The Reflex RF - The perfect upgrade for your Old TV!

This is the Reflex RF from MisterAddons. It is a device that changes Composite NTSC analog video and audio to RF.
Find the adapter here: misteraddons.com/collections/reflex/products/composite-to-rf-adapter
For more information on repairs, diagnostics and to connect with me, please visit: www.patreon.com/retrotechUSA
New Show - "The Bunker" - A Live Experience: kzbin.info/aero/PL_Hm88_bscLSSxi5VJ_shK2IavLbughtN
#retro #retrotech #crt

[@RetroTechUSA]

Please note that the production models have a much cooler case. Mine was a demo unit with a test case. Please see more about the Reflex RF here: misteraddons.com/collections/reflex/products/composite-to-rf-adapter

[@JPX64Channel]

another thing that i remember in the early 00s was that in the house next to mine, there was a game console-café (lots of ps2 - ps1 and xbox there) which used lots of composite to RF converters for their old tvs, and i could catch the gameplay signal by using an antenna and putting channel 3 on my TV, what a way to watch gameplays before youtube.

[@spaceitself]

That sounds awesome haha

[@tigheklory]

No knock on this, but RF modulators have been around for decades, many decades.

[@retrofan4life]

Most are horrible. Especially from Amazon.

[@tigheklory]

@@retrofan4life I have a bunch of nice ones from back in the day so I didn't really look.

[@emmettturner9452]

I see name brands every time I browse a Goodwill.

[@RedTroPc]

I havent seen a single modulator at the thrift store i work at@@emmettturner9452

[@Skitskl33]

I have one of the RadioShack ones with svideo and it's pretty good on the composite side and comparible to plugging av cables directly into a tv. The svideo input is a joke though.

[@samuelg7673]

got me a Radioshack RF adaptor that does S-Video also for $3 at goodwill, thrifting is a better option imo

[@soundsonline796]

You have one of the best personalities in retro dude please dont stop making videos. Its a breath of fresh air.

[@RetroTechUSA]

Thanks!

[@jrudymorganclark2072]

This is is it for my 32 inch CRT TV to play my GameCube on!

[@TheLeggedOne]

Looks nice, I'd pick one up if I didn't already have a nice RF modulator

[@OM19_MO79]

Are you serious? You can find these for pennies in goodwill and similar places. They made tons of these when DVDs were introduced and completely lacked RF out like VCRs. They also marketed them heavily for game consoles that usually wanted you to buy their proprietary RF adaptors.

[@willmatheson]

An RF modulator that supports stereo sound is handy - there are a handful of consumer sets that supported MTS (multi-channel television sound) but didn't have A/V inputs. Most RF-only sets are just monaural, though.

[@damian9303]

The store page says that the Reflex will include a “Stereo to mono circuit”, so it sounds to be combining both audio channels rather than provide true stereo.

[@willmatheson]

I suppose for 99% of RF-only TVs it'll make no difference, though

[@pokepress]

@willmatheson There is a modulator from Radio Shack _ (look for the specific model number *2525* , not 2026) that has a MTS encoder on board and can send stereo that way. I recently picked one up for an AI project and can verify it transmits stereo over RF.

[@mukurop1]

Steve, you are great! Thank you!

[@broznar1019]

isn't this just an RF modulator?

[@tylerheyblom5551]

Thanks for the video❤ can't wait till orders open up again, love your channel and all the mister fpga projects

[@sterling1989]

I'd love to see a video on that cool clear TV!

[@JPX64Channel]

i still remember having an only -RF TV with a poly station console ( and barely being able to use it through channel 9 or something but without audio (i didn't have the converter box, i was a child), so i used to connect the audio to a small stereo system so i could play with sound.

[@Hambs]

This is a really slick and well-produced vid but still very approachable and not too over the top. Been a long time subscriber and I really like the direction you've taken your brand

[@RetroTechUSA]

Thanks!

[@phillk7522]

Great to have products like these available. Many VCRs are getting old or breaking. Your editing is looking good Steve, the camera work, added sound effects, and music all come together nicely.

[@jackofallgamesTV]

That's weird you replace the VCR going in One direction touring composite into RF but not in the other direction turning RF in the composite which is much more needed.

