Messages

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

Thanks once again for the info thesteve!

I finally did the mod today, and plumped for using an external htc charger, that has a usb to barrel lead - then in the PCE I took out the black cube thing near the socket (sorry not sure what it was) that had 4 legs - and routed the live into the fuse as per normal. Then chopped the 7805 out and linked the input and output legs together - this way the power switch still worked.

All working fine after a quick test with Military Madness and R-type

Thanks again to everyone for their help!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

quick update - I cracked open an HTC phone charger, to see if it would fit ok inside a PCE and yes its small enough.
Problem is it has set live/neutral wires, so a figure 8 lead wouldn't work as the polarity could be plugged in wrong.
A cloverleaf style plug is just too big and stiff to try to mount - so I have decided on the following:

Htc charger unmodded to plug into the wall - then from that a usb to barrel cable (cheap from amazon) - then inside the PCE link the wires from the socket over to the IC 5v output leg and ground (so IC is bypassed).

Probably should add a fuse/diode in there too (like the ones inside the PCE).

Hope to have time this weekend to sort it out!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

Thanks for the info everyone, that makes it a lot clearer.

In terms of power supply source, I just noticed my mobile charger is 5v 1a too (htc b250 type) which is even smaller than the zip power case.
So now I am pondering using the zip one OR the htc (smaller and newer) OR going for a usb socket on the PCE and using that together with the external htc charger (its so small and light only a bit smaller than a normal plug, and seems the logical choice as I have more flexibility if that part breaks externally).

Will have a think at the weekend on which approach to take!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

I did a project like this on a nes-101 a few years ago, using a very similar chinese switching p/s, it did work, though at the time I didn't have a scope so I didn't investigate the quality of the power being supplied to the board. I used the original power port and the wall adpater/power supply normally and just jumpered the traces necessary to make it work. Also, be leery of those cheap chinese power supplies, I buy them by the hundreds and there's always a few in each box that are crap and never work.

Cool thanks for the link!
As luck would have it my old zip100 drive from 1999 has a very small psu that I just noticed is 5v 1.0A, and already has a figure-of-eight socket on it (its very light too, unlike my old epsom amiga zip drive one which was a big brick type psu that plugs into the wall).

Still looking for some pce circuit layouts to save me some time, but the zip100 psu looks like a winner to harvest power circuits from.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

Thanks for the info everyone!

So if I were to bypass (remove) the 7805, a PSU internals like from this would be ok? (5v 1amp) :
wayback.ebay.co//UK-DC-5V-1A-Switching-Power-Supply-adapter-100-240V-AC-Promotion.

Does anyone know a good link to a reference diagram of the power area (around the 7805) of the PCE motherboard? I can only seem to find diagrams about the main chips when googling.

Also, found a cheap source of a `figure of 8` socket -
wayback.maplin.co/figure-of-8-mains-power-inlet-with-switch-219900

[Console Repair/Mod Center / PCE power input tolerance, and has anyone tried to mod a psu into a console?]

Hi, the power brick for my pc engine has a rate output of 9v 850ma, I am using the original Japanese one with a stepdown converter in the UK.
Both the psu and the stepdown are heavy old things and I would ideally like a single lighter solution.

Would a psu with an output of 9v 1A work ok? (there are a few of these cheap on ebay) Or does the supply need to be exactly 9v 850ma?
Also does the plug that goes into the PCE have a special name ? (just so I can be sure it fits ok)

Finally, out of interest has anyone ever tried to fit a small psu inside a pc engine? It would be nice to be able to just plug a stereo type lead in (the figure of 8 type) to the console

thanks!!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Rescued white PCE with SCART and region mod]

I did this a while ago thanks to info I found on this site - so just thought I would share...

First I found a dead white PCE on ebay that was very cheap. Replaced the fuse and that got it working fine (Couldn't use the RF output being in the UK, so tapped the rear audio outputs to tell if the unit was running a game ok or not).

Then did a SCART RGB mod in the place of the old RF output. Running out a dedicated cable may have been neater, but I wanted to be able to use this in the cd briefcase too so went for the large SCART socket.

The region mod is a long 16PDT switch that toggles, had to add some rigid support at the opposite end so when it was pressed it wouldn't get stressed over time.

