help: picture from the Jag moves horizontally

[HHurme]

I just got a Jaguar and unfortunately I got problems with it. The whole picture on the TV screen moves constantly from left to right and back. The movement is several tens of pixels wide so it’s very noticable.

 

My setup is a US Jaguar and JagCD using an RGB cable and European PSU’s. My television is a PAL Sony Wega that does run NTSC. Only problem I ever had that’s anyware close to this was with my Neo Geo which had a picture that moved up and down but it was quite seldom and the movement was quite small.

 

I tried the Jaguar in my friends TV as well. The problem was still there but the movement happened quite seldom and the movement was quite small. His TV had previously ran my Neo Geo without any problems.

 

What is the problem here? I don’t know if the fault is in the Jag, the TV or in both but it seems the picture isn’t somehow syncronised. Could this have anything to do with the European PSU’s in a US system?

 

What can I do?

[Ayreon]

it can't be the PSU.

The first thing i think about is the RGB cableand or it's connectors

[Stone]

Like Ayreon said, it's definitely not the PSU.

 

Check the connectors on the Jag, both ends of the cable and the TV are all spotlessly clean (rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip is a good way to clean them off, even if they look ok you want them really shiny).

 

Have you tried any other video output from the Jag? RF? (bad, bad, BAD quality but you can at least see if the problem is internal to the Jag or between the Jag and the TV).

 

If it's still there no matter what video output you use and on more than one TV it's the Jag - easiest thing to do is buy a new ase unit (upper limit about $20). My money would be on it being the RGB cable's connectors or a break somewhere in the cable though - an intermittent fault on the horizontal sync could do something like this.

 

Hope you get it fixed.

 

Stone

[LinkoVitch]

Does your friend have the same model/make as you? Just wondering if the TV is confusing the Jag Signal with widescreen or something and flicking between aspect ratios? Can you lock your TV into one aspect ratio and stop it auto sensing?

[HHurme]

Everything is new, the Jag, JagCD and the RGB cable. There is no visible damage on any connectors or anything else. Everything is clean.

 

I can’t test the picture with any other cable because I don’t have the composite cable and I can’t tune NTSC channels with the RF-unit because like many PAL TVs, it can only take NTSC from composite, svideo and RGB.

 

I could of course order a composite cable but that could be a waste of money if it wouldn’t help.

 

The problem isn’t either with the widescreen TVs aspect ratio settings because I have the automatic functions turned off and the problem is there with all aspect ratio settings.

[LinkoVitch]

The problem isn’t either with the widescreen TVs aspect ratio settings because I have the automatic functions turned off and the problem is there with all aspect ratio settings.

 

Have you tried it on a less advanced TV, say a 14" portable that has SCART in?

 

perhaps some of the funky stuff in your TV doesn't like something from the Jag?

[HHurme]

The problem isn’t either with the widescreen TVs aspect ratio settings because I have the automatic functions turned off and the problem is there with all aspect ratio settings.

 

Have you tried it on a less advanced TV, say a 14" portable that has SCART in?

 

perhaps some of the funky stuff in your TV doesn't like something from the Jag?

 

Something in the TV definitely doesn’t like what the Jag is sending it. But I think the fact that my friends TV has the same problem but much less so, tells there is something wrong in the incoming signal.

 

I can’t test in on any other TVs at the moment. Finding a suitable 14 inch TV is especially hard because anything but the newer models usually can’t take RGB.

[Ayreon]

What LinkoVitch says makes sense.. The Jag and my Falcon do flicker now and then on my wide screen tv. It occurs only now and then and it's like the tv doesn't really know in wich screen mode it should be.

Putting the tv in 1 screen mode of choice with the remote does solve it though.

Hmm basicly my tv can't choose so i have to do it for him or her

[Stone]

I've noticed the Jag outputs 5V on the mode-select pin of SCART and not 9/12V, so when you first turn your Jag on the TV is set to composite SCART input, not RGB. Most irritating; I have to change it manually every time (and power-cycling the Jag means I have to do it again ).

 

I really need to put my reset switch back

 

Stone

[LinkoVitch]

have you tried diff carts? do you get the sam ewith all carts?

