32x passthru cable pinout request

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dlmvii
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32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by dlmvii »

I've been searching and I'll be damned if I can find the pinout for the passthru cable from a model 2 to a 32x (assuming it is different then the pinout for a regular a/v cable)...do some of the pins get swapped thru segas cable? is the 32x supposed to even get the 5v from the genesis?
I just bought a 32x and this cable (I was told it work work, but I may have been misinformed http://www.stockcable.com/products.php? ... n%20Cables)
So I get no video through the 32x (though there is a flicker on firs turning it on). I'm not sure if the 32x is busted, or this is the wrong cable (or both!).
If I power a 32x, plug a genny game into it, and have the av coming out of the genesis, is that supposed to work? (at least this would help me narrow down which thing is wrong) In any case, the cable I have now is giving 5v to the 32x via pin 2, which I (think) it shouldn't be doing....


Sorry for the thought dump. But any answers anyone could give me on any of these points would be great. Thanks in advance!
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by dlmvii »

I took the 32x apart to clean it, and one of the ribbon connectors had come disconnected. Fixing that, it now works, but -
Now the only way to turn it off is to unplug the 32x. Pressing the power switch on the console doesn't do anything. I'm wondering if this has to do with improper pinout on the cable, as I can't really think of anything else it could be.

EDIT - That has to be the problem. With this cable, giving 5v to the 32x, the 32x will run without an external power supply (at least, it will run genny games). While this is cool, I feel like it is a very bad idea, so I won't do it any longer. If I could cut the pin that is giving 5v, I want to say that would fix the problem, but of course this process is not reversible :(

Anybody have any insight into this?
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by Hobie-wan »

I just looked at my 32x passthrough cable. All of the pins are there except the 5v one. So yeah, looks like you should break that one off. Odd that if it is not meant to be used that it is even connected internally on the 32x. :?
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by dlmvii »

I think the first link is the pinout for the a/v cables, but not for the passthru. Although, the only difference seems to be the one 5v pin. It is indeed bizarre that the 32x is able to be powered by that pin if it was never intended too...It would be really cool if it was safe to run it like that, and only need one power brick. Although I think eventually the poor voltage regulators would burn up.
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by CRTGAMER »

Not sure about pass thru but here are pin outs.
Hobie-wan mentioned above about 5 volt pin.
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by dlmvii »

God dammit this thing is a POS. It freezes up after 5 minutes of play on my x'eye, and on my model 2 it has incredibly glitchy graphics. I tried cleaning and reseating the white ribbon cables multiple times, but to no avail :( At least I only payed $5 for the system, though I'm wondering if buying another one is even worth it to play just one game
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by Hobie-wan »

dlmvii wrote:God dammit this thing is a POS. It freezes up after 5 minutes of play on my x'eye, and on my model 2 it has incredibly glitchy graphics. I tried cleaning and reseating the white ribbon cables multiple times, but to no avail :( At least I only payed $5 for the system, though I'm wondering if buying another one is even worth it to play just one game
Silly question, if you play it with the top shell off and a fan pointed at it so it stays cool does it cooperate? Or maybe there's a dying cap in it?

(dumbosity edited out per Zig's suggestion)
Last edited by Hobie-wan on Fri Apr 02, 2010 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by Ziggy »

There are no dumb questions... just dumb answers.
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Re: 32x passthru cable pinout request

Post by dlmvii »

Hobie-wan wrote:
dlmvii wrote:God dammit this thing is a POS. It freezes up after 5 minutes of play on my x'eye, and on my model 2 it has incredibly glitchy graphics. I tried cleaning and reseating the white ribbon cables multiple times, but to no avail :( At least I only payed $5 for the system, though I'm wondering if buying another one is even worth it to play just one game
Silly question, if you play it with the top shell off and a fan pointed at it so it stays cool does it cooperate? Or maybe there's a dying cap in it?

(dumbosity edited out per Zig's suggestion)
It's not an overheating issue, though I suppose a capacitor could be going bad? I'm not really sure, there doesn't seem to be a common culprit like there is for the turbo express and whatnot. I'm not totally sure the replacing capacitors one by one is even worth it, considering I only paid $5 for the system.

Hell, I don't know if I can rule out the possibility that the games itself isnt bad. I have no other 32x games, and I've never even seen another 32x in the flesh to be able to test it out on. I'd hate to replace the system to find it is the game that is busted, or vice versa. I suppose I might pick up the one other game I'm slightly interested in on the system (Kolibri), and at least see if my copy of Knuckles Chaotix is messed up. Honestly, I'd rather the system need replacing then the game, since I can get a 32x for much less, it seems.
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