Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

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game-tech.us
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

purplet wrote:I've received mine out of the latest batch and installed it in a PAL front loader. Installation was pretty easy but I have an issue with distorted image. http://imgur.com/a/8NkjY
It flickers between this and normal a couple of times per second. Is this some sort of CPU/PPU incompatibility or did I screw something up? One of the flat flex cable got sharply bend in shipping and the other one is pinched but they seem fine (checked connections with multimeter). I haven't got another screen to test with but the menu is ok so I don't think it's screen related.
Anyone got any tips on what to check?
Creased ribbons is ok, just can't do it lots of times.
If your ppu is non rev that's prolly the issue, rev A pal ppu seems to be more compatible.
I need to look to see if i have a non rev i can get to Kev for testing.
Eatitup86
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by Eatitup86 »

I recently received a Hi-Def NES kit from the latest batches being sent out.

I was actually kinda surprised to see the red board since it is for a Frontloader install but I went ahead and proceeded to pull my CPU & PPU, install the pre-assembled interposers, remove the 7805, hook up the ribbon cables + power, & attach my NES to my TV to test it.

I am having some trouble getting it to work even though the install seemed to go smoothly.

At first I was getting a grey screen with a low hum & the Hi-Def Nes board had a yellow light blinking on it.

Then I replaced all the capacitors inside the power circuit with those included with my kit thinking it may be power related and now there is no video output and the Hi-Def Nes also does not blink any more.

One thing I did notice is the PPU is getting very hot. To the point where it would be dangerous to leave the system on for more than 30 seconds. Is the 7805 metal piece supposed to remain screwed in to absorb some of that heat? I wouldn't think it would effect anything since the 7805 is not hooked up at all now and the voltage is going directly to the Hi-Def NES board but I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask.

I also removed transistor Q1 after all that just to see if it would help and it did not. I did not bridge the connection on it or remove Resistor R2 though.

Any thoughts or ideas on how I could fix this problem?

Oh I almost forgot to mention that one of the chips in my install says Korea on the bottom. Here are the #s on top of each.
CPU:
RP2A03G
8K1 KJ A

PPU:
RP2C02G-0
9A2 27
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Bratwurst
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by Bratwurst »

For what it's worth I got one of the latest red board productions and encountered some issues myself, it was only after I swapped chips around before I got a working setup. Bear in mind I confirmed these chips work as they should in an original, unmodified except for chip sockets NES setup.

(CPU) RP2A03G 1AP 3Z & (PPU) RP2C02G-0 1AL WP boots up but graphics are garbled badly and some games won't even start or just hang.
(CPU) RP2A03G 0EM 4x & (PPU) RP2C02G-0 0GM 3W will not boot, dead gray screen.

Used (CPU) RP2A03G 1AP 3Z and (PPU) RP2C02G-0 0GM together and it seems to work fine now. I have observed one color glitch that settled itself out after five minutes or so: an orange colored enemy in Street Fighter 2010 turned purple for a while.
Eatitup86 wrote:Any thoughts or ideas on how I could fix this problem?
Describing a chip getting hot quickly, it sounds like something is shorted. Make sure you've got the capacitor polarities right.
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game-tech.us
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

Eatitup86 wrote:I recently received a Hi-Def NES kit from the latest batches being sent out.

I was actually kinda surprised to see the red board since it is for a Frontloader install but I went ahead and proceeded to pull my CPU & PPU, install the pre-assembled interposers, remove the 7805, hook up the ribbon cables + power, & attach my NES to my TV to test it.

I am having some trouble getting it to work even though the install seemed to go smoothly.

At first I was getting a grey screen with a low hum & the Hi-Def Nes board had a yellow light blinking on it.

Then I replaced all the capacitors inside the power circuit with those included with my kit thinking it may be power related and now there is no video output and the Hi-Def Nes also does not blink any more.

One thing I did notice is the PPU is getting very hot. To the point where it would be dangerous to leave the system on for more than 30 seconds. Is the 7805 metal piece supposed to remain screwed in to absorb some of that heat? I wouldn't think it would effect anything since the 7805 is not hooked up at all now and the voltage is going directly to the Hi-Def NES board but I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask.

