Snes Kiosk-Roaches...
EDIT- Last post below.
Hey NA,
Well it finally arrived. And in one piece. It was incredibly dirty and smells like a basement but i am hoping to clean it up. The sound works, the light works great, and the system powers right on. But the monitor it came with with looks horrible with AV and 16:9, holy smokes. That needs to go ASAP.
Controllers are also beat to shit. So switching those out with new ones.
There is also a weird hum that starts when turned on, and then seems to get louder when the system is turned on that i am trying to find the cause.
EDIT- Most questions answered, some new ones below
Thanks everyone
Hey NA,
Well it finally arrived. And in one piece. It was incredibly dirty and smells like a basement but i am hoping to clean it up. The sound works, the light works great, and the system powers right on. But the monitor it came with with looks horrible with AV and 16:9, holy smokes. That needs to go ASAP.
Controllers are also beat to shit. So switching those out with new ones.
There is also a weird hum that starts when turned on, and then seems to get louder when the system is turned on that i am trying to find the cause.
EDIT- Most questions answered, some new ones below
Thanks everyone
Comments
Hey NA,
Well it finally arrived. And in one piece. It was incredibly dirty and smells like a basement but i am hoping to clean it up. The sound works great, the light works great, and the system powers right on. But the monitor it came with with looks horrible with AV and 16:9, holy smokes. That needs to go ASAP.
Controllers are also beat to shit.
1- How do you adjust the sound on these? I don't see a knob anywhere.
-It is different model to model. Mine is a pot on a board that is mounted behind the super nintendo.
2- What are the dipswitches for? There are 5 of them. And of course on this one the dipswitch board is loose and pushed into the hole, i need to find out how it mounted.
-Not sure what you are talking about without photos. Maybe the timer?
3- How could i get RGB out of this thing with a PVM? I am not sure how it is wired, but it seems the audio goes to the on board speakers and then the little yellow AV cable goes into the monitor. Is this just a standard SNES AV cable that i can swap with RGB? And i assume i would need an RGB cable that was RGB video and then split out with red and white cables for the sound?
-Again, could be a model to model difference, but mine is natively wired for JP21. Your board should be able to do it once you undo whatever they did to make it A/V (board pics would help a lot)
4- Is there anything special about the controllers, i assume no and can just swap them with new ones?
-No, just the mounting plates and the arms are the unique parts.
I am in bad shape health wise today, so i can't really dive into this thing like i want to. Figured i would ask here first and get an idea.
Thanks everyone
As soon as i figure out how to open it and see what is in there, i can see what i am working with for wires and connections.
And then maybe a way to buff out the scratches in the plastic.
Sweet, man! The switches are to set the auto reset timer.
Thanks man. Why are there 5 of them though? Sorry, first time kiosk owner so this is all new to me.
Any tips of a decent monitor to throw in there? I was looking at 4:3 EDTV's they are flat and light, but am worried about input lag and picture quality. I know 4:3 isn't the only thing to look for.
How are the onboard speakers connected? RCA jacks? Or speaker wire?
If rca jacks, you can get a standard av multi-out to scart, then a scart break out cable and derive the audio from that with RCA (like you said)
could you fit a 13" pvm? How deep is it?
Nice Joe, stoked you got it.
How are the onboard speakers connected? RCA jacks? Or speaker wire?
If rca jacks, you can get a standard av multi-out to scart, then a scart break out cable and derive the audio from that with RCA (like you said)
could you fit a 13" pvm? How deep is it?
Thanks man! Appreciate it, i am pumped.
I just opened her up, just took a few screws i couldn't see at first. It is just a standard AV out, with red and white going into the sound board. And the Yellow out the back and into the TV. So basically nothing is stopping me from using S video or RGB. S video might honestly be good enough. And wouldn't need any special RGB cables.
I am having trouble now picking a monitor. I think a 13 inch PVM would crush the base. There isn't much room to work with. At the front is about 13-14 inches from base to light in height. But the light mount angles down so the space gets shorter and shorter as you go to the back of it. A PVM i douort would fit.
So i am looking at old school CRT's, or a good performing 4:3 flat panel. If that exists lol
Nice Joe, stoked you got it.
How are the onboard speakers connected? RCA jacks? Or speaker wire?
If rca jacks, you can get a standard av multi-out to scart, then a scart break out cable and derive the audio from that with RCA (like you said)
could you fit a 13" pvm? How deep is it?
Thanks man! Appreciate it, i am pumped.
