gscartsw: automatic 8:1 SCART-RGB switch

Superg, just want to mirror what everyone else is saying and say thanks for all the work you've put into the design/manufacturing/testing/shipping. I used to heavily barter/collect and dealing with people can be pretty tiring...

I didn't make it into the scart preorder, but I'll be here to hopefully snatch up the crumbs, haha.

 

Superg, when the leftover switches go on sale, and if I'm lucky enough to catch one, can I get it sent with my existing preorder? I've worked out that I could actually do with two of them. And being from the UK shipping is expensive and takes time.

 

definitely need to watch this thread. I'm starting to need one of these real bad.

 

Shipping to Europe usually takes around 1-2 weeks.

Update: My manufacturer shipped the SCART units yesterday.
JP21 pre-orders will be cut off once I'll get the SCART batch and test at least one unit (to make sure everything is right)

 

Thank you for the answer! Will be really awesome! Can't wait!

 

Thanks, superg! Will give that a go and report back. I have a... pretty interesting setup with a PVM pass-through, so I'm curious to see how this all turns out.

And, I'll say again: thanks so much for developing this thing and putting this offer together. We're all very grateful to own such a wonderful product!

 

JP21: Guys, I've closed JP21 pre-orders on a nice 30 units order. It will be ordered early next week.

 

Great news - can't wait to get my hands on the SCART version. Thanks SuperG!

 

I am starting to get excited... SNES, SFC, and N64 in RGB....

 

hello superg,I want to pre-order SCART Switch just one I live in the US,can you add me to your list please.

 

No list or anything at the moment. We are waiting for the last batch that was ordered to come in. If you keep close watch to this thread you might be able to grab one of the extras once everything is sorted.

 

When should those who have the SCART version pre-ordered expect to start receiving them? (I know the manufacturer shipped them on Monday, but not really what that means in terms of time). Not asking for promises or guarantees, just trying to get a general idea by which to set expectations. Pretty jazzed about ripping out my daisy-chained MadKatz switches and audio break-out box.

 

An update to the problem I had with the gscartw.

The problem was a buzz being produced when the switch and respective cabling was introduced into the line.

My friend made a new male/male JP21 cable: individually shielded, spend more to get higher quality and now it works flawlessly.

So if you have a similar problem, swap out the cable first and foremost.

 

I received the SCART batch today.
Everything looks perfect, I've already fully tested one unit and it was plug'n'play!
However there is one small problem, the new connector holes are a bit smaller than the screws I usually use (metric M3). I've already found and ordered a substitution (M2.5) to try first and then to order the screws for a full batch. It's important to fit everything right because spacers and standoffs lengths are depending on this longest screw so I really want to test first. What I'll be doing next week is I'll solder the LEDs (the one and only component not yet soldered by manufacturer) and test all units. Meanwhile the new screws will come and I'll experiment with it a bit.
1-2 weeks: testing and assembling, this batch is big, please be patient, then packing & shipping. I would like to ship the international orders first because they will have to wait longer. My wife will be helping me with this to make it faster.

JP21: I will be ordering these on Monday.

Again, thanks everybody for patience, the hard part is done, the stuff is already here

 

Awesome news, I'm glad that the cable issue has been resolved!

 

Come on, the guy asked a legitimate question. I'm also an American; I have never in my life come across a TV in the U.S. that accepts a SCART input. They just didn't exist over here.

Now to actually address the original question, I would say that the reason SCART is popular among this subset of the retro gaming community is that there in fact were many systems and other A/V components that did have SCART (or the SCART-shaped JP21 output), so there is an ecosystem of cables, switch boxes, and other accessories for it. Thus, you're not having to invent and get people to go along with a novel standard -- it's easier to have SCART as a common intermediary, and then (assuming you don't have a TV with an actual SCART input) get an appropriate breakout box, cable, of which many exist cheaply.

Moreover, SCART is incredibly feature-packed. In a single cable you've got all at once: red, green, and blue video; composite video; video sync signal; left and right audio. (Also a convention for carring S-Video, if that's what your system outputs, though this shares pins with other video modes). There are even pins for carrying video and audio BACK from the TV to the device, and for miscellaneous things like aspect ration. Some devices even used the extra pins for things like multichannel surround. So you end up saving significantly on space, by having a single socket probably smaller than the three phono jacks required for YPbPr component, but with a lot more signals.

Finally, as for the reasons people are so excited about this particular switch: there are not any that have the number of features that superg has packed into this. For example, most switches max out at 4-5 inputs, and don't do autoswitching, or have sync stripping built in. Moreover, many of the switches are made with cheap components that corrupt the signal in a visible way.

 

Guys, please keep those SCART conversations short, it's difficult to search this 69-page topic for a useful information.
SCART connector is ugly, RGB signal is awesome, we all get that . If you want to continue these discussions please create a separate topic for that.

 

SCART: I've got new screws to try and they are about right so I'm ordering batch of these
JP21: all units have been ordered, will keep everybody posted

 

excellent news! I can feel dispatch day getting closer

 

Thats great news! cant wait