 

I am thinking that perhaps if a selection of games give the phenomina and not others that it could be down to the screen setup in those games making the image size a little odd for the TV.

 

By Less advanced I was thinking of anything with SCART that isn't high end. like a £100 portable for example. Just something that isn't wide screen and isn't overly digital.

[Tyrant]

I can’t test the picture with any other cable because I don’t have the composite cable and I can’t tune NTSC channels with the RF-unit because like many PAL TVs, it can only take NTSC from composite, svideo and RGB.

Umm... I think all Sony tv's can read RF NTSC, tho I could be wrong. I know sony make NTSC support in pal regions a standard feature .

[HHurme]

I don’t think the problem is game related. I have tried Cybermorph and Blue Lightning and they both have the same problem. I will have final confirmation when I get the batch of games I ordered last week.

 

As to the Sony TVs supporting RF, I don’t know about the newer models. Mine is a 3 year old 32 inch 100Hz Wega. It was pretty expensive at that time and still holds up very well with todays CRT TVs. Could be though that they have started using tuners that allow the tuning od NTSC channels. Not sure though. Such a function adds costs to the TV and is hardly used by anybody.

 

Maybe I’ll try the RF anyway. The PAL tuner can just barely tune NTSC channels. There is a lot of noice in the picture and no sound but I think I might be able to see if it has the same problem.

[+Stephen Moss]

it can't be the PSU.

The first thing i think about is the RGB cableand or it's connectors

 

What makes you think that it's not the PSU?

The turns ratio of the transformer decides the output voltage therefore if the PSU was designed for 220 volts and your only feeding it with half the input voltage you will get half the output voltage, QED.

If their 110/115 volt European PSU's then the output voltage should be close enough although that still does not rule out a fault with the PSU under load conditions - this is difficult to test if you don't know what your doing but you can make offload voltage checks by measuring the output voltage at the connector, this voltage should be 9 Volts from a regulated supply and about 12-13 Volts from an unregualted supply - IIRC the Jag uses regulated supplies.

Even though the Jag uses 5V regualtors for most of its power these will only regulate efficiently and correctly with a minimum of 8 volts going into them, anything less and you are not garanteed to get a stable 5 volt output or even 5 volts. If the power supply is not correct it could result in the voltage of the sync signals not being strong enough for the display to detect correctly.

 

I would suggest testing the PSU or trying the Jag with a regulated US spec third party replacement to rule this out for certain as opposed to just dismissing it. The PSU is the most important part of all equipment as its performance affects the performance of everything attached to it.

You mentioned that you also have a CD unit therefore you should have two PSU's however you did not mention if your CD unit was connected to the Jag, if so try it without the CD unit as this will allow you to try both power units in the Jag and see if that makes a difference as one may be slightly better than the other even if they are both working correctly as well as eliminating any CD unit/Jag interface problems.

 

Does it display correctly or better with either supply or is there no change?

 

Stephen Moss

[LinkoVitch]

I was assuming that he was using a US jag in the UK and hence using UK PSU's to drive it. In which case the output from the PSU's would be correct for the jag (unless they are faulty obvioulsy).

[+Stephen Moss]

I was assuming that he was using a US jag in the UK and hence using UK PSU's to drive it.  In which case the output from the PSU's would be correct for the jag (unless they are faulty obvioulsy).

 

Funny my interpretation was that Euro PSU's were being used inthe US, but re-reading it I may be mistaken (their profile does not indicate their current location).

 

Presumably the indivual concernated has a VCR that works with their TV in which case if the VCR has both NTSC and PAL playback ability they could try the old dodge of sending the signal via the VCR - I'm not sure what effect it would have if the VCR-TV connecion is SCART but if its RF then the VCR should remodulate the signal in the correct local format and therefore be comaptible with the TV set although I have never tried it myself.

[HHurme]

Thanks Stephen and thanks to everybody who gave advice!

 

Plugging the Jag to my VCR helped. I have no idea why it works because the VCR as far as I know simply takes the NTSC picture from the RGB-SCART and re-transmits it to the TV with a SCART lead.

 

Weird, yet only thing that really matters is that it works. (although would be nice to know why)