I also removed transistor Q1 after all that just to see if it would help and it did not. I did not bridge the connection on it or remove Resistor R2 though.

Any thoughts or ideas on how I could fix this problem?

Oh I almost forgot to mention that one of the chips in my install says Korea on the bottom. Here are the #s on top of each.
CPU:
RP2A03G
8K1 KJ A

PPU:
RP2C02G-0
9A2 27
Heat sink doesn't matter once 7805 is removed from circuit.
Did you retest the console right after socketing the cpu and ppu? It's a very important step!
Hot chip usually means bad chip...
purplet
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by purplet »

game-tech.us wrote: Creased ribbons is ok, just can't do it lots of times.
If your ppu is non rev that's prolly the issue, rev A pal ppu seems to be more compatible.
I need to look to see if i have a non rev i can get to Kev for testing.
Any way to identify a rev A on the outside? I've opened up 5 other PAL front loaders but they all have non rev's. I can send you a non rev PPU if you can't find one...
inGGames
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by inGGames »

As with Eatitup86, I am experiencing similar results.

To start the installation, I pulled the CPU & PPU, installed the sockets and then tested the console. Everything was working ok, so I removed the 7805, installed the pre-assembled interposers and hooked up the ribbon and power as the instructions showed.

I have not attempted to remove Q1 (or the lockout chip, but I'm guessing this has nothing to do with it).

When I power up the NES now everything appears like it's working. My monitor's LED changes colour (as it does whenever I use it and wake up the device plugged in), but then nothing shows on the screen and after about 10-15 seconds I get a "No Signal" showing on the monitor. On high-def nes main board the LED is flashing approx every 4 seconds with a slowish fade in/out.

Unlike Eatitup86 however, my PPU is not getting hot.

EDIT: I've just changed the HDMI cable and now I'm getting a large grey square in the center of the screen. This is a bit odd as the first cable I was using is working fine on my computer now. Anyway, regarding the grey screen, is this just my dodgy 72-pin connector not reading the game? I have a replacement one on order anyway, but it hasn't arrived yet.
Last edited by inGGames on Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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game-tech.us
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

inGGames wrote:As with Eatitup86, I am experiencing similar results.

To start the installation, I pulled the CPU & PPU, installed the sockets and then tested the console. Everything was working ok, so I removed the 7805, installed the pre-assembled interposers and hooked up the ribbon and power as the instructions showed.

I have not attempted to remove Q1 (or the lockout chip, but I'm guessing this has nothing to do with it).

When I power up the NES now everything appears like it's working. My monitor's LED changes colour (as it does whenever I use it and wake up the device plugged in), but then nothing shows on the screen and after about 10-15 seconds I get a "No Signal" showing on the monitor. On high-def nes main board the LED is flashing approx every 4 seconds with a slowish fade in/out.

Unlike Eatitup86 however, my PPU is not getting hot.
Hi-def main board led in and out fade means it's hdmi is working, sees your tv/monitor. No video means it's not getting anythign from the interposers, i'd check the ribbon cables, i've even pulled them out without unlocking the conector to kinda scrub the connector surfaces then re-insert them. If you remove q1 and bridge the outside holes you can check composite and or rf output to be sure the connections are good from cpu/ppu to nes mobo.
inGGames
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by inGGames »

game-tech.us wrote:Hi-def main board led in and out fade means it's hdmi is working, sees your tv/monitor. No video means it's not getting anythign from the interposers, i'd check the ribbon cables, i've even pulled them out without unlocking the conector to kinda scrub the connector surfaces then re-insert them. If you remove q1 and bridge the outside holes you can check composite and or rf output to be sure the connections are good from cpu/ppu to nes mobo.
Hi,

I just made an edit to my previous post, but I changed the HDMI and I now get a grey screen. The LED is doing the same thing.

So, is this just time for a new 72pin connector?

