Taijigamer

The Genesis was my first console and I've always considered myself a sega man before switching to psx in the late nineties. There is a certain novelty to the 32x sega cd combo. It was the first 32 bit cd based system to properly handle 3D graphics. The Panasonic 3DO released in 1993 but didn't have true 3D graphics ability. The 32x has the same cpu as the Saturn but considerably less ram. There are a few games (6 I think) that were specifically developed for the 32x sega cd combo. It will definitely make a great addition to your retro collection and still a lot cheaper than a wondermega or x'eye.

That's interesting. That suggests a sync issue in the video signal which might explain why your Tv won't detect picture, or only show it randomly. I would try and replace the cap on the video line. It's a 220uf cap near the cxa-1145 chip. The schematics show it as C32 but yours might be slightly different. The resistance test doesn't show whether a cap has gone bad. U need an ESR tester which can be expensive. I just troubleshoot down to the likely cap and replace it.

Sounds like u have eliminated everything else. It might point towards a malfunctioning video DAC. I would eliminate caps first. A bad cap doesn't always look like a bad cap. What model Genesis 1 do u have. There should be a decoupling cap for the CXA1145, maybe try replacing that first.

A google search turned up this 3 output LDO regulator which may solve your 1.8V, 2.5V, 3.3V issues. http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/2254556.pdf The official documentation for 3DO states the graphics resolution as 320x240 which is then output at 480i by the native encoder. The CH7025 outputs 480i SD and 480p ED etc. It will be interesting to see how the encoder handles the resolution. Programming of the chip seems to be done over I2C serial programming. I found some files here http://en.pudn.com/Download/item/id/2626071.htmlWhich may help with programming the chip. HDMI? Now that sounds interesting. Maybe look at how OSSC works or speak to @citrus3000psi on his work.

I think my wife has a fix for all my electronics too :-/ Maybe try this https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F173250785112 Not sure how reliable they are.

Hey man, welcome back. Hope the surgery went ok. When I measured H, V, CLK, D23:0, I had values of 1.4V, 1.4V, 2.4V and 20mV respectively. These were DMM values but the true oscilloscope values shouldn't be far off. H and V are outputs on the original encoders which feed back to the CLIO so using them as inputs may be out of sync with the D23:0 info, but they can be set as outputs on the CH7025. Csync can be set to either XOR, AND, OR. At least the horizontsl shift will be sorted. Looking at the output standards it looks like the CH7025 doesn't output 240p. It outputs 480i but also 480p, 720p etc, I wonder if it can upscale the 3DO D23:0 information? I'm the same when prototyping, include everything then downsize. U could probably remove a lot of the filter discretes and just use a 75 Ohm termination resistor and 220u cap on the RGB lines. No need for H, V out, just Csync. The challenge will be cleverly designing the psu section due to space. Maybe an IC devoted to 1.8V, 2.5V and 3.3V generation.

I may be able to help. PM sent.

Could be a failing laser or faulty capacitors. Both are common problems for the 3DO at this age.

The horizontal shift fixer by Otakus-store is based on Tim's design which crayon_king looked at earlier in this thread. It is a solution but does have its own issues. The IC mentioned above might be promising as it processes RGB and fixes the sync shift. The BT9101 is just as moddable for RGB as the BT9103 and VP536. U can use any 3 channel 24bit RGB digital analogue converter or Otakus-store's mod despite them stating it is only or VP536. Check my thread on the different encoders https://assemblergames.com/threads/240p-output-on-3do-with-bt9103-encoder.66295/or on a different mod for RGB https://assemblergames.com/threads/3do-rgb-mod-3do-adventures-part-3.67513/#post-955780 here. If u want install instructions for your BT9101 feel free to PM me.

I was wondering about Saturn ODE, is the Rhea any good? How expensive is it? Lasers for the Panasonic 3DO are hard to find as the OEM SF92.5 have the incorrect pinout. U can harvest lasers from a cr-563 but they will be old as well. It's best to check the stock laser calibration with an oscilloscope or at least a multimeter for the RF signal. Here's the service manual for FZ-10 https://www.electronica-pt.com/esquema/func-download/30230/chk,7f07cedeaa322f44da4a16a0e35516ae/no_html,1/the signal should be around 450 mV.

