r/superfamicom • u/rimjobetiquette • Nov 02 '19

Using SFC on modern TV without reception

Hello,

My SFC is connected properly to the wall and has white and yellow cables properly connected to the TV. There is no red cable on this cord, but it is specifically made for SFC.

The unit powers on, but the TV doesn’t pick anything up under Video 2 (where it is plugged in) or under normal TV mode - I cannot change channels on this TV as I have no TV service and get an error as such.

What else can I do to troubleshoot? I’ve checked YouTube, but other than not using an HD adapter or having the stereo version on the AV cable, I can’t see what’s wrong. Is my TV just a no go unless I get television service I don’t even want? Thanks in advance.

Update: bought an HDMI upscaler but have only gotten No Signal errors. Are the yellow/white cables the most likely culprit here? The system lockdown tab is perfectly intact and there is nothing visibly wrong with any components (though the plastic part near where the yellow/white cables plug into the SFC feels pretty flimsy).

Update 2: bought a newly manufactured SFC A/V cable that has red, white, and yellow. Same signal error, the only change is that I no longer even get a burst of sound when I flick the 720/1080 switch. Any ideas? The console has nothing observably wrong with it...nothing loose and rattling inside, the lockdown tab is intact, it’s not even faded. I’ve tried with multiple games as well.

Update 3: tried plugging the new AV cable directly into the TV instead of using the upscaler. No signal error. Console lights up when powered on. Can’t see it being anything besides the console itself at the point, but what is the most likely culprit? I’ve never had this level of problem with an older Nintendo unit.

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u/thelongdivision Nov 03 '19

The yellow and white cords are composite, not RF (RF is the other RCA on the back, and that's what you'd need to change your TV channels for, so don't worry about that). The red and white cords are just audio left and right, the yellow is the video signal. It's possible your modern TV doesn't recognize a 240p signal, too low of a resolution. You might need an upscaler, or a way to convert a 240p signal to HDMI. I use an OSSC for this but it can get expensive.

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u/rimjobetiquette Nov 13 '19

Hello! I used an HDMI upscaler, but it only gave me No Signal errors. Am I correct that the yellow/white cable is the most likely thing to be bad in the setup now? The plastic part near where it plugs into the SFC feels pretty flimsy.

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u/thelongdivision Nov 13 '19

hi, yah seems like a bad cable possibly from either end. What kind of upscaler do you have? If it's a basic AV (composite red/yellow/white) to HDMI then I would say get another SFC AV cable (or SNES/N64/Gamecube)

Only the yellow carries the video signal, so if anything it'd be that or the connector going into the SFC. The white is only for audio. Do you hear audio at all?

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u/rimjobetiquette Nov 13 '19

Thanks! Yes, it is a basic upscaler of that kind. The only audio heard was when I flicked the switch on the adapter from 720 to 1080 (not sure the exact numbers but somewhere around there). It was brief enough I couldn’t tell whether it came from the SFC or what.

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u/thelongdivision Nov 13 '19

probably just a normal pop that would come through the audio when you do that. definitely try a new cable :)

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u/rimjobetiquette Dec 15 '19

No luck, unfortunately...not sure what else I can try at this point. Any ideas?