Extron 201rxi interference

[andykara2003]

Hi - I have an Extron 201rxi in the signal chain for use with a Gamecube and Wii. On the Wii there are sometimes interference lines in some scenes (it's almost invisible when using the Gamecube).

Take the Extron out of the signal chain and the interference goes. Does anyone know what's causing this? I've tried various dip switch combinations but no luck. It presents itself as mild horizontal lines going across the image (usually in brighter scenes), sometimes uniform and moving slowly (like in the attached photo) and sometimes eratic. Obviously the vertical bars in the image are just caused by the camera, it's the faint horizontal lines I'm talking about.

(For some reason I can't get the image rotated the right way so it's rotated 90 degrees)

Cheers.

[orange808]

Could you diagram the entire chain? Does the 201 have any internal dipswitches? My 118+ has some internal switches and my 130 does not. What kind of signal are you feeding the Extron? Does it happen on all your displays (Such as: PVM, Multisync CRT, Consumer CGA, VGA CRT, Consumer CRT Tele, and/or digital panel)

[andykara2003]

Hi - here's the signal chain:



I just tried the setup on a flat panel and the problem is still there so the TV's not causing it. In either case, the problem goes away when the Extron is removed. I'm thinking it's most likely to be the Extron causing it. The only other possibility is the BNC to VGA cable as that's the other thing that's removed when taking the Extron out of the chain. I'm on the lookout for a high quality replacement to rule this out.

The Extron does have internal dip switches. Here's the section from the manual with the details:

[Blair]

I had some really bad interference lines on a couple 203's that I purchased. after I found some new old stock (still in the packaging). all my wavy lines went away. (except for when I was using bad cables, read on).

personally I don't have any soldering skills to repair aging electronics. but I believe some of these issues might be fixed by recapping or changing out the internal power supplies.

even though extron products are built very well, they aren't immune to failure. especially as many of them were probably powered on 24/seven for a number of years.


as far as high-quality BNC/VGA. I've had really good luck with the really short atlona cables (picture below) (also bidirectional I believe)

Spoiler

I had lots of interference and signal noise issues with similar ones made by Star tec.

[andykara2003]

Thanks for taking the time - I think this sounds likely. I'll keep a lookout for a 201/202/203rxi that hasn't been used yet. In fact I've just seen one that looks promising - it seems like it's just been used as a demo unit. The new ones are going for a lot of money ($250ish), so it might be worth a punt..

[FinalBaton]

The 202 has a 9-pin RGB input though! Beware of that. I would stick to either the 201 or the 203.

[andykara2003]

Thanks - funny you say that now as I had a ropey old 202 around & was just trying to hook it up when I realised those weren't VGA connectors. The demo unit I was looking at buying is a 202 as well so I'm glad I found this out now. I'll just have to be patient and wait for a new/low use 201 or 203 to come up that isn't $250...

[orange808]

Thanks - funny you say that now as I had a ropey old 202 around & was just trying to hook it up when I realised those weren't VGA connectors. The demo unit I was looking at buying is a 202 as well so I'm glad I found this out now. I'll just have to be patient and wait for a new/low use 201 or 203 to come up that isn't $250...

Nine pin Extron to HD15 VGA breakout cables are about $10 usd on ebay. Search "extron breakout cable vga".

It's not a big deal.

Also, $250 usd for an RGB interface is ridiculous. Don't pay big money for one.

[andykara2003]

Cheers, good to know re. the 9 pin cables. I agree - those $250 units are brand new, just saying I'm waiting for units in new/low use condition that are much less expensive.

[FinalBaton]

Nine pin Extron to HD15 VGA breakout cables are about $10 usd on ebay. Search "extron breakout cable vga".

It's not a big deal.

I just did an Ebay.com search with the terms you mentionned. I couldn't find a single cable that used the 9 pin lead. So they certainly aren't that common.

[orange808]

Nine pin Extron to HD15 VGA breakout cables are about $10 usd on ebay. Search "extron breakout cable vga".

It's not a big deal.

I just did an Ebay.com search with the terms you mentionned. I couldn't find a single cable that used the 9 pin lead. So they certainly aren't that common.

Well, let's count them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-3-Extron ... Swal5YKoF6

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-Electron ... SwHMJYC7qm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-Electron ... Swu4BVqy1g


1, 2, 3...

Not rare. Pretty cheap.

Paying a ton of extra money for a native HD15 would be foolish.

