gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thread

[zak]

Does anyone have a PC-Engine, gscart and OSSC combo?

I'm having sync issues with the OSSC.

I needed clean sync (LM1881 + 470ohm resistor) to made the PCE work with the gscart, but the OSSC is all over the place with sync now.

I get mixed results with the sync regen (enabled) on the gscart - wobbly picture on the OSSC and jumping picture on the BVM.

Sync regen "off" on the gscart gives me an amazing and stable picture on my BVM. Not sure why the OSSC has sync issues.

Any help appreciated

I have tried several systems with composite video used as sync and they work fine on the gscartsw_lite. i would remove the sync stripper and try it again as it should not be needed.

Thanks for your post. This is the amp I'm using:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PC-Engine-RG ... Sw~B1aO-zo

Do you have sync regen set to "off" position ono your gscart?

[mickcris]

Does anyone have a PC-Engine, gscart and OSSC combo?

I'm having sync issues with the OSSC.

I needed clean sync (LM1881 + 470ohm resistor) to made the PCE work with the gscart, but the OSSC is all over the place with sync now.

I get mixed results with the sync regen (enabled) on the gscart - wobbly picture on the OSSC and jumping picture on the BVM.

Sync regen "off" on the gscart gives me an amazing and stable picture on my BVM. Not sure why the OSSC has sync issues.

Any help appreciated

I have tried several systems with composite video used as sync and they work fine on the gscartsw_lite. i would remove the sync stripper and try it again as it should not be needed.

Thanks for your post. This is the amp I'm using:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PC-Engine-RG ... Sw~B1aO-zo

Do you have sync regen set to "off" position ono your gscart?

it works both on and off

edit:

I looked back a couple pages to your install pic and it looks like you have sync connected to the composite sync pin on the HuC6260. remove that and just use the composite video signal going to the din jack. that composite signal directly from the IC will not work with the gscartsw_lite and is probably why the sync stripper needed to be added. using the stock composite video at the din jack will work fine.

[superg]

I looked back a couple pages to your install pic and it looks like you have sync connected to the composite sync pin on the HuC6260. remove that and just use the composite video signal going to the din jack. that composite signal directly from the IC will not work with the gscartsw_lite and is probably why the sync stripper needed to be added. using the stock composite video at the din jack will work fine.

I can definitely confirm that composite sync is a way to go. Composite sync is the default and I test everything in that mode.
Honestly I don't get the current trend when we complicate our setups by using csync / sync-on-luma cables, TTL etc. True, it solves some specific problems mostly due to the issues presented by other devices For instance some RGB monitors accepting only csync which can be solved in a more elegant way just by adding one sync stripping IC before monitor input (which is not needed if gscartsw sync regeneration is used). But in general it introduces more problems than it solves. I spent years making those switches and 95% of all the problems involve cable integrated sync stripping (LM1881) / csync cable / sync-on-luma / improperly modded console sync circuit. Almost all the old RGB-SCART cables used composite sync by default. And from consumer standpoint it's very hard to manage all specific sync information like having the correct resistor on a TTL sync line, most of owners have no idea how to check that, they've just purchased the RGB-SCART CSYNC cable because they heard that CSYNC is the best cable because somebody said that.
Inb4 somebody mentions analog signal interference: composite video affects RGB lines as much as every other RGB line affect each other, and all interference is minimal if fully shielded cable is used. And it's all theoretical as visually I can't tell the difference.

[DirkSwizzler]

Inb4 somebody mentions analog signal interference: composite video affects RGB lines as much as every other RGB line affect each other, and all interference is minimal if fully shielded cable is used. And it's all theoretical as visually I can't tell the difference.

True that it matters less in fully shielded cables. But:
1. The signal on RGB lines tend to be more correlated. It’s my understanding that this produces less noticeable interference.
2. Reducing from 4 noisy video signals to 3 should produce less overall interference, no?

[zak]

mickcris, superg: thanks for confirming.

Just to be clear, just remove (cut?) the yellow wire from the HuC6260

https://i.imgur.com/9PpP99U.jpg

and remove the LM1881 from the scart head?

[mickcris]

mickcris, superg: thanks for confirming.

Just to be clear, just remove (cut?) the yellow wire from the HuC6260

https://i.imgur.com/9PpP99U.jpg

and remove the LM1881 from the scart head?

the composite video signal was probably cut and that yellow wire attached to the pin on the din jack. once the wire is removed, you will have to jumper over the cut to reconnect the composite video. and then remove everything connected to the sync line in the scart head. should just be a wire.

the composite sync pin on the IC, where you're currently getting sync from, is csync so there is no video to strip out. im guessing the LM1881 its currently just acting like an amplifier. Would be best to remove it, but it may work with your OSCC when you hook composite video back up in the console with it still in the scart head.

[superg]

Inb4 somebody mentions analog signal interference: composite video affects RGB lines as much as every other RGB line affect each other, and all interference is minimal if fully shielded cable is used. And it's all theoretical as visually I can't tell the difference.