[@ProbablyRicky]

gonna be buying this ! thanks for showing me :)

[@its-amemegatron.9521]

How do they compare to the modulators you find on Amazon or Walmart for about 20$? I do like the fact it's USB-C and it's gonna be useful because ingot my girlfriend a Soild State Curtis Mathes and it only has 300ohm inputs

[@dannygonzalez0861]

The Bunker is where it's at!! See you Monday Steve!

[@YokomoHoyo]

I love this channel.

[@RichardHartness]

Sold out. Dang it!

[@eugenekiselev]

The retroTink VR extension looks amazing attached with that elegant clear tape. I wonder if I just glue it to my glasses will I see any better ? :)

[@RideRedRacer]

very cool

[@damian9303]

I remember having to buy something like this for my mom’s vintage Magnavox from the early ‘90s, got it right from a hardware store like RadioShack. How better would these be compared to those?

[@blockbusterbeachparty]

oh my god I need this

[@NitroJr96]

This seems awfully expensive when you can get an RF modulator at any thrift store for a couple bucks...

[@pepsicolazero]

Have you made a video on the regular reflex ?

[@yellowlemon123]

Nice video & product. Just wanted to add a clarification that the Reflex RF adapter has not gone on sale yet.

[@_BELMONT_]

God i need this so bad

[@Code7Unltd]

Now for the big question. Can this modulator do MTS Stereo?

[@hggfhh4449]

Nice. The rf only crt is no longer obsolete

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Ah-Ha!!! Now this I can relate to Steve. I just recently purchase one for my units and they work great bro. 8^) Anthony..

[@jasoncorganbrown]

Does this unit also remove macrovision security?

[@user-mi3hp7wm7k]

With all due respect, rf modulators have existed since TVs existed. Plus, this may have stereo connections but this isn’t true stereo, It’s still mono (It claims it is a stereo to mono circuit on their site). You need a really good modulator for stereo to be possible, and im sure those ones that do only work with UHF band channels (correct me if I’m wrong tho)

[@RetroTechUSA]

You are right. This is a new product and that is my main reason for highlighting it. I do have commercial quality RF equipment in the pipeline that is much better and offers a lot of features, but that is an out if production item.

[@dwightdixon8508]

Cool, unfortunately already sold out so onto email list when available

[@SlickEd91]

Lol back in the day I had one switcher by a company called intec did the same this thing does and you can even use s video to coaxial

[@alextirrellRI]

This is definitely the smallest RF Modulator I've seen. I've got an early 2000's RadioShack one in my closet. It's small but not this small. I also lent a friend my old one that could switch between 3 or 4 RCA and S-Video sources and put out RF.

[@nothingincommon]

How's your heart doing? Hopefully you're 100% recovered!

[@octonoozle]

Can I hook up a Mister Multisystem to this thing? I think I just have an HDMI and VGA output.

[@mortimore4030]

What if you want to play PAL via RF from the MiSTer then?

[@thegreatboto]

Huh.... so, how's it compare to any random VHS player that might be laying about somewhere?

[@kotowski525]

Hi Steve, would this modulator work with Japanese market televisions? I understand that they operate on different frequencies than the US counterpart channels

[@GTAMan21]

NTSC-J is different than NTSC-U?

[@kotowski525]

@@GTAMan21 The standard Ch3-4 RF modulators won't work on JDM televisions because of the different channel frequencies. I ended up getting a full range RF modulator to fine tune and get the connection to work.

[@davidc7763]

Is the signal quality the same as composite if it were natively available?

[@50shadesofbeige88]

No. It's still transmitted in RF. Though it's probably a really good signal.

[@Skitskl33]

It's pretty close to composite natively quality wise. Better than those rf boxes you'd get with video game consoles back in the day.

[@billyelliotx]

It's interesting that he wouldn't have told you these haven't been in official production yet when he sent you a unit to test. Most of his stuff is done in small batches and sells out, so its always a matter of rolling stock anyway.

[@keithedward8482]

This would also be useful for hooking up an Atari 2600 to a RetroTink.

[@jackofallgamesTV]

No actually wouldn't because you would need a demodulator to do that to convert RF to Composite. And it looks like the reflex doesn't do that. I'd buy a R Reflex if it converts RF to composite if it were $40.

[@eduardoanonimo3031]

Dude, this devices exist since my grandma was sexy...

