Hah yeah, I was going to mention the Foxtel boxes but then I'd have to explain what a Foxtel box is, and I think the video was already getting a little long. They're probably the only reason a lot of people in Australia know of SCART, or that big weird connector on the back of me Foxtel box
Takes me back to wiring an Amstrad Colour Monitor to an Amiga (A500+) 23 Pin video socket. This was before internet, so was relying on PIN outs in magazines and BBS. It worked, and I threw the (working) CPC464 into the bin. I also had a PCW 9512 and loads of them 3 inch discs - binned that and all the discs when I bought an Amiga A1200. If only...........
Isn't the center pin NC on the CPC 6128? What I did with the CPC 464, is connect the DIN center pin to the adjacent 5V line, so the cable carries 5V. Then add a 180Ω resistor in the SCART plug, and done. Easy and elegant.
I have had such a cable for years now... But I must admit, this is a very nice breakdown and reconstruction 👍 There is even a guy selling these on evil-bay: Retro-Computer-Shack. Although he doesn't deliver to my country for some reason. - So, if I ever have to build another, I now know where to look to refresh my memory.
Yeah, I'm not sure why he doesn't deliver to certain countries but what can you do. If your display doesn't require the blanking and fast switching (has a switch for RGB) you can get away with just hooking up the R,G,B, sync and ground (and audio if you like). I expected that flat panel to just work but it didn't, and since the SCART cable was already built, I went for plan B
@@TheRetroChannel I recall building a RGB SCART cable for my C128's RGBi 80 columns display back in the '80s. However, it only gave me 8 colours because at the moment I didn't know what to do with the intensity bit. And even if I had known the brown colour wouldn't actually have been brown, but more like a dark orange, now wouldn't it. - Yet still kind of impressive for a pre-internet teenager, I'd say 😉
great video ..my concern would be that on the CPC464 - R137 is linked to R134 .. what i did on 464's was to remove R134 & R137 completely and connect a link from middle pin or R137 hole to power line via resistor for scart blanking pin 16.. another option i use if i don't want to modify the board is to use 1 into 2 DC splitter and connect the split direct to scart cable and put the resistor in scart plug (leaving the middle pin of din not connected).. the cpc wiki suggests using the sync as blanking and in my experience does work but causes intermittent jumping due to the voltage being a bit low, adding a capacitor on pin 16 can stop this but has a side effect of creating ghosting on the text.. i have also experienced voltage drop when i used a cheap ammeter that made the voltage drop to 4.5 volts and caused intermediate crash **all of the above is from memory, i would need to double check before attempting it again **
Yeah I'm actually thinking of going the other way with the scart blanking and using a DC barrel jack splitter. The reason being I want to use the switch for something else now, which I'll go into in part 3.
On a CPC 464 you can just feed 5V into the center pin for the DIN socket, as it is not used. 5V is available next to the socket on the 47µF capacitor, so all you need is 2cm of wire.
I bought such a cable + a scart to hdmi converter to output my amstrad on a lcd. Image is good, but I notice a non linearity of the image on the x-axis (i.e pixel width is slightly growing, from the right to the left of the screen). According to you, which is more probably defective : the rgb=>scart, or the scart=>hdmi ?
Interesting. I would say the scart->hdmi would be the most likely cause, otherwise an issue with the cpc itself but that seems unlikely. I can't see how the scart cable would cause such an issue.
I took a look at it, there's a bunch of simple basic programs on there. Looks like somebody formatted it and used it to save their own stuff, maybe they did it on purpose 😆
Sending 5V to the original monitor is most probably something it wouldn't like, as you said. So, does RGB switching pin on the SCART need any current? If not, or very little, you may try putting a series resistor on the 5V line, find the maximum resistor value that will still switch the TV to RGB, but restrict the current enough to protect the original monitor if in case the switch is left at the wrong position.
