So I bought a retrogen adapter...

[Ace]

Cool review! Pretty awesome compatible list too! You got me real curious about how to run genesis controllers. If it's possible that should get rid of the "mode button" issue.

If I could get my hands on a RetroN3 again, I'd be able to locate the controller signals on the GOAC so you can add in DB9 controller ports. This should eliminate the unmapped Mode button issue and also allow Master System games requiring the Light Phaser to work. I'll tell you one thing: when I got Genesis controller ports working on the Yobo Gameware GN Twin, it eliminated a slew of problems ranging from minor to severe controller input delay to an unresponsive D-pad with Master System games.

What may be a good idea would be to add in a small plug to the RetroGen Adapter and make a small dongle with two DB9 ports much like the dongle included with the RetroDuo Portable. Since space is limited inside the RetroGen Adapter, such a plug wouldn't be a bad idea.

[hellraiser]

Hey guys I can use a hand again... Can any one tell me if they got a copy of streets of rage 1 working or not. I've tried two copy's and got nothin but a black screen for both.

[Akito01]

I know this is a qualified answer, but I do have the Genesis 6-Pak cart that includes Streets of Rage, and that game does play fine for me.

I'm looking forward to the tear-down. I'm super curious if the video issues can be redeemed in any way.

[hellraiser]

I know this is a qualified answer, but I do have the Genesis 6-Pak cart that includes Streets of Rage, and that game does play fine for me.

I'm looking forward to the tear-down. I'm super curious if the video issues can be redeemed in any way.

Thank you sir! I will pick one of those up if I can't get a standalone cart to work. Good way to get hang on too.

Still would prefer a regular cart though.

[Razo00]

Retroduo's and retrogen adapters are better off in a landfill or at the bottom of the Atlantic. Thats my 2 cents. Buy a real Genesis it probably costs less anyway.

I agree. All these clone systems are garbage. They are incompatible with certain games, sound issues, color palette issues. Why even bother? Just stick to original hardware.

[Ace]

I agree. All these clone systems are garbage. They are incompatible with certain games, sound issues, color palette issues. Why even bother? Just stick to original hardware.

Because some people like myself are actually curious to see what the clones are capable of. Not to mention, clone systems are perfect to mess around with because A) they're in production and B) there's always a good bit of headway to make clones better than what they normally are out of the factory (I made mention of point A as if you screw up the clone, you could always buy another one. For that one clone you trash, many more will take its place. Not the case with original hardware, though).

I'm looking forward to the tear-down. I'm super curious if the video issues can be redeemed in any way.

You've asked for it, and you've got it. The teardown has been posted for a good bit on Sega-16 and can be seen here: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...l=1#post469089

The video issues are fixable, but first thing's first, I have two things to do before going ahead and tweaking anything on the video amp (which I will undo as my TV doesn't have any sync issues with the RetroGen Adapter):

1) Compare the voltage of the Composite video with that of my Genesis Model 1. It seems to me like the RetroGen Adapter's Composite signal is too strong for certain TVs to handle, causing the sync issues this thing has become known for.
2) Get a better A/V cable so I can record some capture footage from the RetroGen Adapter for RetroGen Adapter vs. Original Hardware, which will compare the RetroGen Adapter to a non-TMSS Genesis Model 1, motherboard revision VA3. The current A/V cables are so highly prone to interference, I can't even hook up any audio cables between my switchbox and my computer to record the audio, so until I get a new A/V cable for the RetroGen Adapter, I can't do this (I don't use my capture device to record audio anymore as it's high-pass filtered and has a sort of blowing noise in the background).

[Ace]

Well, I don't know what happened, but the thread hasn't been bumped even though I actually posted something. I apologize for double-posting, but I have no idea why the thread wasn't bumped up with my previous post.

[Akito01]

Its all good stuff and I appreciate the time and effort.

I got a RetroPort adaptor this Monday -not especially impressive (the sound is dire) and misses an opportunity by not using the Y button on the SNES controller. Interestingly, it also will output an audio signal through to a SNES clone system but not an original SNES.

