Ask general Genesis/MD/Sega CD/32X questions here (for new members)

[masterturk]

Hi all i have just bought a sega multimega off someone however they told me the cd part does not work maybe due to the power supply but it looks like an original model 2 one... When i turn it on it spins for a split second and also when i turn it off it turns for a quick sec but thats about it...

Any help would be appreciated thanks again...

[omp]

Dud laser? Had similar issue on a sega cd2, new laser fixed it.

[masterturk]

Dud laser? Had similar issue on a sega cd2, new laser fixed it.

Thanks ill check the laser out... Can i use a lens from another sega product also?

[omp]

You will have to use like for like. I believe (I may be wrong) that it may be a JVC Optima 6s in there. These are also used in some Sega CD2's and Saturn's. If so you are in luck as they are fairly easy to find. The best place (in my opinion) is to source the laser from Liberty electronics who sell on ebay under user http://myworld.ebay.com/bh5767/&_trk...84.m1423.l2754. Fantastic to deal with, they supplied me with one of these lasers as well as the hard to find Samsung SOH-0T4 laser for another Sega CD2 I have.

*edit, I may be wrong lol, it may be a Sanyo laser.

You will have to do more checks, clean the laser first and if you are brave, clean the whole mech as well just to make sure nothing is jammed.

[ZombieKohhi]

I recently got a free SNES (I know it's not a SEGA system but I didn't know where to ask) and I was wondering if there are any capacitors I should replace or anything of that nature. And if I do is there a guide somewhere? I am fairly good with electronics as I build my own PCs but I have never done any soldering.

[ApolloBoy]

I recently got a free SNES (I know it's not a SEGA system but I didn't know where to ask) and I was wondering if there are any capacitors I should replace or anything of that nature. And if I do is there a guide somewhere? I am fairly good with electronics as I build my own PCs but I have never done any soldering.

Is there anything wrong with your SNES? The capacitors in the SNES tend to be fairly solid, I haven't heard of any SNES having cap problems yet.

[Guyjin]

I have a problem with my Model 1 Sega CD. The Access light blinks continuously, as if the drawer is open. It isn't, and pressing reset does not open it. I took the thing apart, and identified what I thought was the switch that tells the SCD the drive tray is closed, and taped it down. No effect.

Any suggestions?

[M1557]

Hey guys.
So happy to find this place.

Ill try keep it brief.
So 2 weeks ago I took a nice long train ride and picked up a second hand mega drive 2.
I was told over the phone that the power cord was missing, but I figured that was easy to replace and got it anyway.
Once I got home I hooked it all up with the RF cable I was given.
It took me a good few minutes to get the chanel tuned in on my LCD telly, but I was eventualy finding small signals of sonic sound files popping through sporadically with no clear picture.

After a good hour of playing with the tuning I figured the RF cable was on the fritz.
I had random 9pin to VGA style pin cable from an old tv recorder device laying around.
It has the mega drive 9 pin male and it stems into 6 vga pins, 3 are red white and yellow (for standard VGA) and there are an extra 3 that are blue green and red (for HD output I believe).

I tried out the console with the standard VGA pins and I was getting a really bad signal, the game isn’t completely loaded on the screen, colours seem saturated with a lot of pinks and off colours.
No sound though, which I thought was weird.

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction in regards to getting this thing running 100%.
I have already sourced a replacement for 40 dollars, but I would like to try fix this one first.

Cheers.

EDIT: I should also mention that i baught a standard power converter with the changable pin heads. It powers the console on and i can semi play the game through the bad signal so i assumed it was fine.
The power adapter wouldnt mess with the AV would it?

[olliehoad]

Hello all, I'm new here and just want to begin by saying what a fantastic website and community you've got going on here.

OK that's enough flattery for now so on to the problem I currently have with my set up.

Being from the UK I am currently using a European Mega Drive II on a Samsung LE23R86 LCD TV with a Megadrive 2 RGB Stereo Scart cable that I purchased from eBay. The problem I am getting is that the picture goes crazy and also flashes on and off a lot. I have to keep switching the machine on and off and using the reset button until it eventually settles down, at which point I'm finally able to get on with some gaming. I have done a bit of searching around on the Web to see whether this is a common problem and did find this link which seems to demonstrate the issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjZ3YIgqjLU

Before going ahead and splashing out on another Scart cable (and one from the US at that) I just wanted to ask whether anyone else has experienced this issue and how you got around it. I don't really have the room for a CRT TV (which coincidentally my set up works fine on - I tested it on a friend's) so would like to find a work around for the Samsung LCD TV. I have also been considering having my machine fitted with a switchless mod but don't think this will be possible at the moment what with all the resetting I have to do.

