gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thread

[oligarch]

superg my man you haven't posted in awhile. Everything alright?

[superg]

I should get news from my manufacturer on Monday, they have some big holiday.

[oligarch]

I should get news from my manufacturer on Monday, they have some big holiday.

Looking forward to it man.

[beast1x5]

Hey superG will there be a gcompsw with two video out ports?? It would make streaming effortless for me

[silviola]

Hey superG will there be a gcompsw with two video out ports?? It would make streaming effortless for me

I have that same need.

[FBX]

Hey superG will there be a gcompsw with two video out ports?? It would make streaming effortless for me

I have that same need.

I don't mean to speak for him, but superg has stated he's taking a break from design-side for a while.

[gordon-creAtive]

You don't even need to speak for him, you can just quote him

Is it even possible, in a cost effective manner, to include amplified dual output in a component switcher? If so, I'd be down with pre-ordering one.

It is possible but as I've said earlier I want to take a break from all the development for a bit. Every revision requires an enormous amount of time to design, discuss and debug before it can be manufactured and I want to catch up on the other things. No new developments this year.

[superg]

Some news, the batch will be shipped to me this Friday. I usually get it in 3 days or so. That said it will be available for sale for everybody in 2 weeks.

[chromium]

Some news, the batch will be shipped to me this Friday. I usually get it in 3 days or so. That said it will be available for sale for everybody in 2 weeks.

Hmmm, wondering if I need a second. Haven't even hooked up the one I got a few months ago yet.

I do need a gcompsw though Do you know roughly when they will be available now that you have an ETA for the gscartsw_lite?

[badwhite40]

Hi!
How can I order one gscart lite?

[superg]

I'm getting multiple reports that supergun kills the switch. I had 3 switches for repair recently because of that (blown video multiplexers). I always stress that modded consoles are unsupported. I can't guarantee that I will be repairing those in future.
Please be careful when you're connecting a new device.

[chromium]

I'm getting multiple reports that supergun kills the switch. I had 3 switches for repair recently because of that (blown video multiplexers). I always stress that modded consoles are unsupported. I can't guarantee that I will be repairing those in future.
Please be careful when you're connecting a new device.

Yikes!

Any way to test a device before plugging it in?

[superg]

I'm getting multiple reports that supergun kills the switch. I had 3 switches for repair recently because of that (blown video multiplexers). I always stress that modded consoles are unsupported. I can't guarantee that I will be repairing those in future.
Please be careful when you're connecting a new device.

Yikes!

Any way to test a device before plugging it in?

Voltage levels on SCART RGBS lines have to be checked before connecting. Oscilloscope is needed. Anything over 1V on RGB is unsupported, higher voltages will blow the multiplexers. On sync line if TTL is used (CSYNC) it has to be protected with resistor, multimeter can be used to check the resistance. As far as I know, 2 current retro cable manufacturers are making the correct cables (retro_console_accessories and retrogamingcables.co.uk).
Supergun is nothing but pain in the neck. I don't know what exactly is going on there, one owner reported "Windy City" SCART cable, I'm currently asking the other owners. I'm not even sure it's a cable problem, if supergun circuit switches output level dynamically (I heard some arcade devices do that) it's all screwed up.

[superg]

Ok, so far two owners mentioned "Windy City".

[Gabeshack]

From this place?
https://www.windygaming.com

[superg]

From this place?
https://www.windygaming.com

I think so, I'm currently sending them email.

[Triple Lei]

Hmm... I don't have a gscart of my own yet, but I do have a supergun. I'm using a "PCB Advance JAMMA To Scart RGB arcade adapter Retroelectronik + SCART cable" (eBay) to grab RGB from the game PCB before it ever reaches the supergun. I've confirmed it improved my picture quite a lot, but only because the picture from my supergun "looked dirty" to begin with. Think this adapter would be safe to use with the gscart? Or does it depend on the power supply? (in my case, Happ Power Pro 130W)

Also, for better or worse, that adapter doesn't output audio to the SCART connection, so I'm stuck using RCA from the supergun and plugging it in somewhere else for audio. Anyone know what kind of adapters I need if I want combine the SCART video and RCA audio into one SCART connection for when I eventually do get a gscart switch?

[superg]

Hmm... I don't have a gscart of my own yet, but I do have a supergun. I'm using a "PCB Advance JAMMA To Scart RGB arcade adapter Retroelectronik + SCART cable" (eBay) to grab RGB from the game PCB before it ever reaches the supergun. I've confirmed it improved my picture quite a lot, but only because the picture from my supergun "looked dirty" to begin with. Think this adapter would be safe to use with the gscart? Or does it depend on the power supply? (in my case, Happ Power Pro 130W)

Also, for better or worse, that adapter doesn't output audio to the SCART connection, so I'm stuck using RCA from the supergun and plugging it in somewhere else for audio. Anyone know what kind of adapters I need if I want combine the SCART video and RCA audio into one SCART connection for when I eventually do get a gscart switch?

I've just got a confirmation from another user that he was using the same Windy City setup prior to the failure.
Can't give any recommendations about Supergun at this point.

