32x metal shield pieces - crappy image quality

[c0ldb33r]

My 32x came with:
1) 32x unit
2) AC Adapter
3) Little video patch cable.

There, I thought I was set. I plug everything in, and the 32x works fine, but the image quality is pretty crappy. It made my RF connection, which is already pretty crappy, much worse.

I remember when I got my first 32X years ago it came with those little thin metal shield pieces. I've also seen them called RF shields. Do these somehow stop your image quality from sucking afterwards? Is there some other way to solve this crappy image problem?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

You could make your own RF shield connectors pretty easily. All you have to do is have some tin foil or something like that connecting the 32X's RF shield (of which those exposed pieces of metal where it plugs into the Genesis are a part) to the Genesis's RF shield inside the cartridge port. Shouldn't be hard to do.

However the picture will still look crappy because RF always looks crappy, you should use composite or RGB instead. No RF shield connection between the 32X and Genesis is needed if you're using composite or RGB.


...word is bondage...

[c0ldb33r]

Would using tinfoil short it out or anything? That was my fear :(

I'd really like to use composite but I don't have the cables - and I've never seen them around here. Plus I think I likely lack the skills to S-video mod a genesis II ;)

[Ed Oscuro]

Why you usin' RF? HOW YOU GONNA GET FRESH WITH RF???

Also, if that tinfoil warps and touches something you could be in trouble. See, steel doesn't do that. Tinfoil's also probably not dense enough to filter out the RF unless you want to wrap it around a bunch of times.

Just to make sure, you talking about an internal RF shield (which almost all systems have), or are you talking about something on the outside?

[Carey85]

Ed, the 32x came with these two metal devices that served to hold the cartridge port flaps on the Genesis open, as well as to ensure good contact between the Genesis RF shielding and the 32x unit, if memory serves me correctly. I remember the clips from when I was a kid, but I mangled them soon after orbtaining my system...

[Ed Oscuro]

The doors were spring-loaded?

Nice avatar, by the way :)

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yeah, the door on the cartridge port is spring loaded, that's why it closes when you pull a cartridge out, but I don't think holding the doors open had anything to do with the purpose of those metal clips since the 32X unit being plugged into the cartridge port would do a pretty good job of keeping the doors open--unless the laws of physics suddenly changed and solids were no longer...solid.

The clips were only needed to make contact between the Genesis's internal RF shield and the 32X's internal RF shield, they're not actually doing any shielding themselves I don't think, so only very small pieces of metal are needed, just a few pieces a couple square inches each would do, so there's not much danger of shorting anything as long as you're moderately careful, and I think tin foil would be able to do the job. You could open up the Gnesis and attach tin foil to the outer part of the RF shielding where it opens up around the cartridge port and then as you're putting the system back together sort of wrap and tighten the tinfoil around the cart slot doors. I think that would be good enough to make the necessary connection.

Of course, this is easy to say in theory, but in practice it would be pretty complicated to make the connection securely and get everything back together and everything, especially if you needed to remove the 32X from the Genesis very often (though the original RF clips were pretty shitty for that, too).

It would be much simpler to just get a composite cable. Which would not only solve this problem, but provide better video quality overall. I see dozens of them listed on eBay right now for more or less reasonable Buy-It-Now prices, search for Genesis+video (which I'm surprised didn't turn up more religious documentaries). Shouldn't be hard to find them at thirft stores or flea markets either, though, if you want to save more money. That's how I've gotten all mine, you just have to look for the proper connector type since they won't have a big sign on them that says "Genesis Composite Video Cable."

Don't worry about RGB or an s-video mod, those are nice, but pretty complicated. A composite cable is easy, though.


...word is bondage...