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The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!


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Very nice..if only they could integrate the save feature. That would be epic. Also too bad it needs a costly cable to work, but what RGB system doesn't? I'm thinking of getting a multiscart input to then send one scart to my scart to HDMI converter. As if behind my TV stand wasn't enough of a rats nest of cables already....

 

I have a couple made by superg:

http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/gscartsw-automatic-8-1-scart-rgb-switch.52513/

They work really well. Hes supposed to start selling them again soon. They arent cheap though.

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Very nice..if only they could integrate the save feature. That would be epic. Also too bad it needs a costly cable to work, but what RGB system doesn't? I'm thinking of getting a multiscart input to then send one scart to my scart to HDMI converter. As if behind my TV stand wasn't enough of a rats nest of cables already....

So you can't just hook up the RBG and sync lines and splice them directly to a SCART cable like I did for the "Poor Man's" composite video mod? RF on the Turbo is so clean but I really needed the audio for stereo sound out of my stereo system instead of the crappy mono TV speaker.

 

I would have thought hooking up RBG would be no different than fabricating a Megadrive or PAL SNES SCART cable.

Edited by stardust4ever
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if the RGB is the same than in the PC engine (and why it wouldn't?) then it's standard SCART RGB.

I'm curious about this too.

 

The website selling these RBG converters:

http://www.db-elec.com/home/News/dbgrafxboosterttptestedandfullyoperational

has a bunch of chips, large capacitors, and other junk on the breakout board.

 

Why is this even necessary, if you can just direct wire a SCART plug and three basic RCA jacks (composite A/V) to the EXP port?

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Composite and a CRT tube is good enough for me. It just seems odd that the TurboGrafx needs separate amplification when the Genesis and SNES multiport connectors don't.

 

I wonder if the breakout board those guys made fits both the trapazoidal US port and rectangular Jap ports. Also it would have been nice to add an EXT connector on the back of the unit as a pass through so the CD units could work with RBG/AV out without modification.

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Composite and a CRT tube is good enough for me. It just seems odd that the TurboGrafx needs separate amplification when the Genesis and SNES multiport connectors don't.

 

I wonder if the breakout board those guys made fits both the trapazoidal US port and rectangular Jap ports. Also it would have been nice to add an EXT connector on the back of the unit as a pass through so the CD units could work with RBG/AV out without modification.

 

Both connectors are supposed to work. They both share identical pin layout, only the physical shape prevents one from using PC Engine device on TG-16 and vice versa. Hacksaw solves this :D Tennokoe 2 is much cheaper than TurboBooster Plus and it has full pin set so it can be modded for composite and RGB.

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Composite and a CRT tube is good enough for me. It just seems odd that the TurboGrafx needs separate amplification when the Genesis and SNES multiport connectors don't.

Because the PC Engine connector was designed as an extension port; therefore the video and sound was not supposed to drive the TV but an acessory that would run on low current.

The Megadrive and SNES (and Neo Geo) video output are, well video outputs, and therefore have the correct current needed for television display.

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Anthony, thanks for stopping in! Your neo Geo thread was obviously my inspiration for this thread and I've learned a lot about the neo Geo from it. I thought it was time the tg 16 got the same treatment, and maybe I could learn a thing or two in the process.

 

 

 

Hi Travis,

 

Found a good video for the TurboGrafix-16 and NEO-GEO thread today. Its about a collector showing us his personal collections that he has from NEC and SNK. I'll be posting this on the NEO-GEO thread. But I thought would be cool to have it on your thread as well because it involved both! Enjoy.

 

 

Anthony...

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I got a TG-16 when the price dropped on the system during its era, and I loved to play it. The turbo controllers were a huge draw for me for some reason, and I really enjoyed the games I had. Fantasy Zone, Parasol Stars, Vigilante, Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, Tail Spin, Pac-Land, and the first two Bonks. I could never afford or justify gettting a Duo or a CD sysem, and I never found "bargain bin" games so I was pretty much stuck with teh games I had. The games have never turned up or been affordable, so since then I've only gotten a few more. Blazing Lasers would've blown my mind, but I am glad to have it now and enjoy it more than the other games I've gotten since I had the game as a child. Second most surprising, that I wish I had as a kid, is TV-Sports hockey. Pre-dating EA's Genesis hockey games I was blown away by how playable and fun this hockey game is. If you're a hockey fan who enjoyed the 90's hockey games, and want a cheap game for your Turbo, do not pass up TV-Sports Hockey! I also have gotten (and since beaten) Ninja Spirit. I am not sure I would have liked it as a kid, but I really enjoyed it a few weekends ago. Lastly I've picked up Legendary Axe. A very fun and addicting game, but punishing and difficult. Overall I have to say this is a niche system for a few types of games and gamers, but that being said there is a lot of fun to be had with the system. Welcome to the club, enjoy your stay!

