SNES Mini SNESRGB Installation
SNES Mini (SNS-101) Console
SNESRGB Kit
This page will guide you through the procedure of installing the SNESRGB kit for the SNES (SNS-101) Mini. The SNESRGB kit restores both RGB and S-Video functionality at proper attenuated video levels, yielding an incredibly sharp reference quality video signal. You can purchase the SNESRGB kit from my store.
Follow the directions below and have a great time modding!
Before We Begin...
The SNESRGB kit is only compatible with the SNES (SNS-101) Mini and SNES 1CHIP revision.
This kit WILL NOT WORK with any other SNES console.
Tools Required
- Soldering Station
- Phillips Screwdriver
- 4.5mm Game Security Bit
Disassembly
Flip the console over and remove the (4) 4.5mm game-bit security screws & pull away the top shell.
Remove the 7 screws and pull the SNES Mini mainboard from the lower housing.
The 3 screws marked in blue are different from the 4 screws marked in red.
Remove the RF-shield and SNES Mini mainboard and flip it over.
SNESRGB Kit Installation
Place the SNESRGB kit over the multi-out pins of the SNES Mini mainboard.
Solder the SNESRGB kit to the multi-out pins.
With all of the pins soldered, your SNESRGB kit should now look similar to this:
It is NOT necessary to insulate the bottom of the SNESRGB kit!
Wire Preparation
Strip and pre-tin 4 conductors for: c-sync, red, green, and blue.
Keep the pre-tinned conductor length no longer than 3mm!
SNES Solder Points
Take 4 pre-tinned conductors and inserting them into 4 vias slightly below the cartridge connector.
Insert the 4 conductors.
With the wires pressed into the vias, lay them flat and solder into position.
Alternate Solder Points
If you find soldering to the vias too challenging, here are alternate soldering points:
SNESRGB Kit Soldering
Prep the SNESRGB kit by tinning the c-sync, red, green, and blue solder pads.
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Carefully measure the conductors and cut them to the appropriate length.
Solder each conductor to the corresponding pad on the SNESRGB kit.
The “LPF” jumper on the SNESRGB kit will enable a low-pass filter when bridged.
This is useful when the downstream device doesn't properly filter out high frequency content!
If you want to do the (optional) ghosting fix or restore S-Video, continue reading.
Ghosting Fix
After analyzing the DAC of the 1CHIP, I found a way to greatly minimize ghosting that might be seen in solid backgrounds. Shipped with your SNESRGB kit is an (optional) 220nF capacitor that installs into location C11 on the mainboard.
The location for C11 is directly under the vias we used for solder points.
You can stack the new cap on top of the existing C11 cap!
(See picture below)
Newly installed capacitor stacked over C11:
S-Video Restoration
Remove the two screws that mount the heat-sink to the mainboard.
Remove the screw from the 7805 regulator and pull the heat-sink out.
The luma (pin 17) and chroma (pin 12) are the S-Video signals on the S-RGB encoder and must be soldered.
Pre-tin both legs of the S-RGB encoder as well as two conductors and solder each into position.
Bring the conductors around and solder them to the “Y” and “C” pads on the SNESRGB kit.
Finishing Up
Congratulations on your installation! Please be sure to check over all of your soldering and ensure that your work is clean.
Test your system and all video outputs prior to reassembly. Remember to pay attention to those screws!
Troubleshooting
“I have no video.”
- Does composite video still work?
- Are you using the appropriate cable?
- Are you using C-Sync? Did you connect it properly?
- Do you have audio?
- Did you keep the pre-tinned conductors for the vias short?
- Is your solder work clean? Any cold joints or bridging?
“I have video but I'm missing a color or the color is wrong.”
- Did you solder the connections correctly to the SNESRGB kit?
- Did you solder the connections correctly to the SNES Mini?
Disclaimer
The information on this website is provided as is without any guarantees or warranty. In association with the product, Voultar LLC makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, operational failure and/or damage as a result of end-user installation. Use of this documentation by a user is at the user’s risk.