1. The signal on RGB lines tend to be more correlated. It’s my understanding that this produces less noticeable interference.

Sync line is aligned to RGB with an exception of sync pulses, my understanding is that sync spikes affect RGB lines much more than the "data". You still get sync pulses when using csync (and you even get more "data" stuff in sync on luma).

2. Reducing from 4 noisy video signals to 3 should produce less overall interference, no?

Theoretically true, but it's extremely insignificant. All this can be measured easily using still image captures in combination with PSNR calculation (open source ImageMagick for instance). But I haven't seen any research like that, people just believe. Using this technique it's very easy to answer the questions like which cable is better, how cable length affects the image quality which ultimately will give us a way to make a reasonable cable pick. I planned to do some proper PSNR comparisons but there is always something more important for me to do, lack of time.

[Orrimarrko]

Is the first post in this thread updated with availability? I went the to store and they were sold out.

I saw it in a My Life in Gaming video on Youtube, and would love to have a couple for my setup.

Thanks!

[Syntax]

8
2. Reducing from 4 noisy video signals to 3 should produce less overall interference, no?

You'll hear it before you see it

[superg]

8
2. Reducing from 4 noisy video signals to 3 should produce less overall interference, no?

You'll hear it before you see it

You're talking about audio shielding and that is the most significant issue. I believe that audio wires should always be isolated from video wires. But that wasn't my primary point.

[superg]

Is the first post in this thread updated with availability? I went the to store and they were sold out.

I saw it in a My Life in Gaming video on Youtube, and would love to have a couple for my setup.

Thanks!

I will have more gscartsw_lite units in 2 weeks.

[Syntax]

I was just agreeing that you'll never really see the interference on screen with a good cable, and that the audio buzz is the major annoyance.

[zak]

mickcris, superg: thanks for confirming.

Just to be clear, just remove (cut?) the yellow wire from the HuC6260

https://i.imgur.com/9PpP99U.jpg

and remove the LM1881 from the scart head?

the composite video signal was probably cut and that yellow wire attached to the pin on the din jack. once the wire is removed, you will have to jumper over the cut to reconnect the composite video. and then remove everything connected to the sync line in the scart head. should just be a wire.

the composite sync pin on the IC, where you're currently getting sync from, is csync so there is no video to strip out. im guessing the LM1881 its currently just acting like an amplifier. Would be best to remove it, but it may work with your OSCC when you hook composite video back up in the console with it still in the scart head.

Can't thank you enough mickcris - this is now working perfectly with gscart and OSSC!

https://i.imgur.com/Dej552Y.jpg

As you said, the trace was cut. I managed to bridge it back and remove the csync wire.

No sync issues with D24 BVM or OSSC. However, I need to have VCR mode enabled on the BVM to sync the picture correctly.

I left the LM1881 in the scart lead.

[Orrimarrko]

Is the first post in this thread updated with availability? I went the to store and they were sold out.

I saw it in a My Life in Gaming video on Youtube, and would love to have a couple for my setup.

Thanks!

I will have more gscartsw_lite units in 2 weeks.

Thank you. Is there a wait list or something to get on?

I'm not much of a technical person; other than the extra SCART out, and the removal of the VGA from the gscartsw - what's different between that and the gscartsw_lite?

I'm hoping to just be able to plug-and-play for the most part here.

Thanks!

[superg]

Thank you. Is there a wait list or something to get on?
I'm not much of a technical person; other than the extra SCART out, and the removal of the VGA from the gscartsw - what's different between that and the gscartsw_lite?
I'm hoping to just be able to plug-and-play for the most part here.
Thanks!

No waiting list, I will announce the availability here and it will be available through gretrostuff.com. The difference between v3.4 and lite is the removal of VGA / 3.5 audio ports and introducing of sync regeneration processing.

[shoobopper]

Is there a wait list or something to get on?

haha! The man himself has asked. (jk, ik it's just formatting problem)

That aside, the switches had gotten here safely a while ago, and now I am just waiting on the best xrgb-scart cable to get. Do you have any recommendations? I normally purchase from RGC but I emailed them and they don't make them yet (they will later in the year). The other retailer is Retro-Access but it seems that they have fallen out of favor recently. (as a reminder, i'm looking for a cable like this:
https://retro-access.com/collections/xr ... itch-boxes

[chromium]

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why I get an intermittent wobbly picture with my Saturn through my gscartsw_lite and OSSC with sync regeneration on?

Works fine with it off and connected directly to the OSSC

[superg]

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why I get an intermittent wobbly picture with my Saturn through my gscartsw_lite and OSSC with sync regeneration on?

Works fine with it off and connected directly to the OSSC

Is your SCART cable using csync?

[mickcris]

mickcris, superg: thanks for confirming.

