Aurora vs Dinosaur

[Jac Janssen]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the testcard image came from a media player (@ 625) - the same for all three converter photos.

Jac

[peter scott]

Well, my sincere apologies to Aurora converters!

I crudely set my 625 video camera to view Test Card C on my computer screen and with the camera connected to the Aurora video input and the Aurora RF output to my HMV901 I got this...

   

I then removed the camera input from the Aurora thus switching it to its internal Test Card C.

   

Peter

p.s. The top to bottom shading in the first photo is just a function of the imperfect screen illumination of my computer monitor.

[Jac Janssen]

Peter,

What an amazing 901 you have!

There may be a problem with the resolution/definition of the internal TCC.

I tried my Aurora SCRF on the internal TCC and got this on the video output:
   
I haven't tried it on the RF output though (I'll try to do this later today).

Acc to the manual, it should be possible to store a new test picture into the Aurora's memory. (I've never done this with the SCRF version.)

Jac

[Jac Janssen]

Aurora SCRF internal TCC via internal Aurora RF to HMV 900:
   

Aurora SCRF internal TCC, video out via Hedghog RF to HMV 900:
   

Not much difference (if at all).

Jac

[ppppenguin]

If it's the factory programmed TCC I'm surprised that Darryl got it wrong. The decoder chip is very good for a low cost part, with full BW and minimal artefacts even on awkward colour and vertical transitions. Perhaps there was something odd about Darryl's source of TCC when he made some of the Auroras?

I haven't done trials with TCC+burst vs purely monochrome TCC. I wonder if that makes any difference. It shouldn't.

[peter scott]

It certainly is a little strange. I bought my Aurora new from Crowthrorne and have never attempted to change the internally stored Test Card C. I see that on the PCB it has V2.0 2006.

Until Jac posted his results I had not attempted to send a 625 Test Card C through the Aurora and just assumed that its bandwidth was 2.5MHz as per the internally stored card.

Before testing with the Aurora converting a 625 line Test Card C I had wondered if there was a problem with the internal modulator but got exactly the same result when taking the Aurora video output and sending it via my Darius modulator.

Peter

   

[Jac Janssen]

The Aurora I have is different:

   

Jac

[ppppenguin]

There are 4 different versions of Aurora SCRF hardware. From v1 at the end of 2005 to v4 in 2012. This is the record of revisions. I think each whole number is for a new PCB layout, the intermediates are for component value changes etc.

[Terry]

Peter's V2.0 is correctly dated 2006 but Jac's V3.0 is dated 2005 - four years before it was released (and a year before Peter's!)

Confused,  
North Hykeham

[peter scott]

The most obvious difference appears to be the DIL switches.

Peter