 

In regards to homebrow, this is a stickied post on a TG-16/PCE forum I frequent,

 

From another forum,

 

Find PC Engine Homebrew on Facebook.

 

RELEASED

ATLANTEAN : Aetherbyte : Action/Shooting

CRASH : Mindrec : Action (ROM but included on IMPLODE disc)

HUMPBALL : Mindrec : Action (ROM but included on IMPLODE disc)

HuZERO : Chris Covell : Driving (Free download)

HYPERNOVA BLAST : Mindrec : Shooting

IMPLODE : Mindrec : Puzzle (pressed CD)

INSANITY : Aetherbyte : Action (pressed CD)

ISLAND ADVENTURE : Cabbage: RPG (ROM)

LOOP : Mindrec : Puzzle (ROM but LOOP2 included on METEOR BLASTER DX disc)

METEOR BLASTER/DX : Mindrec : Action (ROM - DX is CDR)

MYSTERIOUS SONG : Frozen Utopia : RPG (pressed CD)

PROTOCADE : Aetherbyte : Action/Compilation (AbCARD)

PYRAMID PLUNDER : Aetherbyte : Action (pressed CD)

REFLECTRON : Aetherbyte : Action (Free download)

REVIVAL CHASE : BFG : Action (comes bundled with Revival magazine) (pressed CD)

TONGUEMAN'S LOGIC : Chris Covell : Puzzle (ROM)

ULTIMATE RALLY CLUB : Orion : Driving (ISO)

 

UNDER DEVELOPMENT

APOTHECARY : Aetherbyte : Arcade Adventure

BILLY BOY : Touko : Action/Platformer

BUBBLE BOBBLE : Aladar : Arcade

CHUCK NO RICE KARATE : Touko : Action/Fighting

DOWNLAND : Chris Covell : Action

DRAGON ARM : Frozen Utopia : Brawler

EINZELGÄNGER : Eponasoft : Shooting

JUNGLE BROS : Frozen Utopia : Action/Platformer

LUCRETIA : Eponasoft : Shooting

MONOLITH : Eponasoft : Action RPG

XYMATI : Mindrec/Eponasoft : Shooting

I own a japanese turbo express also known as TG16,with games like streetfighter 2 CE,darius 2 and paranoia,these games shows off some amezing capabilities of the system,and now i also own a everdrive for it with many great games & demos on it like huzero a mode7 demo,splitter house,casada, falcon etc,,,,it blows my mind for what the TG16 is capable off(trough software tricks) since it's cpu is 8bit and while the lynx cpu is also just 8bit,HOWEVER the lynx cpu can co,opate with it's programmeble 16bit chips to speeds things up,

Soon we will celebrate the 25 anniversary of the TG16 bbb

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  • 1 month later...

I own a japanese turbo express also known as TG16,with games like streetfighter 2 CE,darius 2 and paranoia,these games shows off some amezing capabilities of the system,and now i also own a everdrive for it with many great games & demos on it like huzero a mode7 demo,splitter house,casada, falcon etc,,,,it blows my mind for what the TG16 is capable off(trough software tricks) since it's cpu is 8bit and while the lynx cpu is also just 8bit,HOWEVER the lynx cpu can co,opate with it's programmeble 16bit chips to speeds things up,

Soon we will celebrate the 25 anniversary of the TG16 bbb

Infinite Bonks Demo. I kept waiting for some sort of slowdown but it never happened.

 

Is there a forum or link somewhere I can download the Hucard based homebrews for my Everdrive? I don't Facebook.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I just got a Japanese PC Engine Duo, with RGB mod, multinorm mod, blie LED, new capacitators and new laser myself. Finally! :)

 

Only downside is the insane prices especially of NA TG16 games. In Japan they are still a bit cheaper. The RPGs are actually extremely cheap there, but especially those I would need in English. It is pretty obvious importers have driven prices up, as the most expensive Japanese games are almost always those that can be played without knowledge of the language.

 

Turbo EDs have issues with region modded PCEs, so I will veeeery slowly acquire games only at the current prices. Probably never going to get Neutopia 1 and 2 or Legend of Heroes though.

Edited by 108 Stars
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Turbo EDs have issues with region modded PCEs, so I will veeeery slowly acquire games only at the current prices. Probably never going to get Neutopia 1 and 2 or Legend of Heroes though.

 

 

never heard this but have been out of touch

our ed died when kids used it on usa duo

got the pce duo to replace it and no trouble since

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Ah, an official TG16 thread! Glad I can be apart of the small, but loyal brotherhood. I first played a TG16 back in the early 90's at my buddy's place...his dad was a heart surgeon, and his parents were divorced, so his dad spoiled him with anything he wanted. He had a Neo Geo AES almost immediately after its initial release in North America. Anyway, I went over to his house to play all these video game systems he had...we constantly played Neo Geo and Sega CD, but I knew he had a TG16. I kept bugging him about playing it, since I had never played one. He was already bored of it and did not want to show me...after about 6 months of begging, he finally relented and we played Bonk's Adventure for 10 minutes. I was hooked, but I didn't get my own TG16 and Turbo CD until 2005. After about a year of having it set up, I moved to multiple locations throughout the years and had it in storage until about a month ago. I hooked it up to one of our TVs with the RF adaptor and it looks great!

