Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

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thefoo83
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by thefoo83 »

ASDR wrote:I ended up buying a VGA cable from an eBay seller called thefoo83. Makes their own cables, looks perfect on my OSSC. Don't listen to people who say this is 'impossible'.
Xer Xian wrote:I have a couple of VGA cable made from thefoo.83 and can recommend it as well (no 480i support though). I'd message him on eBay and ask him to put some up for sale - he hasn't made a listing for DC VGA cables in a while. .
Thank you for the recommendation. I just want you to know and all others that I had some problems with VGA cables that is why I did not put them for sale. After two weeks few cables will be on stock some with scanline generator and 15kHz/31kHz switch and also standard cables but also with 15kHz/31kHz switch.
nmalinoski wrote:15kHz/31kHz switch, which is needed to play 480i-only games (and sometimes trick them into displaying in 480p anyway).
For both versions you can also buy from me VGA to RGB adapter if you need it.
Some photos of cables:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-QVc ... mJaM1BjQ1k
You can also send me an order to my e-mail thefoo83@gmail.com
When I will get more plugs I will make more cables.
Logan Jones
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Logan Jones »

How much will the cables cost?
nmalinoski
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by nmalinoski »

thefoo83 wrote:
nmalinoski wrote:15kHz/31kHz switch, which is needed to play 480i-only games (and sometimes trick them into displaying in 480p anyway).
For both versions you can also buy from me VGA to RGB adapter if you need it.
It's great that you offer an RGB adapter (the more options, the merrier); but how does that relate to what I was saying?
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Xer Xian
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Xer Xian »

Thefoo83 - Thanks for being here. If I may ask a question, I guess that the switch in the DC vga cable is only for tricking games into booting at 31kHz? No actual 15kHz support?
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Steamflogger Boss
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

thefoo83 wrote:
ASDR wrote:I ended up buying a VGA cable from an eBay seller called thefoo83. Makes their own cables, looks perfect on my OSSC. Don't listen to people who say this is 'impossible'.
Xer Xian wrote:I have a couple of VGA cable made from thefoo.83 and can recommend it as well (no 480i support though). I'd message him on eBay and ask him to put some up for sale - he hasn't made a listing for DC VGA cables in a while. .
Thank you for the recommendation. I just want you to know and all others that I had some problems with VGA cables that is why I did not put them for sale. After two weeks few cables will be on stock some with scanline generator and 15kHz/31kHz switch and also standard cables but also with 15kHz/31kHz switch.
nmalinoski wrote:15kHz/31kHz switch, which is needed to play 480i-only games (and sometimes trick them into displaying in 480p anyway).
For both versions you can also buy from me VGA to RGB adapter if you need it.
Some photos of cables:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-QVc ... mJaM1BjQ1k
You can also send me an order to my e-mail thefoo83@gmail.com
When I will get more plugs I will make more cables.
So since I bought a cable a week or so ago, that one will not have a switch correct? From the looks of these new pictures I'd say definitely not. Oh well, I'll probably buy one of these new ones too. :)
thefoo83
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by thefoo83 »

Logan Jones wrote:How much will the cables cost?
please ask on my e-mail
nmalinoski wrote:but how does that relate to what I was saying?
I quoted you because you wrote that VGA cables do not have 15kHz/31kHz switch. Just because of this.
Xer Xian wrote:Thefoo83 - Thanks for being here. If I may ask a question, I guess that the switch in the DC vga cable is only for tricking games into booting at 31kHz? No actual 15kHz support?
Yes but please note that some monitors or TVs or devices support 15kHz directly from VGA for example 15khz is supported by OSSC. 15kHz mode is also used for my VGA to RGB adapter.
Dochartaigh
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Dochartaigh »

thefoo83 wrote: Yes but please note that some monitors or TVs or devices support 15kHz directly from VGA for example 15khz is supported by OSSC. 15kHz mode is also used for my VGA to RGB adapter.
So let's talk about MultiFormat (480i/480p) Sony BVM/PVM's which take RGBS. I want to be able to use 480i (even hear some select arcade ports are in 240p?) since not all games work in 480p. How would I go about this?

When your cables are in 480i/15khz mode is the cable outputting RGBS? (so there's a sync combiner built into it?)

When your cables hit the switch for 480p/31khz mode, is that VGA/RGBHV (which most people are used to Dreamcast outputting 480p over traditional VGA). OR, would I be able to have that output 480p in RGBS since the cable (presumably) already has the sync combiner chip inside it? - this would be ideal for us using multiformat monitors by Sony, Ikegami, JVC, etc.

