Best way to play in the UK

[MattBlah]

I have been buying a few odd Japanese Imports recently and playing them on my UK Saturn using the action reply. I havent had any trouble yet but I know a lot of games don't work right like this due to the 50hz/60hz issues.

What is best for me if I want to play both imports and Pal games? Would a Japanese system with the action replay cart play pal games right or speed them up and make them go wrong too?

[Syntesis]

Having your PAL Saturn modified will give you the most versatile machine. If you want to play all region games this is your best option.

[mick_aka]

If you already have a UK Saturn buying a JP system and having both up and running is a pretty versatile setup if you have the room.

I have a 'Model 2' UK system, a 'model 1' JP system and a 'model 2' US system all together in a small cabinet.

[MattBlah]

So a Jap system with the action replay would mess up pal games then? Guess I will just keep the 2 consoles, not really into modding them to be honest.

[mick_aka]

I'm not into modding myself either, nothing wrong with it but I personally don't like cutting holes for mounting switches etc.

[buckoa51]

personally don't like cutting holes for mounting switches etc.

Console Passion's switchless mods avoid this and work really well, although I don't think Andy is doing any modding work until next year now.

[ameisenmann]

The switchless mod is not a invention of consolepassion. A fellow countryman named seb did it first and documented it well so that you can do it yourself.

seb.riot.org/saturnmod/

Also mmmonkey made a very good tutorial.
www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/saturn-ultimate.htm

I did this modification once on a Saturn and it worked like a charm. I still have the parts for modding one console this way. Planned to build an Ultimate Saturn with modchip and seb's mod.
Personally I own a modded saturn with one switch for 50/60Hz and one switch for EUR/JAP/USA switching. Never had a problem with making two holes with a knife into the battery cap.

Both mods are not trivial. Before I soldered the first time in my life I invited a friend over and we did it together because he had some experience with soldering.

If you want to keep things simple just get a japanese saturn and use your action replay. This should do it if you only want to play PAL and JAP games. But I would recommend a modification since many PAL games have 60Hz mode built in and support full screen like Winter Heat, others don't like Die Hard Arcade

[Syntesis]

Aug 2, 2011 17:53:26 GMT buckoa51 said:

personally don't like cutting holes for mounting switches etc.

Console Passion's switchless mods avoid this and work really well, although I don't think Andy is doing any modding work until next year now.

Yep. No holes drilled in my Saturn.

[Aydan]

you dont have to make holes just put the switch by the battery compartment just dont drill it, sure it's weird but it works. tbh I was gonna get a PAL console modded but then i figured every pal game WORTH owning was released in the US anyway (minus deep fear but the US version can be downloaded now thanks to a former sega employee).

[mick_aka]

Let me rephrase my last post somewhat...

Although I appreciate and admire modding work on Saturns, I personally would never be up for modding any of my own systems in any way that meant they could not be 'easily' restored to factory condition.
However I have modded systems in the past, but as I say having the room and a nice unit at the side of my TV to have 3 set up through a powered switch covers all bases for me.

[ameisenmann]

That sounds very reasonable but the reason I started modding was simply that I had not much money and room for several Saturn setups from different regions. So I started with the mod chip but quickly realized that I could not play capcom 4MB fighters an generally in 60Hz mode.
So the parts for the 2-switch-solution were less than 10,-EUR.
Partly it was also a challenge when I asked myself "can I do this?".
Besides that I learned a lot about hardware and how things work out in a Saturn.
It is more like a tuning for me because I have the impression of improving a Saturn through modding.
Today I wouldn't do the mod with drilling holes and stuff because the parts for the switchless mod are even cheaper

[mick_aka]

I agree, however the problem arises if like me you're useless at soldering (I have shakie hands nowadays) then having the switchless mod done by someone correctly will usually set you back more than a JP saturn will

[retro]

I'm not a fan of switchless mods. It's not a great idea to be switching under power, and I don't want my Saturn switching every time I want to reset it. Plus, people will tie region switching to 50/60 Hz switching, giving you less options (some people liked being able to speed up PAL games to their 'proper' speed, although some were actually PAL optimized... and on certain consoles, it'd remove the notorious borders).

Installing switches (be it switchless mod or a proper switch) is the easiest solution in that you only have to have the one console plugged in, you don't need a step-down transformer and it'll run any game you want. If, like me, you play many more consoles than just Saturn, space will be at a premium! However, if you only play Saturn, then having a Japanese Saturn and a European Saturn is probably not an issue.

Whilst I agree that modding a rare console (say a skeleton Saturn) would be a shame, I don't see a problem with picking up a cheap unboxed mass produced console locally and modifying it. Let's face it - Saturns aren't really worth that much any more, and there are still plenty to go around! As for the aesthetics, that's really down to how you mod it. Back in the day, the best modders would fit a hex switch inside the cartridge port - very unobtrusive.

[Syntesis]

Aug 5, 2011 22:10:14 GMT retro said:

I'm not a fan of switchless mods. It's not a great idea to be switching under power, and I don't want my Saturn switching every time I want to reset it.

I don't understand what you mean by this. It doesn't switch modes if you press the reset button, only if you hold it down.

Plus, people will tie region switching to 50/60 Hz switching, giving you less options (some people liked being able to speed up PAL games to their 'proper' speed, although some were actually PAL optimized... and on certain consoles, it'd remove the notorious borders).

Seb's code doesn't do that. If someone wants to rewrite his code it's their choice I guess? I can't think why they would though.

[ameisenmann]

I don't understand it neither...

Retro, maybe you are not fully familiar with the functionality of seb's switchless mod for the Saturn. The reset button controls everything using time cycles. So a quick press is just a normal reset, nothing else happens. If you hold it for 0,5sec then 50/60Hz switches on the fly when the console is switched on, no problem. When you hold it for 1sec, 2sec, 3sec...the regions are changed shown by changing LED. This takes effect when the console is turned off and then turned on again.
So regions are not bound to 50/60Hz. That's what makes it so cool

I think a switchless Saturn is even more expensive than a JAP Saturn. At least people at eBay are more willing to pay since there are not many persons who mod them just for selling purposes.