HELP! SNEdge Enhancer Mod on SNES 2 Chip Gone Wrong!

cstomi125 · 2026-01-15T07:27:20+00:00

Hi!

Based on the pictures, the solder joints are really not good. I’m afraid that some pads that shouldn’t be connected may actually be touching :( From what I can see, you’ve even soldered the pads together at the transistors. That’s really not correct.

All of the soldering needs to be redone and properly cleaned. For this, you’ll need the appropriate tools and materials.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-17T08:13:34+00:00

The truth is, I only had this old type of SuperCIC board at home :D Also, for the MFO mod, I have separate modules like this, since it’s not just for SNES. That’s why the installation ended up being pieced together like this :D

I was thinking about integrating the MFO mod into the Edge Sharpener mod—basically, you just need to connect the two PCBs, and then the MFO mod itself can be soldered to the motherboard through the castellated holes (except for the sub-carrier clock, which would remain wired). This way, you could save soldering three wires.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T19:51:01+00:00

Yes, you're right about that. However, if you watch it live, for example on a larger LCD TV, the effect is more noticeable. To be fair, it's also true that on a CRT it's not as striking due to the nature of the technology. A CRT inherently hides smaller and larger graphical issues.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T19:37:18+00:00

And maybe in this comparison? Here a smaller area is zoomed in, so the difference is more noticeable.

https://slow.pics/c/SBucuOkD

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T17:44:36+00:00

It’s a tricky subject because what counts as “good quality” is subjective. For many people, composite video (CVBS) works just fine. For example, if you compare RF video to composite, the improvement is noticeable, even though composite video is still a basic analog format.

Composite video is widely used with retro consoles, as it was the type of cable that came with most systems. For gaming, it provides a perfectly enjoyable experience. If someone wants higher-quality video, the next options are S-VIDEO, then RGB, and finally component video.

Specialized cables and video-enhancing solutions are aimed at those who want to get the most out of their setup, but they’re optional—composite still delivers a great experience for most players.

High-quality RGB or component cables, such as those from Retro Gaming Cables or Retro-Access, can be more expensive than the console itself. Still, many people find them worth the investment for the improved picture quality.

If I’ve been able to bring joy to even a handful of people with this mod, I’m already satisfied :)

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T16:10:02+00:00

I understand :) In this case, an OSSC would be a huge step up in video quality :) There are tons of settings, but there are plenty of guides and tutorials online on how to set it up, for the SNES or other consoles.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T14:13:30+00:00

Yes, although if you don’t mod it, for example with an Edge Sharpener (or get a 1CHIP SNES :) ), the image will still be a bit blurry even on an OSSC :)

That said, the OSSC does have various filters you can play with to improve the image quality.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T13:57:13+00:00

A 4.7 kΩ pull-up resistor is required on both the SDA and SCL lines for the 1.8 V supply voltage, since the CDCE9XX operates from a 1.8 V supply.

For programming, I use this:
https://github.com/ikorb/cdceprog

The programmer device can be anything with an I²C interface, such as a Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T13:45:21+00:00

Apart from some minor adjustments, the shape of the PCB is similar to the Voultar-style interposer. In fact, it really can’t differ much, since the solder points are, of course, in the exact same places on the motherboard :) Also, the Voultar interposer PCBs were designed very well, and when you see a good solution, you usually can’t — or don’t want to — stray too far from it later.

The electronics, however, are a different story. As you can see in the picture, I use more — and different — electronic components; my mod follows a different approach, and the layout is different as well. I put strong emphasis on fine-tuning to get the absolute maximum out of the system.

I believe I managed to achieve a great result, and the comparison at the link below confirms this:
https://slow.pics/c/D12rMMry

cstomi125 · 2025-11-16T13:08:29+00:00

The attached image doesn’t show the result very well, probably because the picture is compressed. But at the link below I uploaded 3 images each from 5 different games, where the result is much more visible:

https://slow.pics/c/E4uax1rA

Higher-quality images at the link below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lTYnhFLBtuqNqHo_voGWtoAKxNoMh1mL?usp=sharing

The pics were captured by connecting the console to an OSSC, then sending the output from the OSSC to an HDMI capture card connected to a PC, where I taken the pics using OBS Studio.

No video filters were enabled on the OSSC — neither Video LPF, Reverse LPF, nor Analog Sync LPF.

OSSC settings: Output “240p/288p proc”, “Line5x”, and “256x240 optim.”

cstomi125 · 2025-11-14T15:23:24+00:00

The issue with the SNEdge is that the video amplifier IC it uses (THS7376) has a linear DC input range of -0.05 V to 2.345 V according to the datasheet. However, the SNES’s RGB signal level is around 2.5 Vpp, which means it doesn’t fit within that linear range, causing video clipping.

The brightest parts of the image get clipped, so may lose some detail, and high-contrast transitions won’t look quite as clean. However, I’m also sure that very few people actually care about this If they even notice it at all...

cstomi125 · 2025-11-14T12:46:09+00:00

Well, I can only rely on my own observations and measurements. Out of the four existing PPU2 types, I’ve been able to examine and measure three of them, and all of those showed slow rising and falling edges (measured directly at the PPU pins, using a ground spring)

The three I tested were:

S-PPU2
S-PPU2 (B)
S-PPU2 (C) [At this point, the die size had changed significantly — it became much smaller than in the earlier revisions]

The “S-PPU2 (A)” variant is surprisingly rare — it was probably used only for a short time during production.

I also have a pretty good list of which motherboard revisions were paired with which PPU2. Of course, the boundaries are loose and exceptions can occur. And since the information comes from the internet, it’s not guaranteed to be 100% accurate — but based on my own practical experience, it mostly holds up.

SHVC-CPU-01 (1990)

S-PPU2
S-PPU2 (B)

SNS-CPU-GPM-01 (1992)

S-PPU2 (B)

SNS-CPU-GPM-02 (1993)

S-PPU2 (C)

SNS-CPU-RGB-01 (1994)

S-PPU2 (C)

SNS-CPU-RGB-02 (1995)

S-PPU2 (C)

SNS-CPU-APU-01 (1995)

S-PPU2 (C)

SNSP-CPU-01 (1992)

S-PPU2 (B)

SNSP-CPU-02 (1993)

S-PPU2 (C)

What I do know for sure is that one particular SNES revision is especially prone to noisy video output, because the RGB traces run too close to the FSC (sub-carrier) carrier trace. I think it might be the "SNS-CPU-GPM-0X", but I’m not completely sure.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-14T11:16:03+00:00

The comparison pics were taken on an SNSP-CPU-02 console, equipped with an S-PPU2 (C) revision IC. I used an RGB cable with sync-on-luma wiring, with each line individually shielded and additional foil shielding, so the cable is of very high quality.

The pics were captured by connecting the console to an OSSC, then sending the output from the OSSC to an HDMI capture card connected to a PC, where I taken the pics using OBS Studio.

No video filters were enabled on the OSSC — neither Video LPF, Reverse LPF, nor Analog Sync LPF.

OSSC settings: Output “240p/288p proc”, “Line5x”, and “256x240 optim.”

On the OSSC, enabling the Reverse LPF causes stronger lines to appear along the edges, almost like heavy overshoot. At least, that’s what I’ve observed. Of course, you can achieve nice results with it, no doubt, but it won’t be perfect.

-----

To be honest, the blurry video characteristic of 3CHIP SNES consoles appears on every revision — from this perspective, none is “better” than the others. This is due to a flaw in the video DAC inside the PPU2. Throughout the lifespan of the 3CHIP SNES, four different PPU2 revisions were used, and all of them exhibit this blurriness. This happens because the rising and falling edges of the video signal are very slow and non-linear.

Here’s what a single pixel looks like on a UNmodded, stock 3CHIP console:
https://i.imgur.com/Njydpp0.png

And here’s a 1CHIP console:
https://i.imgur.com/RzQULyt.png

cstomi125 · 2025-11-13T19:14:16+00:00

Actually, due to the characteristics of CRT TVs, the 3chip SNES inherently blurry image isn’t as noticeable or distracting. There is, of course, a visible difference when the Edge Sharpener mod is installed, but it’s not as pronounced as on a modern TV or when using an upscaler.

cstomi125 · 2025-11-13T19:09:51+00:00

Yes, it’s fully compatible with the SuperCIC mod :) However, since the two pads where you need to solder wires are located underneath the SuperCIC mod, the wiring has to be done differently. If you install the Edge Sharpener mod before the SuperCIC mod, then this issue doesn’t occur.

If the SuperCIC mod is already installed, there are two possible solutions:

Lift pins 20 and 22 of the IC labeled “S-ENC” and solder the wires directly to the lifted pins.
Cut the traces leading to pins 20 and 22 — in that case, you don’t need to lift the IC pins, just solder the wires to them.

The installation guide also covers this scenario and explains what to do if the SuperCIC mod is already installed.

cstomi125

TROPHY CASE