I did test it with a resistor but the maximum I could get to was about 47ohms before it stopped switching into RGB. I also went back to the original monitor and sent the 5V to it just briefly, because I needed to know. It just loses sync but survived just fine, so at least I'll know straight away if the switch is in the wrong position
To anybody who isn't familiar with cpc an purchased one in unknown condition: Never try out the setup this way!!! I killed a 464 and a 6128 this way. I didn't know that, in many cases, a faulty power supply almost instantly fries your cpc chips. So please do yourself a favor and measure the voltages first! I wish happy computing and LLAP! 🖖🏻
Too much voltage from a faulty PSU will fry something yes, but too little voltage from a bench supply will just cause instability. Any decent bench supply will have current and voltage limiting, much safer than using an unknown PSU
Oh you're right, but I think it's the left but you're right. Thankfully it's only the trailer that seems to be affected. The full video will not have that issue 😁
I honestly think you should consider undoing those modifications and just buy a powered Scart cable from from RetroComputerShack. It's a much cleaner solution and gives a great picture. I also think internal Goteks aren't a great idea on the 6128 as it completely cuts you off from using original disks. (Obvs it's your computer, do what you like!)
He doesn't post to Australia. And I kinda wanted to do something different, it helps me to learn more about the system rather than just plugging a cable in. I agree replacing the internal drive with a gotek isn't ideal, but probably easier for most people wanting to add a gotek (no need to worry about the 12V and ABBA switches). I'll be looking at both options, internal and external in the upcoming videos
@@borayurt66 Very true, but we're talking retro here. They're all dead formats, including the Amstrad CPC itself. There's always a balance between modernisation and preservation. If you can modernise and preserve that's the best of both. It's win-win if you can use both a Gotek and a 3" drive.
Foxtel boxes were all about SCART back in the late '90s and into the '00s, it was pretty much the only way to connect a lot of them.
Hah yeah, I was going to mention the Foxtel boxes but then I'd have to explain what a Foxtel box is, and I think the video was already getting a little long. They're probably the only reason a lot of people in Australia know of SCART, or that big weird connector on the back of me Foxtel box
Takes me back to wiring an Amstrad Colour Monitor to an Amiga (A500+) 23 Pin video socket. This was before internet, so was relying on PIN outs in magazines and BBS. It worked, and I threw the (working) CPC464 into the bin. I also had a PCW 9512 and loads of them 3 inch discs - binned that and all the discs when I bought an Amiga A1200. If only...........
#RetroRegrets
excellent video
Thanks!
Thank you
My fave Amstrad game was (and still is) Macrocosmica a space trading game.
Isn't the center pin NC on the CPC 6128? What I did with the CPC 464, is connect the DIN center pin to the adjacent 5V line, so the cable carries 5V. Then add a 180Ω resistor in the SCART plug, and done. Easy and elegant.
I suspect that wire for the barrel jack on the bench supply might be chinesium wire with a high resistance (aluminium or iron with a copper coating)
Pretty much, which is odd because apart from that is seems pretty decent. Apart from the fan noise, but I've got plans for that
I have had such a cable for years now... But I must admit, this is a very nice breakdown and reconstruction 👍
There is even a guy selling these on evil-bay: Retro-Computer-Shack. Although he doesn't deliver to my country for some reason.
- So, if I ever have to build another, I now know where to look to refresh my memory.
Yeah, I'm not sure why he doesn't deliver to certain countries but what can you do. If your display doesn't require the blanking and fast switching (has a switch for RGB) you can get away with just hooking up the R,G,B, sync and ground (and audio if you like). I expected that flat panel to just work but it didn't, and since the SCART cable was already built, I went for plan B
@@TheRetroChannel I recall building a RGB SCART cable for my C128's RGBi 80 columns display back in the '80s. However, it only gave me 8 colours because at the moment I didn't know what to do with the intensity bit. And even if I had known the brown colour wouldn't actually have been brown, but more like a dark orange, now wouldn't it.
- Yet still kind of impressive for a pre-internet teenager, I'd say 😉
I would put there the theme song from the six million dollar man.
great video ..my concern would be that on the CPC464 - R137 is linked to R134 .. what i did on 464's was to remove R134 & R137 completely and connect a link from middle pin or R137 hole to power line via resistor for scart blanking pin 16.. another option i use if i don't want to modify the board is to use 1 into 2 DC splitter and connect the split direct to scart cable and put the resistor in scart plug (leaving the middle pin of din not connected).. the cpc wiki suggests using the sync as blanking and in my experience does work but causes intermittent jumping due to the voltage being a bit low, adding a capacitor on pin 16 can stop this but has a side effect of creating ghosting on the text.. i have also experienced voltage drop when i used a cheap ammeter that made the voltage drop to 4.5 volts and caused intermediate crash **all of the above is from memory, i would need to double check before attempting it again **
Yeah I'm actually thinking of going the other way with the scart blanking and using a DC barrel jack splitter. The reason being I want to use the switch for something else now, which I'll go into in part 3.
