AES model 3-6 RGB fix: which end to cut?

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Jan 12, 2006
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I recently found out that my AES has a hardware bug causing vertical lines in the image. I found out that it's specific to the model of my AES, which is model 3-6, as documented in this blog post. This post links to several other threads, such as the one on this forum. The first post mentions that cutting the RGB signals ("Part#2") should be enough to fix this issue.

On this page the author writes
I cut both sides of the traces - this is probably unnecessary and I should have experimented but cutting both sides definitely did the trick.

Since I'll be doing this, I figured I'd experiment with cutting one end and see if the problem is fixed. My understanding is we'd have to cut at the end of the transmitter of the signal. I don't have the knowledge to make an educated guess as to which end would be the transmitter and which end the receiver. Can someone suggest which end to cut? Let's use this image as a reference.

edit: here's a picture of the effect
aesvert.jpg
 
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FBX

Quiz Detective
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He cut both ends of the same trace, which doesn't matter. You can choose to cut the left side as it's the simplest cut seen in the picture. You can confirm the cut is clean by using a multimeter to check for continuity from the cap leg and the via it runs to. If you get a beep, then the cut isn't clean.
 
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Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
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No, cut the ones on the right. Those are the primary ones that need to be cut. Cutting only the left is redundant as you will still have the three traces that run under the oscillator connected to the RGB lines which cause the vertical lines.
 

FBX

Quiz Detective
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No, cut the ones on the right. Those are the primary ones that need to be cut. Cutting only the left is redundant as you will still have the three traces that run under the oscillator connected to the RGB lines which cause the vertical lines.

Except I've seen people post pics with the cut on the left and they claimed it completely removed the jail bars. However, if the signals start from the right side and run to the left and the coupling is occurring in those runs, then yes, cutting on the cap side would be optimal.

Edit: Seems it doesn't matter. Here's a page where the person cut on the left side only, and claims it removed all jail bar issues:

http://8bitplus.co.uk/your-consoles/neo-geo-aes-uni-bios-install/
 
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Joined
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This afternoon I got busy with my AES. Let's start with the result... no more jail bars!! Here's a screenshot after performing the fix:
aesnojailbars.jpeg

I decided to cut the traces at the right, since the article mentioned above cuts at the left and has a positive result. Me cutting at the right answers the question: does it matter at which end we cut? The answer: no, it works fine either way.

A friend sent me a multimeter (thanks Lee!), so I checked out how to test the continuity, because I'm a noob when it comes to basic electronics. In the following pics I test each trace and after having cut only the bottom trace.

trace1.JPG

trace2.JPG

trace3.JPG

Here's a pic of having cut all 3 traces:

board.JPG
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
15 Year Member
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Except I've seen people post pics with the cut on the left and they claimed it completely removed the jail bars. However, if the signals start from the right side and run to the left and the coupling is occurring in those runs, then yes, cutting on the cap side would be optimal.

Edit: Seems it doesn't matter. Here's a page where the person cut on the left side only, and claims it removed all jail bar issues:

http://8bitplus.co.uk/your-consoles/neo-geo-aes-uni-bios-install/

I personally have been sent consoles that were "RGB Fixed" where they only cut the left side and the vertical jailbars still existed. This is why we recommend cutting both sides, in fact MKL who discovered the fix prefers to remove the 3 traces completely. But it's up to the end user which mod they want to follow.
 

CZroe

Zero's Secretary
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Feb 5, 2017
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...in fact MKL who discovered the fix prefers to remove the 3 traces completely. But it's up to the end user which mod they want to follow.
That’s what I did last summer:
5sHvdnsl.jpg

OxjO8J2l.jpg

High res:
https://imgur.com/a/RUcFP
 

MobiusStripTech

Mr. Big's Thug
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Dec 4, 2017
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On the last 2 I had come through I did the same thing and it worked perfectly. I did try cutting them and leaving the traces which was ok on one but on the other it still had lines.
 

TonySwish

n00b
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Dec 8, 2019
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Weird noob question, will doing this disable composite video?

I'm currently having this issue when using the LevelHike HDMI cable, but I'd like to retain Composite usability if possible.
 
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Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
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It only gets rid of the vertical lines via RGB. You’ll still have composite
 
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