gotcha Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Hello, I just acquired a set of multi-cart cartridges (one from the US, the other from the UK) that I want to use with my french Vectrex. Both have the same issue in the menu: game titles are sometimes so much in italic that they become barely visible/readable. I guess it's not what the authors intended to do. Note that games look fine, and the problem is with text only. Since there is the same issue with the 2 different cards, my interpretation is that there is a compatibility issue somewhere. Did someone already experience such issue ? Does it mean that Vectrex from different countries are not 100% compatible ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtoal Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 It's not the cartridges, it's the Vectrex itself which needs adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 I have similar issues with nearly any game that uses text like this. But all of the released games with text look just fine and it big and straight. I only see this with smaller text being used. What adjustment is needed to correct for this and is there a specific game that is best to use for that adjustment? I can load up the diagnostics but all the screens on that look fine on my vectrex so I don't think that would be a good program to use for such an adjustment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcha Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) It's not the cartridges, it's the Vectrex itself which needs adjustment. Well, I didn't notice any issue with original games. The text is just fine. We can see also on my picture that arrows are OK too. Only the text has an issue, and the smaller, the worse. Does the Vectrex have a specific process for generating text, with for instance the usage of a line synchro signal (like on non vectorial CRTs) ? Edited October 3, 2018 by gotcha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcha Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 I was looking at a web page about Vectrex text generation: http://vectrex.malban.de/preliminary/a1c5ac89.html It seems that the text is generated in raster mode, and that the way the bios does it is "vulnerable to vectrex drift, the longer the text the more 'italic' it gets". Does anyone know how we can re-calibrate correctly the Vectrex for text generation ? Which part of the motherboard needs to be looked at ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zitruskeks Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 The vectrexs troubleshooting guide (https://console5.com/techwiki/images/f/f8/Vectrex-Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf) lists these points under "Poorn lettering Display, i. e. , Tilt & size": Adjust DAC offset Adjust Integrator Offset If you have a buzzing vectrex you might also want to replace the styrofoam caps on the integrator part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryStar Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLqwTQAyjnM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopperthedog Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Oh no, not that half assed misinformed video. The vectrex service manual clearly outlines all the adjustments and the various screens in the test cart rom. It's about 4 pages of reading with pictures, super easy to do things right. good day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryStar Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 (edited) Hehe I adjusted slanted Vectrex text after watching that video, with no ill effects. But yeah, probably best to go with the official instructions. Edited October 5, 2018 by BinaryStar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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