[Ace]

I got a RetroPort adaptor this Monday -not especially impressive (the sound is dire) and misses an opportunity by not using the Y button on the SNES controller.

Sounds like the audio amp is missing components to weaken the audio signal much like the RetroDuo and the latest revisions of the FC Twin. The button mapping, though, is just stupid. It's like what Nintendo did with the Classic Controller on the Virtual Console. I'm quite certain there's a ROM on the RetroPort Adapter's PCB. It might hold the button mapping information. Someone would need to dump the ROM on the RetroPort Adapter and see what it contains.

Interestingly, it also will output an audio signal through to a SNES clone system but not an original SNES.

I wonder why RetroBit's adapter cartridges do this. I'm going to inspect the Super NES' audio circuitry from the cartridge slot to the amp and see what would prevent sound from passing through original hardware.

[hellraiser]

Well after a bunch of tries with a stand alone copy of streets of rage I finally got they sega 6 pak.
It worked fine to. I can live with the retrogen adapters short comings but dam is mine picky.

Makes me a little nervous about buying higher priced games that may work fine but just not for me.

[Dire 51]

I found one of these today and picked it up. Not bad. It's definitely no replacement for my Genesis, but it's handy if I have the SNES hooked up and feel like playing a Genesis game but don't feel like dragging the Genesis out of storage.

The games I tried, from both my kids' collection and my own:

edit: see full list two posts down

I'll try some more tomorrow.

[hellraiser]

I found one of these today and picked it up. Not bad. It's definitely no replacement for my Genesis, but it's handy if I have the SNES hooked up and feel like playing a Genesis game but don't feel like dragging the Genesis out of storage.

The games I tried, from both my kids' collection and my own:

Working:

Space Harrier II
The Revenge of Shinobi
Mystic Defender
Gunstar Heroes
Alien Soldier (repro)
Strider
Strider Hiryu (MD, J)
Splatterhouse 2
Splatterhouse 3
Castlevania Bloodlines
Altered Beast
ESWAT: City Under Siege
MUSHA
Thunder Force III
Lightening Force... er, Thunder Force IV
Syd of Valis
Valis III
Crystal's Pony Tale
The Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure


Working, but w/ issues

Wonder Boy in Monster World (pressed start, game froze, reset, pressed start again, found out save game was erased, game started, froze in a shop)


Not working:

Forgotten Worlds (start game, goes right to game over screen)


I'll try some more tomorrow.

Hey thanks for posting this list. The forgotten worlds thing is mode button related. That wonderboy thing is pretty trippy though. I'm glad you got eswat working though. I couldn't get my copy to work.

[Dire 51]

Hey thanks for posting this list. The forgotten worlds thing is mode button related. That wonderboy thing is pretty trippy though. I'm glad you got eswat working though. I couldn't get my copy to work.

Yeah, I seem to recall Forgotten Worlds doing that when I tried to use a six button controller with it once. Didn't expect the Wonder Boy freakout, and ESWAT booted right up. So did the one I have on a HK multicart pirate.

I tried out the remaining games in my collection. Here's the complete list of working/nonworking:

Working:

Space Harrier II
The Revenge of Shinobi
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Mystic Defender
Gunstar Heroes
Strider
Ghouls 'N Ghosts
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast
Last Battle
Super Thunder Blade
After Burner II
Outrun
Golden Axe
Alien Storm
ESWAT: City Under Siege
Bio-Hazard Battle
Truxton
Thunderforce II
Thunderforce III
Lightening Force... er, Thunderforce IV
Midnight Resistance
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Alisia Dragoon
Ranger X
Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Ghostbusters
Phelios
Splatterhouse 2
Splatterhouse 3
Castlevania Bloodlines
Contra Hard Corps
Rocket Knight Adventures
Syd of Valis
Valis III
Whip Rush
Sol-Deace
Gaiares
MUSHA
Air Diver
DJ Boy
Air Buster
Target Earth
Insector X
Growl
Batman
The Terminator
Star Control
Crystal's Pony Tale
The Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure

Japanese Mega Drive:

