Neo Geo AES: is my RGB "broken"?

[Gladson]

So I bought a japanese Neo Geo AES last month, as soon as it arrived I opened it to install Unibios and noticed it's a 3-6 board.

When I connect it to the TV using the AV cable that came in the box, it works like a charm. However, no image is shown when I use a RGB cable with my OSSC or Framemeister. At first I thought I had a faulty cable so I returned it for a replacement but the new one behaves just like the old one. The OSSC shows "no sync" then I scan all inputs, the Framemeister shows no image at all either. I tried to use FirebrandX's Neo Geo profile but that made no difference.

So... am I screwed? Does the Neo Geo AES require any "extra step" to "turn on" RGB other than just plugging the cable and turning it on?

Edit: I know for sure the OSSC is fine since I just tested it with other consoles through the scart input.

 

[GohanX]

I’m betting your system is fine and there’s something odd in the sync. It’s been a long time since i used a Framemeister, but I remember on some systems there was a sync adjustment that only required fine adjustments for most systems but some neos needed a radical change to the setting. The FBX profile alone doesnt set this since it varies from system to system.

The OSSC has a lot more options for adjusting sync. The Neo CD I just got wouldn’t sync with mine at all at first, I had to change a lot of settings to make it work.

Also, if you have an rgb cable that uses csync instead of composite video sync that could be the problem. I really wish the sellers would point out that those cables should be used only in certain specific circumstances. I think 3-6 is the revision that needs a mod for csync cables to work.

 

[Gladson]

I’m betting your system is fine and there’s something odd in the sync. It’s been a long time since i used a Framemeister, but I remember on some systems there was a sync adjustment that only required fine adjustments for most systems but some neos needed a radical change to the setting. The FBX profile alone doesnt set this since it varies from system to system.

The OSSC has a lot more options for adjusting sync. The Neo CD I just got wouldn’t sync with mine at all at first, I had to change a lot of settings to make it work.

Also, if you have an rgb cable that uses csync instead of composite video sync that could be the problem. I really wish the sellers would point out that those cables should be used only in certain specific circumstances. I think 3-6 is the revision that needs a mod for csync cables to work.

The cable does indeed have a "C-SYNC" label. I hadn't seen this 3-6 issue before or else I would have searched for a composite sync cable

Any idea about where I can find more info on this mod for it to work?

 

[Gladson]

So I did some research and it seems that fixing C-SYNC for the 3-6 disables composite video. Is there any way to fix RGB without ruining composite video? I'm not a huge fan of removing features from the console, even though I'll be mostly using RGB I like the idea of still being able to hook the Neo Geo to my old CRT using the original cable.

Or, at the very least, is there any SCART cable for the AES that works with "stock" 3-6 models? I searched for AES cables and all of them seem to use C-SYNC.

 

[Neo Alec]

Unfortunately all the good RGB bypass mods disable composite. It's not ideal, but it's just what everybody does. My AES only outputs a dim B&W image over composite now.

Issues like yours are why a lot of places ship Neo RGB cables as sync-on-composite, even though CSYNC is better. I rewired one of my old cables from retrogamingcables to CSYNC. Easy to change if you can solder.

 

[Gladson]

Unfortunately all the good RGB bypass mods disable composite. It's not ideal, but it's just what everybody does. My AES only outputs a dim B&W image over composite now.

Issues like yours are why a lot of places ship Neo RGB cables as sync-on-composite, even though CSYNC is better. I rewired one of my old cables from retrogamingcables to CSYNC. Easy to change if you can solder.

I can do some basic solder, a Csync cable can be converted to sync-on-composite? Since my c-sync neo geo cable will be useless for me anyway, I could convert it to something useful.

 

[Atro]

The real question here is: why the hell would you want composite video for?

Either go big or go home. It's not like you're taking your console with you on a camping van.

You either play it like it should or It's not even worth to bother.

 

[Gladson]

The real question here is: why the hell would you want composite video for?

Either go big or go home. It's not like you're taking your console with you on a camping van.

You either play it like it should or It's not even worth to bother.

I don't like to remove features from consoles. I wanna have to option to use it with my ancient CRT TV if I ever want to

If no RGB at all would be available without killing composite, I would think about it. But if RGB using sync on composite, even though not as good as CSYNC, is an option, I'm fine with that

 

[Neo Alec]

I can do some basic solder, a Csync cable can be converted to sync-on-composite? Since my c-sync neo geo cable will be useless for me anyway, I could convert it to something useful.

Just open the console end of the cable and move the cable from pin 7 to 3. However, if you have an unmodded 3-6 board like you said, it shouldn't make any difference.

Where did you buy the cable? A cable with a proper sync stripper built-in for sync on composite might fix the problem.

 

[awbacon]

I’m betting your system is fine and there’s something odd in the sync. It’s been a long time since i used a Framemeister, but I remember on some systems there was a sync adjustment that only required fine adjustments for most systems but some neos needed a radical change to the setting. The FBX profile alone doesnt set this since it varies from system to system.

The OSSC has a lot more options for adjusting sync. The Neo CD I just got wouldn’t sync with mine at all at first, I had to change a lot of settings to make it work.

Also, if you have an rgb cable that uses csync instead of composite video sync that could be the problem. I really wish the sellers would point out that those cables should be used only in certain specific circumstances. I think 3-6 is the revision that needs a mod for csync cables to work.

yes Framemeister has a sync level adjustment that can help with this. No clue if OSSC has the same as I haven't used it

 

[maki]

have you check the cable you're using?
cheap cables have components in it (caps and resistors), they should not, remove them if yours has them

 

[Gladson]

I managed to replace the cable, the seller kindly replaced the CSYNC one by a sync on composite cable and now it works like a charm, thanks for the clarification, I had no idea different board models had different sync details.



I know it's not as clean as using CSYNC but I'm glad I didn't need to have composite video butchered (even though it's unlikely that I'm ever using it again but still)

 

[Neo Alec]

I know it's not as clean as using CSYNC but I'm glad I didn't need to have composite video butchered (even though it's unlikely that I'm ever using it again but still)

Sync on composite is actually just fine when paired with a sync stripper. Most scart to Framemeister adapters have a sync stripper built in.

 

[maki]

I managed to replace the cable, the seller kindly replaced the CSYNC one by a sync on composite cable and now it works like a charm, thanks for the clarification, I had no idea different board models had different sync details.

Great job!

You can always use a CSYNC cable with a TV/Monitor that supports it.