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CZroe

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CZroe last won the day on October 3 2018

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About CZroe

  • Birthday 09/01/1980

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    Male
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    Newnan, GA, USA
  • Interests
    Nintendo, electronics, and PC hardware

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  1. Great! I should point out that the eBay installer didn’t add solder to the HDMI mounting tabs on the bottom which is something I planned to correct but since you won’t have to send it I might as well point it out. FWIW, RetroActive has not authorized me to share that file but I would have contacted him for permission and sent the programmer if you were were not able to send the kit. Sending you a PM.
  2. Thanks. Just wanted a peek at the installer code (0CB) to see if it was one of mine since RetroActive uses them to establish a chain of responsibility for these. Not sure who has 0CB but GameTechUS is 0BN and I am 0DC (his HW2 pic was one of my kits ;)). Anyway, I'm happy to try my recovery file but that requires sending me the kit. I just noticed a similar post about a bricked UltraHDMI kit on Shmups forum but the username was different: Fazz84. Is that also you? I plan to reach out over there next, just in case.
  3. I saw your Q&A with RetroRGB. He is right that Marshall/RetroActive expects your installer to support any issues, but I can help if it really is just a failed update. Mine bricked when updating to unreleased 1.08FW back in 2018 and, as an installer, Marshall shared everything I needed to unbrick it. I bricked mine by pulling DCDI while it was updating (changed inputs on my TV), which caused the UltraHDMI to disable itself. The final FW1.08 fixes this by ignoring DCDI during FW updates, but there is nothing the 1.08 Updater can do about it until you are updated to 1.08. Since there is nothing newer than 1.08, anyone updating today still has the potential to run into this issue. When updating: Don’t switch inputs or power off the TV. Don’t unplug the HDMI cable or move anything that could cause even a momentary disconnect. ...and, of course, all the usual about maintaining power and such. What installer code is on your console’s UltraHDMI sticker?
  4. FYI, the SGX only gets mono CD audio through the ROM² Adapter anyway. In that setup you are expected to get stereo audio from the Interface Unit and video from the SGX directly, leaving the audio plugs from the SGX dangling. With a Super CD-ROM² you just plug the same stereo AV cables into that instead. ...and I think you touched on the reason Voultar gave up on YUV from the PCE when he went to S-Video instead.
  5. It's a replacement BIOS chip that boots up and checks a bunch of things but I'm pretty sure your original BIOS chip is soldered down. Trying the diagnostics BIOS ROM would require some electronics rework tools. I'd offer to socket the BIOS for you and try it but I just got a tracking number for a shipment of UltraHDMI kits. That means I'm going to be pretty busy managing the UltraHDMI group buy for the foreseeable future. The group buy members have been waiting a year and a half for this! I can still send a NeoDIAG ROM if you have some way to socket the chip.
  6. Yours is an earlier revision than I've ever laid hands on. Steven gives me way too much credit! You mentioned corrupt graphics but do the games appear to be running under the graphical garbage? Is there any audio? It's definitely worth installing NeoDiagROM to looks for leads. Failing that, I look for little spots of corrosion on the motherboard... but that seems to be more of an issue for later models (something caustic splashed on at the factory). I sometimes socket the RAM and swap with known-good chips to see if there is any difference. MobiusStripTech has fixed a few of these for customers. He'd be my go-to guy if I couldn't figure it out myself so I definitely recommend him.
  7. Wow! Those look really nice. How do you get those details with ABS on parts that small without ridiculous artifacts?! When I use ABS I can't get results like that unless I use vapor smoothening, which would make that weirdly shiny and remove the texture.
  8. I made another last night salvaging the plug from a Shark vacuum adapter I found a year ago ($2 at Goodwill). http://imgur.com/a/GjtPM5W I also saw this post from someone in another thread where he found another set top box from the same ODM as the Dish Network Joey. Instead of Delta or LiteOn, his adapter says "NetBit." https://atariage.com/forums/topic/271045-anyone-know-of-a-source-for-7800-power-supply-connector/ Here's a quote: Just figure it should be recorded here too.
  9. What you have is a set top box from the same ODM that makes the Dish Network Joey with the same plug that I reported here: The one I had in hand used a Delta branded power supply but another AtariAge user ordered a replacement and got LiteOn brand. Now we see yours is "NetBit" brand so it seems that all three manufacturers have access to these components even though we still don't know what it's called or where you can order them. Bizarre! Anyway, that thread also identifies some other devices with the same plug including Brinkmann Q-Beam Max Million spotlights and the Shark Euro Pro vacuum. I couldn't find my salvaged Brinkmann pigtails last night when a game vendor friend of mine asked me for one so I trimmed another Shark one that I found at Goodwill a year ago. Threw on some mismatched black heat shrink tubing but switched to black when I found some big enough. Then I took a "GlobTek Inc AC/DC Medical Adapter" 9v 1A DC power supply and unscrewed the casing to remove the original cord... that was also a Goodwill find and struck me as particularly high quality for a 9v PSU, hence it being serviceable with screws with positive and negative were marked inside. I threw the Shark adapter brick on the concrete in my basement to crack the casing open then ripped the wires off the PCB to retain the full length and the strain relief on both ends. The strain relief was much smaller than the original GlobTek but it slotted right in perfectly. I soldered up the wires inside and then tested the polarity with my meter. +9v should be to the right of the key/ridge when looking into the cable end with the ridge oriented up. http://imgur.com/a/GjtPM5W I switched to black heat shrink in the last pic.
