gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thread
-
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 5:45 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
On one of my gscart lite switches, the green light was rapidly flashing. I reseated the power cord and it's a solid green light now, though I noticed it's easy to reproduce the flashing. What's the significance of the flashing?
-
DirkSwizzler
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2017 8:23 pm
- Location: Bellevue, Washington, USA
- Contact:
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Under normal conditions, green flashing indicates that a signal was just locked and is soon followed by solid green. So if it's rapidly flashing that would indicate that either it's constantly locking, or constantly losing enough power to function (and possibly locking during each cycle, but that's moot)FriendofSonic wrote:On one of my gscart lite switches, the green light was rapidly flashing. I reseated the power cord and it's a solid green light now, though I noticed it's easy to reproduce the flashing. What's the significance of the flashing?
-
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 5:45 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Thanks Dirk-- I'll need to keep an eye on this then. It must be power related since I didn't have any consoles turned on at the time. Maybe the power cord was just slightly detached.
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
You're the first one ordering from Luxembourg. Try now, I enabled it.TheLordGuardian wrote:Hello, I tried to post before but it did not seem to work.
I tried to preorder a gscartsw but on the paypal site the price is listed as 9999 USD (with shipping to Luxemburg)
Is there something I can do to place apreorder with the correct price? Thanks!
with best regards,
JC
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
As Dirk pointed out, rapid flashing indicates that the sync signal was successfully detected on one of the outputs. Also it blinks the same way once when you turn the switch on, this is indication that Altera IC started. Most likely it was the power issue.FriendofSonic wrote:Thanks Dirk-- I'll need to keep an eye on this then. It must be power related since I didn't have any consoles turned on at the time. Maybe the power cord was just slightly detached.
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:31 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Thanks it worked fine nowsuperg wrote:You're the first one ordering from Luxembourg. Try now, I enabled it.TheLordGuardian wrote:Hello, I tried to post before but it did not seem to work.
I tried to preorder a gscartsw but on the paypal site the price is listed as 9999 USD (with shipping to Luxemburg)
Is there something I can do to place apreorder with the correct price? Thanks!
with best regards,
JC
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
So, I pre ordered a little bit ago. But is there a way to tell which batch I am in? I got no idea if I ordered fast enough to be in the first, or if I'm going to be in the second.
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Sorry I can't answer that right now because if I do I'm gonna get another 100 PM's asking the same. When I open pre-orders there usually is a peak the first hour so there are many orders.MattieBoy wrote:So, I pre ordered a little bit ago. But is there a way to tell which batch I am in? I got no idea if I ordered fast enough to be in the first, or if I'm going to be in the second.
I will communicate everything when the time will come, most likely private directly to paypal email.
Right now my manufacturer is assembling the first units, I hope I will get some news this week.
-
HDgaming42
- Posts: 331
- Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:16 am
- Location: Canada
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Hi superg,
I've been rocking your GSCARTSW for a while now and either direct or through an extron crosspoint it's worked wonderfully on 3 models of PVMs.
When running 15KHz consoles through the GSCARTSW the image is pushed slightly to the left. I was hoping to counteract this with an extron rxi 203 (which requires clean sync), but running the GSCARTSW DSUB out to it just results in a green, rolling image with "no sync" displayed on the 203.
This could very well be an extron issue, but my dreamcast via 31KHz runs through the 203 without issue. All 15Khz consoles that run through the GSCARTSW don't lock up with the Extron 203.
Can you speak to this? Is this a known issue? What could be causing it? I don't really want to change HPOS within my PVMs to match the GSCARTSW output because my newer consoles run to them direct and don't exhibit the same push to the left.
I've been rocking your GSCARTSW for a while now and either direct or through an extron crosspoint it's worked wonderfully on 3 models of PVMs.
When running 15KHz consoles through the GSCARTSW the image is pushed slightly to the left. I was hoping to counteract this with an extron rxi 203 (which requires clean sync), but running the GSCARTSW DSUB out to it just results in a green, rolling image with "no sync" displayed on the 203.
This could very well be an extron issue, but my dreamcast via 31KHz runs through the 203 without issue. All 15Khz consoles that run through the GSCARTSW don't lock up with the Extron 203.
Can you speak to this? Is this a known issue? What could be causing it? I don't really want to change HPOS within my PVMs to match the GSCARTSW output because my newer consoles run to them direct and don't exhibit the same push to the left.
