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Post by zyrobs on Jan 29, 2022 14:03:00 GMT
So you got the Saturn working and you are getting a partial refund? That's pretty much the best case scenario. Use the refund money to buy a modchip It's better than all the cart solutions - those use a software hack that either works or it doesn't. And you need the cart slot for more important things (primarily backup cart for save games). The cart slot is "not working" usually because the carts require frequent cleaning, the pins are so thin that minimal dirt can block contacts. You'll need one of those sega security gamebit screwdriver heads to open up official carts, to make it easier to clean them. But that's about it. I've only had ONE board that had an actually broken cart connector (one of the pins was mis aligned, I could bend it back in shape but it has since given out), but that was a board-only replacement I got to fill some of the empty shells I had laying around, not a full unit.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 29, 2022 13:47:37 GMT
I should've mentioned to fiddle around with the battery, that alone helped me in the past too. But I didn't remember if it was removing a dead battery, or removing a working one, or putting in a new one when it had none before, or which combination it was. I mean I also had plenty of units that had dead batteries but still worked, but sometimes fiddling with the battery can revive non-working units.
edit: typo
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 29, 2022 2:34:19 GMT
If the step-down transformer was at fault, the console would either cut power randomly (you could see it on the LED easily) or the console would just blow.
It's possible that during transport, the console was pretty cold and the caps on it don't function right until they warm up, I've seen crap like that happen. Saturns are getting more and more frail with the years. Make a video of it not working, send it to the seller, and ask for a refund. If you can keep the console, all the better - especially if it does end up functioning once it thaws out, or if it can be repaired.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 29, 2022 0:14:49 GMT
There's 1001 things that can go wrong in there, the simplest of fixes is recapping the unit, but even that may not help, some users here had to switch out some 74xx ICs in there. Most of the time the issue is the clock signals not reaching the system ICs, which is why the guy in that video could get it fixed by only changing the caps around the PLL (which is responsible for generating the system clock signals).
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 28, 2022 22:41:20 GMT
Yes, you should be getting a black and white signal at least. Sounds like the unit is kaput.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 21, 2022 21:23:31 GMT
P.S. Once I get it working again, I still have a 50/60 mod and region feee BIOS to install. Any other ideas for upgrades/repairs are also welcome. I Missed this part. Do a digital sound S/PDIF mod, then you won't have to worry about the video cable making the sound buzzing at high volumes (and you could even disconnect the sound pins from the scart connector to prevent crosstalk with the video signals, improving video quality...).
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 21, 2022 5:03:05 GMT
The disc open lever is connected to CN5 pin 5, that is the power cable harness for the CD drive. From there it connects to one of the input pins on the drive controller, not sure which but it doesn't matter much (you could perhaps do a continuity check there to see if it connects but I've never heard of that part being broken). The lever iirc just connects ground to that one pin, but I could only test this on a dead board right now. If you have some resistance between GND and CN5 pin 5 when the lever is closed, then the lever should be connected.
I've found that the power connect lever is very finicky and can very easily break off the motherboard. Perhaps that is the case on your end too. There's quite a bunch of caps around the lever so maybe you bumped into the lever once or twice.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 20, 2022 1:34:54 GMT
The disc tray may be out of position (too high or too low). If you can get it calibrated, the old laser might work fine as well.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 20, 2022 1:33:27 GMT
I was told the MODE has compatibility issues. I'd recommend the Fenrir or Satiator.
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Post by zyrobs on Jan 15, 2022 14:16:00 GMT
I did not test it but isn't there a pin marked RFO on the underside in the top right corner?
edit: in the earlier 21pin drives it is labelled ARF, on the later one it is RFO, but it's the same pin. I'd try measuring that.
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Post by zyrobs on Dec 27, 2021 10:20:31 GMT
Thanks for the info! Must've been a mammoth of a task to reflow all the components one by one. Respect.
IC46/47 are only present on VA13 and VA15, plus on some VA10/11 boards but there only sometimes, as a sub-board. These boards have the sound parts combined into a single IC. Evidently something was not working properly there, so they came up with that fix mid-production and then incorporated it into VA13. I don't know what the chips do exactly, but from memory they are tied to the RESET line of the SCSP. It would make sense, that if those chips are broken, the audio section would not function at all and this would also prevent the booting process.
If the pickup is not moving its motor or bobbing up/down in an attempt to read, then it's the CD Block components that need to be inspected / replaced. These work completely independently from the rest of the system - they'll do their job even if most everything else is broken.
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Post by zyrobs on Dec 26, 2021 12:08:59 GMT
Lol, what's the saying, assumption is the mother off all f-ups? For the record I used SSF_012_beta_R4. "Brother, mother, any other sucker. It don't make any difference." that version is extremely old btw, and has a lot of crippling bugs. Resident Evil for example is unplayable on it.
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Post by zyrobs on Dec 26, 2021 6:16:55 GMT
Nah, you were clear enough, bucko was just speed reading.
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Post by zyrobs on Dec 25, 2021 5:16:45 GMT
Try using the latest version from the authors GitHub, and see if it works from a new installation (ie. without the config files from your existing setup). Also, do not run it from your Downloads or Temp folder, those are limited in what permissions Windows can use, and this can actually trip up some programs. Beyond that, I dunno what could be the issue... the author has a twitter and he can understand English, so you could try asking him about it there. Yes, he says he "updated to the newset Windows", but the diagloge box looks like Windows 10 to me, then he posts links to Wine which is a Linux thing, pardon me for reaching out for clarification on that He said he is using windows, windows visuals can be changed to use rounded corners or nearly anything really with some hacking, and he said the error was the only reference online he found for the error - the fact that it comes from Wine HQ doesn't mean he is using Linux, just that someone using Wine had that bug too.
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Post by zyrobs on Dec 24, 2021 10:16:54 GMT
The link you sent was for Wine, the Windows compatibility layer for Linux. So you're on Windows 11? Did you read his post?
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