Super SD System 3

[FBX]

I would be interested in knowing if the OEM Genesis/MegaDrive PSU performs better. I hear many different reviewed of the retrogamesupply PSUs and it makes me wonder if it's the setups or the units themselves.

Or even better yet, get a Triad PSU. Those are superb wall warts.

[archimage]

Yes, I've done the jailbar fix on all my pce consoles. Should I reverse it ?

Will try the MD psu tomorrow and report the result here.

[Mobiusstriptech]

The jailbar fix is a necessity. I just wanted to make sure.

[LDigital]

So to be clear. If I order now the version I receive is v3 or are the last orders on the terraonion shop the final v2s? I can’t tell

[SegaSnatcher]

So to be clear. If I order now the version I receive is v3 or are the last orders on the terraonion shop the final v2s? I can’t tell

The ones currently being sold at the TerraOnion website are the most recent rev.

[archimage]

Ok, I've been testing other psus, and with a coregrafx 1 : No difference at all.

But I have been able to isolate some diagonal noise conditions.

It seems it's not there all the time but I can reproduce it with these steps.

- Launch PC Genjin 1 (not denjin).
- Scroll small steps in order to see barely only green vegetal background and blue sky without anything else (kill the first alligator if he bothers you though)
- Sit there and watch for the noise on the green background while listening to your speakers at this stage most of time there's no noise and music is predominant.
- While watching the green Push start button to enter pause mode. While listening to your speakers you can hear so hum (or not) like a stuck note of the stopped background music, and you can see diagonal waves on the green background (or not)
- Enter pause mode many times while listening and watching the green background, you will notice the sound when you enter the pause mode is always differently pitched, and the noise resulting on the background is also different. Sometimes you see nothing sometimes it's really noticeable diagonal interference.

While I can't make any conclusion, it's helpful to know that on the same game, same background, same session, multiple psus, multiple consoles, each time you enter the same pause mode the noise is always different and sometimes just absent. I think there's a specific signal that generates this noise which is not always used by the console.

[FBX]

- While watching the green Push start button to enter pause mode. While listening to your speakers you can hear so hum (or not) like a stuck note of the stopped background music, and you can see diagonal waves on the green background (or not)

Just so people know and don't confuse the issue: Some games actually do not properly mute the sound when you pause them, causing a hum noise that should not be confused with SSDS3 EMI buzzing. If you had the physical version of the game, it would also have the same sound issues when pausing.

[archimage]

of course I'm not saying the issue is coming from the SSD3, the hum is definitely coming from the game or the console or both, but it's clear for me now that the diagonal interferences and the hum are closely tied

[BuckoA51]

I hear many different reviewed of the retrogamesupply PSUs and it makes me wonder if it's the setups or the units themselves.

Switching to a linear PSU definitely helped with a couple of my PC Engines. Retrogamesupply is just re-branding cheap chinese PSUs really, nothing special about them. In fact one of their Lynx power supplies came apart in my hand as I was pulling it from the wall, which makes me wonder if it had proper CE testing at all... nothing like exposed 240 volt AC current to make the health and safety people irate.

I probably told the story of how we tried to source linear PSUs from our suppliers but they said few places do them since they fail US and EU efficiency tests. In the end I got one from eBay and made up a loom to connect all my consoles (obviously only one powered at a time) works well for me.

[maxtherabbit]

I hear many different reviewed of the retrogamesupply PSUs and it makes me wonder if it's the setups or the units themselves.

Switching to a linear PSU definitely helped with a couple of my PC Engines. Retrogamesupply is just re-branding cheap chinese PSUs really, nothing special about them. In fact one of their Lynx power supplies came apart in my hand as I was pulling it from the wall, which makes me wonder if it had proper CE testing at all... nothing like exposed 240 volt AC current to make the health and safety people irate.

I probably told the story of how we tried to source linear PSUs from our suppliers but they said few places do them since they fail US and EU efficiency tests. In the end I got one from eBay and made up a loom to connect all my consoles (obviously only one powered at a time) works well for me.

high current 13.8VDC linear supplies are pretty popular with the amateur radio crowd - if you're into making your own wire harness for everything, one might consider picking one of those up (Astron or equivalent)

[darknezz19]

The ones being sold now from the devs website have the new audio and video circuits or is there something else comming along?

[Mobiusstriptech]

Yes the ones being sold by TerraOnion are the newest revision with the fixes.

[darknezz19]

Thought I read in here recently about another new version in the works. Or is the one being sold now what neodev was talking about?

[Mobiusstriptech]

Yes. The one being sold now is that new revision.

[SegaSnatcher]

Just need to get me a CoreGrafx now. I currently have a TG-16 + TG CD setup now, but the SSD3 wasn't really designed to fit on the TG-16, plus I've always wanted a good excuse to buy a PC-Engine and I think it just looks better.

[rayik]

Just need to get me a CoreGrafx now. I currently have a TG-16 + TG CD setup now, but the SSD3 wasn't really designed to fit on the TG-16, plus I've always wanted a good excuse to buy a PC-Engine and I think it just looks better.

I also have that combo. I loosened the 4 screws on the SSD3 and it fits fine on the TG16.

[MilesDP5]

On Stone Age Gamer they talk about a defect in the Framemeister that can cause noise on the SSDS3. From what I've read it's more of an issue with the Framemeister amplifying noise already coming from the SSDS3 while the OSSC does better at filtering the noise. Does anyone have more solid information on this?

I've heard SSDS3 rev 3 can be identified by a "B" mark on the board. Could someone with a rev 3 post a picture so we have a clear way to identify it?