Just to be clear, just remove (cut?) the yellow wire from the HuC6260

https://i.imgur.com/9PpP99U.jpg

and remove the LM1881 from the scart head?

the composite video signal was probably cut and that yellow wire attached to the pin on the din jack. once the wire is removed, you will have to jumper over the cut to reconnect the composite video. and then remove everything connected to the sync line in the scart head. should just be a wire.

the composite sync pin on the IC, where you're currently getting sync from, is csync so there is no video to strip out. im guessing the LM1881 its currently just acting like an amplifier. Would be best to remove it, but it may work with your OSCC when you hook composite video back up in the console with it still in the scart head.

Can't thank you enough mickcris - this is now working perfectly with gscart and OSSC!

https://i.imgur.com/Dej552Y.jpg

As you said, the trace was cut. I managed to bridge it back and remove the csync wire.

No sync issues with D24 BVM or OSSC. However, I need to have VCR mode enabled on the BVM to sync the picture correctly.

I left the LM1881 in the scart lead.

you still might want to remove the sync stripper as its not really doing anything useful being in the scart head like that. i think the vcr mode thing is normal. i have heard other people say they need to enable that for the pc engine to work on their BVMs

[genau_der]

Maybe it has been answered in this thread already, but I'm asking to be sure:

I'd like to order some SCART cables from retrogamingcables.co.uk to connect my consoles to my gscartsw_lite.
Am I getting it right, that it's better to order the "standard" version (sync-on-luma, etc) and not the csync ones with the built-in sync sperator?
Does the gscartsw_lite "convert" e.g. sync-on-luma to csync? Afaik I need csync for my Sony PVM 20L4.

Thanks for your help!

[superg]

Maybe it has been answered in this thread already, but I'm asking to be sure:

I'd like to order some SCART cables from retrogamingcables.co.uk to connect my consoles to my gscartsw_lite.
Am I getting it right, that it's better to order the "standard" version (sync-on-luma, etc) and not the csync ones with the built-in sync sperator?
Does the gscartsw_lite "convert" e.g. sync-on-luma to csync? Afaik I need csync for my Sony PVM 20L4.

Thanks for your help!

Sync on luma is not standard as well, it's part of S-Video. SCART regeneration will clean any sync. Definitely you don't want the one with integrated sync stripping.

[genau_der]

So I can feed any untouched sync signal into gscartsw_lite and it will output csync?

[superg]

So I can feed any untouched sync signal into gscartsw_lite and it will output csync?

Yes, if sync regeneration switch is on.

[SavagePencil]

Yes, if sync regeneration switch is on.

When sync regeneration is on, does it output the regenerated sync to the csync line or the composite video sync line? Does it matter which line it came in on?

[superg]

Yes, if sync regeneration switch is on.

When sync regeneration is on, does it output the regenerated sync to the csync line or the composite video sync line? Does it matter which line it came in on?

There are no separate lines for different syncs. Sync is always on SCART pin 20 input and SCART pin 19 on output.

[Orrimarrko]

No waiting list, I will announce the availability here and it will be available through gretrostuff.com. The difference between v3.4 and lite is the removal of VGA / 3.5 audio ports and introducing of sync regeneration processing.

Awesome - thank you! I will definitely be looking for your update!

[gordon-creAtive]

I just recieved my gcompsw. You may remember the hastle I had with the customs office when I ordered my two gscarts? Well this time not only did it arrive at home instead of my customs office, I didn't even had to pay any customs fees. I have no idea how that happened, but I won't complain

[superg]

I just recieved my gcompsw. You may remember the hastle I had with the customs office when I ordered my two gscarts? Well this time not only did it arrive at home instead of my customs office, I didn't even had to pay any customs fees. I have no idea how that happened, but I won't complain

Oh, it's always random. One thing that I've learned is that you either have no issues or you have plenty of. I have another international customer who ordered both gscartsw and gcompsw. The first one had misleading tracking information but he got the package yesterday. Now his second unit wasn't scanned by USPS at all.

[LDigital]

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why I get an intermittent wobbly picture with my Saturn through my gscartsw_lite and OSSC with sync regeneration on?

Works fine with it off and connected directly to the OSSC

Sync regeneration makes my Saturn wobble too. I keep it turned off because of that

Also VCR mode is required for pc engine on bvm. Nothing unusual about that to worry about

[superg]

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why I get an intermittent wobbly picture with my Saturn through my gscartsw_lite and OSSC with sync regeneration on?

Works fine with it off and connected directly to the OSSC

Sync regeneration makes my Saturn wobble too. I keep it turned off because of that

Also VCR mode is required for pc engine on bvm. Nothing unusual about that to worry about

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why I get an intermittent wobbly picture with my Saturn through my gscartsw_lite and OSSC with sync regeneration on?

Works fine with it off and connected directly to the OSSC

Is your SCART cable using csync?

I have a number of Saturn cables all of which are wired for composite video as sync, that's including two official cables (JP21 and SCART), I also own 3 different region / model Saturns and everything works with sync regeneration on. There is a multitude of Saturn models but I speculate that all problems come from csync.