Tristar NES adaptor for SNES

Does it work on a PAL Snes?

/frax

 

If you find a PAL version of the TriStar, I'm not sure they even exist.

 

It probably works on a PAL SNES, but NES games will output NTSC of course.

 

There is a pal version. They used to advertise it in Superplay magazine.

Fire International used to sell it. It also went by the name 'Super-8'.

 

I repost my question about Tristar video output :

where is the vidéo output ? SNES is capable of RGB. Tristar 64 has his own video out or the SNES has a video pass through ?

 

Tristar64 does not support RGB signal. The video comes out of the unit itself, not the N64.

 

Hi,

Please check out the Tri-Star FAQ, which you can read at http://home.freeuk.net/markk/Consoles/Tri-Star_FAQ.txt.

The Tri-Star outputs composite video (and on some models, RF). You plug the pass-through cable from the Tri-Star into the SNES multi-out port. When playing a SNES game on the Tri-Star, the composite video signal from the SNES is passed through to the Tri-Star's multi-out port.

Only the composite video signal is passed through from the SNES. If you want to use an RGB or S-video cable for SNES games, you can connect two cables to your TV, one from the SNES and one from the Tri-Star. In that case the pass-through cable is not used.

It's been a while, and I don't remember whether games like Castlevania III work on the Tri-Star. I'll have to test that again. If it doesn't work, it may well be possible to modify the Tri-Star to work with CV III (it would involve connecting a pin of the NES-on-a-chip IC to a pin of the FC & NES connectors).

The video output for NES/FC games has vertical stripes on the screen, rather like with a top-loading NES. You can fix that by adding a capacitor to the empty space on the Tri-Star PCB.

-- M

 

Where do I actually solder the two capacitors as recommended by SatoshiMatrix?

A is the 470uF cap right? Or should it be a 1000uF cap? And where should the 0.1uf go?

 

B is a spot for a transistor from the looks of it up top and a resistor(?) to the right. A does look like a spot for a capacitor to me. In his post he said to use something over 300uF and suggested 470uF specifically. I'd imagine a 16v cap (or higher) would work fine.

From the looks of his post the 0.1uF cap would be soldered into the same place with the 470uF capacitor. I'm guessing it's some sort of decoupling capacitor but without a schematic (or one of these in front of me) I can only speculate at the purpose.

You should take before and after shots and post them as well.

 

Yeah you would put them both in parallel at "A", but note that such a large decoupling cap will only decouple very low frequencies, frequencies that are probably already well covered by other electrolytics and wouldn't present themselves as video noise unless you're seeing beat frequencies from supply noise (instead of switching noise).

Really the values necessary depends on your system's individual noise and the physical components already in place, there isn't a single value guaranteed fix them. Adding a new capacitor values that are decades away from the others (such as 470 u) actually creates something called anti-resonances which may reduce the power rail's decoupling at various frequencies that might be critical to specific signals. I don't think there is any scientific reason for the values suggested.

I bet you'd be better off finding the an actual source of the noise if any and decoupling with a large ceramic cap--like 10 uF.

 

Oh well, I'll stick with the one capacitor. Though what is up with that 16 pin din connector on the right side. What else could've the manufacturer done with this?

 

I had a Super 8. Select and Start buttons don't work on controller 2 so some US games lack multiplayer compatibility.

 

The Super 8 is based on the Famicom, NOT the NES. Don't expect to play the American of Castlevania III on this.

 

That makes no sense. The "American" Castlevania III works fine on Famicom systems. If it does not function on the Super 8 it is due to incorrect cartridge port signal wiring, a problem not uncommon among clones.

 

Wow, another downside I learned is that EEPROM chip that gets erased when exposed to sunlight. Has anybody replaced that chip with something less fragile? I'm still going to cover the part of the board with electrical tape when I buy it and then mod it one day.

 

EEPROMs don't get erased by sunlight. "EPROMs" can have erasing occur if left in direct sunlight. These are the chips with the window on them. Covering it with electrical tape or a good sticker will do the trick. Pretty sure the Tristar or Super 8 ROM is dumped if you ever needed to reprogram it because of bit rot.

 

Got my unit in yesterday, installed a 470uf capacitor. I used a brand that the local electronics store had (it was in cursive). Works great, but I should've invested in a smaller solder pump.

Odd, on my Trinitron, the colors are dark.

 

Now I don't have problems, my eyes have adjusted to composite.

 

Wait, are these rare... Cause I have one...