Scanline Generator - DIY, My Attempt (pictures)

Deep Back-Story:

I've decided to attempt to make a D.I.Y. Scanline Generator for an number of reasons, mainly, it's a lot cheaper than buying a SLG3000 or any of the others.i didn't know if i wanted scanlines or not until i seen them in person so no point splashing $$££€€'s and being disappointed or not enjoying the outcome. The second reason, i'm planning on getting a LCD monitor for retro gaming 4:3, 17"(depending on what i see around when i go to pick one up). my PC and Xbox 360 take up my TV/Monitor widescreen setup and the TV only has 1 scart input which makes things a pain in the ass having to swap out systems. i do have a CRT TV but it is also widescreen i currently use it for Wii, PS2, Xbox, Saturn, Dreamcast and Master System and Megadrive (not so bad as these 2 share a scart cable) so i can play lightgun games etc(28" hitachi). i also have a Mega-CD on the way, running low on space so definatly no room for another CRT.


i've seen some videos on youtube where people have been getting upscalers and SLGs etc for hooking up their retro systems, i was impressed with the results so that further inspired me.
final reason, i like tinkering with things, and i was bored.

The End Game:

Dedicated LCD Gaming Monitor 4:3
Project box containing D.I.Y. SLG, 8220 cga/ega/vga converter/scaler RGB scart input with sync stripper, and audio passthrough (maybe an amp?)
Awesome Retro Gaming.

And So it Begins:

Got all the parts in today for the alpha prototype initial experiment: Parts list:

2x D-Sub 15 pin VGA connectors - Recommend getting 1 male and 1 female (i got 2 female but then changed my mind and used a male on the output end)
1x small strip of vero/matrix board ( you dont need much at all but i like to use a decent amount so i can change / add adjust freely without worrying about space)
1x 74HC125N IC (you can use LS and possibly other varients)
1x 74HC74AN IC (same as above)
1x SPDT switch (there is a version with 2 switches and i got 2 switches, but they were cheap and crap and one melted.)

Wire - i used plenty i deviated slightly from mmmonkeys version.

i salvaged the Male VGA connector from a VGA > DVI adapter and used the wire from an old Cat5 network cable with broken connectors.
(i like to recycle) you could use a VGA cable if you have one spare or get one cheap or whatever.

not keep in mind this is a very very rough thrown together experiment so don't judge too harshly but feel free to laugh!

i actually forgot to take photos of the "in progress" at various stages but you can see that in the source threads at Gamesx and mmmonkey has pictures also

http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/other/vga-scanlines.htm#small

and
some more diagrams and other options / more complicated circuits (check out page 2)
http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4422.0

youtube videos that helps me decide to do this were from faginrs500

his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUwnXPip_0KTFBl6ZlGf40g

Alrighty then: here's my DIY SLG

It's covered in leccy tape as i took pic just before i tested it, i didnt want to short anything, currently powered VIA USB 5v (twisted wires lol) as i plan on using another power source in the project box on the final piece.



you can just about see the two chips there sorry about the pic phone cam wouldnt focus on it properly.

And Zee Resultz:

Only seemed to work at 640x480 - didn't do much at 800x600 / 1024 x 768 resolutions - although there is a fix for that i think i've not attempted yet
Also note, these are taken from while testing with a laptop VGA out going to a 20" widescreen LCD monitor at 640x480.

640x480 - switch setting 1




switch setting 2 640x480





Can't really test it with any consoles yet, as i'm still waiting on my converter / scaler to arrive
its comming from hongkong so not sure how long it will take to arrive, i'm in no rush for it tho
it cost £18.50 including shipping so great deal i think. considering uk ebay sellers have it at twice the price.

Link to Item and seller(i am not affiated with them at all) incase anyone else wants one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310579516416?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

well that's it so far i'm going to see if i can get it working for 1024x768 but not tonight im too tired.:friendly_wink::disgust: i need a :very_drunk:

 

Update:
VGA converter arrived today, was really quick considering it was coming from china and the price. me likey
tested this powering it from a usb cable > 5v in on the board, has a nice bright power led so you know its one.


at this point all i could do was change the language(defaults to chinese, 4th option in menu is language) and cycle through the inputs
hooked it up to an old packard bell 15" CRT monitor for this.

then using a cheap-o scart block removed the casing on the end(that goes normally goes to TV) and soldered the Grounds together, then connecting them to pins 10,5, 6,7,8, on a male VGA connector, R G B > R G B(pins 1,2,3 on VGA) and composite video to H-Sync (pin 13 on VGA)

cut the rest of the non needed wries away.


dont mind my scribbles on the sketch pad underneath lol.



the other green taped wires that come off the scart > vga are the Audio Left in, Audio Right in, and audio Ground from the Scart cable/block these are going to go to RCA jacks but possibly other things too not sure yet.

need to put together a sync stripper circuit and add that to the converter board.

i hooked my saturn RGB scart to the scart block, then to the converter board, then from converter board to the 15" monitor for a quick test.
i could make out the Saturn image, obviously there was no correct sync for it, but it was there!

unfortunately i can't make up the sync stripper as i need to order some caps, a resistor and the LM1881, i wasn#t expecting the vga board to show up so quickly.

but progress non the less

 

Update:
VGA converter arrived today, was really quick considering it was coming from china and the price. me likey
tested this powering it from a usb cable > 5v in on the board, has a nice bright power led so you know its one.


at this point all i could do was change the language(defaults to chinese, 4th option in menu is language) and cycle through the inputs
hooked it up to an old packard bell 15" CRT monitor for this.

