Power base converter

[AlexKidd]

I've never owned one of these and i'm thinking about picking one up. I just have a couple of questions

1.Can these be used on genesis 2 systems?
2. Can you leave the converter on the system at all times and still be able to play genesis games?

[Mel]

It doesnt fit right on genesis 2, u need the genesis 1, though technically speaking it shoudl work,.

And no you have to remove it to play Genesis games.

And as for the games, I'd like more info on those, I just ordered my pb converter and it should be coming in with shinobi.

[Elusive]

1. The 'Power Base Converter' (or the 'Master System Converter' as it was known in Europe; 'Mega Adapter' in Japan) is designed for the Genesis model I console, because the underneath of the unit is shaped to fit the model I's shell. As the Genesis II is desiged slightly different, it won't fit very well. You can get it to sort-of fit by sawing off the back of the unit that hooks around to the back of the Genesis I, but it'll still be unstable. There was a Master System Converter II released in Europe; however, it's fairly hard to find. Expect to pay $25+ if one crops up on eBay. It's designed to fit the Mega Drive II slot exclusively, and it's a more 'cartridge-sized' affair as opposed to a 'slots on top of the whole freaking console' affair - at the expense of losing the card slot. It will run on a Genesis I, though

2. You'll have to take the PBC off to play Genesis games. The reason is that the SMS used 50-pin cartridges; the Genesis uses 62 pins. As such, Genesis carts won't fit in the PBC. Besides, the PBC tells the console that it's not a Genesis cart plugged in; rather, it should boot the console in Master System mode.

[Melf]

It won't let you save your MS games either. Ys would never save for me on a PBC and Phantasy Star is said to be the same.

[Mel]

Hmm thats interesting, you would think they'd put the save in the cartridge instead of the console...

[Elusive]

They did - cartridges usually 'save' by using an EEPROM that is kept alive by a small battery. I don't really know how it couldn't save, but I can't test it anyway as I have no battery-saving carts.

[Melf]

I think it had something to do with the passing through to the Genesis, much like what happens when you use a Game Genie.

[videolamer]

I can't say this is wrong since I haven't had a Power Base Convertor for 8 years now, but I used to use it a lot and do not recall having any trouble saving games.

[Joe Redifer]

Both Ys and Phantasy Star save and load fine for me on my Genesis 1 and PBC. I can offer video evidence if need be. Melf are you sure that your PBC isn't retarded or something?

My friend also has a PBC and a Genesis 1 and his SMS games save and load fine as well.

[David J.]

It won't let you save your MS games either. Ys would never save for me on a PBC and Phantasy Star is said to be the same.

Maybe your batteries are screwed up? I think those are early SMS games, so you can open the carts with a regular screwdriver and replace the batteries.

[videolamer]

Oh man, that reminds me of when I tried to crazy glue a new battery into Phantasy Star when I was a kid.

[Zebbe]

I also have Phantasy Star, the PBC and a Mega Drive 1, and saving works fine for me as well.

[Knuckle Duster]

I have a PBC and 2 model1 genesis's.

Phantasy Star saves fine for me.
But I did notice that running on one of the genesis' caused small grafic glitches every time it went into a battle. It would have small squares that looked out of place, up the sides of the screen.
I'm guessing this was just a problem with the chip.