MD/Genny auto-switching TMSS bypass mod

Good bye TMSS screen mod for MD/Genny

So yesterday night I finally finished this



This mod will bypass the TMSS screen (Produced by or under license from Sega enterprises ltd.), while retaining full compatibility with 32X, Mega CD and Power Base Converter. This mod also has a single switch disable function in case of trouble.

How it looks like in my MD2 :


I don't think I can make any demonstration videos for you... my web cam sucks, and so does my connection...

I just noticed a small error on the schematic (disable switch has one resistor in the wrong place...)... it won't make the mod work any different though :thumbsup:
And that I have comments missing on the MD scan...

 

Hmm, I'm surprised noone has replied yet!

Thanks for sharing this - that's a nice collection of mods!

What is the crystal clear audio? S/PDIF?

 

x

 

What kind of dithering are you talking about?

Either way, I enjoy seeing people mod their consoles how they see fit.

 

Druid, although TmEE does post this pic an awful lot, it seems that the mods do what they are intended to do. So people wanting unmuffled sound and clear RGB video know what they are getting when doing these mods.

 

I post those things on most forums I visit, especially when there's a section for such things... not always a persom present on one forum is at another and so on.
I recall this particular mod on 2 sites, or 3... and pic of my MD2 is seen a lot mainly because its my beloved game development masterpiece

and I updated the MD2 pic to the latest

It makes MD2 sound as good as emulators do, or even better. A before and after :
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showpost.php?p=79831&postcount=60

 

Well I'm convinced by the 'crystal clear' audio mod, after hearing the comparison. I know what I would rather hear

 

and if someone does want filtering too, its only a matter of adding 2 caps to the mod...

 

I don't mind him posting this picture everywhere. I just have basically no idea what half this stuff does. For instance.....what's the advantage to bypassing the TMSS?

*edit* hey wait....tiido I know a good question. All my genesis/megadrives lose sync signal to my tv when the cord is too long. Is there any mod you can do to the system to boost the signal strength? I'm using rgb naturally.

 

TMSS is the startup screen you get from later models, and it gives you 5 second delay before you can play the game... this mod bypasses the screen and you can jump right into the game just like on early signals.

For sync loss, there's probably one thing you could try... the sync signal is a open drain/collector and is pulled up with a 2.2K resistor.... that signal goes straight to the AV out... I don't have original RGB cables though so I don't know if they use the sync or composite as sync... if they use composite, then you could try to amp the signal with a transistor... I have not had any such problems so I cannot comment much abuot it.

 

Why on earth would you'd overclock the Z80?

 

I did it to test stability of my sound engine, and to study the behaviour of other sound engines... mostly you get a faster PCM sounds, and sometimes crazy instruments (mainly due to YM2612 being updated too fast), and to see what happens in SMS mode... even slightest overclock causes a crash in SMS mode

 

This is so cool! I admire your work so much!

What are you referring to exactly ? Would this allow to reproduce the sound of a "High Definition Graphics" model #1 ?

 

yes, it can be made sound like MD1... or even darker... depending on what caps you use.

 

That is fantastic news!!!! I really enjoy the 'filtered' sound of my HD model #1 Genesis.

- Do you think there is a way to record examples of how it would sound with different caps ?

 

I'll just have to solder a little and do recordings...

The whole idea of the mod is to get clean undistorted and unfiltered sound, putting the filter caps there kinda destroys my work

 

CCAM with caps

No, it does not =P

Seriously, I love your work and most would agree that getting the cleanest sound possible should be the goal, but for me, I like the sound of the HD model #1 and would love to know how your CCAM with caps would sound like.

I am especially interested in the sound differences between the two caps you've mentioned.


If you can record Streets of Rage 2's Go Straight Beatmix (BGM 01) I could do some comparisons to most of the models I have.

 

it has a seperate wire for sync. I'm using just the straight sync line...I'm NOT using composite video for sync. My other systems running through rgb (various arcade boards....super famicoms) don't have this problem. But all my models of genesis and megadrive do. It's fine as long as I keep the cable short. I'm just wondering why it does this.

 

Then you should certainly try to add another pull-up resistor there. Solder another 2.2K one between sync and +5V, or smaller value resistor (2.2 + 2.2 in parallel = 1.1).

 

thanks