Way to cheaply/easily deminish RF interence lines in picture?

[TaskenLander]

Hi,

I just bought a Sega SG-1000 II and it works fine via RF but there's the run of the mill wavy lines in picture. Is there a way or item to purchase to alleviate this?

 

Does anyone on here do A/V composite mods for such an obscure system?

 

Thanks in advance,

Michael

[TaskenLander]

Could/should I try to replace the RCA phono (?) cable it came with? I bought a gold shielded F-connector adapter to bypass the horrendeously out of date RF unit the system came with but I still am getting interference.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[Ransom]

In addition to getting the F-connector adapter TaskenLander mentions, I've also had good results using shielded cables with the systems I haven't converted to composite or s-video yet. You don't necessarily get no interference, but it does seem to cut down on it noticeably.

[NIKON]

Well considering that the SG1000 Mark II was never released in North America I would venture to say that it is not compatible with NTSC display monitors or Televisions.

 

I would approach the problem from that standpoint

[TaskenLander]

Shielded phono RCA cables?

 

Can you send me a link?

 

Thanks in advance.

[TaskenLander]

Well considering that the SG1000 Mark II was never released in North America I would venture to say that it is not compatible with NTSC display monitors or Televisions.

 

I would approach the problem from that standpoint

But isn't Japan NTSC?

[Osgeld]

mostly (JNTSC)

 

most of your fatter yellow tipped video RCA cables are shielded

[TaskenLander]

I just did a few experiments w/ various gold plated, shielded, RCA cables I had lying around the house. All yielded the same results, so its not the cable the console came with. However, I tried hooking the system to a HDTV and the picture, on ch. 95, looked remarkably better.

 

But alas, I need it to look good on the CRT TV in my office as that's where my game setup is.

 

Could I potentially just need a 'rf signal tuner' thing...? Am I labeling that thing properly?

[akator]

I use a combination of ferrite cores on all of the AV cables and a powered multi-input line switcher that has a signal boosting circuit. That setup reduced RF interference greatly on all systems except the Sega CD, which wasn't resolved until I replaced the original power supplies with generic new models. The Sega CD and Genesis PSUs were creating the RF wavy interference, interference that didn't affect play but it was distracting on dark backgrounds (especially seen on the logo and title screens).

[TaskenLander]

I just fiddled w/ it a little and the video quality is now, I would say, like a B solid... Stillllllllllllllll those damn lines annoy the shit out of me haha.

 

Is there a way you could please 'dumb that paragraph down' for me or provide a link? I'm not that savvy in tech speak...

 

I think I just need something to connect the rf adapter to that would 'strengthen'/improve the signal?

 

Please let me know and thanks in advance.

 

p.s. -- for whatever its worth I currently have the system running through a VCR as I get FM radio (actual music) interference when connecting it, the RF cable, directly to my TV on Ch. 95.

 

Thanks again.

[akator]

Here's a bunch of different ferrite cores of different sizes. Measure your cable width, order the right size, then they snap onto the cable. I put one close to either end of each connection, meaning 2 on each cable with one near the console plug and one near the TV.

 

My input switch is an older Radio Shack model, one I picked up years ago from another Atari Age member. I haven't seen one like it in production for years, however it is somewhat similar in function to this model. The difference is my older switch is only for RF/coax inputs and outputs, there are no S-Video or Composite options.

 

[edit] I'm not recommending that RCA switch, merely pointing out an example of the closest thing I could find to the one I use. [/edit]

Edited March 14, 2014 by akator

[TaskenLander]

Okay. The ferrites part makes sense to me... I have no way of accurately measuring the phono RCA cord, though. It appears to be a lil' bit thinner than the phono cord out of a regular Atari 2600 or say a NES controller cord. Any recommendations?

 

Could radio shack have those things?

 

I'm terrible w/ math and measurements. :-(

 

Could/should I try it w/out the RF input modulator thing first...?

 

Thanks in advance. Your help in invaluable to me at this point!

 

Mike

[akator]

The cables for my systems are all different thicknesses. I bought packs of 5mm and 7mm, then put whichever ones fit on the cables. You might also try searching elsewhere for better prices (like eBay or Newegg or just your favorite search engine), I simply provided the Amazon link because it had pretty pictures to demonstrate.

