SNES MINI. RGB Amplifier Chip Mod or Standard 3 Wire Mod??

Is the RGB amp chip mod....

http://retrorgb.com/snesminirgb.html

worth doing over the standard 3 wire mod..

http://retrorgb.com/snesminirgb-original.html

I know the RGB amp mod is supposed to cure the vertical line issue if you have that on your system but what other advantages are there?

 

I actually find it easier. It takes longer since you have to assemble an amp circuit, but you don't have to solder to the tiny pins on the S-RGB chip. Other than that, the picture quality is the same.

 

Actually, the image quality should be improved using the THS7314 as the internal filter is a better one than in the S-RGB. Of course, the subjective point of view depending on the user itselfs and also on the TV you use.

I don't have a SNES-mini, but I love <3 this mod in the 1Chip-SNES. Every time I have a unmodded 1Chip-SNES here, I'm quite impressed about the picture quality differences!

Btw: Here is a picture, how I've solved it

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0i0lg0z3xe6f69f/Detail.jpg

I also have a similar version of this PCBs with /CS-input for the SNES-mini and 1Chip-03-Board

 

Did you make that PCB yourself?

 

Yes, I did it myself. The idea is from a friend of mine and I have realized it Normally, a PCB for a single IC with just 8 pins is a bit overkill, but I like to have nice-looking mods in my SNES.

Edit: Feel free to take a look - all designes are made with Eagle https://github.com/borti4938/SNES-AddOn-PCBs

 

Nice board, I was thinking of using a similar idea for another system and it's good to see that the concept works.

 

Didi the same mod to my 1 chip and couldnt be happier. Of course, I didnt have that nice pcb for mine.

 

Can this rgb amp mod be used on any SNES console then?, might do it on my Super Famicom if so

 

You can only use this mod in SNES' / SFCs having the S-CPUN, i.e., SNS-CPU-1Chip-01 and later

 

This amp is now available in the US. Borti4938 and I are working to make it available in Europe soon as well:

http://www.retrorgb.com/store.html

 

Only problem with this circuit is the brightness is too high. Still not got around to looking at why yet.

 

The standard mod is more than sufficient. It's not like the n64 which outputs horribly weak rgb without an amp.

 

Well, too high for some people, not everyone. I've helped install this (both the pre-built and hand-made) circuit in many systems and it always looks fine on an RGB monitor.

I tried to add info in my THS7314 page about this, as well as in every single page that includes a version of this circuit: If the brightness is too high, try adding 75 Ohm resistors to the input pads of the circuit. I tested that with a SNES 1CHIP for a few weeks and it seemed to work perfect with no adverse effects. That being said, after I removed the input resistors and went back to the basic circuit, it still looked perfect, just brighter.

 

This will work with the N64, SNES Mini and 1CHIP SNES.

 

The correct value is not subjective. With the amp how its designed in your link, its too bright. (i.e. things are over saturated and you are losing detail and its brighter than consoles with RGB natively - therefore not correct).

I am interested to try the 75ohm on the inputs - this is something I had intended to try but not got around to yet.

Though I do really like the board and the install

 

I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just not seeing the over-saturation on my setup. If I turn the brightness down just a bit on my monitor, it looks identical to a stock console. I'm constantly playing with the brightness anyway, as each of my consoles output slightly brighter or dimmer than another.

It's possible that different consoles will output different signals. Maybe SNES vs. N64, PAL vs. NTSC, etc. Unfortunately, all I have access to is NTSC consoles / NTSC RGB cables. I'll try to post a video tomorrow of a stock 1CHIP, a 1CHIP modded with this board, then that same modded 1CHIP with 75 Ohm resistors on the input side. I don't usually like capture cards and YouTube videos, as it's not a good representation of what it'll look like on an RGB monitor, but since all we'd be looking at is over-saturation, I think it'll be fine. I wish I had the right software to do a side-by-side video, but the ones I've tried never really come out right.

 

I've used this amp with the same circuit you are using on both pal and NTSC consoles. SNES, n64, pce you name it. Plus you have already said you need to turn down the brightness on your monitor....

However iirc, these amps arent supposed to use "NTSC cables" (I.e. with the caps in). If you use those, you are adding parts into the circuit, possibly explaining some differences.

And good spot to see the loss of detail is the GoldenEye startup. The little age logo thing will be all white with the amp with monitor set to correct brightness. On a normal console the logo has red in it too

 

To my experience with the 1Chip-PAL-SNES is that the picture is even darker than normal. Other German guys told me that too. However, on a 1Chip-SNES - no matter if PAL or NTSC - you can even change the resistors R6, R7 and R8 on the SNES-Mainboards. These are resistors are assembled between the RGB-wires and Vcc and each have a value of 1MOhm (PAL). Edit: R6, R7 and R8 are resistors between RGB wires and GND and have values of 160Ohms (PAL-SNES). Thank you kel and sorry for my mistake

However, the mod is all about image quality which is more or less subjective to everyone. Also someone has to be in mind that the THS7314 is built in a previously constructed system and therefor it is very difficult to get the best measured output of the THS7314. A very important question would be: how much can we gain with a more complicated mod? This mod is very simple to my point of view and the result is very good. Everything more might lie in the humans eye irrelevance

Last words: nobody is forced to buy it Also all of my designs (except some special designs just for me) are open source and can be find on GitHub (search for my nick )

 

R6, R7 and R8 connect from the RGB lines to GND. On my PAL 1CHIP they are 160 ohms and on my mini they are 150 ohms.

 

I have corrected it - sorry for that! I was looking at a totally wrong overview