フレームマイスター Framemister Xrgb mini/ English firmware/39000 yen shipped

PM'd for one!

 

Woo! Just want to say mine is still working a charm, got everything from the Mega Drive to the Mega-CD to the 32X to the Saturn going on this and they are all fantastic!
Just curious as to what the deal was with this 1.08 firmware that was bouncing around?
Was it just to support a revised PCB revision or something?

 

I'm not sure. I've set a few of the new units I have in to English for customers but I've not really had a good look at the settings. I just check the firmware then set the system to English. Here's a picture of the last two I did the other day. I think the menus are the same as mine which is 1.07a. I'll have a closer look at one of the new units I still have in stock (plenty left guys, still only 39800 yen with EMS speed post included!!!) if I get some time over the week. I know another customer wants theirs put in to English before shipping so that will be the one I look through.





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Ah well, keep us posted! Always keen to learn more about this firmware quirk! :smile-new:

 

So, in anticipation of my incoming Framemeister, I purchased the following two items:

SCART to Framemeister XRGB Mini Converter adapter with built in LM1881N sync stripper:
http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/...ni-adapter--euroscart-with-sync-stripper.html

32X RGB SCART cable with boosted sync:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-seller-3...ideo_Game_Cables_Adapters&hash=item2ec5ceb0e6

Are the "circuits" in these cables going to cause me problems? Or does this seem like it should work? Don't want to destroy my new toy.

 

That SCART to Framemeister should do the trick perfectly. Not sure about the 32X RGB Scart with boosted sync. It should be ok I guess.

 

They won't do any damage and you can never have enough spare cables if they don't work 100%.
Best way to find out is to test!
Just be wary of the adapter from http://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/
I have one the same and removed the sync stripper to get signal on my Mega Drive 2...
HOWEVER when I took the SCART plastic off the cables were very poorly soldered and came loose from the SCART connector easily.
Might just have been a one off, time will tell.

I've since ordered a Euro SCART adapter from retro_console_accessories, they have a lot of good feedback over at http://shmups.system11.org.
Any reasons you didn't buy the Euro adapter from the same place as the 32X cable?
Can't wait to get mine! :topsy_turvy:

Also, if someone could sum up how a sync stripper works in one or two sentences, that would be fantastic.
From my understanding it doesn't actually strip sync but strips everything but the sync signal... poor choice of a name perhaps?

 

Also is there any reason you would want an SCART to XRGB mini cable with sync stripper rather than sync booster? An explanation as to the difference would be highly appreciated.

I was planning on getting the following cable to hook up devices via SCART that I can't find a 21-pin XRGB cable for,
Micomsoft XRGB Mini Sync booster for Euro SCART to XRGB Mini 8 pin:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160962351822

 

Your understanding is accurate - basically, you feed composite video in and get csync out. Sync separator would be a more accurate term, but "sync stripper" seems to have become common. The standard chip for this application s the LM1881:

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/snls384f/snls384f.pdf

Note that it's really only suitable for SD video - if you try and feed it HD video without changing the timing components it will mess up because the line rate is different. There is an updated product that supports HD as well without component changes (LMH1980), but it's harder to get hold of and in a tiny SMT package that's a pain to solder.

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/snls263a/snls263a.pdf

For a short description, it basically looks at the input signal, decides what part of it are sync signals and then regenerates a new sync signal from them.

 

Ah not my understanding, I got a schooling from RetroSwim. He pointed out I was wrong originally! :loyal:
I know that little LM1881, had to resolder some wires once they had snapped free of the veroboard inside the SCART connector.
My Dreamcast is probably the only thing close to HD that I'd use and it has no use (thanks to VGA and beharius with those marvellous scanliners!)

Any ideas on how do the boosters work?
Oh wait, is a sync stripper the same as sync booster because it is stripping away the other noise and making the sync signal boosted?

 

I think it's just an amplifier - some systems output sync at video levels (I.E. 700mV or 1V) and others use higher voltages, say 5V TTL logic levels. If you try and drive a device t hat expects high-level sync with low level sync it will either not work at all, or maybe just about work with with very poor noise immunity.

 

Thanks for the info guys!

To be honest, I just didn't think to check to see if retro_console_accessories sold them. Bah, I guess I'll just order one from there too.

 

You can't ever have enough! More the merrier right? :loyal:
I bet mine is sitting at work on my desk just waiting for me... here I am at home off sick... Boo! :sorrow:

 

Idk I find it odd that no one has documented what you need for this already. I'll probably document the combinations of cables I'm using to hook up each of my consoles though I suppose the few that are RGB modded are custom and not necessarily worth documenting unless they've been modded to another standard.

 

And ordered.

 

Id still appreciate something like that. I plan on buying one of these in the future, and any documentation that will help me figure out how much I have to spend would be appreciated hah.

 

I definitely plan on it, but having just bought one of these myself I think I may be doing some trial and error first (Hopefully not too much error lol)

 

Wow! That was fast. Mine was shipped out on Monday, and arrived just now!

 

I'm a fast guy I posted a few more out today so there should be a few more happy gamers in 5 days.

 

I hope I can buy one someday! Maybe it's time to start selling some old stuff....