[EvilTim] dug deep into a traditional system to lastly provide the game Gear a appropriate video output. The game gear was Sega’s response to Nintendo’s Gameboy. rushed to market, the game gear reused much of the hardware from the extremely prominent Master System Console. The hardware wasn’t rather similar though – particularly the cartridge slot. You couldn’t play game gear games on a Master System, as well as the game gear lacked an AV output, which meant gamers were stuck playing on a little fluorescent backlit LCD screen.
[EvilTim] wished to play a few of those vintage titles on a routine TV utilizing the original hardware. To achieve this he had to begin digging into the signals driving the game Gear’s LCD. The Master System lineage was instantly apparent, as game Gear’s LCD drive signals were similar in timing to those utilized to drive a TV. There was even a composite sync signal, which was unused on in the game Gear.
[EvilTim] very first designed a circuit utilizing discrete ’74 series logic which would convert the LCD drive signals to SCART RGB. Of note is the building method utilized in this circuit. A tower of three 74HC374 chips enables [EvilTim] to produce R, G, as well as B outputs without the requirement for a complex circuit board.
As quite as a three-story chip tower is, [EvilTim] understood there was a much better way. He re-spun the circuit with a 32 macrocell CPLD. This version likewise has an NTSC as well as pal video encoder so those without a SCART interface can play too. If you’re not as much as building your own, [EvilTim] offers these boards on his website.
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