Main > Monitor/Video Forum
How to use SCART for our hobby
Zebidee:
Your video card is an ATI chipset right? Try using an older version of the control panel software (e.g. Catalyst 6.5).
I'd be wary about assuming the cable is all good. What voltage is present at SCART pin 16? Is the sync right at pin 20? Is the sync grounded? You tried multiple TVs which is good. However, even if your Soft15khz is buggy/wrong, many TVs will still give you a split screen in 31khz modes.
orchidius:
ATI chipset, correct. The control panel software is Catalyst 6.5 as mentioned below ;)
The pc is confirmed to be running at 15khz. I also tried multiple regular computer CRT's and they all gave me the "signal out of range" message, which would not be the case if it was in fact still running at 31khz
The cable build I'm using currently is the following, exactly as the picture below:
http://img580.imageshack.us/i/naamloosd.jpg/
I'm not sure on the voltage at pin 16, but I did the molex plug/100ohm resistor thing as mentioned in post 1 (exactly the same as the pic in post 1). I'll measure it out later today.
About the sync wires: as in the pic above I joined the two brown ones at SCART pin 20 and made them go to VGA pin 13 and 14 respectively. No extra ground is present...
Thank you for the help and the patience you have with me, I really appreciate it.
Zebidee:
I think that your problem is most likely sync related.
I've never really liked that wiring diagram - pretty as it is.
The problem with that diagram is that sync ground (VGA 10) is not connected to anything. What is your VGA 10 connected to? Can you get connectivity between VGA 10 & your SCART ground? VGA 5 (another ground, H-sync I believe) is similarly not connected to anything. So maybe you should start again?
From the top:
- connect RGB (VGA 1,2,3 to SCART 15, 11, 7)
- connect H+V sync (VGA 13+14 to SCART 20)
- connect Switching signal to SCART 16 (5v from VGA 9 or MOLEX +100ohm gives 2v, or bridge SCART 20 -> 16)
After that:
- cut off any wires from VGA 4, 11, 12, 15. These are monitor ID, worse than useless to us. Don't get them mixed up with your grounds.
- cut off wire from VGA 9 (5v) if it is present and you haven't used it.
- gather whatever is left, they are the grounds (VGA 5, 6, 7, 8, 10). Twist them together and connect them to a suitable SCART ground pin (e.g. I prefer SCART 17, but any should do)
- Connect VGA shield ground to SCART shield ground (SCART 21)
PS, I always refer to these pinouts with my pin numbering format:
SCART pinout: http://pinouts.ru/Home/Scart_pinout.shtml
VGA pinout: http://pinouts.ru/Video/VGA15_pinout.shtml
orchidius:
IT WORKED, IT WORKED!! I got an image out of the bloody thing! Wasn't getting my hopes up, because during the entire bootup the tv was still out of sync, but once it displayed the XP desktop, it was "all good" (well, not àll good, but I could live with it)! Is that normal (just being curious)?
One tiny issue I'm still having though is the positioning of the screen. I seem to lose about 3/4th of the taskbar on the bottom, and when I start up HS, It's also not centered. Is that tv-related, or anything I can do 'bout it?
Thanks a bunch!
SailorSat:
That seems to be normal.
The BIOS/Bootup Screens are still output in 31kHz so your TV can't sync them correctly.
As soon as Windows kicks in the output is in 15kHz and your TV can sync it perfectly.
As for the "missing screen", yes that is normal. It is called overscan.
The "tv standard" is about 80% to 90% visible.
TV signals contain binary data on the first lines, like 4/3 vs. 16/9 switching, clock, teletext etc.
Some games might get cut off but usually that shouldn't be a big deal.
Arcade monitors usually show everything.
You might fool around in your TVs service mode (if it has an OSD) or inside the TV, but I wouldn't do that except you want to put the TV in a cab.