How do you set up TATE / connect Monitors to Sega Saturn?

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:56 am

I need help please...

I have an early model JAP Sega Saturn with no mods.

Ive tried using my 13" TV/VHS combo in TATE but get the washed out corners Ive read others have gotten & of course the game just looks terrible.
It was suggested I leave it off at least 15 minutes, rotate it & this might help but it dosent.

Ive got a perfectly good 17" Viewsonic LCD & a 17" Compaq CRT that would be perfect for Verts & Hori's.
I also have a "17 DELL laptop with a 256 mb ATI 9800 graphics card that could be used which might be the best option in the end due to space.

Whats the easy way to connect any of these for use with my Saturn?
Whats the best long term option?
How many options are there?

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ReKleSS · Post by **ReKleSS** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:28 pm

You're turning it on _after_ you rotate it, right? The theory behind it is that the degaussing coil will fix up the monitor's magnetic field, but it won't fire if it's too hot.

To get the saturn to display on a normal PC monitor you'll need to increase the scan rate. See this for some suggestions.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:03 pm

Yep, turned it on after I rotated. I rotated it this morning after it sat all night & still got the washed out corners.
I rotated the opposite direction & it was completely washed out. Its a 3 year old Emerson thats barely been used so its not worn out.

Ill probably switch my ROMs to the Laptop to get the vert angle, but at this point Im too electronically challenged to really understand the scan rate requirements & how to achieve them. When I have more time Ill have to research all this & go from there.

I was hoping there was an easy hook-up cable, box, plug, thing-a-ma-jig that even "I" could connect without setting the house on fire.

Maybe I could just go out & get a 60+" flat panel & then Verts & Horis would be, well...bigger!

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:13 pm

Your degaussing coil is just too weak to demagnetize the screen. That's not uncommon, especially if the tv has been heavily magnetized (set in the same position for a very long time, been put by a speaker, cheap coil, etc..)

You could use a handheld degaussing wand, a magnetic bulk tape eraser (they sell those), or even use a magnet like a "magic wand" and brush the colors away.

Try a fridge magnet to see what I mean. A more powerful magnet will have a permanant effect.

Before I learned this, I threw away a great monitor.

grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:27 pm

Maybe I'm not reading properly, but I think it needs to be stated:

You need to let the TV sit in TATE for a few minutes before turning it on.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:25 pm

grovsnus wrote:Maybe I'm not reading properly, but I think it needs to be stated:

You need to let the TV sit in TATE for a few minutes before turning it on.

You are correct that I didnt make that clear, but yes, Ive left it for as much as an hour "in TATE" before turning it on.
It seemed ok at 1st but it wasnt long before the corners washed out again.

Ill try that magnet trick in a bit.

Does this "washout" cause permanent damage after x-amount of time?
If so, how long does it take?

No one has offered an easy solution to connecting my monitors to the Saturn. I take it there is none, aye!?

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Post by **nZero** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:44 pm

There is an easy solution. It just looks like ass due to the inherent differences between the picture encoding for standard definition televisions and PC monitors. Some of them can be kind of laggy as well, but no worse than the scaler chips used in most large flat-panel TVs.

For an almost as easy, much better looking, much more expensive solution; try to find an XRGB2+ on eBay or on this forum's Trading Station, along with some RGB cables for your Saturn.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:33 pm

DAWG!!! The expensive route is...expensive!

The easy route...dosent specify Saturn. Just an unspoken fact?
If the easy route looks like ass, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being Rosie Odonnels ass & 10 being Angelina Jolies ass, where does the easy route fall?

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grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:33 pm

Couldn't you get a pretty nice, pretty big crt TV that handles being tipped onto its side for the 50 bucks you wouldn't want to spend on that vga box thingy?

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:38 pm

grovsnus wrote:Couldn't you get a pretty nice, pretty big crt TV that handles being tipped onto its side for the 50 bucks you wouldn't want to spend on that vga box thingy?

If youre asking me, I think the answer is yes.

I was just trying to find a way to put the extra 17" lcd &/or 17" crt I have to work as my monitor(s) in TATE as opposed to flipping my TV.

Im not prepared to throw a little money at the problem just to get minimal results or even a lot of money to achieve great results.

Ill use the monitors for ROMs & figure out another angle for the game consoles.

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dpful · Post by **dpful** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:17 pm

doodude wrote:
grovsnus wrote:
Does this "washout" cause permanent damage after x-amount of time?
If so, how long does it take?

...

The reason it's washed out is because the electons shooting from the back of the tube are being bent by a very weak magnet field, and then hitting the wrong glow spots on the front of the tube.
The tube just needs to be demagnetized for the electrons to go straight (or MAGNETIZED in a way that will make them hit their mark).

No discolloration is permanant, it just needs a stronger magnet (or de-magnet) to correct it. That's why you'r coil isn't clearing it up. You'll see when you expiriment with a magnet- a tiny magnet won't have a permanent effect, a larger one will.

obviously, the coil in your tv is a very wimpy one. That's the only problem you have.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:08 pm

dpful wrote:
doodude wrote:
grovsnus wrote:
Does this "washout" cause permanent damage after x-amount of time?
If so, how long does it take?

...
obviously, the coil in your tv is a very wimpy one. That's the only problem you have.

Thats very good info, thanks!

If I were to go looking for a 13 to 20 inch tv or suitable monitor with a coil capable of resolving this problem, what would I specifically look for to know it can do this?

Any brands in particular known for having manly coils?

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dpful · Post by **dpful** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:04 pm

probably, more expesive tv+better coil.

But the best solution is to use an external degausser. They sell degaussing wands by themselves, or, you can just take one out of an old TV. It's the thick cable running around the the big end of the picture tube (screen). Put a switch and a plug on it (it runs on power outlet voltage), turn on the switch, watch the screen get zapped, slowly move it far from the screen, turn it off.

The coil will probably light on fire if you leave it on to long. (inside a tv, it turns on and them immediately fades off).

That's all just if you're to cheap to buy one.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:44 pm

My first search for a hand held degausser turned up a Media Degaussing wand for $745.

So, yeah. I guess I am too cheap to buy one.

I read also that you, or I in this case, could take my 17" CRT PC monitor & put it face to face with the TV in question, push the degausser button a few times & this would degausse the TV as well. Thats the kinda money I wanna spend!!!

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dpful · Post by **dpful** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:51 am

That would work.

Also, try ebay for degaussing wand or deagausser. There are some really cheap ones. (20$ or so)

that one you saw must have been for erasing big boxes of vcr tapes or something