Sorry if this is a dumb question - I'm completely and utterly new to the Dreamcast and haven't bought a single thing for it quite yet.
thefoo83
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by thefoo83 »

Dochartaigh - I sent answer to your as PM and I sent one more today
Last edited by thefoo83 on Fri Jan 26, 2018 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dochartaigh
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Dochartaigh »

thefoo83 wrote:Dochartaigh - I sent answer to your as PM and I senst one more today
I PM'd you back and kindly suggested that you post publicly here so we're all informed of exactly what your (awesome sounding ;) product is capable of. And also suggested that your tech who is actually building these chime in as it sounds like he has the technical expertise to answer our detailed questions.
thefoo83
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by thefoo83 »

Few cables on stock
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173164030415?V ... CA:US:1123
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173164049972?V ... CA:US:1123
More after few weeks because I am waiting for DC plugs now.
You can also send me order to my e-mail thefoo83@gmail.com
thefoo83
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by thefoo83 »

More cables on stock
https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=& ... +&_sacat=0
Unfortunately because of production cost prices will go higher next month.
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Syntax
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Syntax »

thefoo83 wrote:More cables on stock
https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=& ... +&_sacat=0
Unfortunately because of production cost prices will go higher next month.
Do your cables contain a buffer IC like the original VGA cables for Dreamcast?

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/dre ... dricas.gif
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maxtherabbit
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by maxtherabbit »

personally I'm holding out for the HDRV dreamcast component cables so I can get 240p/480i/480p support without any additional adapters or converters and go straight into my component switch
nmalinoski
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by nmalinoski »

maxtherabbit wrote:personally I'm holding out for the HDRV dreamcast component cables so I can get 240p/480i/480p support without any additional adapters or converters and go straight into my component switch
Hopefully their cable will at least have a switch that will let you trick compatible 480i games into playing 480p.
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maxtherabbit
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by maxtherabbit »

nmalinoski wrote:
maxtherabbit wrote:personally I'm holding out for the HDRV dreamcast component cables so I can get 240p/480i/480p support without any additional adapters or converters and go straight into my component switch
Hopefully their cable will at least have a switch that will let you trick compatible 480i games into playing 480p.
it would have to, that's the only way it would work the way they advertise
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ASDR
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by ASDR »

Syntax wrote: Do your cables contain a buffer IC like the original VGA cables for Dreamcast?

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/dre ... dricas.gif
Should they? What if they don't :D
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Syntax
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Syntax »

ASDR wrote:
Syntax wrote: Do your cables contain a buffer IC like the original VGA cables for Dreamcast?

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/dre ... dricas.gif
Should they? What if they don't :D
Cheap cables will just put the 150R resistors inline on HV sync to protect the DAC, you really should have a buffer IC to pull the sync up to a decent TTL range.

Without the buffer your sync sits around 3.5v.
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ASDR
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by ASDR »

Syntax wrote: Cheap cables will just put the 150R resistors inline on HV sync to protect the DAC, you really should have a buffer IC to pull the sync up to a decent TTL range.

Without the buffer your sync sits around 3.5v.
I'd assume no cable without a box actually has a buffer IC, probably can't fit them into the VGA connector. So this is putting strain on the DAC inside the console? If the low-voltage sync doesn't cause any apparent (image quality, sync stability) issues, is this something to be concerned about?
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Syntax
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Syntax »

If you have poor grounding in the house and the monitor latches the inputs then..... Who knows.. The DAC can output 3.5v so there's more protection than say a 1.8v DAC

Mostly you'll just have poor compatibility with screens or horizontal interference.

Should really be close to 5v.
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ASDR
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by ASDR »

Syntax wrote:If you have poor grounding in the house and the monitor latches the inputs then..... Who knows.. The DAC can output 3.5v so there's more protection than say a 1.8v DAC

Mostly you'll just have poor compatibility with screens or horizontal interference.

Should really be close to 5v.
Ah well, another cable to worry about & to eventually replace. Don't you just hate these things, sitting around lazily, breaking stuff & messing with your picture.
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Xer Xian
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Xer Xian »

I hooked up the DC to my JVC monitor through a cable made by the.foo and strangely enough I get no sync at all. The picture appears for a split second and then it's gone. The same cable works perfectly on my vga monitors..
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ASDR
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by ASDR »

I had some vertical stripes with the VGA input on my TV, but it currently looks perfect going through the OSSC.
Dochartaigh
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Dochartaigh »

Has anybody ordered the cable from thefoo? Would like to hear some feedback about if it worked for them properly, in both 31khz and 15khz mode.

I honestly forget if it even outputs merged sync or not (RGBS), but that honestly doesn't matter since I need to run it through an Extron RGB Rxi 203 to get rid of the skew on the top of the image regardless (so that can take care of merging H and V sync). Just looking for a quality cable which is switchable from 31 to 15khz so I can play ALL games (which so far only ~2x games I have out of maybe 20 aren't playable in 480p natively...but would still like that feature regardless).
Revolver Ocelot
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Revolver Ocelot »

I use my Dreamcast on my Framemeister with RGB Scart und the image quality is good but I want to uprade to a decent VGA Solution. Long time before I got the FM, i bought a cheap vga to hdmi converter, to connect my TV with my Dreamcast. it did not work out well. The picture was not very stable. There were sync issues I presume. Hooking up the converter with the Framemeister solved this problem and I get a crisp image now. I prefer this image over the RGB ouput so I want to try to go full VGA.

