Help needed with a Sega Saturn region switch

I'm never to modding consoles, so I thought I'd give this a try. Unfortunately, I'm not having very good luck with it.

It's a Japanese Saturn, model 1. One of the really old models with the power supply in the lid.

When the switch is flipped for Japanese, the system works fine and boots the game. No problems at all.

When it's flipped the other way, the system doesn't even turn on. The power light just flashes, kind of how an old NES blinking light would look.

Here's some pictures of what I did. Hopefully they're clear enough.

http://i.imgur.com/xSKeEPJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/n1egt4s.jpg


Yeah, the solder job looks like crap lol. I'm very new to this.

Also, just want to point out that I own a multimeter, but I'm not sure how to use it. So if there's anything I can test to figure out what's going wrong, I can do that too.

Thanks!

 

hello vaccy , can this clip help you out? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsqZnGqDXa8

it looks similar to your modification.
if it is the mod your doing and you dont understanding the clip you could always pm this dude on youtube with you youtube/google account.

last option or maby first would be a modchip, these are still available

 

Thanks, I'll take a look at the video.

I actually own a modchip for my other Saturn, but they only allow backups of the region the system is. So I'd still need a region switch for playing backups from other regions.

(I do know there are other methods out there such as patching, action replay and region free bios, but I was taking this project to get my feet wet)

 

I would try to resolder again, most of those joints look like cold joints.

 

Am I spinning out or are the links still in place? I know there are no "0" ohm resistors there, is there a trace there? I am refering to JP11 and JP6

 

I believe they are. I didn't mess with them at all. Any way to test?

 

Use a multimeter to buzz out the two pads. If they are still connected cut the trace using a sharp hobby knife.
They definitely need to be cut

 

Yes as said they definately need to be disconnected from the original supply as that is how it works, JP(pair) either gets +5v or GND. Leaving the existing links will give a short (not cool).

Note, only cut where I have circled. You need to keep the other link in place as those 2 pads go to a IC that controls what-is-what.

 

Actually, for a beginner its pretty good.

 

Thanks for all the advice (and compliment ), I'll go ahead and cut those 2 parts tonight and report back.

 

vaccy, i used a patch program to patch the region of my games , it allmost always workt flawless, long long long time ago. if you are interrested here is a direct link to the program http://madroms.satakore.com/SRP3.0GE.rar

 

Yeah most games are fine at 60hz.
Biggest game compatibility reason you'd want a switch is for, is if you'll be playing PAL games who run better with 50hz.
Neither a modchip or region free bios changes the console's speed.

 

I'm leaning toward region patching the games, but what games don't work this way? Is a switch/bios better in this regard for less hassle even though it's a few minutes of my time to use the program?

 

x

 

Traces cut, and all is good! Thanks!

Lum, what games work better at 50hz? The only two I cared about (Parodius and Keio 2) ran fine on my modded system after I patched them. There's always Deep Fear, but I downloaded the NTSC prototype for that one.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

Sweet! That is great it worked for you.

 

Those solder joints look fantastic to me. Maybe I have a very low bar of excellence?

 

Well Sonic 3D Blast isn't worth it. Has an NTSC release and isn't that great anyway.

 

Aside from the fact you're a beginner at soldering is there any reason you didn't go for a region free BIOS instead? I had thought that region switches would be considered obsolete with them becoming available at large.

For a beginner they're pretty damn good. Always room for improvement; even on my own work.

 

Yes, you do - we have seen your soldering.

Ops soldering is no where near pro level, but for a first attempt - its pretty damn good.


Some of mine:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28488139/IMG_0077.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28488139/DSCF9848.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28488139/IMG_5926.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28488139/Photo 11-10-2011 13 26 59.jpg

And those arent even taking my time, couple of minutes tops for each of those and I dont consider myself pro.