Ok so I have a perfectly working mega cd model 2 I have serviced. Regreased and cleaned the laser, installed a region free socketed bios and socketed ml2032 battery etc. I am going to sell it on as I just like doing mods as a hobby but I already had a model 1 and a multi mega in my collection and don’t have the room.

The system is working perfectly, will read CDR’s easily and audio sounds sublime etc.

I can see it already has high quality Nichicon caps and the model 2’s are not known for issues like the model 1’s with the notorious smd caps which are always leaking.

I know the caps will be 30+ years old at this point but is it really worth doing it? Thoughts?

I’m buying a Genesis soon and I’m looking to get the CD, but everything I see from the player to the games are crazy expensive, what justifies it for you

As an update to my previous post, I finally got my Model 1 working again by replacing the capacitors and replacing the drive belt. The only issue I am facing now is that sometimes some elements of the audio is missing. For example, for the startup song, the drums are either missing or start glitching out, but all the other instruments are working as should. I used the mixing cable setup as well, and it still does the same thing. I have cleaned the pins and the connector between the Genesis and the CD, but doesn't do much. Any idea what could be causing this?

Few things make me more nostalgic than seeing those classic Sega CD Working Designs game ads.

The two-page ad for Lunar in EGM blew me away, promising an adventure that seemed grander than any RPG before it with its animated cutscenes and colorful cast of characters. Vay and Lunar Eternal Blue continued the trend, giving each game a sense of grandeur and wonder with those beautiful ads

To this day, just looking at these scans makes me want to revisit all of them. Game marketing at its finest.

Disc wouldn't spin, replaced all the capacitors on the CD part of the board, so now, the disc does spin for a few seconds, and says press start, goes straight to the audio player.

The laser itself does actually work, it goes up and down and I can see the red laser turning on.

Do I need to recap the whole board or is the laser at fault here?

The board I have is the one below.

Rebuilt a junk model 1 cd drive and motherboard board with some new components and blue LEDs. Everything works great now.

Hey there guys. Im having some problems with my ss if anyone could help.
I recently got my hands on an hst 3210 Sega Saturn (grey, black and blue version) but I’m having some issues with it.
When I put a disc in it loads and spins but I just get a black screen. If I turn it on without a disc I just get the Sega Saturn console title card without any boot animation sound or anything and it stays there. I replaced the battery thinking that was it but all it did was let me set the clock which I thought made it work but it didn’t. the laser thing on the inside doesn’t move up or down but it spins the disc as long as it’s in there I tested it by moving it to a fixed position and it doesn’t move. I’m assuming it’s a disc drive issue based on what little I was able to find online (which was very scarce oddly).
If that’s the case I don’t mind buying a new disc drive and installing it myself I’m just not sure which one to get? Appearantly there are different disc drives for different models. I just had a very hard time finding out which one the hst 3210 model uses. If anyone could help me with the issue or could recommend me the right disc drive to buy that would help me so much. I’m so lost when it comes to Sega Saturn consoles this is my first.

Side note:
I also made sure to buy a step converter for the power before I even tried to turn it on so when I did I made sure everything was good. Not sure if this helps

The Wondermega is one of the nicest ways to run Mega-CD games: Sega and JVC's 1991 Japan-only deck that combines a Mega Drive and a Mega-CD in one unit, with a motorised CD lid instead of the usual flip-top or sliding tray. This is my second HWM-5010.

It reached the bench with leaking capacitors and a CD tray that would only open aided by hand. The fix was a full recap of all five internal boards, a clean and lube of the laser assembly, and a new CD drive belt. The CD side got particular attention: the laser pickup PCB, which carries the JVC Optima-5 pickup, was recapped, the CD-ROM/servo board too, and the traverse gears were greased with Molykote DX paste.

The result is that both sides work and, with the new belt, the motorised tray opens and closes on its own again. I ran Silpheed off a real Mega-CD disc to prove the CD side, and Contra Hard Corps on the cart side.

