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Ace_1

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Posts posted by Ace_1

  2. Posted · Edited by Ace_1

    It's best without it, as unlicensed games will not work if your Genesis has that screen.

    You know what? You can simplify that S-Video mod by only using that circuit for Luminance. For Chroma, use a 220uF capacitor linked inline(in series) with a 75ohm resistor.

    But since that projector supports RGB, don't bother with S-Video! RGB is taken from the blue VGA slot on the projector, so just find the pinouts of a VGA plug and solder it into your Genesis. Reminder: solder a 75ohm resistor between the Red, Green and Blue pins of the VGA plug and your Genesis' Red, Green and Blue video outputs.

  3. Posted

    I would assume the serial number of the unit may be an indication(tipped off by Sega-16 member OoXxXoO). My VA2 has serial number AG82258616. User Nightshade on this forum(a Spanish one) has a Genesis 3 with serial number AG81070864 and a VA1 motherboard: http://www.retrogaming.com.ar/forum/viewto...971beafa565e8b7

    There's also a TM marking after the Sega logo.

    That same user has, further down the page, a picture of a VA2 Genesis 3, that one having serial number AG82038726.

    Another way to find out is to observe how the "Produced by or Under License from Sega Enterprises LTD." screen shows up. A VA1 has what I call "Express TMSS", in which the licensing screen will show up as soon as there's power running through the unit. A VA2 Genesis 3 will have a little delay before showing the BIOS, like a TMSS-equipped Genesis 1 and early Genesis 2s.

    A 3rd method is to try Virtua Racing on the unit. If it's a VA1, the licensing screen will show up, but then get stuck at a black screen. If it's a VA2, you will get a constant black screen.

  5. Posted · Edited by Ace_1

    I'd like to find the s-vid mod link for the gen2's, need a way to tell (online) if a gen3 has stereo and a site with those gen3 compatibility fixes. honestly leaning gen2--because they're cheap.

     

    Most Genesis 2s don't even have S-Video output, so that's a little problematic. As a word of note, all 3/4 motherboard Genesis 2s follow the same procedure as a Genesis 3 for RGB and S-Video. Very early Genesis 2s(few of them) have a Sony CXA1145 video encoder, the same present on a Genesis 1(its S-Video mod will work on those). I can give you a bit of information on the Genesis 3 compatibility fixes(well, one really: the Virtua Racing fix). While my Genesis 3 doesn't have the same motherboard as QoXxXoQ(or OoXxXoO at Sega-16)'s Genesis 3, I have a Genesis 2 that has the exact same components as his Genesis 3(a 3/4 motherboard, with board number VA4. This is the same as a VA1 Genesis 3, which is what QoXxXoQ has, minus missing connections on the cartridge slot). I can trace the pin on the cartridge slot that allows Virtua Racing to work, but other than that, I can't find the rest(unless someone provides a picture of the VA4 Genesis 2 motherboard with the Sega 315-5960 chip removed, of course(the unit has to be dead, though... duh). From what I've seen, the pin that enables Sega Master System mode has a trace running from cartridge slot pin B30 to a trace under the Sega 315-5960, and that's where I get stuck).

     

    EDIT: Here's how you can get Virtua Racing to work on a VA1 Genesis 3:

    http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sega3013bm8.jpg

    This is the VA1 motherboard. Cartridge slot pin B19 has to be hooked up to capacitor C70(it should be removed). Do that, and Virtua Racing, as well as the Game Genie, will work again.

     

    EDIT 2: On a VA2 Genesis 3, the mod job is more tedious, as there's no information on its main chip(Sega 315-6123). Here's the board: http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image1hy0.jpg

    To fix Virtua Racing here, you need to resolder 2 connections from the cartridge slot, B19 and B26(the latter being already connected on a VA1). B19 is to be soldered onto solder pad C42, while I have no idea where to solder B26(presumably pin 195, but you have to solder on the chip itself, and if you do that, desolder the pin before wiring up pin B26). I think I may have also found the pin responsible for switching between Genesis and Master System modes, which is one of neighboring pins(pin 196). I once had a short between those 2 pins, causing the Genesis 3 to display a blue screen, which led me to believe that the Genesis didn't know what mode to activate and just left a blue screen on my TV. But now I can't help you, because my Genesis 3 has stopped working for a good while. Also, I can fill you in on how you get Stereo audio out of a VA2 Genesis 3(not sure about a VA1, but I may be able to find the sound outputs with the help of my VA4 Genesis 2).