32X games don't have a Japanese region lock out as far as I know. I was referring to any Japanese Genesis games u might want to play. If u purchase a PAL 32X, convert to NTSE. If you purchase a JAP 32X then no modding is required as it is already NTSE. A Japanese region switch is only needed on your Genesis if u want to play certain Japanese Genesis games (google which ones, not all are region locked).

Sounds like your cable has poor/ no shielding or not properly grounded which is why it improves when u touch it (grounding the cable through you). The buzzing is because interference from the Composite line is picked up by the audio lines as a buzz. The dim picture is because your cable may not have the necessary caps and resistors inside. Properly shielded audio lines solves this. Invest in a professional cable like retrogamingcables or HD retrovision.

The video encoders on the 32x and Genesis/ MD have to be set to the same region, NTSE or PAL, for them to work. A Japanese 32X and US Genesis should be compatible and vice versa because both are set to NTSE. The only issue will be if u want to play certain Japanese games which require your Genesis to be in Japanese region mode, this is separate from what 32X u have. As 32X are so costly in UK, I imported a US 32x and simply converted it to PAL for use with my PAL MD. the only issue is B/W picture over Composite as the oscillator is still calibrated for NTSE. But this isn't an issue as I use RGB. U can also install region switches in your Genesis and 32x so u can switch between PAL, NTSE and Japanese region at leisure. Regarding RGB and Component (Y,Pr,Pb) on the Genesis. Both are the same as the Genesis outputs 240p. Component is better at higher resolutions 480p+ as RGB taps out at 480i. Basically choose the cable that suites your TV input.

Here is the price list for the usb host for 3DO. http://3do-renovation.ru/How_to_buy.htm Price is for usb host only, not installation. The Goldstar is $145 so not too bad. The FZ-1 is $245 :-( Mnemo is the only person who has so far developed a usb host for 3DO. He has done extensive research into the 3DO ARM assembly so it's not an easy task to replicate. The FZ-1, Sanyo and Goldstar are simple plug and play (no soldering required) but the FZ-10 requires some soldering. Not sure how hard it would be as I haven't got the install docs. The usb host also has some sort of NVRAM save option so you can probably manage your save games through it as well.

Yeah, sometimes it's easier to just replace it. U should be able to find an FZ-10 for a good price if u keep hunting. Sometimes it's easier to import one from Japan. If u are looking to sell your broken FZ-1, let me know. I'm on the look out for FZ-1 with BT9101 encoder for further research :-)

I don't think it's a design flaw on the casing. My PAL 3DO FZ-1 doesn't even have a fan, although there are solder points for one, and it doesn't suffer overheating (unlike the Xbox 360 where the problem was partly to do with the case design). The problem is your psu. It could be the transformer, voltage regulators or caps. As a result, your cd drive isn't getting the correct voltages and is giving read errors. Your laser might also be failing. Do get a true picture, u would need an oscilloscope to check the psu and laser.

The 3-4 switch relates to channel select on the RF modulator. The 240p switch seems to only be on certain Japanese models. It all depends on video encoder. The early US and Japanese FZ-1 models have the BT9101 encoder which doesn't support 240p (as far as we know). PAL and Canadian FZ-1 have the BT9103 encoder which can be modded for 240p but doesn't come with a switch pre installed. Late Japanese FZ-1 (prior to FZ-10 launch) have the VP536 encoder which also can support 240p. Some have a switch pre built, some don't. Best thing to do is open up your 3DO and see which encoder u have.

That's interesting. From what I've seen the later Japanese FZ-1 have VP536 encoders which can be switched for 480i/ 240p but why have some with a case switch and some without, unless this was a later edition of FZ-1. It would be good to see which encoder the FZ-1 with case switch had.