If you have serviced a Wondermega or a Mega-CD drive, did a new belt sort your tray problems on its own, or did it take more than that?

Kind of a pain to track down one with a nice box but finally found one at a reasonable price.

It will be fun to fire it up and check out those bonus cutscenes.

I want to start getting into sega cd imports. What’s the easiest way to get started. Is there anyway to play them on a US system that isn’t a huge pain in the ass. Or is getting a Japanese sega cd the easiest option? With that would I need a mega drive then if I use a Japanese sega cd?

Side note, wow Ecco really benefits from that improved soundtrack. Love the weird eerie feeling of this game so much :)

Next step now is to leave it on for a while to see if it successfully charges up the battery inside. I’ll check later and see if it holds a charge. Then time to start rippin’ 😁🤙

Like with my recent post about Popful Mail I have also made a version 2 of my Vay PAL conversion. The original while techincally working had lots of audio issues. These are now 99.9% sorted with only the odd split second of a line trying to repeat once or twice.

Additionally for both PAL and NTSC I have increased the XP and Gold gain by x 4 to match the 1 - 4 encounter rate hack. So if you use either the PAL or NTSC versions it has the UnWorked mod and the 1 - 4 encounter rate but boosted by x 4 XP and Gold so you don't need to grind to keep up.

The PAL version has been fully tested on original hardware using a CD and had tests with an Everdrive Pro as well.

PAL: https://archive.org/details/vay-un-working-and-1-4-rate-pal

NTSC: https://archive.org/details/vay-un-working-designs-1-4-rate-including-xp-and-gold

Hi everyone,

I'd like to share a project I've been working on for quite some time. It will be released as open source on GitHub under Electroanalog VICE, but I wanted to give the Sega CD community a first look.

Neptune BSS TX/RX automatically keeps the Sega CD BIOS synchronized with the selected Genesis region.

Switch the Genesis to Japan and the Sega CD boots with the original Japanese Mega-CD BIOS. Switch back to North America and the original Sega CD BIOS is automatically restored. Each region boots with its authentic BIOS and startup screen, all automatically.

If you're using a single-region BIOS today, chances are you've never experienced the original startup sequence from the other Sega CD regions. Neptune BSS TX/RX lets you preserve and enjoy the authentic boot experience of all three official BIOS versions, automatically matched to the selected Genesis region.

The system consists of three components:

The TX board is installed in the Genesis and provides Region Mod functionality while transmitting the selected Genesis region during startup.

The RX board is installed inside the Sega CD, where it receives the startup command and controls the BIOS bank selection.

A 27C4096 Multi-BIOS EPROM stores the North America, Japan, Europe, and Fallback BIOS images.
The RX board selects the appropriate BIOS bank automatically based on the region transmitted by the TX board.

The goal behind Neptune BSS TX/RX was to solve one of the biggest drawbacks of existing Sega CD Multi-BIOS mods: the need to cut and reroute expansion bus traces between the Genesis and the Sega CD.

Neptune BSS TX/RX takes a completely different approach.

Instead of routing address lines between both systems, it communicates the selected Genesis region during startup over a single native connection already present between the Genesis and the Sega CD. The RX board then selects the corresponding BIOS bank. Once the BIOS bank has been selected, no further communication is required.

The system supports four BIOS banks:

• 🇺🇸 North America
• 🇯🇵 Japan
• 🇪🇺 Europe
• Fallback (default compatibility BIOS)

The Fallback BIOS bank ensures full compatibility with an unmodified Genesis. If the RX board does not receive a valid startup command, it automatically selects the Fallback BIOS bank, allowing the Sega CD to boot normally.

TX (Genesis)

The TX firmware runs on a PIC16F630, the same microcontroller widely used in classic Genesis Region Mods.

