Messages

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: [Dino Force] Fundraising]

Im not familiar with Akiba games but ive seen the name before. Are they generally trustworthy? They say this is a completed game that plays from beginning to finish.  They wont say how many levels there are though.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PC Engine / Turbografx16 s-video mod]

Here are some pictures of how i did the mod on my US TG16. I did not bother remaking a full diagram, I just indicated the solder points and the resistor to remove on the board.
If someone wants to use or modify these pictures, i dont mind.  ( If you want to see larger version open picture in separate window and remove the "h" at the end of the file name. )

First i cut the lead from the resistor R130, to remove Luma from the mixing circuit.


On the following picture you notice i made all the soldering on the underside.
I did not use the connector pins to grab my 5v or CVBS, instead I used points in the video mixing circuit. This allowed me to have all the wires in the same spot, hopefully making a more tidy mod.    I had also wired audio but ended up removing it and opted to keep using my TurboBooster instead. The signal from those pins is quite weak. I also felt that maybe it sounded a bit dry compared to the TurboBooster, even after I had raised the volume on my sound system to compensate.  The TB boosts the volume but i think it also adds some warmth to the sound.   

Also, I used a 2N4132 Transistor instead of the 2N3904, for the simple reason that i already had those. They seem to be similar enough for it not to matter. I used a trimpot to adjust the brightness and settled at 225 ohms.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PC Engine / Turbografx16 s-video mod]

I haven't looked back on it in awhile, because at the time it was kind of sloppy, it seemed like you removed components from the game system that did not need to be removed, to compensate for being afraid of soldering directly to a pin on the 6260. I have not bothered to look and see if you corrected that or not.

I Do not know if you are referring the the resistor, but i thought the point of removing it was to get a stronger Luma signal but also to prevent the luminance from being mixed with chrominance down the line, possibly resulting in a better image. Please correct me if i am wrong here.

I also do not like to solder directly on IC legs, especially when I do not have to do it. On my TG16 I certainly did not need to do that. Ill post picture of the solder points i used when i get back from job tonight.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PC Engine / Turbografx16 s-video mod]

The picture is AWESOME, it even fixes that horrible shimmering that is always there on composite when scrolling. Hyperdyne Sidearms looked like shit now it looks as sharp as on an emulator!

Hm, that's kind of a good way to describe it, a "shimmering" effect when scrolling. I was actually trying to find a better way myself besides referring to it as dot crawl, which I think is mostly what's responsible for that (100% when it's a composite signal), but even with a S-video test on my Turbo Duo and my SNES, while it was greatly reduced, there was still some of this shimmering left. In the case of my SNES, after the component video mod was put into place, THEN it was beautiful, frankly, and that effect was practically eliminated! Clear coloring, no interference artifacts, good sharpness, contrast, scrolling, etc.

Im not sure this effect is all that much related to composite dot crawl. Even though dot crawl would seem to be a good name for it. True dot crawl will appear on a still image as well (Playstation splash screen).
This is different, it only happens by a noticeable amount on the NES, PCE and i think SMS has it too. It only happens on moving objects or scrolling and the severity depends of the scrolling speed. Im not sure exactly what causes it.

I even created a thread about it on assembler games and its pretty funny as everyone had a different explanation for it.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?42005-NES-caracteristic-Dot-crawl-while-scrolling-shimmering-shifting-pixels

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PC Engine / Turbografx16 s-video mod]

Thanks for this mod Drakon, and others who helped too of course! I just did this mod on my US TG16, worked flawlessly. The picture is AWESOME, it even fixes that horrible shimmering that is always there on composite when scrolling. Hyperdyne Sidearms looked like shit now it looks as sharp as on an emulator!

I figured the solder points with the schematic. I still need to hook up audio and fine tune the resistor value for optimal brightness.

Once im done ill make a diagram with a picture of the US motherboard, maybe it will help people wanting to mod their US TG16.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Duo-R sound crackling/popping .]

HI there! this is my first post on this forum.
The other day i started my Duo-R to play Super Star Soldier and to my dismay there were some weird and annoying popping/crackling sounds in the audio. It was most obvious with the sampled drum sounds.
My duo-r never did that before. I checked other games and i found that the CD audio has no problem and chip tunes seem ok too. Problems appears to be with sampled sounds and some sound effects.

I started to search on the subject and that is how i found this forum, by finding this post : https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=6706.0

It seems I have the exact same issue as this guy. I can see that the thread did not end up with a solution as it looks like the chap who started it could live with the problem. I CANT.

I must fix this it is unbearable. I ordered the Torx security bits to open my duo-r already and i plan to do a general check on capacitors as it seem that most sound problems on duos come from them.
I just wanted to inquire about the problem, to see if someone else has experienced this on a Duo-R and also if someone might have a lead as to where to start with this.
Ideas anyone ?

Thanks in advance and btw nice to meet you all folks. Its great to find such a knowledgeable and active nec console community. Long Live PCE !!