[@CMskittles]

Standalone RF modulators have been around for decades, and eBay is littered with them for $10-15. The fact that you didn't mention this in your video, and instead portrayed this as some kind of awesome new device to make use of otherwise useless RF-only televisions, is disappointing and misleading. No one needs to pay $40 for a RETRO GAMING spec RF modulator.

[@theJohnnyPinball]

i don't see the point, thrift stores are littered with RF modulators

[@RetroTechUSA]

These type products aren't for everyone, but the success of this short video shows there are quite a few people interested. Maybe the big "Point" is that we are getting new versions of old products, which is cool. Thrift stores are drying up too.

[@kevinbriseno3209]

Retrotink 12X VR LOL

[@jackofallgamesTV]

I think the product would have worked better in reverse, that is take RF only games like the Atari, the ColecoVision, the intellivision, ETC, and make those playable on TVs without RF jacks. Currently VCRs of breaking nowadays and these games will be lost to time if the VCRs get thrown away and there's no way to play aref only games on any new TV. (Or even semi-new TV like my Sony Wega CRT)

[@Code7Unltd]

That's a "demodulator". I'm sure those are plentiful since few people needed to demodulate instead of modulate composite/baseband video.

[@jackofallgamesTV]

​@@Code7UnltdNo they are not. I tried on Ebay. Rf Modulators that are smaller than a vcr are cheaper on ebay. Mr Add-Ons should have also made it the other way, to turn RF into conposite. I could use a small Colecovision Capture adapter

[@TBDx545]

It feels extraordinarily disingenuous to not bring up other external RF modulators once in this video. Even bringing up VCRs but dismissing them as bulky despite the fact that modulators in a similar form factor to this one have existed for DECADES and as far as I can tell without any functional differences that would impact usage. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt going into this but after getting through the video I fail to see how this video wasn't intentionally omitting relevant information in favor of trying to speed up the retro gaming hype train to sell a device that has existed for a long time, just now with a gamery name and a $40 price tag.

[@RetroTechUSA]

This video isn't about RF Modulators overall, just the Reflex.

[@TBDx545]

@@RetroTechUSA That's not the point, it feels like throughout the video you would have had to intentionally go out of your way to have not brought up the fact that these devices already exist in the same form factor for a fraction of the cost. The fact you brought up VCRs just to say they're bulky and yet still didn't bring up the standalone devices which perform the same function and don't have that issue really makes it seem to me like you tiptoed around it, presumably to make the reflex look more attractive. I'm struggling to see another way to look at it. It goes beyond just innocently foregoing tangentially related information, it's extremely relevant.

[@MikeLindquist]

Expertly dodging the subject. These things have been around for about 4 decades, many with the benefit of also having S-Video in. Getting people who haven’t done their due diligence into blowing nearly half a hundred dollars for something incredibly easy/cheap to manufacture… and have had ancestors with things like Svid in, ANT in, having multiple video inputs… it’s dirty of you to endorse this as some sort of groundbreaking convenience for ~CRT retro gamers~ and sidestep the fact that these have always been around & the only other mentioned device with this feature is a VCR which is ‘too big’.

[@jimmyschmidt14]

@@MikeLindquist the big "Point" is that we are getting new versions of old products, which is cool.

[@TheMatthiasRiots]

Thing looks extremely cheaply made. I’ll stick to my vintage Radio Shack Rf with s-video and built like a tank.

[@RetroTechUSA]

First off, this was a prototype unit. The casing for for the device has been vastly improved on the final product. You can see that on the product web page. Second off, radio shack ain't making squat these days and they have no plans or desires to do so in the future. It's a good thing to have new products available to people who don't have the time to dive through junk bins at thrift stores every weekend praying they'll find a sturdy device to do this job.

[@jimmyschmidt14]

@@RetroTechUSA don't have the time to dive through junk bins 🤣🙉

[@godashram]

We've spent decades moving away from RF, known to be the worst quality for games, to crispy RGB and now we get sucked right back in..... Nostalgia, bleeding gamer wallets dry for decades :) Seriously, I see the reasoning people would love this. As long as it deals with interference better than stock RF adapters, then a win is a win.

[@vintagecapgunsatyourmomshouse]

Sweet prison TV!