N64 Jailbars Fix

[Leviathan_GX]

I'm seeing jailbars on my RGB Modded N64. I read it was "Ground Loop" issue. I'm not the most technical person out, so a guide on how to fix it would be great! I know someone locally that does repairs, so any help would be appreciated! Thanks!




Note: It's the Borti version with the Deblur toggle, by the way.

[bobrocks95]

Someone else may have to chime in here- does the Borti version already have its own 3.3V regulator? The 3.3V rail on the N64 itself is pretty noisy, so it's better to generate it separately. Though this may have just been for fixing noise on white screens, I'm forgetting at this point.

[Leviathan_GX]

The 3.3V rail on the N64 itself is pretty noisy, so it's better to generate it separately.

How would one do that? Might be the same issue. I think I've seen another thread on here about the jailbars before, actually. Maybe I'll try to find it..

[bobrocks95]

Not available from this seller but just an example- https://arthrimus.com/product/borti4938 ... regulator/

The RGB board normally pulls 3.3V from the console, this adds a regulator on the 5V rail to generate a separate 3.3V source from it that's cleaner.

But it looks like if you have a newer Borti board it's not needed. Pics would help if you don't know which version yours is.

[Leviathan_GX]

Ohh turns out I have the N64RGB Mod Kit by Tim Worthington. Would this make sense then? Might be the the problem right here..

I got mine premade in 2020. It's probably not V3 because it doesn't come with the physical toggle switch

Cant seem to find one in stock online. I'm down to pay someone to make me one

[bobrocks95]

A long shot but I found a couple old odd forum posts from people that had made extra if they still have them and would be willing to ship:
https://www.aussiearcade.com/topic/9361 ... or-boards/
https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads ... tor.22320/

I'd like someone else to chime in though on if the dirty 3.3V rail leads to jailbars or not. I just remember white screens being really noisy.

The original "grounding issue" you were talking about is Tim recommending another wire connected to the heatsink for ground in the last two steps of his install guide:

[Syntax]

Clean power to remove horizontal music induced screen noise.

Add resistors to data lines to stop dancing pixels.

Your jailbars sound like bad grounding or cables.
I have never had a jailbar issue before on N64, and would avoid that mod that removes and drills out the grounds on the AV jack

[NoAffinity]

Yeah Tim's board requires that additional ground connection. ^^ open up your n64 if you're able and check to see if it's there. I bet it isnt. Will be a very simple fix for your local modder.

Side note: borti has a version of his firmware on his github that can be flashed to tims board. It wont clear up the issue, but just mentioning it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Leviathan_GX]

Yeah Tim's board requires that additional ground connection. ^^ open up your n64 if you're able and check to see if it's there. I bet it isnt. Will be a very simple fix for your local modder.

Side note: borti has a version of his firmware on his github that can be flashed to tims board. It wont clear up the issue, but just mentioning it.

Awesome! Any benefits to flashing the firmware with Bortis? Probably too challenging for me to do, perhaps. What's the process?

Would you guys recommend getting the 3.3v rail fix anyway? Haven't noticed any music induced noise, but maybe still worth it to reduce noise overall?

[NoAffinity]

To flash the firmware, you need a USB blaster, and then to connect to the board with it. So you also need a connection header which may or may not have been included on your build, or to solder something like Dupont cables to the board temporarily for interfacing with the blaster.

The borti firmware advantages:
Deblur toggling via button combination
IGR
Something about toggling 15-bit/16-bit mode iirc

Check the readme, dont take my word for it, I'm going off memory.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Leviathan_GX]

Ahh, I see! I already got those on mine. Good knowledge for anyone that finds this post, though.

[Leviathan_GX]

Plot twist! Turns out my N64 still has jailbars. Had the ground wire on there already?

https://imgur.com/a/BWMMZt2

Can anyone help me identify the board, & problem? 3.3V mod board needed?

[NewSchoolBoxer]

Not available from this seller but just an example- https://arthrimus.com/product/borti4938 ... regulator/

The RGB board normally pulls 3.3V from the console, this adds a regulator on the 5V rail to generate a separate 3.3V source from it that's cleaner.

But it looks like if you have a newer Borti board it's not needed. Pics would help if you don't know which version yours is.

I found the PCB link that is $3.60 for 3x and 0.8mm thickness, at least to me in the US. For those unfamiliar with buying components:

The recommended voltage regulator, ncp1117st33t3g, is out of stock at both DigiKey and Mouser but I filtered a search that comes up with plenty of available options under $1. Just confirm with the datasheet that pin 1 is ground, 2 is output and 3 is input. Fair capacitor price is 10-20 cents apiece at non-bulk quantity. I recommend X5R or X7R. With $7 shipping, you're out $12/€12 max. Doesn't hurt to order more parts to dilute the shipping cost.

I assume voltage input is 5V and not 12V due to 6.3V capacitors. Has anyone considered what the additional heat does from the voltage drop with all the nearby components? If the increase is more than 3-4°C then the heat has a negative impact on their life expectancy. I would have thought 1 or 2 additional bypass capacitors would be enough like the 4.7uF ceramics Tim W. recommended for PC Engine. Seems a shame that the solution is a secondary mod versus capacitors that hobbyists probably already own.

[Syntax]

Looks like you have the newer version with resistors and buckboost on the main chip.

if you still wanted to I wouldnt bother with a PCB, just get a couple of caps and an LDO an fit it to either the modboard or N64.
Be sure to cut the 3v lines trace on the modboard as shown in my pics.

[viletim]

Plot twist! Turns out my N64 still has jailbars. Had the ground wire on there already?

https://imgur.com/a/BWMMZt2

Can anyone help me identify the board, & problem? 3.3V mod board needed?

It's probably because the analog video wires are cable tied to the digital data wires. Cut the cable tie and separate them as much as possible.

[Leviathan_GX]

Ok, cool. We're gonna try separating the cables first & see what happens. What capacitors are those in the picture above? We'll try adding those to the rgb board if the lightbars are still present. Thanks!

UPDATE: Separating the cables didn't work. So we gonna try adding a ground wire to the AV Out. If that doesn't work I've seen that drilling out the AV Out's ground pins actually works.

[Leviathan_GX]

Yeah drilling out the grounds didn't work either btw

[bobrocks95]

At this point you may want to look into switching to one of borti's RGB boards? Also, did you ever share pictures of the jailbars? Even with an N64Digital you still get noisey, flickering screens sometimes so maybe it's just an N64 thing?

Also there's still the 3.3V board to try right?