sega saturn rgb
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phizzler1981
- 8-bit
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:57 pm
Re: sega saturn rgb
fuck all that. im not modding the saturn and a SCART cable. too much work and too much room for error
Re: sega saturn rgb
Yeah, that sounds like a bad idea to me as well. I don't really know what they're going on about in that thread but I don't like it.
I just checked my SCART cable and Saturn - I know they're both working fine on all the SCART devices I've tried them on so...
I have a Model 2 North American MK-80000a (pretty standard - round buttons etc.)
As for the cable:
Pin 1 on the Saturn corresponds to Pin 20 on the SCART side - just as expected - Composite video/Sync which is what most devices expect. The one exception/device I have is my XRGB-3 which expects a Jpn SCART layout so I have a short SCART pigtail cable which does the proper pin layout switch - this is so I can use Euro standard (common) SCART cables for all my consoles.
Since I have my circuit tester out already, here's my Saturn-SCART cable's pinout:
Sat-SCART
1-20
2-6
3-2
4 - 8+16
5-15
6-11
7-7
8-(nothing/unused)
9-(nothing/unused)
10 - (nothing/unused)
sheath/ground-sheath/ground
Cracked open the SCART end:
There's a resistor going between pin 16&8 - 180 ohm
(this explains pin 16 getting power - Saturn pin 4 is attached to SCART pin 8 and the current goes through the resistor to pin 16)
Following these 2 pics:
Here's a thread I found to verify my resistor decoding I didn't read it really but it's talking about that confusing stuff in case anyone's interested.
On to getting your Saturn connected to your monitor - note, I've been calling the VGA connector a DB9 which is wrong - it's a DE15. My bad.
I don't think this will work because of the composite sync, but I guess it's worth a shot - people have said they've done it here & here:
Saturn Pin - description - Wells-Gardner VGA pin
1 - sync - 13, 14, or both
4 - 5volt - ?
5 - red - 1
6 - green - 2
7 - blue - 3
sheath/ground - 6,7,8,10
That second "here" link mentions the LM1881N we were talking about before.
I just checked my SCART cable and Saturn - I know they're both working fine on all the SCART devices I've tried them on so...
I have a Model 2 North American MK-80000a (pretty standard - round buttons etc.)
As for the cable:
Pin 1 on the Saturn corresponds to Pin 20 on the SCART side - just as expected - Composite video/Sync which is what most devices expect. The one exception/device I have is my XRGB-3 which expects a Jpn SCART layout so I have a short SCART pigtail cable which does the proper pin layout switch - this is so I can use Euro standard (common) SCART cables for all my consoles.
Since I have my circuit tester out already, here's my Saturn-SCART cable's pinout:
Sat-SCART
1-20
2-6
3-2
4 - 8+16
5-15
6-11
7-7
8-(nothing/unused)
9-(nothing/unused)
10 - (nothing/unused)
sheath/ground-sheath/ground
Cracked open the SCART end:
There's a resistor going between pin 16&8 - 180 ohm
(this explains pin 16 getting power - Saturn pin 4 is attached to SCART pin 8 and the current goes through the resistor to pin 16)
Following these 2 pics:
Here's a thread I found to verify my resistor decoding I didn't read it really but it's talking about that confusing stuff in case anyone's interested.
On to getting your Saturn connected to your monitor - note, I've been calling the VGA connector a DB9 which is wrong - it's a DE15. My bad.
I don't think this will work because of the composite sync, but I guess it's worth a shot - people have said they've done it here & here:
Saturn Pin - description - Wells-Gardner VGA pin
1 - sync - 13, 14, or both
4 - 5volt - ?
5 - red - 1
6 - green - 2
7 - blue - 3
sheath/ground - 6,7,8,10
That second "here" link mentions the LM1881N we were talking about before.
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phizzler1981
- 8-bit
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:57 pm
Re: sega saturn rgb
i apriciate you guys all tryin to help, but i only understand like half that shit. maybe ill just buy an S-video cable for the saturn and run it thru a regular CRT tv and just reassemble my mame cab with the WGD9410. fuck the stress
Re: sega saturn rgb
That's too bad (not knocking Saturn S-Video output - it's really quite nice). Having it hooked up to a real RGB monitor is something else entirely, but you knew that.
The cutting and soldering stuff isn't necessary, and requires some trial & error, it would just save you some money.
I'm almost positive all you really need to do is order a Sync Strike and SCART Cable.
I've used that same SCART cable with a Sync Strike, and it works (at least I think it's the same one - mine was listed as "Sega Saturn RGB SCART cable RAW SYNC and RCA out for NTSC" from the same seller. The SCART cable has RCA red&white audio cords to output the sound separately which you wouldn't need with the Sync Strike, but it's a nice thing to have anyway.
If you buy those 2 things, and a standard VGA cable you can get your monitor hooked up correctly - RGB@15Khz with V sync (extracted from the composite sync by the LM1881N in the Sync-Strike - this should work) - perfect picture with no lag and audio to your stereo system). Looking at the manual you linked for your monitor it is a standard VGA port wiring-wise, it's just better than most VGA CRTs since it accepts 3 lower scan frequencies.