I just opened her up, just took a few screws i couldn't see at first. It is just a standard AV out, with red and white going into the sound board. And the Yellow out the back and into the TV. So basically nothing is stopping me from using S video or RGB. S video might honestly be good enough. And wouldn't need any special RGB cables.
I am having trouble now picking a monitor. I think a 13 inch PVM would crush the base. There isn't much room to work with. At the front is about 13-14 inches from base to light in height. But the light mount angles down so the space gets shorter and shorter as you go to the back of it. A PVM i douort would fit.
So i am looking at old school CRT's, or a good performing 4:3 flat panel. If that exists lol
How would a pvm crush a metal base? The zenith is heavy as hell find a way to convert the cable or use that odd 8 pin. Also don't read every response but the dip switches on and off will have different times that it will auto reset if that still works.
Also there's tons of info on na to search
How would a pvm crush a metal base? The zenith is heavy as hell find a way to convert the cable or use that odd 8 pin. Also don't read every response but the dip switches on and off will have different times that it will auto reset if that still works.
Also there's tons of info on na to search
Because it isn't metal. The base it goes on is a piece of plastic. The underneath frame is metal though. I wasn't sure how heavy the original zenith is compared to the PVM.
As for the cable, that isn't an issue because the SNES just uses a regular Multiout. Which means i can use any multiout to whatever monitor i need. Not sure what you mean by the 8 pin.
I am researching as we speak. But never hurts to spark up new discussions. And i am not gonna necropost 3-4 year old posts
How would a pvm crush a metal base? The zenith is heavy as hell find a way to convert the cable or use that odd 8 pin. Also don't read every response but the dip switches on and off will have different times that it will auto reset if that still works.
Also there's tons of info on na to search
Because it isn't metal. The base it goes on is a piece of plastic. The underneath frame is metal though. I wasn't sure how heavy the original zenith is compared to the PVM.
As for the cable, that isn't an issue because the SNES just uses a regular Multiout. Which means i can use any multiout to whatever monitor i need. Not sure what you mean by the 8 pin.
I am researching as we speak. But never hurts to spark up new discussions. And i am not gonna necropost 3-4 year old posts
To be honest most posts aren't even about the base but the god awful monitor.
Also it is easy 40 lbs so you are safe get a 13 pvm paint it black and laugh at us with the oem monitor
To be honest most posts aren't even about the base but the god awful monitor.
Also it is easy 40 lbs so you are safe get a 13 pvm paint it black and laugh at us with the oem monitor
Lol hey man that OEM looks sharp. I am jealous if you got one.
As for the PVM, the dimensions are too big It is 17 inches deep but there is only about 14 inches of room. I would LOVE to put a pvm in there but i guess it won't work.
And an 8 inch PVM is just way too small. Hmm.......
When i turn the system on, the hum gets much louder. It is drowned out by the volume of the speakers, but can still be heard if i pay close attention.
What could be causing the hum, and why does it get louder when the system is turned on? Is it something i can easily fix?
Thanks for all the help thus far, it is appreciated.
edit- i now see a red light bar above the system, its possible that is also a flourescent lamp that needs a new ballast.
Is there a built in power supply? Also depending on how the super nintendo display is lit, it may be a flourescent ballast that needs to be replaced
edit- i now see a red light bar above the system, its possible that is also a flourescent lamp that needs a new ballast.
Hmm, i am not sure. I need to open it again and turn it on while it is open to see if i can find the culprit.
It definitely seems to be the speakers though because it gets worse when the sytem is turned on. I would think that shouldn't affect the light/ballast right?
But it isn't the speakers near the light. It is whatever is in the kiosk itself behind the system.
I wonder how hard it is to replace and what speaker to use?? Of course is underneath a bunch of wires and shit lol
Oh i responded before I saw the pic of it open. Is there something touching the speaker magnet? You can probably just replace with a similar sized speaker and impedance
Not that i can see. As far as a replacement, i wouldn't even know where to begin in choosing one. Fortunately Lojack is a pro with these and has done this speaker replacement, i am just waiting for a PM reply since he rarely pops on here now.
As far as a monitor goes, i have found only 2 13 inch Tv's that will fit inside the space. Either they are too big, or only have RF. I would love to have S video, but that is never gonna happen apparently.
PVM's will not fit either, unless i do an 8 inch which is just too small.
That might be wherebthe ballast is. Or like I said it could be the power supply (or maybe a fan with a ton of dust?) if it has one of those.
I think you were right. I unplugged the sub and it still is buzzing. When i turn on the machine i notice the grey box on the left where it says the ballast specs makes a couple tics and then goes on. And i guess the buzzing must be coming from the ballast.