I will remove Q1 and test over RF.
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game-tech.us
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

inGGames wrote:
game-tech.us wrote:Hi-def main board led in and out fade means it's hdmi is working, sees your tv/monitor. No video means it's not getting anythign from the interposers, i'd check the ribbon cables, i've even pulled them out without unlocking the conector to kinda scrub the connector surfaces then re-insert them. If you remove q1 and bridge the outside holes you can check composite and or rf output to be sure the connections are good from cpu/ppu to nes mobo.
Hi,

I just made an edit to my previous post, but I changed the HDMI and I now get a grey screen. The LED is doing the same thing.

So, is this just time for a new 72pin connector?

I will remove Q1 and test over RF.
If it grey screens via rf or composite then yes it's the zif.
inGGames
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by inGGames »

Ok I'll do that and replace the zif if necessary. Thanks for your help.
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game-tech.us
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

game-tech.us wrote:
inGGames wrote:
game-tech.us wrote:Hi-def main board led in and out fade means it's hdmi is working, sees your tv/monitor. No video means it's not getting anythign from the interposers, i'd check the ribbon cables, i've even pulled them out without unlocking the conector to kinda scrub the connector surfaces then re-insert them. If you remove q1 and bridge the outside holes you can check composite and or rf output to be sure the connections are good from cpu/ppu to nes mobo.
Hi,

I just made an edit to my previous post, but I changed the HDMI and I now get a grey screen. The LED is doing the same thing.

So, is this just time for a new 72pin connector?

I will remove Q1 and test over RF.
Last post made it sound like that's the only thing that'd cause grey screen, it's not obviously... It still could be a connection issue from cpu/ppu to nes mobo, but if you get video on composite/rf then it's something else.
If it grey screens via rf or composite then yes it's the zif.
inGGames
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by inGGames »

game-tech.us wrote:Last post made it sound like that's the only thing that'd cause grey screen, it's not obviously... It still could be a connection issue from cpu/ppu to nes mobo, but if you get video on composite/rf then it's something else.
If it grey screens via rf or composite then yes it's the zif.
I removed Q1 and did some testing, then later on while inspecting the interposers I saw that one of the pins was bent and not in the socket properly... :/

Anyway, I sorted that out and now I have picture & sound! The HDMI picture seems to be quite weird (pixels changing colours quickly) but I'm putting that down to all the console being run without the shielding in place.

Also, RF is just showing the sprites as white on a black background. Is this anything to do with removing R2 as mentioned in the instructions (step 20)?
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by game-tech.us »

inGGames wrote:
game-tech.us wrote:Last post made it sound like that's the only thing that'd cause grey screen, it's not obviously... It still could be a connection issue from cpu/ppu to nes mobo, but if you get video on composite/rf then it's something else.
If it grey screens via rf or composite then yes it's the zif.
I removed Q1, then tested a game and I'm getting a grey screen on rf and on hdmi. I've also replaced the zif with a new connector I had inside another NES (just to be sure) and this produces the same thing.

So, does this look like something is wrong with the PPU chip or interposer?
Did you bridge the outside holes of q1? Grey screen is usually bad cpu when I fix bad nes's.
inGGames
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by inGGames »

I edited my last post again... Anyway, I found the problem. It was one of the CPU pins not making contact. RF is a bit weird now but that isn't really an issue as I will not likely use that ever again! Thanks for your help.
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Re: Hi-Def NES HDMI Adapter for the NES

Post by tepples »

inGGames wrote:Also, RF is just showing the sprites as white on a black background.
Normal behavior. Because the PPU outputs only bits 3-0 of the palette index when in color output mode, an add-on board such as NESRGB or Hi-Def NES needs to set up the PPU's palette such that it outputs bit 4 (that is, whether each pixel is a sprite or background) on composite video out.

The Stopwatch (relative lag) test in versions 0.12 and later of the NES port of the 240p test suite is designed to accommodate this behavior, drawing the frames and tens of frames places as sprites and the places with seconds or larger value (which don't matter quite as much for lag testing as much as for actual stopwatch use) as background. That way, one can connect a traditional CRT SDTV to RF and an HDMI monitor to the add-on board to measure the total lag of the Hi-Def NES (which will be about 2 ms tops) and the monitor compared to the presumably lag-free RF.
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