Castlemania game RGBHV to SCART adapters

[orange808]

I purchased a pair of Castlemania's RGBHV to SCART adapters. I'm disappointed. I can't really tell you how well they function, because I can't even get a cable plugged into them. (Some would call it a "VGA" to SCART.) The design is not good.

I prefer to use well shielded HD-15/DE-15 cables I acquired from liquidations/auctions from professionals. Obviously, I source lots of other interesting video gear that way (as well). I also tried to socket a monoprice BNC to HD-15 cable. I've noticed the monoprice ones are fairly common and used with Crosspoint switches often. I used to use them as well. The monoprice cables and my other cables all seem to have the same thickness around the housing of the male connector. It appears that well shielded cables may have larger plug housings than the consumer "VGA" cables we used for short runs from our PC's years ago? Or maybe not?

If you're using any cable with a rugged and thicker housing around the male connector, it will not plug in to the Castlemania adapters.

I don't own a single cable that can be plugged into these Castlemania adapters. I have never had any issues plugging cables to gear before. I have lots of video processors, but I've never had an issue.

I chose two convenient devices for photo comparisons below: I have another SCART adapter with a "VGA" plug, but the female connector is completely raised above the surface of that adapter, so it works great. I have a generic RGBHV to HDMI adapter that has the "VGA" plug recessed into the device, but it provides enough clearance to seat my cables fine; the case does not get in the way.

The problem is: the outer casing on the male connectors of my HD-15 cables are too thick to insert into the case on the Castlemania RGBHV to SCART adapter. The case does not leave enough clearance to seat the cable and make a connection. I cannot seat my cables.

Looks like I'll either have to return them or pry off the protective cases I ordered. That's unfortunate. Buyer beware.

So, if you're looking to buy some of these adapters, be careful. If you're using thin and flimsy consumer grade HD-15/DE-15 ("VGA") cables, they may work. If you're using well shielded HD-15 cables or the monoprice 5 BNC to HD-15/DE-15 adapter, you may not have enough room to use the adapters with the case. Well shielded "VGA" cables seem to also have thicker (more robust) plugs.

Photos attached.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Edit: Just found an old thin HD-15 cable that has a slightly thinner metal housing around the connection and it does not plug in either. I don't think these SCART adapters will plug in to most "VGA" cables; the case is in the way. It looks like it's not just my cables.

[Steven]

I bought one of these a while ago to fix the lack of HD15 input on the RT5X and it does suck. My cable actually fits, but only barely, so I can't use the screws to hold it in and the cable falls out if I do as much as bump my desk. I ended up liking the OSSC more for Dreamcast in the end anyway and went back to using the OSSC instead.

[Gara]

It looks like they changed the design at some point. Here is mine from the first batch of these.

https://imgur.com/a/JYlbq6V

My Extron db15 cable plug in just fine and can be screwed down.

[fernan1234]

I have the same one from the first and only batch prior to this one (over 2 years ago ) and also have no problems. Kinda silly how they changed the shell for the worse.

I suppose you could try 3D printing the original if they're willing to share the STLs or whatever. Don't think there was any change to the board itself. Worst case you may just use it without the shell, or maybe file away at the part around the connector to widen it.

[kitty666cats]

https://www.retroupgrades.co.uk/product/vga2scart/

A bit more cumbersome, but this should be a better option. Clearly more well-made, too. Also has the option for power via pin 9 OR external power. Can be bought for cheaper without the shell.

[orange808]

It looks like they changed the design at some point. Here is mine from the first batch of these.

https://imgur.com/a/JYlbq6V

My Extron db15 cable plug in just fine and can be screwed down.

I see. You appear to have won the batch lottery. I have a cable like that and it cannot be connected to the units I received at all. Not enough room to make a connection. Both adapters have identical clearance around the HD-15/DE-15 port.

People reading the thread should take care.

[fernan1234]

https://www.retroupgrades.co.uk/product/vga2scart/

A bit more cumbersome, but this should be a better option. Clearly more well-made, too. Also has the option for power via pin 9 OR external power. Can be bought for cheaper without the shell.

No, even with this flaw this adapter is still better simply due to not needing external power. Most things you'll use won't be carrying power on pin 9 so it'll need to be tethered to power. A better fix is just to modify this dumb new 3d printed casing.

[NoAffinity]

I got one out of this batch also, and have the same issue. I found one of my cables I was able to jam in far enough to engage the screws and then screw in so that it pulled the cable in further...far enough at least for a reliable and secure connection.

Everything works properly so, out of sight out of mind.