I have no idea how to fix something like this unfortunately I am gonna try and see what i can find, but i am hoping maybe someone in the area would be able to replace it.
That might be wherebthe ballast is. Or like I said it could be the power supply (or maybe a fan with a ton of dust?) if it has one of those.
I think you were right. I unplugged the sub and it still is buzzing. When i turn on the machine i notice the grey box on the left where it says the ballast specs makes a couple tics and then goes on. And i guess the buzzing must be coming from the ballast.
I have no idea how to fix something like this unfortunately I am gonna try and see what i can find, but i am hoping maybe someone in the area would be able to replace it.
Can you post a video? If its the ballast and you want to replace with LED i can walk you through it pretty easy.
That might be wherebthe ballast is. Or like I said it could be the power supply (or maybe a fan with a ton of dust?) if it has one of those.
I think you were right. I unplugged the sub and it still is buzzing. When i turn on the machine i notice the grey box on the left where it says the ballast specs makes a couple tics and then goes on. And i guess the buzzing must be coming from the ballast.
I have no idea how to fix something like this unfortunately I am gonna try and see what i can find, but i am hoping maybe someone in the area would be able to replace it.
Can you post a video? If its the ballast and you want to replace with LED i can walk you through it pretty easy.
Sure. Thanks man. I assume that means replacing the bulb in the sign as well with LED's? I still need to find out how that piece comes off to change the bulb.
In the video when it first turns on you can hear the tics i am talking about, and then if your volume is up all the way, you can hear the hum/buzz i am talking about. Halfway through i turn the system on and it gets like twice as loud. If it is the ballast, why would turning the system on make the ballast hum more? Forgive me, i am a noob when it comes to this stuff so i want to learn.
It could also be this silver box actually. I just put my ear to it. This is the power supply i believe. It would make sense because it gets worse when the system is on using more power. Maybe that is why?
The ticks and the hum sound like the flourscent lamp firing and then just a standard ballast hum. Can you take out the flourescent lamp and re-try?
Yeah after getting in closer and narrowing it down, i THINK it may be the power supply afterall like you said. I am gonna do another video this time getting closer to the PSU and see if it is worse. If i put my ear right on the silver box (PSU) i definitely hear the buzzing coming from inside.
P.S. You and LaC rock for helping me troubleshoot this.
EDIT- NVM. This video clearly seems louder when hovering over the ballast rather than the PSU
Yeah it does. Can you tell me where the wires that come out of the ballast go (both sides)?
Sure thing man. I guess i am confused at how the ballast could get louder after the system is turned on.
One wire comes out of the ballast and into this blue connector. 2 other wires come out of this connector. One goes to the PSU. And the other goes to the AC input on the back that the monitor is supposed to plug into, giving the monitor power.
The second wire comes out and goes all around up the back into what i believe is the power for the overhead light itself.
Good news is i found a decent replacement monitor. It isn't a CRT, but is a solid EDTV that has been tested with the 240p test suite, so it will work for my needs until i can score an original.
The ballast is getting louder when the monitor/ system is on most likely because it saps some of the available ampacity and therfore has to work harder to output the 40k volts or whatever it is to fire that flourescent. Or its just getting tired, ballasts basically are small transformers. Maybe someone with more electrical theoretical knowledge can chime in?
If you do end up replacing it, I would replace those blue connectors with a new "wago" or a proper wire nut if you are confident in your ability to splice it (I can make a small video for you if need be)
its not worth trying to find it. I would just replace it with an LED and an LED driver and be done.
The ballast is getting louder when the monitor/ system is on most likely because it saps some of the available ampacity and therfore has to work harder to output the 40k volts or whatever it is to fire that flourescent. Or its just getting tired, ballasts basically are small transformers. Maybe someone with more electrical theoretical knowledge can chime in?
Hmm, i wonder how that would affect its value if i ever had to sell it. I personally would think it would be a plus. But a lot of people in this hobby want original everything lol
I might just leave it alone for now since it works, and when i get the courage to upgrade it, i will go for it.
Any LED kits you would recommend for these purposes? I want to be sure the PSU i have can power it and such.
As for splicing, i think i can manage, i have done some minor wire work here and there. If i get stuck though, i really appreciate you offering to record how to do it properly.
As far as originality, I personally would prefer a quiet, bright unit thats been modified to a noisy dim one.
I always felt the inherit value in kiosks was in the plastic portions, controller arms, marquee and console/monitor not the inner workings like the power supply and ballast. I think having it work well trumps the original lighting ballast.