/pce_scart.jpg

[Buy/Sell/Trade / WTB: broke/faulty pc engine cd-rom unit (the one that pops into the briefcase)]

I`m after one that has died/deceased/parped - please. But looks ok (not yellowed)

ta

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / virtual turbo grafx games on PAL Wii - frame skip when 50Hz mode]

I have just dloaded R-TYPE (yay) - and been trying it out on a PAL Wii with a RGB scart lead.

When you set your tv to be 60hz mode, it all runs fine and dandy - although with the slight bluriness that people have mentioned of wii turbografx games before (emulator output filters output?) - not a big deal, but would be great if they could fix it.

However if you have a PAL wii and your tv cannot support 60hz mode (unlucky you), then what you end up with is pretty shoddy - to get the games to run at 50hz they made them drop frames, so you get this subtle jerking going on as you play, not nice at all - but a damn good incentive to upgrade your tv.

The annoying thing about this is they dont tell you before you buy - they should detail these facts, so if some poor bugger cant run their tv at 60hz - then they should know the game wont run so nicely. And even if your tv can support 60hz, then they should at least tell you `best to play this game at 60hz`.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Are PAL virtual games really 50Hz? with borders?]

ah yes - i just found a site that explained how snes games and so on are 50hz (bordered) - but turbografx ones are not. Shame the emulator is blurring things a bit though...

I friend has a wii hooked up to a samsung telly with component cables, and even thats a bit blurry - looks like the image is being forcibly upscaled to the higher full res of the telly. pixels are not sharp like when you use scart rgb on a normal crt telly.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Are PAL virtual games really 50Hz? with borders?]

Surely not! - can anyone post some screen grabs? Turbo grafx games were never really `officially` released in Europe (at least not properly) - so why force em to 50Hz nastiness?? Gawd

boo hoo - can anyone confirm this?

ta

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Virtual Console: TG & PCE Game List (updated 10/31/06)]

please please please let there be some sort of work around to let peeps buy any game from any region. Am gonna be mighty peeved if I cant get my hands on Bomberman 94 cos of some region lockout.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Happy Birthday!]

would that be beaten with an A500, or an A600?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Military Madness!]

MM was the first game of its type I ever played, and I totally loved it. Hex is much preferable to AWs square grid map.

MMs subtleties like unit veterancy (more stars/skill for each kill), and the support fire help make it a better tactical game than AW. But AW has more character and story, and its prettier of course.
Also AW has much more replay value, as there branching maps in the campaign (so you need to play through several times to get them all), and the troop types you get on the final mission relate to which maps you chose in the campaign.

Battle Isle was another good hex based game (pc and amiga i think)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Strider- Officially the Worst port of all time]

CrackTiger on the spectrum was a depressingly bad port. Waited ages for it, then when it finally came out it was 2 colour (this was near the end of the species life, so no excuses for that), screen proportions were all wrong and half the levels were missing.



shame it wasnt ever ported to the PCE (the arcade version that is, not the speccy one)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / the pc engine shmup to get]

rtype complete CD has some dodgy cinematics, that dont really tie levels together as well as you might hope. The remixed music is a little odd too. But Rtype is rtype - quite a fantastic game. Would be interesting to see how kids handle playing it on the Wii (will they give up in frustration?).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / the pc engine shmup to get]

Aero Blasters is interesting if you were ever an Amiga fan - Turrican 2 (by Factor5) ripped off a couple of bosses wholesale, and ProjectX (by Team17) theived the speed run section.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / New Hudson mobile game ad shows TG16 controller]

i wonder if you can get these for nokia fones? or if its all just motorola?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / some excessive `handling` costs on ebay....]

I just can't believe people bid on these dodgy auctions, I`m guessing either they are not looking at the shipping cost, or they could possibly be fake accounts generated by the seller.

and re. those `premium` games - yes... i think the chap must have been in a hurry when he wrote "very rare", and actually meant to type "very bad games, really awful to play, not really worth your consideration beyond curiosity"

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / tennokoe 2 - compatable games list]

hiyas - does anyone know a definative list of games that work with the tennokoe? I read somewhere that the hucard has to have some sort of symbol on it (like a battery) - does that sound right?

ta

[Buy/Sell/Trade / some excessive `handling` costs on ebay....]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260040581678&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:UK:1

I can't believe the guy is justifying 125 dollars to post 3 hucards to the UK??

