Composite is working but VGA is not

Jmoney

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Hey there! Earlier in the build I skipped the VGA wiring step just to get everything else together and make sure buttons/audio were working.
Everything was working great so I disassembled it again to get the VGA hooked up.
After getting that wiring complete (see attached photos), the unit now displays the message "AUTO CONFIG" for a second when it first boots up, but then seemingly reverts to composite as the picture quality is the same as before. Furthermore when I connect the provided daughterboard and press the source button, it just switches to a blank/black screen. If I press the source button again the display turns on again (presumably in composite mode). Any idea what my problem is here?

(also should say, it's not pictured, but I did wire a 3.3V line to the TP47 pad which I believe is the "mode pin")

20220519_201650.jpg 20220519_201817.jpg 20220519_201832.jpg
 

Wesk

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I've personally not had any issues twisting the sync lines in any of my builds so I doubt that is the issue. Have you verified your mode line is getting 3.3v and that the VGA output is set to progressive?
 

Jmoney

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3.3V is good, but how do I check if the VGA output is set to progressive?
 

Jmoney

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Okay this may have been a false alarm. I went into a game that asked to enable progressive mode. Which I did and now the picture is a lot clearer and the menu settings are different (and include RGB settings). However I cannot switch back to VGA with the source button now. Is that normal?
 

CrazyGadget

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If your menu has the RGB settings, mode is attached to 3v3 and you're getting a picture on the screen, it's definitely VGA.
 

Jmoney

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MY mistake in my last comment I meant to say I cannot switch back to composite
 

Jmoney

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Composite will show no picture when the console is set to progressive.
The only way I know how to enable progressive is when a game asks if you want to on start up. Is there another way?
I'm mostly talking in the RVloader menu-- I thought I should be able to switch between composite and VGA but when I press source it just swaps to a black screen which I'm not sure is normal or indicating some problem.

Another weird quirk is that when I boot a game, the picture is offset very far to the left until I say "yes" to enabling progressive mode at which point the picture re-centers.
I'm worried though about the certain games that don't support progressive mode may just be shifted to the left permanently.

I realize you can shift the screen with the control board but accessing the connector requires disassembling the unit so not ideal.
 

CrazyGadget

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Have you forced progressive on all the games in RVLoader? Press B over the game to get into the menu to do so.
 

Jmoney

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Have you forced progressive on all the games in RVLoader? Press B over the game to get into the menu to do so.
Thanks for the suggestion I didn't know you could do that.
With the forced progressive enabled I see no difference though. The game still asks me if I want to enable it and the screen is shifted until it's enabled in game.
 

Stitches

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The only way I know how to enable progressive is when a game asks if you want to on start up. Is there another way?
I'm mostly talking in the RVloader menu-- I thought I should be able to switch between composite and VGA but when I press source it just swaps to a black screen which I'm not sure is normal or indicating some problem.

Another weird quirk is that when I boot a game, the picture is offset very far to the left until I say "yes" to enabling progressive mode at which point the picture re-centers.
I'm worried though about the certain games that don't support progressive mode may just be shifted to the left permanently.

I realize you can shift the screen with the control board but accessing the connector requires disassembling the unit so not ideal.
When VGA is enabled via 3.3v to MODE, composite output is disabled by the AVE. You can't just switch between them. If VGA is working, just let it work.

And yeah the Progressive scan menu ingame is a normal function baked into the games, just always confirm and it'll be fine.
 

Jmoney

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Thanks to you and everyone else for the replies!
With some quirks it is working, so I will let it work :)
 

Stitches

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Thanks to you and everyone else for the replies!
With some quirks it is working, so I will let it work :)
To elaborate, the shift in the picture is most likely due to the game initially booting in 480i, then switching to 480p after confirming progressive scan in the ingame menu. I have a different screen in my Liinx and it switches to a black screen after booting most games because it doesn't support interlaced VGA. I have to press A repeatedly after a few seconds to confirm progressive scan in the ingame menu, then picture returns and the game displays as expected

It's a bit odd, but it is normal behaviour
 
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