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Hi Everybody Just joined today.
Can you experts help me with a problem.
I have just brought a Sega sg-1000 MK 2 console and just hooked it up to my Samsung led tv with a normal lead.
I have managed to get a picture but no sound, the pictures looks like its got graphic glitches.
Any idea what to do? do you think the Rf to a AV units on ebay that come from china are any good as thats all I could find.
Regards

There are a lot of different RF to AV demodulators out there and the capabilities and quality are both highly variable. Among other things, the TV system and channel frequency layout of the demodulator must match that of the modulator to get a usable audiovisual signal. If you need do decode now-obsolete Japanese analogue television RF, the simplest solution might be to use an old Japanese video tape recorder or early DVD player, as these often included RF input and composite video output. Some TV's also have had this capability.

There also exist "modern" multi-system demodulators that can be configured to support e.g. Japan's System J NTSC signalling and channel frequency allocations, but unless you're very careful in your shopping don't be surprised to discover a low-quality resulting signal or even unusable signal - much worse than that produced by older equipment. Often these more recent converters also try to convert or process the audiovisual data in some way, which can have a disastrous impact on the not-quite-standard non-interlaced and digital-origin video early consoles and computers produced. Also the converters sometimes aren't able to reliably sync to the not-quite-standard signal timings from these video processors, even to the point of not producing a steady image at all.

Again, older TV's from the console's country of origin may give the best result. Although other countries (including Canada and the US) used the same NTSC signalling as Japan, more or less, their RF is not fully compatible and on many devices can't be tuned to give both stable audio and stable color video simultaneously

Forgot to mention: some demodulators/tuners or NTSC-capable TV's intended for the US+Canada market can tune in the SG-1000 Mark II and other Japanese consoles with RF output on channel 96 or 95. If the tuner supports it, this should work perfectly. These "pan-American" system M cable TV channel allocations were added later than the basic UHF and VHF terrestrial broadcast set, though, so some devices don't include them

Thankyou for your responses
I live in england u.k and my led tv can do 50/60hz
I have not got the room to buy a CRT TV, do you think if I brought an original mastersystem switch box it would work?
I was thinking about the RF to AV box on ebay but they are made in china.
Is they anything I can buy for about £25 that might work?
Also I had 3 games that I got included with the system, but I noticed 2 of them have the centre pin missing on the pcb is that normal?
I cannot see any signs that the pin was there (No solder marks)
Please see pics of one of the game carts

DSC02396.JPG (810.7 KB)

DSC02395.JPG (774.82 KB)

Honestly an AV mod might be the best option if you have the tools and expertise for it. See e.g. https://www.smspower.org/forums/16301-SG1000CompositeVideoModHelp and https://www.smspower.org/forums/17332-SG1000IIAVModAudio

Some SG-1000 Mark II systems are RGB-moddable too: https://www.smspower.org/forums/13428-SG1000IIRGBModsAndConsoleRevisions

Be aware that SG-1000 Mark II cases were sold containing two fairly different pieces of hardware with very different video chips. The above-linked threads can help you figure out which one you have.

A multisystem tuner might be the best zero-modding option but it also might not work out https://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/10/22/how-to-play-ntsc-j-rf-only-consoles-on-... (documents a failure to use sg-1000 with one specific mtvbox model)

Edit: oh and missing pin is normal, that's \CONT or \RESET I believe https://www.smspower.org/maxim/Documents/Pinouts

I have an RCA Video Cable with RF TV Connector that works wonderfully on my flatscreen - looks almost as good as composite, but with some obvious visual noise. Also, it's pretty cheap.

Works well on both SG-1000 mkII consoles that I own.

You may want to try that connector adapter with a new cable before looking into mods or more expensive options.

Also, what type of graphic glitches are you talking about here?
It may be a console that needs repair or a recap.