[FinalBaton]

Didn't know those worked for our applications (RGB from consoles). Thought they carried CGA colors only.

Oh well.

[orange808]

Didn't know those worked for our applications (RGB from consoles). Thought they were CGA/EGA only.

Oh well

Nope. Extron marketed them as universal interfaces. They are fine.

You'd have to go all the way back to the specific Mac and CGA to VGA interfaces before you ran into issues.

[lechu]

I'm having similar interference with my 201. Has anyone actually made a cap list for it? I figured it would probably be less expensive to replace the caps myself than just buy a new unit.

[Gunstar]

Had some horizontal rolling bars on my 201 and ended up replacing it with a 203. I also tried recapping one of the large resistors on the psu that looked like it was damaged but it didn't make a difference, there's still a handful more that I need to recap to see if it solves the issue.

[hyrulebr]

Well, let's count them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-3-Extron ... Swal5YKoF6

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-Electron ... SwHMJYC7qm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extron-Electron ... Swu4BVqy1g

Thanks Orange808! I was looking for one of these cables.

I bought a 202rxi and 130xi to just realized in my house (Brazil) that I need one of these cable.

But now I can't find it on ebay (out of stock) but I will keep looking. Since I'm in another country, build one wil be a good option.

Do you have any tip to how to build one?

I came with this diagram:

DB9 HD15 VGA description
1 5 Ground
2
3 1 Red
4 2 blue
5 3 green
6
7
8 13 V sync/composite sync
9 14 H sync


But I don't know what to do with pin 6, 7 and 8 from HD 15 (RGB return) and If it's correct to link HD15 pin 5 to pin 1 of DB9

Also someone told me that I should bridge all pins 5, 6, 7 and 8 from HD15 and link to cable shield and pin1 from DB9...

I have no experience with this....

Thanks

Mauricio

[hyrulebr]

I got this cable from Amazon for $ 19.99

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OB ... UTF8&psc=1

Was the last one from a 3rd party seller. The other seller is asking $ 50!

[BazookaBen]

Does your Metz TV set not accept 480p from component? You can run component video through Extron's as well, just set them to Sync on Green.

[andykara2003]

Does your Metz TV set not accept 480p from component? You can run component video through Extron's as well, just set them to Sync on Green.

The Metz accepts 480p via scart. I use a Crescendo RTC2200 transcoder to convert the console's component to VGA which inputs into the Extron. From the Extron I use a BNC to VGA cable to a female-to-female VGA connector, then the official Metz VGA to scart cable to the TV. The Extron is purely used for image sharpening of the softer output from the 480p Nintendo conses (GC & Wii), which it does an excellent job with if used sparingly (much nicer than my DVDO VP50pro).

How would I input component into the Extron? My 201Rxi only has VGA as an input. Maybe a similar model can do this? If so, I'm looking to buy a new/low use unit so I could target that model for the extra functionality. The Crescendo does the conversion really well though - supposed to be one of the best units available for this. I wonder if letting the Crescendo do this part of the signal conversion (component to VGA) rather than letting an Extron handle it might actually result in a better image overall?

Also I guess the interference might be coming from one or more of the cables or the female-to-female VGA connector? Perhaps I'll look into that first before buying a new Extron.

[BazookaBen]

If your Metz can't accept YPbPr then it's probably of a moot point. But I get YPbPr to my Extron via a simple 3-RCA>VGA adapter. Or you can use a BNC>VGA adapter and just add RCA>BNC adapters to it. Lots of possibilities.

I also have a RTC 2220, by the way, currently using it to play my Wii U on a CRT PC monitor. Looks really good, basically a perfect use case for the RTC.

I did try to use it with an Extron and a PVM a couple years ago, before I learned I could just pass component straight to the Extron. It gave some weird results when trying to force 240p via ADSP, but not interference like you're describing. It just didn't create a good looking 240p like passing component through does.

My advice is to try another Extron since they can be found fairly cheap on Ebay.

[andykara2003]

Cheers - I have to get VGA signal for the TV (which doesn't accept YPbPr), so I'll still need to use the Crescendo for transcoding VGA for the Extron.

I think you're right that it's the Extron. I'd like a BNIB one but the only ones I can see are $299! Fudoh mentioned that unused ones aren't guaranteed to be free of problems anyway, as they're still old units.

I put a call-out for new or low-use units in the wanted section..

[hyrulebr]

DB9 to HD15 cable available again on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152431066330?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT