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A few questions about two saturn mods
exile - Feb 5, 2004
  exile Feb 5, 2004
I have two saturns here that are both displaying different problems after being modded. I mod ps2s and xboxs all the time for some side money so I doubt my soldering is the issue.

Here is the rundown:

The first saturn plays backup games and the originals but if the lid is open the disc spins backwards slowly. As soon as I close the lid (or hit the lid switch it will spin the forward as normal and read the disc). The second I let go of the lid switch the spindle will begin to spin backwards. I noticed on other boxes that when open they simply stop. At first I thought it was the modchip, but I swapped in another mod (from saturn number 2) that did not exhibit the problem and the problem still persists in this box. With the chip out the problem does not occur though. Even with the +5v hooked up and the chip out the problem does not occur. Any ideas? The other problem I have with this saturn is that when using the 4 in 1 (5 in 1) with the modchip I have only gotten a game to load once. It will be spinning fine and then I do "start without codes" and it spins the disc down and attempts to spin it back up again where instead the disc simply spins up and down over and over again as if it cannot read the disc right. I am not sure if it is media or not that might be causing this problem. I assume not since from a cold boot or reset the discs load the first time without the action replay in. (p.s. I also tried changing the jumper to no avail, and am running it with the AB connection)

Saturn #1 info:

21pin cable

32pin chip

MK-80000A

Sega Enterprises, Ltd. EF

August 1996

The second saturn boots, cd spins, stops like normal with tray open, but doesn't load the game. It simply spins up and down and then gives up and I get that audio disc crap. It's is modded the same exact way as the other one. I tried switching mods and switching the jumper on this one too with no luck. It really seems to me like this one is having trouble reading the media. But I wanted to see if you guys had any other suggestions or a way to know for sure.

Saturn #2 info:

21 pin cable

32 pin chip

MK-80000A

Sega Enterprises, Ltd. SY

Feburary 1997

Thank you for your time and help.

P.S. my jumper wire from a to b is like an inch long total, is that too long maybe? Not sure that is either of the machines problems even if it was too long though.

 Curtis Feb 5, 2004
Hmmm...odd. Have you tried the "correct" mod method - ie, soldering directly to the correct pin of the IC instead of the A-B bridge? The length of the wire should be unimportant - both my Saturns have the original length of wire used in the bridge. If you are worried, do away with the wire altogether. Just use a blob of solder between A and B.

Does Saturn#2 work without the modboard?

Where did the modboards come from?

I'll have a shot in the dark here and suggest the power supplies in both units are at fault. In Saturn#1 it's marginal to the point that the extra drain from the modboard screws things up. Especially when you add the 4 in 1 cart to the mix.

 exile Feb 5, 2004
Thank you for the quick reply. I mused over the idea of it being the power supplies myself as it was really the only logical thing consider everything else was working and the extra drag put on by the chip.

I have not tried the direct method yet, but will do so tonight or tomorrow. I assumed it didn't matter and wasn't what was causing the issue so I have not yet tried it.

Both saturns work without the modchip in.

I got the boards from Jandaman. I don't think it is the chips at all since both saturns behave exactly the same no matter which chip is in which saturn.

Still leaves me to wonder why the one saturn spins backwards when the lid is open. I suppose that could be caused by a faulty powersupply but seems really odd.

One more question if I may: Is there anywhere that anyone here knows of to get spare saturn parts? I may be needing a couple

Tonight I am going to basically gut them both piece by piece and see if I can get one to exhibit the problems the other is having and vice versa, which would help me to narrow down what part (s) are at fault. Once I figure that out I will go from there. I have some old saturn 1 gen (20 pin) models, maybe the powersupplies are the same and I can use those.

One more question please (hehe): If I do the direct method, I hook power up as normal and I hook point A to the IC chip, where does point B go to or is it not used? I was having a hell of a time finding good diagrams for these.

Anyways, thanks again. Will keep you updated.

 mal Feb 5, 2004

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by exile@Feb 6, 2004 @ 06:54 AM



 I have not tried the direct method yet, but will do so tonight or tomorrow. I assumed it didn't matter and wasn't what was causing the issue so I have not yet tried it.


It shouldn't make any difference if done properly.

If anything, installing the mod by soldering to the 32 pin IC is probably more prone to problems (short circuits mainly).

 Curtis Feb 5, 2004
I agree. I've poked around with a CRO and the signal recieved at point A is identical to the signal at the IC. It really shouldn't matter.

