Saturn Bios mod

Need some help on a fiddly one.

I have a Pal 64pin model 2 console.
Have installed a mlulti region bios in and all boots ups ok.
I have also put added a mod chip I had bought from Racketboy which also works ok.
The only way for me to play the jap cdrs is to have the Saturn in 50Hz.
If I put it in 60Hz it gives me an error for region incorrect or just goes into cd player mode.
I can boot in 50hz and switch to 60Hz after the cdr has loaded.

50hz/60hz is set with a switch connected to the switch pads in the rear battery compartment.

Any idea why it has to be in 50hz mode to work correctly?

Cheers

 

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i concur, sounds like a switchless mod is going to 60hz - english or NTSC US instead of NTSC-J. although i could be wrong.

 

All I have is the 50/60 switch,the region free bios and cd mod.

 

I've personally seen some odd behaviors resulting from the region free BIOS I've been installing. One of my Saturns will boot up just fine, CD-R or pressed media, but when it gets past the licensing screen Resident Evil freezes before whatshisface has a chance to turn around and get attacked by the zombie dog. Mega Man X4 freezes during the Capcom logo sequence. Most games just go to a black screen.

When in the BIOS it'll recognize games and music discs and play all CDDA just fine but the bloody thing just doesn't like games anymore. Might be the fact its a V-Saturn BIOS combined with a specific mobo revision that has some bug in it that doesn't like the Japanese BIOS but frankly I don't know how to go about debugging the thing short of popping in an original BIOS or a region free American BIOS.

:grief:

 

Yes had the black screen problem.
It works but has to start in 50hz first then manually switched to 60Hz.
I have some pressed Japanese games coming so it will be interesting to see if it behaves the same way.

Do you think it might be the type of 50/60hz mod I have used that could be the cause.
Is the chip leg lift one differnt.

 

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No problem with the installation. No tracks lifted. All pins soldered.
Games work every time in 50hz.

 

I have attached the 5v line from the mod chip board directly to the CD board and it's now behaving better.
This was pointed out on Racketboys forum.
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=20188&start=20
I can now leave it on 60hz and just cycle the door.

 

x

 

I changed the cable to a higher gauge. Its also silver stranded and is capable of 7 amps .
I think it probably reliability of the mod chip.

 

The region free BIOS is based on the Japanese V-Saturn IIRC and this is an American Saturn. I have a modified American BIOS written to a chip I can swap in but I've been waiting on a hot air rework machine before I do it. Guess I'll find out then if it was a compatibility problem or not.

The PCBs are pretty flimsy. If you look at the progression of design for the SSIC chips you can see a move from almost entirely a thick PCB with all through hole components to nearly 100% surface mount using a very thin, cheap PCB that flexes quite readily. The bucket worth I have are all of older revision which definitely feel sturdier.

 

The region free bios isnt based on the vsaturn. Its just a normal jap saturn bios.

There is no compatibility issue with the bios. They are all pretty much identical anyway - minus startup animation/sound.

 

Hey don't ruin my last shred of hope to get that poor Saturn working!

 

Try changing the laser unit. I had a console giving weird lockups and it was solved like that.

 

I tried that earlier; the Saturn in question is a 64 pin model and all I have spare is a 32pin drive. I tried swapping them in for kicks and it sort of worked but nothing productive came of it. Hopefully I will come across something good soon.

 

Ive only ever had luck swapping like for like.

Only reason I found it was the drive (as I really didnt expect it to be) - its because the fault followed to another machine. I took the drive from it as I couldnt find the problem, then the problem was in the console that I knew worked. Changed to yet another drive and both worked correctly.

 

Guessing that means the Saturn mobo is expecting what was installed in it and communication between the mobo and drive are different from revision to revision. Can't say I'm too surprised but Sega has the tendency to make parts interchangeable - at least is the case with the Dreamcast and some parts on SegaCD based machines. Same motors in the model 2 and X'EYE but that could simply be that the motor was cheap and massively produced for the time.

 

I don't think its a bios issue.
My unit now behaves as describe by the link I posted previously.

 

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