Reread the first post again. Wait! that’s not the one. I’m not sure where I was reading about this.
But composite video is also known as cvbs which is a combination of
C olor information
V ideo (brightness)
B lanking (don’t worry about this)
S ync
Short answer, yes, you can sync off any composite - yellow rca signal. But,might not be the best way to do things
Actually you are probably right about this depending on the module. Things like oscillators I think have a passive loop thru in some cases (so you can use either jack) though they may have IN and OUT indicated? I would have to experiment. Modules with their own sync generation (Cadet I, Visual Cortex, Memory Palace) genlock their own sync to the input and pass along a buffered copy of the input.
Edit: My apologies, I tested with a multimeter and you are right that at least Fortress’s LOOPTHRU is passive. Edited my post above.
Correct.
It depends on if they are standard-compliant composite, specifically NTSC or PAL. This map shows which TV standards are in use in which countries (and are generally used by analog video equipment made in those countries). LZX stuff should work with either but may need a switch on the back of the module set to the appropriate standard.
An example of standard-noncompliant video: a Nintendo Entertainment System marketed for sale in North America. These will output something that uses the same color encoding as NTSC, so it will work with analog NTSC displays, but the output resolution is 240 progressive lines rather than 480 interlaced lines. This plug is a yellow RCA connector used to mean “composite video”, and an NTSC CRT television will deal with this fine because the signal representation is basically the same as a standard TV broadcast signal, it’s just that the timing is different. But LZX gear (prior to Chromagnon and TBC2 input stages) is only designed to deal with 480i (NTSC) or 576i (PAL) so it can’t sync to a 240p output like the NES.
For an input like this, or something that maybe has some sync timing errors (VHS tapes being a good example) you may be able to use a video mixer or time base corrector to translate a particular input source into a standard format. I’ve had success using a Panasonic MX50 video mixer to take in NES or SNES signals, for instance, and output nice NTSC composite video I can sync my LZX rig to.
Thank you sooo much 
. This was a PERFECT explanation. I love this forum.
Thanks so much . This is so helpful. I’m learning so much here.
Thanks for this helpful guide!
question on those modules which require RCA sync:
Ah, i just racked my new Escher Sketch, whose sync termination switch is labeled! Are all the switches set for UP as loopthrough and down for terminated? Just making sure I’m setting my WOTA correctly
The WOTA user reference card says Up is for Terminate: lzxdocs/War of the Ants User Reference Card.pdf at master · lzxindustries/lzxdocs · GitHub
Thanks @joem! I think I’ll start a spreadsheet to keep track of all these details 
Hi @creatorlars, could you update this with info about Gen3?
Updated. Thanks for the reminder.
Can an FKG3 sync to a cadet system by plugging one of the Cadet 2 outputs to the FKG3 sync input?
Yes, you can do that.
Anyone know if you can use a bus sync Prismatic Ray synced to an Erogenous Tones Structure? I was thinking maybe connecting the front sync input on the PR to the sync out of the Structure, but I’m not really sure if that would work.
Neat idea but it wouldn’t give you the results I think you’re anticipating. It would respond but it would look ‘glitchy’ with all the other information being sent at once on those cables.
Whether you’d use one of the front composite outputs or rear genlock I/O on Structure, it wouldn’t be what a Prismatic Ray is expecting for typical H/V sync usage. Those signals would either be a full composite video signal or possibly just a black burst signal (valid video with no picture) but neither one is quite right to get stable vertical / horizontal bars. The Sync input on PR has voltage clamps so you don’t have to worry about hurting anything by using a RCA to 3.5mm adapter cable to get some funky looks. I’d put it into a voltage processor (Passage, Cadet VII, Fox Access, VisibleSignals Wrangler) first so you can bias the signal’s output around the Sync input’s comparator threshold–try it!
For more predictable H/V sync settings, you’d need to be able to strip everything from either of Structure’s possible outputs except for the synchronization signals, really just individual H and V pulses. You’d need a Cadet I, Video Sync Generator, or Visual Cortex to immediately patch H/V sync into a PR’s front sync inputs. If any of those modules are on the same CV/Gate bus as the PR, you do not have to patch sync from the front as those signals are already shared on the CV/Gate bus.
Another route is hijacking the H/V outputs from the LMH1980 on the power/RCA board of the @syntonie VU009 into the CV/Gate bus where your PR is powered up. I’ve done this very thing with a Structure, bus sync Prismatic Ray and VU009–it works just fine. Maybe it’s possible to tap those signals from one of the Gen3 Power/Sync backpacks (FKG-3 at present) but that seems more expensive to attempt.
Video Waveform Generator is missing from the list of modules requiring sync, and can receive sync over the cv/gate bus.
