Cloning the GameCube component cable

[Xaranar]

The first thing that comes to mind is "did you wait for the 'verified' message in fpgaconf.exe"?

Second, did you make sure that the COM port was the correct one?

Thirdly, did you select the right board from FPGAconf.exe's menu? It needs to be the Pluto-IIx, of course.

Fourthly, be sure you're using the right .bit file. It needs to be the file named gcvideo-dvi-p2xh-gc-2.3.bit.

Finally, make sure all your wires are still connected and not grounding out or shorting.

I have my copy of Four Swords playing right now through my newly upgraded Pluto-IIx in the background, and one of the things that pissed me off and wasted a lot of time was trying to cheat with wire routing. Learn from my mistakes - make sure you:

1) Don't route wire around the edges of the GC's PCB. No matter how clever you think you are, take the time to route the wires properly through available holes. Otherwise, you will wind up pinning a wire between an RF shield and the board hard enough to cause that line to ground out. Hilarity will not ensue - I had problems for more than an hour before I realized that the controller wire was being pinched hard enough to ground it out, which disabled all input. Frustrating!

2) Don't route the 54MHz clock wire near any of the other wires. I know it makes this distinction in the install guide, but it really does make a huge difference.

3) Don't tighten everything down until you have tested everything. Yeah, running back and forth between my workbench and my HDTV wasn't fun, but you know what was even less fun? Unscrewing everything just to find that a loose wire was the cause of everything because I assumed I was doing things perfectly.

4) Do measure everything five times before doing anything once. This is something I did well in the beginning of the install - I tapped the holes on the Pluto-IIx and used offset stands from my many computer installs and nuts to create a solid mounting base on the top RF shield, but then I tried to skimp out on the wiring job. I eventually had to desolder all the wires from the board, and one-by-one gently pull them through a hole I drilled in the shield, trim, and resolder them because I didn't bother with keeping the wires short, and I was getting weird video artifacts.

I actually drilled a hole in the GC mainboard to route the wires through, I found a large section of ground plane near the digital out port with no components on either side, and drilled right through. I also have the 54MHz clock running right alongside the other wires, and have no issues with flickering pixels or anything.

[bobrocks95]

I actually drilled a hole in the GC mainboard to route the wires through

Poor megalomaniac is going to pass out when he reads this haha

[DoctorDan]

I actually drilled a hole in the GC mainboard to route the wires through

Poor megalomaniac is going to pass out when he reads this haha

I actually left one of the heatsink screw holes empty and routed the controller wire through it. I don't think I have the cojones to drill through the mainboard.

[Xaranar]

I actually drilled a hole in the GC mainboard to route the wires through

Poor megalomaniac is going to pass out when he reads this haha

I actually left one of the heatsink screw holes empty and routed the controller wire through it. I don't think I have the cojones to drill through the mainboard.

I figured that because the board can be trimmed down quite significantly and still function, then it could probably be drilled through without issue. And what do you know, I was right, I didn't go through any traces or components so it's all gravy.

[Xaranar]

Interestingly enough, after performing this mod, I no longer get sound through the analogue port, the only way I get sound now is through DVI enhanced mode over HDMI.

[Xaranar]

I'm thinking that I severed the 12v trace to the audio amp on the middle layer of the PCB when I drilled my hole. Should be a simple enough fix.

[megalomaniac]

[DoctorDan]

I'm thinking that I severed the 12v trace to the audio amp on the middle layer of the PCB when I drilled my hole. Should be a simple enough fix.

This is why I don't drill straight through PCBs.

[bobrocks95]

I actually drilled a hole in the GC mainboard to route the wires through

Poor megalomaniac is going to pass out when he reads this haha

[Xaranar]

It's not a big deal, I never use the analogue audio anyway, so it's not like it affects my day to day usage of it.

[juji82]

Hello everybody! Starting a new project along with a skilled friend..

[DoctorDan]

Ahh, the Wii version. Mind if we ask you to document (with pics) your install process?

[juji82]

Sure! It will be my friend that will do the soldering etc., I just had the idea to test this out , since I had many many spare wii (you can find them in Japan for like 500Y). The Idea is to install it on the back on the motherboard, so on the side of the wii, with the pluto board upside down to make the cables as short as possible. The board will still be outside, so a case hole will be needed. It will not be good looking , but it is just a test for now. Will use a RVL 40 mother board, not so different from the 60 version that unseen used. I already checked the soldering points to install it. Will be starting by the end of this month!

[XC-3730C]

Anyone know when a preassembled board will be available?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[tesla246]

It is already available from badassconsoles and will ship somewhere in october.

http://www.badassconsoles.com/gcvideo-1/

[bytesaber]

Starting a Shruiken V3 build. Soldered the FPGA on earlier today.

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[bytesaber]

Mostly done. Not sure where JP1 is. I'll need to learn how to connect it for programming. I don't have a programmer so I may try the parallel port method.

I am not 100% certain how to orientate U2 and C7. I used pics I saw online to compare.

20161007_021857.jpg

(2.16 MiB) Not downloaded yet

20161007_020912.jpg

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[Xaranar]

Good old OSH Park.

[Steveodogbiscuit]

Hi,

New to forum. I recently purchased a preprogrammed FPGA Pluto XII HDMI board and I wired it up.

Would anyone be able to show a photo of where the resistor is connected between. I've put it between the DCC and the +5v Unreg that comes straight from the GameCube, but the instructions say put it in the unregulated point at the 'side' of the board which is very vague, as there are technically 4 sides to the FPGA board.

Any help appreciated.

Also, I have a red led lit at 28 or 29, and I'm not sure what that means.

Thanks!

[beauchampy]

I'm having a nightmare with my Pluto II install.

I'm on my second board now (first one would only present a red light). I swapped the board out, and voila, everything was working. Now I've put everything back together and 19 times out of 20 I will get a solid red light on the board (not working). When I do get the two flashing lights (working), it works brilliantly.. But can't figure out why the thing is so damn intermittent?

I'm pretty experienced with soldering, checked out all the connections with a multimeter.

My install left the Digital AV port in place (I just soldered to the pins) and my wires are probably no longer than 2-3".

Any pointers?

[andykara2003]

Has anyone done a real world side by side test comparing the output from the official Gamecube component cable to the analogue version of GC video? I use the official cable with my NEC XV29+ but would switch to the analogue GC video if there was even a small increase in noticeable clarity..

[novenary]

You probably won't see the difference, the main point is that it's a lot cheaper than the official cables.

[Admiralbeeyotch]

Any news on the progress of the EZ kits that Megalomaniac was putting together. I heard there were some issues with the flex cable.

[bytesaber]

Has anyone done a real world side by side test comparing the output from the official Gamecube component cable to the analogue version of GC video? I use the official cable with my NEC XV29+ but would switch to the analogue GC video if there was even a small increase in noticeable clarity..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVX81e6 ... e&t=16m57s

[bobrocks95]

Any news on the progress of the EZ kits that Megalomaniac was putting together. I heard there were some issues with the flex cable.

No update from Mega since October 14th. It's incredibly disheartening to not get so much as a single tweet about it in over a month, but if he's still having trouble with manufacturing I'm sure he doesn't feel great about it either (but seriously though he should write a quick tweet saying he's still having trouble).