CRT_EmuDriver and electrohome g19 monitor -> no stable picture :(

[blackmoor]

Calamity, my last hope.

I have discussed this problem at video forum they redirected me here. So I have Radeon 9550/9600 series club3d card. Operating system windows xp 32 bit SP3 finnish language.

Have tried installing crt emudriver 6.5 and 9.3. have also downloaded vmm 1.3 and arcade_osd 1.3 in them. Have also a video amplifier from ultimarc between monitor input port and vga adapter.

I can install both versions fine ( ran ati_unistanller between of course) and they install without a hitch. After that ran vmm with monitor type CUSTOM and changed mame exe file location. changed nothing else (should have?). I get 108 resolutions. After that confirmed that quickres says resolution 640x480@60Hz. Shutdown, hook up arcade monitor, boot computer. Garbled picture. waiting till windows starts-> no change! Either the card wont go to 15 khz mode or my monitor just is'nt compatible with vga signal? Tried with arcade_osd and with normal vga monitor(I have a cga splitter which enables me to hook up normal vga monitor and arcade in the same port) when tweaking the modeline by adjusting clock lower, i got ONCE a stable picture, but it goes away after 20 seconds. I believe arcade_osd said then that the mode was at 12 khz.

I was suspicious that maybe i broke my monitor with all the tweaking of the pots and trying with soft15khz and with crt_emu, so i hooked up the original mille miglia game. Picture is perfect right away! No need to adjust pots. What can I do or am I just doomed? any logs or something somewhere to confirm that the graphic adapter goes to the 15khz mode?

btw heres my other thread if interested http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129131.0.html

[Calamity]

Could not get it to work better. here is a picture of the monitor chassis connectors:

I'd say it's a sync polarity issue. First I'd try to always use separate sync, although in theory it's possible to output a composite signal natively with an ATI card, I have no experience with this and do not recommend you to try. If yours is a JAMMA cab you probably should have bought a J-PAC instead of the video amplifier, because this one properly combines both sync signals into a composite signal so you could use the same board's connector you're using with the PCB (the one with the -V)

So you need to wire the two separate sync cables either to the the H+ V+ or to the H- V-, or possibly a combination. Just in case use the E connector next the ones you're using.

The last version of VMMaker IN THEORY allows you to change the sync polarities by software, new GM does too. I must remark I don't even know if this works because my monitors seem to accept any polarity or at least I notice nothing when changing. I'm possitive it works for the Linux side.

So get the latest version from here (VMMaker 1.3c):

http://mame.3feetunder.com/windows-ati-crt-emudriver/

Add this line to vmmaker.ini, set MonitorType = "CUSTOM", and play with these values:

monitor_specs0    15625-16670, 49.5-65, 2.000, 4.700, 8.000, 0.064, 0.160, 1.056, 0, 0, 288, 448

...which stand for hsync and vsync polarities (0=negative, 1=possitive). Try combinations. Each time you modify the values, run VMMaker and restart.

Good luck.

[blackmoor]

Calamity, thank you for fast reply

This is the amplifier: http://www.ultimarc.com/vidamp.html

quote from there:

Almost all monitors, even those which have separate V and H sync inputs, will work with composite sync (generally connected to the H input) A few monitors may need separate H and V sync though. In this case the syncs can be separated by doing the following:
Identify the location on the PCB marked "CUT for H/V"
Cut through the short section of track between the two "half-moon" shapes.
Connect the monitor vertical sync to the connection (white terminal block) marked SYNC
Connect the monitor horizontal sync to the connection (white terminal block) which is unmarked.

If I understand correctly this should be making real composite sync. But I can try making it a separate sync amplifier, that could solve all problems.

After that of course I'll run vmmmaker again. will try this tonight, after work.

EDIT: this has some nice picks and info on an similar monitor chassis as mine: http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=139017

it is a Electrohome G19-CDO, mine is -AEO, but chassis looks identical to mine. If this has any help? it says there something that it is a low impedance monitor? quote: "This monitor has a low impedance yoke, unlike the G07 which has a high impedance yoke". Does this have any relevance to my issue with picture stability?

[Calamity]

Hi blackmoor,

If I understand right, the instructions from Ultimarc suggest physically modifying the pcb. Before you go through this adventure I'd recommend you to test wiring the sync cables directly to the monitor's board bypassing the amplifier.

[blackmoor]

Hi Calamity

You're right, it does involve with making the amplifier permanently separate sync by removing little part of the circuit.

Do you mean that I should use the amplifiers red green blue and ground but get sync wires from somewhere else? hmm...well I have a vga splitter (One input, two outputs, shows both outputs simultaneously) so I could connect the amplifier to other port and get syncs from other port....Have to try it. I have a cut vga cable which I used before (showing in the video below)

[Calamity]

You should NOT use a VGA splitter, the video card might read the EDID from that LCD monitor I've seen in the video, even if it's switched off and make a mess with our timings. Make sure to have just one cable straight from the VGA output either to the video amp or to the monitor's board. As I said, I would set both sync signals bypassing the amplifier and make all the suggested tests before modifying the pcb.

[blackmoor]

Thank you Calamity!

Tried with your suggestions, first with my cut out cable, to E -V and -H. Also ran vmmaker with CGA attribute. Restart-> picture in arcade monitor, but very dark.

So tried with the amplifier to the lower port-> scrambled pic. Cut open the amplifiers "track" to make it work in no composite mode, then connected it same way as my vga cable. Restart-> BAM! Crystal clear picture! And groovymame works, it changes resolutions okay (Some games make the picture roll from up to bottom in about 3-4 seconds per roll?) So some adjusting is needed, but main thing, IT WORKS! So happy I could buy you a beer, or two Ever in Finland, let me know

Should i Record game names which make the picture roll, and put them here? Also, with some games ( like outrun) sound starts to "warp". changed in mame.ini to use d3d as to ddraw, made it better but still some lag occurs. IS there any cure, apart from changing to xp 64 bit and monster CPU?

[Calamity]

Hi blackmoor,

It's good to hear that. You probably need to adjust the v-freq potentiometer on your board slightly, you can often have an adjustment point that fits for the whole 50-61 Hz range, where most arcade games live.

As for the games that make the sound to "warp", it's actually the emulation speed that can't keep up with the target game speed, that's a CPU related issue I'm afraid. Using -triplebuffer may alliviate this but will introduce scroll stuttering.

I did live in Tampere for a whole year, 2001-2002, have really good memories of that 

[blackmoor]

Your emoticon is spot on

Next stop: installing hyperspin 1.2 and understanding it. And also connecting my original arcade controls (270 pot wheel, gas, brake, start buttons) to the A-PAC which I ordered at the sametime with the amplifier. Then making those work with groovymame

Sidenote, my processor is amd 64 2800+, so it is xp64 compatible. What would you recommend as a cpu ? bear in mind the 2800+ slot compatibility Does memory have significant role? and would 64bit xp really make any difference?