retroborg
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Post by retroborg on Oct 21, 2014 17:36:29 GMT
Good day,
I have a EURO PAL SEGA Saturn Model 2. MK-80200A-50, ASSY CD UNIT JVC EXL-P605 & 32pin IC.
Games do load, but the screen is a bit shaky as if there is a sync problem. It is not possible to be caught on camera, but the problem is there. Also after some time and in between loadings, the display will go black, while the CD continues to spin and the console will stop responding until I reset it.
After visual inspection on the M/B, I don’t see anything that could be causing this problem and the problem persists even with different TV cables and various games.
Does anybody know what could be wrong with it and what I could do to fix it?
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Post by zyrobs on Oct 21, 2014 21:30:57 GMT
The video is normal for that unit. We don't know how to fix it, but it happens on all units using VA9 boards.
For the machine freezing, I've noticed such a thing being a relatively common issue for those boards as well. It happens less often and eventually ceases once the machine has "warmed up" after some gameplay. I think recapping would help those units, although I have not personally tried it yet. I do have a buggy machine like that, same board version and all... recapping it is on my todo list.
If recapping the motherboard does not help, the other thing that would help is recapping the power supply and also replacing some of its commonly faulty components (like that TOP PWM switch which is notorious for problems).
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retroborg
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Post by retroborg on Oct 22, 2014 21:32:30 GMT
So, apparently, it was a problem with the PSU. I changed it with another one and it seems to be working fine now with no freezing, stops or black screens between the loads.
The letters on the screen (Especially the white ones) are still a bit more shaky than the other 2 Saturns I own, but I'm not sure if recaping the motherboard will fix that.
Oh by the way, what is that faulty component like that TOP PWM switch which you mentioned? Would replacing it eliminate the minor shake on this Saturn?
Thanks in advance
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Post by zyrobs on Oct 22, 2014 22:06:26 GMT
Which were the two power supplies you changed?
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retroborg
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Post by retroborg on Oct 23, 2014 15:30:53 GMT
Which were the two power supplies you changed? Well it was just an equevelant PSU that I got from another Saturn which I cannibalized; it was working perfectly until that Saturn died from other "un-natural" causes  Anyway, the shaky display has been greatly improved with the new PSU, it's just not as stable as the other VA7 Saturn I have. So my guess is either there is something else wrong on the M/B that’s causing it, or this specific Saturn VA9 version is just like that. In fact I've read that All VA9 boards are like that, and to a slightly lesser extent also VA7 PAL and VA13 PAL too. (Anybody care to verify that) and this so happens to be a VA9 board, while the other VA7 board has a more stable display. Thanks in advance |
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Post by zyrobs on Oct 23, 2014 15:58:45 GMT
So they were the exact same model PSU?
I suspect the cause is because VA8 and VA9 machines use the older separate asic cd block. That is the only difference between those and other VA6+ units, that could affect this. NTSC machines are affected too, but as I recall, to a lesser extent, which would mean that the power supply is at fault as well.
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