[BlueStinger]

Back then, I either bought them all in a single order or 2 orders very close in time to each other. Not all were having issues. I ended up using the other ones and they were fine. So, it might have been an isolated issue, in an isolated batch.

[BlueStinger]

Hi, I did actually. The RGB bypass boards had +5V and GND shorted (I took them out and checked, it was indeed coming from the modkit). Back then it didn’t occur to me to check the mod before installing it, took me a long *ss time to even check that, hence why things went sideway for so long ^-^ Now that’s the first thing I do. From memory, I bought 8 RGB bypass boards, 2 had +5V and GND shorted and another one had Blue (output) and +5V shorted (and because I used to remove CXA as that’s what a modder from the US was doing without any issue, I started swapping bypasses around to rule things out, I basically ended up damaging several of them in the process, and back then, no oscillo :/ ). Last year someone complained to Voultar about another mod of his and pcbway (or JLCpcb?) chimed in to confirm that he had some weird artifacts in his pcb. I guess the software he was using back then was buggy. If you type “artifacts from:@Voultar” on Twitter you can find tracse of this exchange (July 7th 2020).

[BlueStinger]

First thing first : take your multimeter and check for continuity between +5V and GND on the bypass board (and other pads)…
Check this tweet/thread : https://twitter.com/romainbrami/status/1280151479463092225
From personal experience and this person’s (acknowledged by Voultar himself), don’t blindly trust Voultar’s boards (or any mod, really). Apparently his software adds artifacts in his gerber files. The issue might pop up 0.1% of the time, but that’s enough to be cautious all the time. So, before doing anything too drastic, check the mod itself. I bought 10 RGB Bypass (Voultar’s V2 boards) and had to throw 2 of them in the garbage bin because there was continuity between +5V and GND and I couldn’t see anything wrong with them so I couldn’t fix them. It doesn’t mean much, I might have been extremely unlucky, but now that you know that it is a possibility, I hope you’ll learn the same lesson I learned (the hard way…) and always check your mods before even trying to fit them in. Good luck folks!

[BlueStinger]

Solved ! Simply by running a wire between the Csync pin and Luma (marked “Y” – basically, run a wire between pin 3 and 7). I can’t believe that was the issue, I kept telling me it wouldn’t work and tried that just for the sake being comprehensive.

[BlueStinger]

Yeah, I’m out of ideas now. Both consoles behave the same way, they work fine on a PVM, a 1080p Samsung but not on the OSSC. I’ve made sure that the composite and CSync lines lead to nowhere but it didn’t make a difference. My install is very clean and it works on other devices (TVs) so maybe I didn’t understand the point of a jumper but I keep reading the installation guide and I can’t see what’s wrong.

[BlueStinger]

It says “no sync” but the LED is actually green. I get the test pattern on screen too

[BlueStinger]

Thanks mate, I’ll try that !

[BlueStinger]

Hello, I think there’s an issue with the newest firmware. I’ve only encountered this issue with PAL PS1 so far.
The issue : tiny green blinking artifacts (like, between pixels)
I haven’t experimented much with it and it didn’t show up with the 240p Test Suite. I’ve tweaked the optimal timings and fired up FF7 and saw this issue, tried FF8 and saw the same issue. Honestly, it looked like an HDMI cable issue but I’ve replaced it and the issue is still here. I’ve downgraded to v0.83 and the issue is now gone so I’m pretty confident it comes from the latest firmware update.

If you want to replicate it :
Legit OSSC bought from VGP
PS1 PAL + CSync cable from RGC.com
x5 1920×1080 (as well as other resolutions) in 320×240 opt mode
my sample rate was 426.25 (doesn’t seem to matter anyway)
Remember, everything was fine in the 240p test suite, FF7 and 8 will be problematic for sure (I mean, they were for me, so I assume they would behave the same way for you)

Like I’ve said, I haven’t experimented much with this bug as I wanted to see if downgrading the firmware would fix the issue.

I hope this helps (I know I’ve just complained but great job Marqs, I’m a huge fan of your creation, I think that the OSSC is the coolest thing I’ve ever owned)

[BlueStinger]

Hi hardyhell, try using shielded wires instead : https://twitter.com/Consoles4You/status/1155622288684961792

[BlueStinger]

Hi Renovigo, check this up :https://twitter.com/Consoles4You/status/1155622288684961792
Apparently, it worked well for him : he used shielded wires
I haven’t tried yet but it seems to be the closest I’ve ever been to a proper answer to this issue

[BlueStinger]

To connect the RGB, Sync an 5V from the chip and 7805 I used a shielded wire, with the shielding grounded on both ends. Also route them as far away from IC9 and 10

(This install unfortunately is quite overloaded)

Now as a final thing I plan to do a recap. pic.twitter.com/ufJLYlxGcO

— Consoles4You (@Consoles4You) July 28, 2019

First, Consoles4you have seemingly found an answer to the remaining jailbars on PAL consoles, apparently the answer is : Do as usual but use shielded wires to do the install.

For this particular issue, I had it (and many others) then I’ve RGB Bypassed consoles and removed CXA entirely. Don’t do that ! It will work for a while and then it won’t work anymore. While CXA was missing (and before it was an issue) everything was fine. Lately, I’ve been re-installing CXA in those consoles and now I have those same old issues reappearing.

You can remove CXA on NTSC consoles but NOT in PAL consoles. Also, and I need a little more time to confirm that, CXA can apparently be responsible for a ton of other issues like random reset, garbled graphics, sync issues.

I can elaborate to prove some of these points if needed. But my advice right now is : Try to swap CXA for a good CXA chip.

[BlueStinger]

And apparently, it should stay no matter what because I was using a Mini Mega… Although maybe the Mini Mega doesn’t bypass CXA ? Not sure, I’ve never had any issue with the Mini Mega so I haven’t looked into it. Anyway, CXA should remain on PAL consoles. I get that… now ^-^

[BlueStinger]

here are some pictures :

MD1 PAL RGB Bypass

There are 2 boards there, unfortunately it’s hard to tell which one is which on picture. Pretty obvious irl.
The one with only an RGB bypass seems to work fine but I haven’t tested it more than 40 minutes. (this one has a nasty RAM noise)

The other one has a perfect picture, but it shifts from left to right like crazy. I’ve disconnected the 5V from the Mini Mega but it didn’t do any good. My other TV doesn’t accept the signal, my ossc either.

[BlueStinger]

Hey Bob !!! Big fan of yours, haven’t miss a single one of your videos !
– Voltage regulators have been replaced (with both 1A or 1.5A), they all output around 5V
– I’ve re-soldered the CXA in some, didn’t remove it in others, didn’t do any good
– “other boards interfering” some of the consoles only had an RGB Bypass
– I’m in PAL territory
– My customers were both using official PSUs (and I’m using an official Master System PSU that doesn’t cause any issue with the SMS)

I’ll get one out this afternoon, make sure I check every box you mentioned. Even though I’m sure at least one of them already does.
I’ll also post as many pictures as I can.

[BlueStinger]

I’ll check all that (I’m already sure that everything is good but I always blame the modder before the hardware), I need to finish the Saturn and the SEGA CDX I’m working on and I’ll take a good look.

[Author]

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