[Mobiusstriptech]

On Stone Age Gamer they talk about a defect in the Framemeister that can cause noise on the SSDS3. From what I've read it's more of an issue with the Framemeister amplifying noise already coming from the SSDS3 while the OSSC does better at filtering the noise. Does anyone have more solid information on this?

I've heard SSDS3 rev 3 can be identified by a "B" mark on the board. Could someone with a rev 3 post a picture so we have a clear way to identify it?

Technically this is rev 4. However I am just taking to calling it rev b. Aside from that, it's not that the Framemeister is amplifying noise in the SSDS3. It's that the analog to digital converter is known to cause noise. Which just compounded the issue. There are not a ton of rev b in the wild yet. The only photos I currently have are the prototype board and it is different. I will be able to get photos of the rev b tomorrow as long as nothing prevents it from being delivered.

In all honesty you don't need the b on the board to even tell. Look at a photo of any existing SSDS3 and then look at the board on the one you think is a rev b. They are extremely different. The audio and video circuits don't look the same. The LDO has been moved. It's a very noticeable difference.

[FBX]

Here's the lower right-hand corner of the new revision with the "B" mark:

[Mobiusstriptech]

Also notice this corner looks completely different from the previous revisions. Even if the B was not there.

[darknezz19]

So is Stoneage selling the newest revision?

[Mobiusstriptech]

So is Stoneage selling the newest revision?

No. As of now you can only purchase the Rev B from TerraOnion directly. All boards purchased from TerraOnion directly, in 2019, are Rev B. If purchased from anywhere else, at this time, they are the old revision that will need add-on boards.

[MilesDP5]

So is Stoneage selling the newest revision?

No. As of now you can only purchase the Rev B from TerraOnion directly. All boards purchased from TerraOnion directly, in 2019, are Rev B. If purchased from anywhere else, at this time, they are the old revision that will need add-on boards.

That's why I asked for a picture (thanks, by the way). SAG is the only official reseller according to Terraonion. Until just recently their site said "rev 3 (latest)" now it says "rev B (latest)".

[Mobiusstriptech]

Correct. StoneAgeGamer is the only reseller. I have been trying to post about how to get the newest revision in as many places as I can but it seems to get lost. I get a lot of emails asking about it so once SAG has them in stock and for sale, it will make things very easy.

[Neodev]

Hello,

We have 3 oficial resellers :
SAG
One reseller in China and another in Japan

SAG has placed another SSDS3 order and they should have stock back next week (We are working on theyr order right now and we expect to be able to ship it before the current week ends)

All new orders are Rev B pcb, i can confirm none of our 3 distributors, neither us have stock of the old boards since weeks ago.

Alex,

[Mobiusstriptech]

Rev 2/Rev 3


Rev B

[brentsg]

While I catch up on the thread, quick shout-out to Mobiusstriptech for modding my Super SD System 3 recently, and entertaining my random Twitter messages about saving various other consoles before they melt in storage.

They probably don't need the plug, but wanted to recommend.

I may need to get some work done on my CoreGrafx but that's another matter.

For now, just trying to sort out all the revisions, various mods, etc.. Things change so fast.

[boogiemanspud]

Hello everyone,

Alex

No sweat man. I bought the third rev because that's when I got the money saved up. I did the mods because they were relatively cheap and they did fix the issues, and above all I freaking love soldering and mod work.

If I had the choice between buying the new rev or the rev 3, I would buy the new rev, but honestly, it's not that big of a deal to me. I have a device that can play pc engine cd off of an sd card.

The RGB thing makes perfect sense, you guys had scart capable tvs and generally on an old crt you don't see "noise" and such. I can see both sides, you guys made what you thought was the best option, and the RGB expert guys saw how it could be improved. To me, it looks like a case of hindsight is 2020 and like you said, if you had a Delorean you would go back and talk to the experts. It's just a case of maybe not expecting the volume of sales and not fully understanding the market. RGB (or composite) is super important in the us, since we have to have really clean signals for the best experience. Like you said, RGB in Europe is just standard, here it's an enthusiast upgrade, so it makes sense seeing the different schools of thought.

All in all, I'm sure you guys learned a lot and I really do thank you (by purchasing your product ) for making such a cool device for us retro game nerds. Seriously, at least from me, there's no hard feelings, it's just part of learning and the nature of making stuff for 30 year old systems.

[FriendofSonic]

While I catch up on the thread, quick shout-out to Mobiusstriptech for modding my Super SD System 3 recently, and entertaining my random Twitter messages about saving various other consoles before they melt in storage.

They probably don't need the plug, but wanted to recommend.

I may need to get some work done on my CoreGrafx but that's another matter.

For now, just trying to sort out all the revisions, various mods, etc.. Things change so fast.

Mobius Strip Technology did my Super SD System as well. They've done some other work for me, and they do the best work I've experienced for stuff like this. From what I understand, Mobius Strip Technology operates a multi billion dollar empire of retro game console repairs, so they probably don't need our plugs, but when you've found the best, might as well let everyone know!

[mario64]

Yes the same caveat applies. Any internal RGB mod will negatively impact the video signal once the SSDS3 is connected. This was also something I tested. Along with the general testing of various cable/console/power supply configurations.

The nice thing this time around was I had already moved my office so testing was considerably less of a hassle on my end. Also I knew what I was ultimately looking for and wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel.

A switch to disconnect the RGBS lines would be the ideal way to maintain both circuits. Obviously this would require modifications to either the console or the SSDS3.

So purchase of a pre-modded Super Grafx console would not be recommended for use with the SSDS3? Just go with a bare bones unit?