Any way to install a Saturn cart *inside* the system?

[SGGG2]

I hate the way the system looks with the cart sticking out.

[Breetai]

I hate the way the system looks with the cart sticking out.

So use the internal memory. That's what it's for.

[GSZX1337]

I think he's talking about an Action Replay Cart.

[Ziggy]

I think I know what he means. You want to use a cart but have it inside the system so you can't see it. It wouldn't be the hardest mod, but you would probably have to sacrifice the cart slot to do it. I guess this isn't a problem if you don't ever plan on changing the cart, but this isn't ideal. I know every one has their own preferences, but I like using an official Sega memory cart and every now and then using a PAR for the video memory or cheat features.

There might be a way to hard wire a memory cart to the system with a switch so that you can deactivate it and use a different cart in the slot, but you would have to know the pinout of the cart slot. I've never seen the pinout documented anywhere, though it's probably out there some where. For sure the Saturn can't handle two carts at once, so this is what you would have to do if you wanted to keep the cart slot open for use.

But if you're not concerned with that, it would be pretty straight forward to wire a cart to the slot inside the system. I can think of two ways I would do it. One, remove the cart slot and wire each pin of the cart to it's corresponding pad on the motherboard. Two, remove the cart slot and wire it into the board so you can turn it 90 degrees and plug a cart into it. The second option would be good because if you ever wanted to change the cart all you would have to do is open the system up and change it. If you wire the cart directly to Saturn, and you ever wanted to change it, you would have to desolder the entire thing and resolder the new cart.

This is all assuming there's enough room inside the console. I haven't opened up a Saturn in a while, but I believe there's enough room.

[lisalover1]

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Like Ziggy said, you would no longer be able to use the cart slot, which means you will never be able to use a NetLink, which means you will never be able to play Vitual-On online!

[Breetai]

Another reason to never even think of doing this is that the Saturn's cartridge connector is iffy at best. If you permanently install a cartridge and it doesn't register later on (VERY likely), you can't re-insert it, jiggle it around, etc. You're screwed.

I HIGHLY don't recommend doing this. If you want to play imports without a cartridge, install region mod in it and keep the battery inside fresh. The only time you'd even need to use a cart would be for 1MB and 4MB games and memory transfers.

[Ziggy]

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Like Ziggy said, you would no longer be able to use the cart slot

This is correct, unless you were able to find the pinout for the cart slot. You could hard wire a cart to the motherboard but with a switch to a crucial pin (like the power source) so you can deactivate the cart. That way you'd still be able to plug a cart into the cart slot if you needed to.

nother reason to never even think of doing this is that the Saturn's cartridge connector is iffy at best. If you permanently install a cartridge and it doesn't register later on (VERY likely), you can't re-insert it, jiggle it around, etc. You're screwed.

Well you could remove the cart slot and hard wire a cart to the motherboard, then you would never have to worry about the cart slot again! But then you'd never be able to use a different cart (unless you wanted a long soldering process to change carts) which is why I recommended different options.

You're screwed.

Well, you wouldn't be totally screwed. All you would have to do is open the console to re-seat the cart.

I HIGHLY don't recommend doing this. If you want to play imports without a cartridge, install region mod in it and keep the battery inside fresh. The only time you'd even need to use a cart would be for 1MB and 4MB games and memory transfers.

I'd have to agree, this is probably a smarter choice.

[Breetai]

You're screwed.

Well, you wouldn't be totally screwed. All you would have to do is open the console to re-seat the cart.

A little screwed is still screwed. Just ask... oh, never mind her. Screwed is screwed is screwed!

[skate323k137]

Installing a region switch isn't too bad, especially if you only need two countries. With all the different revisions of the motherboard it can be daunting the first time, but gamesx.com should have all the documentation you need to do a quick and easy US/JP switch. Your other options were well covered by Ziggy587. None of them sound like too much fun to me.

[Ziggy]

Well SGGG2 never said what kind of cart he wanted to use inside the system. If he wanted a PAR to boot different region games, then the region mod IS a better option. But if he wanted a memory card, that's a different story.