failing 32X colors

[blackevilweredragon]

I swear this is so weird..  my 32X has flickering colors..  but here's the funny part:  only the PRIMARY colors..  if it's a secondary color, it's solid and clean..  Red, green, and blue, all flicker though..

I imagine this is a failure in the NTSC portion of the 32X..  how can this be fixed?  all contacts are clean, so it's getting a nice H-Sync and V-Sync, and clock signals...  If I use RGB for the system, all colors are fine..

(but i use NTSC for the most part, as my big screen don't have RGB)

[blackevilweredragon]

i tried to record a video of it doing this..  of course when you want to capture it, it doesn't do it..  argh!

well, when it does it again, i'll capture it..

(yes, it's intermittent..  it almost seems room temp related)

[viletim]

Somebody put LSD in your tea?

[Qjimbo]

Perhaps the RGB voltages are too low? Because a secondary colour needs 2 of the connectors, maybe thats why. Just a random idea.

EDIT: Oh you said if you use RGB it's fine... in that case yeah I imagine the RF modulator is just on it's way out.

[blackevilweredragon]

Somebody put LSD in your tea?

what?   :blink:  

[blackevilweredragon]

Perhaps the RGB voltages are too low? Because a secondary colour needs 2 of the connectors, maybe thats why. Just a random idea.

EDIT: Oh you said if you use RGB it's fine... in that case yeah I imagine the RF modulator is just on it's way out.

i actually use Composite..  i'd never touch RF...

[Lost Monkey]

Did you try it with different cables or on a different TV?

[blackevilweredragon]

Did you try it with different cables or on a different TV?

yes, tried that...  the problem seems to definitely be coming from the 32X...

if I touch it's metal plates, the problem stops..  if I put a screw driver on the chroma capacitor, the problem ALSO stops (but stops better)

[kendrick]

Sounds like you've got a bad ground somewhere then. I remember reading that the first batch of 32x hardware had weird magnesium mounts for some of the ribbon cable contacts, meaning that the wires would come loose or pop off altogether. You try reseating everything that's in a socket or otherwise removable?

-KKC, struggling with job interviews.

[blackevilweredragon]

Sounds like you've got a bad ground somewhere then. I remember reading that the first batch of 32x hardware had weird magnesium mounts for some of the ribbon cable contacts, meaning that the wires would come loose or pop off altogether. You try reseating everything that's in a socket or otherwise removable?

-KKC, struggling with job interviews.

yea, tried those crazy white ribbons of death, no change...

i've tried cleaning the system too..  i have it still running, hoping i'll catch the flickering to video tape..

[kendrick]

There's one other thought. Remember that when running the 32x, you're actually blending two RGB signals. Usually, the Genesis output goes directly into the 32x, and then the 32x display is overlaid on top before going to the video screen. For most games, you can still run the 32x without the connector cable so that only the overlay graphics are present. This would isolate the 32x as the source of your bad colors, and eliminate the Genesis or the cable as a failure point.

-KKC, who did this with Virtua Fighter for fun, and got a fighting game with no scores and no backgrounds. Neat.

[blackevilweredragon]

There's one other thought. Remember that when running the 32x, you're actually blending two RGB signals. Usually, the Genesis output goes directly into the 32x, and then the 32x display is overlaid on top before going to the video screen. For most games, you can still run the 32x without the connector cable so that only the overlay graphics are present. This would isolate the 32x as the source of your bad colors, and eliminate the Genesis or the cable as a failure point.

-KKC, who did this with Virtua Fighter for fun, and got a fighting game with no scores and no backgrounds. Neat.

sadly, you can't run the 32X without the patch cable..  the 32X also requires the Composite SYNC to generate it's image (and genlock onto the picture)..

RGB right from the Genesis is fine however, just like how the 32X RGB is fine..

(and i have used atleast 3 different genesis models on this 32X, all with the same problem..)

[nyder]

It seems like your vid chip in the 32x is either having some lose connections, or some solder or a joint broke off a little.

It's also possible a cap blew or something, and it's affecting the signal mixing circuitry.


You probably need to open it up and check it out with a maginfying class if your familiar with what to look for.

[Qjimbo]

Perhaps the RGB voltages are too low? Because a secondary colour needs 2 of the connectors, maybe thats why. Just a random idea.

EDIT: Oh you said if you use RGB it's fine... in that case yeah I imagine the RF modulator is just on it's way out.

i actually use Composite..  i'd never touch RF...

Ah, though composite still uses a modulator. It's timed incorrectly on some Megadrives if you mod them up to 60hz for example: http://qjim.bo/pics/rainbow.jpg

[blackevilweredragon]

well, it's not really modulating..  it's encoding...

if I was to use RF, it's an AM modulated signal with NTSC encoding (for me anyway)...  If I use Composite, I bypass the Modulating and go right to the NTSC encoding..