(Anglicising) Making the XRGB mini Framemeister work in the UK

Posted by admin on October 22nd, 2012

In my last post I talked about my purchase of the XRGB mini from Japan and I wanted to add some notes about how I got it working in the UK as the mini is designed for use in Japan.

First, power.

The mini comes with a power supply which takes 100V 50/60Hz in and delivers 5V DC at 2.5 amps. To use this you need to have a step down transformer, a US one will do but if possible get one specifically for 100V in. Or you can get a UK power supply which will deliver the same voltage and current. The other thing you need to know is the size of the plug to connect into the back of the mini. This is a 4mm x 1.7mm x 9.5(10 will do)mm plug.

I decided on this power supply and bought a selection of interchangeable tips to match with the mini:

Power Supply: http://www.maplin.co.uk/ac-dc-fixed-voltage-switched-mode-power-supplies-48484
Power Tips: http://www.maplin.co.uk/dc-output-plug-set-specialist-range-42948

Note that the power supply only delivers 2.4 amps but these are maximum values and the mini doesn’t seem likely to ever draw all the current.

Second, SCART.

More correctly by SCART I mean the RGB input on the mini. Previous XRGB upscalers actually used a SCART socket (Japanese pin outs) but this one uses a 8 pin mini-din socket. The way I got around this was easy but a bit heath robinson. Firstly connect the EURO SCART lead out of my console(s) to a EURO/JAP SCART Converter:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Euro-Scart-to-Jap-Scart-Convertor-XRGB-Compatible-/120734159490?pt=UK_VideoGames_VideoGameAccessories_VideoGameAccessories_JN&hash=item1c1c511282

Then connect the converter into the RGB cable that comes with the mini. There it is, the consoles are safely connected to the mini without doing any soldering. Probably at some point I will make my own cable but at the moment this piece of spaghetti works just fine.

You can see the results in a short video I made on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/gs8Czhz2glU

Hope that helps you if you are thinking about buying an XRGB mini and are wondering how to get it hooked up.

A few useful links if you are thinking about making your own RGB cable:

XRGB mini RGB Pinout: http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:micomsoft_xrgb-mini_framemeister

Japanese SCART Pinout: http://www.gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:japanese_rgb-21

Euro SCART Pinout: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART