SNES jr RGB jailbars

[TheRetroCarrot]

Is there a generally accepted solution to jailbars on an RGB modded snes jr nowadays? I can find examples and some proposed solutions but am finding it difficult to find a definitive answer.

I did the old onboard srgb mod with 75 ohm resistors. The image is very sharp and looks great but I get pretty noticeable jailbars on darker games. I'm not opposed to an aftermarket rgb amp if that will improve things as well.

Thanks in advance!

[TooBeaucoup]

https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.p ... =snes+jail

[TheRetroCarrot]

Thank you! I read through that thread but it was making my head hurt haha. Not sure how I seem to have missed the 2nd page...

Just to confirm the size in the SNES Jr is indeed 0603? Thanks again.

[TooBeaucoup]

Yes, 603. To be honest, I changed out a few as I mentioned, but my jailbars seemed to completely disappear just from replacing C5. That was all it took for me. But, I had originally ordered a few extra capacitors, so I stacked them in a couple other places, too, just for the hell of it.

[fernan1234]

Is this about one or two thick faint bars running through the middle of the screen, or thin lines all over like with NES and PC Engine?

I've never seen the latter happening on RGB modded consoles, but the former has an easy fix by using an SD2SNES/FXPak instead of original carts. Of course you can also try to do the cap mod work referenced above.

[TooBeaucoup]

Is this about one or two thick faint bars running through the middle of the screen, or thin lines all over like with NES and PC Engine?

I've never seen the latter happening on RGB modded consoles, but the former has an easy fix by using an SD2SNES/FXPak instead of original carts. Of course you can also try to do the cap mod work referenced above.

Not the thick bar, but more faint jailbars. My RGB Jr had ones similar to this in some greens and dark blues.

[TheRetroCarrot]

Ya the thick bar is different, it actually occurs on my other snes jr but not this one funnily enough. Thanks for all the info! Now I just have to find a suitable capacitor locally, the hardest part.

[fernan1234]

Is this about one or two thick faint bars running through the middle of the screen, or thin lines all over like with NES and PC Engine?

I've never seen the latter happening on RGB modded consoles, but the former has an easy fix by using an SD2SNES/FXPak instead of original carts. Of course you can also try to do the cap mod work referenced above.

Not the thick bar, but more faint jailbars. My RGB Jr had ones similar to this in some greens and dark blues.

Wow, that pic also looks full of noise, with diagonal noise in particular which typically comes from poorly-shielded cables. The vertical lines do seem to be from the board itself though. I wonder whether some RGB mods are more prone to bringing them out than others or it it comes down to specific consoles.

[TooBeaucoup]

^^^ It looks like maybe they cranked the sharpness, too, in order to show off the lines better. I have multiple Scart cables from Retro-Access and Insurrection, and both sets of cables still showed bars. I have a Voultar RGB board in mine. The lines were super-faint, though. They'd only show on certain solid green backgrounds or dark blue, and usually would only be noticeable in horizontal motion. Super Mario World was really bad when I'd run through certain levels.

[TheRetroCarrot]

Demon's Crest is the ultimate test lol, the game looks absolutely horrendous with this issue. I never even noticed it playing other games after the mod but here it's brutal.

[tongshadow]

I already modded 3 SNES Jr's, and only the ones that got the THS7374 chip installed had no noticeable vertical bars on dark backgrounds.
The capacitor replacement is to get rid off the horizontal streaks that appear between flat colors and contrasting colors. The chip doesnt fix that, but it's extremely hard to see on analog hardware.

[TheRetroCarrot]

Just an update as my caps came in, I just did C5 and it took away any noticeable jailbars completely. This is on a CRT display with HD Retrovision cables, maybe there would still be something noticeable on a modern display. This solved the only issues I've noticed with the RGB mod specifically, it still has that faint center bar which is only noticeable on dark static images anyways, my s-video and composite system has the same.

