Gamecube component cable

[hunter291]

Hey, just asking to be sure again. The MegaAudio is for use with the component cable, right? So you have to solder it in (?) the component cable to have sound with it, right?

[megalomaniac]

you do not need a component cable for digital audio...
it is a completely separate board and every gamecube version is able to use this (yes even DOL-101 rev C)
it connects to the digital audio signals on all motherboards....

check out this digital audio install thread viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1236

[hunter291]

Oh, I see. Wasn't there something that you could solder to a component cable to get sound with it or am I mixing something up? IIRC, the normal Component cable doesn't support audio, right?

[megalomaniac]

Oh, I see. Wasn't there something that you could solder to a component cable to get sound with it or am I mixing something up? IIRC, the normal Component cable doesn't support audio, right?

yes, you can solder MEGAudio into an official component cable..
and yes, you can solder it internal to the GC itself..

"it swings both ways"

[yamaharacer]

does anybody know where is place to put in the mega3 board? the only place when you have the dvd drive inside is in front of the fan holes. but I think this would be a very bad position.

[yamaharacer]

ok got everything now. but one question I still have. Is the VGA port on the mega 3 only for use with arcade monitors? I have cinnected it to two monitors both didnt show me a screen. On one it says 15,6khz so I it may only for use with arcade monitors.

[megalomaniac]

gamecube will always boot up in 15hkz interlaced mode.

until a game title which supports progressive mode automatically changes video to 31khz or homebrew like swiss which will force progressive mode, there will always be no signal on a monitor which does not support 15khz VGA.

The only solution, as with any and all MX VGA mods, is to start up with a composite or component display, then enable progressive mode on the game title (or with swiss "force progressive mode"), and only then after, switch over to VGA.
This is the reason the board was designed with a component / vga switch...to ensure video can always be displayed, unlike the hardwired mods that add a resistor only to have the MX chip display only VGA at all times....

[Benni]

Maybe the old NEC Multisync Monitor can handle this....

(I had one laying around for use with my old ATARI ST cause they can do all 3 resolutions...)

[GameCube2]

I'm interested in a Set of your Cables.

I'm impressed with the progress.

[megalomaniac]

Component Connector Removal

removing the connector is a really simple process....
wrap in foil, blast it with hot air, slide out the connector, done!!
the connector will melt with hot air so make sure to protect it...



1. wrap in foil to protect the connector from melting
2. use good foil, not the cheap stuff
3. wrap as many layers as you want...the more, the better
4. secure the board to something stable...i used a GC heatsink to help dissipate heat
5. apply hot air 385*F (~195*C) for about 1 minute and the solder should be soft
6. gently slide out the connector and keep applying hot air till its fully removed from the PCB
7. inspect the pcb to make sure you did not pull and traces

[megalomaniac]

3 connectors ready to install

[MockyLock]

Hello
I've missed several steps in this thread ^^
Your goal is to use the original component cable to get the connector for the MEGA3 ?

[megalomaniac]

yes
viewtopic.php?p=15884#p15884

[megalomaniac]

pr0ton, andzlay, ashen...your next

[Diminuendo]

that one to the far right, does that effectively have a FCC extension cable? I have noticed that your mega 3 with the plug covers the analog video/audio jack when the connector is attached to the main board

[megalomaniac]

yea a ffc adapter is used as a substitute digital port connector...


and yes, the external MEGA3 will also reach to the analog A/V port....
since there will only be 4 maybe 5 possibly in existence ever, im sure the owners of those boards will take the next step in modification to add an analog plug onto the board as well....



DONT BE ALARMED WITH THE FOLLOWING PICTURE:
read the information to understand the purpose of this pic...






YES I KNOW, when the analog plug is connected the board is bending under pressure....
now look closely....
the analog connector has a small lip that can be shaved off at the bottom to allow the MEGA3 to sit evenly horizontal under the analog port...





shave that bottom lip...and maybe a little more if needed to have a proper fit...then epoxy the analog connector onto the MEGA3....once the epoxy dries, then you can start working on making the MEGA3 external housing...
why bother to add and epoxy the analog connector onto the MEGA3

to have an ALL INCLUSIVE video connector for GC....
YPBPR
VGA
DIGITAL AUDIO
COMPOSITE VIDEO
L/R AUDIO
SVIDEO ( OR RGB ) (or both if you wire it right for PAL/NTSC)
(careful with 5v on the analog port)






....now can i succeed in my next project down the road to turn my MEGA3 into a MEGA8??? shhhh!!!! its a secret

[OzOnE]

Hi, all,

This is my first post on GC Forever.
I just HAD to get involved with this project - outstanding work @megalomaniac!

Here's a quick intro...

I've been messing with all sorts of retro console related stuff (on and off) for some time now.
A few years ago, I modified the Doctor V64 BIOS to work with IDE hard drives / CF cards and FAT32.

I spent many months working on the (as yet unsuccessful) GD drive emulator for the Dreamcast...
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... post596703

When I get time, I'll try reading a full 64DD disk again as well. lol...
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... post624378

I've played with Gamecube drive emulation too (until I realized the wiikey fusion can do it).

