Latch Circuit for Language Switch

[MadCatXIII]

I'm considering adding language switches to my Sega Genesis and Neo Geo CD.

I know it's an unlikely event, but I worry about someone hitting the switch while the machine is on.

Has anyone used (or tried to use) a latch circuit that will lock the state received from the switch at startup? I am thinking this might be something worth attempting and was wondering if anyone else had already tried it?

Would it be worth the trouble?

[theclaw]

I'm not exactly sure how safe it is. Though switching while on has its uses for some Genesis games, one way to do things like play USA Streets of Rage 2 in Japanese. (Of course you could bypass the region error with a cheat device)

[Exhuminator]

If you're talking about putting in a hard wired regional switch, why not just use a small dip switch? If you make it recessed into the console's main body, there's no way anyone's going to accidentally trigger the tiny switch. These things are discrete enough for the job. Unless I totally misunderstand what you're saying, I can't see how a tiny dip switch or bank of tiny dip switches wouldn't work:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIP_switch#Types

[MadCatXIII]

I like the recessed switch idea. A lot simpler and cleaner than what I was planning.

I hadn't heard of anyone switching while the system was on before. I had always been under the impression that hitting the language switch while the system was on was a BAD THING. So it may not be as big a deal as I was thinking.

Thanks!

[theclaw]

The usual issue is switching 50hz/60hz. Some games weren't written to handle that, and have glitches (especially incorrect music speed) if changed.

[MadCatXIII]

I don't think I'll be adding a NTSC/PAL switch to either one, just the language switch.

For the Genesis, I mainly just want to be able to play Japanese games that didn't come to the NA region, and for the NGCD, I just recently got a Japanese system and want to modify it so I can play in English when I want.

I've done a good bit of electronic tinkering and repair, but I have to admit it's not my strongest point, and I didn't want to risk damaging my consoles.

Thanks for all the help!