How to mod a 21 pin Saturn

[Barago]

i just received my modchip from lik-sang today ,

i got to my shop getting a saturn , awfully they had only 64 pins ones :/

i tried the A+B sold method , but it didn't work ,

after that i gave a try to sold the 8th pin , and i did it placing litle piece of paper to not sold the other pins , it seems it worked : i can ever place a litle piece of paper between the pins .

but backup games don' t boot

i can hear the audio track of cds (so it s not the ribbon thing which is bad placed)

i ve tried 0019 and 0014 with no success

i have two green squares on the cd menu

if anyone have a clue thx

excuse my very poor english

 

[Curtis]

I'm guessing that you have a Saturn with a 64pin IC? If this is the case, it appears that the lik-sang modboards simply don't work with some (most?) 64pin Saturns, regardless of what method you use to mod it (A+B, or 8th pin).

It might be worth your while checking that you soldered the power cable to the correct pin on the supply - it needs to be the 5v rail, not the 3v or 9v one.

 

[Barago]

yup i think you are right , i tested two model 2 , 64IC, and both didn t work ,

it s too bad , it took me a while to solder this litle crap

well at less i removed the modchip , rebuilt the system, and it s working , so i ll can resell it and try to find a good 32IC one ,

en tout cas, thanks for all for all the good posts here that i think helped a lot of people and me understanding better the way it works , which chip on which system , etc ...

 

[mal]

Originally posted by Curtis@Jan. 03 2003, 11:14 am

I'm guessing that you have a Saturn with a 64pin IC? If this is the case, it appears that the lik-sang modboards simply don't work with some (most?) 64pin Saturns, regardless of what method you use to mod it (A+B, or 8th pin).

Curtis is spot on.

Except for the fact that it is much easier, there is no difference between soldering to the CD board (64 or 32 pin IC) and linking points 'A' and 'B' on the modboard.

 

[Edge-`]

Thought I'd let everyone know (for informational purposes) I was able to mod one of my 21 pin US Saturns with the "Mal A+B" method

. The model number on the cd-board is 610-6185-02. I used a mod-chip from gamegizmo. The power suply had 4 pins, and had each pin labaled above, right below the large capacitors (Ground - Ground - 5V - 3A).

I have another Saturn that the board has an identical model number, but the power supply is strange. I do not have a multimeter at the moment to test it, but when connected to the normal 5V, the Saturn starts up, plays animation, CD goes, just doesn't register the games. It will still play regular games, just not CD-Rs. The power supply has "XS205" written in bold on the upper-left corner of the power supply above the pins/caps. Anyone have any ideas for this model of Powersupply? If I figure it out I'll let everyone know.

EDIT: I redid all of the connections on the Saturn with a board model of 610-6185-02 and the strange power supply with no markings and the "XS205" in the upper corner, above the four pins. The mod now works (gamegizmo mod, A+

. I assume the pins are similar to the other power supply. I connected to the third pin of the four, from the left (looking at the saturn with the mod closest to you). I'm a happy camper, now have a fleet of modded Saturns, without the risk of breaking off a pin on the IC

, THANKS MAL!.

On a similar note, I ran into a link to an archived version of the old playthegames.com detailed instructions on modding a saturn. It may be of use to some as the link on their site is presently not avail.: Playthegames.com Saturn Mod Instructions

Thanks Mal for a great discovery!

 

[saturnrulez]

Hello there.

I have been reading this post since it started.

I am a bit confused however.

So, to Clear things up a bit :

Lik-Sang and Lan-Kwei modboards wont work with 64 pin ic Saturns right? (a+b or pin 8 mode).

But they will work for a 32 pin ic, right?

I have just bought a modboard which looks like the one in the INSTRUCTIONS of gamegizmo.com, NOT the description page.

So, i cannot understand if i have a lik sang/lan kwei or a gamegizmo mod. But i will try to avoid 64 pin saturns.

Has the ics anything to do with the model? I mean there are both 32 and 64 pin ics for each model or what? So i can avoid saturns that might not be a 32 pin model, as i do not have a saturn right now and i am planning to go ebay for one.

Thanks for anyone that clears these up for me.

George

P.s. By the way, the seller told me that he installs the modboard he sold me in ALL saturns, EVEN 64 pin ones...

And i have no reason not to believe him, cause if i had one, i could have had him install it, thats what he proposed when i bought the chip.

 

[mal]

Originally posted by saturnrulez@Jan. 16 2003, 12:06 am

Hello there.

I have been reading this post since it started.

I am a bit confused however.

So, to Clear things up a bit :

Lik-Sang and Lan-Kwei modboards wont work with 64 pin ic Saturns right? (a+b or pin 8 mode).

But they will work for a 32 pin ic, right?

Yes. Lik-Sang/Lan-Kwei mods work fine in 32 pin Saturns.

I have just bought a modboard which looks like the one in the INSTRUCTIONS of gamegizmo.com, NOT the description page. So, i cannot understand if i have a lik sang/lan kwei or a gamegizmo mod. But i will try to avoid 64 pin saturns.

I'm guessing you mean a mod with a blue PCB and no electrolytic capacator. All of the mods I've bought (and I've bought them from all three) look like that.

Has the ics anything to do with the model? I mean there are both 32 and 64 pin ics for each model or what? So i can avoid saturns that might not be a 32 pin model, as i do not have a saturn right now and i am planning to go ebay for one.