-
HDgaming42
- Posts: 331
- Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:16 am
- Location: Canada
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
I've been told this is because extron gear expects TTL sync. I've since recabled and am using the DSUB out. The extron locks on 15KHz, but the PVM either displays black, or columns of scrambled color.*HDgaming42 wrote:Hi superg,
I've been rocking your GSCARTSW for a while now and either direct or through an extron crosspoint it's worked wonderfully on 3 models of PVMs.
When running 15KHz consoles through the GSCARTSW the image is pushed slightly to the left. I was hoping to counteract this with an extron rxi 203 (which requires clean sync), but running the GSCARTSW DSUB out to it just results in a green, rolling image with "no sync" displayed on the 203.
This could very well be an extron issue, but my dreamcast via 31KHz runs through the 203 without issue. All 15Khz consoles that run through the GSCARTSW don't lock up with the Extron 203.
Can you speak to this? Is this a known issue? What could be causing it? I don't really want to change HPOS within my PVMs to match the GSCARTSW output because my newer consoles run to them direct and don't exhibit the same push to the left.
Any ideas?
*the PVMs happily take 15KHz console-->GSCART-->extron crosspoint-->PVM, yet introducing an extron 203 between the crosspoint and the PVMs exhibits the behaviour described above...
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
How bad is the shift? gscartsw v3.4 has just EL1883 (LM1881) for cleaning the sync but that adds just a few pixels shifting the image to the right. Sync cleaner is always active on VGA connector and it's TTL. Why do you think it's the gscartsw issue? Also why do you use extron crosspoint, is it really needed in your setup? I'm not familiar with extron, maybe somebody can clarify what is going on.HDgaming42 wrote:I've been told this is because extron gear expects TTL sync. I've since recabled and am using the DSUB out. The extron locks on 15KHz, but the PVM either displays black, or columns of scrambled color.*HDgaming42 wrote:Hi superg,
I've been rocking your GSCARTSW for a while now and either direct or through an extron crosspoint it's worked wonderfully on 3 models of PVMs.
When running 15KHz consoles through the GSCARTSW the image is pushed slightly to the left. I was hoping to counteract this with an extron rxi 203 (which requires clean sync), but running the GSCARTSW DSUB out to it just results in a green, rolling image with "no sync" displayed on the 203.
This could very well be an extron issue, but my dreamcast via 31KHz runs through the 203 without issue. All 15Khz consoles that run through the GSCARTSW don't lock up with the Extron 203.
Can you speak to this? Is this a known issue? What could be causing it? I don't really want to change HPOS within my PVMs to match the GSCARTSW output because my newer consoles run to them direct and don't exhibit the same push to the left.
Any ideas?
*the PVMs happily take 15KHz console-->GSCART-->extron crosspoint-->PVM, yet introducing an extron 203 between the crosspoint and the PVMs exhibits the behaviour described above...
-
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 3:55 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
I can attest to having noticed this too and that the shift is quite significant. When running the 240p test suite I believe it cut 6-10 pixels on the left side of the screen. I also had many issues using my Extron 203 rxi in my gscartsw 3.4 setup in general and believed for the longest time it was broken. I even contacted Bob/RetroRGB and Matt from Videogamperfection about it since I knew they used Extrons - Also read up on the internal jumper setup for the Extron - and everything seem to be fine. After all my testing, I realized I had failed to do the most obvious test - to try it without the gscartsw. After running my Dreamcast directly into the Extron 203 it worked just fine. So it must've had something to do with having the gscartsw in the chain. The VGA cable between the gscartsw and Extron work just fine when paired with just the Extron and Dreamcast TORO box.HDgaming42 wrote:I've been told this is because extron gear expects TTL sync. I've since recabled and am using the DSUB out. The extron locks on 15KHz, but the PVM either displays black, or columns of scrambled color.*HDgaming42 wrote:Hi superg,
I've been rocking your GSCARTSW for a while now and either direct or through an extron crosspoint it's worked wonderfully on 3 models of PVMs.
When running 15KHz consoles through the GSCARTSW the image is pushed slightly to the left. I was hoping to counteract this with an extron rxi 203 (which requires clean sync), but running the GSCARTSW DSUB out to it just results in a green, rolling image with "no sync" displayed on the 203.
This could very well be an extron issue, but my dreamcast via 31KHz runs through the 203 without issue. All 15Khz consoles that run through the GSCARTSW don't lock up with the Extron 203.
Can you speak to this? Is this a known issue? What could be causing it? I don't really want to change HPOS within my PVMs to match the GSCARTSW output because my newer consoles run to them direct and don't exhibit the same push to the left.