On a CPC 464 you can just feed 5V into the center pin for the DIN socket, as it is not used. 5V is available next to the socket on the 47µF capacitor, so all you need is 2cm of wire.
I bought such a cable + a scart to hdmi converter to output my amstrad on a lcd. Image is good, but I notice a non linearity of the image on the x-axis (i.e pixel width is slightly growing, from the right to the left of the screen). According to you, which is more probably defective : the rgb=>scart, or the scart=>hdmi ?
Interesting. I would say the scart->hdmi would be the most likely cause, otherwise an issue with the cpc itself but that seems unlikely. I can't see how the scart cable would cause such an issue.
@@TheRetroChannel Thanks for the answer, i will try another scart=>hdmi converter first. I’m
very concerned with correct aspect ratio!
I have arrived at reception to claim my winnings. Now where's my cookies!?
Oh sorry, the cookies contained fake chips so we had to throw them away. Damn aliexpress
@@TheRetroChannel Again?? That's the 3rd seller we've tried.
Only 798,561 to go
Disco Dan looks like it’s a Tatung Einstein disk, judging from the Einsoft name. Would certainly explain why it doesn’t work
I took a look at it, there's a bunch of simple basic programs on there. Looks like somebody formatted it and used it to save their own stuff, maybe they did it on purpose 😆
Sending 5V to the original monitor is most probably something it wouldn't like, as you said. So, does RGB switching pin on the SCART need any current? If not, or very little, you may try putting a series resistor on the 5V line, find the maximum resistor value that will still switch the TV to RGB, but restrict the current enough to protect the original monitor if in case the switch is left at the wrong position.
I did test it with a resistor but the maximum I could get to was about 47ohms before it stopped switching into RGB.
I also went back to the original monitor and sent the 5V to it just briefly, because I needed to know. It just loses sync but survived just fine, so at least I'll know straight away if the switch is in the wrong position
@@TheRetroChannel The resitor needs to be 180Ω on the SCART side. Just move it inside the CPC.
To anybody who isn't familiar with cpc an purchased one in unknown condition: Never try out the setup this way!!!
I killed a 464 and a 6128 this way.
I didn't know that, in many cases, a faulty power supply almost instantly fries your cpc chips.
So please do yourself a favor and measure the voltages first!
I wish happy computing and LLAP! 🖖🏻
Too much voltage from a faulty PSU will fry something yes, but too little voltage from a bench supply will just cause instability. Any decent bench supply will have current and voltage limiting, much safer than using an unknown PSU
I'm sat here saying its the cable.. to many watts thru a thin cable ;-)
150W power supply and they include a cable that can't even handle 5W 🙄
Audio coming only on the right is distracting 😃
Oh you're right, but I think it's the left but you're right. Thankfully it's only the trailer that seems to be affected. The full video will not have that issue 😁
@@TheRetroChannel yeah just checked, mixed up my audio interface channels last time cleaning the computer 😄
@Mrav79 All part of my grand plan to make sure everyone has their audio channels correct 😄
I honestly think you should consider undoing those modifications and just buy a powered Scart cable from from RetroComputerShack. It's a much cleaner solution and gives a great picture. I also think internal Goteks aren't a great idea on the 6128 as it completely cuts you off from using original disks. (Obvs it's your computer, do what you like!)
He doesn't post to Australia. And I kinda wanted to do something different, it helps me to learn more about the system rather than just plugging a cable in.
I agree replacing the internal drive with a gotek isn't ideal, but probably easier for most people wanting to add a gotek (no need to worry about the 12V and ABBA switches). I'll be looking at both options, internal and external in the upcoming videos
@@TheRetroChannel I wouldn't think twice about installing a Gotek in there. 3" FDD is a dead format, you'd have spent a fortune on disks.
@@borayurt66 Very true, but we're talking retro here. They're all dead formats, including the Amstrad CPC itself. There's always a balance between modernisation and preservation. If you can modernise and preserve that's the best of both. It's win-win if you can use both a Gotek and a 3" drive.