 

The ferrite cores might fix the problem without using a switch. If you only have one system hooked to your TV, definitely don't waste the time or money on a switch. If the ferrite cores don't work and you don't need an input switch, a coax signal booster might help because that's what is in my Radio Shack input switch that further helps the signal. But try the ferrite cores by themselves first. they might work perfectly

[TaskenLander]

Ok. Thanks!

 

Will definitely seek out some of those ferrites!

[ApolloBoy]

I have an SG-1000 II and I've performed an AV mod on it. If you still want to have an AV mod done send me a PM.

[TaskenLander]

The cables for my systems are all different thicknesses. I bought packs of 5mm and 7mm, then put whichever ones fit on the cables. You might also try searching elsewhere for better prices (like eBay or Newegg or just your favorite search engine), I simply provided the Amazon link because it had pretty pictures to demonstrate.

 

The ferrite cores might fix the problem without using a switch. If you only have one system hooked to your TV, definitely don't waste the time or money on a switch. If the ferrite cores don't work and you don't need an input switch, a coax signal booster might help because that's what is in my Radio Shack input switch that further helps the signal. But try the ferrite cores by themselves first. they might work perfectly

 

Hi again,

I went to my local Radio Shack to see if they had any ferrite cores and, in addition to the employee having NO idea what I was talking about, they appeared not to carry them.

 

I'm thinking of just getting them from Amazon as I currently have a trial of Prime still. For point of reference, could you tell me what game cords were 5mm and which were 7mm (from what you may remember?).

 

I'm not sure how to measure the SG's phono cord width.

 

Also -- was there a particular brand you'd recommend?

 

Thanks in advance,

Michael

[akator]

I'm thinking of just getting them from Amazon as I currently have a trial of Prime still. For point of reference, could you tell me what game cords were 5mm and which were 7mm (from what you may remember?).

 

I'm not sure how to measure the SG's phono cord width.

 

Also -- was there a particular brand you'd recommend?

 

I used a ruler, held the cable up the ruler, and "eyeballed" it. I honestly can't remember specifics as it has been years since I went through the process of putting these onto everything, and some of it was trial and error. I remember being surprised at the variation between different systems, but I definitely used more 5mm cores than the other sizes. I would recommend trying those first.

 

If there are brands for these, it probably doesn't matter. I bought them from different sources, some from Amazon, some from eBay, some from somewhere else I can't remember. Once I knew what size I needed, I was only looking for that and the best price

[TaskenLander]

Okay. Duh! That makes sense (the ruler trick).

 

Thanks again.

[TaskenLander]

So my ferrite cores came in today (I ordered them from amazon) and I applied them to my 2600 and SG-1000, as those are the only systems I have in my collection with this problem, and sadly they did nothing.

 

I did the same same thing you did, bought 5 and 7mm (they were a perfect fit for the cords) and put one at either end of the cords.

 

What should I try next? The coaxial signal booster thing?

 

Or should i seek out a modder who can convert it, the system, to composite? :-(

[akator]

So my ferrite cores came in today (I ordered them from amazon) and I applied them to my 2600 and SG-1000, as those are the only systems I have in my collection with this problem, and sadly they did nothing.

 

I did the same same thing you did, bought 5 and 7mm (they were a perfect fit for the cords) and put one at either end of the cords.

 

What should I try next? The coaxial signal booster thing?

 

Or should i seek out a modder who can convert it, the system, to composite? :-(

 

At this point, I would recommend the mod. There's no guarantee a signal booster will solve the issue, but the video mod will.

[boxpressed]

After reading a thread on demodulators, I bought one of these things: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 281057668072. They look cool, but I can't say that it did much for the quality of my RF output. Plus you have to buy a BNC to phono/RCA plug adapter. Dirt cheap, though.

 

A little bit better is something like this: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 141225548001. You can get it for cheaper.

 

Maybe they can tune to a Japanese channel better.

 

I'm not sure how much better these are than your VCR, honestly. If I had to do over again, I'd probably pass and use the money toward modding my 5200 & 7800 for S-Video. However, I can understand how you might not want to mod your less common console.

[TaskenLander]

Ok. So I was fiddlin' w/ my VCR and even though it is said to play Japanese systems on Ch.95 or 96 -- it, the picture, looks remarkable better on Ch. 08 and Ch. 32.

 

The picture quality is definitely a noticeable improvement. I may still try the signal booster from amazon as I can always just return it if it doesn't work.

 

I'm open to modding -- but its definitely my last choice.