[ChuChu Flamingo]

That is pretty unfortunate.

I wonder if the sync line is not attenuated right on those Windy superguns, it might explain why it frys the board.Arcade signals are TTL if im not mistaken.

In any case it would be cool if we found out the root cause of this, there has to be a way to connect a supergun safely to this switch imo.

Kind of a related question superg, but is it even possible to say create a Gscart lite hypothetically that can take 75 ohm/TTL? TL;DR create something with higher tolerances kinda like analog devices so stuff like this doesn't really happen.

[leonk]

DO NOT ASSUME YOUR SCART CABLE IS CORRECT.

In last 2 weeks I have corrected SCART cables from both recommended sellers. In 1 case no resistors on csync line (ttl from snes!) the other the resistor value was wrong (150ohm instead of 300ohm)

Test your scart cables!

[ChuChu Flamingo]

Yeah I agree its the best thing to do.

How old were the cables? All the cables I got in July were good (tested with a multimeter for the right ohms on Genesis Model 1 and Sega Saturn according to RetroRGBs site) except SNES.

The only one that didn't have a resistor was the SNES cable. RCA's reason was that people would often use it for NESRGB installs where the CSYNC is attenuated to 75 ohms most of the time and it wouldn't sync so pretty much compatibility reasons.I sent mine back to fix that and fully shield it at the same time + remove capacitors on a PS2 cable I ordered.

I exchanged a few pms about the potential problems with it and stated why not have two listings. With this in mind it seems she now list two different ones so thats good.

[chromium]

I don't have a Supergun, nor do I plan on getting one.

I do have a bunch of modded consoles though.

NESRGB, French PAL N64, SNES Jr, 3DO, PC Engine and Duo R.

I don't have an oscilloscope to test. Haven't used my gscartsw_lite yet. Hope it's all good

[superg]

Kind of a related question superg, but is it even possible to say create a Gscart lite hypothetically that can take 75 ohm/TTL? TL;DR create something with higher tolerances kinda like analog devices so stuff like this doesn't really happen.

There already is some tolerance. Switch accepts TTL with proper resistor. It's not that strict 75/TTL may work, multiplexer range is -2.5V..+2.5V. But my point is that if it says SCART-RGB it has to be 0.7Vrms according to standard. There already is input voltage / polarity protection added, I would rather not add anything new to every input because of costs / another reiteration / my time.
I believe that the Windy City supergun case is different. Something is terribly wrong as the new owner reported U2 switch IC literally blown (Green line multiplexer)!

[superg]

I don't have a Supergun, nor do I plan on getting one.

I do have a bunch of modded consoles though.

NESRGB, French PAL N64, SNES Jr, 3DO, PC Engine and Duo R.

I don't have an oscilloscope to test. Haven't used my gscartsw_lite yet. Hope it's all good

Lite can take some amount of abuse, usually if your sync line doesn't have the resistor you won't see anything on screen and then people usually look into their cable / add the resistor etc. This supergun case is different.

[superg]

New batch update: Manufacturer assembled everything but there is a problem with Altera oscillator which they are currently fixing. The batch is delayed, hope it won't take long.

[tusecsy]

Well, on a positive note, by the time these switches are actually available all the systems will be FPGA HDMI and so obsolete lol.

Why doesn't someone else produce these? It's been what, 8 months since anyone could even preorder them? Probably 1 or 2 thousand people backed up waiting to buy one...

[superg]

Well, on a positive note, by the time these switches are actually available all the systems will be FPGA HDMI and so obsolete lol.

Why doesn't someone else produce these? It's been what, 8 months since anyone could even preorder them? Probably 1 or 2 thousand people backed up waiting to buy one...

These were available a month ago. Far from being thousand, I wish I sell thousands.
Every batch fulfills the demand, preorders were opened for 2 weeks, nobody ordered in the last few days so your math is wrong.

[tusecsy]

You don't sell thousands cuz you don't make thousands.

You sold 32 of them "a month ago", and they sold out in exactly 1 minute.

When's the last time you could actually preorder them? 6-8 months ago?

Sorry for the attitude but at this point I'm just sick of wasting my time on it. If one were on ebay for 300$+ i'd prob just buy it consider the hours I've spent just trying to procure one.

[mrrobboto]

You don't sell thousands cuz you don't make thousands.

You sold 32 of them "a month ago", and they sold out in exactly 1 minute.

When's the last time you could actually preorder them? 6-8 months ago?

Sorry for the attitude but at this point I'm just sick of wasting my time on it. If one were on ebay for 300$+ i'd prob just buy it consider the hours I've spent just trying to procure one.

If his preorders were before the mylifeingaming episode - which has 56K views now - the demand may not have been high. After the video I am sure everyone who owns a PVM, framemeister or OSSC wants one now. OSSC has been selling like crazy so I imagine he could at least match that demand because naturally anyone who buys one of those will want the best switcher to go with it. I do think he is underestimating the demand for these switchers now.

[andykara2003]

Sorry for the attitude

Quite right - you don't have to be such an arse about it. I'm sure you'll get further by just politely asking him what the situation is.