[Gara]

I see. You appear to have won the batch lottery. I have a cable like that and it cannot be connected to the units I received at all. Not enough room to make a connection. Both adapters have identical clearance around the HD-15/DE-15 port.

People reading the thread should take care.

Their support is a nightmare, but you should try contacting Castlemania. At the minimum they should offer you 3d printed replacement cases in the old design. It's their own fault for prettying up the design and not actually testing it with a wide variety of cables.

[kitty666cats]

https://www.retroupgrades.co.uk/product/vga2scart/

A bit more cumbersome, but this should be a better option. Clearly more well-made, too. Also has the option for power via pin 9 OR external power. Can be bought for cheaper without the shell.

No, even with this flaw this adapter is still better simply due to not needing external power. Most things you'll use won't be carrying power on pin 9 so it'll need to be tethered to power. A better fix is just to modify this dumb new 3d printed casing.

Maybe you misunderstood, the one I linked can BOTH be powered by pin 9 of VGA or ALSO by external power. Either one. Plus it has a VGA connector that actually fits

[fernan1234]

Maybe you misunderstood, the one I linked can BOTH be powered by pin 9 of VGA or ALSO by external power. Either one. Plus it has a VGA connector that actually fits

I understood this, what I mean is that if you can't power it via pin 9 (and most old gaming output will not be carrying power via pin 9) then you have to use external power, which is a significant inconvenience that the HD15-2-SCART adapter allows you to avoid. Having to tether this adapter to power can even be a no-go for some setups depending on cable routing.

That's why I think anyone with one of these already is better off trying to modify it rather than replacing it with a power tethered alternative.

[kitty666cats]

Maybe you misunderstood, the one I linked can BOTH be powered by pin 9 of VGA or ALSO by external power. Either one. Plus it has a VGA connector that actually fits

I understood this, what I mean is that if you can't power it via pin 9 (and most old gaming output will not be carrying power via pin 9) then you have to use external power, which is a significant inconvenience that the HD15-2-SCART adapter allows you to avoid. Having to tether this adapter to power can even be a no-go for some setups depending on cable routing.

That's why I think anyone with one of these already is better off trying to modify it rather than replacing it with a power tethered alternative.

...what powers the HD15 2 SCART, then? I'm confused here

[fernan1234]

...what powers the HD15 2 SCART, then? I'm confused here

That I don't know, but it seems to work perfectly as a passive adapter. When I used Tim Worthington's adapter, which works the same as the one you linked, I always needed to use external power, whereas in the same setups the HD15-2-SCART works fine without it.

Maybe active power is only needed for the blanking signal for SCART TVs? I don't know if Tian Feng ever shared schematics for this device but the info may be out there.

[Steven]

Last night I decided to jam the cable into the thing really fucking hard to see if I could get it in there far enough to get the screws to be functional, and I was 50% successful. Fortunately, tightening the one screw that I was able to get in there pulled the cable far enough for the other screw to be usable.

Pretty sure that this shouldn't be necessary, but it did work. Yay~ Too bad the low pass filter on the OSSC still doesn't actually help fix the weird sampling phase or whatever on my primary Dreamcast no matter what I set it to, so in the end I'm still going to use the RGBHV input instead of this thing.

[thchardcore]

IIRC, power is being supplied out of sync since the draw is so low.

[bobrocks95]

.Pretty sure that this shouldn't be necessary, but it did work. Yay~ Too bad the low pass filter on the OSSC still doesn't actually help fix the weird sampling phase or whatever on my primary Dreamcast no matter what I set it to, so in the end I'm still going to use the RGBHV input instead of this thing.

I've heard sampling phase is really hard to dial in for the Dreamcast. I definitely get flickering on white screens no matter what I set it to as well. My OSSC will be gone by the end of the year regardless though...

[Steven]

.Pretty sure that this shouldn't be necessary, but it did work. Yay~ Too bad the low pass filter on the OSSC still doesn't actually help fix the weird sampling phase or whatever on my primary Dreamcast no matter what I set it to, so in the end I'm still going to use the RGBHV input instead of this thing.

I've heard sampling phase is really hard to dial in for the Dreamcast. I definitely get flickering on white screens no matter what I set it to as well. My OSSC will be gone by the end of the year regardless though...

I gave up trying to get the sampling phase perfect on my regular Dreamcast and most of my other systems, but I have a second Dreamcast where the sampling phase is perfect. I don't use it much because it's a Sakura Taisen Dreamcast in pristine condition aside from the dead battery, but also because it's a VA2, so no Xeno Crisis or whatever else, but I do use it on rare occasions when the sampling phase being off on the other one does annoy me enough to make me want to use it. It's far more quiet than the other Dreamcast is, too, although the noise of the other one doesn't bother me.

