Well, i received my first ever saturn this morning (model 1 saturn), plugged it in, and had a quick play, and i was pretty impressed. So then i decided that id take it upstairs and dissassemble it, for a quick look inside. So i did this, had a quick poke around the top layer (didn't take the metal shielding off) and started to put it together after testing that it still worked by plugging it in and turning on while the cover was off. Sure enough, it still worked. So i proceeded to put the lid back on, trying to get the fiddly reset button into place, when i saw smoke - I'd left the power cable in and managed to knock the power switch on. Of course i immediately pulled the power from it, and looked to see if i could work out where the smoke was coming from, and it looked like the power board. So my question is this - firstly, what the hell do you think could have happened?, and secondly, What can i do to fix this - Will i be able to buy a new power board or fix the old one, or is this a whole new saturn job? Oh and also, 2 of the tallest capacitors and the coil near the power socket have black hard goo - Looks like it could be melted plastic possibly, although i doubt this has anything to do with my problem as i would have noticed the goo being warm when i pulled the power
you most likely shorted the power supply. probably one of the solder points in the bottom touched the metal shielding. that black thing from the capacitors are electrolyte fluids. the saturn mainboard might still work but your powersupply is definitely pos.
Damn, That's what i thought - Guess i'd better get looking for a replacement. At least i think i must hold some kind of record for quickest breaking of a console - Day of Delivery
There's a small plastic shield under the psu that keeps the current from arcing into the unit, perhaps you forgot to put it in. Unfortunately that means the board is dead too. I have several beat up saturns I keep for parts. If you have a special saturn, I can always sell you one for the inside parts for your model. K
Nah it's just a plain model 1 saturn - Just a bit annoyed as i only played it once :smt022 Came with the box and everything else though, so I'll just buy one bare from someone nearby me hopefully. Haven't touched the plastic shielding though, which makes it shorting slightly odder. thanks for the offer though
The black stuff is just epoxy resin to keep the capacitors in place. They are a bitch for working loose and snapping the pins.
Well, in fact the power board gives out the same DC voltages, so putting in a US power board would work fine as long as it's from the same model and you use a stepdown converter. Oh by the way, I once disassembled my Saturn and forgot to put in the shielding when I put it together, and it wouldnt turn on afterwards. Turned out the fuse on the power board had snapped, you can desolder it and buy a new one for like 20 cents. Also, I once tried to mod my white Saturn, but when I turned it on I heard a hissing sound and smoked started pouring out from under the mainboard! Oddly, it worked perfectly fine afterwards :smt030
Smoke started pouring out My God Anti, I think that's about the worst modchip install I've heard of! ;-)
I've got a dead Saturn here that's got a fucked board, from a dodgy modchip installation by the look of it. You can have it or its PSU for the price of postage, it's just taking up space at the moment. I'm in the uk so it shouldn't be too pricy to ship, a few quid to a fiver at a guess.
Thanks, is it a model 1 or 2? I've got a bid on on ebay at the moment for 3 bare saturns, but if i lose that i'll talk to you
It's got round buttons iirc, but aside from that I'm not too familiar with the model naming conventions for Saturn so I couldn't say. If it's a power board you're after it shouldn't matter what revision the rest of the console is... surely the PSU hardware didn't change?
Thats model 2, I'm not sure whether the power board will have changed, But i expect I'll win this one on ebay, so don't worry about it
If he doesnt take it I'll gladly have it (provided you ship to Holland and it's not too expensive) :-D
Well the one I'm bidding on ends monday - If i lose that then I'll take it, otherwise let antipasta have it - Thats if it's Ok with you alchy?