Any ideas?
*the PVMs happily take 15KHz console-->GSCART-->extron crosspoint-->PVM, yet introducing an extron 203 between the crosspoint and the PVMs exhibits the behaviour described above...
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
There is nothing in gscartsw v3.4 except sync stripper circuit which can affect this behavior. Did you try to exclude extron from your setup?ViraLicious wrote: I can attest to having noticed this too and that the shift is quite significant. When running the 240p test suite I believe it cut 6-10 pixels on the left side of the screen. I also had many issues using my Extron 203 rxi in my gscartsw 3.4 setup in general and believed for the longest time it was broken. I even contacted Bob/RetroRGB and Matt from Videogamperfection about it since I knew they used Extrons - Also read up on the internal jumper setup for the Extron - and everything seem to be fine. After all my testing, I realized I had failed to do the most obvious test - to try it without the gscartsw. After running my Dreamcast directly into the Extron 203 it worked just fine. So it must've had something to do with having the gscartsw in the chain. The VGA cable between the gscartsw and Extron work just fine when paired with just the Extron and Dreamcast TORO box.
Try it without extron and you will probably see just a tiny shift introduced by the sync stripper circuit. My speculation is that extron is actually making the shift at least twice as bad as it is after the sync stripper. I think it would be the same when using other sync separation devices like Micomsoft XSYNC-1 or even SCART cables with integrated sync cleaner, they're all built using the similar LM1881 IC's.
What you see is likely the effect of having RGBS->RGBHV conversion which is made worse by Extron.
As of your Dreamcast - it provides native separate HV sync, of course it would be fine as there is no conversion.
-
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 3:55 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound as if there was something wrong with the gscartsw in itself. Apologies if it sounded like that. I love it and it is an integral part of my setup and I don't use the Extron anymore, I only use the gscartsw directly into my Framemeister and soon into my new OSSC.superg wrote:There is nothing in gscartsw v3.4 except sync stripper circuit which can affect this behavior. Did you try to exclude extron from your setup?ViraLicious wrote: I can attest to having noticed this too and that the shift is quite significant. When running the 240p test suite I believe it cut 6-10 pixels on the left side of the screen. I also had many issues using my Extron 203 rxi in my gscartsw 3.4 setup in general and believed for the longest time it was broken. I even contacted Bob/RetroRGB and Matt from Videogamperfection about it since I knew they used Extrons - Also read up on the internal jumper setup for the Extron - and everything seem to be fine. After all my testing, I realized I had failed to do the most obvious test - to try it without the gscartsw. After running my Dreamcast directly into the Extron 203 it worked just fine. So it must've had something to do with having the gscartsw in the chain. The VGA cable between the gscartsw and Extron work just fine when paired with just the Extron and Dreamcast TORO box.
Try it without extron and you will probably see just a tiny shift introduced by the sync stripper circuit. My speculation is that extron is actually making the shift at least twice as bad as it is after the sync stripper. I think it would be the same when using other sync separation devices like Micomsoft XSYNC-1 or even SCART cables with integrated sync cleaner, they're all built using the similar LM1881 IC's.
What you see is likely the effect of having RGBS->RGBHV conversion which is made worse by Extron.
As of your Dreamcast - it provides native separate HV sync, of course it would be fine as there is no conversion.
You are right in your assumption. The Extron is making it worse - in particular when you have DDSP active and you can't manually adjust the image. Then it shifts the image a lot. However, when you can it disabled and can manually adjust the image, you then can fix the shift of the image. But, it introduces other issues then, such like a lot of noise in certain colors. This is most likely due to the Framemeister and its bad color convergence though.
-
HDgaming42
- Posts: 331
- Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:16 am
- Location: Canada
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
I suspect a number of my cables have sync strippers in them and that is compounding the issue. Not all of course, or I'd simply not use the stripper in the GSCARTSW.superg wrote:There is nothing in gscartsw v3.4 except sync stripper circuit which can affect this behavior. Did you try to exclude extron from your setup?ViraLicious wrote: I can attest to having noticed this too and that the shift is quite significant. When running the 240p test suite I believe it cut 6-10 pixels on the left side of the screen. I also had many issues using my Extron 203 rxi in my gscartsw 3.4 setup in general and believed for the longest time it was broken. I even contacted Bob/RetroRGB and Matt from Videogamperfection about it since I knew they used Extrons - Also read up on the internal jumper setup for the Extron - and everything seem to be fine. After all my testing, I realized I had failed to do the most obvious test - to try it without the gscartsw. After running my Dreamcast directly into the Extron 203 it worked just fine. So it must've had something to do with having the gscartsw in the chain. The VGA cable between the gscartsw and Extron work just fine when paired with just the Extron and Dreamcast TORO box.