I took a particular interest in this post because I plan to get one of these monitors (or similar tri-scan) myself for a standup MAME cab I plan to build later (just gotta clone my bartop's hard-drive and put less-expensive hardware in). I'd already planned to try this setup. Whenever I get new hardware I always try everything I can with it.
The cutting and soldering stuff isn't necessary, and requires some trial & error, it would just save you some money.
I'm almost positive all you really need to do is order a Sync Strike and SCART Cable.
I've used that same SCART cable with a Sync Strike, and it works (at least I think it's the same one - mine was listed as "Sega Saturn RGB SCART cable RAW SYNC and RCA out for NTSC" from the same seller. The SCART cable has RCA red&white audio cords to output the sound separately which you wouldn't need with the Sync Strike, but it's a nice thing to have anyway.
If you buy those 2 things, and a standard VGA cable you can get your monitor hooked up correctly - RGB@15Khz with V sync (extracted from the composite sync by the LM1881N in the Sync-Strike - this should work) - perfect picture with no lag and audio to your stereo system). Looking at the manual you linked for your monitor it is a standard VGA port wiring-wise, it's just better than most VGA CRTs since it accepts 3 lower scan frequencies.
I took a particular interest in this post because I plan to get one of these monitors (or similar tri-scan) myself for a standup MAME cab I plan to build later (just gotta clone my bartop's hard-drive and put less-expensive hardware in). I'd already planned to try this setup. Whenever I get new hardware I always try everything I can with it.
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phizzler1981
- 8-bit
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:57 pm
Re: sega saturn rgb
i apriciate your help anapan. i got pics of my mame cab from before i moved. ill try to dig em up and post em
Re: sega saturn rgb
Does RGB display colors any differently then composite? I ask because I recently bought a converter...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html? ... B004XSSDPO
...for my Saturn and it looks nice but orange just doesn't look orange (even after adjustments on the converter). It's more of a red-orange I think my converter is not working properly but I am open to the possibility that RGB is displaying a more accurate representation of the color output of the Saturn, and that the orange I see through composite isn't correct.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html? ... B004XSSDPO
...for my Saturn and it looks nice but orange just doesn't look orange (even after adjustments on the converter). It's more of a red-orange I think my converter is not working properly but I am open to the possibility that RGB is displaying a more accurate representation of the color output of the Saturn, and that the orange I see through composite isn't correct.
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AppleQueso
Re: sega saturn rgb
eccoboy wrote:Does RGB display colors any differently then composite? I ask because I recently bought a converter...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html? ... B004XSSDPO
...for my Saturn and it looks nice but orange just doesn't look orange (even after adjustments on the converter). It's more of a red-orange I think my converter is not working properly but I am open to the possibility that RGB is displaying a more accurate representation of the color output of the Saturn, and that the orange I see through composite isn't correct.
It's the converter.
If you open that thing there should be a few adjustment pots you can fiddle with to fix the color. I used to have one and had to adjust mine as well.
Re: sega saturn rgb
Already turned all the POTs. Best I can get is red-orange. Will do another test and then exchange the converter if necessary since you have the same converter and don't have color problems.
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AppleQueso
Re: sega saturn rgb
eccoboy wrote:Already turned all the POTs. Best I can get is red-orange. Will do another test and then exchange the converter if necessary since you have the same converter and don't have color problems.
I don't have one anymore.
It's fiddly, when I used to have one it took a while to get it looking right. I'd say keep messing with it.
Re: sega saturn rgb
I messed with it some more but same results. Fortunately the vendor has sent another for me to try. I started to think I was being too picky but really, the colors just aren't right. Last night I noticed that brown also has a violet tint to it. Hopefully this isn't how the RGB output is supposed to look when converted to component. If anyone reading this has RGB to component on their saturn, do me a favor and compare orange colors displayed via composite or s-video to orange colors displayed via RGB and let me know what you see.
I'm also curious how you get sound from the saturn when using RBG. I'm currently using a SCART adapter with audio out but the connection between that and the converter is so loose that the connection goes bad if I barely touch it. The connection is tighter with the SCART cable straight to the converter but still not great (another issue I have with this converter). I'll probably punch a hole through the converter and wire RCAs directly to the SCART pins inside, assuming the replacement converter performs well. If not I'll be looking for another method of RGB because I need my oranges to be orange.
I'm also curious how you get sound from the saturn when using RBG. I'm currently using a SCART adapter with audio out but the connection between that and the converter is so loose that the connection goes bad if I barely touch it. The connection is tighter with the SCART cable straight to the converter but still not great (another issue I have with this converter). I'll probably punch a hole through the converter and wire RCAs directly to the SCART pins inside, assuming the replacement converter performs well. If not I'll be looking for another method of RGB because I need my oranges to be orange.