But, I'm mainly posting about an HDMI adapter project for the Gamecube...

The direct HDMI output from the N64 is mostly working, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get the GC to work as well...
(this thread seemed to turn into a "heated debate" about interlaced formats, 'cos I completely forgot how the timings worked)...
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... -consoles)

(sorry, awful video here, the image is not at all shaky in real life)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmNN51xRgg8

I'll be trying this is on the GC over the next few days.

The HDMI stuff relies on an FPGA, but don't be put off by that as a small board could be made quite cheaply.
Thanks to some code I found on the Web, it's now possible to output HDMI directly from a low-cost FPGA (up to about 480p / 576p at least, maybe higher).

One problem I've often had is getting motivated to make a new board design and getting the prototype PCB's made at reasonable cost.
If you're interested, @mega, I think adapters for N64 and Gamecube are very possible?

The N64 will require internal soldering ofc, and there are some issues to sort out with the code.
It also needs to use SDRAM or a small SRAM as a framebuffer for doing 480i-to-480p / 576i-to-576p scandoubling atm.
(I need to figure out some simpler scandoubler code for the N64, so the RAM is no longer needed).

Has anyone found an alternative for getting hold of the Digital AV plug for the GC (other than buying the component cable)?
I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but we only need the plug itself for the HDMI version.

btw, the FPGA could also handle the I2S to S/PDIF audio encoding, so the Toshiba chip won't be required.

OK, I think that's enough waffling from me for now.

I hope to have some results with the GC HDMI testing later today.

OzOnE.

[megalomaniac]

the reason why everyone has been slamming on you @ Assemblers is because they are trying to make you aware of the fact the signal conversion is completely different for N64 and GC..

you did notice N64 and Gamecube signals are completely different right?

[megalomaniac]

....and as for the connector....if there was a better alternative i would not be using official connectors...


ive looked at the possibility of getting some made, but quality, precision, and long term "abuse" will be an unknown factor with 3rd party connectors...
the safest known connector to use in my opinion to guarantee long term use is the official connector...
and until someone else shows they can make a better one or one of equal quality, i will not install any other connector on my board or use any other alternative replacement connector other than the ones i have designed and shown proven to work

[Ashen]

The N64 has pretty much already been done: http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php ... t+via+fpga

Marshallh is pretty awesome.

There's also another guy on modretro working on something similar, but instead directly interfaces with screens meant for portables: http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=11615

I'm sure VGA/component output via an cpld/fpga for GC is possible also, and would be supermegaspecialawesome. But it requires someone with the know how, time to dedicate, and desire to work it out first.

[megalomaniac]

Marshallh did hdmi?
thought it was VGA out only

[OzOnE]

the reason why everyone has been slamming on you @ Assemblers is because they are trying to make you aware of the fact the signal conversion is completely different for N64 and GC..

you did notice N64 and Gamecube signals are completely different right?

Yes, I absolutely understand that the N64 / GC signals differ.

The reason they were having a go on Assemblers is simply because I forgot how the interlaced timing works, and that the lines on a CRT are essentially drawn "on top" of each other in interlaced modes (please don't flame me on that again, it was embarrassing enough the first time around).

Yep, I knew about Marshall's board too.
It's awesome, but doesn't do direct HDMI conversion (although it could be added fairly easily).

I helped Marshall with some of the original SDRAM / FAT32 Verilog code for the FPGA / 64drive.
IIRC, I also sent him my basic Verilog code for the N64 video decoder block, which was based on Tim's VHDL code...
http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ ... 64rgb.html

@Ashen - thanks for the link. I've been looking for somebody trying a direct LCD connection.
I have some code for the LVDS interface, and intend to test a laptop panel soon.

I honestly don't think the GC to HDMI conversion will be too bad to code.
HDMI can handle Y/Cr/Cb directly, so it might not even need an RGB-Y/Cr/Cb block.

@megalomaniac - that's what I thought about the GC connector.
If you can get them for around $60, then that's still a good deal.

OzOnE.

[megalomaniac]

The reason they were having a go on Assemblers is simply because I forgot how the interlaced timing works, and that the lines on a CRT are essentially drawn "on top" of each other in interlaced modes (please don't flame me on that again, it was embarrassing enough the first time around).

no flaming intended...i last read your progress over at assemblers a few months ago so im not up to date on any new advancements you have made....but just take a look at your statement below...

I honestly don't think the GC to HDMI conversion will be too bad to code.
HDMI can handle Y/Cr/Cb directly, so it might not even need an RGB-Y/Cr/Cb block.

think about this statement and log onto irc so we can discuss this
efnet #gc-forever

[OzOnE]

Ooops, I meant Y/Cb/Cr-to-RGB of course.

OK, I'll log on.

OzOnE.

[Ashen]

small update, I did a board respin some time ago

Currently moving to a single DVI-I connector that'll let you use an adapter to get both VGA and HDMI if you want them