Author	Message
Hemming Joined: 06 Sep 2020 Posts: 4	Sega sg-1000 MK 2 Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:54 pm
Hemming Joined: 06 Sep 2020 Posts: 4	Hi Everybody Just joined today. Can you experts help me with a problem. I have just brought a Sega sg-1000 MK 2 console and just hooked it up to my Samsung led tv with a normal lead. I have managed to get a picture but no sound, the pictures looks like its got graphic glitches. Any idea what to do? do you think the Rf to a AV units on ebay that come from china are any good as thats all I could find. Regards

bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 7:04 pm
bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	There are a lot of different RF to AV demodulators out there and the capabilities and quality are both highly variable. Among other things, the TV system and channel frequency layout of the demodulator must match that of the modulator to get a usable audiovisual signal. If you need do decode now-obsolete Japanese analogue television RF, the simplest solution might be to use an old Japanese video tape recorder or early DVD player, as these often included RF input and composite video output. Some TV's also have had this capability. There also exist "modern" multi-system demodulators that can be configured to support e.g. Japan's System J NTSC signalling and channel frequency allocations, but unless you're very careful in your shopping don't be surprised to discover a low-quality resulting signal or even unusable signal - much worse than that produced by older equipment. Often these more recent converters also try to convert or process the audiovisual data in some way, which can have a disastrous impact on the not-quite-standard non-interlaced and digital-origin video early consoles and computers produced. Also the converters sometimes aren't able to reliably sync to the not-quite-standard signal timings from these video processors, even to the point of not producing a steady image at all. Again, older TV's from the console's country of origin may give the best result. Although other countries (including Canada and the US) used the same NTSC signalling as Japan, more or less, their RF is not fully compatible and on many devices can't be tuned to give both stable audio and stable color video simultaneously

bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:32 am
bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	Forgot to mention: some demodulators/tuners or NTSC-capable TV's intended for the US+Canada market can tune in the SG-1000 Mark II and other Japanese consoles with RF output on channel 96 or 95. If the tuner supports it, this should work perfectly. These "pan-American" system M cable TV channel allocations were added later than the basic UHF and VHF terrestrial broadcast set, though, so some devices don't include them

Hemming Joined: 06 Sep 2020 Posts: 4	Sega sg-1000 MK 2 Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:31 pm
Hemming Joined: 06 Sep 2020 Posts: 4	Thankyou for your responses I live in england u.k and my led tv can do 50/60hz I have not got the room to buy a CRT TV, do you think if I brought an original mastersystem switch box it would work? I was thinking about the RF to AV box on ebay but they are made in china. Is they anything I can buy for about £25 that might work? Also I had 3 games that I got included with the system, but I noticed 2 of them have the centre pin missing on the pcb is that normal? I cannot see any signs that the pin was there (No solder marks) Please see pics of one of the game carts DSC02396.JPG (810.7 KB) DSC02395.JPG (774.82 KB)

bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:40 pm
bsittler Joined: 22 Apr 2018 Posts: 530	Honestly an AV mod might be the best option if you have the tools and expertise for it. See e.g. https://www.smspower.org/forums/16301-SG1000CompositeVideoModHelp and https://www.smspower.org/forums/17332-SG1000IIAVModAudio Some SG-1000 Mark II systems are RGB-moddable too: https://www.smspower.org/forums/13428-SG1000IIRGBModsAndConsoleRevisions Be aware that SG-1000 Mark II cases were sold containing two fairly different pieces of hardware with very different video chips. The above-linked threads can help you figure out which one you have. A multisystem tuner might be the best zero-modding option but it also might not work out https://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/10/22/how-to-play-ntsc-j-rf-only-consoles-on-... (documents a failure to use sg-1000 with one specific mtvbox model) Edit: oh and missing pin is normal, that's \CONT or \RESET I believe https://www.smspower.org/maxim/Documents/Pinouts

Glimlocker Joined: 25 Mar 2020 Posts: 19	Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 7:31 pm
Glimlocker Joined: 25 Mar 2020 Posts: 19	I have an RCA Video Cable with RF TV Connector that works wonderfully on my flatscreen - looks almost as good as composite, but with some obvious visual noise. Also, it's pretty cheap. Works well on both SG-1000 mkII consoles that I own. You may want to try that connector adapter with a new cable before looking into mods or more expensive options. Also, what type of graphic glitches are you talking about here? It may be a console that needs repair or a recap.

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