit. You'll know if stuff if there right size of you can work with it.

Wanted to thank you for this, practicing on a broken GPU was really helpful (and incredibly frustrating for the first hour or so until I figured things out). I do need smaller wire so I can properly use it on through-hole stuff, but the solder size doesn't seem to be a problem at all.

Hey! You're welcome. I'm really glad you got things on the way to being sorted. I do quite a bit of soldering myself, but I usually make sure of my solution before doing anything important. Let me know how it goes!

[Ikaruga11]

Is there any documentation for the TVL counts on Sony's consumer CRTs?

[vol.2]

Is there any documentation for the TVL counts on Sony's consumer CRTs?

I believe the answer is that nobody claims to have seen any.

I'd love to be wrong about it though.

[Xyga]

Is there any documentation for the TVL counts on Sony's consumer CRTs?

I believe the answer is that nobody claims to have seen any.

I'd love to be wrong about it though.

We don't really need to know the tvl count to tell, do we ? I mean simply comparing with pictures consumer Trinitrons look about half as defined as a 600tvl and share the thickness/roundness (as opposed to the 800~ sharpness and big gaps)

[Remistewart]

My BVMD24 has two very fine darkened horizontal lines going across the screen all the way from left to right. One near the top, another near the middle. Pretty visible in light grey or white colour spaces. I checked if this was burn in by shining a light on the screen with the monitor off, but I can't find the lines this way.

Is this a problem with the tube? Or is there a weird setting thats creating the lines?

The lines become much more crisp as when I use higher definition modes such as 480p, 720p and 1080i.

[vol.2]

Is there any documentation for the TVL counts on Sony's consumer CRTs?

I believe the answer is that nobody claims to have seen any.

I'd love to be wrong about it though.

We don't really need to know the tvl count to tell, do we ? I mean simply comparing with pictures consumer Trinitrons look about half as defined as a 600tvl and share the thickness/roundness (as opposed to the 800~ sharpness and big gaps)

Sure. There is a clear difference. But it's nice to see the actual figures. I'm sure they are not all the same either. I have an EDTV from the mid 2000s that is like to know more about for example.

[kamiboy]

My BVMD24 has two very fine darkened horizontal lines going across the screen all the way from left to right. One near the top, another near the middle. Pretty visible in light grey or white colour spaces. I checked if this was burn in by shining a light on the screen with the monitor off, but I can't find the lines this way.

Is this a problem with the tube? Or is there a weird setting thats creating the lines?

The lines become much more crisp as when I use higher definition modes such as 480p, 720p and 1080i.

Those are tension wires holding the aperture grille. They are normal.

[Remistewart]

Thanks for the reply! Are you sure? They look quite unpleasant - like thin lines of dark hair going across the screen. Plus I have the aperture turned off if that makes any difference?

[Einzelherz]

Thanks for the reply! Are you sure? They look quite unpleasant - like thin lines of dark hair going across the screen. Plus I have the aperture turned off if that makes any difference?

They are mechanical, not electronic. Think of them as support wires holding a mesh together.

[Remistewart]

Awesome, it's great to know its just part of the machine's architecture itself. Massive thank you for clearing this for me so quickly!
R

[Ikaruga11]

My BVMD24 has two very fine darkened horizontal lines going across the screen all the way from left to right. One near the top, another near the middle. Pretty visible in light grey or white colour spaces. I checked if this was burn in by shining a light on the screen with the monitor off, but I can't find the lines this way.

Is this a problem with the tube? Or is there a weird setting thats creating the lines?

The lines become much more crisp as when I use higher definition modes such as 480p, 720p and 1080i.

That is 100% normal and not a defect. It's part of the aperture grill technology.