I *think* it's point B that connects with the IC. A is aleady connected to the pin. It's been a while since I did this. Actually, the problem you are having with Satrun#2 sounds a bit like the unit isn't compatible with the style of mod you are using. They sound like 64pin-Saturn-that-isn't-compatible-with-a-modboard symptoms.

 exile Feb 5, 2004
Okay here are my results:

Saturn A - boots straight to dashboard (audio interface with green squares), spins disc but doesn't recognize disc. Never able to boot a backup.

Saturn A with Powersupply from B - no change in behavior

Saturn A with modchip set at 0014 - no change in behavior

Saturn A with modchip set at 0019 - no change in behavior

Saturn A with no modchip - operates as it should

Saturn A with a second modchip set to 0014 - no change in behavior

Saturn A with a second modchip set to 0019 - no change in behavior

Saturn A with CD cable from B - no change in behavior

Saturn A with CD board and lens from B -Doesn't spin up at all (expected this, lol)

I did remember noting that Saturn A when I received it was missing one of the 5 screws. In remembering this I decided to open the saturn all the way up. I noticed an odd board on it that I could not see on the other board (though I did not open it up all the way to check, but just observed that I couldn't see the same wires).

Here are some pics:

http://homepage.mac.com/sonics99/PhotoAlbum14.html...

Will do Saturn B later.

 mal Feb 5, 2004
OK. With Saturn A you need to install the mod by soldering the wire from point B directly to the 14th pin of the 32 pin IC.

While I haven't seen that extra PCB before (or perhaps just never noticed) I've come across a CD board like that one before. It doesn't have the xx MHz crystal on it, so for some reason you need to install the mod the 'old' way.

 exile Feb 5, 2004
I wired point B to it and nothing happened. The cd did not spin and there was no starting animation. I then switched it to point A and the Saturn is now working like a charm. Thanks a million for that one. Now I have to test the other one to see why the cd spins backwards with the tray open. I have a feeling this is going to be a lot harder to figure out.

Saturn B - Plays games first try, but spins backwards with the lid open.

Saturn B with Powersupply from A - no change in behavior

Saturn B with modchip set at 0014 - no change in behavior

Saturn B with modchip set at 0019 - no change in behavior

Saturn B with no modchip - operates as it should

Saturn B with a second modchip set to 0014 - no change in behavior

Saturn B with a second modchip set to 0019 - no change in behavior

Saturn B with CD cable from A - no change in behavior

Saturn B with CD board and lens from A -Doesn't spin up at all (expected this, lol)

Here are some pics of B:

http://homepage.mac.com/sonics99/PhotoAlbum15.html...

 mal Feb 6, 2004
You may be able to tell that it's been a while since I modded a Saturn the 'old' way.

So does Saturn B work fine with the mod if you power it up with the CDR in and the lid closed?

I'm just not quite sure what it is that you're saying...

 exile Feb 6, 2004
Well any way that I mod saturn B it does the same thing. If I make the loop from A to B. If I solder to the chip. If I switch modchips with another I have here. If the lid is open the cd spindle will rotate counter-clockwise. On a normal working Saturn it should simply come to a complete stop when you open the lid. It rotates backwards with a game in or without and at any stage during bootup or on the AR screen or even on the dash (settings, checking disc) screen. I have found something else out in messing around with it. It seems that it is not just relevant to whether the lid is shut or not. I was holding down the lidswitch manually with the case top off and no cd on and let it sit there and noticed that the cd spindle, after checking for a disc and finding out there was not one present, began to slowly pull itself backwards as if it was fighting itself. If I let go of the lidswitch at this point it will begin to spin fast backwards like I had observed as the original problem. Without the mod in none of these symptoms occur.

Sorry for all the problems and questions, I really do appreciate your time and help on this. I figured most people haven't touched one of these in awhile. I have like 3 saturns with oval buttons (20 pins I guess) and couldn't find out anyway to mod those, so I then ordered to used 21 pin models which I have told you about and ordered the only chip I could find for it. Seemed easy enough

Anyways thanks.

EDIT:

Did a search and found this thread but no answers and the thread it links to at litespeed is dead unfortunately.

http://www.phantasy-star-universe.com/foru...indpo...

 Scared0o0Rabbit Feb 6, 2004
I too have seen this strange board soldered to the mainboard. However I was only doing a region mod at the time for the person, and it worked flawlessly, so I have no other input besides saying I've seen it.

 mal Feb 6, 2004
I was able to fix that broken link, but unfortunately it doesn't really provide any useful information.

 exile Feb 6, 2004
Thanks for trying Mal. Appreciate your time and input.

Thanks Scared0o0Rabbit too, at least i know it is normal sort of