[ajshell1]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

[KPackratt2k]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

When you modded your TV, did you use a blanking switch or did you wire blanking to come from pin 16 of the SCART connector? If you used a switch to handle blanking using the internal 5V power rail of the TV, it should work with your set.

[orange808]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

When you modded your TV, did you use a blanking switch or did you wire blanking to come from pin 16 of the SCART connector? If you used a switch to handle blanking using the internal 5V power rail of the TV, it should work with your set.

Will it? Because one of the requirements is getting an input cord plugged into the adapter.

[jd213]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

You're not alone, I've been waiting 2 weeks for a support ticket for an incorrect item received, and I can't log in either since I just checked out using Paypal without making an account. I'm willing to cut them some slack since they appear to be reorganizing, but it's pretty disappointing since their page says that someone will normally respond within 24 hours.

[orange808]

I'm getting Behar Bros vibes.

[SuperSpongo]

Since the shell is 3d printed, couldn't you just heat up a knife and wiggle it in there until there's enough room?

[Dochartaigh]

I'm getting Behar Bros vibes.

Nah, nothing has caught fire yet.

[ajshell1]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

When you modded your TV, did you use a blanking switch or did you wire blanking to come from pin 16 of the SCART connector? If you used a switch to handle blanking using the internal 5V power rail of the TV, it should work with your set.

I'm using Sunthar's mux board, which expects blanking to come from pin 16 of the Scart connector. So no, it won't work with my set.

[jd213]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

You're not alone, I've been waiting 2 weeks for a support ticket for an incorrect item received, and I can't log in either since I just checked out using Paypal without making an account. I'm willing to cut them some slack since they appear to be reorganizing, but it's pretty disappointing since their page says that someone will normally respond within 24 hours.

They ended up closing the support ticket unilaterally without resolving my issue, but after I called them and left a polite message (it was during business hours but I guess no one was available) and then re-submitted a ticket (directly using their website instead of responding to my order email, even though the latter did result in a ticket being generated), they responded after a few hours saying that they would send out the correct item.
So I guess they just didn't notice my first message, oh well. Wasn't an item I needed immediately, so whatever.

[NoAffinity]

So the other day I needed to repalce the vga cable connected to my adapter due to needing a longer cable for a new use case. Forcing the new cable in actually resulted in the 2 parts of the housing to separate. I used a simple file to grind away around all edges of the hd-15 input and now I'm able to insert cables easily.

The housing isnt as secure as it was before. It's almost like it was glued. I havent really looked at it closely to see if something broke or it was glued or what, but it stays together good enough if sitting untouched.

Just some additional info for anyone having extreme difficulty with inserting cables or running into a roadblock. Just set the adapter so the scart connector is down, on a solid surface. Try to insert a vga cable with increasing force until the housing separates.

[ldeveraux]

I ordered one of these when they came back in stock a few weeks ago. But then I saw a RetroRGB video that said that they don't supply any power on Scart pin 16. The problem is that my TV is using the muxed RGB mod with Scart, so it NEEDS this voltage. So I placed a request to cancel my order, and I haven't heard anything back from them since. I tried to log in to their support site but it keeps rejecting my password.

So yeah. Never buying from them again.

They couldn't cancel your order so you're not ordering from them again? I guess...

[jd213]

?

No, they closed a support ticket without resolving my issue, I never asked for an order to be cancelled. Haven't decided whether I will order from them again, probably will if there's something I really want from them.

[kitty666cats]

So we’ve got an adapter that’s been plagued with late shipments & is now being produced with nearly unusable (without damaging the housing or using a very specific VGA cable) build quality. On top of poor customer service support. Good gravy, I haven’t ordered from them but CastleMania sounds like a bit of a disaster!

Somewhat related, I checked the Retro Access site recently and all the cables said “back in stock August 2023”, and if you click on a specific cable it says “Dispatch time week starting September 25th 2023”, but if you try to click the button to order it says the same thing about being back in stock in August.

I understand the latter is a smaller business than CastleMania (though who knows how many people are actually running things at CastleMania), but a lot of these retro accessory sellers need to get their shit together! Stone Age Gamer is great, Retro Gaming Cables is a 1 man operation AFAIK, wakabavideo on eBay is definitely a 1 man operation… all of those sellers have zero issues staying on top of things!