Does a 3rd party amp fix that or is the only known fix for that the resistor mod? I'm skeptical of doing that one due to the bugs I've read it can introduce in a few games. I doubt I'll end up going any further as it doesn't bother me but I am curious anyways.

Thanks again.

[TooBeaucoup]

Just an update as my caps came in, I just did C5 and it took away any noticeable jailbars completely. This is on a CRT display with HD Retrovision cables, maybe there would still be something noticeable on a modern display. This solved the only issues I've noticed with the RGB mod specifically, it still has that faint center bar which is only noticeable on dark static images anyways, my s-video and composite system has the same.

Does a 3rd party amp fix that or is the only known fix for that the resistor mod? I'm skeptical of doing that one due to the bugs I've read it can introduce in a few games. I doubt I'll end up going any further as it doesn't bother me but I am curious anyways.

Thanks again.

What RGB mod do you have installed? I have Voultar's board, and I never had the center bar after installing it, but I also replaced the voltage regulator with a better one at the same time, which is the suggested fix. Also, replacing the main electrolytic caps can help clear things up in general, too.

This is usually what clears up the white bar for 99% of people, especially on a Jr.

https://console5.com/store/7805-l78s05c ... 20-5v.html

[TheRetroCarrot]

Just an update as my caps came in, I just did C5 and it took away any noticeable jailbars completely. This is on a CRT display with HD Retrovision cables, maybe there would still be something noticeable on a modern display. This solved the only issues I've noticed with the RGB mod specifically, it still has that faint center bar which is only noticeable on dark static images anyways, my s-video and composite system has the same.

Does a 3rd party amp fix that or is the only known fix for that the resistor mod? I'm skeptical of doing that one due to the bugs I've read it can introduce in a few games. I doubt I'll end up going any further as it doesn't bother me but I am curious anyways.

Thanks again.

What RGB mod do you have installed? I have Voultar's board, and I never had the center bar after installing it, but I also replaced the voltage regulator with a better one at the same time, which is the suggested fix. Also, replacing the main electrolytic caps can help clear things up in general, too.

This is usually what clears up the white bar for 99% of people, especially on a Jr.

https://console5.com/store/7805-l78s05c ... 20-5v.html

Thanks I'll order that to try and a recap kit because why not. I'm just using the onboard s-rgb chip, unfortunately Voultar won't ship to Canada. I might switch over to this kit at some point "https://store.retrofixes.com/products/s ... pgrade-kit", though I'm not sure there would really be a visible benefit to me.

[TooBeaucoup]

Just an update as my caps came in, I just did C5 and it took away any noticeable jailbars completely. This is on a CRT display with HD Retrovision cables, maybe there would still be something noticeable on a modern display. This solved the only issues I've noticed with the RGB mod specifically, it still has that faint center bar which is only noticeable on dark static images anyways, my s-video and composite system has the same.

Does a 3rd party amp fix that or is the only known fix for that the resistor mod? I'm skeptical of doing that one due to the bugs I've read it can introduce in a few games. I doubt I'll end up going any further as it doesn't bother me but I am curious anyways.

Thanks again.

What RGB mod do you have installed? I have Voultar's board, and I never had the center bar after installing it, but I also replaced the voltage regulator with a better one at the same time, which is the suggested fix. Also, replacing the main electrolytic caps can help clear things up in general, too.

This is usually what clears up the white bar for 99% of people, especially on a Jr.

https://console5.com/store/7805-l78s05c ... 20-5v.html

Thanks I'll order that to try and a recap kit because why not. I'm just using the onboard s-rgb chip, unfortunately Voultar won't ship to Canada. I might switch over to this kit at some point "https://store.retrofixes.com/products/s ... pgrade-kit", though I'm not sure there would really be a visible benefit to me.

That better regulator should help a ton, if not completely, eliminate the bar. Not only are the original regulators old as hell, the replacement one is better. And that RGB board you linked should do great.