I used to think the model # had something to do with the type of CD board (32 or 64 pin) but I've since found out that with PAL saturns there is no connection. I don't know about US or Japanese Saturns, but I shouldn't think there is one.

P.s. By the way, the seller told me that he installs the modboard he sold me in ALL saturns, EVEN 64 pin ones...

And i have no reason not to believe him, cause if i had one, i could have had him install it, thats what he proposed when i bought the chip.

It could be that he buys mods from Gamegizmo. I don't know. ???

 

[saturnrulez]

I have just finished modding my 2nd saturn.

My first saturn was a 64 pin IC 21 pin model 2, and the mod i got was probably from Lik-sang or Lan-Kwei because the connector was black (according to Xai's comparison of the two in the first page), so it didnt work, it just went to the cd audio screen, played audio fine, but the cubes were GREEN.

Then i found a 32 pin IC 21 pin model 2 again, from a friend that had it lying around useless and i tried the mod in it. It worked right away first time!

So, everything that mal and everyone else said is confirmed once more. If you have a 64 pin Ic 21 pin saturn (be it model 1 or 2) buy ONLY Gamegizmo mods, or if your saturn is 32 pin 21 pin cable buy from all of the three suppliers.

Thanks mal and everyone for your input. It has been invaluable!

cheers

 

[saturnrulez]

Hello once more. After many tests yesterday, after i placed the modboard in my sat, i noticed this behaviour :

Saturn will play ALL copies fine, it wont boot some cds, but i think this has to do with non good media, because i tried to copy a cd that it didnt played on another (better) media and it worked.

HOWEVER, my saturn, when switched off and on a few times, it sometimes crash at the boot animation with the sound getting looped! This happens with all kind of copies (good or bad media). I havent tested this with originals, but i do not think this has to do something with the cds, but with something going on with the modboard. If i try again and again, after a few times it works fine. Could it be that my modboard is a little pressed to the right? I mean, the ribbon cable is pushing it to the right of the slot, so it has a small angle, but i doubt this could do this. Can anyone suggest anything before i mess this up more? ???

 

[Curtis]

Try pulling both the board and ribbon cable out an pluggin them firmly back into place. Be sure to press down evenly on the top of the modboard when inserting into the saturn. Also check that none of the pins on the modboard are touching anything.

 

[saturnrulez]

I found out what the problem was. The second saturn i got (the 32 pin one, which i modded) had a not so good laser lens, so i decided to take apart the laser lens from both of my saturns, so i can keep the best one for the modded sat. And thats what i did. Guess what? Plays FINE!!!

thanks again!

George

 

[IamWeasel]

I have a 21/64 pin (german) saturn and a lik-sang modboard (i read this thread after ordering

). at first there were green spheres or the checking disc format screen and no proper sound. now i reversed the cable in the modchip and everything works as it should. it just doesnt play cdrs. this means the modchip doesnt work for me? or can i try something else? i did the A+B connection.

Thanks.

 

[IamWeasel]

I posted too early. I tried a different type of cdr (the type i tried before worked with the swap trick though!?) and now it works.

.So i got a working A+B mod with a Link-Sang modboard and a 64pin IC...

 

[Curtis]

Hmmm...maybe they've updated their stock with a newer (or older?) type of mod? There have been reports of Lik-Sang boards working with 64pin Saturns, so maybe you just got lucky.

Keep posting your experiences people!

 

[mal]

I've 'discovered' something new.

I just got my white Japanese Saturn today and it is a 32 pin model, so I had a go at modding it with a Lik-Sang mod using the 'A+B' method.

It didn't work.

After my initial disappointment I had a bit more of a look athe the CD board and noticed two things:

[*] It has no timing crystal

[*] It is a different model CD board.

To summarise:

My Euro 32 pin CD board has a crystal and is an EXL-P2605.

My Jap 32 pin CD board has no crystal and is an EXL-P2608.

The Euro CD board would not work in the Jap Saturn. I think the CD boards must use different voltages, as the Euro PSU has 9v/5v/5v/0v/0v and the Jap one has only 5v/5v/0v/0v.

I was, however, still able to mod the Japanese Saturn by soldering a timing wire to pin 13 of the 32 pin IC.

Just what the lack of a crystal on the CD board means in terms of modding theory is anyone's guess. If it doesn't get it's signal indirectly from the 33.8688Mhz crystal then I have no idea where it comes from... ???

 

[Curtis]

Have you tried it with a Gamegizmo mod yet?

 

[mal]

Not yet, I was having too much fun trying games at 60Hz.

That and some other new toys...

 

[Lyzel]

Yahoo!!!! I successfully modded my US Saturn with mal trick!!! Wow, it's so damn simple!

 

[centaur2]

Hi guys,

I am new here, and just read the whole thread, good work!

But, I have a system no mentioned here. I have a japanese white Saturn (HST-0019)

with a Sanyo drive inside. But contrary to the other ones this one doesn't have a PC Track board.

Drive number is 610-6475-30, it doesn't have any chips on top just like the one I saw in

Mike's pictures.

Now, I have a Lik-Sang chip here (actually 4 of them), and it just doesn't want to work.

Connected A+B, 014 pad on the back, no go. The system takes about 10 sec. to start,

no cd spinning at all.

So, has anyone any experience with the newer Sanyo systems?

Bye

Sebastian

 

[Curtis]

I think it's been mentioned that only Gamegizmo mods work with the Sanyo CD boards. Not too many people have them, so nothing conclusive has been discovered.

I'd say you just proved that Lik-Sang mods don't work with Sanyo Saturns...