Sega Saturn AV Jack replacement or mod

[ajriley1791]

I've recently discovered this site and board and it's full of great information! I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for regarding a Sega Saturn issue I have though, which is the av jack on the console I just acquired is all messed up, like the pins are bent, possibly further damaged.

Has anyone ever replaced an av jack on a Saturn? I'm comfortable taking it apart and doing soldering if someone knew if it was possible to get a part and that this replacement is possible. Alternatively, how would one go about modding for composite av cables instead? I found just a bit about that, but nothing with the depth information was looking for on undertaking that project.

If anyone has any info or suggestions, I'm wide open. And I'm about to grab some sleep, but I'll be checking back in tomorrow morning or just after noon cst. Thanks for any info!

[theclaw]

I'd plan ahead. The AV jack offers composite, s-video, and RGB.
Aim to keep as much as possible ready to use or install.

[samsonlonghair]

MMMonkey is full of useful information for modding consoles. This page might interest you:
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/sega-saturn-av-port-pinout/

[ajriley1791]

Thanks for the link, that will be very useful, but are there instructions anywhere? I'm intermediate tech savy I suppose, but I need more instructions. Also my tv (Panasonic st50) doesn't have an see video in.

I have seen a couple of mods where holes were drilled in the case and jacks for the yellow, red, and white av cables were added, but they lacked detailed instructions, but is that what u need to accomplish? That's what I was thinking I'd have to do. How would I add RGB?
Sorry, this is my first mod of this kind, so I'm not familiar with everything I need and the steps. The soldering I can do and all, I just need step by steps to know exactly what I'm doing.

And thanks for the info so far!

[theclaw]

I don't know much tech wise. But it's easier if you're from Europe.

RGB while fantastic potential quality, needs a converter box to be very useful in the US.
Few of our TVs accept it.

[Ziggy]

The Saturn uses a non-standard mini-DIN jack for the AV output, so buying a replacement is next to impossible (if not actual impossible).

I have seen a couple of mods where holes were drilled in the case and jacks for the yellow, red, and white av cables were added, but they lacked detailed instructions, but is that what u need to accomplish? That's what I was thinking I'd have to do.

You don't need instructions, really. It's as simple as you just said. Drill holes in the console, mount jacks, solder wires.

I don't know where you're located, but you should be able to go into any Radio Shack and pick up this item:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2103224

Check your zip on the site to see what local branches have it in stock.

They're black though, so they wont be color coded like yellow, red and white. If you want the colored ones, get them from DigiKey.com or Mouser.com, they'll be about $1.50 each.

Each RCA jack has two solder tabs. The ring/washer tab is ground. You can tie all those together then solder it to any ground on the Saturn. The center tab of each jack is the signal. Use the Mmmonkey link to locate the signals you need (composite video, audio left, audio right) and solder those points on the motherboard to their corresponding RCA jack. That's about all there is to it!

I just checked the mmonkey link, it has the audio L and R backward. You should reverse those two when adding jacks. Pin 2 is the left channel and pin 3 is the right channel.

[ajriley1791]

Ziggy587, you sir are a gentleman and a scholar. That's exactly what I needed to know. I'm on my work break right now and am heading to radioshack. I'm also picking up a fuse to repair a Sega CD, haha.

And yeah, seems simple enough, I think I was just complicating it in my mind I'll try to do my repairs after work or tomorrow and post how it works out. If I think to take a couple of pics, I'll post those too

And thanks everyone for all the help!

[theclaw]

Well good point. Composite is more than enough to test the console.
If that TV was in your budget, video upgrades are no problem.

[AppleQueso]

The Saturn uses a non-standard mini-DIN jack for the AV output, so buying a replacement is next to impossible (if not actual impossible).

You could just remove the jack entirely and replace it with a more standard one. You'd have to make your own cables though. Probably a bit more work, but it'd be much cleaner.

[ajriley1791]

It'll be a couple of days before I can get this project done now, I can't find my soldering iron since I moved recently. I ordered a 12 watt Weller for work like this last night though. And I'll still update with how it works out once I have my new iron

AppleQueso, that does sound like an idea, definitely a bit more work to make my own cables and such, but it would look nice and clean. I like the suggestion, I may explore it a bit while I have some down time waiting on my iron.

I like how helpful and supportive everyone is here. You've really helped and I've found some food info searching the forums to, and I like the site. All good stuff!