At that price I`d expect a them to come in a HUGE box (and maybe gold llaminated)  ;)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / GT / EXPRESS video output... LCD upgrade possibilites?]

looking at the DS lite lcds on ebay, there are lots of wires poking out, i wonder where in the world (web for that matter) you could find the pinouts? need one to test on ideally, but a bit expensive.

image a GT with a phat PSP installed ;)  (ignoring aspect ratios for a moment)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help me, My PC Engine is dead.............]

also check this page - http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/pcebp.php

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help me, My PC Engine is dead.............]

white (RIGHT) and yellow (LEFT) look like the audio wires.
green looks like its the green signal.
red is the red signal.
light blue is the blue video signal.

brown is the composite video signal.

the remaining signals you need for RGB are 5v and ground. I guess black is ground, but you should test with a multimeter.

on the pbc, the pin two to the right of blue is Vout (5volts), you could use this rather than the existing if you wanted to rewire. You should also trace the wires to the scart end, and check which wires go where (google scart pinout if needs be).

hope that is some help...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / edge mag]

edge 104 (white gba on cover) - has article on history on handhelds, the GT/Express is mentioned in it.

sorry, cant find the bloody edge mag now that had pc engine special one in it, but heres some of the others for interest:

119 - collector series begins, NEO GEO
120 - saturn
121 - nothing
122 - vectrex
123 - snes

125 -c64
126 - nothing
...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / edge mag]

I have a normal EDGE with a PC engine special in the middle, i`ll check the number tonight if thats any help...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Virtual console region lock depression]

i just wonder how they region lock content on the wii download games...

If its by the console, then fine, just need to buy a JAP machine.

but if its by credit card location (where its registered), or even IP location, then its gonna be a pain

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Virtual console region lock depression]

hmm - I had a look at the Wii websites.

JAPAN:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/features/virtual_console.html

Europe:
http://ms.nintendo-europe.com/wii/?site=w_virtual_console.html&l=enGB

Japan gets NES / PC Engine / SNES / Megadrive / N64 / MSX games, but Europe doesn't appear to get the PC Engine or MSX games.

- depressing

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / GT / EXPRESS video output... LCD upgrade possibilites?]

yeah - is hard to find any info on the pinouts of lcd screens

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / GT / EXPRESS video output... LCD upgrade possibilites?]

a quick search let me find that DS top screens are available from ebay etc, for about £20 including postage.

the DS screen is - 256x192 pixels

but for Pc engines Wikipedia states -
# X (Horizontal) Resolution: variable, maximum of 512 (programmable in increments of 8 pixels)
# Y (Vertical) Resolution: variable, maximum of 242 (programmable in increments of 1 scanline)
"The vast majority of TurboGrafx-16 games use 256×224, though some games, such as Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective did use 512×224. Chris Covell's 'High-Resolution Slideshow' uses 512×240."

sooooo.... the DS screen would still be too low to fit all the pixels in - which is a bummer

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / GT / EXPRESS video output... LCD upgrade possibilites?]

I was wondering if anyone knew what information was sent along that orange  flexicable inside a GT/Turboexpress - the one that runs from the main board to the LCD screen (not the one from the tv tuner).

It surely wouldn't be so simple to be Red Green Blue signals?

I am just wondering theoretically, whether an Express/GT could be modded to either:

1. RGB output to a telly.
or
2. Be hooked up to a more modern LCD screen (one that has a high enough resolution to display all the pixels)

Imagine a DSLite quality screen in your GT/Express!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Euro Turbografx]

colours were fine as far as i remember, it was composite too not RF, so a decent picture.
Can't remember black borders... but I was turned off so fast by the slowness of the games (and the music - gawd, painful...) that I didn't have the machine for long.

again though - very very nice R-type box art!
If Wii and PS3 had R-type on the sides of their boxes, i`d buy them no question

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Vote for the Essential PCE Games List!]