Try it without extron and you will probably see just a tiny shift introduced by the sync stripper circuit. My speculation is that extron is actually making the shift at least twice as bad as it is after the sync stripper. I think it would be the same when using other sync separation devices like Micomsoft XSYNC-1 or even SCART cables with integrated sync cleaner, they're all built using the similar LM1881 IC's.
What you see is likely the effect of having RGBS->RGBHV conversion which is made worse by Extron.
As of your Dreamcast - it provides native separate HV sync, of course it would be fine as there is no conversion.
I resolved my issue by going:
15KHz console-->GSCARTSW DSUB-->extron crosspoint-->extron 203-->extron crosspoint AGAIN-->PVM
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Now that I thought a bit about it, was the frame shifted or cropped? If it's shifted it can be compensated by using underscan option on BVM/PVM but if already cropped after extron it means that nothing can be done.HDgaming42 wrote: I suspect a number of my cables have sync strippers in them and that is compounding the issue. Not all of course, or I'd simply not use the stripper in the GSCARTSW.
I resolved my issue by going:
15KHz console-->GSCARTSW DSUB-->extron crosspoint-->extron 203-->extron crosspoint AGAIN-->PVM
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Are there any recommendations for a Male-to-Male SCART cable to connect this to an OSSC? I want to get something ordered before this ships, so that I'm all set for it.
Thanks
Thanks
-
- Posts: 1974
- Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:52 pm
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
If you need something now and are in the US, You can pick up one of these Kabeldirekt cables from Amazon (or save some money and buy the 10ft one); I have two of the 10-footers, and they work fine, although I've been told that they're not The Best(tm).TorgoPSN wrote:Are there any recommendations for a Male-to-Male SCART cable to connect this to an OSSC? I want to get something ordered before this ships, so that I'm all set for it.
Thanks
If you can wait for assembly and/or international shipping, you can always buy these cables made with proper shielded coax from boutique vendors, like Retro-Access or RetroGamingCables.
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Speaking of which, what sort of cable will I need to hook this up to my Framemeister? I've ordered the gscartsw, but haven't put any thought into my cabling needs...
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
You can order straight SCART male-to-minidin xrgb cable from retro-access. Or you can use two cables, SCART male-to-male and SCART female-to-minidin, make sure you don't use the one provided with Framemeister as it's wired for JP21.Lomax wrote:Speaking of which, what sort of cable will I need to hook this up to my Framemeister? I've ordered the gscartsw, but haven't put any thought into my cabling needs...
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Thanks. Just went and had a look at retro-access - 90% of their products are "Out of stock"!
EDIT: Just read up on how their store works :-/
EDIT: Just read up on how their store works :-/
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
they update every weekday at 10 AM est and usually have everything in stock mind you it doesn't last too long but OMG they are so worth it
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
LOL, I'll have to pull a late one to do my order (10am EST would be midnight here)
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
ouch well i have seen them have stock to 2 PM EST
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
The first sub-batch boards are here. I'm currently testing everything and working on firmware update.
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Thank you for the update. Looking forward to a post when you send out the first shipments.
-
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:04 am
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Does the new gscartsw put out any voltage on SCART pin 8? If so, what's the SCART spec for any current draw on this line?
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Yes, 12V, you can draw 25mA from there.energizerfellow wrote:Does the new gscartsw put out any voltage on SCART pin 8? If so, what's the SCART spec for any current draw on this line?
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
We actually have those 8 pin mini din scarts on preorder status, but we also have them purchaseable via the custom cable builder.Lomax wrote:Thanks. Just went and had a look at retro-access - 90% of their products are "Out of stock"!
EDIT: Just read up on how their store works :-/
The problem is, that at the moment we are moving out of the state: with a view to potential expansion. So what we’re doing at the moment is not stocking most common products, but keeping things like mod compliant cables available, that way we can have a reduced workload while we move AND also allow people to line up cable orders with their mod orders.
edit: they are available now we intended to have them up originally but missed them when we were setting things up
Re: gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thre
Hopefully someone can help me out here as I've been looking for this for months. I'm needing an active 8-port auto component switcher. Is gRetroStuff considering making one or does anyone know of any commercial model out there? It's a must for me and after half a year or so of searching I can't find anything. Also, not really looking to daisy chain as I'll need all the ports.