Thanks for sharing. Would you be able to open up the 3DO and take pictures of the inside. It would be interesting to see which encoder it uses and how the switch is wired to the board. Thanks for the Frameister settings. 240p is the prefered video mode for retro consoles. It is a sharper image with no flicker. It can then be line doubled to 480p or line tripled to 720p for maximum quality.

As far as I know, Mnemo is the only producer of usb ODE for 3DO at the moment. http://3do-renovation.ru/index.htmIt's in Russian and English, the price tag is a bit high but probably worth it. Edit: Montrealer beat me to it :-)

The problem with the Hsync delay is that it varies from setup to setup. Some are worse than others. This may be why Otaku's mod had the adjustable potentiometer. The problem with potentiometers is they are noisy and better used for test and design rather than final build. Using a fixed solution may not suit all setups but an average setting could be used to suit most setups. Ive been looking for an IC that allows Hsync adjustment but I can't seem to find one. Would a Pic be able to adjust sync signals?

No worries. Thank you again for the info on the CDi 220. Here is a close up of the BT9106, 07 & 08 (they all share the same pinout but slightly different requirements). As you can see it is different to the BT856 that was originally used for reference, which is why nobody had any luck getting RGB on their BT9106 CDi. I tried to install a BT9107 on my 3DO but the BT9103 follows more closely to the BT856 so I was unsuccessful. I misquoted the encoder pinout in my message, for BT9106/7, pin 14 selects RGB on/off. Pin 13 should be left as it is. Pin 10 is for I2C communication (on BT9106/7) and should be left as is. Using Hsync (Pin 45) and Vsync (Pin 46) is better than stripping Csync from CVBS as the time delay can be managed. This thread is focusing on correcting the possible Hsync shift using extra circuitry. In my 3DO mod https://assemblergames.com/threads/3do-rgb-mod-3do-adventures-part-3.67513/I used a LM1881 sync stripper to get Csync from Luma. As for video modes, unfortunately the CDi service manual doesn't detail which pins if any on the BT9106/7 correspond to PAL, Interlace etc. In summary to your questions - for people with a CDi with the BT9106/7/8 encoders, just lift and tie pin 14 high which will enable RGB, and obtain sync from either Pin 45/46 or CVBS (Pin 2). No further modding required. - for people looking to mod their 3DO, either use the mod detailed in this thread, my mod on assemblergames or use the BT856 encoder as we have access to the full datasheet. Hope that helps. Any questions please feel free to PM me.

Hi @bbuchholtz, welcome to the party. That's really cool that u are looking into swapping encoders on the CDi. I would be really interested in what the CDi service manual says about the BT9106 as I have hit a snag with the BT9107 on the 3DO. I desoldered the BT9103 and replaced with a BT9107 but I get no output. I spoke to superg on assembler games who says he found the pin behaviour between the BT9106 and BT9107 similar except for the lack of RGB on the BT9106. There is no datasheet for the BT9107 so I am working from the BT856 datasheet http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/96758/ETC/BT856/+7W759UCRC/1wuzYz+/datasheet.pdfwhich states that Vref can be provided by the encoder or externally. I don't think u will need an amplifier with this chip.

Sounds like maybe the psu is overheating. If it's a FZ-1, does the metal heat sink on the voltage regulators get excessively hot? Overheating components on the psu could lead to erratic voltages which would explain the faulty cd-rom behaviour. Have u had the console recapped? Do any of the caps on the psu look bulged or leaky? The reason behind RROD in xbox360 was a combination of poor design, BGA and lead free solder. As all the IC on the 3DO are surface mount, u won't have to worry about RROD situations :-)

As I suggested previously, for best results try RGB mod with OSSC. I've finished testing my new RGB design which works on all 3DO revisions (except FZ-10 with Anvil encoder) check it out here https://assemblergames.com/threads/3do-rgb-mod-3do-adventures-part-3.67513/#post-962055 The OSSC is about £150 ready made and will output 480p or 720p over HDMI.