  7. Posted

    Here's my take:

     

    Many Model 1s have superb audio and video, but the one you should get, if you buy a Model 1, is one that says "High Definition Graphics" on the casing. Some of the later ones have piss-poor sound output.

     

    As for the Model 2, if you get one of those, you MUST buy one that has a smaller motherboard taking up 3/4 of the casing(look at the metal plating under the unit, if there's a black open space, that's one of the good ones). The ones with full motherboards have disgusting sound output loaded with static, and sometimes strains(like very late Model 1s). Also, those have the worst video output of any Model 2s, with Top-loader NES-style noise(but less), and heavily pixellated sprites. Also, the Model 2 has Stereo and Mono audio available.

     

    The Model 3 is pretty much hit-or-miss. Some models only output Mono sound, and if you use a Stereo cable on one of those, you will only get sound through the left speaker(again in Mono). The Genesis 3 doesn't work with Virtua Racing, the Sega CD, the 32X, and Master System games(though hardware mods have been made to restore Master System, Virtua Racing and 32X compatibility on the Genesis 3).

  8. Posted

    Hey, wait a sec. I may have had a rotten Hydro Thunder disc myself! I saw some very small spots where the disc seemed to let more light through, so the laser could have been passing through the spots. The disc never worked, though. I brought it home, put it in my Dreamcast, got to the licensing screen, then the laser started to act up, and the game would never load.

  9. Posted

    Could my North American Sega Rally 2 disc be suffering from disc rotting? Sometimes in the middle of loading a track, the game crashes back to the Dreamcast's main menu. Strangely enough, my Japanese copy of the game doesn't do such a thing. I didn't see any visible signs of rotting on my US Sega Rally 2 disc(never seen disc rotting in my life, come to think of it). Shadow460(or anyone else with rotten GD-ROMs), do you have a picture showing the stain that's typically on a rotten Dreamcast disc?

  12. Posted

    I have a little question for game suggestions. Are you allowed to suggest a game that never got a North American release? If so, I will suggest one for Week 3 once the competition for R-Type nears its end.

     

    I will consider it if a rom is available for people to at least emulate it.

     

    There is a ROM available for it. Actually, I will suggest 4 import-only games, one of which is getting a North American release on the Wii Virtual Console. So all games have ROMs available, but one of the games is a PC Engine Super CD-ROM(would these be accepted?). I'd like to stick to the shooter theme for as long as I possibly can, so I can take part in the TurboGrafx/PC Engine HSC for as long as possible.

     

    By the way, if you want I can suggest the game now.

  14. Posted

    I have recently come into possession of a used Gameshark Pro version 3.3 for my N64(Nintendo 64) system. It seems to not be working. I don't know if this is useful info, but I exchanged the Gameshark for another one and the other one did not work either. I simply took the Gameshark, cleaned the bottom contacts with licensed N64 CleaningSolution, and then put it in my N64's game slot. I turned on my Nintendo 64, and nothing happened, except an "8" appearing on the Gameshark's display. I simply had a blank screen on the TV(It was on the right setup to get a picture from my N64), and nothing else.

     

    No Gameshark menu, nothing. Just the 8 on the Gameshark digital readout display. I am wondering if they released different versions of the

    Nintendo 64, and if I have a version that is not compatible with the Gameshark? Or are certain Gamesharks not compatible with other

    versions of N64s? PLEASE help me on this matter. I am desperate to get my Gameshark working. I have waited long to get my hands on one, and

    it seems disappointing for it not to work. I have never used the Gamesharks before. But I bought them used. Thank you. PLEASE help.

     

    I feel your pain, man. I had a GameShark do that to me as well, but it was an (older?) version with a green digital readout display that would either display an 8 or some other crap on the display. It wasn't a Pro version, and had no Parallel port on the back. Nothing worked to fix it, not cleaning the cartridge, not nudging/reinserting it into the cartridge slot/use different carts, blah, blah, blah. I believe the GameShark may be corrupt, as I heard that some of those things, after a failed update, can become corrupt and unusable. Not sure if that's what happened in my case and if that's what's happening in yours.

  16. Posted · Edited by Ace_1

    Any Canadian-based distributors of the 1-chip MSX? I've been dying for an MSX.

     

    By the way, does anyone own a 1-chip MSX and some Konami games with the SCC sound processor? If you do, are there any sound issues with those(notably Gradius/Nemesis, Gradius 2/Nemesis 2, Salamander, and Gofer no Yabou Episode II/Nemesis 3 The Eve of Destruction)?

