99er Forums

I recently tried setting up the old family 99/4A, connected to a TV. The sound comes through just fine, but the screen is totally black.

The RF modulator is connected to a VHF/UHF splitter/300 -> 75 ohm converter, which is plugged into the coax input of the TV.

It's great that I can play Hunt the Wumpus in blind mode (literally), but I'd prefer to be able to see something.

Any idea what's wrong?

You hear the sound? What channel is the modulator set to? Make sure the channel on the tv is set the same.

You'd be better off getting a cable with standard RCA jacks for the video and audio, and hooking up through a component (like VCR or DVD recorder) that accepts the inputs to send it to the tv.

Ben Yates wrote:You hear the sound? What channel is the modulator set to? Make sure the channel on the tv is set the same.

You'd be better off getting a cable with standard RCA jacks for the video and audio, and hooking up through a component (like VCR or DVD recorder) that accepts the inputs to send it to the tv.

I get these results if the modulator and TV are set to the same channel (both 3 or both 4). If they're set to different channels, I get static.

I found the instructions for making a TI to dual RCA cable at http://www.99er.net/TIvideoadapter.htm . I'll give it a try.

Normally it's a problem with Pin 4. The original modulator has very poor connections to the actual plug. If you're gung-ho on using the stock box, soldering all the connections then covering them in something like hot glue would work to keep them in place. I just made myself a composite cable and called it a day; it's so much easier than trying to mess with tuning the VHF.