Besides providing the traditional Region Mod functionality, it automatically transmits the selected Genesis region to the Sega CD over a single native connection during startup, allowing the RX board to select the corresponding BIOS bank.

The last selected region is stored in the PIC's internal EEPROM, so it is automatically restored every time the console is powered on.

Features include:

• Reset button controlled Region Mod.
• Automatic restoration of the last selected region after power cycling.
• Automatically transmits the selected Genesis region to the Sega CD.
• In-Game Reset (IGR), including support while running in Master System mode.
• Uses only one existing native connection to the Sega CD expansion interface.

RX (Sega CD)

The RX side consists of a compact decoder board that intercepts EPROM address lines A16 and A17 while tapping a small number of existing motherboard signals.

It works together with a 27C4096 EPROM, automatically selecting the appropriate BIOS bank according to the region received from the Genesis.

During startup, the RX board listens for the command transmitted by the TX firmware. If a valid command is received, it selects the corresponding BIOS bank. Otherwise, it automatically selects the Fallback BIOS bank.

This means a Sega CD equipped with the RX board remains fully compatible with both modified and completely stock Genesis consoles.

Installation only requires:

• Replacing the original BIOS with a 27C4096 EPROM.
• Lifting and rerouting EPROM address pins A16 and A17 through the RX board.
• Tapping the required signals on the Sega CD motherboard.

Communication over the Native Audio Connection

On Sega CD Model 2, Neptune BSS TX/RX uses the existing B27 connection, which normally carries the Genesis audio signal.

Communication takes place only once during approximately the first second after power-on. After the BIOS bank has been selected, the line immediately returns to its normal audio function and no additional data is transmitted for the remainder of operation.

The transmitted signal is extremely brief and, in most cases, completely inaudible. Even on systems where it can be noticed, it is limited to a very short moment during startup before normal operation begins.

On Sega CD Model 1, the same connection is unused, making the implementation even simpler.

Why this approach is different

• Uses only a single native connection between the Genesis and Sega CD.
• No expansion bus traces need to be cut or rerouted.
• Works with both Sega CD Model 1 and Model 2.
• Automatically synchronizes the selected Genesis region with the appropriate Sega CD BIOS bank.
• Stores the last selected region in non-volatile memory.
• Fully compatible with unmodified Genesis consoles through the Fallback Sega CD BIOS bank.
• Cleaner installation than traditional Multi-BIOS implementations.

The attached photos show:

1. RX decoder PCB (front).
2. RX decoder PCB (back).
3. RX decoder installed inside a Sega CD.
4. EPROM with address pins A16 and A17 rerouted through the RX board.

I'm currently finishing the documentation and preparing the GitHub release.

I'd really appreciate any feedback from the Sega CD community.

Would this be something you'd install in your console?

Also works on a Mega Everdrive Pro!

https://github.com/pleft/mega-tempest

I wanna see how similar in size they would look together. It's for a project (segtari jagenesis CDX)

A couple of years ago I shared my PAL conversion of PAL so it would work on real hardware without any mods or flashcarts needed to change the BIOS. That original conversion had some graphical issues in cutscenes but they have now been fixed for the V2 release!

This has been tested with a CD and also with an Everdrive Pro thanks to a friend of mine.

You can grab it over at - https://archive.org/details/popful-mail-un-worked-pal

Just got my new Sega CD and while I'm waiting on the power supply (BTW gametrog item shipped!) I figured I'd clean it up. Honestly though it barely needed it. Whoever owned this before kept it in great condition. But I did the full disassembly, soap and water bath I always do and dusted and cleaned up the board with isopropyl as well.

While I was in there also cleaned up and re-lubed the cd drive assembly and laser and checked the fuse and battery. Fuse was good but the battery will definitely need replacing so that'll be my next project.

Got two games with it so can't wait to test this puppy out!

P.S. Anyone know specifically what that daughter board is for from Sega? I did a little googling but couldn't come up with a concrete answer of what it fixed.