Strange noises from my Core Grafx in some games

[grimm]

Hi. Ive notices some weird noises from my system when i play certain games.. I dont have many games, but at least two of them have weird noises.

My copy of Bomberman 94 has a wierd humming sound which goes up and down in volume, whilst my New Zealand Story card has a really high pitch shrieking noise at start up. It is masked by the game's music once the game starts, but you can hear it in the background.

Im playing this on a LG LCD screen, and im using NEC composite cables to connect it to the tv. The console is a bit fiddly to get to read the cards, but a few tries usually gets a game started..

Anyone know what this might be caused by? I can live with the humming in bomberman, but the noise in new zealand story hurts my ears.. Please help if you can.

Regards,
grimm

[Bernie]

It sounds like some sort of interference.  Have you tried switching cables or relocating it?  It could also be the power supply.

[grimm]

I have went all my games now, almost every game has this problem to one degree or another. I remembered wrong about the bomberman sound, it is the high pitched sound but at a different volume.

I only have one set of composite cables so i cant switch them, but ill try relocating it and see. I am not running a NEC power adapter, but a generic one with the correct requirements for the console. Should i try hunting down a NEC power adapter?

[Bernie]

Well, make sure its not the cables first.  If that doesn't do the trick, I would suspect the power supply.  I know cheap ones will cause issues such as what you are describing.  I get all my power supplies and acc. from here http://www.retrogamecave.com/nec-ac_adapter.html and have never had issues.  Doesn't appear he has any in stock for the Core Grafx, but shoot him an email.  He normally has anything you need, or can get it.  His name is Chuck, tell him Bernie sent ya. 

[grimm]

Thanks. I know Chuck through email and purchasing an original trio supply, so im sure he can hook me up once he gets stock. Im very happy with the trio brick and i know he's all about quality since he has now moved on after the manufacturer started having issues with the original.

I have no way of checkign the cables aside from buying new ones.. i guess i will have to do that then.

The power supply was very cheap so maybe that is the culprit?

[esteban]

DUDE, there's nothing wrong. You have sensitive ears (like me) and probably could navigate your home in the night without the aid of any lights (assuming you train yourself to do that sonar-bat-thing).

Seriously, though, I have CRT televisions and I hear the same thing (1989 TG-16 + CRT, same noises). I honestly can't tell if it emanates from the speakers on televsion/monitor or somewhere else. Different colors flash on the screen are associated with slightly different pitches/tones of varying (very short, usually) duration.

This question has been asked before, and I supplied my usual non-answer-but-anecdote-instead response. I can't recall if one of the technical gurus here provided a definitive answer.

The fact that you are using an LCD seems to suggest that IF THE SOUND is not generated by the console itself (hey, what do I know, I hear similar high-pitched noises from my laptop), then perhaps their is interference with the audio signal.

I KNOW I DID NOT HELP. But, perhaps you will find solace in the fact that I haven't let it bother me (too much) for the past LONG TIME (damn, I don't even want to type it out).

[esteban]

Oh yeah, NES generated this noise. It's gotta be noise on yur speakers. If you can plug your console's audio out into a receiver (and then throw on a pair of headphones), it would be interesting to see if the noise is still there.

[SignOfZeta]

The PCE has a hella noisey sound chip. This might be you just being sensitive.

Or it could be a crappy cable. It's hard to say without hearing the noise. Perhaps you could make a recording from the system before you spend any money.

[grimm]

I do indeed have overly sensitive hearing, as well as tinitus which makes things even worse. But the noise is louder in some games than others, especially in New Zealand Story.

Ill see what i can do about recording the noise.

[esteban]

I do indeed have overly sensitive hearing, as well as tinitus which makes things even worse. But the noise is louder in some games than others, especially in New Zealand Story.

Ill see what i can do about recording the noise.

As I said before, I've noticed this noise for the past 20 years on many different systems (TG-16, PCE, DUO, SCD) and televisions/receivers. I haven't hooked up my console to an LCD/plasma in a long time, but if I feel inspired this weekend, I might try just to see if it makes a difference (I suspect not, but, hey, we're trying to isolate the issue).

[grimm]

I hear noise on some other systems too, but never this pronounced, it has only annoyed me, not hurt my ears, like New Zealand Story does. My 3DO has weird background noise as it boots up, so does my AES, but i generally dont hear any of it during actual gameplay. NZS, i do. Which is a shame cos it seems like an enjoyable little platformer.

Still working on getting a way to record it so you guys can judge for yourselves, because it is loud.

[esteban]

I hear noise on some other systems too, but never this pronounced, it has only annoyed me, not hurt my ears, like New Zealand Story does. My 3DO has weird background noise as it boots up, so does my AES, but i generally dont hear any of it during actual gameplay. NZS, i do. Which is a shame cos it seems like an enjoyable little platformer.

Still working on getting a way to record it so you guys can judge for yourselves, because it is loud.

I think you have already presented enough data: we have sensitive hearing, but there is nothing particularly wrong with the consoles. I know that some of my friends can hear the high-pitched noises, but most don't notice it.