No Sync from R9 380 to BVM-D9 with 129X Card

[alireza_73]

Hi all,

I’m trying to connect my Sapphire R9 380 (using CRT Emudriver 2.0) to a Sony BVM-D9 via RGB + CSYNC, using the 129X input card (BNC connectors). I’ve done a lot of reading, but I’d appreciate some clarification from the experts here.

Here’s my setup:

GPU: Sapphire R9 380

Output: DVI-I → VGA adapter

Cable: VGA to 5 BNC (RGB, H, V, and GND)

Display: Sony BVM-D9H5 with 129X card

Driver: CRT Emudriver 2.0 (HD 5000+ series), composite sync enabled

Sync wire: Currently connecting H-SYNC (pin 13) directly to the Sync BNC input on the BVM


My Questions:
What’s the proper way to wire sync from an R9 380 to the BVM-D9H5 with a 129X card?

Has anyone here successfully run a PC setup into this exact BVM model?

Thanks in advance.

[BazookaBen]

That's the wrong driver mang. R9 380 is a GCN-based card

Driver you downloaded is for older cards

[alireza_73]

That's the wrong driver mang. R9 380 is a GCN-based card

Driver you downloaded is for older cards

The driver that I'm using is "CRT Emudriver & CRT Tools 2.0 beta 15 (Adrenalin 18.5.1 for GCN* cards) for Windows 10 64-bits". I believe this is the right driver as AMD Radeon™ R9 300 Series Graphics are listed under it.

[BazookaBen]

The driver that I'm using is "CRT Emudriver & CRT Tools 2.0 beta 15 (Adrenalin 18.5.1 for GCN* cards) for Windows 10 64-bits". I believe this is the right driver as AMD Radeon™ R9 300 Series Graphics are listed under it.

Ok yeah, that's the right one.

I forgot to mention: sync polarity.

My PVM's need both horizontal and vertical sync polarity to be set to positive. BVM's probably the same

[alireza_73]

The driver that I'm using is "CRT Emudriver & CRT Tools 2.0 beta 15 (Adrenalin 18.5.1 for GCN* cards) for Windows 10 64-bits". I believe this is the right driver as AMD Radeon™ R9 300 Series Graphics are listed under it.

Ok yeah, that's the right one.

I forgot to mention: sync polarity.

My PVM's need both horizontal and vertical sync polarity to be set to positive. BVM's probably the same

Thanks for the reply, also tried every combination of polarities and re-generated the modes afterwards in VMMaker.

[BazookaBen]

Thanks for the reply, also tried every combination of polarities and re-generated the modes afterwards in VMMaker.

VMMaker is a bit confusing, I'd just CRU for testing. Make a random resolution, like 400x240@60hz (good resolution for 3DS ports), H and V both positive polarity. Restart PC. Pick the resolution from ArcadeOSD

[alireza_73]

Thanks for the reply, also tried every combination of polarities and re-generated the modes afterwards in VMMaker.

VMMaker is a bit confusing, I'd just CRU for testing. Make a random resolution, like 400x240@60hz (good resolution for 3DS ports), H and V both positive polarity. Restart PC. Pick the resolution from ArcadeOSD

I did give cru and arcade osd a try but still it did not sync, it did struggle to sync for higher resolutions above 480i but it was transient and not stable. I'm going to try to build my own active sync combiner using an XOR IC, will announce the outcome. If it fails I'm going to buy an oscilloscope and try to reproduce ps1-like sync signal. I did not expect it to be this much of a headache

[alireza_73]

Just wanted to report back that I finally got everything working with my R9 380 connected to a Sony BVM-D9H5 using the 129X input card. It took a mix of trial and error, some DIY electronics, and a bit of luck on eBay. Hopefully this helps someone else who runs into the same issue.

Building a sync combiner

At this point I thought maybe the software composite sync wasn’t good enough, so I decided to build my own hardware sync combiner using a SN74HC86 XOR gate.

This ended up being a whole side project. I had to do a fair amount of soldering and added filtering capacitors, voltage divider resistors, and tried to manage voltage levels between TTL and 75 ohm inputs. I’ll attach an image of the combiner I built.

Despite the effort, the result was basically the same as the software-generated composite sync. It worked in theory, but the BVM still didn’t lock reliably. After all that time and spending more money than I probably should have on parts, I hit a wall and got frustrated.

Bringing in the oscilloscope

I decided to take a step back and look at what was really going on. I hooked up a PS1, which syncs perfectly to the BVM, and compared its sync signal to what was coming out of my GPU.

That’s when I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. The PS1’s signal had short, repeated pulses within the vertical sync period. At first I didn’t know what I was looking at it just looked like extra “teeth” riding on top of the longer vertical pulses. The GPU’s sync signal didn’t have them at all.

After some digging, I learned these are called serration pulses. They’re part of the interlaced sync spec and apparently important for monitors like the BVM-D9 to achieve a proper lock.

The fix: Extron RGB 190F for ten bucks

At this point I gave up on building more circuits and just bought an Extron RGB 190F from eBay for $10.

Once I got it, I enabled composite sync and made sure serration pulses were turned on using the DIP switches. I connected the VGA output from my GPU through the Extron and into the BVM, and just like that, perfect sync and perfect color. No flicker, no instability, and no more headaches.

I’ll post a few pictures soon: