After 1 year of use, No Signal

[Mori]

Hello.
I'm experiencing issues with my 3DS Capture card and wondering if anyone has any ideas of things I can test?

I've been using it for over a year just fine, capturing gameplay several times a week up until Christmas.
I come back to it this week after a break, and suddenly all I see is a black screen with "no signal".

The viewer software recognises the capture card is connected and even returns the 3DS device ID.
But no picture or audio.

I've tried reinstalling the viewer. Tried various cables, hubs and USB ports, but still the same result.
I've gone as far to open the 3DS to check for any obvious issues such as broken solder, but as far as I can tell, everything looks fine.

Is there any common issues I should be checking? Or anything I can try? Maybe some kind of hardware test?

If not, I may have to try to sell it and buy a new one, but I have no idea where to buy one these days.
Thank you in advance. I appreciate your time.

[loopy]

The viewer software recognises the capture card is connected and even returns the 3DS device ID.

So a katsukity / optimize board?

[Mori]

The viewer software recognises the capture card is connected and even returns the 3DS device ID.

So a katsukity / optimize board?

Thank you for replying.
I'm so sorry, I bought it off eBay so I have no idea of the make/model.
It's a 3DS XL if that makes any difference. I do have a picture of it though, here:


Thank you.

[Elysium]

Is that black wire disconnected?

[Mori]

Is that black wire disconnected?

Thank you for replying.
I don't believe it is. Everything appears intact and connected.

[thomasfan1945]

It must have fried, some wire accidentally been moved or the flex cables isn't soldered properly. Sorry if I couldn't help much.

[Mori]

Today I've reinstalled Windows and the Viewer software, and now it won't even recognise the Capture Card
USB is found by Windows under "Other Devices" called Unknown Device.

I've reinstalled all drivers I can find but still nothing.
I've gone as far to test on Mac with the CuteCapture.

I don't understand how it can go from "working", to then only being recognised with "no signal", to then "no device found" after fresh installs...

Very sad times. Not sure where I will be able to get a new one from.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate your input.
Best regards,

[Mori]

Ok, so I have a bit of an update.

I've been trying various things all day, and finally managed to get capture live with audio on a Mac build of n3DS_Viewer via Katsukity.
(So I guess I know what card I have now, so I apologise if discussing their boards isn't appropriate on this forum).

Anyway, the audio was very delayed when capturing, so after knowing everything was kind of working, and the 3ds/capture card was ok, I went back to Windows - seems I've never had an audio issue there.

However, after installing fresh Windows and setting up USB etc, I now see this:



And the Viewer is now stuck on "Initialising the Capture Device"...

So does anyone know if there's a specific Driver I need? Or some what to force Windows to recognise this connection?
Thank you for your patience and guidance. I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Ps I'm still holding out for buying a Loopy Directly, but until there's stock, I will have to try to get this one working. Thanks.

[Chroma]

Ok, so I have a bit of an update.

I've been trying various things all day, and finally managed to get capture live with audio on a Mac build of n3DS_Viewer via Katsukity.
(So I guess I know what card I have now, so I apologise if discussing their boards isn't appropriate on this forum).

Anyway, the audio was very delayed when capturing, so after knowing everything was kind of working, and the 3ds/capture card was ok, I went back to Windows - seems I've never had an audio issue there.

However, after installing fresh Windows and setting up USB etc, I now see this:



And the Viewer is now stuck on "Initialising the Capture Device"...

So does anyone know if there's a specific Driver I need? Or some what to force Windows to recognise this connection?
Thank you for your patience and guidance. I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Ps I'm still holding out for buying a Loopy Directly, but until there's stock, I will have to try to get this one working. Thanks.

Sadly, there's just a lengthy list of Katsukity boards being flimsy and needing lots of service after the fact. I remember famous streamer Etika going through like 3 of them and nearly $1000 and they all end up unreliable or straight up unresponsive. He made a video at the time that even externally, the microUSB port very poorly juts out of a pill-shaped hole that was cut out of the shell, but the port just seems to tilt or warp over time and not even hold the cable properly. I can't even speak for how the board is on the inside of the case itself.

Unfortunately, Katsukity's whole site went down after the bankruptcy, so the only place I can recall where you can get the last posted software and drivers is merki's site. However, just be aware that after Katsukity declared bankruptcy, that software is essentially dead and no longer updated. If whatever is posted doesn't fix it or it's a hardware problem, there's not a whole lot you can do. Best case scenario, someone on GitHub has copied the code and started working on improving the software, but granted Katsukity isn't making boards anymore, that's a huge timesink with no benefit to the developer(s).

I'd say try seeking out merki's latest posted software for Katsukity's board and try that first. Otherwise, all I can recommend is to keep an eye out for a loopy board. Much, much more reliable, he's already done O3DS ones and is currently doing n3DS XL ones. Seems after that one's finished, he'll also look at something like n3DS or n2DS. loopy's actually active in the scene with a much better reputation, and I can vouch for the cards having one myself for many years with no problems.

[Mori]

Sadly, there's just a lengthy list of Katsukity boards being flimsy and needing lots of service after the fact. I remember famous streamer Etika going through like 3 of them and nearly $1000 and they all end up unreliable or straight up unresponsive. He made a video at the time that even externally, the microUSB port very poorly juts out of a pill-shaped hole that was cut out of the shell, but the port just seems to tilt or warp over time and not even hold the cable properly. I can't even speak for how the board is on the inside of the case itself.

Unfortunately, Katsukity's whole site went down after the bankruptcy, so the only place I can recall where you can get the last posted software and drivers is merki's site. However, just be aware that after Katsukity declared bankruptcy, that software is essentially dead and no longer updated. If whatever is posted doesn't fix it or it's a hardware problem, there's not a whole lot you can do. Best case scenario, someone on GitHub has copied the code and started working on improving the software, but granted Katsukity isn't making boards anymore, that's a huge timesink with no benefit to the developer(s).

I'd say try seeking out merki's latest posted software for Katsukity's board and try that first. Otherwise, all I can recommend is to keep an eye out for a loopy board. Much, much more reliable, he's already done O3DS ones and is currently doing n3DS XL ones. Seems after that one's finished, he'll also look at something like n3DS or n2DS. loopy's actually active in the scene with a much better reputation, and I can vouch for the cards having one myself for many years with no problems.

Thank you for your response.
Yeah, I keep hearing bed feedback surrounding these boards.
It's a shame, and difficult to know what you're actually buying when it's secondhand. Lesson learned.

I am waiting patiently to get a Loopy capture card. Hopefully will be able to get one soon.