Tempest Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 I'm having a problem with my 5200 composite video mod chip. A month or two ago I reported that the picture was too dark (especially noticable in the darker colors like gray), so I exchanged my mod board for a new one. Unfortunately I'm having the same problem. Now I'm starting to wonder if I wired it correctly... Interestingly the color appears correct for a split second upon power up, but then quickly darkens after a second. Could this hint at what the problem is? I wonder if the problem is with my wiring, the 5200, or my TV. Anyone have any suggestions? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantaipan Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Have you tried it on a commodore monitor with the chroma/luma yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Is it possible to try a different chip from another 5200? The chip you remove from the board and plug in to the mod board. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 6, 2004 Author Share Posted January 6, 2004 The chip was good going in, I don't see why it wouldn't be now. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 Bump (I can do that, I'm a Mod... ) Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 The chip was good going in, I don't see why it wouldn't be now. Tempest Static electricity ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantaipan Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 have you done any more troubleshooting since your first post? Different TV, chroma/luma, etc.? If you are seeing video at all, than it's probably not the wiring. Are you using a standard 5200 PS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 Ok let's assume the chip is bad somehow. Would that cause the effect I'm seeing? It's not like the video is going wacko or anything, it's just darker than it should be. It seems to start out the right color but goes darker after a second. It's not really REALLY dark, just alot darker than it should be (you really only notice it on dark grays and browns). Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 It could very well have that effect, I have seen a bad video chip do all sorts of things, like fading etc. and one I had would only display black and white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 Well I have a spare 5200 floating around, I'll rip the chip out of that and see what happens. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 11, 2004 Author Share Posted January 11, 2004 Ok I tried the chip from the other 5200 and it had the same problem. I also tried the mod IN that other 5200 and had the exact same problem. This leads me to believe that it's either the chip or my wiring. Does anyone have a nice picture of the wiring so I can check my work? I'm all out of ideas now. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 I could take some closeup shots of his prototype if you like, I doubt he changed the order of the wires. BTW, your package went out yesterday afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 11, 2004 Author Share Posted January 11, 2004 Please do. I'd appreciate it. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 Shit, he did change the order. Maybe this will be of some help either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 11, 2004 Author Share Posted January 11, 2004 Where's the Molex connecter? That's what I need to see. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 The mostly white part in the pic, where all the wires connect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 11, 2004 Author Share Posted January 11, 2004 Ok the wiring is right and I tried a few other games. It's hard to describe, but the colors are just "off". Also I noticed that the LucasFilm logo before Rescue on Fractalus is screwed up. The bars of color gradients don't blend nicely like they should. Instead I see very obvious bars of solid colors (they don't blend). Does this point to a problem with a board? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 Anyone? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 Still no answer? I want to close this baby up eventually... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Try the Mod in your spare 5200. There is no soldering its very easy to move to another 5200. Is it possible to take a clear picture of your TV screen? If so, I'll load up the same game and compare. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantaipan Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Also I noticed that the LucasFilm logo before Rescue on Fractalus is screwed up. The bars of color gradients don't blend nicely like they should. Instead I see very obvious bars of solid colors (they don't blend). Have you compared the result to the output from an emulator? If you look at the lucasfilm logo running on an emu, you do see bars of color not a smooth gradient: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 Try the Mod in your spare 5200. There is no soldering its very easy to move to another 5200. Tried it. Got the same result. Have you compared the result to the output from an emulator? If you look at the lucasfilm logo running on an emu, you do see bars of color not a smooth gradient: Yep I understand that. Here's the best way to describe it. Instead of the color changing every two bars, it's like every three or four. It's like I'm losing color depth. Also I don't think the places where it changes color part way through the line are working (or maybe it just looks wrong because I seem to have limited color depth). I'll try and take a picture or use photoshop to do an approximation of what I'm seeing. Does this sound like a bad mod chip? I've tried two different chips from my 5200 (were those ANTIC or GITA chips? I can't remember), and I've tried it on two different 5200's. Unless I messed up the wiring somehow I can't see what else it could be. And I think if I messed up the wiring I wouldn't be getting anything at all. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 14, 2004 Author Share Posted January 14, 2004 Ok here's a BAD approximation of what it looks like. I only did the first four letters, but I think you can see what I'm talking about. The brown isn't really that dark, it's like a shade lighter than the "shadow" of the letters so that it looks even worse than what I drew. Any idea what could cause this? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I think you found the one problem with this mod. Mine does the same thing but everything else looks perfect. Here is a picture, sorry its so dark. I want to also note that I am using only the composite video. Not S-Video chroma/luma or anything like that. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Weird, I just tried this on the prototype mod that I have and it does the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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