then using a cheap-o scart block removed the casing on the end(that goes normally goes to TV) and soldered the Grounds together, then connecting them to pins 10,5, 6,7,8, on a male VGA connector, R G B > R G B(pins 1,2,3 on VGA) and composite video to H-Sync (pin 13 on VGA)

cut the rest of the non needed wries away.


dont mind my scribbles on the sketch pad underneath lol.



the other green taped wires that come off the scart > vga are the Audio Left in, Audio Right in, and audio Ground from the Scart cable/block these are going to go to RCA jacks but possibly other things too not sure yet.

need to put together a sync stripper circuit and add that to the converter board.

i hooked my saturn RGB scart to the scart block, then to the converter board, then from converter board to the 15" monitor for a quick test.
i could make out the Saturn image, obviously there was no correct sync for it, but it was there!

unfortunately i can't make up the sync stripper as i need to order some caps, a resistor and the LM1881, i wasn#t expecting the vga board to show up so quickly.

but progress non the less

 

updates:

well i had the Green wires wrong for the RGB SCART (DOH)


anyway, Sync Stripper LM1881 circuit complete and working added to Scaler board.

was getting sync issues with the MK1 PAL sega megadrive(image would shake or jump every few seconds), so i decided to try another one of mmmonkeys solutions.(others have done this too)

the megadrive mk1 has a separate pin for sync which is pin 7 but it seems the sync pin from the CXA1145P video chip is not used

what i did was follow instructions here(very easy) :http://mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md-sync.htm

basically its adding a 220uf cap and a 75ohm resistor to pin 11 on the CXA1145P chip and connecting it to PIN 7 of the AV connector, and cutting a trace on the board that goes to pin 7.

i dont know about the official cables but i have a 3rd party RGB scart cable, PIN 7 was not connected, so i rewired it, just moving the C-video pin(20 on scart) to pin 7 leaving comp video disconnected.

i could have added the cap and resistor to the scart cable but wanted them inside the system in case i change cables etc.

tested this out on my LCD tv and it works fine via standard RGB SCART.

then Tested on my scaler board and BINGO! syncs up nicely no more jumpy picture

i have also wired up an old ATX PC power supply to power the Scaler board as i had one lying around and didnt want to buy an adapter.
this also has the benefits of being able to cope with any extra power requirements, and i can use it to add some fans or whatever else i want really.
supplies both 5v 12v and ground nicely via molex connectors too.
i rigged up a simple on / off switch to turn it on and off(clearly)

Whats next? Two big things to sort out

1. Audio

2. Case / box / Enclosure

3. buy a dedicated VGA screen

Pictures to be added when i have the time, sadly i didnt take any pictures of the MegaDrive sync mod but they are on mmmonkeys site i linked anyway and other places on the web.

also think i should really invest in a hot glue gun.

my Mega CD is hopefully now on its way! got a message from the seller today saying it should be with me in the next two days (there was a mix up with this the seller sent it to the wrong address and send me the other buyers item)

tested with sonic, revenge of shinobi, darius 2 and hellfire.

 

Looks good matey, all the best with it.

 

Nice work but I really don't get the whole scanline thing.

Is it region specific or a nostalgic thing?

I think it looks fucking awful.

 

Depends on how old you are and if you grew up playing in RGB. To people who grew up playing consoles in RGB and many arcade games in the late 80's and 90's normally love scan lines since it gives the look we all had back in the day. It takes away that shitty pixel look while retaining the sharp image on the screen with vibrant colours that don't bleed all over the place like crappy composite or RF does. I love scan lines when done right. But using a scan line generator with a poor input signal from composite doesn't really give you the right look. You still have a shitty image but now with lines over it. Boxes such as the XRGBmini Framemeister actually upscan the image while adding scan line (if you want) so you get the correct look and feel of days gone by.

As I said, I love scan lines because I grew up playing in RGB from 1988 with the Japanese Mega Drive. I played on Sega Blast City cabs, then Astro City cabs in the arcades when in my gaming prime. All of these had clear scan lines which I why I love them. My friend on the other hand is one of the PlayStation generation. Played consoles in shitty composite and moved to LCD screens fairly quickly but again still used shitty composite. He thinks scan lines are ugly and that composite gives a much nicer colour. What ever rocks your boat really.

 

Still, regardless of where or how you grew up, technically speaking RGB is superior to composite and that's a fact. It seperates the signals, allowing the all colors to be displayed clearly and undisturbed from the others. Some people argue that it's just perception but it's not, it's a measurable difference in quality. Just because someone grew up listening to rock albums by using one of the first cell phones as a speaker doesn't mean that Metallica wouldn't evidently sound better through a 2.1 sound system!

It took me a while until I experienced true RGB, but once I saw the light, I wouldn't wanna trade for anything less. Lowres 2D + RGB = retro heaven. Lowres through anything on a HDTV w/out scanlines = horrible

 

I did grow up in the 80's 90's with RGB, I just don't remember anything looking remotely like this.

Perhaps seeing emulated scanlines has warped my memory of what they were truly like.

 

Scan lines on emulators are arse most of the time. They're also too dark. The XRGB series let's you alter the density of the scan lines so that they look like a CRT. far better than any emulator.

 

yeah pretty much what Yakumo has said. i started out with a commodore 64 and sega master system on old 80s CRT TV, then of course megadrive and arcades etc so scanlines have a nostalgic value to me, i went through a phase where i didnt like them, but that i credit to my high res PC gaming migration (1999-now)

also helps with the blockyness of the images and just makes it look alot better in my opinion, i had doubts till i seen it in action.

i wouldn't scanline-a-fy newer high res games as they don't need it and i prefer them without. but some still can look good with scanlines giving you a kind of old school arcade feel, like fighters etc.