Kytor Industries is offering a $5, 3D-printed “brace” that holds SCART plug/receptacle connectors together. If you’re using the exact SCART heads that match this design, it’s an excellent way to keep your console cable + SCART to BNC adapter (or something) from coming loose! If not, it still might be a help (especially at that price!), it just won’t be as solid of a connection. Check out their promo video above, with my mini-review below the link:
Both orientations are available here: https://kytor.com/store/product/scart-brace/
First, I thought this filled a hole in the market I didn’t even realize existed and Kytor did a great job with it. Stuff like this is hard to review though, as if it works as-intended, there’s nothing to “review”. That’s one of the many reasons I appreciate when people take the time to make stuff like this, as it’s often a “thankless task”. But, this is RetroRGB.com, so as usual, here’s the harsh-but-fair review.
The Good: If your SCART heads match the design of this brace, just carefully assemble it and everything will work perfect. There will be a solid connection and it’ll prevent your cables from separating. Just choose the A or B orientation that’s clearly displayed on the webpage. Check out the video above for great examples of what a “good fit” looks like.
If your SCART heads don’t quite match the brace, they can still separate and loose connection. The brace would still serve the purpose of keeping them in the same place, but you don’t get the benefit of a guaranteed signal connection. This might only be an issue if you’re like me and have piles of different SCART cables from multiple sellers over 10+ years. Check out this one – There was a bit of space on the top (not captured in this pic, sorry ;/) and the clips on top didn’t quite hold it in place:
Also, once connected, the braces provided a solid connection, but I found the clips to be fragile. FULL DISCLAIMER: I’m a big meathead who’s been playing guitar since before 64-bit game consoles existed; I have strong hands. If you exercise patience and care, this might not be an issue. That said, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t show this…
When separating the clips with a screwdriver as shown in the video, I snapped a tab. Also, it was so snug on the Retro Access cable (a GOOD thing BTW…that’s what keeps it together) that the plastic pieces broke when I tried to remove it:
Overall, just set realistic expectations for the brace. It’s a $5 item that works GREAT in certain situations and “fine” in others. It’s also designed for people who do NOT want to constantly separate and re-plug their cables!! So, if you already have an established setup and think this might be a help to secure the connection between cables, buy it, connect it once and don’t touch it again unless you have to.
Or…just be more gentle than this mauling bear…