Kujaku Ou 2: Geneishiro
Strider Hiryu
Burning Force
Megapanel
Mugen Senshi Valis
SD Valis
Valis III
El Viento
Mamono Hunter Yohko: Makai Kara no Tenkosei
Alien Soldier (repro)

Two HK pirate multicarts with the following games:

Sonic the Hedgehog
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Bare Knuckle
I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigo no Oshiro Daibouken
Final Blow
Shiten Myooh
Ghostbusters
Cyber Police ESWAT

Working, but w/ issues:

Wonder Boy in Monster World (pressed start, game froze, reset, pressed start again, found out save game was erased, game started, froze in a shop)

Not working:

Forgotten Worlds (start game, goes right to game over screen)
Golden Axe II (issues related to mode button, I believe)

All I have left to try are the remaining games in my kids' collection.

[hellraiser]

Dire 51 you are the man!!!!

Nice collection by the way. It dwarfs mine.

Not to get of subject but that's cool you have two versions of eswat!

[Dire 51]

Dire 51 you are the man!!!!

Nice collection by the way. It dwarfs mine.

Heh, thanks. If you think this is impressive, you should have seen the collection I had before 2004. It was probably double the size of my current one, maybe even triple.

Not to get of subject but that's cool you have two versions of eswat!

What can I say? I enjoy ESWAT in all its forms, even the lousy SMS game (to a degree).

The one on the HK multicart is the MD version. There's not too many differences between the two. All I can think of is a slightly different title screen and two additional voice samples.

[markusman64ds]

Just a thought...

Will the Retrogen work with the Tristar 64, which plays NES and SNES games on N64?



If it did, that would be epic.

[markusman64ds]

Gotta bump this because of the glitch yesterday.

Anyways, continue answering my question.

[Ace]

Just a thought...

Will the Retrogen work with the Tristar 64, which plays NES and SNES games on N64?



If it did, that would be epic.

I'm pretty sure it would. If I remember, correctly, it uses a similar clone Super NES chipset to the one used on modern Super NES hardware clones, so it should run correctly.

Now I feel like getting a TriStar 64 to try this out (although this thing seems to be plagued with problems. Am I right?).

By the way, what glitch are you experiencing?

[markusman64ds]

I'm pretty sure it would. If I remember, correctly, it uses a similar clone Super NES chipset to the one used on modern Super NES hardware clones, so it should run correctly.

Now I feel like getting a TriStar 64 to try this out (although this thing seems to be plagued with problems. Am I right?).

By the way, what glitch are you experiencing?

That glitch with the forums yesterday where posts wouldn't bump threads, post counts wouldn't go up, and Servbot posted the same story every 10 minutes.

So now we have:
N64
64DD
NES
SNES
Game Boy
Genesis
Master System

Oh my Jebus. With the Tristar 64, Power Base Converter, Super Game Boy and the RetroGen, you would have a pretty efficient retrogaming setup. I bet the Famicom Disk System works too.

[Ace]

It sure does:


Except its NOAC (at least, I'm pretty sure there's an NOAC in there) is one of the crap ones with reversed 50% and 75% duty cycles. Not exactly the best way to play NES games.

Playing Virtua Racing is out of the question too due to a missing signal on the RetroGen Adapter's cartridge slot, so while the Nintendo 64 would make for quite the all-in-1 setup, you would need to deal with NES games having incorrect audio due to the duty cycles being reversed and being unable to play Virtua Racing. I personally wouldn't just use a Nintendo 64 with a TriStar 64 and RetroGen Adapter for an all-in-1 setup, I'd use it to go alongside original hardware (I privilege original hardware, but if someone asks about cloned hardware and makes no mention of original hardware, I'll point them to the best clone I've personally tested which meets their criteria).

[Akito01]

Forgive the random bump, but I only today discovered this post online with regards to the video issues with this adapter:

"The fix is to remove capacitor CE5 at the top-left of the PCB and place a solder bridge over the solder pad. With this, you maintain the terrific (on a CRT TV) Composite signal and no longer will have to deal with video sync issues."