So that's my issue; if anyone has got any useful advice it would be GREATLY appreciated.

See you around on the boards!

Ollie

[lumclaw]

Hmm. That link implies the problem should only happen at 60hz. Which isn't possible without import or modified consoles.

Though you might want to know Megadrive-based hardware (by extension including Genesis/Nomad/CDX/etc) actually does not have perfect RGB. Due to its design, faint vertical bars are difficult to eliminate. Most noticeable with large blue backgrounds on LCDs. Sonic games are good for testing.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ad.php?t=32194

[olliehoad]

Thanks for your response lumclaw.

What is strange is that it effects some games more than others. I just popped in Street Fighter II and it played without any problem whatsoever but I then popped in Golden Axe II and the image was shaking, flickering and flashing on and off. The problem was intermittent (i.e. I would wait a few seconds and it would settle down) so I played through to around the fifth stage and when the level started the image never settled down so I had to abort. To ensure that it wasn't the game I cleaned the cartridge contacts with some isopropyl alcohol but that doesn't seem to have made any difference. It's frustrating as I have seen videos on YouTube where people are playing their Mega Drive/Genesis on a Samsung LCD TV. Maybe the new Scart lead is the way to go.

[The Jackal]

It does this with my PS2 & Master System Converter via RGB scart on my Toshiba LCD; image will be alright for so long, then picture will jump all over the place. If you don't wanna go the CRT route, you could get an RGB-to-Component upscaler, but they're quite pricey.

[olliehoad]

Just a quick update - I've been doing a little searching around since my last post and found some interesting bits and bobs.

A thread on the Retro Gamer forum threw up an interesting suggestion. The poster was experiencing flickering on their old consoles (Saturn/SNES) through their HDTV, which they believe was due to the type of Scart signal and how the TV interprets it. Apparently they purchased a Vivanco ‘AV Control 3’ Scart Switch Box from eBay (£8.99) and using the RGB on/off switch seemed to solve the problem. They also hooked up their Amstrad GX4000, which was flickering like hell, and after pressing the switch everything was perfect.
http://www.retrogamer.net/forum/view...hp?f=4&t=30518
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vivanco-Av...-/320833651874

I also read on NintendoLife (boo!) that a Scart to HDMI Converter might resolve the flickering image problem. I found one online from HD Cable Ltd, although it's a more of a pricey option as the unit retails at £49.99. It is listed as working with the Nintendo Wii and the blurb states that the "unit allows the user to convert the analogue video from a Scart cable, encoding it in to a digital HDMI signal for use with HDMI supported displays. This unit has an advanced upscaling function that will take your standard definition scart signal and convert it to HD 1080p!"
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...for_the_hd_age
http://www.hdcable.co.uk/scart-hdmi-converter.html

I think that initially I am going to try Retro Accessories' Megadrive II RGB SCART cable and see whether that resolves the issue but thought that the info provided above might prove useful to others who are experiencing a similar problem.

[The Jackal]

Yes, using a Scart switcher and turning off RGB may stabilize the picture, but the picture quality will greatly decrease. Think washed out colours and it being a bit fuzzy.

[joaopaul0]

I have a megadrive and a genesis both VA6 and a 32X.

The genesis has rainbow bars, they are thin and not very strong in comparison with the megadrive they are thick and strong.

Then I made my megadrive PAL-M with a crystal oscillator and the circuit described in the datasheet cxa1145, there was improvement in the image but the bars became horizontal, they appear as dashes in blue colors like the water of the game ECCO.

The 32X has the image with waves (ground loop?), I do not know what to do to solve the problem.

All I want is to have at least one working with a better picture, which one is easier to improve and how?

A new encoder in the megadrive?

Fixing the 32X groud loop ?

Exchange all caps in megadrive and turn it back to ntsc ?


Ps. Sorry my bad English.