SFC - Strange faint vertical lines

Its certainly a DC plug, 9V 1.3A. I am not using a step down of any kind, as I was under the impression i would not need to use a stepdown. Am I wrong with that?
It was a while ago when I purchased it, I must have got a bit confused when I mentioned RGB modded. It is certainly 50/60hz modded, the switchless mod, on the reset button.

 

If it's got British 3-plug mains socket then it'll be expecting 240V. Regardless of socket, by this point if the PSU is still alive then it won't be a 120V unit.

I would try a different PSU... that said, I'm sceptical about it making a difference.

It may well be that additional circuitry that's increasing the interference. If you did the mod yourself you could try removing it and seeing if that helps.

I get this issue very, very faintly with my SFC but it's only actually noticeable when I'm using my PowerPak flash cart, and even then I've probably noticed it a handful of times. Anyway, are you using a flash cart?

 

Are you certain the adaptors ouput is DC and not AC? I only ask as the plug has nothing to do with the output being AC or DC. Also 9V 1.3A is exactly the same power output as the UK PAL SNES adaptor, only it outputs AC. Is there a label on the adaptor you can take a picture of? Or do you have a Mega Drive 1 power adaptor you can test with?

Considering how many people have reported this same issue:-
http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?StartRow=1&catid=22&threadid=32536
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129551
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=696736
(Different effect/artifacts depending on the TV brand/scaling being used, but all have a vertical line near the middle of the screen) I am somewhat doubtful that they are all using the wrong adaptor/power supply so its likely just a problem with the SNES/SFC console itself. It appears to be more noticeable on games that use enhancement chips like the Super FX, and of course the SNES PowerPak.

We would need someone with knowledge about analog video signals and the inner workings of the SNES to identify the exact cause and possibly come up with a solution.

 

The PSU has got a 3-plug british mains adapter, unfortunately there is no sticker on the adapter, or any markings what so ever to clarify, however I was assured it was a DC 9V 1.3A plug. I might pick up a Megadrive PSU off of ebay to test. I am not using a Powerpak, I dont actually own one of these.

Can somebody link me to a psu that I should buy, just so I dont make a mistake in purchasing the wrong one.

Cheers,
Dan.

 

Does the adaptor have a blue plug that goes into the SFC? If so it probably is an official UK SNES power adaptor.

I only suggested a Mega Drive 1 adaptor since a lot of gamers seem to have one hanging around somewhere! You could use lots of other adaptors. If you want to use a Mega Drive 1 adaptor look for one with the model code "1602-05", heres one on ebay as an example:-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEGA-MEGA-DRIVE-megadrive-power-pack-supply-adaptor-P-S-/120683958084
There does not seem to be any cheap ones on ebay at the moment so I would just look for one at car boots etc as you could probably buy an entire Mega Drive for that ebay price.

Alternatively buy any power supply that outputs DC 10V, at least 850mA (Higher mA rating is fine, the Super Famicom will only use what it needs) and has a 2.1mm barrel connector wth centre(tip) negative. If you feel confident you could even buy a multi adaptor from Argos/Maplins and just adjust it to the right settings, just make absolutely sure the plug is centre negative.

Keep in mind a different power supply may not solve your problem at all, its quite possibly totally unrelated to the power supply.

 

The barrel end is black on mine, thank you for the model number.

I dug around in some boxes, and I found a jaguar PSU model number 4829-0912 outputs at 9c 1.2a.

I will get hold of a MegaDrive 1, 1602-05 adapter and see if that fixes my issue

 

It still could be an official UK Nintendo power supply, early NES ones had black barrel connectors and very poor paper stickers that peel off easily, you would need to use a multimeter to confirm the actual output of this adaptor.

I dont know if that Jaguar adaptor would be any good since you didnt mention if it outputs AC or DC and if its centre(tip) is positive or negative.

There are at least four important points that have to match for Super Famicom:-
Power Supply Output
DC (Direct Current)
10V (9V would probably be fine too)
850mA or higher
2.1mm barrel plug, centre(tip) negative

Good luck :thumbsup:

 

Never knew that. Interesting, thanks.