But it is a bit bothersome to need two boxes to use the DC.

I will either wait for the HD Retrovision Component cable, or I will try get a d terminal to component adapter and use my dc directly with the Framemeister. Has somebody of you experience with the D-terminal output of the Framemeister?

Or would there be any again in quality if I would get a vga box like to toro and use it with the FM?


the Advantage of the toro would be that I do not have to change settings when I have to use non VGA games...

What are your opinions in that matter?

Thanks for the help in advance.
nmalinoski
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by nmalinoski »

Revolver Ocelot wrote:I use my Dreamcast on my Framemeister with RGB Scart und the image quality is good but I want to uprade to a decent VGA Solution.
You should note that VGA and SCART are both RGB, with the difference being that VGA applications tend to have separate horizontal and vertical sync (RGBHV), whereas SCART usually carries some form of composite sync (RGBS). You won't notice a quality difference between the two, unless you use quality cabling for one and poorly- or non-shielded cabling for the other.

In my experience, a BeharBros Toro will give you the most flexibility, in that you can use either VGA or SCART cabling, it has a switch to select between 15kHz (240p/480i) and 31kHz (480p) video (which would be used for tricking most 480i-only games into playing in 480p), it supports 480p over SCART, and it has a scanline generator built in, if you like that sort of thing.

If you just want a cable, without an intermediary "box" like the Toro, I believe the only supplier that currently sells them is thefoo.83 on eBay. RetroGamingCables is still developing their Dreamcast SCART cables, so they're not yet selling them.

Whether you're going to use a Toro or one of these SCART cables with the Framemeister, you will need a good, shielded SCART cable and a SCART to miniDIN adapter (NOT the JP-21 adapter that used to normally ship with the Framemeister). The Toro would need to be configured for RGBS, not RGBHV.

You should also be aware that the Framemeister is known for lack of proficiency in scaling 480p, which I expect is what you're trying to use by looking for a Toro or another VGA box/cable for your Dreamcast.

As I understand it, you would not be able to directly use the Dreamcast with the Framemeister's D-Terminal input, as that expects YPbPr component, and and the Dreamcast does not support YPbPr; you would need the HDRetrovision cable to do that, but then waiting for and using that cable doesn't make sense when you can just use something like a Toro with RGB SCART now.
Revolver Ocelot
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Revolver Ocelot »

nmalinoski Thanks for the detailed answer. Yes geting 480p scaled up in a good quality is indeed the reason why I am intersted in getting the torro.

I am aware that RGB Scart has a similar signal as VGA but on my TV the VGA looks better than the RGB Scart . But this could the fault of my the Scart cable.

It is a old no Name cable my parents bought for me, when I got the Dreamcast back in 2000. Maybe buying a new cable could improve quality as the the cable could be a rather low quality one.


In general I think going with the toro would be the best bet. No need to wait for the HD Retrovision Component cables, although they are interesting in theory. But with the Toro i can also play all games without any problem.

To be on the save side i will also get a new rgb scart cable .

thanks for the help
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maxtherabbit
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by maxtherabbit »

Does the foo cable use mini coax for the rgb lines?
mvsfan
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by mvsfan »

I asked Retro Accessories about it and they said they didnt have a good place to get the dreamcast connector.

But they did build me a custom Extron MVX Dreamcast cable.

I sent them the Dreamcast Connector, from an old dreamcast scart cable i was using previously.

My cable is RGB though.
Sp33dFr34k
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by Sp33dFr34k »

Sorry for kicking this topic, but is there anyone who purchased a DC scart cable from thefoo.83? I'd also like to know if it does 480P RGBs over scart or not, messaged him via eBay but replied he isn't sure. I'd prefer this cable over a Toro as I don't need scanlines and don't like having this box behind my DC with the wiggly cable so would appreciate it if somebody has the answer :)
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ASDR
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Re: Well-made Dreamcast VGA only cable

Post by ASDR »

Sp33dFr34k wrote:Sorry for kicking this topic, but is there anyone who purchased a DC scart cable from thefoo.83? I'd also like to know if it does 480P RGBs over scart or not, messaged him via eBay but replied he isn't sure. I'd prefer this cable over a Toro as I don't need scanlines and don't like having this box behind my DC with the wiggly cable so would appreciate it if somebody has the answer :)
If he doesn't know I doubt it works. For 480p to work the cable needs an RGBHV to RGBS sync combiner, that's not going to be there by accident.
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