EXT connectors


Alerino said:
Demand PICS :)
Click to expand...

alright, there you go:


I did those 2 cables so far: one s-video only and one that has s-video and audio in+out. The connectors aren't at an optimal location, I'll change that some day. For the s-video plugs I just cut a regular mini-DIN cable with 4 pins in half.


IMG_0699.JPG


This is how it looks an screen. I have a HP LP2475w monitor that supports some pip function. It has problems with the PAL output from the Pandora (the whole screen starts to flicker and looks really unhealty) but NTSC works fine (the pip top right corner is NTSC).


IMG_0701.JPG


If I just display the single NTSC channel on my monitor it looks like this:


IMG_0702.JPG


The display mode is 480i and doesn't look too good imo. But then, it's only NTSC via s-video...
 
Also got them. But there is a hole in the letter which is so big the connectors could have fallen out - they didn't, fortunately.

slaeshjag said:
Got mine... How the hell am I supposed to solder anything to those tiny pins :blink:


...This afternoon will be interesting...
Click to expand...
I even imagined them smaller, after all the people saying how small they are. I think I can solder these without too much trouble.


*started-to-work-on-it*


After I cut off one end of a tv cable for something else and removed the insulation I found that they are quite thick. Too thick for easily soldering to the connector. I guess I'll solder some thin cables to the connector and the thin cables to the actual tv cable. Any problems when doing this? I guess there is a reason the tv cables are so thick? Is there a minimal diameter they should have so it works?


Edit: The cable in the above picture looks /way/ thinner than the one I had lying around here, so I guess I can perfectly do what I described above with some thin wires for easier soldering.
 
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T4b said:
I guess there is a reason the tv cables are so thick?
Click to expand...
Because 24AWG wire is in much more ready supply and therefore much cheaper than 28AWG wire. There's no real reason not to go with something thinner.
 
Just a quick Q - you mention that it doesn't look that good and the TV-out script will need to improve. Why did it work perfect when EvilDragon was demo-ing TVout? PAL/NTSC tele?
 
Got mine this past Monday (30th). I thought they would've been bigger, yet I also thought the pin spacing would've been tighter. Go figure. All in all, it's not the smallest stuff I've soldered. :) I'll probably make a mini break-out board from the pins to a little wider and robust and then solder the cables onto. I got some <1mm stuff around...


I'll need to _eventually_ get my Pandora if I want to be able to test it though... <_<


Post going on strike will probably not help.


ps: BTW, WizardStan, I want to say thank you very much for the effort and service you provided!!
 
sparkymark said:
Just a quick Q - you mention that it doesn't look that good and the TV-out script will need to improve. Why did it work perfect when EvilDragon was demo-ing TVout? PAL/NTSC tele?
Click to expand...

The main reason for it not looking good on my pics is that its a big 24" monitor but the signal is low res. That's most obivous if you have a still pucture like the desktop. If you play a game (quake2 for example) you have lots of movement and the low res is really ok. There is no fix for that fact, it's just hardware limits.


Things that could be better is some control as to what gets out. My pip-monitor seems to have a fixed ratio for s-video input that I can't change. So I would like to take the pandora output and add some black bars at the top and bottom that the ratio gets back to normal.


Also, I can't watch any movie as soon as I start the tv-out script. I only get a black window and the sound of the file but no video. After unplugging the s-video cable and stopping tv-out it still doesn't work. It needs a reboot and some fiddeling in the players options (view -> media info helps in mplayer) to work again (without any s-video).


I hope these issues can be resolved somehow. Sadly I do not have the skills.. :/


EDIT: I just had a memory refresh on ED video out quality seen here: http://www.youtube.com/user/EvilDragon1717#p/u/12/2Vb9MWJr0jY I have to admit that it looks better in his vid. Maybe I did some lousy soldering? I will compare to EDs version when I visit him for a nub-replacement, soon.
 
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I brought this up with the guys recently. The current settings for TV output are not the same as they used to be. The image looked way better back when I made those Youtube videos. The image is darker and the text isn't as sharp anymore. Also the image doesn't fit my TV screen any more and a bit of it is chopped. Thankfully, it's just settings because I know it used to be better and the hardware is the same.
 
Well, I could only optimize PAL settings, since I don't have an NTSC TV.


But now that others can test it, we could work together on the settings.
 
sparkymark said:
Just a quick Q - you mention that it doesn't look that good and the TV-out script will need to improve. Why did it work perfect when EvilDragon was demo-ing TVout? PAL/NTSC tele?
Click to expand...

Apart from other factors, he was using a traditional CRT sreen, the old analogue signals (composite, S-Video) will always look better on one, free of the processing artefacts of modern flat panels.
 
DSC00900.JPG



Today, I found (well, noticed I had them anyway) some fine AWG wires (compared to my soldering iron)


DSC00901.JPG



And I managed to attach wires to one of my connectors! Not really a solderjoint (unless you live in China), but it seems to be holding the wires in place.


DSC00902.JPG



Quickly, before any wires escape, drown them in hot glue!


DSC00903.JPG



There, now it looks professional! ...Better...Less horrible...You can't see the hot glue


In next part, I'll solder a cat5e cable to these wires, and attach a SCART connector :D
 
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Just a quick public thank you to WizardStan. Connectors hit their new home in the middle of the Mediterranean. Now for some fun soldering :)
 
I made one now, soldered everything like in this http://pandorawiki.org/images/Cable_connector_pinout.png picture (when it's plugged into the Pandora audio out left is in the top left, audio out right in the bottom left tv out 2 ( C ) in the bottom right, gnd second pin from the right in the upper row of pins), tested if I soldered well with a little light bulb (I did), connected it to my monitor and the Pandora, started the TV-Out script and selected "Enable TV Out in PAL Mode" and - the monitor says "no signal".


Any suggestion what my mistake could be?


Of course the ext port of my Pandora could be broken, as I can't test it with something else, but that seems unlikely to me.
 
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Top left as in looking at the plug then it's connected to the pandora or as in looking at the plug itself, with pins facing away from you?
 
EDIT: Now I got unsure myself, waiting for other posters. I think that's the way it should be.
 
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slaeshjag said:
Sorry, you got it mirrored. The image is how the pins are when you look at the plugs, pins facing away.
Click to expand...
I actually knew this.


Hot the hell could I get this wrong anyway? :rolleyes:


Edit: Okay, so maybe I'm not that stupid though?
 
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