Tinting BVMs & the German CRT wizard w/ John Linneman

In this episode Steve and I are joined by John Linneman from Digital Foundry & Eurogamer to discuss CRTs.

A few weeks ago John posted a picture of his project to apply tinting (like a car window) to the screen of his BVM to reduce glare. John tells us the story behind this mission and we find out this latest successful effort has only come after years of trial and error.

We also talk about issues involving European CRTs: just what is an 100hz CRT anyway and how living in the East or West back in the day very much determined what TV you were watching.

I apologize for the bad video of John. Our filming app Riverside screwed up his footage and it was out of sync.… Read the rest

Latest MiSTer S-Video & Composite Update w/ Lu’s Retro Source

Big news this week that the S-Video MiSTer FPGA framework from Mike Simone has been integrated into the main MiSTer core. This means you can access EXCELLENT S-Video and Composite analog output using a fairly inexpensive adapter.

In this video I talk with Lu from Lu’s Retro Source and I have a long form discussion about the framework and explain the ins and outs. Lu is also producing his own short, sharp, only-the-facts video coming very soon if you need to understand quickly.

Topics include

  • Background on the S-Video MiSTer project
  • Do you NEED an adapter at all?
  • Explanation of the new vga_mode setting in the mister.ini
  • Difference between Active and Passive YC adapters
  • Whats up PAL / NTSC?
  • Vendors selling adapters (full list below)

Follow Lu’s weekly MiSTer updates on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LusRetroSource… Read the rest

The business case for buying 25 HUGE CRTs – Cathode Ray Podcast #44

Last week a lot of 25 x new old stock 27″ JVC CRTs went up for gov auction in DC. This sounds like a great chance to pickup a rare find, however dealing with TWENTY FIVE VERY BIG screens is more work than it seems.

In this podcast Steve breaks down the total cost of picking up this lot including everything from transport, storage, inspection and buyers fees. The final cost will surprise you!

This is the deal in question: https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=72&acctid=12180&mibextid=S66gvF

We also have a talk about official video cables. Are first party officially licensed original cables always the best? Did any console vendors ever pack in crappy cables? Tell us in the comments!

0:00 Start
1:30 Steve got an MRI
8:30 Shipping CRTs is a nightmare!… Read the rest

Upgrade your light gun trigger with this mod

If the trigger on your retro light gun is feeling mushy, here is a mod kit to help.

An eBay seller by the name of MagicTrashman is selling a (almost) drop in replacement micro switch and 3D printed bracket for a range of light guns. I bought a kit for the Sega Saturn Stunner and in this video I install it and give you my thoughts after a play through of Virtua Cop 2.

MagicTrashman on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/usr/magictrashman

They have replacement microswitches for

Sega Saturn Stunner
Sony Playstation 1 Guncon 1
Sony Playstation 2 Guncon 2
Sony Playstation 3 Guncon 3
Nintendo NES Zapper
Sega Dreamcast Starfire
Sega Dreamcast MadCatz
Sega Dreamcast HKT-7800
SNES / Mega Drive Konami Justifier (the blue and pink guns)
Sony Playstation 1 Konami Hyper Blaster

Tunes in this video are from Adam Silady Music.… Read the rest

Categories CRT

LaserDisc primer, many N64 emotions & PVM spare parts – Cathode Ray Podcast #43

Steve is back after his trip to the hospital!

0:00 Start
02:00 Basketball and Jordan were huge when we were kids
06:00 Laserdisc – how does it look?
18:00 Steve weighs in on the N64
29:00 Story of Steve’s first PVM
32:00 A HUGE collection of PVM parts for the shop
42:00 Steve opens up about his health
46:00 Visit to Brooklyn Video Games!
52:00 Quick room tour from Steve
53:00 CRT delivery horror stories
56:00 Louis will rebuild his 14 inch PVM

Follow us on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/zez
https://twitter.com/usa_retro
https://twitter.com/8bitesquire

Please keep in mind that very technical CRT questions are really difficult to diagnose online. If you are interested in Steve’s professional CRT repair services please head over to his patreon page
https://www.patreon.com/retrotechUSA… Read the rest

Racing Wheels on MiSTer FPGA – Setup Guide Dec 2022

Dec 26, 2022 Update: A MiSTer core update just dropped which says it integrates the atrac17 patch into the main MiSTer core. This means you do not need to manually enable the patch as I describe below, it should already be enabled after an update_all. From what I can tell in the patch notes, the rest of the article should still be relevant. I am currently on holiday in Japan (follow my twitter for daily Hard Off pickups!) and I will do a full update when I return in mid January

Analog racing wheel support is just starting to become a thing on the MiSTer FPGA with the popularity of the PS1 core and the upcoming Outrun arcade core.… Read the rest

Categories CRT

Lag Testing a Theater Grade Projector

As part of my day job, I present Stand Up comedy events and occasionally we get to work with some well known names. In this case it was two nights of the John Cleese show in Tallinn. You know, Monty Python Cleese, it was a pleasant experience to get to spend some time with a legend. It was like hanging out with comedy grandpa telling us stories of the old days.

On the second day the theater was setup and no preparation was needed in the afternoon. That is a ~1700 seat theater with a big rear projection screen setup and technicians on hand to help me. Why let that go to waste, I thought I would lag test the projector and then connect my MiSTer and play a few rounds in a unique environment.… Read the rest

Webhdx – Creator of the PicoBoot GameCube mod – Cathode Ray Podcast #30

30 episodes!

We are really happy to have Webhdx, creator of the Picoboot Gamcube mod chip. His real name is Maciej Kobus and he comes from Katowice in Poland.

A software guy by day, he fell in love with the GameCube hardware and has come up with some great projects. After Picoboot, we talk about his upcoming M2.Loader, which will allow an M2 SSD to be plugged in under your console. In the episode I ask Maciej “Why an M2? Just because it fits?” and his answers show he has really thought these things out.

He also has created his own aftermarket Wavebird receiver which he is almost ready to manufacture however the global parts storage is still a roadblock.

0:00 Start
01:10 Introduction to Maciej
07:00 Big GameCube fan
17:50 How did development of the PicoBoot start?… Read the rest

Crackhead PVM, Insurance Fraud & Market Manipulation w/ 8-bit Esquire – Cathode Ray Podcast #29

The Cathode Ray Podcast is a series with CRT shaman Steve from Retro Tech and Louis Zezeran from Zez Retro. Together we talk about CRTs, TVs and other retro gaming topics.

In this episode we speak to Twitter funny guy the 8-bit Esquire. An attorney by day and big old retro gaming fan by night, the 8-bit Esquire has a great collection and a bunch of good stories to go along with it.

This podcast starts as a casual chat between friends and gets louder the more beers that Louis drinks.

00:00 Start
01:00 The background of the 8-bit Esquire
07:00 Where did his retro collection start?
12:00 The origin of Steve’s collection
18:00 Is now the right time to sell into the market?… Read the rest

CRTs on Display at the Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn Estonia

Today is Sunday, a great day to leave the CRT workshop and head out into the wide world and not think about retro games for a while. Why not go experience some fine art?

Kumu is the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia and I took my camera to see if they had any visual art displays which involved CRTs. My friend Steve’s has been doing work at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to help them preserve their CRT collection so they can continue to display visual art in the same way the artist intended. We made a whole podcast episode talking about the issues a museum faces when trying to display a visual art piece which was originally constructed with CRTs.… Read the rest

Categories CRT
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