I gave this a go, and it does indeed seem to work. I haven't tried it on my CRT yet (it could play the Retrogen as it was before with no issues, with a really good picture), but on my LCD it is playable with no insane screen issues. Finally!

I wonder if there isn't a trade off, though. There is definitely a diagonal-line-interference-pattern of some kind on bright backgrounds, such as the blue sky in Sonic The Hedgehog. The picture is maybe a bit less vivid? It's hard to complain too much, but I do wonder if instead of a solder bridge it might be worth replacing it with another capacitor value? Or maybe a resistor? I fear I don't know enough about electronics to know for sure one way or the other.

In any event, I'm glad that fairly simple fix was finally discovered, and I thought I'd pass this information from where I found it to this forum.

addendum: I've tried my modded RetroGen on my CRT, and it looks AWESOME. It looks SO GOOD on my CRT. Whatever this mod did has not adversely affected the picture I was getting in my most ideal circumstance at all. Super happy that Ace made this discovery.

[kedawa]

They must employ some bush league engineers.

[Akito01]

I wonder if there isn't a trade off, though. There is definitely a diagonal-line-interference-pattern of some kind on bright backgrounds, such as the blue sky in Sonic The Hedgehog. The picture is maybe a bit less vivid? It's hard to complain too much, but I do wonder if instead of a solder bridge it might be worth replacing it with another capacitor value? Or maybe a resistor? I fear I don't know enough about electronics to know for sure one way or the other.

Again, forgive the random bump, but I have to correct my previous statement on this. The video interference I was referring to only occurs if I keep the standard A/V cord plugged into the back of the SNES while using the RetroGen or RetroPort. If I unplug that cord, the picture is clean. It never occurred to me at the time that this would be a problem. It was only while messing around with the RetroPort today that I realized that this was the case.

[Ace]

Forgive the random bump, but I only today discovered this post online with regards to the video issues with this adapter:

"The fix is to remove capacitor CE5 at the top-left of the PCB and place a solder bridge over the solder pad. With this, you maintain the terrific (on a CRT TV) Composite signal and no longer will have to deal with video sync issues."

I gave this a go, and it does indeed seem to work. I haven't tried it on my CRT yet (it could play the Retrogen as it was before with no issues, with a really good picture), but on my LCD it is playable with no insane screen issues. Finally!

I wonder if there isn't a trade off, though. There is definitely a diagonal-line-interference-pattern of some kind on bright backgrounds, such as the blue sky in Sonic The Hedgehog. The picture is maybe a bit less vivid? It's hard to complain too much, but I do wonder if instead of a solder bridge it might be worth replacing it with another capacitor value? Or maybe a resistor? I fear I don't know enough about electronics to know for sure one way or the other.

In any event, I'm glad that fairly simple fix was finally discovered, and I thought I'd pass this information from where I found it to this forum.

addendum: I've tried my modded RetroGen on my CRT, and it looks AWESOME. It looks SO GOOD on my CRT. Whatever this mod did has not adversely affected the picture I was getting in my most ideal circumstance at all. Super happy that Ace made this discovery.

I can't believe I didn't see this earlier. It's nice to know the video sync fix is working for other people.

They must employ some bush league engineers.

Many of RetroBit's engineers don't know how to design proper circuits, and I can list multiple instances of this:

-RetroDuo v2.0 and v3.0: A missing 0.1uF capacitor and 2.2Kohm resistor on the NES audio amp makes the sound unbearably distorted, poor choice of op-amp for the Super NES audio amp (LM358 - not adequate as the sound hisses a bit with loud games)
-RetroGen Adapter: Crappy audio circuit (no amp, resistors on the GOAC's audio outputs are FAR too small at 10Kohms for the YM3438 and 22Kohms or so for the SN76489 when they should be 75Kohms and 150Kohms respectively to prevent distortion and volume balance issues) and a capacitor on the video circuit that doesn't belong there
-RetroPort (standalone and the one included with the RetroDuo Portable): A missing 1.5Kohm pull-down resistor on the audio output from the NOAC (which just has a single resistor on it) causes varying degrees of audio distortion

RetroBit needs to hire new engineers.