 

Anyway, a quick Q for you guys: I tried hooking up my CD unit to the TG16. I got no power to both units whatsoever. The CD unit by itself (the actual unit that can be carried around as a music player showing the tracks) will power on with the TG 16 ac adaptor, but it won't read discs. I know there is an issue with one of the gears in the unit is prone to disintegrating over time, so I am sure I will need to replace it at some point after opening it up. But, my question is, after dealing with that gear and the combined units still don't power on, would it be a possible AC adaptor issue? And, given that the NEC Turbo CD ac adaptor is an unusual voltage, are there any good alternatives to it for a replacement AC adaptor?

 

Thanks for your input, guys.

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It depends on where the mod draws power from. Good modders know how to keep everdrive compatibility.

Thanks for that info. I read something like that, and also something of some parts required for a "good" mod not being readily available anymore?

 

My Duo has been modded by doujindance, a Japanese modder who has a great reputation afaik. But he does not have Everdrives and does not test with them. I found no conclusive evidence of the ED working with his mods or not.

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Doujindance has a good reputation, but he isn't the best modder out there.

 

Keith Courage at the pcenginefx.com forum sold me a Duo-R with region switch, here's his response when I asked about TED compatibility:

 

your system will work just fine with a turbo ever drive. I use an 8PDT switch for it. this method is compatible with the turbo ever drive in both a us turbo grafx system and a duo-r.

for other systems I use a circuit based region mod in order for the turbo everdrive to work

 

Additional information from another forum:

 

Flashcards a fickle when it comes to power consumption. Most region mods tell you to take 5V near the cartridge slot. It'll work fine for original HuCards, but with flashcards, any interruption of power (power drop caused by the 5V taken from around/at the HuCard slot or the length of wire for the 8PDT switch) will cause the flash card to not work.

Depending on what mod chip is installed in the Duo-R, you could just get power directly from the 7805; if it's the 4551 IC, more voltage won't hurt it (4551s can take up to 18v) so you can use the input left, the main IC on the "Obey" chip max voltage is 7V, so get power from the right leg. If it's the 8PDT, just remove it.

Edited by Gentlegamer
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Thanks for looking that up. :)

I'm afraid in the end there is no way for someone who is not tech savvy like me to determine if it works or not beside just trying it. Maybe I should register at pcenginefx to ask for other people's experience... forum is not accessible to non-members afaik.

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Anyway, a quick Q for you guys: I tried hooking up my CD unit to the TG16. I got no power to both units whatsoever. The CD unit by itself (the actual unit that can be carried around as a music player showing the tracks) will power on with the TG 16 ac adaptor, but it won't read discs. I know there is an issue with one of the gears in the unit is prone to disintegrating over time, so I am sure I will need to replace it at some point after opening it up. But, my question is, after dealing with that gear and the combined units still don't power on, would it be a possible AC adaptor issue? And, given that the NEC Turbo CD ac adaptor is an unusual voltage, are there any good alternatives to it for a replacement AC adaptor?

 

Thanks for your input, guys.

 

1: if the CD system powers up but won't read disc, odds are it's bad gear or dried lube on the rail. Not an easy fix with all those tiny pieces and such but it is fixable. Removing the gear requires removing a very tiny clip that can get lost easily if one isn't careful and they are a bitch to get back on as well. It is not something an average Joe should try.

 

2: assuming you are using correct adapter for TurboCD and not TG-16 adapter (they won't fit), you need to make sure the 2 cut off switches are in the on position. One on the bottom push in and rotate to lock the TG-16 then the front switch will work. There's a small rotary switch on the side of the base unit that locks the CD drive in place, it needs to be all the way in to also enable power, it is to prevent one from removing or inserting CD drive while the system's on (yes CD base will run w/o CD drive). If both are correctly set and you still don't get anything, it's probably either fuse or bad power supply. Worse case: bad caps.

 

3: bad caps. CD system (both USA and Japanese PC Engine), Turboexpress and GT, and black Duo all suffer from leaky cap issues and needs to be recapped soon. TG-16 console (and white PC Engine) as well as white Duo are not suffering from them since those used better quality caps back then.

 

I have CD system that are 100% working I can help you check yours for issues and if possible fix it.

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Thanks for looking that up. :)

I'm afraid in the end there is no way for someone who is not tech savvy like me to determine if it works or not beside just trying it. Maybe I should register at pcenginefx to ask for other people's experience... forum is not accessible to non-members afaik.

 

You should definitely register at pcenginefx

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