Well, from the limited number of games I have had the pleasure of playing, these would be my picks:

HUCARD
Horizontal Shooter: R-type
Vertical Shooter: Gunhed
Platformer: The Newzealand story
Arcade Conversion: Mr heli
Puzzle/Strategy: Nectaris
Action Game (misc): Bomberman 94


CD
Horizontal Shooter:R-type complete

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Euro Turbografx]

I bought one off ebay a few years ago - a chap in Germany had a job lot of them. I would NOT recommend getting one to actually play games on (ok as museum piece).
As they are 50Hz the games run slower. Now I wouldnt have thought the difference would be an issue - but it really is .
Music on games is noticeably slow, and games feel sluggish compared to being played on a 60Hz machine. (a minute of gunhed on a 50Hz machine is 50seconds on a Jap/Us machine - if my maths is correct).

It was a bit of a dissapointment - but the big RTYPE pic on the box was cool!

One upside is that harder games are made a bit easier due to this slightslo-mo effect. And they grey casing was nicer than black IMHO

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help me, My PC Engine is dead.............]

does the console still boot up to a white blank screen when you turn on yes?

if so that suggests things inide are still ok... so there may still be hope.

to get screw bits to open it up look here:
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=80&products_id=7461&PHPSESSID=fd36a8a07d5dbe02cc882d44abcad78e
or here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nintendo-Gamecube-Gamebit-screw-security-4-5-mm-Bit_W0QQitemZ200025808672QQihZ010QQcategoryZ20389QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

(ebay search GAMEBIT - 4.5 size i think, same as snes etc - dont get the smaller ones used for N64 carts)

the screw bits are very cheap - but you need a screwdriver handle part to clip them onto (or strong fingers may do).

hopefully its just lots of muck inside the console - good luck!!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / white PC ENGINE - CASING(ed) extremely HOT - is this normal?]

sorry to drag this thread on... but any guesses at what might be the causing the excess heat? dodgy capactitors? wonky regulator?

dont want it to catch fire/melt on me

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help me, My PC Engine is dead.............]

we have cotton buds, are they the same as q-tips?  (small white plastic stick with cotton balls stuck to each end).

dont go dowsing the games in lots of  fluid! could break em.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help me, My PC Engine is dead.............]

solid white screen is what i get if either:

a - there is no game in the slot
b - contacts are grubby

it sounds like your connections need cleaning, thats all. Maybe just on the game carts, but if the machine is very old then it may be dusty inside?

try cleaning the games first, as opening your console may damage the rgb mod (as you dont know what they did inside the machine) - but it all may be ok, just depends how good a job they did on it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help Needed]

well if you are going to sell the GT - test a JAP game on it first if you can - even if it means buying one off ebay, you could get some awful game for a few dollars - then you can test the GT and if its all ok you`ll get a much better price than selling it untested.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / white PC ENGINE - CASING(ed) extremely HOT - is this normal?]

hmm - now the pc engine has its casing back on - i`ve been testing the console out and its all working fine - but the plastic over the heatsink gets damned HOT.

Fairenuff the heatsink gets very hot - but the console casing shouldnt?? seems a bit dangerous.
This is after about 20-30mins, it becomes untouchably hot. This cant be normal surely?

White pc engine - original psu.

(my coregrafx casing never gets crazy hot like this)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Help Needed]

no - i think the region adapters (eg kisado) only work from USA machines to let you play japanese games - not the otherway.
You could always ebay the GT, then buy an Express with the cash - or even see if someone on these forums would like to do a swap.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / R-TYPE 1 - hard mode]

I`m glad I found out too - was just by luck I discovered it. I wonder if something similar happens with R-type Complete CD?

BTW - the hard mode may be unlockable if you finish level 4 on 1 credit. I know for sure that doing it on 1 life works, and doing it on 2 credits definately doesn't. But as for dying once or twice on the first credit? - dunno, give it a try.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / RF modded Core Grafx]

hmm - well maybe they took an old white pc engine, working but with very yellowed casing. And they took the casing from a bust core grafx, and swapped it??

perhaps a bit unlikely, but take a look inside if you can, and see whats going on. Really makes no sense to RF mod DOWN from an AV console, not in this day and age.

eeediots

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / R-TYPE 1 - hard mode]

r-type final (ps2) was a bit of a let-down. most of the levels were poorly designed - no where near as tight as the original.

