Sega Saturn Horizontal Scanline Flickering? (Need Advice)

[finalriches]

Hello. New member here.

I recently decided to finally get my hands on a Sega Saturn, a JP model 1 to be exact, I paid 100$ for a bundle which came with the unit, cables, controller and JP Panzer Dragoon game, but upon booting it up I was somewhat disappointed to see that it has noticeable Horizontal Scanlines that flicker throughout the screen. Now I have tried it on two CRT's via AV cables, and even tried a different power cable. It isn't completely terrible during gameplay, but during darker scenes it's a lot more noticeable and just an annoyance overall.

After doing some searching it seems to be a problem in the PSU department, and would unfortunately more than likely require some replacement parts and soldering.  I could probably repair it myself, but am honestly a bit hesitant to do so.

Fortunately the seller i ordered from has a free return policy, but I'm unsure If I should go ahead and return it or not. I wonder if this Is just a super common thing? did I just get unlucky?, or should i have potentially got a model 2?

I'm a bit torn, and any advice would greatly be appreciated.

[zyrobs]

It's caused by aging electrolytic capacitors in the system (particularly around the PLL), and/or old EMI filters on the video output lines.
An old power supply can also cause it, but then the system would make an awful noise and wouldn't boot anything.

[finalriches]

Thank for the info. I can only assume, but would you say this is something that effects most Saturns out there at this point? If thats the case I might just end up keeping this unit.

[zyrobs]

I'm not buying enough units to be an authority on that, but from what I've seen it is becoming a more and more common issue. Also consider that electrolytic caps have a finite lifespan.

[syn]

When it comes to hardware, I know of no one more knowledgeable but I respect your admission of not being an "authority".

I however look to you as one.

I can't remember a strong disagreement with your opinion of the Saturn. Most purposely do not post until you respond my friend!

[zyrobs]

Aug 21, 2018 5:01:05 GMT syn said:

When it comes to hardware, I know of no one more knowledgeable but I respect your admission of not being an "authority".

I however look to you as one.

I can't remember a strong disagreement with your opinion of the Saturn. Most purposely do not post until you respond my friend!

I know people who mod Saturns as a service and go through way more units than I do, like Bad_ad84. But I heard him say that the caps are becoming a more common problem as well.