     

    Are you looking for a test of the real cart or just playing a rom of it? The OCM has a built in SCC cart and loads the rom image into that for playing it. I've messed around with Salamander and Gradius a bit and didn't notice anything that seemed wrong, but I've honestly never played the real MSX version of these to have a basis for comparison. Is there something specific I can listen for?

     

    Either-or, I don't care. As long as I get confirmation that the SCC's sound channels don't overpower the MSX's stock PSG sound processor(which I heard was a problem on Toshiba-made MSXs), I'm fine. But even if they do, I don't really care too much(but I need to know where to get a 1-chip MSX in Canada).

  17. Posted · Edited by Ace_1

    *runs to TurboGrafx to begin a late-night game of R-Type*

     

    And this was the score I ended with: 240,600

     

    I will give it another run, as I know I can do much better than this(even though Stage 6 is like a dead end for me, can't proceed past there before using a continue).

     

    EDIT: New score: 301,200. Yeah, not that much better.

  18. Posted

    Any Canadian-based distributors of the 1-chip MSX? I've been dying for an MSX.

     

    By the way, does anyone own a 1-chip MSX and some Konami games with the SCC sound processor? If you do, are there any sound issues with those(notably Gradius/Nemesis, Gradius 2/Nemesis 2, Salamander, and Gofer no Yabou Episode II/Nemesis 3 The Eve of Destruction)?

  21. Posted

    As long as the games load, I consider something compatible. But in the case of the Sega Master System games and the 32X on the Gen-X, I consider those as "semi-compatible", as with Master System games, Two-Mega carts display graphical garbage, Four-Mega carts don't work at all and the D-pads don't respond, and for the 32X, sound coming out of the 32X(cartridge slot pins B1 and B3) goes nowhere(currently trying to fix that with an LM324 quad op-amp) and even if you mix the video of the Gen-X with the 32X(used a 9-pin Mini-DIN off a dead Genesis 2), it would seem as though you need to have the RGB signals to generate a correct image on the Genesis video layer(which the Gen-X/GN Twin have, but don't use); Composite is not enough(would Composite Sync be required too, in that case?).

  23. Posted

    What it seems most RetroDuos do(and original hardware can do with a hardware mod) is split the channels like this: Square(2 channels) on one speaker, Triangle/Noise/DPCM on the other(the other 3 channels) This sometimes results is really odd sound. I had tried Donkey Kong and Top Gun on a Black/Red RetroDuo, and while Top Gun was garbled/completely distorted, Donkey Kong was perfect, with the exact same sounds coming out of both speakers. I'm assuming the later RetroDuos(this is an earlier model from approximately April) had a change in hardware in which NES audio is split between the 2 speakers on a TV.

  24. Posted

    I only tested Top Gun on the RetroDuo(Black/Red model), and all you hear is the bass and drums(noise/DPCM(if Top Gun even makes use of it) and Triangle).

    Did you combine the L/R RetroDuo outputs back into a single mono when testing? You need to do that, as the RD NES stereo is the split chip output, and does not sound correct. Same as a real 'stereo' NES mod.

     

    This RetroDuo seemed to be outputting in dual-mono already. I was getting the same sound on both speakers. It's one of the earlier models from around launch.

  25. Posted · Edited by Ace_1

    I only tested Top Gun on the RetroDuo(Black/Red model), and all you hear is the bass and drums(noise/DPCM(if Top Gun even makes use of it) and Triangle). The melody(Square channels) is muffled to the point where it's nearly impossible to hear the Square channels. That's the reason why I own an FC Twin. I have A LOT of Konami games, and if I put a Gradius game(Gradius, Salamander/Life Force, Gradius II) in the NES slot and am greeted to garbled music, I'd get rid of a RetroDuo in a hurry. However, I have to find out where the FC Twin outputs its sound on the NES side, as I have to fix 2 sound problems:

     

    -The Square channels are a little too loud(Triangle and Noise are slightly overpowered, but DPCM is VERY hard to hear)

    -The Square channels have some kind of filtering going on. Here's what I mean: if you play Rad Racer on an NES, you'll notice that the engine sound is kinda garbled/staticky, but on the FC Twin(and RetroDuo), it's clean. I have to fix that

     

    Now, the FC Twin also has a tendency to distort DPCM, causing some garbled speech in Gradius II and Top Gun the Second Mission. Is this a flaw in the NOAC design?

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