TORO - Advanced Video Box for the Dreamcast!

Hi,
Any update on the SCART to XRGB cable to use with the Toro?

 

Not yet. I couldn't source the scart part enough.

 

I bought a Toro earlier this year and everything was brilliant until today. Now I only get left channel audio from the Toro. If I press down on the Toro connector at the back of the Dreamcast, I get stereo but if I let go it's back to left channel only.

 

The AV Port might be dirty. Clean the contacts on the AV port with a q-tip and the highest % rubbing alcohol you have.

 

I did, the Toro is doing the same thing on 3 different consoles. I think there's some broken wires or something in the braided part of the cable - now it won't even give me stereo when I press down on the plug.

 

Ah ok. The right audio pin on the plug might be bent out of place somehow. Does the plug look odd, like a pin that's lower or higher than normal? If so, try moving that pin up or down.

A broken wire would mean right audio wouldn't work at all.

 

Everything looks fine. I'm not sure what's wrong then. It might be a loose wire in the plug.

I had a retro-bit VGA box doing something similar once in VGA mode. I would plug it in and get a reddish/pinkish tint to the screen. Pushing down on the plug fixed it. After a while it started working fine until I partially fried it trying to get 15KHz RGBS (used in SCART/JP-21) out of it.... Note to future modders, when running +5V and C-Sync through a CAT5e network cable, ALWAYS wrap a ground wire around the signal wires. Don't make the same mistake I did.

 

I can send you a replacement cable, if aligning the second pin (R audio) doesn't work for you.

 

How much for a replacement cable for the hanzo?
(The cable cover/braid has come out from the head of the cable, as the heat shrink wasn't set, ie, heat up to hold the stuff in place)

 

Free. However it has a new improved cable now.If you send the board back I can upgrade it for the the new cable.

 

Wouldn't it be cheaper for me to just purchase the cable off you & fit it myself? or does it require a new connector?

 

There is a new connector, if you can solder I can send the part. You need to remove the IDC cable connector on the board. It's free, either old model cable or the new one.

 

Yeah I can solder, but I may just send you the device.

Can you PM me the address & I will get it sent ASAP, thanks.

 

Beharius, is the improved cable available for purchase? Mine is fine but I do have to press in hard to connect the cable (maybe it's normal)

 

You have to send the board back for the upgrade, its connector needs to be replaced. Or if you can solder, I can send you the part. Upgrades are free. It's normal after some use it can be inserted easily. Or its pins need to be aligned (pushed down) a little bit via needle or tweezers.

 

Hi beharius,

I want to order a VGA box for my Dreamcast and I've not yet decided between the Toro and the Hanzo + Kenzei combo, as I may buy a XRGB mini later on to use with my other systems and to output to HDMI. There's a SCART to 8 pin cable for use in the XRGB as discussed in the previous pages so that's not the issue, if I should opt between the Toro or the Kenzei (and the Hanzo).

What's keeping me back are the differences between the Toro and Hanzo + Kenzei combos. From reading your website, Toro is a combination of the Hanzo and Kenzei, but with less features than those. The features that were eliminated in Toro, and from what I could understand, are the RCA RGBS connectors and the scanlines width selection switch.

I don't need the RCA RGBS connectors as I won't use a monitor like a Sony PVM, but I'd really like to have the scanlines width selection switch on the Toro, besides the even/odd selection switch. Here starts the confusion.

Your website initially states that Toro doesn't have scanline width selection switch, but later on says that it has:

To even add up to the confusion, the pics on this thread and Adam Koralik's video show a Toro with 3 switches, but RetroRGB shows Toro with 4 switches, being one labeled "width": http://www.retrorgb.com/toro.html

My question is, does the Toro have scanlines width selection switch or not? Are the newer batches being built with one, is that it?

Sorry for the long post.

 

New versions have the scanlines width selection switch as well, both Hanzo and Toro. Sorry for the confusion on the website, somehow we missed it while updating.
It has 4 switches:
RGB/VGA
EVEN/ODD
WIDTH
ON/OFF

 

Thanks for the quick answer, that's what I wanted to know. You should fix/update that on the website to avoid further confusion.

All there is to do is to click the "Buy Now" PayPal button on the website to place an order, right?

 

Yes, exactly. Thanks.