I dont mind the last 4 levels of r-type. 5 is cool - giant snakes. 6 is bonkers (lack of level boss is a shame  - although doesnt the pc engine version have one?). 7 is like a decaying volatile version of level 1. Level 8 is all twitch gameplay, hard.

R-type 2 (arcade) had terrible later levels. 1-3 were great, 4 was a bit iffy - 5  and 6 were appalling (level 5 end boss was stupidly hard).

I got the MSX version a few years back - really surprisingly good, kinda similar to the Master system one. (and it came in a HUGE box)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Dungeon Explorer and multitap]

did you try what stevek suggested?

in the first room screen (after the map screen at the start) you need to press and hold RUN button to choose number of players - i think it then counts up from 1 - 2 - 3 etc as you have to choose the number of players - then release the run button.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / R-TYPE 1 - hard mode]

I just finished R-Type 1 (Jap hucard), and found out theres a HARD mode.

Apologies if this is common knowledge, but I had no idea. I finished the 4 levels on 1 life (no deaths), then after the ship lands in the mothership, I got the code as per usual, but then pressed RUN. (if you lose a credit you don't seem to get this option to press RUN).

I then started on level 1 with the two orbs (no force) and homing missiles. And the game got much harder, for example:

End of level 1 boss fired bullets from his tail.
Tentacle brains on level 2 take tonnes of bullets to kill.
The flying green sperms on level two seem to have been breeding, there are loads of them.
The front gun/rocket on level 3's ship is damn hard to kill.
The turrets at the back of the ship regenerate (like Amiga version).
The mine layers on level 4 pump out lots of bullets.

Arg - and YAY all at once!

One grumble - it's a shame when you put your code into R-type 2 that you don't launch from the mothership again.

Also - I haven't been able to clock rtype1 through twice yet (on 1 life) - wonder if theres a super hard mode?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / PC engine, RGB mod - AMP brightness switching problems]

nope - no Microwave nearby.
maybe its electrical  -  this guys problem sounds kinda similar:

https://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=1536.0

they kind of conclude that its internal electrical noise.
the problem I`m seeing is damn subtle, when graphics are shifting about you really dont notice, its just on areas of blank art (mainly menus) or static art you notice the noise.

guess i`ll just have to live with it

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / RGB scart mod + Sony tv `cropping` fix]

I`m not sure how many other people have this problem - but when I plug my SCART RGB console into the telly, the picture is offset to the left slightly.
This is a pain for games like R-type as your ship can nearly dissapear off the left side of the screen.

Well after a bit of digging I found there is a way to fix it.

You have to enter the TVs service mode then adjust the horizontal positioning/centring.
I found out how to get into service mode via this site:

http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/sonypal.html

BEWARE - dont go mucking with the settings if you dont know what they are, there are no defaults to reset to! Note any numbers before changing them.

The service mode code (there are a few listed on that site) that worked for me was:
power off (remote)
then quickly press one at a time in order:
"i+" (info button above menu)
"5" (the channel)
"audio +" (press once)
"tv mode" (the button to the left of teletext, below mute)

then wait a second or two - and "TT" mode will appear (see weblink above for more info).

Now I then pressed "MENU" on my remote. Use the up/down/left/right cursor pad keys below the MENU button on the remote to naivagate.
Press down (blue) once to get to GEOMETRY.
Press right (yellow) to enter.
now move down to "H-Centre"

my preset was 18, i changed it to 0 (use left/right to adjust number).
press MENU once you are done and you should return to normal tv mode (press Menu again and you should get the normal tv menu options, not the fancy geometry adjustments etc).

Now the picture is almost perfectly positioned, much better (the ship in R-type is only half offscreen now).

(ps - this was done on a PAL sony kv-21x5u )

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / PC engine, RGB mod - AMP brightness switching problems]

hi - i would say the lines are horizontal with a slight diagnol slant (angling down from left to right).

The wire is a decent thickness (also used it on a supegun project, and no problems).

the noise effect isnt constant, but varies. (cant tell if it relates to anything else like controler use/audio - doesnt seem to relate).

What sort of grounding issue could it be?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Nintendo Wii virtual console info?]

its a pain you have to pay AGAIN for any games you already own - shame they cant release a £5 usb adaptor (that plugs into the Wii) that has a HUcard socket on it!