  10. Yeah, the Warrior 64 Pad is definitely a straight-up replica of the HoriPad Mini 64 much like the Old Skool ControlPad is a replica of the original NEC TurboPad. Everywhere you look in The States we have crappy replica original-style N64 controllers with an empty oval above the Start button where the Nintendo logo goes (several different brands) so it seems only some brands care to avoid this. IMO, the Retro-Bit Tribute 64 and Hyperkin Admiral are the ones that made some attempt to be different/legally distinct from Hori's HoriPad Mini 64 while IntecGaming straight-up didn't care short of copying logos on their Warrior 64 Pad. Just like the OldSkool ControlPad and the Hyperkin Specialist, all three are likely made by the same ODM manufacturing partner. Anyway, MadLittlePixel's controller test results with the wireless Brawler 64 looks extremely similar to the Warrior 64 Pad: My Warrior 64 Pad result is still slightly closer to the ideal range of a brand new original N64 controller but it's close enough to the wireless Brawler 64 for the difference to be a sampling error. They probably have the same circuitry converting the analog pot ranges to the N64's optical encoder format... maybe even the same ODM again. Yeah, it's pretty clear that there is one big ODM marketing these variations and controller production services to different brands in much the same way they did with those console-specific HDMI cables (#Pound, X-treme, XAgent, LevelHike, Hyperkin, etc).
  11. Here is my visual comparison between the Warrior 64 Pad and an original HoriPad Mini 64: http://imgur.com/a/WLJQOut My twin brother hates the HoriPad Mini 64 but I had him play through a 16-star run of Super Mario 64 on both. He expressed no preference and had no complaints about the Warrior that didn't also apply to the HoriPad. I'm inclined to say that the Warrior 64 controller is slightly better since the range is a little tighter and there are some games where oversteering causes issues. Walking backwards in Blast Corps or randomly spinning out more in Mario Kart 64 were oversteer issues I noted with a controller called "The Rock" way back in 1997. I recall the translational logic in some Gamecube-style aftermarket sticks for standard N64 controllers limits you to something like 16 directions so I need to make sure that isn't the case here. Also, I've noticed that the quick sword spin technique in Ocarina of Time is much harder on some aftermarket sticks and emulators (even Wii Virtual Console) so I need to test that with the Warrior 64 too. That's the move where you spin the stick and hit B for a spin attack without charging the B button. It doesn't use magic like charging the B button does either. TL;DR: Early impressions of the pad are good.
  12. I don't think I ever followed up once it was OK to talk about it, but the initial response from Best Electronics was that they were out of stock but working with a supplier on a new replacement with a totally new connector they had to create themselves (they couldn't source the originals either). He thought my inquiry was purely about stock or ordering one for myself and didn't realize at that moment that I had stumbled across something that somewhat undermined the investment he was making. The least I could do was honor his request and not mention what he was up to.
  13. Though I seemed to be the first to notice that the notorious propaganda shill Lee Barrett was the same guy from the Warrior 64 kickstarter, PrimeInChina just made a video about it: No mention of where he found out and he seems to get a lot of facts wrong but it is raising awareness. First, they never claimed or implied that Lee was the made-up American they call "John" in their Kickstarter story. Though they may have assumed Lee could pass for American, Lee never even claimed to work for Intec. Also, MetalJesusRocks and thus PrimInChina are wrong about it being the same quality as the $30 external HDMI cables for N64, though that would be true if the N64 had RGB output and the external cables used RGB like they do for SNES. The actual scaling is the same poor quality scaler that deinterlaces non-interlaced 240p game content but the source signal is higher quality RGB.
  14. The shell was better than expected in most ways but could be better in some others. The ventilation was the only part I expected to be better. Not sure what I was expecting regarding texture consistency since I didn't know it was supposed to have three textures (smooth, frosted, and acid-etched). The acid-etched texture around the smooth vents was the only one with a consistency issue. It does seem like there is more room above the heat sink for hot air to accumulate but it could still use more vents. I just recalled that my Bung V64jr512 cartridge conforms to a stock N64 shell so I need to see if that fits the Warrior 64 too. The plastic looks good and high-quality. The fit is good enough once screwed together. The design looks a bit better than I expected with the contrast between frosted and clear areas but still seems like an acquired taste. I don't hate it but I don't particularly like it. Some people will love it. I love the original design and don't expect this to grow on me.
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