Just Got A Sega Katana

It'll be here Wednesday!

Can't wait. I'll probably have questions on setup and what not, so try to come back in a couple days .Thanks again everyone.

 

Ok, I need some help. Trying dip switches in different settings, the katana is on... can't get a picture. Any specific instructions I should take to troubleshoot? I'm trying via RCA and VGA. Can't seem to get an image.

No, I don't have a PC to plug it into at this point. Thanks in advance

 

I've tried 1,2, 4 Left Slider 0 rotary, all dips off left slider 4 rotary...

Can't seem to get anything. Any ideas?

I put in a game, and it was spinning it before I took it out. So it's working... ish. Just can't get a feed on either VGA monitor or AV cables.

 

While I wait for some ideas, here are some pictures:

 

- Rotary on 0
- Dipswitches (from left to right) for VGA output: UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN

If you have no screen visible via the VGA after that, the devkit is probably in dev mode.

There are two modes:
- CPU mode = dev mode = the devkit will boot on a black screen & wait for you to upload a program via the SCSI cable
- OS mode = Bios mode = the devkit will boot with the usual katana logo, dreamcast bios & co. It will aslo play a sound when showing the katana logo

To switch modes, just launch Utl\Dev\DACheck\DAcheck.exe, and exit immediately without doing anything.
The program will ask you to select a mode to reboot into.

 

Ok, no image when doing that, so I guess it's in dev mode. Crap. I don't have a PC around here atm to run the exe. Guess I need to hunt down an old PC and start setting that up. :-/

 

It doesn't have to be an old pc

In case you haven't seen it yet, there's a post about how to setup the katana devkit under Windows 7

 

Well I'm a mac guy . Soooo. Any pc I guess haha.

 

Any pc with:
- a scsi card like the adaptec 2940
- a scsi cable to the devkit (HD50 connectors)
- a scsi terminator (also HD50 connector)
- windows 7 64 bits (use the Mekugiaspi instead of wnaspi32.dll) or Windows XP (wnaspi32.dll can be used)

 

I think you need 2 Terminators if you don't have the GD-Writer.

I was forced to use WindowsXP since most of the software I have wont play nicely with 7(both x86 and x64)

other than that. T_chan was right on the spot of what you need to get everything setup. good luck. Hopefully there is something cool like ninja gaiden on the HDD

 

Works fine here with only 1 terminator, without GD writer

In fact, some people have reported it also works fine without terminator at all

 

Ok, I'll do my best to hunt down a computer and these parts and get back to you guys. Thanks for the help, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

 

I own a Katana too, and I just wanted to add, this is an extremely cool devkit. It's got a very powerful realtime debugger, the GD-ROM emulation works quite nicely, and the unit itself is just a really sleek design. That said, there is a common fault with these systems. Often there are poor/dry solder joints on the connectors which join the boards inside the unit. This most often seems to make the GD-ROM drive not work, but could also prevent the unit itself from working. I bought mine "not working" and ended up fixing it by retouching all the solder joints on the debugger board connectors. Just wanted to make you aware of this, because if you end up with similar problems, it's an easy fix.

 

Thanks.

I know the GD-Rom is working as it does take discs and spins them. Hopefully it doesn't have this issue. It sounds like everything is running fine in there, just isn't displaying. I'm assuming it's stuck in dev mode as T_Chan suggested, which would make sense. If that doesn't work though, I'll be crushed. I can't say I've ever soldered anything, so while it might be an "easy" fix, I would hate to have to resort to that. The unit though is in nearly mint shape, and it was obviously cared well by someone. I'm just hoping that translates to it working right.

I think running the exe file should work, just got to get all these parts first. Fingers crossed!

 

When you get it running, can you tell me what version of the bios it is running? Preferably before you attempt reflashing it, if you do. It tells you the version number on the top right of the Dreamcast menu.

 

No problem, but first I have to get these components. I should be able to get them soonish. A little nervous now that this is stuck in this mode, but if it's normal then I'll feel better.