Sega Saturn Modchip help

[Wolfpacleader1986]

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=17313

Did some digging and found this. This is the EXACT same thing as me. I think mine IS defective. Of course, now that the wires are clipped because I tried replacing the wires too, I probably can't return it. So, I'm now screwed out of $35. Thanks, Racketboy!

[17DaysOlderThanNES]

I put that post there BEFORE I saw yours, so I apologize if you were offended. I tried your method, with no success. Now, my wire can't even reach the power supply now. Can I use just standard copper wire, or MUST it be with the insulation? I ask this because I don't have wire strippers. BTW, mine has a white line so I'm guessing that mine's the version 0019.

ah, well we have different models, mine is the .0014new. What insulation do you mean? I see a red sheath on the wire in your picture, so what more insulation would you need? Definitely make sure nothing is touching the RF shield (metal piece that covers most of the board, if you didn't already know) unless it has some sort of rubber or plastic between the two parts as that will instantly ground out any signal. My only guess is that your chip is configured wrong for your particular Saturn, but since my chip is different and I have a different model Saturn, I can't help any more than that. Are you positive you put it in the connector correctly (right hole and with the copper making contact with the pins)? If you are, I got nothin, someone with the Racketboy-style chip and a .0019 will have to chime in.

Reading your last post, maybe go for a consolegoods chip instead? I thought my first consolegoods chip was defective (still haven't tried it to know if it works or not since I got my other one working), so I ended up buying two. Overall, probably the worst purchase of my life because the Saturn just sucks. I haven't used my Saturn in months and even when I first got it I was like "wow, this is horrible." The Saturn is by far the worst Sega system ever made, except for the Japanese/late US controller, which is the best digital pad ever conceived (maybe second to the 6-button Genesis pad).

[Wolfpacleader1986]

There were other people that said that their chips were defective too, and they got replacements and they worked. I know the chip got power. It was able to spin the disc, so I got that part right. My only other hope is the signal wire. I cut it off because I was told I didn't need it and I had to cut off the power wire because after you suggested to plug it in the CD connector, nothing worked and the cord was too short to be soldered in again. The chip is still intact though.

All I want is a simple replacement, but I haven't gotten ANY word from the store at all. You'd think that with as much as sold here, they'd answer their emails....

It really upsets me(sad upset) that I borrowed money to buy this Saturn just for this purpose. I make very little(about $500 a month) and most of that goes to bills. So, I figured that this would be the great thing that could keep my spirits up and it turns into disaster. THAT's what upsets me more than anything, the one time that I try something, it ends in failure.

I just want a Saturn that I can play Radiant Silvergun, Panzer Dragoon, Deep Fear, and so many other hard to acquire Saturn games on. But, I guess I just have to sit back and watch as everyone else here gets to play on their Saturns....

[gtmtnbiker]

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with the Saturn. Although it's the easiest system to install a mod chip, it seems that that success rate is not as high for other systems (wii, xbox, ps2, etc). Probably because it's an older system and there's not a lot of people with in-depth knowledge of how these mod chips work and common issues.

I've had some difficulties myself even though mine is a 32-pin model two.

[MentalMan]

Have you even read/tryed whats in my thread? I posted you a link.

It dosnt necessarily have to mean its broken. I also dont gurantee that what I did works for you. BUT the chip was giving the same non working impression until I did, what I did, to save the modchips journey back to racketboy. It works completly fine.

Dont leave your head hanging like this, read properly and try everything without jumping to conclusions with it being broken or whatever.

[Wolfpacleader1986]

I did. I even tried it again using my headphone wire, since after trying what NES told me to do, the power cable was so short to the point where it wouldn't even reach the power supply. With the headphone wire, the disc wouldn't even spin. So, now I have a modchip that doesn't work. I didn't get a chance to try the jumpers because like I said, the wire became too short.

[gtmtnbiker]

. I didn't get a chance to try the jumpers because like I said, the wire became too short.

You can always splice it. Solder a new wire to the power and tie the wire to the one on the mod chip. You could use lamp cord if you're in a pinch. If you have an old junk computer, raid the inside for some wires. Shit, you probably could ask a neighbor for some wires.

[Wolfpacleader1986]

That's what I did. I took my headphone wire and soldered it to the power part of the chip(where the red wire was). Then I soldered it to the power supply as before. Now, the disc won't spin, which meant the chip wasn't getting power. Looks like I'll have to BUY another one as I still have yet to hear anything about a return and I know that he knows about it because I left a comment on the page and it was taken down. I'm starting to get discouraged with all this......

[gtmtnbiker]

Why don't you take some photos of your current setup. make sure the pictures are large & clear. Maybe we might see some bad connections that you made?

If you have a multimeter, I suggest doing some continuity tests. Verify that the expected connections are continuous and that they are not touching any spots that they're not supposed to touch.

[17DaysOlderThanNES]

yeah, clear pictures would help

to take clear pictures of stuff up close:

1. put it in the brightest room possible, sunlight is best. Flash sucks, never use flash unless you absolutely have to.
2. make sure the camera is in "macro" or "up close" mode, all digital cameras I'm aware of have this (but not cell phone cameras if that's what you're using)
3. zoom out as much as possible, frame the picture, then push the shutter button halfway and let the camera autofocus. Then, trying not to shake (kinda difficult to do on some), click it all the way. Sometimes it will grab the wrong surface for focusing and it'll still blur, but within 2-3 tries it should look great.


As for your disposition in general, have you looked into the Dreamcast? If you're just planning on playing "backups," the DC can be had for $20-$30 complete (cables+controller+VMU) and requires no modifications to play CD-Rs. There are boatloads of commercial games, homebrew, etc. on the DC, it's effing awesome if you're on a tight budget and the games are super fun. IMO, the Saturn is probably the worst system I own, very little is worth noting compared to similar games of the time. Even the arcade ports are horribly dated as they are way better in MAME (whereas the DC arcade ports have yet to be fully realized since MAME doesn't have compatibility with the latest arcade games).

To burn DC games, you just need to download any DC game in .cdi format, download Discjuggler and install it (unlimited time trial version), double click the .cdi file, put a disc in your drive, and click burn (and say "no" if it asks to try to correct the file, this will mess it up). If you need any more help with DC game burning, PM me.

Oh, and if you just want to play a cool shooter, the DC has something right up your alley: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... t=segagaga